‘Girlfight’ review
NDSU Spectrum: Movie review In ‘Girlfight,’ life is like a boxing match By JOHN HANSEN Oct. 27, 2000 Diana Guzman hates the world. The Latin youth has no ambition and no role models. Her school […]
Sports
‘Remember the Titans’ review
NDSU Spectrum: Movie review ‘Titans’ is a great football movie and more By JOHN HANSEN Oct. 6, 2000 “I’m not saying I’m perfect. None of us are. But as a team, we are perfect.”
‘Bring It On’ review
NDSU Spectrum: Movie review Cheerleading satire ‘Bring It On’ is shallow yet engaging By JOHN HANSEN Sept. 22, 2000 While it may not be worthy of cheers, the cheerleading satire “Bring It On” deserves a […]
’61*’ review
NDSU Spectrum: Movie review Pepper’s flawless portrayal of Maris makes ‘61*’ a hit By JOHN HANSEN April 27, 2001 Amazingly, prior to “61*,” there had never been a film made about Roger Maris’s and Mickey […]
First episode impressions: ‘Pitch’ (TV review)
Executive producer Dan Fogelman threw a perfect game earlier this week with “This Is Us,” but he doesn’t quite pull a Johnny Vander Meer with his second outing of the season, the premiere of “Pitch” (8:59 p.m. […]
‘Creed’ respects ‘Rocky’ traditions while doing something a bit different (Movie review)
“Creed” — the seventh entry in the “Rocky” series — respects its elders while also doing its own thing. As the saga’s first film not written by Sylvester Stallone, and the first not directed by Stallone […]
Countdown to ‘Creed’: ‘Rocky Balboa’ (2006) unapologetically, effectively tugs at heartstrings (Movie review)
Rightly ranked by IMDB voters as the best of the “Rocky” sequels (with a 7.2 rating), “Rocky Balboa” (2006) is a beautiful grace note to the fighting portion of the Italian Stallion’s career. (His training career appears […]
Countdown to ‘Creed’: This ain’t no pie-eating contest, but ‘Rocky V’ runs off the rails in final act (1990) (Movie review)
The “Rocky” films never drifted into the arena of spectacle as much as their reputation suggests. Even the most over-the-top entry, “Rocky IV,” includes acknowledgements of the heightened plot, like when the commentators note the […]
Countdown to ‘Creed’: Boxer takes on Cold War, inner demons in muscular ‘Rocky IV’ (1985) (Movie review)
With its montages and Eighties arena-rock songs, not to mention the “U.S. versus U.S.S.R.” foundation that begs for the hoariest of subtexts to be added, “Rocky IV” (1985) is unquestionably the most stylized film in the series […]
Countdown to ‘Creed’: ‘Rocky III’ (1982) regains eye of the tiger with enjoyable friendship yarn (Movie review)
Are the “Rocky” films more spectacle or substance? At first blush, the opening act of “Rocky III”(1982) suggests spectacle. Rocky fights professional wrestler Hulk Hogan – OK, technically “Thunderlips” – in a charity bout. It’s unclear […]