There are some flaws in the fourth entry in the Rocky series (I’m looking at that ridiculous robot) and I’m not sure the themes of East vs. West, hubris, and capitalism carry through all the way, because, despite all of the things Rocky (Sylvester Stallone who also wrote and directed) gives up during the course…
Tag: training
9th Annual Old School Kung Fu Film Fest : Joseph Kuo Edition – Return of the 18 Bronzemen (1976)
Screening right after The 18 Bronzemen today at the Museum of the Moving Image, Subway Cinema in conjunction with the Museum present the follow-up film, though it was released first in most countries, Return of the 18 Bronzemen. This tells a similar story to that of the first film, but from a different perspective, that…
9th Annual Old School Kung Fu Film Fest: Joseph Kuo Edition – The 18 Bronzemen (1976)
The 9th Annual Old School King Fu Film Fest continues in Queens today at the Museum of the Moving Image in conjunction with in Subway Cinema. Screening at 1pm is writer/director Joseph Kuo’s The 18 Bronzemen, a fast-paced film that delivers a story of vengeance and the wishes of the father carried out by the…
Mission: Impossible (1968) – The Contender: Part 1, and Part 2
Phelps’ (Peter Graves) and his IMF team go undercover to bring down a crooked fight promoter, Charles Buckman (Ron Randell), who not only has some serious control over the boxing ring, but is planning on spreading his influence over other sports as well, as part of a move by organised crime. The story ends up…
Full Metal Jacket (1987) – Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick’s look at the Vietnam War isn’t only a commentary on the war itself, but the dissolution of the self, and the soul of humanity to be replaced by an animal nature that restrains us a species and diminishes who we are. From the introduction to the Marine Corps on Parris Island, South Carolina,…
Heartbreak Ridge (1986) – Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood stars, produces and directs this love letter to the United States Marine Corps. and while fairly engaging, the film embraces stereotypes almost to the extreme at both ends, consequently the characters and tone of the film isn’t as balanced as it could be. Eastwood plays the career marine, Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway. He’s…
Star Wars: Rebels (2017) – Warhead, Trials of the Darksaber, and Legacy of Mandalore
Warhead is a bit of a lighter episode that adds briefly to the Kallus (David Oyelowo) and Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) continuity but mainly allows Zeb (Steve Blum) and the droids Chopper and AP-5 (Stephen Stanton) a chance to have some action beats when they are left behind at the rebel base while the rest of…
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – Donald F. Glut
After Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, we were treated to two more novels, Han Solo at Star’s End, and Han Solo’s Revenge both written by Brian Daley. Both novels debuted in 1979, and I read them last year on vacation. And my sister I both owned one, I had Star’s End, she had Revenge. But…
Chuck (2009/2010) – Versus the Ring, and Versus the Pink Slip
Season two of Chuck comes to its conclusion with Chuck Versus the Ring. Written by one of the series creators Chris Fedak and Ali Adler, and directed by Robert Duncan McNeill, it first aired on 27 April 2009. Chuck (Zachary Levi) may in fact be rid of the Intersect, thanks to his father, Steve (Scott…
Star Trek: Discovery (2017) – Choose Your Pain, and Lethe
Captain’s log: December 2256 Kemp Powers pens the teleplay for Choose Your Pain from a story by Gretchen J. Berg, Aaron Harberts and Kemp. It first aired on 15 October, 2017, and sees a familiar character return to this version of the Trek Universe. While Micheal Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) starts to worry about the pain…
