For the Love of Movies

Jon Hatje

Classic Reminder: “Rocky” (1976)

Before Sylvester Stallone was in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, before he was the leader of the Expendables, even before he was Rambo, he was, and always will be, Rocky Balboa. In his breakout role, which won him an Oscar for best Original Screenplay, he plays the down on his luck boxer who is failing to make a living and a name for himself. He turns to an old trainer named Mickey (played by Burgess Meredith) for help when he is offered a once in a lifetime chance to fight the heavy weight champ, Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers). Rocky develops a romance between a timid florist, Adrian (played by Talia Shire). As the story unfolds, we see how a nobody discovers what he’s made of and what he can become. While Rocky goes through, physical, emotional, and inner struggles, we too root for him and are on the edge our seats while he dukes it out to prove his worth.

Cult Classic Recommendation: Police Story” (1985)

The reason very few know this movie is for one reason: subtitles. The language spoken in the film is Cantonese, so it is sometimes dismissed by English speakers. But what a shame that is. Kevin Chan (played by Jackie Chan) is a Hong Kong cop, who is set on bringing a drug lord, Mr. Chu (played by Chor Yuen) down with testimony from his former secretary, Selina Fong (played by Bridgette Lin). But this is an action/ martial arts film, so there is, of course, plenty of action in the film. And that is the real point of the film. The budget for this film was near nothing, so every stunt in this movie was done by the actors. This makes the action more compelling, because there is no CGI to hide behind. Everything you see is well-choreographed fight work, and it is jaw dropping. The fight scene and stunts at the end of the film are some of the most impressive and riveting of all time. If you are looking for great entertainment and impressive style and action, check it out.

Recent Release Review: “Hobbs and Shaw” (2019)

Having not seen any of the “Fast & Furious” movies, I went into the theater not sure what to expect. So, I had no expectations for this movie. Not ever have I wanted so desperately to get up and walk out of a theater more than within the first ten minutes of this movie. In terms of plot, there’s not much to say. If anyone rationally thinks about the technical aspects of this movie for five minutes, you have already thought about it longer than the writers did. This movie is a mishmash of clashing tones, bad CGI action, and dialogue that made me groan out loud in the theater. I would not recommend this. It wouldn’t surprise me if the next “Fast & Furious” goes to outer space. 2/10