On with the show.

Spring has turned into winter once more. Shovels and snowblowers buzz and scrape outside windows to steal the thunder from alarm clocks in the early hours of daybreak. The only thing to show the slow turn of the earth's rotation is the daylight. Longer days and more minutes will eventually lead to the warmth of summer...and that'll be a welcome release.

The last two weeks have left my work schedule compressed for time and therefore, my movie viewing time with Courtney has been compromised. Though I'm able to see the films piece meal, I have not been able to settle on the couch with her to see our selections. This is not the way we planned things to be, unfortunately, this is the way it has to be for the moment.

Monday night's movie was:

I have never had a chance to watch this Scorsese feature and wanted to give it a go. With many other Scorsese films to my liking, I figured that this was going to be a safe bet. There are many actors that-I believe-the director favors and all are present here as well. De Niro and Pesci utilize their great on screen presence to accentuate the roles played. I was surprised ad how the roles were reversed from other Scorsese movies that involve these two actors. De Niro usually plays the role of the mores soft spoken "wise-guy" and Pesci is the loose cannon. In this switch, I was quite surprised.

Though the film had a campy feel and the look of a black and white 1950s film, I feel that the story could've been better. The plot moved from one angry scene to the next, which may have been what the director wanted, but after a time, the viewer becomes a desensitized to the violent activities and then the story becomes a bit of a "train wreck in slow motion". The story is a bit lean but you can't seem look away since our main subject makes bad choices and spirals out of control.

If you're a boxing movie fanatic, I'd suggest this movie.
If you're looking for boxing movies with more heart felt involvement, I'd suggest; Cinderella Man, Million Dollar Baby, Rocky, Rocky Balboa and The Fighter.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 10 world championship title belts.