Tuesday 18th November

Cinderella Man

Director: Ron Howard
Year: 2005
Stars: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellwegger, Paul Giamatti

This is a film I wanted to see when it originally came out at the cinema, but never got around to. So when it was premiered on TV a few months ago, I made sure I taped it. It took another few months for me to watch it - partly due to a back log of interesting films, but also partly due to me being a little dubious of the subject matter.

The film focusses on the life, and boxing career, of James J. Braddock, an Irishman living in New York during the 1920s depression. Not being a huge boxing fan, that element of the film put me off a little bit, although the reviews were good. It turns out it was an entirely needless worry - the film, although filled with boxing matches and montages, never went further than it needed to, and the story more than made up for the boxing matches. In fact, at times I even found myself caring what was happening in the ring - and it takes a lot to make me do that.

A really good film - long, but worth watching for every heart-wrenching second. What's even better is that the film is ultimately uplifting, and although I was convinced there would be a truly depressing ending, it never came. The wonders of true life, I suppose.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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About Me

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I live in Bristol with my husband Dan (who I married in July 2007), my son Joe (born 2012) and daughter Jess (born 2015). I work at UWE (the University of the West of England) in Bristol as a Research and Open Access Librarian. I'm orginally from Exeter, so moving back to Bristol is a bit like coming home - especially as I studied for my undergraduate degree here (also at UWE). I love travelling and movies, although I get to do a lot less of both since the birth of our children. Although we have still managed to fit in holidays to the Isles of Scilly, Chamonix and a summer in California since Joe was born.