Southpaw

the rock should've been the lead. much better actor. gyllenhaal is fantastic as usual. mcadams is good. oona laurence is good, great for a child actor. billy hope is a great character. internal conflict is realistic and terrifying. competently shot and directed. antagonist is not intimidating. music choice is so bland. mcadams and laurence are both good actresses, yet their characters are so poorly written. the way mcadams' character gets killed off is sooo bad. another character that gets killed off is so poorly developed. some plot devices are goofy, and the final fight scene is so read more

jake gyllenhaalcommits to this role with the same intensity and depth as he committed to all of his other roles recently. it's something to behold and it is very admirable. this is another solid performance in a line of many solid performances, as he transforms and looses himself in the character. unfortunately, that, alone, is not enough to carry the film to anything but a generic middle of the road boxing movie. the drama here is so heavy handed and nothing is done with much subtlety. antoine fuqua pulls out all of the dramatic stops and genre cliches to hit the viewer over the head with... read more