Reviews and More

Prior to having my first child 5 years ago, I had always been in great shape — even without regular exercise or counting calories. Whether you chalk it up to a high-powered metabolism or genetics, I was definitely the envy of all my girlfriends as I effortlessly maintained my size 4 waistline no matter how many french fries, cookies, or slices of pizza I scarfed down on any given day.

But my post-pregnancy experience has been a completely different story. I gained a whopping 40lbs. while pregnant, and am still fighting to drop the last five incredibly stubborn pounds. Although I’m finally making some inroads, it’s taking a lot longer than expected (five months to lose three pounds.) The good news, though, is that I’m back into an exercise routine and feel terrific as a result of this increased activity. In fact, I’m looking to push myself even further, which is why I’m considering purchasing a Garmin Forerunner 205 personal trainer.

I saw this product over on Buy.com’s Weekly Deals page, and thought it sounded intriguing. I did a bit more research and learned that the Garmin Foreunner 205 is a serious piece of equipment that is capable of taking my workouts to the next level. It is basically a wrist-mounted minicomputer that tracks all kinds of pertinent workout data (such as running/biking speed, distance covered, elevation, etc.) so you can instantly see how well you’re doing or wait until later to compare and analyze your performances in-depth.

I’ve read numerous customer reviews about the Garmin Forerunner 205, and a majority of them are overwhelmingly positive. Even though I’m not a marathon runner or a triathlete, I think that I could definitely benefit from using this personal trainer during my workouts. Plus, right now it’s on sale at Buy.com for just $142.99, which is a lot less than I’ve seen advertised at other places.

It’s taken me a long time to get back into shape, so I want to do all I can to keep up the momentum. This Garmin Forerunner 205 could be just the tool I need to achieve my fitness goals!

Since I regularly need to watch a ton of movies to keep this blog going, it’s highly unusual for me to come across a recent film that I’ve never even heard of before — particularly one starring such big-name stars as Josh Hartnett, Samuel L. Jackson, Teri Hatcher, and Kathryn Morris (whom I watch on Cold Case every week). But 2007’s Resurrecting the Champ somehow managed to stay under my radar during its short-lived theatrical release, so I had no idea what it was when I rented it from Blockbuster last week.

It turned out to be a nice little surprise of a movie that was compelling to watch even though I didn’t agree with a lot of the main character’s actions. It’s supposedly based on a true story, so I tried to read more about the major players, but didn’t really get very far in my search. As a result, I don’t know enough of the real story to be able to tell where the filmmakers took liberties, which means my review will be based solely on the film itself.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Josh Hartnett stars as Erik Kernan, a Denver-based newspaper sportswriter whose editor, Ralph Metz (played by Alan Alda), doesn’t think enough of his skills to let him cover the Nuggets or Broncos. Instead, Erik is stuck writing about boxing — the sport, incidentally, that his somewhat famous father used to cover as a radio announcer.

Erik is proficient at his job, but Metz thinks his writing lacks personality or flair. That’s why Erik doesn’t get to cover the teams that people might actually want to read about. Erik is confident in his abilities, however, and is convinced that his writing skills would shine through if he had the proper subject to write about. Towards that end, he goes around Metz to the newspaper’s Sunday magazine editor to ask if the guy would be interested in a feature Erik is working on. That depends on what kind of story he has in mind.

Thinking quickly, Erik remembers an incident from a few nights before where some young college-age guys were beating up a homeless man known as Champ (Samuel L. Jackson). Champ goes around telling everyone that he’s Bob Satterfield, a former boxing champion who obviously has fallen on hard times. His brain is addled from all the blows he’s taken to the head, but he seems to get by somehow. Erik proposes writing Champ’s story to show how an athlete that was once on top of the world could have fallen so far. The magazine editor quickly accepts Erik’s offer, and even says he’ll run the piece as a cover story if it’s good enough.

From that point forward, the film shows Erik spending time with Champ, getting his story bit by bit and actually developing a real connection with the man. We also get a glimpse of Erik’s home life and learn about some of the problems he’s having with estranged wife Joyce (Kathryn Morris) and son Teddy (Dakota Goyo). Both of these storylines meet after viewers are hit with a major plot twist about halfway through, and the remainder of the film then deals with fallout from that twist.

My Reaction: I must say that I really enjoyed the first half of the film. I didn’t know what kind of story I’d be getting when I first sat down with the DVD, but I was immediately drawn into Erik’s world and his fascination with Champ. In fact, I managed to finish this movie in a single viewing instead of the two or three sessions that it usually takes me to get through a DVD. That’s as much a testament to the compelling nature of the film as anything I could write here.

Since I didn’t know anything about the story this movie was based on, I had no idea that the plot twist was coming. As soon as it was revealed that Erik didn’t do something as basic as confirm his subject’s identity, I stopped liking him as the protagonist. It was such a small, simple matter that I couldn’t believe any journalist would overlook something like that, especially in this day and age where we’ve been hearing so much about disgraced reporters and photographers who fudge facts, make up sources, and Photoshop images.

After the reveal, I didn’t think Erik showed nearly as much remorse or regret as he should have. He continued on with the Showtime gig even though he knew it was only a matter of time before his mistake was made public, and then he got all defensive with Metz when they had their confrontation. Erik was content to just hope that no one noticed his mistake and was perfectly willing to keep up the charade as long as possible. It was only the threat of a major lawsuit that eventually brought him around, but by that time, it was too little too late for the character. He never redeemed himself and I didn’t like him.

Even though I had issues with the main character, I still ended up enjoying Resurrecting the Champ as a whole. That rarely happens for me, so I was surprised by my own feelings here. No, I don’t like that Kernan reaped benefits from his mistakes and lies, but I’m sure people do that kind of thing all the time.

Overall, I thought Resurrecting the Champ was a well told story that is worth watching. I give it 6.5 stars out of 10.