comment #1

ffafasfa says ...

poopoo

comment #2

guy steele says ...

Stallone a srongman actor who can act... really.

He and his agent made some silly choices though: Over the Top, Stop or I'll Shoot My Mom, Rhinestone Cowboy Rambo 3, Rocky 5 ect.

That said I think he showed quite a flair for comedy in Oscar. Now yes Oscar was a bomb at the B.O. but watching it on cable or DVD... it has it's fair share of funny and Sly is pretty good in it.

I also liked The Assassins though will Sly dressed up for the part in his Hugo Boss splendor Antonio stole that movie with his frantic acting... Antonio ruled that pic.

The first Rocky had heart, 2nd one was a retread of the 1st. #3 was giddy fun and #4 was passible. Rambo 2 was a flick for it's time and First Blood was first rate. F.I.S.T. and Cop-Land were noble efforts and Daybreak was sorta kinda dumb and fun and then there's Cliffhanger... the hit that spawned Renny Harlin!

I could go on with Lords of Flatbush and the lamentable Paradise Alley... But I have said too much.

As for these two pics he is working on... Rocky might be fun and Rambo 4... sounds like an embarresment to me.

comment #3

Brandon says ...

I have a perverse love for Oscar. It's my offical guilty pleasure film. There's just something about it that no matter how many times I watch it I always end up cracking up. It kind of reaminds me of a Marx Brothers film in it's over the top slap sticky, wink wink, nudge nudgesor way. And I'm probably one of the few people to have such a passion for this flick. Hell even got it on DVD that I bust out every once in a while when I need comfort food cinema. Like I said, a guilty pleasure.

comment #4

gh says ...

you ARE a sensitive man.

love Bacon by the way.

comment #5

Anonymous says ...

mmmmm......bacon.
When my girlfriend heard they where making a new "Rocky" movie she gave a disinterested "Oh, really?" When she heard Sly was starring in it, her disinterest turned into contempt when she said "Your kidding, right? As long as he doesn't box in it. That would be just stupid. Is this going to be released in the theaters?"
Yes, Virginia, just in time for Oscar season.

comment #6

Shyamalan's Narf says ...

Well I have to admit the new ROCKY trailer is amazing. They don't shy away from the age issue and it has a gritty, interesting look (the Conti music doesn't hurt either).

Could be a sleeper this Xmas who knows?

It certainly isn't the joke it was 1 year ago when we heard about the sequel. This time we ain't just rooting for Rocky to win, but Stallone as well. They're both trying to claw out of the gutter and reclaim a flash of fame and relevance, however briefly.

comment #7

Mark says ...

Louis Lepke? Do you have any other dated analogies that you want to dust off today?

comment #8

gh says ...

guy steele -- you realize that Harlin made Die Hard 2 before Cliffhanger right? Cliffhanger was considered a bit of a box office disappointment at the time too, if I recall correctly.

Also the movie was Daylight, not Daybreak... whatever the name it was a chore to sit through.

Copland has aged very well... it gets better every time I see it.

comment #9

Thunderlips says ...

The trailer for Rocky Balboa is pretty good -- once you get past the laughable set-up. And how good can any flick with AJ Benza in it be? Then again, he is playing a scumbag fight promoter.

comment #10

AH says ...

Stallone's career is a classic example, just like Burt Reynolds', of what happens when you make too many movies just for the paycheck.

Stallone, I am assuming, has all the money that he needs but doesn't have respect and he is looking for that and a continuing career.

comment #11

guy steele says ...

To MR. GH...

Daylight... right sorry about that.

On Renny Harlin: Your right Die Hard 2 came before. But Harlin made his name with Cliffhanger. Cliff cost $65 and made $84 US and $225 mil. World Wide.
Die Hard 2 (Which was dumb but fun) cost $70 made $117 US and $237,700,000 World Wide.
His first was Nightmare on Elm St. 4.

