AndreaUrJoking

Last night I saw The Fighter.

You should see it tonight.

If you know anything about Ward or have ever seen him fight or just love the sweet science, go see this movie.

If you don’t like boxing and are unfamiliar with Ward (although you’d have to be a monster who lives in a cave), go see this movie and educate yourself.

If you like underdog stories, see this movie.

If you ever wondered what a real fighter looks like or if one even exists these days, meet Micky Ward.

Contrary to popular belief, boxing is a science and its practitioners  are some of the most interesting people around.  Don’t pay attention to fools like Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and the elderly Mike Tyson whose grandstanding and big mouths are part of their dances.  Instead look at the Joe Fraziers and Arturo Gattis and Irish Micky Wards of the world, men who let their fists and their jaws speak for them.

Although Mr. Ward has been retired for some time, you can always look up the Fight of the Year according to Ring to be inspired.  Pay close attention to 2001, 2002, and 2003.

You can also… GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

Holy balls, this movie was stressful.  Darren Aronofsky… you fiend!  Who else can be trusted to mix insanity with an “oh my!” lesbian sex scene with feathers and ballet and masturbating with your mom in the room?  No one I know besides Mr. Ass-to-Ass himself (referencing Requim).

I went yesterday with my friend whose mother was one of the principle ballet teachers for the film.  We wanted to see her on the silver screen and cheered when we saw her name in the credits.  It was wonderful and the actors really seemed like dancers to me and my untrained eyes.

That being said…  OMFG!  Stress ensues very shortly after the previews for other movies end.  Maybe I’m overly squeamish but I wasn’t the only one grimacing and holding my eyes and ears shut.  The visceral quality of the film cannot be ignored but neither can the angles and the beauty and the fact that Natalie Portman looks like a famished ten year old boy in a tutu!

At the end of the day, I would definitely say this is a Must See movie.  Its rating and reviews by the critics are well deserved BUT… maybe a glass of wine ahead of time would be a good way to go.

(I also have a caveat for the dudes… Men, if you are into Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman and the intertwining of their bodies, maybe you should put a jacket over your ding-a-ling during that scene because it is fierce.)

I recently read War by Sebastian Junger and was amazed at what a good book it was.  It read easily as far as how it was written, but the story about the soldiers is enough to make you cry while at the same time being inspirational and sickening.

Last night I watched Restrepo, the documentary by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington.

It was equally as enlightening and scary and disgusting as the book and I highly recommend that people watch it.

Now, do not get me wrong.  I am not suggesting that the movie is a docu-drama or a parlor trick that focuses on war -- quiet the opposite. It shows how our young men were placed in the Korengal Valley and did all they could and sacrificed all they had because you and I and everyone beside us asked them to.

It is also a wonderful example of how our journalists risk life and limb beside our soldiers to ensure that the story that is told is the one that actually took place.

Thank God for men like these.

(FYI, Doc Restrepo is on the right.)