Actual conversation from the house of Sal last night:
Me: "Son, why aren't you in bed like your mother told you to be?"
10-year-old son: "Dad, Rocky's on, and it's almost time for the fight."
Me: "Which Rocky?"
Son: "Rocky III. Mr. T."
Me: "Well, OK."
Let's face it--the "Rocky" series is a terribly important part of every young American boy's development. And thanks to channels like Spike TV (which last night had the whole 5-episode marathon on), some Rocky movie is on pretty much every week. Admittedly, Rocky V (Tommy Gunn) was pretty horrible, but it's still a decent action flick. For my money, there is something truly awesome about each of the other 4, plus the recent finale. I, II, and VI (Balboa) are all very good, well-made films. Don't forget that the original won the Oscar for best picture. III may be the most fun of all of them... and don't pretend that Mr. T. wasn't really cool in '83. He may be a caricature now, but when he made his debut in that movie, he was a MAN. And the cold-war showdown with steroidally-enhanced Ivan Drago and the training in Siberia sequence--that's just a great guy movie. The message of Rocky is priceless: if you train harder and are tough enough to take the pain, you can conquer enemies that are bigger and stronger than you. That's worth a few more minutes at bedtime.
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7 comments:
WHAT!!! YOU LET YOUR SON WATCH GRATUITOUS VIOLENCE LIKE ROCKY.... wait.
sorry, strike that... what i meant was...
WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL HIM: Son, I've told you no rocky until you've watched Lord of the Rings...
LOL.
I used to think the original Star Wars trilogy was the quintessential "Must-See" of all movie watching. In other words, you're not an american man if you didn't see and like most of the following:
• Star Wars Trilogy (original)
• Lord of the Rings (peter jackson style)
• The Bourne Trilogy
• Indiana Jones
• Office Space (Based on the true story of Mike Polutta... LOL)
• Ocean's Eleven (12 & 13 are optional)
• Matrix (1 & 2... 3 sucked)
• Shawshank Redemption (Tim Robbins... friggin liberal)
• Braveheart
You're immediately disqualified if any of the following are in your favorites list (followed by needed treatment)
• The Never Ending Story... (chased with .45 cal aspirin)
• Bambi (shock therapy... straight 220 in a bathtub)
• Titanic (Follow the google directions from your house to London)
• Top Gun (Become a Scientologist)
If you're talking about movies that there are a million of, James Bond has to be in there somewhere, although I wouldn't recommend it to a ten-year-old. And what about the "Godfather" movies? Of course, I still say the book is better, as are the LOTR books compared to the movies. You know, as much as they say that t.v. and movies and video games are doing terrible things to children, something special happens when you can sit down with members of your family and veg out together. It's the kind of thing that Junior Sal will remember fondly when he is older...
much agreed. though i'm not a big fan of the godfather series as it doesn't excite the inner boy in my world. I firmly believe that the "inner boy" requires fantasticism, light sabers, majic, superpowers, good-guy-wins & a healthy dose of getting-the-girl.
For my list, I couldn't put Bond in as you can trade it out for the Mission Impossible movies. As Bond is generally unrealistic gadgets and girls, I can't subscribe myself to that as i can't get my inner imagination to grasp at those staws. So, one edit to the MUST SEE list could be an Either/Or of the MI list or a Bond movie or two... Especially those staring older bonds.
Of course, I left out the Superman series as it has been rebirthed... I'm unsure as to whether these new iterations will give us what we need for said "inner boy." We'll see.
As for LOTR, I agree totally about the book vs movie... but when just discussing movies, those are 3 of the best movies ever put on the big screen. In fact, they've pushed the original Star Wars trilogy to second in my list of preferences.
Rocky somehow fits into my inspirational movie list which is often topped by the likes of Schindler's List, Ron Clark Story and their ilk.
In reality, I prefer a good book to a TV show... but movies allow for some brain-in-neutral time. In books, I'm looking for one of 3 things: a world to get lost in, an inspiration, informational knowledge or all three.
This can range from my current read: Alan Greenspan's Age of Turbulence to Andy Andrews The Lost Choice or Isaac Asimov's Foundation.
I was flipping through channels Monday night and hit the Rocky marathon. Right when Mickey was dying - literally. And I bawled like a baby. Yes, I was watching for 2.3 seconds and went into full-on body-shake crying. Don't watch that scene and tell me Stallone can't act.
I still like Rocky 4 the best, just because of the workout scenes in the barn, but 3 is a VERY close second. You can't watch Rocky and Apollo train together and not be very happy.
I would have let my boys stay up too.
I just think that phrase is funny:
3 is a very close second... when clearly they intended 2 to be a close second and 3 to be a third. Do ya think we'll get to Rocky X (Rocky vs Jason, Mike Meyers & Freddy Kruger)?
It was awkward when I wrote it, but I liked it anyway...
As for trilogies...what about Pirates? I realize the last one may still be playing (I had to leave after the 15th hour), but I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 of these movies. Of course, I have a terrible crush on Captain Jack Sparrow (no, NOT Johnny Depp - I prefer him scraggly and quite drunk, thank you very much!)
Y'know, they are releasing a NEW pirates movie!
Here's the Trailer
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