Balls of Fury (2007)

Balls of Fury: Directed by Robert Ben Garant. With Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, George Lopez, Maggie Q. Down-and-out former professional ping-pong phenom, Randy Daytona, is sucked into a maelstrom when FBI Agent Ernie Rodriguez recruits him for a secret mission. Randy is determined to bounce back and win, and to smoke out his father’s killer — arch-fiend Feng.

“Just before u0026quot;le Val du0026#39;Enferu0026quot; ,Maurice Tourneur produced his absolute masterpiece u0026quot; La Main du Diableu0026quot; which certainly influenced his son Jacku0026#39;s u0026quot;night of the demonu0026quot; (1957)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Le Val du0026#39;Enferu0026quot; is an absorbing document about the Gouvernement de Vichy years and the Maréchal Pétainu0026#39;s ideology :Travail,Famille,Patrie..u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTRAVAIL (Working): The opening sequences depicts the career where men sweat under a blistering sun (104°F in the shade!).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFAMILLE:(Family) : 41 year old man marries a gorgeous girl Marthe(Ginette Leclerc) who is much younger than he is .That gal was once some kind of a hooker,but sheu0026#39;s his best friendu0026#39;s daughter andu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ebesides sheu0026#39;s so lovely.. It has often been mooted that Ginette Leclerc was a limited actress and however nobody in France used to play the bitch-with-an-angel-face as she did.She can act like a bad gal and suddenly turn into a frail human being,longing for love.The scene when her soon-to-be-husband takes her in his arms for the first time is revealing: she seems to need love,tenderness and protection,but when she turns back (and faces the viewer) her eyes reflects lie.Another excellent sequence depicts the wedding banquet :The bride,recalling Flaubertu0026#39;s Madame Bovary cannot stand the vulgarity and the crudeness of people around her.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn the house ,there are also the manu0026#39;s folks.Old people and old pieces of furniture .While falling in love with a young man who works on a boat near the career,Marthe urges her hubby to get rid of the old tables,cupboards and to replace them with Formica ones.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNext step is getting rid of the in-laws.She does not appear when they celebrate their golden wedding .Soon they feel like intruders ,they too are old pieces of furniture and they ask their beloved son to take them to an old peopleu0026#39;s home .u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eActually she plans to run away with her lover :she u0026#39;s pregnant by him. But accidents will happen..u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePATRIE (Country): the prodigal son,who comes back from jail,wants a second chance.The father doesnu0026#39;t have the fat calf killed but he forgives his boy.u0026quot;One year in jail,that made him a man! u0026quot; the neighbors say u0026quot;like the army!u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Le Val du0026#39;enferu0026#39; is remarkable because its ending is the rebuilding of the family around the son.After throwing everything out,including the modern pieces of furniture ,and the bad gal,itu0026#39;s time to taste the brand new world which itu0026#39;s never too late to build.Like an earlier work u0026quot;Péchés de Jeunesseu0026quot; ,u0026quot;Le Val du0026#39;enferu0026quot; is lessons in Petainist moral.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA film that should not be missed.”