The only movie of his I own is Long Kiss Goodnight... it is a grand guilty pleasure for me... plus it has Brian (The originalHannibal Lector) Cox and Mr. Sam (***************) Jackson!

comment #12

Mark says ...

Stallone is a little more like Costner than Reynolds. Got too full of themselves, worked often with mediocre directors that they could push around and throw their Oscars at, and then both paired with Kurt Russell to do a terrible laugher that just sealed the deal.

comment #13

Hopscotch says ...

that behavior that Jeff describes is what movie stars in general are like. Many of them are charming, have magnetism and make good company...but then they turn into spoiled brat mode. I've seen it happen before.

comment #14

gh says ...

guy,

I still don't see your logic in Cliffhanger making Harlin over DH2. But maybe I'm missing something.

Let's not forget his early low budgeters the incredibly weird Born American and the horror movie Prison (which landed him Elm St. 4).

Don't feel guilty about owning Long Kiss. I do to. It's a good time. Shane Black kicks ass.

comment #15

Mathew says ...

He probably thought you were trying to kiss his ass and responded accordingly.

comment #16

guy steele says ...

Sir GH...

I just remember all the press on Cliff. It was Sly's BIG return and Harlin got alot of credit for it. DH2 was a sequel so I think Cliff being an original got him more st. cred that said he did go on to make Cuthroat Island which makes POTC 1 & 2 seem like Citizen Kane.

Actually another Harlin I kinda liked was Deep Blue Sea. It was funny, taunt and the Blonde girl dies at the end! How perfect!

Harlin isn't that bad of a director he reminds me a little of Michael Bay except Bay has or had rather, The Bruckheimer Machine behind him.

Actually the really great action Director that has fallen the hardest after showing so much promise is John McTiernan... wow what a great firtst part of his carrer... what action director wouldn't want to hit the ground running with Predator followed by Die Hard and then Hunt For Red October! I know Nomads is his first but man thoise 3 in a row! Since then only 3 of his movies are ok kinda: DH3 eh, Thomas Crown flashy, classy but no where near as good as the original and a guilty pleasure find in 13th Warrior... though I would love to see a true directors cut of that film.

comment #17

Mathew says ...

"...marginal fame, semi-relevance and a revenue surge."

Whatchutalkinbout? Stallone is an icon. He doesn't get a lot of respect nowadays but I'll be damned if he doesn't have a place in the heart of millions from all walks of life.

comment #18

Rod says ...

I thought he was great in Copland - believable and understated and had a hell of a scene with Annabella Sciorra. I wish him well. I'll see Rocky Balboa...the new Rambo? Less said the better.

comment #19

Josh Ehrnwald says ...

ROCKY IV can be used to teach future generations all about the '80s in the space of 90 minutes. It lacks ninjas, but that's about it.

I dunno why Hasselhoff complains about the lack of credit he gets for making the Berlin Wall fall, when no history book ever details just exactly how Rocky was the one man to single-handedly end the Cold War. As a 10-year-old watching IV in the theater, I actually got my blonde locks cut into a Drago-like flattop for several years, so inspired was I by "Death from Above."

And how can anyone not like James Brown's "Living in America"? The look on Lundgren's face when Brown starts in with that number is befuddlement defined. I think that was just good acting on his part. (You have to remember that he had already been with Grace Jones for a while before he did ROCKY IV. I don't think there's much in life that could shock him after that.)

That demon's-soul black mouthpiece Lundgren wears in the ring just weirded the sh*t out of me as a kid sitting in the theater. He looked so inhuman, so unstoppable.

One aspect that goes overlooked in Part III is Clubber Lang's taunting of Apollo. That scene where he tells Creed to fuck off is just great. That montage alone at the third film's beginning, with the added bonus of Paulie shattering the Rocky arcade game, has to be tops. Showing Rocky chilling out, making commercials, and kissing his wife in the grass as Clubber Lang demolishes his way up the heavyweight ranks, it's totally like: "Success made him soft, pussy made him weak." I think it's excellent storytelling.

