We first meet Adonis Creed as a troubled twelve year old whose father (Apollo) died before he was born and whose mother has also passed away. Though intelligent, Adonis is constantly acting out and re…
I totally enjoyed watching The Fighter, but walked away from it chewing on all the characters, except, well, the fighter himself. Poor Marky Mark, bless his heart, his limited acting skills, and his e…
Rocky is a film so iconic, so ingrained into our collective consciousness that it feels like we've seen it whether we have or not. Who doesn't recognize the classic theme song "Gonna Fly Now", know th…
As Rocky movies go, Rocky Balboa is most like Rocky II. You wind up laughing at parts of it, but also find yourself genuinely moved by it. Though it's impossible to recapture the magic of the original…
When Rocky says that he's a dumb guy in the first movie, you're inclined to go, "Aww, you are not." He may be uneducated, and he may be a little simple, but he's intelligent in all the ways that count…
As Rocky III begins, we get a taste of the excess that defines Rocky IV. Years after taking the heavyweight championship from Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa is on top of the world. He's mastered the world…
Rocky IV embodies the best and worst qualities of the Rocky series. As such, it's as fun to make fun of as it is genuinely enjoyable. The movie is wrapped around the soundtrack like an elaborate music…
After reliving the fight against Ivan Drago, we meet up with Rocky in the locker room. He's showering by himself, and can't seem to stop shaking. Finally he sits down on a bench, and sends for Adrian.…
After four decades of watching and collecting Rocky movies, it seems crazy that the entire six film series will fit in one slender case, right in your hand. Where are the four DVDs and one VHS copy th…
I remember seeing Million Dollar Baby in the theater with a group of girlfriends. Hey, it's an empowering story about a female boxer, is critically acclaimed, and won the Oscar for Best Picture! All I…
Set in the not-too-distant future, the film stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a one-time boxer, who’s traded in his gloves for a remote in order to fight it out in robot bouts. That is, the robots…
I always remember my favorite college professor writing the words, "Good stuff, for what it is" on the top of a story I had labored over for most of the quarter. It seemed like a nice way of saying th…