Rocky Balboa: The Italian Stallion

Rocky Balboa: The Italian Stallion

Director: John G. Avildsen
Screen Writer/actor: Sylvester Stallone

Honestly, this movie was very fascinating. The theme, the lectures, the character development, and even the music!, was such a great mixture together. This isn't one of those just plain "just get to the fight already" movies, this film shows the challenges one goes through; physically and mentally. Nothing stops one from getting the opportunity of doing something that they love.

In the beginning of the film, Rocky Balboa, mostly known as the "Italian Stallion", shows his background as a loving boxer fighter and animals, who is working for Gazo(Joe Spinell), as being a muscle, on collecting money from people that need to pay him off. He is mostly under titled as a "Bum" in most cases. His low key admirer, Adrian (Talia Shire), who works in the pet shop, sells him the food for his two turtles and Rocky trying to talk to her by cracking corny jokes, is very shy as a person.

Throughout in the movie, Rocky then has a relationship with Adrian and they both seem to have stuff in common, as in their nature of shyness. Once they knew they both had the same lack of confidence, they started becoming open with each other, which made them be known as meant for each other. Since Rocky is a boxer, Pro fighter, Apollo Creed ( Carl Weathers), needed to fight an opponent on the Bicentennial day which is an anniversary day of a significant event. Soon then, he chooses Rocky, the Italian Stallion against Apollo Creed, because his opponents name, Italian Stallion, seemed the right name to get people grabbed on.

Soon after they set down the fight, Mickey ( Burgess Meredith), who is boxer trainer, goes to Rocky's apartment and asks if he needs a manager, Rocky then tries finding ways to ignore him, but Mickey has experience as boxer and knows what Rocky will need, but then Rocky tells him "You never been there for me when i asked you 10 years ago, what happened on being there for me 10 years ago!?". Mickey then feeling bad, leaves the apartment, then Rocky then goes outside and talks to Mickey that he'll need him. This part was very sentimental because Mickey went through what Rocky is going through now, as in fighting for the heavy weight title, but never got exposure of who he beat.

Before the day of the fight, Rocky sneaks into the ring of where he is going to fight and observes. He then returns to his place and talks to Adrian on how he's not going to fight. This scene shows that as much love he has for boxing, his self doubt in him self feels scared of getting the opportunity of fighting for a title against a professional fighter. Adrian then tells him that he could do it, and he's ready for it. Sooner later, he fights Apollo Creed, he makes history for bringing down Creed in his first time ever and lasted all 15 rounds. Rocky then loses to Apollo Creed but then realizes his success of taking all the beatings he got in the ring and in his life. That shows the self discipline, one has and also, the love one has.

Rocky Balboa: America's Ancestor

Rocky Balboa: America's Ancestor

Director: John G. Avildsen

Writer: Sylvester Stallone

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Joe Spinell.

    Wow what a perfect bicentennial film this was! Not only for it's time and setting, but for the film as a whole: the character development, the non-diegetic sound(notably that classic theme song we all love to chant along with), and the climax. All of you youngsters walking into this film expecting an action filled, fast paced boxing film, your expectations will likely not be met; this film has more substance to it that one might believe. Upon critical view, you come to realize how truly great this film is, and how inspiring it can be to each and every one of us no matter what we pursue.

    The beginning establishes Rocky as a struggling boxer, apprentice to a loan shark named Gazzo(Joe Spinell), and an underdog who is seen by many as a "bum;" the film also establishes him as an animal lover and an admirer of Adrian(Talia Shire) who works at the shop where Rocky bought most of his pets -- including the exotic turtles which he purchased on Adrian's first day on the job. Two scenes in the first half of the film I found to be interesting are when he looks into the mirror and sees a picture of him as a young boy and when he walks a neighborhood teenage girl home while giving her life advice. The afformentioned includes Rocky looking deeply into a young(or old) picture of him with a face of regret and/or lost innocence; the latter happens when he sees a teenage girl hanging around the neighborhood rats while cursing and acting like a misfit and walks her home to give her life advice about reputation and the crowd("coconuts") she hangs around. What I am trying to get at is how these two scenes interconnect: because of Rocky's with regret and reputation around town and as a boxer, he does not want the young girl to make the same mistakes he might have and end up in the situation he did; this also connects with his afformentioned admiration for Adrian and animals, showing that he is a selfless and caring person who wants to help others from experience.

