azamoracubillo Kent Moran's "The Challenger" (2015) with Kent Moran, Michael Clarke Duncan, S. Epatha Merkerson, Justin Hartley, Frank Watson, Stan Carp, among others. Independent, low budget drama, winner of several Film Festivals, about a young man looking for his "American Dream" being a boxer, so we will witness his struggle and his inner strength. On his journey he will be accompanied by his adopted African-American mother, something you do not see every day, for Jade is white; And the support of your coach. The film has a classic narrative of the films about this sport, however, the approach is familiar, in the relations of the protagonist with his mother and with his coach, to all rule, the absent father's character, and ultimately, in his Struggle to become a family. Honorable mention for Kent Moran as director, actor, screenwriter, publisher and producer of the film, which at 35 years stands as a great promise in the industry. While the story is predictable, and goes through the commons remembering the saga "ROCKY" and the like, is fairly balanced, is exciting, and has a good rhythm; The direction is very good, with a part of documentary style, the frames are good, the way it was filmed, and the choices made, provide airs of sincerity, which are rarely seen on screen for a debutante director; The choreographies of the fights are well mounted, the edition fulfills well the 95 minutes of footage, which do not make anything heavy, giving it much dynamics, without decaying. The narrative, focusing on the family nucleus, has no romantic history, and it is not necessary, because the struggle is individual, a metaphor for the spectator, to get ahead in the face of adversity; It is not surprising that this struggle is somewhat tarnished by sentimentality and melodrama, but without being cheesy, forced, pathetic or superimposed. Of the cast, Kent Moran has a lot of potential, not only is he charismatic and talented, but comes out well in his records, more knowing of his multifunctionality in the production, and his character is given to want; Michael Clarke Duncan, in his last role before dying of a heart attack, is immense, demonstrating a great interpretive level, where we will witness his "swan song", an actor who had a lot to give; Also highlights S. Epatha Merkerson as the mother, who is the anchor and motive of the film. The antagonist, who is not such, because the real villain is adversity itself, Justin Hartley plays a good role, playing the protagonist's human opponent; Other fun characters, are the employer of the workshop, and the owner of the liquor store, who are friendly. Here "do not fight to lose" is a story of the weakest that outweigh the odds. Attention to the final credits, which are the icing on the cake, with the words of Clarke Duncan for a recording team of no more than 7 people. Kent Moran has a bright future ahead if he continues to perfect his craft, taking more risks, and researching issues in greater detail. A complete achievement, for a remarkable result, and very motivating if you see with an open mind. RECOMMENDED. It will NOT have a note in Lecturas Cinematográficas. http://lecturascinematograficas.blogspot.com/

Big Goaty I couldn't enjoy this film as the storyline was just too far fetched. A poor white guy decides to become a professional boxer to earn money to resolve a family issue. This same guy has no previous boxing experience but after a few months of what appears to be very ordinary training turns pro. Despite being only being a club fighter he can afford to give up his 9 to 5 job as a mechanic to focus full time on boxing. At no point is there ANY explanation as to why he is able to rise so fast in the pro ranks - no reference to having supernatural one punch power, no comments that the kid is a natural or even that he has been lucky enough to spar with some great pros to explain the development.7 fights in fights the light heavy champ of the world - both fight like bums, take a beating, never hold and the fight is so poorly choreographed it is an embarrassment !

A_Different_Drummer When Stallone did Rocky I, you would think from the hype at the time that he invented the boxing film.No he did not. He re-invented it. Boxing films have been around forever and the first rule of a good boxing film is to connect with the audience by allowing them to "grow" with the protagonist, to improve from fight to fight.And that was the first rule the producers broke.Given the minimal amount of screen time alloted to the "early" fights for the protagonist/hero (in some cases just 2 seconds per fight) you may have thought that these were real cable fights where the producers did not have the rights to rebroadcast. But no this is a fiction film and they could have made those fights real. They did not.Frankly, once you break that key rule, once you have no connection between star and viewer, there is no turning back.But, almost out of perversity, the producers broke another rule and that amazes me. They cast two actors who look alike for both roles in the ring, hero and villain.So, and I cannot emphasize the bizarreness of this enough, not only does the audience have no connection with the hero in the final fight, but sometimes you can't tell which actor is playing which role.And the final rule? Good choreography in the fights. The audience should feel every punch. Here the audience only feels cheated.A rarity. A boxing film that, like a bad boxer, starts out weak. And then just gets weaker.Of course, the fact that the film is a "vanity" film -- the same guy is the writer director and star -- may be a factor. But what do I know -- I am just a reviewer.Terrible film.

MrChallenger This movie despite some of the bad reviews and press it's gotten is an exceptionally well made film with a good cast that played their roles well. They had a low budget and a limited amount of time to get this movie done but the movie doesn't show that side to it at all, it had gripping moments that made you edge closer out of your seat. Everyone loves an underdog and this movie was all about the underdog, yet it showed with hard work anything is possible, it's an inspirational movie, the story was great, something you see less of day in and day out, no fancy film effects, just brilliant camera-work, excellent choreography that made everything so realistic, so believable. Everything in this movie had a purpose, everything was for a reason, nothing makes you sit there and think "Why was that there?" everything in your mind has a purpose for the movie, it builds the characters, there were no wasted scenes here. I think with a bigger budget and more time, this movie could have added a lot more, and really shown the world an even more in depth character that would make you wish the movie went on longer than it did.For me, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, a lot of bad movies have been released lately, and it was nice to see something true to the art come from The Challenger. This movie for me was perfect for what it was, I'm not a critic and I don't rate every movie I ever watch and critique it, but I have taste, and I have a mind that can tell the truth from the bull, and this movie was truthfully refreshing.