‘First Blood’ reviews
John’s “First Blood” flashback review, Sept. 19, 2019 “First Blood” – More than just a great action movie, the first entry in the “Rambo” series – directed by Ted Kotcheff – is a powerful anti-war […]
Sylvester Stallone
‘Rambo’ reviews
John’s “Rambo” flashback review, Jan. 9, 2020 John’s top 10 movies of 2008, May 6, 2009
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 […]
Countdown to ‘Creed’: Boxer recovers, finds new challenges in solid ‘Rocky II’ (1979) (Movie review)
Life doesn’t become easy after your first success: Blowing up one Death Star doesn’t mean you’ve defeated the Empire. Dumping Shredder into a garbage truck doesn’t mean he won’t come back as a supermutant. And […]
Countdown to ‘Creed’: Boxer’s underdog journey parallels Stallone’s in all-time masterpiece ‘Rocky’ (1976) (Movie review)
The buzz is heating up for the seventh movie in a legendary film franchise that dates back to the 1970s. I’m referring, of course, to the “Rocky” series, which will continue with “Creed” on Nov. […]
Like the first entry, ‘Expendables 2’ lives up to its title (Movie review)
Part of the fun of bad 1980s action movies was that they had a ridiculous plot to hang the action on. Part of why “The Expendables 2” isn’t quite as fun as those old-school movies is that […]
You’ll get a few chuckles out of expendable action flick ‘The Expendables’ (Movie review)
Nowadays, it’s not unexpected to see fight scenes that are edited at such a rapid-fire pace that it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going on, or sometimes even who’s fighting who. And ever since this […]