Soldato
Chuck (aka "The Bleeder") - 7/10 - The true life story of Chuck Wepner the man who inspired the Rocky franchise when, as a relatively semi-skilled brawler/boxer, he went 15 rounds with Muhammed Ali for the World Heavy Weight title. Liev Schreiber does a very good job out making this 'everyman' feel more like a real flawed person than just a caricature, Elizabeth Moss also does well as his supportive but weary wife and the rest of the vast supporting cast do a good job too. The 1st half of the film is the build-up to the fight and the event, with the second half dealing with the aftermath and the Rocky phase which leads to Wepners spiral down, eventually ending in divorce and prison. While the 2nd half is some extremely well done drama, the first half felt very lightweight, with little substance other than the relationship with his wife, and that also includes the Ali fight which is pretty much glossed over and done within a few minutes as a highlight reel, which is a shame considering the importance it played to everyone involved in real life. I enjoyed it quite a lot and felt it unfair that a few reviews have called it a lightweight version of "The Fighter", although the parallels between the two are very strong.
