It’s official: the long months of multiple summer blockbusters are gone and in come the epic films.

As an avid movie attendee the amount of time, money and excitement wasted over the plethora of films claiming to be the most “epic motion picture of the year” has me a bit discouraged.

But all of that negativity took a toll when I realized that we can always count on trusty Leo to take us out of the dim-witted state of special effects coma that are all thanks to Michael Bay.

Any holiday with legitimate traditions is bound to have a stream of films made about or around it, especially if it involves an iconic figure to appease the children. This season’s example is “Hop,” Universal Pictures’ partially-animated twist on the tale of the Easter Bunny.

I don’t pretend to claim any strong ties to boxing movies (yeah, yeah, Rocky, Million Dollar Baby, Cinderella Man – all good stuff). David O. Russell’s The Fighter, however, might be my exception.

The Fighter takes root in the true story of former boxer-turned-crack-addict Dicky Eklund Jr. and his younger brother Micky Ward. The film focuses on Ward’s struggle to build his own boxing career and make a name for himself in spite of his extremely dysfunctional family.

When I first got wind of the buzz being generated for the screen adaptation of adventurist Aron Ralston’s staggering story of perseverance, I was conflicted as to whether or not I would see it. 

Well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say I wondered if I could see it.

Ask anyone close to me – or some of my casual acquaintances, even – and they’ll tell you I’m somewhat of an entertainment encyclopedia. A walking, talking Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB), if you will.