ROCKY III is great because Mickey's death got me right there, plus Mr. T was simply one of the most formidable Rocky villains ever (T actually had an *edge* back then, before THE A-TEAM people got to him. Also just watch his facial transition from trash-talking Rocky to propositioning Adrian...that's the kind of calculated opponent psyche-out that would make Cassius proud). Also love the last bit with the friendly matchup in an empty gymnasium...a nice, different beat on which to end a Rocky movie.

Apollo's imaginary "ding-ding" gesture = icing on the cake.

Yes, ROCKY III *is* better, and I enjoy it just for Mr. T and Hulk Hogan alone. But nothing will knock IV from mantel of my heart. It's a timeless classic of love, loss, redemption, and freaky talking robots.

comment #20

mike says ...

Dude, don't go knocking Tango & Cash.

comment #21

akabob says ...

Stallone is responsible for some of, if not, the worst movies ever -- "Over The Top", "Staying Alive", "Judge Dread", "Cobra" and the completely senseless remake of "Get Carter". Most of these, in retrospect, are funny as hell, but when they were in release they were deadly serious, mightily cynical, cash grabs from Stallone. As far as I'm concerned he can stay buried. What a waste.

comment #22

Josh Ehrnwald says ...

All right...while we're on the subject of Stallone boxing flicks:

Clubber Lang vs. Ivan Drago -- who wins?

Once you remove all of the irrational, government-induced fear and loathing from Drago that dissipated once the Soviet Union collapsed, he really doesn't stand a chance. But since America is still plenty afraid of strong black men (who make sure to take the time to make sexual threats against white women when they're taunting our heroes), Lang still possesses the most potent mixture of fear and power, and would therefore take out Drago in less than a round.

Unless it was a three-way between those two and Balboa. In which case, Balboa would still win, because he can drag a wagon through the snow.

(Dripping with oil, Creed never had to worry about blocking punches. They just slipped off him. It's a good thing none of his cornermen smoked.)

Actually, I'd pay to see either one of them beat Tommy "Machine" Gunn into a wheelchair and colostomy bag.

comment #23

Clubber Lang says ...

Grrrrrr ... made me wait!

comment #24

Josh Ehrnwald says ...

I definitely must return to my thesis that ROCKY IV is the best of the series, precisely because it's a cartoon. And encapsulates everything the '80s were all about. And because it has Dolph "Mr. Chemical Engineering Degree" Lundgren.

It was like in I-III they were trying to make great movies, make them respectable and realistic...then when they got to IV, it was like, "Aw, fuck it, let's just make a goddamn music video; that's all these films have become anyway." They didn't try to make the movie anything but what it really was, and that's why IV is so great.

In terms of boxing realism, the fight between Creed and Drago is ridiculous. But for pure one-sided ass-kicking cinema, it's brilliant. That little twitch Creed does after he falls to the canvas always makes me wince. I think it was a classy move keeping Tony "nobody-said-nuthin'-about-the-cholo!" Burton in play even after Apollo died, and "Burning Heart" was classic Survivor gorgonzola.

(But still no "Eye of the Tiger"...I think it basically comes down to who is the better lead singer, and in my mind, BAYWATCH-Theme-Tune-Guy could never measure up to Slightly-Androgynous-Beret-Guy.)

The "No Easy Way Out" song is the most underrated of all the Rocky songs. If I ever feel the need to contemplate my entire life in five minutes, you best believe it'll be to that tune.

Hell, I'm not ashamed to say that it's my favorite of the series. I know that the original is better-written and acted, but nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like IV. In terms of matching music to a film, it does as good a job as about any other film in the past 30 years. I also love that Drago really wins in this movie. He doesn't win the fight, but just like Rocky in the original, he can claim it as a personal win for ending Balboa's career in the ring.

