Skip to main content

Dome Pondering Movie Review: Grduge Match (2013)

What is it about? 

Two boxing rivals with personal conflicts never truly settle their dispute with a rubber match. After thirty years of hatred, frustration, and agony, both men come to ahead to finally solve their inner issues and put to rest their longstanding dispute.

Who is in it? 

Sylvester Stallone - Henry "Razor" Sharp

Robert DeNiro - Billy "The Kid" McDonnen

Kevin Hart - Dante Slate Jr. 

Kim Basinger - Sally


Favorite Scene: 

After seeing a special documentary on television highlighting Sharp and McDonnen's history, Dante Slate Jr. goes to Sharp's house to begin the process of cashing in on the boxers' history. 

Favorite Quote: 

"Boy you must have been really tired. You fell asleep with a lot of people!"

Review: 

How many people thought of Rocky and Raging Bull colliding when they decided to sit down and watch this movie? From the trailer and the description, the film looks like a spoof for Rocky Balboa and Jake LaMotta, or at the very least, something that was made to touch on the light parts of both films. Oddly enough, this film has those moments, a few more, but for the most part, that's all. 

I found Grudge Match to be an alright film that provided moments of laughter largely due to Kevin Hart and Alan Arkin, but for the most part, it just felt like it never got to that second or third gear. The plot is actually tremendous, and you really begin to buy into the hatred between the two characters portrayed by Stallone and De Niro. However, the back end of the movie leaves a lot to be desired. Especially, the sappiness in the latter stages regarding their personal lives and what occurs in the actual fight. And the end just comes of out of nowhere and leaves the story up in the air. 

Don't expect much from Grudge Match. It's not a terrible film, but it's definitely the kind that you will find on your cable channels on a weekend opposite something of more significance.

Grade: 2/5

Recent Favorites

Dome Pondering Movie Review: The After (2023)

What is it about? In a short film, a grieving man confronts his past when he comes face-to-face with a passenger.  Who is in it? David Oyelowo - Dayo Jessica Plummer - Amanda Amelie Dokubo - Laura  Favorite Scene: It's an extremely short film, so...the final few moments.  Favorite Quote:  None. (not much dialogue) Review: This eighteen-minute masterpiece is amazing. You're absolutely taken on this ride of emotions that ultimately leaves you with a great realization of questioning what we value in life.  The lead character, in eighteen minutes, is powerful. His grief is carried through the film, exploding at the end. It very much leaves the viewer with so many questions - what was his life before the tragedy? What was his life after that moment? Did he ever reconnect with that family? Did he rediscover happiness?  Again, a very, VERY, powerful eighteen minutes that will jolt the heart, mind, and soul about life, what is important, and what we overvalue in its place.  Grade: 4/5

2024 NBA All-Star Weekend Thoughts

There's something wrong with the All-Star Game.  Yeah, we've definitely had this conversation before. Expect to pick up this very discussion (again) in July when Major League Baseball has their version in the "Mid-Summer Classic" when it is the ONLY current topic to bounce around in the stratosphere of sports discourse.  What's wrong with the All-Star Game?!  I'm not dismissing the obvious - yes, the NBA All-Star Game is very much at an alarming point of necessary refinement and change - evaluation is needed. What we saw on Sunday night was not disappointing, but outright embarrassing. Also yes, gone are the days when the game flooded your television screen at a respectable 6:30pm on NBC, and you were wowed by the athleticism and star power of the first half of the game, and treated to what felt like the world's best players playing pickup basketball on the grandest stage.  Now? Not so much. So yeah, we got the message. The outrage - and shock TV and hot t

Quick Ponder: Daily Armor

Imagine, if we can see the dents and scratches, the smashes and chaos,  on the daily armor, each of us put on. Just imagine.