The Battle Continues with Fight Scenes #NaBloPoMo

Happy 4th of July to all who read this!

It appears that a theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme has not been chosen. Maybe there is a holiday break for participants to take this week off or maybe one will be chosen tomorrow. Either way, here are some battle scenes that.....while not epic in nature, still have the ability to keep their audience’s attention.

They feature one-on-one combat that is intense because either someone was offended and wants to put his opponent in his place and because another feels betrayed and seeks some form of gratitude or reciprocity for helping a friend/brother in the past.

Red

The scene where Bruce Willis’ character Frank Moses gives William Cooper (played by Karl Urban) a butt kicking reminds younger generations to never underestimate the strength, power and skills of older people.....especially if they are retired CIA agents.

The Town

First, let’s get something out of the way.....mad kudos to Ben Affleck for his work in (starring) and on (directing and co-writing) this movie! After watching “The Town,” I like Affleck even more as an actor. The scene where his Doug MacRay character has it out on the sidewalk near the projects with Jeremy Renner’s James Coughlin character is memorable because it goes beyond the physical element of the battle. Their fight is personal, filled with emotion that affects the relationship between these two characters as well as their positions throughout the rest of the film.

The main character is at a crossroads in his life and this battle could be interpreted to reflect more than a disagreement with his longtime partner in crime. The battle may represent an exterior display of MacRay’s internal conflict as he tries to change his life for the better while also figuring out how to remain loyal to his family and crew.....all while ducking the police.

How would YOU rate the one-on-one battle scenes in "The Town" and "Red"?

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Movies Featuring Epic On-Screen Battles

Which movies come to mind when someone mentions battle scenes? Here are my selections for this week’s monday movie meme topic of “Epic Battle Scenes,” where The Bumbles asks participants to share on their blog “battle scenes that are so epic, they make you stop everything to watch.”

Gladiator
Are you not entertained?!!

For all who may not be aware by now, I am referring to Ridley Scott’s 2000 film starring Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe. This movie has some epic battle scenes, probably with the last battle being the biggest of all for a number of reasons. Crowe played the hell out of his role as Maximus Decimus Meridius in the film.

Troy
Is there no one else?

This is the movie that caused me to find Brad Pitt to be very appealing, for the first time ever. I knew who he was before watching “Troy” but the battle scenes in this movie had me viewing him from a whole different perspective a Pitt played the character of Achillies.

Honor is a common denominator between “Gladiator” and “Troy,” which makes their battle scenes stand out among other films that also have such epic scenes. Russell Crowe’s character wanted to honor his family while Brad Pitt’s character wanted to honor his people....just on his own terms without making permanent allegiances with any one nation.

In “Troy,” Pitt was also affected on the home-front as far as family is concerned but those particular circumstances are an example of the fact that there not only is a difference between boys and men but there is also a difference between fighters and warriors. Fighters battle for the sake of obtaining victory over their opponents and possibly winning the respect of those whom they admire while warriors battle for the survival and safety of themselves and their people and possibly to gain some sort of political power in a time when voting on papers or machines was just not the way that they handled things such as disputes over land, resources, workers, civilians or ruling power, etc.

Thanks to Sandy at You’ve Gotta read This! for choosing the topic of “Epic Battle Scenes.”

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Depressing Movies You Don't Want to Watch

This week’s monday movie meme is all about films that are downers. The Bumbles says to share on your blog movies that make you “totally bummed out,” as Depressing Movies is the topic chosen by Sandy at You’ve Gotta Read This. Here are my selections for the list of movies that do not make audiences feel any better after watching them.

Manic
Having just finished watching this movie yesterday, it ranks right up there with movies that are a downer. In fact, I considered turning “Manic” off about half-way through the film but that was mostly due to the shaky camera scenes that can make audiences dizzy while focusing less on the scene and focusing more on where one can get some aspirin for a developing headache that is just-a-brewing.

“Manic” is about a boy who is sent to the juvenile ward of a mental institution to deal with his violent outbursts, after he beat a teenager with a baseball bat. The depression felt from this movie comes more from disappointment than anything else. Just when it appeared that the main character was making progress, he goes downhill all over again.

Precious
While it garnered some critical acclaim, box office success and put it’s starring actresses and Tyler Perry on the Oscar radar, this movie doesn’t do anyone any good....point blank, period!

A friend of mine told me that she thinks “Precious” is a good movie but it’s one of those movies that you need only watch once because it is not a film that you’ll want to watch again due to the depressing content. Um, I wouldn’t want to watch “Precious” again and that is due to several reasons, so I guess she’s right! I honestly wouldn’t even recommend that anyone who hasn’t already watched this movie do so now because why subject yourself to 100+ minutes of anger and sadness? Just don’t....unless you like watching movies about child abuse, incest, ignorance and the ghetto.

Mystic River
Another reminder of why people should not be quick to jump to conclusions about things because speculation does not always solve a problem or get someone any closer to finding the truth, whatever that may be.

Murder in Mississippi
I bought the DVD for “Murder in Mississippi” a few months ago during an angry and rushed shopping splurge (It’s a long story. Well, it’s actually a short story but I don’t feel like talking about, okay?) and wished that I would’ve just rented it from Netflix or somewhere. This movie makes me question whether goodness can among mankind can ever prevail or if most people are just pure evil while others are cowards who either become part of the problem or just step aside and allow the evil to flourish.

Thank goodness for the Comedy genre. Movies in this category are usually a nice pick-me-up!

Of all the movies on this depressing film list, "Mystic River" is a movie that I would watch again. Not because if it's depressing nature, but because it is a good movie.....Sean Penn, hello?