"If he dies, he dies."

The only things I liked in ROCKY V were the Don King-wannabe and the scene where Rocky slugs it out with a punching bag while watching Tommy fight on television. Everything else is a disaster.

Tony Burton got royally screwed in that one. They finally gave him a couple of nice scenes in IV, and then in V he gets off the plane with Rocky and Paulie, and that's all she wrote for him. Good thing he's coming back in Rocky Balboa. And that "Obi-Wan" Burgess Meredith cameo, what the hell was *that*??

It has those weird earthquake-cam reaction shots ("He took my *ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*!!!"), and a strange First-Person Sonar Effect when Rocky staggers to his feet.

(...Though it was kinda fun trying to spot Fulci posters in Sage Stallone's room.)

comment #25

guy steele says ...

Oh god someone brought up Cobra! I know I brought up a bunch of Sly's uglier movie choices but even I didn't mention Cobra!

I didn't mention T&C because well it's a cartoon right?

Cobra! S**T! I remember why Sly made that flick... it was because he turned down Beverly Hills Cop. Seeing how well it did he went looking for a cop pic.

I think even Dirty Harry's last outing in The Dead Pool was better. And that sucked!

Though I do agree with the poster above... Cobra and alot of the other stinkers Sly made are pretty damn funny in all the wrong ways.

comment #26

Larry says ...

Copland is a horrible movie and Stallone is rotten in it.

comment #27

gilly says ...

I'm actually looking forward to the next Rocky film. If Stallone can find something real to say, maybe contrasting boxing today with sport 30 years ago, he might be on to something. This could be his Unforgiven.

But if he blows it... look for the "Hundred Dollar Baby" jokes.

comment #28

Alan says ...

The first ROCKY film is a masterpiece of emotion and heart. That ending gets me every damn time.

comment #29

Josh Massey says ...

Did somebody DARE refer to "Tango & Cash" in an unfavorable light!? HEATHEN!

I, for one, am looking forward to the next installments of both "Rocky" and "Rambo." The "Rocky Balboa" trailer, as said above, actually makes the movie look good. And its written and directed by Stallone, who did the same job with 2, 3 and 4 - all of which had their moments. And thank God they never made a part 5. YOU HEAR ME? THEY NEVER MADE A PART 5.

Oh, and do you realize "Cobra" is based on the exact same novel as Cindy Crawford's "Fair Game?" You think they would have learned the first time.

comment #30

SteveV. says ...

Have to agree with Guy Steele re OSCAR. I saw it at the CineramaDome when it was first released and really enjoyed it. More fun than funny, but the energy and attitude is infectious. And terrific casting. Everyone is really on their game. It's one of those flicks I'll always stop to watch if I come across it on TV.

By the way, quick Stallone story: When he was doing PARADISE ALLEY, one day he was up at Universal's New York office and a security guard asked Sly if he'd sign an autograph for a young fan who was standing there. Sly did... and then told the guard "do NOT do that ever again" - right in front of the kid. Nice.

Finally, Jeff... you worked with Dick Delson? That must have been a trip.

comment #31

Josh Ehrnwald says ...

Re: GET CARTER --

"He's my God."

No wonder religion is floundering in this country. A good deity is really hard to come by these days.

Re: RAMBO IV --

It would be a trip if Rambo found himself for some reason in the small town where trouble met him in the first film. Only now David Caruso would be the Sheriff.

Re: TANGO & CASH --

I mean, what's not to love? Sly, Kurt, a young Teri Hatcher (not that anything is wrong with the current version...), Jack Palance, the late great Brion James, Geoffrey Lewis, gratuitous nudity, FUBAR, and the RV From Hell.

Sure, it has far too many bad one-liners, clichés, and easily spottable stunt doubles -- but damn if it isn't a ton of fun. The leads play well off each other, though...and I thought for *sure* we'd have seen a sequel at some point. Heck, it had a gross of $63 million, and that was 16 years ago! THE TRANSPORTER did about a third of that and we still got a sequel. Oh well.

