RULON

 RULON - A-

This was a well put together documentary that looked at the life of Rulon Gardner from all aspects of who he is. There was no primary focus on one part of his life. The documentary looked at Rulon the wrestler, Rulon the celebrity, and Rulon the person.

What I appreciated most about the documentary was its brutal honesty from start to finish. The humanization of Rulon Gardner and displaying his lows as much as his highs.

I think sometimes as normal, regular folk who haven't achieved such heights as winning an Olympic Gold medal, we sometimes think that these individuals have the fortune of having attributes that we lack or that they lack some of the disadvantages that hinder us. It was inspiring to hear him talk about his struggle with his weight, how he was horrible with women and how he was often teased for his weight.

As a wrestling guy I think there was a missed opportunity from a wrestling standpoint to talk about dropped wrestling programs and the effect that has had on the sport. Few are aware of this, but Rulon originally competed for Ricks College, an NJCAA program that has since dropped its wrestling program. Here he is in the minds of many, the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler the United States has ever produced, and he wrestled for a college that doesn't even have a program any longer. I think a minute or two could have been spent on at least acknowledging that fact to the audience. Simply another struggle that our sport faces. Instead it wasn't even mentioned that Rulon spent two years at Ricks College and the documentary made it seem as if he went straight from high school to the University of Nebraska.

Wrestling is a sport that prides itself on mental toughness and grit and I appreciated how the documentary was honest about Matt Ghaffari breaking his leg and of Rulon getting a staff infection to intensify the battle of the wills it truly was when the two met in the Olympic trial finals for a spot on the 2000 team. I've always held a soft spot in my heart for Ghaffari as he was such a great wrestler who represented our country with such class within all of his accomplishments, yet he'll go on forgotten and overlooked within the shadow of Rulon.

It's depressing as it is revealing that within all of the attention and glory that Rulon received in defeating Aleksandr Karelin, that it proves how little attention the sport gets. Even within the wrestling community itself, the most unrewarding area to be a part of is Greco-Roman. Go to any wrestling message board or facebook group. From THE WRESTLING INSIDER to WRESTLERS ONLY, no one gives a hoot about Greco-Roman wrestling. We'll talk about the freestyle trials and the freestyle wrestling till we're blue in the face. Hell, we even speak more of the women than we do of the Greco-Roman wrestling. We as the wrestling community don't pay any attention to it. The rest of the world certainly isn't going to either.

It required beating the absolute best wrestler in the world for the media to even acknowledge the sports existence. Anything less than the greatest of all time being knocked out of his position wouldn't qualify. While we watch gymnast after gymnast, who get immediately eliminated from Olympic competition on NBC and ABC sports, the only time we ever see Greco-Roman wrestling coverage is if David defeats Goliath.

It was interesting to see how the glory and the fame changed Rulon's life but not his demeanor. Yes, he was suddenly able to have all the things in life that he had never had before, but that didn't change who he was as a person. I think that's why so many to this day are so fascinated by him. Why so many still look up to him and admire him. The boy from Afton, Wyoming, the nice kid who always showed tremendous sportsmanship in all his matches, win or lose was still the boy from Afton, Wyoming within all of the interviews, commercials, special guest appearances and other walks of fame.

What I found really interesting is the way in which Rulon admitted that he felt bad for Karelin in a way. That he feels that it isn't fair that his loss to him tarnishes his legacy the way that it does. Yet that is the unfairness of the sport of wrestling. No other sport demands perfection and absolute impeccability the way that our sport does. Karelin had nearly 900 wins, but it is the 2 losses that will forever be the height of his discussion. Why wrestling choses to be this insanely difficult on itself is something I will never understand or accept.

I think some might find it shocking that Rulon gave up nearly $1,000,000 by saying no to an MMA fight. It honestly doesn't surprise me at all and I'm happy the documentary took the time to focus on this. Not all wrestlers have this mentality of wanting to go out and hurt and injure their opponents. I think we've allowed those that want to and those that enjoy that type of approach to give us the false impression that that's who we are and what we're about. No, it's not. At least not all of us. Some of us look at wrestling as an art. A sport to where we want to go out and dominate through our skill, strength and technique. To use our abilities to outsmart, out condition and out maneuver. Rulon saying he had no desire to go out and hurt someone was a refreshing moment to me.

All of the struggles that Rulon went through and how he's been able to bounce back from all of them is a testimony to the intestinal fortitude of the man. He's currently struggling with his weight but within his own mind and those who still care a tremendous deal about him, I have no doubt that this is yet another demon that he will soon enough conquer.

I don't even know the guy. I never met him, yet I can tell just by listening to him and listening to those that know him, he's the type that I'd like to know.

I found myself sending him an email after I got done watching the documentary. I suggested him to reach out to Diamond Dallas Page. I think DDP would be interested in helping him. I think it might even lead to another documentary or at least some television press. DDP Yoga I think would help Rulon a tremendous deal. Help him shed the pounds and get himself back to a healthy state.

