This isn't moonlighting at Applebee's for Christ's sake.

Date: Sunday 30th September
Film: Warrior (2011)
Director: Gavin O'Connor
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte
Running Time : 2 hours 20 minutes
Rating: 8.5/10

Another new (ish) film that I didn't get a chance to see at the cinema and, after much badgering from people about how great it is, I finally got round to adding to my LoveFilm list and settling down to watch.

Before I get into my feelings on the film, I need to confess a couple of things;

1) I watched this whilst I was ironing, packing, organising for holiday so wasn't 100% focused on the screen (although I did nearly end up burning a patch in a good frock, so maybe I was a little bit more focused on the film than I planned to be!)

2) I don't really 'get' Tom Hardy, sometimes he is wonderful (Bronson) and other times I find myself watching him and thinking 'what's all this fuss about?'.

3) I have no clue what MMA (mixed martial arts) is. I thought this was a film about boxing.

I am generally a little fussy when it comes to sports films. I have little interest in sport, and even less understanding. If the sport is in the background to a great story I'm there, I'm committed. Luckily enough, Warrior is one of those films.

The MMA fighting (some sort of cage fighting, ultimate fighter, beat the crap out of each other, malarkey) takes a back seat to the story of two brothers, their complicated relationship with their alcoholic father and the ways they have dealt with the challenges life has thrown at them.

I can see why this gets a lot of comparison to The Fighter, they both embrace the same themes; family relations, addiction, salvation through sport, and so forth.

Nick Nolte was more than deserving of his Academy Award nomination - he steals the show with his portrayal of a father estranged from his children through mistakes in his past and dealing with his alcohol addiction.

Whilst parts of the film were a little predictable, the cast were strong enough to detract from this.

I left this film with a couple of big questions;

Why does Posh Spice get so much stick for her pouting, when Tom Hardy has created a whole career off the back of his?

What on earth has happened to Tom Hardy's neck?

Challenge day: 7
Challenge time : 00 days, 08 hours, 16 minutes.
Challenge film total: 4