Invincible

"Handling both directing and cinematography duties, Core invests both with a clearly impassioned sense of place, period and perspective regarding this fanfare for common men... The film's most obvious sports movie connection is to "Rocky," with its mythic account of another Philly underdog who never gave up. Yet thanks to rookie director (and vet lenser) Ericson Core's handling and Mark Wahlberg's and Greg Kinnear's soberly professional and firmly grounded portrayals of Papale and Dick Vermeil, respectively, little here indulges in "Rocky"-like theatrics or overkill..."

"'Invincible' counters its predictably inspirational trajectory with close attention to historical detail and blue-collar hardship. While a national energy crisis and the ghost of Vietnam tug at the fringes of the story, the director and cinematographer, Ericson Core, focuses on the stained wallpaper in Vince’s apartment and the dingy camaraderie of the neighborhood bar. He understands that to the beleaguered working class in mid-1970’s Philadelphia, Vince’s story holds out hope for much more than just a winning game..."

"A neatly packaged Walt Disney Co. picture with bone-crunching football action; a nice sense of the blue-collar, male-dominated milieu that nourishes football fanaticism; and a few too many tugs at the heartstrings..."