Rating: 
Summary: Michelle Rodriguez Is A Hottie...
Review: Karyn Kusama takes the "rocky" story and turns it inside out, giving michelle a chance to play a compelling strong woman. some would see the the idea of a woman boxing as a novelty but michelle's performance is so real, devoid of pretense, it is luminous. some people may be put of by the fact that a formulaic romance develops between diane and adrian ( the love intrest she ends up fighting )but what would a film be without a love story? this film is beautiful to watch, showing you nyc in all its vulgar beauty. and how often do you see role reversal between men and women in a movie like this? diane's brother is portrayed as the creative, sensitive type.the relationship between diane and her father is painful to watch, yet through her boxing, diane overcomes his tyranny. this is why i love independent films
Rating:
Summary: PROVE THEM WRONG
Review: Prove them wrong. Three short simple words punctuate this Girlfights tagline. Three words that have the effect of a boxing combination even Rocky would be proud of delivering. Prove them wrong, three words that the films protagonist has to live by because everyone and everything seems to be working against her.
Girlfight is the story of a quick-tempered young woman who finds discipline, self-respect and love in the boxing ring. One day, after just having a fight in school, and being warned that she better get her act together or else, she goes to the gym to pick up her brother. After a sparring partner sucker punches her brother, she attacks the boxer. Once Diana decides she wants to become a boxer her priorities are forced into focus as she begins a grueling training regimen in the same gym her brother trains in. Along the way she falls in love with a talented amateur in the same gym.
We are inundated with Hollywood pictures. The money shot, the big budget, the big names. Sometimes with all of that you get a big zero. Then there are the independents. The films that are made with little money, with talented, but not yet famous people, sometimes you get zero here as well. Not this time. Girlfight is one of those small indie pictures that packs a wallop.
Newcomer Michelle Rodriguez is brilliantly enigmatic as the troubled Diana. We can see the adolescent angst in her, and believe her motivations when she wants something more, when she wants to learn to box. Rodriguez not only is able to play the hard edged side to Diana, but the softer, more vulnerable side as well. I hope to see a lot more of her in the near future.
The film won many awards at Sundance, and happened to do well considering that most of the two months it was out, it was only in limited release at less than 100 theatres. Please don't be confused by the title. This is not a soft core piece of fluff, nor is it a film for girls.
This is a film for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: inspiring
Review: I saw this movie in my english class at a community college and I was amazed with Michelle Rodriguez's performance. She is a really great actress. She played her character as a woman boxer really well. She showed great potiental in this movie. This movie made me a big fan of hers now.
Rating:
Summary: KO?s ?Rocky? (in my book)
Review: OK, so "Rocky I" wasn't so bad (in my book). The big lug had his challenges in and out of the ring to overcome. But that movie shot for the big time, the big crowds, and the big excitement. Not bad, but after hearing that pep rally theme song a million times over the last 300 years, it's become more of a cartoon character than what it probably was originally intended to be. Thirty five sequels with exactly the same plot doesn't help this point of view. No such problems with "GirlFight". This is a much smaller film about boxing where, as much as "Rocky" came from a less than desirable background, he doesn't have as many problems as Diana, the lead character has. While Rocky won the lottery to fight Apollo Creed, which makes him the Willie Wonka of boxing, Diana is never going to get such a break. One of the magical things about the film is that Diana recognizes she has the small problem of getting into fights in high school. After her fourth scuffle in a semester, and the threat of expulsion, she's smart enough to realize that she needs an outlet, which she finds at the local gym that her brother is involved in. The brother is forced to take boxing lessons from her father, who wouldn't dream of letting a girl into the sport. That Diana steals and connives her way into the gym doesn't make her an outstanding person, but it is a gritty portrayal of a person's determination to try and accomplish something. I live in Las Vegas, and have seen that there are growing opportunities in the world of female boxing. But that path was not so clear three or four years ago, when the movie was written. So I'll go with the plot situations that need her to fight males, or not fight at all. But while most movies would have some plot gimmick to occur in the ring, this movie just has her slugging it out. It pulls no punches (pun intended) to show that she has to fight for everything tooth and nail in the ring as much as she has to in life. My daughter is in gymnastics, a sport in image as far away from boxing as it gets. But, although the movie has a lot of rough language, I've shown it to her as inspiration to see how obstacles in life have to be overcome as well as those in just the sport. I think she's learned to appreciate things a little more after the viewing (in my book).
Rating: 
Summary: The eyes have it
Review: Michelle Rodriguez was found in an open casting call for this movie, which is simply amazing considering how well she acts in this movie. Her eyes alone are able to tell the story of a girl trying to find her place in life. This is definitely a movie worth watching. I'd give the movie 5 stars but the DVD brings it down one because there's only one small featurette plus the theatrical trailer and talent files, and the featurette is mainly highlights from the movie and a small interview with the director.
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