    Rocky and Adrian later begin a relationship through a mutual lack of confidence that is carried out in two opposite ways: Rocky tries to hide his lack of confidence through the way he talks to Adrian and Adrian is shown to be lacking confidence through the way she dresses and her shy nature. Once the two become partners, they each become more of themselves -- shown through costume change, change of tone in the film, and a change in their state of mind. One stunning example of this is when Adrian stands up to her brother Paulie(Burt Young), who was shown earlier to be somewhat abusive to his sister and is possibly the reason for her previous shy nature: Adrian defends herself when Paulie asks her and Rocky to leave the house, saying that he has made her feel like a loser and she is not.

    Meanwhile, the antagonist Apollo Creed(Carl Weathers) is scheduled to box for the bicentennial fight and his opponent is injured; he must choose an opponent quick, and he just happens to choose our protagonist. Creed claims that he should not only give a local underdog the chance at the title, but that because of Balboa's stage name "The Italian Stallion," that he would fit as his opponent because the one who discovered America was Italian("why not fight with one of it's ancestors?"). Creed's personality as we see throughout the film is much different that our protagonists: he is self centered(as in the scene where Rocky is on T.V. training by punching meat in Paulie's butcher shop and Creed's trainer is impressed, while Creed is more concerned about his barber showing up), he is cocky, and cracks jokes at others("if he can't fight, I bet he can cook."). Shortly before the fight, Rocky is trained by the king of one liners himself: Mickey(Burgess Meredith). In these next few weeks, Rocky is going to "eat lightnin'" and "crap thunder" to prepare for the fight of his life(so far).

    Rocky successfully prepares for the fight and is seen in his significant change in shape. When the fight happens, he ends up losing to Apollo. I bring this up because people often have complained about this ending: "all that build up for this?!" Furthermore, they often disregard the fact that he was the first one to knock Creed down in a fight and lasted all 15 rounds! There was also a scene before the fight where Rocky and Adrian are talking about the fight; to me, this is the most heartfelt scene in the entire film. Rocky is feeling afraid to fight Creed because he is out of his league and is going for the world title. Adrian tries to tell Rocky that he was not "nobody" and Rocky responds: "I was nobody. But that don't matter either, you know? 'Cause I was thinkin', it really don't matter if I lose this fight. It really don't matter if this guy opens my head, either. 'Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody's ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood." That is the entire point, that because Rocky took it that far and defied people's expectations, that he became more of himself and succeeded in his dreams to become a boxer; therefore, enforcing the message of the American Dream -- that with the right mindset, confidence, and guidance, you can accomplish your dreams and reach your full potential (even if you "can't sing or dance").

The Great Gatsby 74'/ 2013 E.Luck

In Film Studies we viewed both versions of the Great Gatsby and I enjoyed the 2013 rendition directed by Baz Luhrman more than the 1974 directed by Jack Clayton for one reason and one reason only.  In the 74' version Gatsby is just a rich man, he has a big house with nice parties but that is it.  When reading the book by Scott F. Fitzgerald, Gatsby is this bigger than life character, someone that is unforgettable.  In the 2013 movie Gatsby is just that and I believe that if the creator of The Great Gatsby Scott F. Fitzgerald was still alive today he would want Gatsby to be portrayed just like how Baz Luhrman portrayed him.

When it came to the soundtrack and its selection, at first I did not believe that it was appropriate for the time, the movie was supposed to be taken place in the 30's where swing music was at its highest.  But after careful reconsideration I realized that the instrumental to the music had deep roots in Jazz, and Blues something very appropriate for the era.  When it came to the artist singing and rapping over the the track they were telling a story of the time while still pleasing its 21st Century audience.
Both versions of the film tell the same story, its just that the story tellers have to very distinct ways of telling the story.  

Overall I believe that the 2013 version of the Great Gatsby was the superior film and I would rate that film as a 9/10.  The big name artist, actors, detailed CGI created a larger than life film, something Scott F. Fitzgerald would be proud of.

Chicago E.Luck

Chicago is a musical based movie released in 2002.  The movie was directed by Rob Marshall.  The movie follows the protagonist Roxie played by Rene Zellweger who murders a man after she sleeps with him based on a false promise that he will make her famous.  This is the main premise of the movie.  Roxie will do anything to fulfill her childhood dream to become famous.  

Throughout the movie she cheats on her husband on several accounts, falsely states that she is pregnant, and uses her murder trail all as her way to rise to fame.  During one scene in the movie, she and her jail nemesis Velma Kelly played by Catherine Zeta-Jones compete for fame, by sabotaging each others trail.  While it is important to note that the fame of the women was critical to the success of the case, it is also important to note that both Roxie and Velma were trying to make their fame permanent.

