smweaver911 I was impressed and delighted that CityTv aired this movie on a Saturday night in a relatively prime time slot - a welcome change from the usual Hollywood schlock that dominates the airwaves. This movie courageously, if not deeply, explores some interesting family dynamics, thankfully not the usual ones. Instead of the usual predictable, boring,stifled family life anecdotes, Punch gives us a glimpse into REAL people with REAL - and interesting -problems - not the usual TV and Hollwyood fare that doesn't reflect any families I know! EXCELLENT MOVIE! The writing, directing and acting was absolutely top quality on all counts: I don't think anyone missed a beat - first class acting throughout - making these interesting characters totally believable. Thankfully, the women were all strong, interesting and compelling - the topless boxing was a welcome change from the plastic (and I mean that literally) "beauty" queens that bare - or don't quite bare - their breasts. This is part of what makes this an important movie - women come in all shapes and sizes and thanks to this movie for reminding us of this. If you want plastic tits, boys, you can find them almost anywhere(unfortunately)... 'Punch'is real and totally rocks. Every character has issues that they are actually working through, in different kinds of ways, and the exploration of the relationships between these characters demonstrates how we learn from others in relationships. Very cool. Unusual to encounter, although Canadian films seem to be good at this overall. UNFORTUNATELY, the narration gimmick was a real distraction! What was that about? I'd love to see it 'sans' narration - whatever the intent of the narrative technique was, it din't work. Too bad, apart from that, this was an outstanding film.

cajunduby I believe that this was a well acted movie. It did have a thin plot but it didn't need to go any deeper. Ariel is a bitter and some what disturbed teenager whose mother killed her self when she (Ariel) was 5. So her father (Sam) was forced to raise her on his own. With him being so passive with his parenting and Ariel being scarred for life (read above) she clings to her father because inside she blames her self for her mothers suicide. So Mary comes along and Ariel doesn't want to compete for her fathers attention, so she does everything possible to chase Mary away (to the point of punching her). For the rest of the plot you can read the last comment that was placed. I found this movie to be slow and slightly powerful. I recommend this movie to individuals that enjoy movies' of this sort. And I would also like to add that Meredith McGeachie from the "L" word series on Showtime plays a very likable character and really helps this movie standout.

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.

thinkingveryhard I loved this movie. "Punch" isn't easy to watch (especially for those of us who live with a teenage daughter of our own!), but it is worth the effort. What an interesting film.It is well-acted across the board. The dialogue is tight, hard, funny, rude -- and then moving and lovely. (It is worth seeing twice just for Michael Riley's beautiful monologue on how he met Ariel's mother.)Sonja Bennett is scary as the angry teen protagonist. Utterly unlikable - what a huge risk for a young actress. Bravo to her. Michael Riley is perfect as the Dad. I also loved Marcia Laskowski's performance of Mary - a highly believable, likable, attractive woman somewhere in her thirties. I enjoyed seeing a romantic lead who looked like someone I might actually meet somehwere - someone real. Vincent Gale is - as always - incredible as the complex bartender. And Katherine Kirkpatrick simply rocks as Beth the big boxer. Meredith McGeachie is also impressive as "Julie the Beauty".It's hard to say more without giving stuff away, which I don't want to do, because I hope that lots of peole get to see this movie.