I just spoke with a coworker who says that he has completed 1 movie in the last year+ with his wife. Part of the problem is that it is hard to find a good movie. By my estimates, in the mainstream, there are probably a 12 bad movies made for my market segment for every movie that is worth while. So, here is a quick plug for a few movies that are for adults (not perverts) who would like to see a good male role model on the screen.
"Rocky Balboa" Drama. If you have seen other Rocky films it will help you appreciate this one because you will know somethng about his life, especially if you see the first one where he meets his wife, "Adriannnnne." And although it features an under-dog Rocky fight it is not like the other films. It is a very touching and transparent look at a man dealing with life as a retired athlete and widower in a world that has changed for the worse. It is deeply emotional and touching. It is also believable in every aspect.
"A Beautiful Mind" Drama. 2001. Russel Crowe and Ron Howard team up to present the Holly-real story of paranoid-schizophrenic Nobel-Prize winning mathematician John Nash. This version omits the real-life divorce and second marriage among other details to create characters that have more ... character. It makes the story strongly inspiring and more simple, which is good because it took all 135 minutes to tell the story right as it is. And they definitely told it right, at least the portion they were trying to tell.
"Cinderella Man" Drama. 2005. Russel Crowe and Ron Howard team up to make a boxing film! Inspite of what you might think, this is not just a hybrid of the other two movies ... really its not. Okay, so it sort of is. But it is realllllly goooood. This is the real story of James J. Braddock the great-depression-era fighter that inspired a desperate nation. If you see only one movie from ths list, make it this one.
"Remember the Titans" Drama. A football film featuring the Holly-real story of the first integrated (black and white players) highschool football team in the south. It is more of a football movie than it is about racism and oddly focuses more on the white characters than on the black ones. But pretty well told and acted. Very mainstream with good appeal to a wide audience demographic, if you are white. Does a great job with the natural conflicts between two very good men in a situation made difficult by a lot of not-so-good people. Very light film considering the topics involved.
"On a Clear Day". Drama. This is the story of 55-year old blue-collar worker who is laid off and how he deals with it. Not mainstream, not hollywood, not fast. But I loooved the characters in this. The main character is quiet and leaves a lot to conjecture by his wife, friends and the audience. But he does decide to deal with life's stresses by swimming the English Channel. It really is a remarkable character film in which nothing very remarkable happens.
"Up". Drama / comedy / animation. This also has broad audience appeal with a very improbable story that only a child can really appreciate and relationships and characters that it takes a parent or grandparent to really understand. It starts out with a silent montage that only lasts a couple minutes but will take adults through a wide gambit of emotions. Bring a hanky. Most of the film is lighter and the villans are traditional one dimensional movie villans.
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