The Vancouver Sun from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 38

C6 Till-VANCOUVER SUN, FRIDAY SF.PTF.MBKR 20. 2000 WEEKEND. c7 1 jjSp' www.mTp IhenoTltxoiii IlJW DT BVlMfl CHECK THEATRE DIRECTORIES lJrl fLnllNlj.FORLOCATKWSANDSHOWTIMES irJ. 1 REEL LIFE STORIES AT THE MOVIES Read THE VANCOUVER SUN 1' i IN HER CORNER: Michelle Rodriguez AT INTERNATIONAL VILLAGE Abbot Pender 806-0799 SH0WTIMES FOR SEPT. 29 THRU THURS.

OCT. 5 Ball 14A 2:20 PM, 4:45 PM, 7:45 PM, 1 0:20 PM. DOLBY DIGITAL New But I'm A Cheerleader 14A 1:20 PM. 3:30 PM, 5:40 PM, 7:50 PM, 9:45 PM ULTRA STEREO Chicken Run 2:40 PM, 2:30 PM, 4:40 PM DOLBY DIGITAL Chutney Popcorn PG 2:40 PM, 4:50 PM, 7.05 PM ULTRA STEREO Girl on the Bridge PG 12:55 PM, 3D5 PM, 5:20 PM, 7:25 PM, 5:40 PM. DOLBY DIGITAL Gladiator 18A 7:00 PM, 10:10 PM.

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ULTRA STEREO Space Cowboys PG 4:20 PM, 10:05 PM. DTS DIGITAL Tao of Steve, The PG 125 PM, 3:35 PM, 5:45 PM, 7:55 PM, 10:15 PM. ULTRA STEREO What Lies Beneath PG 1:45 PM, 4:35 PM, 7:30 PM, 10:25 PM DOLBY DIGITAL X-Men PG 2:35 PM, 4:55 PM, 7:35 PM, 9:55 PM. DTS SEXIER A. i tn Girlfight packs punch A Packet Anthology Of Your Kavnritc Foreign Movies!" A.O.

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A si in Karyn Kusama's Girlfight. think girls should throw a punch even though we learn how his abuse led Diana's mother to suicide. These are big obstacles but remember, this is a boxing movie, the format that gave rise to such stirring tributes to the human spirit as Rocky, Body and Soul and the phlegm-inducing weepie, The Champ. At this point, we are so familiar with the boxing movie's David-and-Goliath proportions that we barely need to follow the plot. We can simply plug the characters into the pre-fab model and flick the switch to autopilot.

Sadly, that's exactly what first-time director Karyn Kusama does. Substituting a young woman in the place of the universal Rocky, Kusama's film features all the training montages, fight sequences and soul-building moments of redemption the genre demands, but it never breaks out of the box. The gender-bending twist forces a few moments of novelty such as a sparring match between Diana and her boyfriend, Adrian (Santiago Douglas) but for the most part, Kusama 1 1 8 7-1 GIRLFIGHT Starring Michelle Rodriguez, Jaime Tirelli and Santiago Douglas. 14AU0min.l2 BY KATHERINE MONK In the testosterone-basted tradition of Thanksgiving-season sports movies, Girlfight comes as a welcome change from the expected routine for one obvious reason: It's about a girl. The story of a tough-talking young woman from the projects, Girlfight centres on the struggle of Diana Guzman (Michelle Rodriguez) the daughter of an abusive father who has a hard time dealing with her inner rage.

One day, however, she enters the gym where her little brother trains and feels a sense of community within the dilapidated, sweat-stained walls of the Brooklyn Boys' Club. Diana wants to box, but there's more than one opponent standing in her way. The local coach (Jaime Tirelli) thinks she should try boxercise instead. Her friends think stepping in the ring with boys is too butch, and her father is a sexist pig who doesn't 1 fit I JiJf I1 pulls her punches and fails to rearrange the blunt features of the boxing movie's face. Despite its weakness in form, the film still succeeds thanks to Kusama's attention to detail.

Everything in these frames feels authentic whether it's the sweat-coated gym, the Guzmans' low-rent apartment or the Brooklyn locations that give the film a gritty, Scorsese-ish glow. Most of all, it is the actors who redeem this movie particularly Rodriguez, an untrained actor and neophyte boxer who was discovered through an open casting call. Rodriguez not only talks like a tough chick with a heart of gold, she oozes raw power and undeniable vulnerability all at once. Thanks to her as well as co-stars Santiago and Tirelli GirZ-fight brings freshness and enthusiasm to a routine we've seen several times over. Vancouver Sun Movie Critic, kmonkpacpresssoutham.ca At the Fifth Avenue Cinemas.

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