There’s a moment at the end of Gavin O’C onnor’s MMA drama Warrior in which two men who have been relentlessly beaten and pummeled in the octagon stand dripping with exhaustion, rivers of sweat mingling with the tears running down their faces. It doesn’t matter that you can’t tell the sweat from the tears; that’s partly the point of Warrior anyway, which makes you feel every emotional wound just as acutely, if not more so, than the bruising, rib-crunching body blows. Yes, this is a mixed martial arts movie (distributed by genre specialists Lionsgate, no less). But it’s also one of the most heart-wrenching and deeply felt films of the year.
After former Heroes co-star Greg Grunberg, who has an epileptic son, tweeted his outrage over a joke in the recent Tower Heist trailer referring to Ben Stiller as “little seizure boy,” director Brett Ratner issued an apology and has reportedly asked Universal to alter the film’s marketing. Grunberg tweeted his thanks and lifted “my personal boycott of ur hilarious film.” No truth to the rumor Grunberg attempted to leverage his grudge in pursuit of Oscar-hosting duties , though presenting is probably not out of the question. [ THR ]
After a career in Hollywood that has spanned four decades, two Oscar nominations, three wives and one notoriously bad mug shot — Nick Nolte returns to the big screen this Friday with his most personal role yet: that of a former alcoholic who desperately seeks forgiveness from his mixed martial arts-fighter family (Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton) in Gavin O’C onnor’s Warrior . During the film’s press day last month, both O’C onnor and Nolte confessed that the struggles of Nolte’s character Paddy O’C onnor were based largely on the actor’s own cycle of substance abuse, sobriety and redemption-seeking — a cycle that sadly continued while the pair filmed Warrior in and around Pittsburgh last year. Last month, the 70-year-old actor met with Movieline to discuss his R-rated Warrior adventures, his unlikely handgun crusade and the secret to playing a good, chain-restaurant-obsessed gorilla.
Ladies, this is British actor Tom Hardy. If you’re a big movie fan, you’ve seen him before, in “Inception” and “RockNRolla.” And he is just one of many reasons to check out the new movie “Warrior.” The movie’s storyline is, of course the main reason. You’ve probably seen the previews and though: “Oh, how nice. A new fight movie for the fellas.” But “Warrior” is much more than that. In fact, the MMA fights, which are graphic and realistic as s***, are just the backdrop to one of the best plots we’ve seen in a while. The movie follows Tom Hardy as Tommy Conlon and his brother Branden (played by Joel Edgerton) as they train for an MMA tournament that will inevitably change their lives in some way shape or form. For Tommy, winning this tournament, which carries the biggest purse in MMA history, would mean fulfilling a promise to the fellow Marine who died in his arms. But in order to do it, he has to come to some kind of arrangement with his ex-drunk father (played by Nick Nolte). For Branden, winning this tournament means keeping a roof over his wife and daughters’ heads. But in order to do it, he has to manage to stay focused despite his long lost brother’s return and apparent reconciliation with the father that never did either of them right. So yeah, there’s a lot of fighting (which also means a lot of fine a** shirtless men), but Tommy and Branden and their continuing battle with their father Patty will have you near tears more than once. And if you’re still not convinced, remember you get an hour and some change’s worth of this guy. Check out a real from our recent “Warrior” screening in Atlanta. Warrior hits theaters nationwide next Friday, September 9 Wanna check it out this weekend? Visit WarriorSneakPreview.com to find out how.
By virtually any Hollywood standard, even if another film featuring Jessica Chastain weren’t released in 2011 after this week, she’d have already had a pretty phenomenally successful rookie year in the business.
It’s a great week for retro racks & rumps, as the Roger Corman’s Cult Classics anthologies Sword & Sorcery , featuring Lana Clarkson ( Deathstalker , Deathstalker 2 , The Warrior & the Sorceress , Barbarian Queen ) and Women in Cages, featuring Pam Grier ( The Big Bird Cage , The Big Doll House , Women in Cages ) hit DVD. If you prefer the arthouse to the drive-in, never fear, because the Steamy Arthouse Hits anthology ( Secret Things , House of the Sleeping Beauties , Don’t Let Me Die On a Sunday , and Torremolinos ’73 ) is exactly what it sounds like, and it’s also nude on DVD. In other nudes, ease on down the Road to Nowhere (2010) and you’ll find Shannyn Sossamon slipping a nip, nude on DVD and Blu-ray. More after the jump!
In Gavin O’C onnor’s Sept. 9 MMA drama Warrior , Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton are estranged brothers who find themselves on competing paths towards the same mixed martial arts championship, both fighting desperately for something different. Find out more about what motivates one brother to risk it all in two new stills from Warrior , debuting exclusively on Movieline.
In Gavin O’C onnor’s Sept. 9 MMA drama Warrior , Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton are estranged brothers who find themselves on competing paths towards the same mixed martial arts championship, both fighting desperately for something different. Find out more about what motivates one brother to risk it all in two new stills from Warrior , debuting exclusively on Movieline.
