Searching For Bobby Fisher (1993)

• Rated PG
• 110 mins
• HD
• I rated it 3 stars (Liked It)

Initial Thoughts:
One of my resolutions this year is to study and improve at chess. I've probably seen a quarter of this film in snippets flipping through the channels, but when I found out that it's based on the early life of Josh Waitzkin, I was sold. I'm hoping it ages well.

Movie:
I'm disappointed; I was really hoping Searching would show more chess, but it was really about young kids and high-level competition.

Waitzkin was a true prodigy, and we follow him as he begins his chess career. Early on he's confident and playing with abandon, but soon he faces a player solely focused on chess. He's taken out of school and tutored by a former champion.

As Josh realizes that he may be beatable, he retreats and concludes that winning is not everything. Josh's dad (a sports writer) dials up the pressure to shake his son of his caution, but Josh's bitch mother thinks it's too hard on the boy.

The answer then is to completely forget about chess for a couple weeks. Upon returning, Waitzkin is refreshed and in the right mindset to deal with the ever mounting pressure.

The match takes place between the two prodigies, and in a tight spot, Josh sees a line that snatches victory from defeat.

Afterthoughts:
Again, I wish it was a more technical film. Though any film trying to make money has to be as general as possible. It's a bit erratic, a bit sappy, and not all that fun to watch. The whole Bobby Fisher thing seems forced and unnatural. Still though, with all of that, I'd still say it's worth a look. Just don't expect great things.

After.Life (2009)

• Rated R
• 103 mins
• HD
• I rated 3 stars (Liked It)

Initial Thoughts:
I've been sick the last few days, and haven't wanted to concentrate for very long. I saw this in the recommendations and thought that it might be good, or would help me fall asleep; so it's a win - win. Also, you can't go wrong with Christina Ricci.

Movie:
I have to admit that I wasn't in the right mind while viewing this film. It was a bit confusing, is she dead, is she alive, why isn't she naked the whole movie?

Ricci is in a relationship with the I'm a Mac guy, but dies (maybe) suddenly in a car accident. Liam Neeson is a creepy mortician guiding her to the other side. Ricci contends that she's actually alive, but Neeson does his best to persuade her she's not.

On the table, Ricci reexamines her life and decides that what she really wants out of life is love. She continues to question Neeson, while continuing her war on clothing.

I'm a Mac guy also starts to question Ricci's death, and as you might imagine, this doesn't make his friends comfortable around him.

Neeson sorta lets slip a key piece of information at the final showdown, and both lives are never the same.

Afterthoughts:
I should probably rewatch this now that I'm not delirious with the flu. If you find yourself at home with your girlfriend/wife and she wants to watch something without explosions, suggest this and I wait for your emails thanking me.
 
 

Harsh Times (2005)

• Rated R: Strong language, violence, and drug use.
• 116 mins
• HD
• 5 stars (Loved It)

Initial Thoughts:
The box art alone was enough to hook me. A Christian Bale movie, coupled with the creator of Training Day, I'm sold. Though I can't tell if Bale looks pensive in the cover picture, or he just curb-stomped some guy.

Movie:
This masterpiece begins with a flashback sequence in which Bale is in Afghanistan as a Ranger ripping through Taliban fighters. He wakes up drenched in sweat, and you can already tell he's haunted by his service. One nice touch is he's wearing on of those skull masks that Ghost had in MW2.  

Next thing we see is Bale in a suit and tie picking up his childhood friend as they both go off to find jobs; Bale is hoping to be hired by the LAPD, and his bud is just looking for a job to get Eva Longoria off his back (this interaction between Rodriguez and Longoria is the only low-point for me of the whole movie. I cannot see the two together. It's like a 5 and a 9.5, and we all know that there's only a 2 digit window.)

The job hunt plan quickly gets thrown out the window and the day devolves into drinking malt liquor, stealing drugs from dealers, and trying to get laid.

Bale suggests they drive over to his old girlfriend's house; Rodriquez, being an eternal pessimist, warns that ship has sailed. A bet is made. The two show up and are greeted by the sister (who we find out later is well aware of Bale's charms) and she's not happy. Bale pushes aside her protestations and finally talks to Patty.  Just as Patty's defenses were weakening, her current boyfriend shows up and it GETS REAL.

Bale handles 4 attackers and in a move every spurned boyfriend in the history of the world has wanted to pull of, humiliates them in front of Patty and walks away smiling.

After this and a few minor episodes, it's apparent that Bale is psycho. The LAPD loses interest after he fails the psych profiles. From here on, the antics and situations get more gnarly and dangerous. I'm not going to elaborate -- I want you to watch the movie!

By the end, as you might have guessed, it all becomes too much for the two to handle. One dies and the other has to pick up the pieces of their lives and move on.

Afterthoughts:
A fantastic movie about adults who haven't figured out their lives yet. It shows that not everyone gets second-chances. It's gritty, and has a touch of reality. I've known and befriend people like Bale's character, and consider myself lucky to have survived some situations with idiots of that caliber.

All in all, this is one of those that I'd watch again. The only real sticking point for me is Freddy Rodriquez; I really wish they would have cast someone else, but then again, he is the perfect foil to Bale's alpha-male.