Disc of the Week (12/20/11)

When Warrior came out this fall, I needed to a new underdog sports film like I needed a club to the face. Sure, The Fighter was one of my favorite movies of last year, but normally movies like this feel like little more than extended exercises in Hollywood phoniness. Warrior solves this problem by shoving two typical underdog plots into a single film, and the result is surprisingly stirring. The plot: two brothers played by Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy both decide to get back into the MMA game. Edgerton does it to get money for his family. Hardy just because he needs somewhere to vent his frustration. The laws of Hollywood suggest that these two will meet and The Big Fight at film’s end, and that is indeed what happens. Warrior has one of the best endings that a film like this has had in a while. It ain’t perfect, but it’s a pretty darn terrific example of how to do this well. Nice supporting turn from Nick Nolte as well.

Another film worth checking out is the uneven but ultimately captivating Wall Street drama Margin Call, about a large investment bank on the eve of the 2008 economic collapse. Featuring a strong ensemble cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore and Zachary Quinto, Margin Call is unique in that it attempts to place a human face on a group of people usually seen as ruthless fat cats. This is true in many cases, but the small miracle here is that the film makes us recognize that these are actually people and not all of them ran away with millions after the collapse. It does not expect us to sympathize with Wall Street, but Margin Call does a great deal to help us understand. That said, it takes a little while to get to the great stuff—much of the first half is frustratingly repetitive—but the film’s most powerful moments are not easily forgotten.

Another film of note is Woody Allen’s lightweight-but-enjoyable-enough Midnight in Paris. It was hard for me to feel passionately one way or the other about this one, but there’s very little chance anyone could possibly hate it. It’s hard for me to love it—or even like it a great deal—but there’s very little here that could inspire anything besides at least moderate enjoyment.