Are the “Rocky” films more spectacle or substance? At first blush, the opening act of “Rocky III”(1982) suggests spectacle. Rocky fights professional wrestler Hulk Hogan – OK, technically “Thunderlips” – in a charity bout. It’s unclear to both Rocky and the viewer whether Thunderlips is putting on a show or actually trying to beat the crap […]
Life doesn’t become easy after your first success: Blowing up one Death Star doesn’t mean you’ve defeated the Empire. Dumping Shredder into a garbage truck doesn’t mean he won’t come back as a supermutant. And so forth.
The buzz is heating up for the seventh movie in a legendary film franchise that dates back to the 1970s. I’m referring, of course, to the “Rocky” series, which will continue with “Creed” on Nov. 25. (You want “Star Wars Episode VII” coverage? This isn’t the blog you’re looking for.) Let’s start the countdown with […]
The seventh “Rocky” film, “Creed” — which comes out on Nov. 25 – is on paper quite a departure from the first six, which were all written by Sylvester Stallone and directed by Stallone or John G. Avildsen (the first and fifth entries). And most obviously, those films told Rocky Balboa’s life story, whereas in “Creed” Rocky […]
After his first book, “Edge of Victory I: Conquest,” spent most of its time on Yavin 4 – one of the “home worlds” of “Star Wars” – Greg Keyes’ sequel, “Edge of Victory II: Rebirth” (2001), flies all over the galaxy, from Tatooine to Eriadu to Yag’Dhul, in a suitably epic follow-up. Additionally, this eighth book in […]
The stories of Jaina, Jacen, Lowbacca and other “next generation” characters’ youthful days were explored in the “Young Jedi Knights” series, written for young adults. But that series doesn’t account for all the next-gen characters. Notably, Anakin and Tahiri had their younger days chronicled in the six-book “Junior Jedi Knights” series (1995-97), written for junior […]
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” (now available from Redbox) follows last year’s “The Fault in Our Stars” into the cancersploitation genre – a coming-of-age story with one or more terminal teenagers thrown in. The notable difference is that while “Fault” (which I liked a lot) plays up the melodrama, “Me and Earl” is much […]
A decade after the first two installments of “Crimson Empire” in both real time and on the “Star Wars” timeline, the six-issue “Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost” (2011-12) was finally released, and it was almost certainly different from the version that would have existed had it been released right after “Crimson Empire II.”
In Kathy Tyers’ “Balance Point” (2000), the “New Jedi Order” saga continues to do a remarkable job of previewing George Lucas’ prequel themes and plot points a few years before they emerged on screen. I noted in my last review that James Luceno explored Jacen’s and Anakin’s different views on how to use the Force (paralleling Obi-Wan […]
Sunday’s episode of “The Walking Dead” featured cinematographically beautiful scenes of Morgan and his mentor, Eastman, practicing the martial art of aikido, along with powerfully acted moments of Morgan begging Eastman to kill him. But the most memorable part of the episode is Eastman’s monologues, which — taken together — tell the story of how he learned […]