Rambo III.

Review #961: Rambo III.

Cast: 
Sylvester Stallone (John J. Rambo), Richard Crenna (Colonel Sam Trautman), Kurtwood Smith (Robert Griggs), Marc de Jonge (Colonel Alexei Zaysen), Sasson Gabai (Mousa Ghani), Doudi Shoua (Hamid), Spiros Focas (Masoud), Randy Raney (Sergeant Kourov), and Marcus Gilbert (Tomask) Directed by Peter MacDonald.

Review: 
When I watched the second film, I described it as "moderately entertaining, but not as good as the first film", crediting its satisfying action in a movie that was okay with being average but fair entertainment. But this one felt like middling returns, where the action scenes outweigh the heart of the film and make for something that isn't as satisfying in entertainment. There isn't anything that is inherently awful, but there is nothing that suggests greatness or new in interest. Nothing is really improved on from the last two films, essentially. Stallone is what you've seen before previously (which is fine), though one the best highlights involving him is one where he removes a spike from his side and seals the wound with flaming gunpowder. Crenna does a fine job once again, while having a bit more screen-time this time around, and he gets to be part of the action, which is nice. It's always nice to see Smith, but he doesn't really have much to do in his small time on screen (never trust the billing, I suppose). de Jonge seems more in line with a cartoon-ish villain than anything really menacing, not even a silly over-the-top moment or a memorable henchman. The rest of the cast is decent, but they can't help elevate the movie toward anything worth competency. There definitely is a good deal of action (listed by the Guinness World Records book to have 221 acts of violence, at least 70 explosions and over 108 on-screen deaths), but it seems a bit hollow and not as electrifying as the previous films for me. The movie (filmed in Israel, Thailand, and Arizona) does have a neat look to it, at least. It's easy to say this isn't a good movie, but it's hard to recommend against watching it, particularly if you are an action buff. It has quite a good amount of imperfections, but perhaps there is some sort of gem within all of this film's mess.

Happy Independence Day, folks. I hope you've enjoyed this review.  Enjoy the sixth straight year with a review on July 4th.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Background: 
It has been one full year since I watched Rambo: First Blood Part II as part of my Independence Day Feature, and since the time has come once again to do something for my home country, it only makes sense to cover this film. This is the 11th film done since I began the Independence Day Feature in 2012, with the other films being: #193 - Independence Day, #413 - The Patriot, #414 - Air Force One, #415 - America, #416 - Yankee Doodle Dandy, #611 - Spider-Man, #612 - The Devil's Disciple, #724 - Sagebrush Trail, #817 - Suddenly, and #818 - Rambo: First Blood Part II. 

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Rambo: First Blood Part II.

Review #818: Rambo: First Blood Part II.

Cast
Sylvester Stallone (John Rambo), Richard Crenna (Col. Samuel Trautman), Charles Napier (Marshall Murdock), Steven Berkoff (Lt. Col. Podovsky), Julia Nickson (Co-Bao), Martin Kove (Ericson), George Cheung (Lt. Tay), and Andy Wood (Banks) Directed by George P. Cosmatos.

Review
It really has been a long time since I reviewed a Rambo movie (#025 - First Blood), hasn't it? It wasn't entirely intentional, it just got lost in the shuffle over nearly 6 years and over 700 reviews later, but here it is, to end this Independence Day doubleheader. The movie was written by James Cameron, though Stallone also provided significant input as well. In a nutshell, it's a movie that for me is moderately entertaining, but not as good as the first film. It's an action movie without much in the way of developed characters, but it satisfies anybody looking for some action, while not insulting their intelligence too much. There is some sort of fun in seeing specialized arrows blowing up stuff. Rambo is Rambo, with Stallone excelling as the action hero he was in the 80's, purely simple. There isn't too much for the supporting cast to do, but Crenna and Stallone do have some good brief scenes with each other, along with him and Nickson. I really can't complain all too much about a movie that is simple, but to the point in its intentions, with Rambo having a little monologue at the end that does at least bookend the movie well enough. It's not a bad 7/10 movie, and I'm sure others enjoy it more than I do (which I can respect), so take it for what it's worth.

I hope you enjoyed this doubleheader for Independence Day, as I did watching these movies and writing these reviews.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Hot Shots! Part Deux.

Review #375: Hot Shots! Part Deux.

Cast
Charlie Sheen (Topper Harley), Lloyd Bridges (Thomas Benson), Valeria Golino (Ramada Hayman), Richard Crenna (Denton Walters), Brenda Bakke (Michelle Huddleston), Miguel Ferrer (Arvid Harbinger), Rowan Atkinson (Dexter Hayman), and Jerry Haleva. Directed by Jim Abrahams (#028 - Hot Shots!)

Review
It seems only yesterday that I reviewed the first Hot Shots! film. And if yesterday, I mean over 2 years and 347 reviews later. Oddly enough, this is the 375th Review. The first one parodied Top Gun, with the second being a parody of First Blood (#025), with may references to other films. But is the film funny even after 20 years (it being a parody and all) and such? Well...yeah. The puns and gags are endless and the lines may either make you go groan or chuckle, it depends. For me, it was the latter. The cast does a fine job of comedy acting, not too over the top. Sheen once again has a lot of energy that helps out in the action scenes. The action is over the top, as should be, given the parody material, but it manages to mix in the comedy in a strange blend that works well. Is it better than the first one? Not really, but it does at least come close enough, and it still entertains. And given the "parody" movies in recent years, this does the job of making you laugh, which given these days, it is a good thing.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: First Blood.

Review #025: First Blood.

Cast
Sylvester Stallone (John Rambo), Richard Crenna (Colonel Sam Trautman), Brian Dennehy (Sheriff Will Teasle), Bill McKinney (Dave Kern), Jack Starrett (Art Galt), Michael Talbott (Balford), Chris Mulkey (Ward), John McLiam (Orval), Alf Humphreys (Lester), and David Caruso (Mitch) Directed by Ted Kotcheff.

Review
This is based off of David Morrell's 1972 novel of the same name. PTSD is Post Tramatic Stress Disorder, and Stallone plays a man with the disorder. He plays him quite well. This film makes you believe that Rambo is the sympathetic character instead of the policemen (and for good reason). The actors all play their roles very well as the film isn't just a beat them up, it's a psychological film with heart that would inspire three sequels different from the first...

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.