Rocky (1976)

If all you know of Rocky is Mr. T and Ivan Drago, you might be shocked to find out this won an Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director and earned Sly Stallone a writing Nomination. That’s right kids, once upon a time, Rocky was actually good!

Southpaw (2015)

A big thank you to Dr. DeVito for commissioning Southpaw, the 2015 boxing movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a Raging Bull-type who just can’t get out of his own way while recovering from a traumatic accident. If you’ve seen any boxing movie ever made, you’ve seen some portion of this movie, as it borrows every trope you can think of. It does manage to deliver the emotional punches though, due mostly to the excellent cast.