Real Steel

It seems like all films that have anything to with boxing are entertaining. The "Rocky" series, "Cinderella Man," and "Million Dollar Baby" are just a few examples of boxing films that have hit the screen and been widely received as great movies. Why do people love the boxing genre? Because they have heart, they are about the underdog rising to the top, and when the time comes for the main character to go into the ring...it's very suspenseful. This year, a new twist is being brought to the boxing genre. Now robots are in the ring and it's more violent than ever. Is it possible to have the same emotion that we have for human characters for machines? Maybe...

Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is running out of time. Running out of time to pay his debts to several "dangerous" people, running out of time to keep up with his rent, and running out of time until he becomes a washed up has-been. To solve his problems, Charlie invests all the money he has into his boxing robot, Ambush. Charlie drives around with his robot looking for fights for the extra cash. The bad thing is, Charlie is a little stubborn and soon his cocky attitude results in the destruction of Ambush, his last way to make money.

When Charlie doesn't believe things can get any worse, he finds out that his ex-wife has died and that his son Max (Dakota Goyo), whom he has never met, is now his to raise. Even though both want nothing to do with each other, they have a common love for robot boxing and this love begins to shape their growing relationship. One night, Max comes across an old abandoned robot in a junkyard. Charlie tells Max that the robot, named Atom, would never have a chance in a fight but Max is determined. To Charlie's surprise, Atom not only wins his fight but is offered more fights by more and more people until he makes it into the big leagues. Now against all odds, Charlie and his son must fight their way to top in a struggle that won't only build their fame, but build their relationship.

So does "Real Steel" feature the same emotion felt in other films of its kind? Yes and no. This time around, the heart and soul of the film doesn't take place inside the ring, it takes places outside the ring. The real story is about a father trying to make up for the years that he abandoned his son. Sadly, the movie could have done a better job in its character development. Things just happen to quickly and without explanation. At the start of the film, Charlie doesn't even act like Max is there and tries to ignore him as often as possible. Then ten minute later, Max is hugging his father and joking around with him. Where did that come from? Make no mistake there are a few well done scenes that illustrate their growing relationship, but there aren't enough of them to make it seem believable.

As for the plot, "Real Steel" doesn't exactly bring anything new to the table (except for robots) since the story is an exact copy of most other boxing films, most of all "Rocky." This being the case, the movie itself was very predictable, but when it's over, the predictability does not ruin the movie was still being fun. And "Real Steel" is very fun. It was already entertaining to watch men beat their opponents up, but when robots do it, the entertainment reaches a whole new level. Not much can beat the sight of a giant robot sending another's head into the junk pile with a major punch.

"Real Steel" is big on the action, but not big enough on the emotion. For some, the sight of robots going at it might be enough to satisfy ones action craze, but if you want to see an inspirational film where you can connect with the characters...go watch "Rocky" again. I give it two stars out of four.

"Real Steel" has a running time of two hours and six minutes and is rated PG-13 for some violence, intense action and brief language.

Dream House

It's October and Halloween is around the corner! As usual, many thriller/horror films will be hitting theaters throughout the month and the first one to be released is the psychological thriller, "Dream House". From the creepy music, the eerie house, and the two little girls featured in the somewhat freaky trailers, "Dream House" looks like a promising thriller that will be sure to blow your mind. But after seeing it, that spark of great story telling never quite hit the dynamite.

Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) has decided to leave the big city of New York to move to a more quiet town so that he can write his new novel in a more peaceful environment. He moves with his wife (Rachel Weisz) and two daughters to a seemingly lovely home, but they begin to take notice of the wary neighbors and the signs in the basement that speak of gruesome murders that took place in their house. With more and more whispers that the mysterious murderer, Peter Ward, is on the loose, Will must find out the truth about what dark events took place in his house and how he can prevent them from happening again.

The biggest problem with "Dream House" began long before the film was released. When the first trailer was released, the film makers thought it would be clever to include a little something special to get people excited. What was that little something special? Nothing much, just the...BIGGEST SPOILER ALERT OF THE FILM! In the rare case that anyone reading this article has not seen the advertisements for this film I will refrain from giving away the spoiler but believe me...it's big. Shortly after the trailer was released, the director of the film told the press that even though a seemingly big spoiler was shown in the advertisement, there would be way more that we weren't expecting. Well the thing is...he's wrong. There is no more. If you see the trailer there is nothing else to surprise you, and it ends up giving the entire film away.

Because of this major advertising flaw, "Dream House" ends up being incredibly predictable (even if you don't know the twist). This leads to the film dragging out from beginning to end and not once does it do a successful job of drawing in the viewer. Adding to its predictability is the fact that "Dream House" simply takes elements from other great thrillers (saying the names could give away the ending) but fails to craft them together in a new and creative way.

As for the overall scare/suspense factor, the film also fails. The trailers play up the eeriness too much making the final result more disappointing. Because of the film's predictability, suspense is absent and the plot is much more humorous than scary, and not in a good way.

I should have know from the poorly thought out marketing campaign that "Dream House" would be a disappointment. But I had faith that the film would throw something even more unexpected in my face to impress me. I was wrong. Predictable, unoriginal, and void of all suspense, "Dream House" lurks in the shadows of the great psychological thrillers of our time. I give it one star out of four.

"Dream House" has a running time of 92 minutes and is rated PG-13 for violence, terror, some sexuality and brief strong language.