The part with Tango and the tanker was lifted right out of Jackie Chan's POLICE STORY PART 1 -- gee, I wonder who was watching *that* back in the day? Also, classic Faltermeyer score, and the song at the end with the high-five cover-page...wonderful.

You just can't say enough about Brion James's accent, but Jack Palance truly stole my heart as he watches his empire crumble before him on his many video monitors.

I know Palance got the Oscar for CITY SLICKERS. But he should really get credit for the short period in which he made YOUNG GUNS, BATMAN, and TANGO & CASH, and proved to the world that old age would not stop him from being a true vicious motherfucker.

comment #32

Josh Ehrnwald says ...

(Oh, and:)

Re: COBRA --

Best. License Plate. Ever.

"AWESOM 50"

comment #33

Rob says ...

Copland is good, and Stallone is good in it. That delivery of that one line of his about wondering if you would redo the only good thing you had ever done knocked me over.

Rocky IV is a pretty good music video.

Rocky III is the most fun of the series. What I don't understand, though, is why there was never a Balboa-Lang III rubber match. The boxing world would have been all over that for the dollars, and I don't buy that Clubber Lang would have just disappeared from the boxing scene.

comment #34

Rob says ...

Hey, Josh, I think you're imagining the "gratuitous nudity" of Tango & Cash. It ain't there.

comment #35

Steve C. says ...

If you want to talk about underappreciated Stallone flicks, seems everyone has forgotten about NIGHTHAWKS. It was certainly very appreciated at the time, with pretty much rave reviews and everyone going out of their way not to spoil the ending.

Perfectly captures that ONNY (only in New York) mash-up of gritty urban life brushing up against upscale environs. It used the Roosevelt Island Tram so well and memorably that it would take 21 years before another filmmaker decided to use it again in a big action film (SPIDER-MAN). Also one fo the better scores composed by a pop music artist (Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

And what a cast. It's the film that introduced Rutger Hauer to America, showed us Persis Khambatta with hair, was the last good film Billy Dee Williams made and made this viewer fall hard for Lindsay "Jamie Summers" Wagner all over again.

Considering how Jeff was hooked by SWORDFISH pointing out that (via that great Travolta speech about DOG DAY AFTERNOON) all a hostage taker needs to do to bring the authorities to their knees is start killing hostages, he should feel the same way about NIGHTHAWKS because Hauer does the same thing.

Finally, Stallone screaming "WULFGAR!!!!!!!!" was almost as memorable as Shatner doing "KHAN!!!!" in THE WRATH OF.

comment #36

Josh Ehrnwald says ...

Hmmmmm...I might have to respectfully disagree with you on that last one. (But only by a *very* slight margin, of course.)

With the exception of Shatner screaming "KHAAAAAAAAN!!" in STAR TREK II, there is probably no better hero yelling his enemy's name better than Stallone on that mountain, crying out "DRAGO! DRAGO!!" (though -- as you rightly mention -- I should be giving due props to Sly in NIGHTHAWKS and his Rutger Hauer hate-on).

I'm often conflicted as to whether ROCKY IV is a sports film, an action flick, or a musical. Whatever the case, it's breathtaking. However, you should all take a look at Creed's little fidget he does on the canvas. I always have the same horrified reaction when I see it. I look a lot like this:

http://www.movie-montage.com/images/upload/880.jpg

I love Balboa's speech at the end of IV. In a movie containing a boxer dying in the ring, James Brown performing, and a robot with a sexy voice, you might as well end it with Rocky beginning the fall of Communism.

comment #37

Haiku Harry says ...

"Yo Adrian!" Sly
cannot yell since Talia
was smart to say "No."

comment #38

Haiku Josh Ehrnwald says ...

"Fuck a laxative,"
Stallone said to her
"I'll beat the shit
"out of you."

comment #39

Edward says ...

