Southpaw 2015

     Billy “The Great” Hope is a boxer and the reigning Junior Middleweight Boxing Champion of the World.   He gets into an out-of-the rink fistfight with a challenger and a stray bullet kills his wife, Maureen.  Billy is lost without Maureen, she arranged all the boxing matches and she was always ringside.  He can’t seem to get back into boxing without her.  He looses everything they’ve built up and his daughter Leila is taken into protective services.  He must find a job, get a place to live, take anger management classes and test negative for drugs and alcohol to get Leila back.

     Billy Hope is not a sympathetic character so it’s a little difficult to root for him when he’s down.  He seems worn out with not much left for a comeback.  One of the fights has you on the edge of your seat wondering how much he's going to get beat up and does he have a chance to win?  3* (This movie is OK)

124 min, Action directed by Antoine Fuqua with Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Oona Laurence, Forest Whitaker, 50 Cent, Skylan Brooks, Naomie Harris, Victor Ortiz, Beau Knapp, Miguel Gomez, Dominic Colon.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 60% critic 77% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 1181 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Nevada.  Eminem worked on the soundtrack for this film but he did not appear in a role.