41) THE FIGHTER

Director: David O. Russell

Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo

Year: 2010

Rating: R

The true story of half-brothers Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and Dicky Eklund (Bale), while focusing on the rise of Micky Ward's rise to the world light welterweight boxing championship, is just as much the story of his brother Dicky, whose own boxing career was cut short by drugs and crime, thanks to a spot-on performance by Christian Bale. As Micky's trainer, Dicky (as well as the boys' mother and sisters) is the backbone of Micky's career ... until Micky meets bartender Charlene (Amy Adams), who makes him realize, for the first time, that maybe Dicky and the family are actually sabotaging his career by keeping him in the minor leagues on the local boxing circuit.

This, of course, leads to a lot of tension between the half-brothers ... especially as Dicky does seem to know what's best for Micky, even if Micky doesn't, as Micky starts to break away from the family even as he gets more and more famous as a fighter. Normally not a boxing fan, I really enjoyed the performances in this film, and thought Wahlberg did a fine job - even if his performance is pretty much overshadowed by Bale's extraordinary turn as Dicky. And while Amy Adams - one of my favorites - seems to sort of fade into the background in this film, Melissa Leo MORE than deserved her Oscar as the dominating mother of both boys, Alice. The actors save a fairly ordinary script and story, making for good drama and a film worthy of Oscar nominations. **** - Reel Awesome