p11, v5.37 — Arts & Entertainment

Arts & Entertainment

Mountain Views News Saturday, September 10, 2011

MVNews this week: Page 11

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views News Saturday, September 10, 2011

Sierra Madre Playhouse PresentsGilbert & Sullivan'sThe Yeomen of the GuardAugust 19 - September 24Director: Eugene J. HutchinsMusic Director: Brian Asher AlhadeffPurchase tickets online: www.sierramadreplayhouse.orgor call: (626) 355-4318 • Group Sales: (626) 836-2125facebook.com/sierramadreplayhouse
SEAN’S SHAMELESS

REVIEWS:

WARRIOR

The summer
movie season
provided us
with a copious
amount of
misfires and
to no surprise,
found itself badly straggling to the finish line.
Thankfully, we can move on since the fall
movie season is now upon us. With that said, I
have the sheer gratification of telling you that
“Warrior” starring Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy
and Nick Nolte is one knockout of a movie. In
vein of last year’s powerful film, “The Fighter”,
“Warrior” is about two brothers both fighting
for something greater than themselves. Tom
Hardy brilliantly portrays Tommy Riordan,
an ex-Marine haunted by his past who returns
home to his former alcoholic father, played by a
battered and wounded Nick Nolte. Joel Edgerton
takes on the persona of Brendan Conlon, a high
school physics teacher and ex-MMA fighter
unable to make ends meet. In a turn of events,
Tommy asks his estranged father to train him
to fight once again. Brendan, unbeknownst to
this, finds himself competing in amateur MMA
fights to help out at home. Alienated from one
another for 16 years, the brothers’ paths will
soon cross as they face off in Sparta, a Grand
Prix tournament of MMA fights. While the
set-up may be dauntingly cliché, director Gavin
O’Connor somehow is able to throw punch after
punch at your vulnerable heart in what is the
most unrelentingly impassioned packed film
this year.

For starters, “Warrior” is part gritty family
drama, part sports action flick, and part feel-
good crowd pleaser. Translation? Raw, gut-
wrenching, and compelling. The acting is never
less than absolutely stellar. Joel Edgerton plays
Brendan, the typical underdog persona, with
such heart and compassion. With his house
seeing foreclosure and medical bills for one of
his daughters with a defected heart adding up,
it’s difficult not to show rooting interest for this
guy. Tom Hardy’s character, Tommy, on the
other hand, has many complexities and an aura
of mystery surrounding him. He’s not entirely
psychologically stable because of what haunts
him from his days in Iraq and his devastatingly
strained relationship with his father. Hardy is
nothing short of brilliant as an ex-marine with
a lot of built up agony and pain to release. Easily
the breakout star of “Warrior”, Hardy’s utterly
sublime representation really pulls you in.
Anchored by a subtle, electrifying and haunting
performance, Hardy should be recognized
during award season. Furthermore, his scenes
with his Nick Nolte were as heartrending and
distressing as they come by. The dynamic of
their shattered relationship felt honest, real, and
unfeigned. Nolte as a recovering alcoholic, who
listens to self-help audiotapes, really nails it here.
He’s a lost and fractured soul trying to reconnect
with his sons, who don’t seem to want to give in.
While the MMA fight sequences are exhilarating
and super-charged, it’s the chemistry between
Nolte and Hardy on screen that’s absolutely
remarkable and really drives the movie into the
territory of absolute greatness.

Well over two hours, “Warrior” never eases
up in toying with one’s emotions. It does an
outstanding job continually pulling at the
strings of one’s own heart. If you surrender to
its tricks, you may find yourself tearing up in
multiple scenes. “Warrior” definitely ranks
up there with ultimate guy-cry movies. By the
end of the movie, you’ll not only find yourself
on the edge of your seat, but also wiping those
tears away and rooting for these guys as if they
were your own brothers. The ending may not
be what you completely expected, but it seems
appropriate and realistic. Never does “Warrior”
seem false or manipulative in the earnest ways it
touches your heart, mind, and soul. This movie
just feels right in this day and age. The constant
struggle of overcoming the odds and believing
in one’s self despite any obstructions in your
line of sight. It’s a stunning achievement that
a mainstream movie like this packs so much
pure entertainment, affecting moments and
uncompromised compassion. “Warrior” excels
on nearly all levels making it a definite must-see
for all ages.

LEGAL NOTICES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

File No. 11-094293

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: AD
PAINTING, 14012 JERSEY AVE., NORWALK, CA
90650. Full name of registrant(s) is (are) ARTURO
DELGADO, 14012 JERSEY AVE., NORWALK,
CA 90650. This Business is conducted by: AN
INDIVIDUAL. Signed: ARTURO DELGADO.
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of
Los Angeles County on 09/02/11. The registrant(s)
has (have) commenced to transact business under
the fictitious business name or names listed above
on N/A. NOTICE- This Fictitious Name Statement
expires five years from the date it was filed in the
office of the County Clerk. A new Fictitious Business
Name Statement must be filed prior to that date. The
filing of this statement does not of itself authorize
the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name
in violation of the rights of another under Federal,
State, or common law (See section 14411 et seq.
Business and Professions Code)Publish: Mountain
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