Cinderella Man

Film Title: Cinderella Man
Year: 2005

For production credits see Jason's post on this movie:
Cinema Standard - Cinderella Man by Jason

Acting: Incredible. Amazing. Awe-inspiring. Need I say more? Well, I'm going to anyway. You can send me to the gallows for saying this, but this is Russell Crowe's best performance. Renee Zellweger is great as the stand-by-her-man wife.
Cinematography: The camera is perfectly placed at all times. The movie is not filmed with some artful eye for "setup scenes" which look "cool". It's a joy to watch.
Visual: The visual team on this movie hit an absolute gold mine with the special effects during the boxing scenes. Watch carefully and notice that the big hits are actually snapshots taken by the reporters in the audience. There's a bright flash and a slight pause in the action...just as if it were someone taking a picture.
Audio: Watch this movie to feel what it must be like to take a hundred punches in a boxing ring. And it's mostly due to the sound. By the end of the fifteenth round, you may be lying on the floor writhing in pain. The punishing blows are gut-wrenching at times.
What to watch for: All around, a great movie. Thank you Ron Howard for letting family be the central core of the movie, when a boxing career could have - - and according to Hollywood - - should have been center stage. "Cinderella Man is as powerful as its hero’s punches" (pluggedinonline.com).
What to watch out for: Ron Howard's demonic protrayal of Max Baer; some language
When I watched it last: A couple of weeks ago
IMDB User Rating: 8.1 out of 10; #170 on the top 250 movies of all time as voted by users
Roger Ebert Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; "Cinderella Man is a terrific boxing picture, but there's no great need for another one. The need it fills is for a full-length portrait of a good man."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 8.9 out of 10; This is arguably the best movie about...correction - that includes boxing. This is a film to own.
- - Reveiwed by JB