Watching It Now on Netflix

The Fighter is a 2010 Sports Drama starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Mark Wahlberg. Plot: Based on a true story, The Fighter is about two brothers raised as fighters on the streets of Boston.  Wahlberg plays Mickey, the younger brother trying to make something of himself in the boxing world and wants to rely on his older brother, Dickie, who is now a trainer (Bale).  However, Dickie has his own demons to battle. My Take: Bale turns in an excellent performance (especially if you watch the actual man who the movie is based on during the credits). Adams turns in as gritty of a role as I've ever seen her.  The boxing scenes are about as realistic as it gets, and the film is well done in every possible way.  This film garnered several Oscar nominations, and won for Best Actor (Bale) and for Best Supporting Actress (Melissa Leo; the mother of the fighters).

Forever Strong is a 2008 Sports Drama starring Gary Cole and Sean Faris. Plot: Faris plays Rick, a troubled young man playing for his father's rugby team, who gets into quite a bit of trouble with the law.  Sentenced to a Boys Reform school, he meets a rival rugby coach (Cole) who takes him under his wing and helps him to become a better person.  Once released from the reformatory, Rick joins his father's rugby team again and is faced with a critical moral decision when both his father and teammates want him to divulge secrets he learned from the rival coach. My Take:  This story is actually based on a real life rugby coach's efforts to use rugby to reform troubled young men.  I found this movie to be very inspiring and uplifting.  Excellent acting, and a realistic plot go a long way.  It also does a great job of showing the brotherhood of rugby and what it means to its athletes.  As a rugby fan, I was very pleased with how the sport was portray...

Peaceful Warrior is a 2006 independent drama based on the book of the same name.  It stars Nick Nolte and Scott Mechlowicz. Plot:  A cocky, brash young man at the height of his gymnastic career in college has his life fall apart when an injury seems to end his Olympic aspirations.  However, just when things are darkest, a teacher comes into his life that helps him to recover physically and spiritually. My Take: I'm always happy to review sports movies! This movie explores spiritual enlightenment (not the religious kind) and its effect on the athlete.  It's a little weird at times, and doesn't flow as well as I thought it should.  Ultimately the movie does come together nicely and it's well worth a watch on a weekend afternoon.