You folks that like Rocky IV, what are you on? Abominable film. One of his films that's a guilty pleasure of mine is DEMOLITION MAN and I also enjoyed OSCAR, but I love that style of comedy.

comment #40

guy steele says ...

Dang nab it... I did forget about Nighthawks. But then Sly in that kind of beard does nothing for my sensiblities.

Demolition Man... eh...

Tango is crappy Fun. But it's because of the always likeable Kurt.

Rocky IV does have it's pop '80's Reagan era moments but really for story and emotion it's Rocky I and for sheer entertainment that moves the story along it's Rocky III and I agree with the poster above... Rocky V did not happen! Sweet J they called the Boxer Tommy Gunn! So Rocky VI might just work if Sly keeps it centered around his age and such. And we can just think of part V as a really hugh yucky pile of cat furballs!

Oh and know one has mentioned the dreadful Judge Dredd! He really wore that outfit along with that sweet looking good actin Ms. Diane Lane.

comment #41

The King says ...

When it comes to kick ass action flicks Sly has never brought home the bacon as succesfully as the Gov (Conan The Barbarian, T1 & 2, Total Recall, Predator - all Saturday night classics) (The Running Man - a real guilty pleasure)but I'll take some of Sly's best work (First Blood, Rocky 1, 2 & 3, Nighthawks, Cliffhanger, Copland) but I'll take these over the CGI overloaded turdburgers being served up these days (every superhero movie, every movie with CGI, just about every move that has come out of late!)

comment #42

Edward says ...

King,
I have to disagree about CONAN THE BARBARIAN. I was so looking forward to seeing Robert E. Howard's character on the screen, but all we got was a bloated, pseudo-epic. Although, with a better script Arnold would have kicked serious ass.

comment #43

Josh Ehrnwald says ...

If you thought that the film was bad (though I'm a fan for different reasons than for any adherence to Howard's original texts), pop in the commentary Schwarzie does with Milius on CONAN THE BARBARIAN, and listen in delight as your I.Q. bleeds out of your ears. "JA! LOOK AT MY SWORD...IT'S FAHN-TAHS-TIC!"

It's one of the funniest commentaries ever, albeit unintentionally.

All Arnold ever says is:

"Yeah, I remember!" (no you don't, you were coked out of your mind),

and:

"Fan-TAHS-tic!!"

comment #44

Josh Ehrnwald says ...

Corollary to that above piece (having forgotten to mention this earlier):

My *OTHER* favorite awesomely unintentionally-funny commentary from Arnold lies on the TERMINATOR 3 DVD:

"This scene with the enlargement of the breasts was fantastic. You can deflate and inflate the breasts on command -- it's a whole new concept. Because there's some guys that like little breasts, and there's some guys that like big breasts...wouldn't it be nice if you can play both sides, you know, sometimes even simultaneously??"

comment #45

Josh Massey says ...

Let me repeat for the couple folks that have e-mailed me directly: THERE WAS NEVER A "ROCKY V."

And while I'm at it, there were never sequels to "Caddyshack" or "The Blues Brothers" either. NEVER HAPPENED.

comment #46

rami says ...

Yo people,why most of you attacking Stallone,i just dont understand....Stallone redefined cinema in the in 70's and 80's,he created a new genre of action movies,and we all owe it to him.In my opinion,i looooooooooove all his movies,and iam supporting him in every movie he makes even if its a Rambo 10!!!...Stallone is the essence of cool and macho ,look at him in his movies,he is just great...you people forgot to mention the movie VICTORY,where Stallone is a goalkeeper,Pele the soccer player starred with him in that one.Its just a classic....WE LOVE YOU STALLONE,PLEASE KEEP DOING MOVIES AND DONT LISTEN TO THESE JEALOUS CRITICS...WE WILL BE EAGERLY AWAITING ROCKY 6 AND RAMBO 4.