Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

2freensel I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Lorenzofoto This was one of the most pointless, slow, and ridiculous films I have EVER seen. To those of you that say this represents Canadian Cinema, then I am sorry for you Canadians if this is true. Which I can't wrap my head around you people saying this when so many of you are such talents and dominate the American Cinema landscape?This was like watching REALLY bad actors, doing a series of REALLY bad and pointless scenes, in REALLY bad acting acting class. I was honestly embarrassed for the people involved. I do not understand how a script this bad could be greenlit? It could have honestly been edited down to a somewhat interesting and quirky 20min short - but as a movie it was torture. The scenes were boring and the characters made no sense. The father especially! He waits until his freaky daughter is 18 to do nothing? And the female fighter??? We are supposed to believe that topless boxing is the end all be all of world class fighters? And for the story, everything was thrown in your face, but what was thrown had no weight and no aim. This may be one of the worst films I ave ever seen. Could someone post the names of some "good" Canadian films - so I can get this taste out of mouth.

pa28pilot My comment to my wife when we were watching this was: "This looks like a Hal Hartley movie, but everyone is a lot meaner than they usually are in his films." Punch is an interesting exploration of issues surrounding codependent family relationships, honor, and the exciting word of topless women's boxing.Early in the film, I found almost all of the characters to be somewhat excessive in their violence, stunted emotions and knee-jerk reactions to the world around them. More depth was revealed toward the end, but in a somewhat heavy-handed way. Despite this, I think Punch offers something a little different than the usual fare, at least for viewers in the U.S. (It is possible that Canadians may be used to slightly more contemplative works.) If you don't mind watching your characters develop all of the way through the film (some of the exposition takes quite a while), or are willing to pass the intervening time watching topless women's boxing, you might find it worthwhile.

mrchaos33 Punch is a risky Canadian drama that explores an emotionally incestuous relationship between a father and daughter. It also introduces us to the world of Topless Female Boxers, but more about that later. Newcomer Sonya Bennett is the teenaged Ariel, a rebellious young girl being raised by her single parent father (Michael Riley). When he brings home a woman he is dating Ariel feels betrayed and punches the woman in the face, giving her a black eye. Enter the aforementioned Topless Female Boxer (Meredith McGeachie). She is the tough, lesbian sister of the wronged women, and comes to extract an apology from Ariel and her father. It all sounds very `Jerry Springer,' and to a degree it is - the topless boxing angle is pure titillation - but there is some substance here. Director and screenwriter Guy Bennett introduces many interesting human drama elements to Ariel's coming-of-age story, but frustratingly fails to fully explore any of them. He hints at things that are daring and unusual, but then backs away from the difficult material. At its core Punch delves into the pain of finding the right emotional distance between yourself and those whom you love, but the message is muddied by too many plot twists. The topless boxing is very, uh. visual and will probably put some bums in the seats but unnecessarily clogs up the story.Sonya Bennett sizzles as the audacious daughter, while Riley subtly conveys the turmoil the father feels as a respectable man who realizes that his relationship with his daughter is tainted.This is Guy Bennett's first film and there are enough indications in this movie of someone who really knows how to direct actors and is willing to take interesting risks as a screenwriter to make lead one to think that while Punch isn't quite there, it'll be interesting to see what this guy will do next.

fannyhaynes Despite the topless female boxing (which was tough to watch, not sexy - sorry!), this might be more of a women's film than a boy flick. I think it is about people progressing on the path to healthy and happiness. It's a Canadian movie (defnitely not Hollywood!), so no-one achieves nirvana by the end of this interesting 90-minute ride.The acting is stand-out. The writing is crisp. And in a dark way, it is funny.I like this movie. And it is safe to take your boyfrined, because there is indeed the topless boxing.