The movie touches on the fact that everyone has a story, so it is not wise to judge someone prematurely based on their current situation.  Out of everything in the movie this alone had the greatest effect on me.  When the setting is first shown and it is a in a jail, people judge the prisoners prematurely but followed right after is a musical score where each prisoner tells her story and it allows the viewer to both feel compassion and a better understanding for each person in the jail.

In the end of the movie Roxie does win the case and is set free but much to her surprise she does not get the fame that she thought she would.  The fast paced city is on to its next thing and forgets about her.  Overall this movie is a 8.5/10 because of its encoded life lessons and well put together story line. 

Beast of a Southern Wild (E.Luck)

Beasts of a Southern Wild was written by Benh Zeitlin showcasing the life of Hushpuppy (Academy Award-nominee Quvenzhane Wallis) a girl who lives in a small town in  Louisiana bayou community nicknamed the Bathtub.  The movie uses thematic elements such as foreshadowing and symbolic references to develop the main idea. 

 SPOILER ALERT!!! The main idea of the movie is Hushpuppy knows both environments that she lives in like her family and community and the actual world are changing, and she can’t do anything about it.  Her natural world is changing due to global warming causing her town located on the edge water level to rise due to a strong storm that resulted in flooding. Her home environment is also changing because it her father is dying, and he is not going to be with her for much longer.

Throughout the movie Hushpuppy faces many challenges like being homeless and having to travel throughout her damaged community all while evading the police who want to take her out of her known environment.  She also has to deal with the slow death that her father is going through.  All the while having her own issues that she must deal with like the survival of her, and her father. 

Towards the end of the movie we realize that everything that was foreshadowed earlier in the movie did not come true.  Hushpuppy alone stopped the beast that were going to destroy the world by standing up to them, stopping them in their tracks.  Over all I think this movie used elements of a successful movie, having things like suspense, drama, action and a story line that reveals itself in the end of the film.  Overall I would rate this movie 7/10. 

Winter's Bone -E.Luck

Winters Bone is a 2010 independent drama directed by Debra Granik.  The movie follows the life of Ree, played by Jennifer Lawrence.  Ree, the protagonist lives in the rural mountains of Missouri where she must take care of her little brother and sister as her mother is ill and her father has been murdered.  As the head of the household she teaches her siblings skills that they one day will need like hunting for small game, or helping them with their schooling.

Most of this story takes place around the idea that Ree is in search of answers concerning her fathers death and the drug ring that her family is part of.  While she does not know the full extent of her father's connection, she knows someone knows.

This movie to me is the exploration of one's self through the exploration of something that does not fully connect with the individual.  While Ree was searching for answers she was cursed at, left in the middle of nowhere, and assaulted.  Each time she got denied she dug deeper into herself and found the motivation to continue.  This idea of a strong female protagonist can be found in movies like Beast of a Southern Wild where the female protagonist, Hushpuppy saved her hometown and the life of her father by sheer motivation and determination.  Both characters have qualities that the youth should strive to achieve.

To me this movie can not be watched in a loud, distracting environment as there are so many slight nuances that would be missed unless complete focus is given to the movie.  Overall I would rate this movie as a 8 because of the strong story line and strong development of characters. The movie was a good watch overall.

Jaws - Luz Avila

Jaws

This was the first time I have ever seen Jaws and I was excited to do so in the class. The movie was great. I will say I wasn’t that prepared for some of the scenes and walked out a few times.

[SPOILER] In case you didn’t know Jaws is a killer shark. He was in no way friendly but his species for the most part don’t like humans. It’s not in a way that they want to eat us but more like they don’t want to deal with us. Jaws was a great white shark and they don’t normally attack humans. For this to happen humans had to purposely upset the shark and even then the shark wouldn’t attack viciously.  As humans we enter their territory. We destroy their homes and take the food they eat.  We make life difficult for them. So who would be in the wrong? The shark for going with its instincts or the human trying to feed other humans?

This movie ties in with the recent event with Harambe, the western lowland gorilla, who was shot because he was danger to a 3 year old boy who climbed into his exhibit. Zoo officials say that tranquilizers wouldn't have stopped the gorilla because of his size and the amount they could have given him. Again, humans enter the “home” of the gorilla, disturb it, and blame the animal. He wasn’t hurting the child but only treating it as his own and most animals aren’t extremely gentle with their babies. Even so, the child who crawled into the exhibit ended up fine. In this case there was no actual harm but the officials assumed because of the background of gorillas. In Jaws there is no specific reason why the shark is attacking so it could be aggressive which is understandable why they went to kill him, but if the shark was protecting its territory it was wrong of them.