Redbelt
Redbelt for the uninitiated (that includes me) denotes the highest degree of proficiency in Jiu Jitsu – higher than a black belt, so high in fact that there is only one owner. This fact is a minor issue in this latest action film based on mixed martial arts, but the high end cast brings us a story with more substance than the usual parade of twenty-something hard bodies with a lot of pent up testosterone. Chiwetol Ejiofor has the Daniel Day Lewis like ability to transform himself into something completely different with each new role. Here he’s Mike Terry, a Zen-esque master of Brazilian grappling who runs a failing club with the help of his wife who we find out comes from shady roots. When Emily Mortimer as Laura Black a lawyer with issues and hooked on prescription drugs takes refuge in his studio during a deluge things start to get stormy for Mike and officer Roberts of the LAPD who is one of Mike’s top students. Mike gets a break when he lands a job in the film biz as a fight consultant thanks to a grateful TV star (Tim Allen) and his ethically challenged manager (Joe Mantegna). The relationship though short lived is long enough to set the wheels in motion for the suicide of Roberts and Mike reluctantly signing for an under card fight he doesn’t want. The situation further defiles his principals when it becomes apparent that the fix is in. Redbelt is from David Mamet so there is thoughtful dialogue for this cast of seasoned actors to jump all over but the movie falls shy of the action quotient that fans of mixed martial arts might crave.