The Hammer (2010)

I'll be the first to tell you that I'm no big fan of wrestling. I just can't get pumped up at the prospect of two muscly, angry-looking, sweaty boys/men sticking their testicles in each others' faces. So the human interest element of a wrestling story really has to involve me, or else the appeal is lost on me.

   Well, "The Hammer" is no Aronofsky's "The Wrestler," but it still manages to be a pretty appealing 'underdog' story, sans "The Wrestler"'s devastating ending. Now inspirational underdog pic can be great "Billy Elliot," good "The Fighter," or just mediocre ("Front of the Class,") and "The Hammer" falls somewhere in the middle category.

   Based on a true story, "The Hammer" follows Matt Hamill, a deaf athlete (played by Russell Harvard, who has the disability in real life,) who struggles throughout his youth for love, inclusion, and acceptance. As a child, Matt's grandfather Stan (Raymond J. Barry) denied him the right to learn sign language or participate in a school with other deaf children.

Raging Bull (1980)

Well-done in every respect, "Raging Bull" nevertheless made me feel somewhat ambivalent about its content. As a depiction of real life boxer Jake Le Motta (amazingly portrayed by Robert De Niro)'s degeneration from a rage-filled fighter to a fat, unkempt slob of a man, the movie can be forgiven for not giving us a warm and fuzzy reiteration of the events.

   However, the characters the film portrays are so hard to care about, that it's hard not to look at it with a mix of disbelief and stoicism. That said, "Raging Bull" as a piece of cinematic history is magnificent. The black-and-white photography, which might peeve some, is a fascinating stylistic approach.