Real Steel (2011)

My Rating : 3/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “Real Steel isn’t so real after all. The animatronics rocks, but the story is full on predictable!”

A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring.

Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next.

When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

Warrior (2011)

My Rating : 4/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “Warrior is an intense family drama, gone too emotional at some places but still made it strong till the end. Must Watch!”

Haunted by a tragic past, ex-Marine Tommy Conlon (Hardy) returns home for the first time in fourteen years to enlist the help of his father (Nick Nolte) to train for SPARTA, the biggest winner-takes-all event in mixed martial arts history.

A former wrestling prodigy, Tommy blazes a path toward the championship while his brother, Brendan (Edgerton), an ex-fighter-turned teacher, returns to the ring in a desperate bid to save his family from financial ruin.

But when Brendan’s unlikely, underdog rise sets him on a collision course with the unstoppable Tommy, the two brothers must finally confront each other and the forces that pulled them apart, facing off in the most soaring, soul stirring, and unforgettable climax that must be seen to be believed.

Knockout (2011)

My Rating : 2/5 STAR
MovieStudio Quote >> “Knockout sports a very sensitive and calm Steve Austin – but very poor cinematography and directing!”

* The poster might convey that Steve as a fighter, but Steve doesn’t fight in the flick. And Steve has a trimmed ‘goatie’ in the flick and not the look he sports in the poster!

KNOCKOUT stars wrestler turned movie star Steve Austin (The Expendables, Damage, The Longest Yard), a pop culture icon with a huge fan following from his vital role in the World Wrestling Entertainment arena. The direct-to-DVD and VOD film brings Steve Austin back to the ring to train a rising boxing star, played by Daniel Magder (“Life with Derek”). KNOCKOUT is an inspiring story in the vein of under-dog classics such as The Karate Kid and Rocky.

Outsider and new kid Matthew (Daniel Magder) desperately wants to join his high school’s boxing team, but resident bully and boxing champion Hector stands in his way. Facing constant torment, Matthew finds an unlikely ally in Dan (Steve Austin), the school’s janitor and one-time amateur boxer. Despite Matthew’s overprotective parents and unimposing size, Dan sees potential in him. Together, they train for the biggest boxing match of Matthew’s life and discover what it truly means to be a winner.

Legendary (2010)

My Rating : 4/5 STAR
MovieStudio Quote >> “An Inspiring slow drama with a beautiful intense moral for all, though the flick’s little obvious!”

Cal Chetley, a bright, undersized fifteen year-old is an outsider in the blue collar town of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, known for its high school wrestling program. His older brother Mike, a one-time high school champion with whom Cal is estranged, left Cal and his mother Sharon behind years ago after the tragic car accident that killed their father.

Sharon is grieving the loss of her husband while struggling with an estranged, older son and her bright, socially isolated younger one, the latter of whom is determined to put his family back together.

With the encouragement of Harry “Red” Newman, a charming, albeit mysterious, man who has a way of showing up in Cal’s life just when he needs him most, Cal joins the high school team hoping his brother will train him.What ensues is an emotional, uplifting journey about Cal’s drive to succeed and his unwavering pursuit to reunite his family.

Ip Man 2 (2010)

My Rating: 5/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “Can’t take away the breathtaking stunts from my mind, which I know are for REAL!”

M.S Note – See the first part before you see this, http://moviestudio.wordpress.com/2009/05/30/ip-man-2008/

Wilson Yip’s saga continues, this time it’s Hong Kong, 1950. Having just arrived and penniless and friendless, Ip Man, the master of Wing Chun style martial arts, faces first the complex local martial club hierarchy, then yet another abusive foreign power, this time, the British empire. After losing a number of hard earn pupils to tuff wars, ever stoic and dignified Ip Man reluctantly enters to a test to earn respects and rights to open his own martial club, under the watchful eye of a respected and rich local honcho, master Hung (Sammo Hung).

Against one master after another on the ricketty round tea table, Ip Man shows them he is much more than enough to be called a master. The fights are heavenly, especially between Sammo Hung, who choreographed all the fight sequences in both Ip Man movies and Donnie Yen. Then the film goes into Rocky IV territory with the corrupt, racist British police force arranging the West-East boxing match to show who the boss is, with an obnoxious boxer named Twister. Sammo Hung, at the tender age of 58, gives the most heart wrenching performance here as the master who abides to the rules to survive, but not to the insult to Chinese.

Ip Man 2 belongs to Hung as much it does to Donnie Yen. The fight between Twister and Ip Man is way over the top. It was the ruthless but dignified opponent Miura that gave the first film weight and integrity, a worthy opponent so to speak. Twister, a thick headed foreign devil, comes across as Hugo Weaving in steroids. I kept expecting him appearing in flip-flop dress as in Adventures of Pricilla Queen of the Desert. Ip Man 2, with the political urgency gone, is lighter and sillier than the first one, but still great fun to watch. It even squeezes in little Bruce Lee at the end.

Coach Carter (2005)

My Rating: 4.5/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “A truly inspiring and sensational sports drama I’ve ever seen!”

Based on a true story of the man who locked his boys out of the gym until they focused on their schoolwork, this by-the-numbers crowd-pleaser holds together because a steely Samuel L. Jackson refuses to notice the parade of clichés he’s trumpeting (the dialogue sticks to platitudes like, “Success in here is the key to success out there”). Coach Ken Carter (Jackson) takes over an unruly team of Richmond, California basketball players and teaches them how to play–and behave–like champions.

His plight, which pits him against an uncooperative school board and parents who’ve given up hope, holds some interest, but the film is too concerned with giving us a Big Game every twenty minutes or so.

The teens all have the spark of life in them (including pop star Ashanti, who features in a surprisingly well-handled teen pregnancy subplot), though the film’s plodding familiarity means it’s never really rousing, adding up to simply a good-natured amalgam of Stand and Deliver, Hoosiers, Dangerous Minds, and even Dead Poet’s Society (one of the tougher players actually recites some inspirational poetry).

Undisputed III: Redemption (2010)

My Rating: 4/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “One of my best kick ass kick-boxing flicks ever, loved Undisputed 2 too!”

Russian inmate Boyka, now severely hobbled by the knee injury suffered at the end of Undisputed 2. No longer the feared prison fighter he was, he has declined so far that he is now good only for cleaning toilets.

But when a new prison fight tournament begins – an international affair, matching the best fighters from prisons around the globe, enticing them with the promise of freedom for the winner – Boyka must reclaim his dignity and fight for his position in the tournament

Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2005)

My Rating: 3.5/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “A class kick-ass fight flick which really rocks the hell out of you. Plot lags!”

Michael Jai White (SPAWN) plays George Chambers, the role originated by Ving Rhames, in INDISPUTED II: LAST MAN STANDING. In this sequel to the 2002 film UNDISPUTED, boxing champ Chambers is imprisoned in Russia where he is forced to fight.

With the no-holds-barred style of Russian prison boxing, Chambers’s street-fighting skills may just save his life.

Invictus (2009)

My Rating: 5/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “Revolutionary, Inspiring – ENCORE!”

The film tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid.

Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.

The Blind Side (2009)

My Rating: 5/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “Very Touching and Sandra’s Award-winning performance makes it lot professional!”

Drama. “The Blind Side” depicts the remarkable true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential.

At the same time, Oher’s presence in the Touhys’ lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome.

As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle.