Russell Crowe Arrested

[dissention]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Just checking. I would see this movie just to see Paul Giamatti because I think he's a frikkin riot. He was awesome as Pig Vomit in Howard Stern's movie.

I wouldn't see it if Nicole Kidman promised to hop into my bed if I did.

[amber]

Originally Posted by dissention

I wouldn't see it if Nicole Kidman promised to hop into my bed if I did.

Yeah you would. Please, btch.

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by amber

Yeah you would. Please, btch.

Yes of course. Please.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by amber

Yeah you would. Please, btch.

Pffffft. It's called exaggeration, silly.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

I'm fine, dear. He's the one who asked.

LMAO - some of those are just so scathing And the others - boy - some of those are so well known, I should have just looked at the local checkout line for them instead of some well established internet site like from some of those highly professional opinions you cited to

Now, here are the heavier hitters, if they don't offend your sense of mainstream

Review: 'Cinderella Man' a triumph
Great performances elevate comeback story
By Paul Clinton
For CNN.com


(CNN) -- From "Apollo 13" to "A Beautiful Mind," Ron Howard has been drawn to stories exploring heroism, family fidelity and the strength of the human spirit.

He continues in that vein with "Cinderella Man," the Depression-era story of boxer James J. Braddock, called "The Cinderella Man." Braddock, fueled by love for his family, goes from abject poverty to achieving an impossible dream. Along the way, he becomes an unlikely folk hero.

The movie begins in 1928 when Braddock (Russell Crowe), a promising young New Jersey boxer, is making a name for himself with the help of his trusted friend and manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti). Life is good: Braddock brings in several hundred dollars with each win -- a fortune in those days -- and his family lives well.

Then Braddock suffers a badly broken right hand, and his world begins to fall apart. After a crushing defeat at the hands of light heavyweight champ Tommy Loughran, the local boxing commission revokes his license.

At the same time, America is sliding into the Great Depression. Braddock, his wife Mae (Renee Zellweger), and their three small children -- along with millions of other people -- suddenly found themselves barely able to survive.

Now "Cinderella Man" becomes a story less about boxing but about the strength of the bonds between Mae and James. Her emotional support was his anchor.

Comeback time
Braddock finds sporadic work in New York's shipyards, but is unable to provide even the bare necessities -- milk, gas or electricity -- for his family. Faced with the possibility that his children will be forced to live with relatives, he applies for relief. This delivers a greater blow to Braddock then any punch he ever received in the ring.

Then in 1934 Gould -- who's also stuck by Braddock -- begins to lay the groundwork for a great comeback. He arranges for Braddock to fight in a one-time-only match at Madison Square Garden. Old, out of shape and hungry, Braddock -- and the rest of the world -- thinks he's destined to go down. Instead, he wins, stunning everybody.

Despite Mae's pleas for him to stop, he continues to fight and continues to win. His amazing re-emergence from underdog to contender captures the hearts and minds of millions of Americans. Sportswriter Damon Runyon gives Braddock the moniker of Cinderella Man.

Finally, Braddock faces off with Max Baer (Craig Bierko) the flamboyant heavyweight champion of the world. Baer packs a literally lethal punch -- the force of his blows has killed two other boxers.

Heroic work
In many ways, you've seen "Cinderella Man" before. The boxing movie is a Hollywood mainstay; so is the comeback story. "Rocky" (1976) combined both to Oscar-winning glory, and just two years ago, "Seabiscuit" mined much of the same underdog territory on the horse tracks.

But Howard's keen eye for production design, his skill at exposing raw emotion and the terrific acting abilities of Crowe and Zellweger put this movie way above most films of the genre. The casting is perfect. Everyone in supporting roles gives outstanding performances, particulary Giamatti.

The boxing scenes are so realistic they're hard to watch. Using multiple cameras -- some hand-held -- Howard captures the sport in all its gory glory. Here again Crowe's dedication to his art is truly remarkable. You can almost feel his pain.

The script, by Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman -- based on a story by newcomer Cliff Hollingsworth, who received a screenwriting credit -- is beautifully crafted. Hollingsworth had the cooperation of Braddock's two sons and the result is a glowing tribute to this forgotten hero.

Some critics may knock this film for being overly sentimental, and Howard's no novice at pulling heartstrings. But I felt the director stopped just short of falling over the edge. We needed heroes in the 1930s, and we need them today, and "Cinderella Man" is the unashamed story of a hero.


http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movi...lla/index.html

______________________________________________________________
NYTIMES (Comment - they hate EVERYTHING )

June 3, 2005
MOVIE REVIEW | 'CINDERELLA MAN'

Roll the Fairy Tale, Fade to the Fists
By MANOHLA DARGIS

n June 13, 1935, the boxer James J. Braddock fought the fight of a lifetime. Born in Hell's Kitchen when that New York neighborhood still warranted that rough-and-tumble epithet, the 30-year-old heavyweight was the son of immigrants whose bloodlines and hardscrabble woes traced back to Ireland. Said to have weighed more than 17 pounds at birth, the adult Braddock tipped the scales around 190, stood nearly 6-foot-3 and was in the possession of a 75-inch reach. His most famous opponent, the Livermore Larruper, Max Baer, had an 81-inch reach, bringing him dauntingly close to Braddock's lopsided grin.

In "Cinderella Man," his movie about Braddock and the fight of his life, the director Ron Howard brings you viscerally close to understanding how that sideways smile was almost erased. Played by Russell Crowe with moist eyes and restless animal vigor, the pugilist known as the Cinderella Man entered the ring against Baer (an excellent Craig Bierko) with the odds 10-to-1 against him. The story of how this well-regarded boxer down on his luck faced those odds is one of the most celebrated in American sport, so it's a wonder it has never before been told on-screen. Filled with ups and heartbreaking downs, it is a story that can put a lump in your throat, though given Mr. Howard's inclination toward hokum, a lump on which you might easily gag.

Mr. Howard begins his film with a quote from Damon Runyon, who bequeathed Braddock his fairy-tale nickname. (According to Jeremy Schaap's fast-moving book, also titled "Cinderella Man," the fighter was more prosaically known as Irish Jim Braddock.) The Runyon quote constitutes the best writing in the film, which features a serviceable screenplay by Cliff Hollingsworth and the higher-profile Akiva Goldsman. Mr. Goldsman also wrote Mr. Howard's much-lauded, multiple Academy Award-winning film, "A Beautiful Mind," a work similarly steeped in nostalgia and hooey, the latter exemplified by the image of Mr. Crowe corrugating his meaty brow to play a tormented math genius. Mr. Crowe, a vibrantly physical screen presence, looks far more persuasive slicked with sweat and slugging other men.

In 1928, the year "Cinderella Man" opens, Braddock seemed to have all the right moves. Then a light heavyweight, the boxer was young, supremely healthy and both talented enough and dumb enough to earn a good living with his fists. The Crash changed his fortune as well as his optimistic outlook, and thereafter Braddock entered an agonizing downward spiral. Within a few years, he and his wife, Mae, played in the film by Renée Zellweger as a sniffling, squinting Kewpie doll, were living in a basement apartment with their young children and trying to keep the wolf from the door. In 1934, when his manager, Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), asked Braddock if he wanted a fight, the boxer was wielding a baling hook on the Jersey docks. Almost a year had passed since his last bout.

Like Gary Ross's "Seabiscuit," the legend of the little Depression-era horse that could, "Cinderella Man" is a shamefully ingratiating old-fashioned weepie. To his credit, Mr. Howard does not wave the flag as vigorously as Mr. Ross, though the new film's tagline ("When America was on its knees, he brought us to our feet") prepares you for the worst. In any event, given that Mr. Howard and his writers would be hard-pressed to bend this underdog narrative to our current political nightmare, it's a good thing they don't venture down that path. And with this material, there really is no need. Lightly stained a nicotine brown and topped by two male actors who could steal a movie from a basket of mewling kittens and an army of rosy-cheeked orphans, the film is as calculating and glossy a hard-luck tale as any cooked up on the old M-G-M lot.

The Braddock and Baer match affords the film its climax, but it's the face-off between Mr. Crowe and Mr. Giamatti that gives it bite. Neither performer is at the top of his form here - Mr. Crowe's crowning achievement remains "The Insider," Mr. Giamatti's, unsurprisingly, is "Sideways" - but they duet nicely. Mr. Crowe, his face more sharply beveled than it has been in years, plays Braddock as a reluctant warrior, a good guy who seems almost abashed to lead with his fists. The actor doesn't pump up the heroics, which would have been a poor fit for the unassuming Braddock, but breathes life into the Everyman that both the country and its sportswriters needed. Out of the ring and opposite Mr. Giamatti, Mr. Crowe eases into the boxer's soft side, at times beautifully; in the ring, he's repulsively believable.

Mr. Giamatti does a lot of his acting with his eyebrows, which doesn't make the performance any less enjoyable. Gould was as much fixer as manager, and the actor makes you see the man's every angle as cleanly as if they were drawn with a ruler and compass. In his book, Mr. Schaap repeats one contemporary observer's theory that if Gould had been a better manager, Braddock would not have suffered so many career downturns. Mr. Howard and his collaborators don't test those particular murky waters, but they make sure we see boxing is an ugly game no matter how likable the players. In one of the most effective scenes, Gould frantically urges Braddock to break his opponent's nose and "fill his face with blood." This is a fight movie where the blood doesn't dribble.

With a killer of a sports story and two top-flight actors, Mr. Howard can't go terribly wrong. A fine craftsman, the director has in recent films been drawn to increasingly darker themes, perhaps because, in the age-old calculus of mainstream production, dark equals heft. In his last film, "The Missing," a taut western pegged to the hoariest frontier cliché (white women kidnapped by marauding Indians), Mr. Howard employed a somber palette and let (or just watched) his two leads, Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones, cut loose. The director pretty much repeats the same formula here, aided by the same talented cinematographer he used for "The Missing," Salvatore Totino, and his longtime editors Mike Hill and Dan Hanley, whose hard cutting intensifies the blunt force of every punch.

The fights are brutal, at times floridly so, and crucial to the film's own blunt force. Like some musical song-and-dance numbers, they break into the main storyline, providing much-needed relief from Braddock's gratingly soft-focus marriage. Taken together, the fights also create a leaner, meaner parallel narrative. One of the satisfactions of "Cinderella Man" is that, in the end, the story that unfolds inside the ring is not the same one that Mr. Howard, his screenwriters and the composer Thomas Newman seem keen to sell. Their Cinderella Man is the decent little guy who affirms what movie people call the triumph of the human spirit. The story Mr. Crowe tells, with Mr. Giamatti riding shotgun as a gleeful Mephistopheles, is that of a man who, having sampled the blood of others, clearly enjoyed the taste.

"Cinderella Man" is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). The fight scenes are intensely violent and, at times, protracted.

Cinderella Man

Opens today nationwide.

Directed by Ron Howard; written by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman, based on a story by Mr. Hollingsworth; director of photography, Salvatore Totino; edited by Mike Hill and Dan Hanley; music by Thomas Newman; production designer, Wynn Thomas; produced by Brian Grazer, Mr. Howard and Penny Marshall; released by Universal Pictures, Miramax Films and Imagine Entertainment. Running time: 144 minutes. This film is rated PG-13.

WITH: Russell Crowe (Jim Braddock), Renée Zellweger (Mae Braddock), Paul Giamatti (Joe Gould), Craig Bierko (Max Baer), Paddy Considine (Mike Wilson), Bruce McGill (Jimmy Johnston) and Ron Canada (Joe Jeanette).
_____________________________________________________________
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cind...it=36&page=all

"Mature and unsentimental. Crowe’s commitment to truthful acting triumphs along with Bierko’s breakout role as his tormenter. "
-- Victoria Alexander, FILMSINREVIEW.COM

"At the center of all this richness is another irresistible star turn by Crowe. As his Oscar-winning performance in Gladiator proved, no contemporary actor is better at conveying an uncluttered personal integrity and nobility of spirit."
-- William Arnold, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER

" Crowe delivers powerful punch. "Cinderella Man" first Oscar-contender of the year. "
-- Angela Baldassarre, SYMPATICO.CA

"Its charms are skin-deep and rote, technically proficient and signifying very little."
-- Josh Bell, LAS VEGAS WEEKLY

"A tad bipolar, Cinderella Man's still remarkable film making...Russell Crowe is again, master and commander of what it is he does so well."
-- Emily Blunt, BLUNT REVIEW

"A powerful combo of history, sentiment and knowing how to ring an audience's bell. The choice of this man to portray, and the man who portrays him are the knockout punches."
-- Jules Brenner (FC), VARIAGATE.COM

" One of the best films of the year, it speaks to the heart and models a working-class hero whose riches have nothing to do with money."
-- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH

"Cinderella Man may not be subtle, but it’s reminiscent of the well-crafted popular entertainments of Hollywood’s Golden Age, blarney and all."
-- Peter Canavese, GROUCHO REVIEWS

"When was the last time you saw a truly feel-good movie about men beating the crap out of each other?"
-- Sarah Chauncey, REEL.COM

"The rhythms are so familiar it threatens to numb the mind. One at once admires the skill behind it while feeling guilty about falling for it yet again."
-- Jeffrey Chen, WINDOW TO THE MOVIES

"Actor Russell Crowe, who looks like he stepped right out of the 1930's, can apparently do anything and costar Zellweger has never been more appealing..."
-- Laura Clifford, REELING REVIEWS

"... isn't quite the dream come true it might have been. It lands more than a few punches. But none of them's a knockout -- and neither is the movie. "
-- Carol Cling, LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

"It's a contender movie that you don't have to wait until Christmas to see."
-- Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, THEMOVIECHICKS.COM

"It's schmaltzy -- but it's schmaltz veined with foie gras."
-- David Edelstein, SLATE

"As good as Crowe is as Braddock the fighter, he really delivers the goods as Braddock the man."
-- Michael Elliott, MOVIE PARABLES

"Howard has tapped into a glorious true-life story and wisely chosen Crowe, an unparalleled actor, to embody the hero."
-- Phoebe Flowers, SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL

"Caught up as the film's righteous center, Jim is sustained by his concern for his bland and underwritten family."
-- Cynthia Fuchs, POPMATTERS

"Scorsese’s Raging Bull initiated the stylistic flourish of flashbulb punctuation for a flying punch, but Howard turns it into virtually his entire mise-en-scene."
-- Todd Gilchrist, FILMSTEW.COM

"A rousing picture and a genuinely inspiring one… one Cinderella story that goes the distance without turning into a pumpkin, and fully earns its happily ever after."
-- Steven D. Greydanus, DECENT FILMS GUIDE

"If it all feels just a little bit like a movie set in the Depression that's cobbled together from Depression-era movies, that's not necessarily a bad thing."
-- Ken Hanke, MOUNTAIN XPRESS (ASHEVILLE, NC)

"Having Russell Crowe in a movie makes a huge difference."
-- Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS

"Opie makes a statement about the grand divide between the rich and the rest of us. "
-- Beth Jones, ROANOKE TIMES (VIRGINIA)

"If you can imagine Frank Capra doing his version of Raging Bull, you’ve got a good idea of what Cinderella Man is like."
-- Daniel M. Kimmel, WORCESTER TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

"Only our predisposed investment in the lead players manages to make the proceedings not too painfully bland."
-- Kevin N. Laforest, MONTREAL FILM JOURNAL

"Cinderella Man bids for audience approval at every turn."
-- Sheri Linden, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE

"Moves with footwork that would make the real James J. Braddock proud."
-- Dan Lybarger, EFILMCRITIC.COM

"Crowe adds another masterful performance to his incredibly diverse portfolio."
-- Greg Maki, STAR-DEMOCRAT (EASTON, MD)

"An exquisitely crafted, stately drama ... that never surprises, never takes risks, never delivers beyond expectations."
-- Sean Means, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

"Oscar host Chris Rock was on to something when he suggested that only Russell Crowe should be allowed to star in Hollywood period films."
-- Carla Meyer, SACRAMENTO BEE

"With Russell Crowe in literal fighting trim and a splendid supporting cast, this is a boxing pic built on classic lines, and one of the best movies of the summer."
-- Roger Moore, ORLANDO SENTINEL

"Apes the Rocky series, lifting bits and pieces from all five installments...I begged for Baer to shout in his best Mr. T voice, 'I pity the fool'"
-- Sean O'Connell, FILMCRITIC.COM

"Scene by scene, [Mae] reminds us that Jim is handsome, strong, ... and always right. The film celebrates masculine resolve that blocks out feminine counsel and concern."
-- Jeffrey Overstreet, LOOKING CLOSER

"'The film is ... as rich in Depression-era authenticity as such a picture gets, complete with a palpable air of social decay and personalized despondency.'"
-- Michael H. Price, FORT WORTH BUSINESS PRESS

"To say that this is the finest effort ever for the director of Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind is to praise an orchestration of true magnificence."
-- Larry Ratliff, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

"While some of its boxing scenes are brutal, 'Cinderella Man' is more about hope and the positive values of life."
-- Diana Saenger, REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS

"Glorious hokum."
-- Dennis Schwartz, OZUS' WORLD MOVIE REVIEWS

"Ron Howard and his splendid cast have made a spellbinding movie that joins Million Dollar Baby, as well as Raging Bull, the first two Rocky pictures, and Fat City as one of boxing cinema's all-time heavyweight champs."
-- David Sterritt, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

"No opportunity for sentimental editorializing goes unseized."
-- Ella Taylor, L.A. WEEKLY

"The beautiful truth of this story is smeared over with cornball sentiment."
-- Lawrence Toppman, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

"Russell Crowe is the new Meryl Streep...all he has to do is be in a movie in any given year and he's a lock for an Oscar nod."
-- John Venable, SUPERCALA.COM

"the first Oscar contender of 2005, and one of the few movies where it's OK for a man to cry (it's about sports, so whip out that hanky, big guy)."
-- Willie Waffle, WAFFLEMOVIES.COM

"So far, this great drama directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe is the summer movie season's real champ. "
-- John Wirt, ADVOCATE (BATON ROUGE, LA)

Click to read the article.
-- Marjorie Baumgarten, AUSTIN CHRONICLE

Click to read the article.
-- Steven Snyder, ZERTINET MOVIES

"An endearing story that will keep you at the edge of your seat, the edge of a cheer, the edge of a tear."
-- Ross Anthony, HOLLYWOOD REPORT CARD

"Rings of formula but has moxie to spare."
-- Jeanne Aufmuth, PALO ALTO WEEKLY

"The specifics of past-due notices and hunger pains are as important to Howard's story as the prizefights and the period detail."
-- John Beifuss, COMMERCIAL APPEAL (MEMPHIS, TN)

"...won't ever be considered among the great boxing movies. But it does captivatingly encapsulate the guts and gumption that made Braddock such an inspiration..."
-- Rob Blackwelder, SPLICEDWIRE

"Honestly, how can you not root for a movie about a Depression-era underdog prizefighter who beats the odds and wins it big? It seems anti-American or something."
-- Kit Bowen, HOLLYWOOD.COM

"Crowe's touching portrayal is instrumental in recruiting the audience's sympathies from the get-go."
-- Matt Brunson, CREATIVE LOAFING

"If there were ever any doubt that Russell Crowe is the greatest screen actor of his generation, Cinderella Man should put matters to rest."
-- Robert W. Butler, KANSAS CITY STAR

"It will give you hope."
-- Kevin Carr, 7M PICTURES

"Crowe deserves better than this--so do you."
-- Walter Chaw, FILM FREAK CENTRAL

"Tears are likely to be shed at the end of Cinderella Man, but thanks to Crowe and Howard you won’t know how or where the sucker punch will be coming from."
-- Erik Childress, EFILMCRITIC.COM

"...for the more mature audience that would rather a good story than copious F/X, “Cinderella Man” will fill that particular bill."
-- Robin Clifford, REELING REVIEWS

"A solidly entertaining movie - but Russell Crowe is basically playing Seabiscuit."
-- Jackie K. Cooper, JACKIEKCOOPER.COM

"Crowe has grit and gravitas to spare, and trims his Gladiator and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World caricatures down to pug-nosed, cauliflower-ear size."
-- Duane Dudek, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL

"Cinderella Man is the most heartfelt boxing drama because it is more than a boxing story."
-- David Elliott, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE

"Cinderella Man wants to be a rousing crowd-pleaser and it probably is, even if Howard has to keeping shouting at the audience to know when to be pleased and aroused."
-- Dan Fienberg, ZAP2IT.COM

"Howard sees Braddock's story in simple, black-and-white terms; Howard loves Braddock because there's nothing not to like. Viewers who remember Max Baer may, however, take issue with the way the film treats this charismatic fighter."
-- Ken Fox, TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE

"In lesser hands, Braddock could seem a bit dull or unimaginative. But Crowe revels in subtle character detail, making Braddock real. Crowe projects the complex gravitas of a person of depth as well as decency."
-- Jack Garner, ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE

"As of May, 2005, this Depression-era drama is the Best Picture of the year - with flawless acting and production values. It's a must-see!"
-- Susan Granger, MODAMAG.COM

"a wonderful film"
-- Stefan Halley, HERO REALM

"The film by which [director Ron Howard] should henceforth be measured."
-- Forrest Hartman, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

"[T]here’s an undeniable power to Cinderella Man, and it’s down to the intense and gripping performances of Russell Crowe... and Paul Giamatti..."
-- MaryAnn Johanson, FLICK FILOSOPHER

"As touching, thrilling, and inspiring as they come – and a welcome return to the kinds of films that make you leave the theatre feeling better than when you entered. "
-- Brian Juergens, FREEZE DRIED MOVIES

"Kudos to the excellent Paul Giamatti as well as Craig Bierko, Paddy Considine, Bruce McGill and Canadian veterans Chuck Shamata (the priest) and Nicholas Campbell (the sports columnist)."
-- Bruce Kirkland, JAM! MOVIES

"What a relief when an inspirational movie actually works."
-- Josh Larsen, SUN PUBLICATIONS (CHICAGO, IL)

"A movie of great delicacy of feeling... [T]he truth of the story tugs irresistibly at your heart. "
-- Kurt Loder, MTV

"Crowe delivers an Oscar-caliber performance in an emotionally powerful film."
-- Jeffrey Lyles, GAZETTE (MD)

"...Seabiscuit crossed with Million Dollar Baby without the messy moral questions."
-- Philip Martin, ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

"Forget boxing, this has good moral values, applauding marriage and commitment and personal responsibility with the best representation of the Great Depression ever filmed."
-- Tony Medley, TONYMEDLEY.COM

"with the narrative focus dissipated by trying to show us how much it all mattered back then, it makes it impossible to show us how much it matters now. "
-- Nell Minow, MOVIE MOM AT YAHOO! MOVIES

"There is nothing to discover and nothing to feel."
-- Eugene Novikov, FILM BLATHER

"Ron Howard's Cinderella Man is the best American film since another movie that revolved around a boxer, Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning Million Dollar Baby."
-- Chuck O'Leary, FANTASTICA DAILY

"Most directors shy away from the Time That Oscar Voters Forget. Ron Howard must be getting bolder."
-- Mary F. Pols, CONTRA COSTA TIMES

"'The film is ... as rich in Depression-era authenticity as such a picture gets, complete with a palpable air of social decay and personalized despondency.'"
-- Michael H. Price, FORT WORTH BUSINESS PRESS

"Bierko has to be an instant front-runner for the best supporting actor Oscar."
-- Steve Rhodes, STEVE RHODES' INTERNET REVIEWS

"The story follows an arc similar to another Depression-era tale, 'Seabiscuit,' but 'Cinderella Man' is markedly better and less sentimental."
-- James Sanford, KALAMAZOO GAZETTE

"Oh sure, it's a good movie, but only by process of elimination: You like it because there's no reason NOT to like it."
-- Eric D. Snider, ERICDSNIDER.COM

"Beautifully portrayed by Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger in the kinds of well-judged performances that presume goodness without straining to convince us of it, they're a couple whose shared moral compass guides them unerringly."
-- Bob Strauss, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

"The film just delivers on every level, not only as one of the great sports movies in recent memory but as a truly inspiring and thrilling comeback story."
-- Rob Thomas, CAPITAL TIMES (MADISON, WI)

"'Cinderella Man' wrings every bit of emotion out of a tried-and-true underdog storyline. Fortunately, it does so with considerable style and heart."
-- Betty Jo Tucker, REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS

"In many ways this unambitious but heartfelt drama comes as a welcome breath of fresh air, especially now, when theaters are filled with dark and dreary features, the kind of heartless, soulless Hollywood constructs that glut the summer each year."
-- Jeff Vice, DESERET NEWS, SALT LAKE CITY

"Paul Giamatti steals the show as Braddock's smart-*** trainer and manager, Joe Gould. Maybe it's his Oscar comeuppance."
-- Mike Ward, RICHMOND.COM

"So determined to make the audience stand up and cheer that it forgets how to generate anything lasting, other than sheer old-timey nostalgia."
-- Andrew Wright, THE STRANGER (SEATTLE, WA)

Click to read the article.
-- Jeff Farance, DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL (FL.)

-- Click to read the article.
-- Bob Grimm, SACRAMENTO NEWS & REVIEW




Hot Pick
"This is an utterly predictable, thoroughly manipulative and thunderously obvious movie. I wouldn't change a frame of it."
-- Rene Rodriguez, MIAMI HERALD





Cream of the Crop
FRESH 78%


Avg. Rating: 7.6/10
"It lands a few solid punches, but never achieves anything close to a knock-out."
-- James Berardinelli, REELVIEWS

"Braddock only wants another shot at boxing to buy milk for the kids. Cue the heavenly choir."
-- Jami Bernard, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"The fight scenes hurt, not because they're edited like quicksilver or nimbly staged -- they are -- but because we are made to care so deeply for the title character."
-- Amy Biancolli, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

"If you're the sort of occasional moviegoer who feels they don't make 'em like they used to -- well, you're right. Except that Howard and Russell Crowe have just proved you wrong."
-- Ty Burr, BOSTON GLOBE

"I've never seen a boxing movie that has so convinced me I was seeing a pro bout both real and sustained."
-- Mike Clark, USA TODAY

"We needed heroes in the 1930s, and we need them today, and Cinderella Man is the unashamed story of a hero."
-- Paul Clinton (CNN), CNN

"It's a thrilling story, all the more amazing for being true."
-- Colin Covert, MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

"Ron Howard's film about the heavyweight boxer James J. Braddock is a shamefully ingratiating old-fashioned weepie."
-- Manohla Dargis, NEW YORK TIMES

"In telling the story of heavyweight champion Jimmy Braddock, Howard creates a hero who's not operating out of a pumped-up sense of himself."
-- Robert Denerstein, DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

"Most serious movies live in a world of cynicism and irony, and most good-hearted movie characters live in bad movies. Here is a movie where a good man prevails in a world where every day is an invitation to despair."
-- Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

"Howard's relentless and flat-footed attack on our sympathies slips into monotony. The first half drags on for longer than it should, as we're told over and over that people were poor, very poor. Depressed even. Because it was the Depression."
-- Robert K. Elder, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"It's hard to guess how much of the beautiful science Academy members can take, but let's worry about that next February."
-- Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION

"Howard has got but a single message to deliver here -- boxer Braddock as the populist American hero of the Depression era — and he beats us over the head with his uplifting haymaker until we're crumbled on the canvas and crying for mercy."
-- Rick Groen, GLOBE AND MAIL

"Despite the tale's dusty pedigree, Ron Howard spins a ticket-worthy two-plus hours of movie-movie entertainment."
-- Ed Halter, VILLAGE VOICE

"Ron Howard's Depression-era ode to second chances and noble contests, filmed here last summer, is not just another boxing movie or just another picture. It's a completely absorbing and artfully made fairy tale that just so happens to be true."
-- Peter Howell, TORONTO STAR

"We're in an almost irony-free zone, where everything is exactly as it seems, and no subtexts are available for subtext-fanatics."
-- Stephen Hunter, WASHINGTON POST

"Crowe's performance as this Seabiscuit of the sweet science will no doubt make the middleweight Cinderella Man a contender -- an Oscar contender."
-- Lisa Kennedy, DENVER POST

"Cinderella Man takes the almost impossibly perfect elements of the saga of underdog boxer James J. Braddock and fills it with emotional gravitas, wrenching danger and a panoramic sense of American life during the Great Depression."
-- Robert Koehler, VARIETY

"A godsend to anybody who yearns for cinema to be a bringer of good tidings."
-- Anthony Lane, NEW YORKER

"Easily the best American film so far this year."
-- Mick LaSalle, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

"A grand piece of old-fashioned Hollywood filmmaking that is easily the best movie of the year so far."
-- Tom Long, DETROIT NEWS

"So square it makes the original Rocky look cutting edge and Million Dollar Baby positively avant-garde by comparison."
-- Lou Lumenick, NEW YORK POST

"The first film in terms of Oscar hopefuls this year that can truly be considered a contender."
-- John Monaghan, DETROIT FREE PRESS

"Crowe gives another solid performance, and Paul Giamatti (Sideways, American Splendor) adds to his shining reputation as a top character actor by playing Braddock's lippy manager, Joe Gould."
-- Bill Muller, ARIZONA REPUBLIC

"Cinderella Man consistently delivers less than it wants to by trying for more than it should. The movie tells the story of Braddock's life as redemptive fairy tale, fitting the fighter for a glass slipper that ends up being the movie's glass jaw."
-- Bruce Newman, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

"A superbly acted, beautifully shot, highly engaging drama that ranks as one of Howard's best efforts."
-- Michael Rechtshaffen, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

"The conventional wisdom is that Howard is a sentimentalist who needs Crowe to give his films edge. I prefer to think of the director as one in the handful of Hollywood filmmakers who still know how to make mass entertainment not based on a comic book."
-- Carrie Rickey, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

"This is a rousing, thrilling and inspirational biopic from a director and a star who have now collaborated on two Academy Award level films."
-- Richard Roeper, EBERT & ROEPER

"How exceptional a film actor is Russell Crowe? So exceptional that in Cinderella Man, he makes a good boxing movie feel at times like a great, big picture."
-- Lisa Schwarzbaum, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"There probably isn't a filmmaker anywhere, other than the redoubtable Steven Spielberg himself, who's as adroit as Howard at grabbing the mass viscera and squeezing it at just the right intervals."
-- Gene Seymour, NEWSDAY

"Crowe's burly poignancy hits you foursquare in the ribs -- right above the ticker. This feels old-fashioned, pure and meat-and-potatoes simple. It's an Irish stew movie."
-- Desson Thomson, WASHINGTON POST

"Not only is Cinderella Man Howard's best movie, it is also his most personal and deeply felt."
-- Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

"Howard hurts our ability to enjoy this good story by pushing its plot points too insistently."
-- Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Like its hero, it stubbornly gets the job done."
-- Stephen Whitty, NEWARK STAR-LEDGER

"If you used to love the movies, Cinderella Man will remind you of the movies you loved."
-- Philip Wuntch, DALLAS MORNING NEWS

"Cinderella Man is a movie about the indomitability of the American spirit, and those are always far less interesting than movies about actual people."
-- Stephanie Zacharek, SALON.COM





"Sharp acting within a sepia-toned technical knockout."
-- Harvey S. Karten, COMPUSERVE

"... a by-the-book, retro Hollywood production – which brings with it both virtues and problems."
-- Andy Klein, LOS ANGELES CITYBEAT

"Easily the best mainstream Hollywood drama so far this year."
-- Shawn Levy, OREGONIAN

"It seems that Ron Howard has done it again. He keeps on getting better and better..."
-- Eric Lurio, GREENWICH VILLAGE GAZETTE

"Pardon its dust, and you'll be rewarded with a moving story of a time gone by, and of an unexpected hero."
-- Moira MacDonald, SEATTLE TIMES

"audiences looking for uplifting, quality entertainment should love “Cinderella Man.”"
-- Sean McBride, SEAN THE MOVIE GUY

"...pre-digested, pre-approved...has the bullying 'stamp of quality.'"
-- Eric Melin, LAWRENCE.COM

"An exciting film that is rarely seen outside of December."
-- Danny Minton, BEAUMONT JOURNAL

"Cinderella Man captures the essence of the Braddock experience. Crowe confirms himself as the new Brando. Ready to respect Opie yet?"
-- Jimmy O, FILM SNOBS

"Cinderella Man is a fine production, but the film lacks spark where it needs it most: the boxing ring."
-- Brian Orndorf, FILMJERK.COM

"Entertaining and affecting, but an Oscar movie this is not."
-- Jon Popick, PLANET SICK-BOY

"A worn-out Goodwill version of Rocky that either deserved a less-banal filmmaking approach or didn't need to be made at all."
-- Dustin Putman, THEMOVIEBOY.COM

"Depression-era boxing story gets a good -- not great -- envisioning from Ron Howard and features good lead work from Russell Crowe."
-- James Rocchi, NETFLIX

"65 years after John Ford's wrenching The Grapes of Wrath, Hollywood seems to have concluded that the Great Depression was, in fact, a pretty great time to be alive."
-- Nicholas Schager, SLANT MAGAZINE

"At this point in 2005, are you really going to complain about a well-made, well-acted, formulaic sports movie? Me neither."
-- Collin Souter, EFILMCRITIC.COM

"A grossly manipulative tale of an underdog who comes out on top, but one so skillfully manufactured that it effortlessly--and pleasurably--carries you along."
-- Frank Swietek, ONE GUY'S OPINION

"For Crowe, it adds to the winning streak that started with L.A. Confidential and has continued virtually unabated since, and is marked by smart choices and solid performances."
-- Gary Thompson, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS

"Comforting and familiar -- and certainly, 2005 has been weak enough to welcome such qualities -- but the best picture of the year? Come on, folks, get a grip."
-- Rob Vaux, FLIPSIDE MOVIE EMPORIUM

"Proves that there's always room on the shelf for another riveting, elegant boxing film."
-- Phil Villarreal, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

"Not matter how hard the script tries to turn Braddock into a symbol of American perseverance, Crowe never portrays him as anything more than a human being."
-- Jeffrey Westhoff, NORTHWEST HERALD (CRYSTAL LAKE, IL)

"Director Ron Howard doesn't pull any surprise moves here, yet the movie gets more and more gripping with each punch."
-- E! ONLINE
_____________________________________________

any questions dear

[amber]

Originally Posted by dissention

Pffffft. It's called exaggeration, silly.

You just went to far on that one, I guess, even for me.

Edit - Christ, STrand, that's long even for you! Sheeb.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by amber

You just went to far on that one, I guess, even for me.

Edit - Christ, STrand, that's long even for you! Sheeb.

Well, Diss opened the door darlin' - - I just walked through it to hand his hat back to him, full of Crowe to eat.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

LMAO - some of those are just so scathing And the others - boy - some of those are so well known, I should have just looked at the local checkout line for them instead of some well established internet site like from some of those highly professional opinions you cited to

any questions dear

None. You asked for some bad reviews, I gave you some. I love how you copied and pasted from rottentomatoes.com, the exact same place that lists the reviews I gave and are duplicated in your post. Seems as if you DID look in the checkout line, after all.

Again, you said all the reviews were great. I submit they were not. Any questions?

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

None. You asked for some bad reviews, I gave you some. I love how you copied and pasted from rottentomatoes.com, the exact same place that lists the reviews I gave and are duplicated in your post. Seems as if you DID look in the checkout line, after all.

Again, you said all the reviews were great. I submit they were not. Any questions?

Blah Blah Blah - we were talking about how the film has been well received, which it has. I, unlike you, post the good with the bad. How is it eating Crowe?

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

LOL -- you are so funny sometimes - do you like anything mainstream

I like Fleetwood Mac don't I? Talk about your mainstream...

I just hate Russell Crowe with the white hot intensity of 1,000 suns. And cracking a smile once in a while wouldn't hurt him either. Rude jackass!! [R.C. not you! ]

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

I like Fleetwood Mac don't I? Talk about your mainstream...

I just hate Russell Crowe with the white hot intensity of 1,000 suns. And cracking a smile once in a while wouldn't hurt him either. Rude jackass!! [R.C. not you! ]

I agree - in fact friends of mine have waited on him and do not really have too many nice things to say.

Also,

I might be a jackass but I am NOT a rude one

[dissention]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Blah Blah Blah - we were talking about how the film has been well received, which it has. I, unlike you, post the good with the bad. How is it eating Crowe?

You ****ing asked for the bad reviews, wiseass. We were talking about the reviews and you proclaimed that all the reviews you read were glowing. I said to read more, to which you retorted that I should post them. Which I did. End of story.

[Serrart]

Originally Posted by dudden22

I love it when they throw tantrums! I makes my day.


By Pat Milton
ASSOCIATED PRESS

11:07 a.m. June 6, 2005

NEW YORK – Russell Crowe was arrested and charged Monday for allegedly throwing a telephone at an employee of the Manhattan hotel where he was staying.
Crowe, 41, who plays a boxer in his latest film, "Cinderella Man," allegedly threw the phone at the concierge at the Mercer Hotel in SoHo, "hitting him in the face and causing a laceration and substantial pain," according to the complaint.

The Australian movie star was arraigned on charges of second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon – the telephone – before Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Martin Murphy. The assault charge is punishable by four years in prison.

"This arose because he was trying to get his wife on the phone in Australia," his lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, told reporters earlier outside the police precinct where Crowe was booked. "He was in his room. He couldn't get a line and there was a disagreement."

Police said Crowe left his room and went to the front desk where the alleged confrontation took place.

The prosecution told the judge that Crowe admitted to a police officer that he picked up the phone and threw it because he was angry.

Assistant District Attorney Chad Sjoquist asked the judge to set $5,000 bail, but Murphy released Crowe on his own recognizance and told him to return to court Sept. 14.

After Crowe was processed at the police precinct, he was led out in handcuffs to a police sport utility vehicle for the ride to criminal court. A horde of media, including a news helicopter hovering overhead, descended on him. Crowe, wearing dark shades, a blue bomber-style jacket and jeans, declined comment.

Crowe's publicist, Robin Baum, told syndicated TV show "Extra" that "after asking the front desk several times to replace a faulty phone in his room – and getting only attitude from the clerk on duty – Crowe brought the phone down to the front desk in an effort to address the situation in person.

"Words were exchanged and Crowe wound up throwing the phone against the wall. He regrets that he lost his temper, but at no time did he assault anyone or touch any hotel employee."

It wasn't the first instance of reported bad behavior by Crowe. The actor got into a brawl at a chic London restaurant in November 2002. Earlier that year, he reportedly was abusive toward a TV executive when the British Broadcasting Corp. edited his acceptance speech out of a broadcast of the British Academy Film Awards.

Crowe is married to actress Danielle Spencer and they have a 17-month-old son, Charles Spencer Crowe. He won an Oscar for his role in 2000's "Gladiator."

"Cinderella Man," Ron Howard's story of Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock, had a lackluster opening this weekend, debuting at No. 4 with an estimated $18.6 million at the box office.

Say Goodbye to any Oscar chances next year Russell!

Romy

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by dissention

You ****ing asked for the bad reviews, wiseass. We were talking about the reviews and you proclaimed that all the reviews you read were glowing. I said to read more, to which you retorted that I should post them. Which I did.

and thank you for that. Now, to the larger point, the movie has been well recieved by a clear majority

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I mean every review I read has done nothing but praise it and the actors in it

Yeah, and they do nothing for me. I think that's what turns me off most about the movie. I really like Giamatti, but his character looks kind of like a characature from the previews I've seen.

And how many more feel good boxing movies do we really need?