Few people on the planet have ever been as good at anything as Muhammad Ali was at boxing; fewer still have the outsized charisma to match that talent. It doesn’t seem much of an overstatement to say that The Greatest is also one of the more fascinating men of our age, nor is it much of a surprise that yet another movie has been made about him. Clare Lewins’s I Am Ali seeks to differentiate itself from such predecessors as Jim Jacobs’s a.k.a. Cassius Clay and Michael Mann’s Ali via an unprecedented level of archival footage and recordings — if you’ve been dying to hear the three-time heavyweight champion have endearingly mundane telephone conversations with his wife and kids, this is the documentary for you.
It’s unfortu...
It’s unfortu...
- 10/8/2014
- Village Voice
When we last left Downton Abbey at the end of season two, the beloved and continually wronged Mr. Bates had just been found guilty of murdering his wife. Thankfully, his death sentence was overturned at the last minute (Lord Grantham still has some pull in London), but poor Bates is still facing a life in prison — unless Anna, Lord Grantham, and his trusty team of early-twentieth century lawyers can mount a successful appeal. But how likely is an overturned verdict in season three (which starts this Sunday on PBS)? And what should Bates's lawyers do to make up for their original and totally lackluster defense? Vulture, working under the assumption that Downton Abbey is real, spoke with Nyu law professor Jim Jacobs, who is an expert on both criminal law and Downton itself.At the end of season two, Bates was tried and convicted for murder. How sound was that...
- 1/4/2013
- by Amanda Dobbins
- Vulture
Considering it's where most of us (bar the weird home-schooled kids) spend our crucial formative years, where we have our first fights, our first loves, our first tentative steps into adulthood, it's no surprise that high school has long been a popular setting for movies. A range of genres (though generally leaning towards comedy) have taken place in those hallways, particularly from the 1980s onwards, when John Hughes, among others, made an entire career out of the lives and loves of 15-18 year olds.
The latest film to head back to class is "21 Jump Street" (review here) the big-screen reboot of the '80s TV show, which stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as youthful-looking cops who are sent back to high school in order to bust a drug-running ring. While you might assume this to be another lazy remake, you'd be very wrong, as Tatum, Hill, co-writer Michael Bacall,...
The latest film to head back to class is "21 Jump Street" (review here) the big-screen reboot of the '80s TV show, which stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as youthful-looking cops who are sent back to high school in order to bust a drug-running ring. While you might assume this to be another lazy remake, you'd be very wrong, as Tatum, Hill, co-writer Michael Bacall,...
- 3/15/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
Muhammad Ali: A.K.A. Cassius Clay (1970) Direction: Jim Jacobs Written by: Bernard Evslin Narration: Richard Kiley Muhammad Ali: Made In Miami Review The best of the trio of documentaries mentioned in my Muhammad Ali: The Greatest post was Muhammad Ali a.k.a. Cassius Clay, made in 1970 by boxing promoter Jim Jacobs and narrated by Richard Kiley. Jacobs' film is the most stylistically daring of the three: in addition to breaking the fourth wall, it depicts Ali — with boxing trainer Cus D'Amato — examining film highlights of himself and other boxers. Unfortunately, after the 30-minute mark, a.k.a. Cassius Clay devolves into yet another hagiography. The documentary needed more comparisons to Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, and other fighters of the past to make it interesting. Like Muhammad Ali: The Greatest and Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami, a.k.a. Cassius Clay focuses on the 1960s and...
- 9/16/2011
- by Dan Schneider
- Alt Film Guide
The Fighter picked up some Oscars but the main event is in trouble, plus Mike Tyson's latest rehabilitation
Hollywood has always loved boxing - but not enough this time for The Fighter to beat The King's Speech at the Oscars. Still, it picked up a couple of gongs, including one for Welsh actor Christian Bale, who beat Geoffrey Rush for best supporting actor in his role as Mickey Ward's wayward half-brother, Dicky Eklund. "Mate, you're the best," Bale shouted out to Eklund in the audience. "He's had a wonderful story and I can't want to see the next chapter … If you want to be a champion, if you want to train with him, go and meet with him. Go and check him out. He deserves it."
Eklund was not bowled over in a rush of luvvies. There will not be another chapter. He has had his Hollywood moment and will be forgotten soon enough,...
Hollywood has always loved boxing - but not enough this time for The Fighter to beat The King's Speech at the Oscars. Still, it picked up a couple of gongs, including one for Welsh actor Christian Bale, who beat Geoffrey Rush for best supporting actor in his role as Mickey Ward's wayward half-brother, Dicky Eklund. "Mate, you're the best," Bale shouted out to Eklund in the audience. "He's had a wonderful story and I can't want to see the next chapter … If you want to be a champion, if you want to train with him, go and meet with him. Go and check him out. He deserves it."
Eklund was not bowled over in a rush of luvvies. There will not be another chapter. He has had his Hollywood moment and will be forgotten soon enough,...
- 3/1/2011
- by Kevin Mitchell
- The Guardian - Film News
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