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COMING 2 AMERICA

 

COMING 2 AMERICA - B

I thought this was a fun little trip back to the past. It was fun and rewarding to see so many that I haven't seen in such a long time. How in the world Arsenio Hall can look younger today than he did 30 years ago is beyond me. Yet, he does. To see Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, James Earl Jones and John Amos was really cool.

The thing I love so much about the fact that we now have other avenues other than just Hollywood to enjoy these films is that we get to see those who Hollywood has tried to shove to the side and those who we otherwise never would have known about. COMING 2 AMERICA was a nice blend of the two.

The drama in this film was ironically handled better than the comedy. While there were a few funny parts, nothing hit me as side splitting like it did in the original film.

SESSION 9

 

SESSION 9: C+

I wanted to give this film a better grade, but I cannot because of the weak ambiguous ending. On many levels it scores on a B or even an A level. The acting in particularly sticks out. David Caruso and Stephen Gevedon gave outstanding performances, along with solid performances from the rest of the cast.

The visuals in this film worked well, accompanied by music that fit the mood, enhanced the tone & gave substance to dialog.

The story was well constructed, keeping the audience in a cat and mouse game of continuous guessing. Unfortunately the big reveal that we all waited for only left us with more questions.

Was Gordon insane from the get go? Was Gordon possessed and taken over by the spirit of Mary? Was Phil even a real person? Was any of this real?

It's not that ambiguous endings cannot work, because they can. I don't feel it did here though.

This entire film felt like a great set up, but one that never executed into a polished finish. Major points off for that.

SUPERSIZE ME 2: HOLY CHICKEN

 

SUPERSIZE ME 2: HOLY CHICKEN - A

A courageous & dynamic documentary that takes a good, hard look at the ugliness & corrupt world of capitalism, with a centralized focus on chicken producers.

It's a secret that has been kept hidden behind a wholesome image of propaganda, skewed facts, misinformed stats & outright lies. Morgan Spurlock fearlessly exposes the wolf in sheep's clothing with a dedication to honesty that cannot be shaken by threats of consequence.

In a day in age where the sociopathic demeanor of money at all costs seems to be the mindset of even those we deem moral, it's nice to know at least some people such as Morgan Spurlock take a stand against the sickening idea of normalizing such behavior & mindset.

LUNA: SPIRIT OF THE WHALE

 LUNA SPIRIT OF THE WHALE: B

This ended up being a solid little flick with good performances out of everyone involved. Adam Beach, the main protagonist gave a convincing performance as the former drunk who returns home to find out he is more of a leader than he ever dare dream. Jason Priestley plays the part of the villain very well. Conniving, sleazy & fake. You just want to slap him. Then there's Graham Greene who seems to nail the serious, ticked off, take no shit Native American better than anyone else.

This film isn't going to win any awards, but it's a fun little film to check out if you have time. One of the few on Vudu's free list worth watching.

ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT

 

ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT: A

A well put together, no holds documentary that took a deep look into a horrific series of events that took place in the 1970's.

In this day in age we like to pretend that the world was at one time a better place, but a dive into investigation we learn that it never was. It simply was a more hidden environment, compared to today's overexposure.

Documentaries such as this reveal that what we think is unique to our modern day in terms of terrifying, sick and disturbing happenings, has always been present, even if kept from the public eye.

The stories involved around this case are surreal. They're so bizarre and unrealistic, that it's difficult to believe that these things were real and they really did happen. In fact, it goes to prove that as terrifying as our imaginations can sometimes be, it is the realism of what can be, or worse yet, what was, that is truly frightening.

In the last eight months, I personally went through a unfortunate event where I discovered someone that I knew, trusted and befriended for 10 years, turned out to be a monster. You feel so stupid, having been fooled, yet what I went through was nothing in comparison to what these people dealt with.

This is a story that has so many twists and turns that you find yourself pausing for a moment and rewinding to make sure that you heard it right.

If you're looking for a documentary that illustrates how messed up this world and some of the people in it can be, by all means, this is a must see.

THE CAR: ROAD TO REVENGE

 THE CAR: ROAD TO REVENGE = C-

Sometimes films can be difficult to categorize. This was most certainly a B film, but an upper-class B film. Cheesy writing. Cringe-worthy dialog. Cheap, laughable special effects. It had all of the characteristics of a film that screams, "make fun of me and laugh for hours at how carny I am!"

Yet on the same hand it had redeeming qualities that when the film wasn't trying too hard to be utterly ridiculous, gave it a hint of charm. The characters were at least somewhat interesting if not dare I say intriguing and the actors playing the roles, despite how nonsensical and absurd, played the parts professionally.

In all honesty with revision, this film could have been good. It had potential in a lot of areas but suffered most from an unfocused plot without any direction.

If anything this film is a perfect example of how difficult it is to get original and fresh material made in Hollywood. It's clear that no-one on this project had any connection to THE CAR (1977) or desire to make a follow up film based on the premise of the original.

It was it's own film, completely unconnected that simply threw in a Lincoln Continental in order to get the backing, the funding and the green light to make a film. That's the only connection this film had to THE CAR (1977) and the only reason it had that connection.