Youngblood (1986)

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Peter Markle

Cast: Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Gibb

Running Time: 110 minutes

Dean Youngblood is a 17 years old farm boy from rural New York who dreams of making it in the NHL one day. Against his father’s wishes, Dean travels to Canada to play with the Hamilton Mustangs. The young man might be a good skater and scorer, but he lacks the physical grit.

This was a film that I loved as a kid. As a hockey fan, I could relate to that dream, though I, myself, had no talent for that sport. Looking at this film today, I must say it has not aged as badly as some others from that era. Sure, there is some cheesiness, some predictability and some creative shortcuts. But, the acting was pretty good. And there was nudity on Cynthia Gibb’s part, which we loved then and I appreciate now.

Rating: «««

House of Cards (2013-2018)

Genre: TV / Thriller

Cast: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly

Number of Seasons: 6

When this show starts, Frank Underwood, played brilliantly by Kevin Spacey, is a democratic congressman who is power hungry and devious enough to do anything to achieve his goals. When he is passed over as Secretary of State, Frank devises a plan, with his wife Claire Underwood by his side, that will eventually lead them to the White House. Claire, using her husband’s connections for her own agenda at the same time.

I loved the early seasons of this show. At that point, it was five stars for me. By season 5, it started losing steam. Season 6 was the straw that broke the camel’s back. By then, Spacey had been fired due to the sexual misconduct accusations laid against him (accusations that would later be dropped).

Though Robin Wright offered the best acting performance of her career as Claire Underwood, she could not carry the load of that last season by herself. The whole thing felt rushed together. The plot made no sense, the characters became caricatures of themselves and the acting performances suffered. Even that breaking of the fourth thing, that felt so fresh and interesting in the first seasons, was driven into the ground to the point of becoming a creepy farce. When I finally reached the last scene, it was a mixed feeling: I was disappointing by the product, but glad it was finally over.

Rating: ««

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Genre: Action / Thriller

Directed by: George P. Cosmatos

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier

Running Time: 96 minutes

John Rambo is released from prison by federal order to take part in a special recon mission in exchange for a pardon. The vet must go back to Vietnam to document the presence of POWs. The higher ups are secretly hoping that Rambo will find nothing, so the issue can be swept under the rug, but things are about to get messier than they are expecting.

Stallone was again very good in the role of Rambo. He managed another poignant little speech towards the end, though you could smell the formula at this point. Richard Crenna was much better here as Trautman. His performance was less wooden.

Considering the action to cover, this second installment in the Rambo franchise felt rushed at 96 minutes. The filmmakers took some shortcuts that took away from the end result, though, as an action film and thriller, this was entertaining.

Rating: «««

Happy Gilmore (1996)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Dennis Dugan

Cast: Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen

Running Time: 92 minutes

Happy Gilmore has always dreamt of being a hockey player, but he is a crappy skater and his short fuse keeps getting him into trouble. All he has going for him is the power of his slap shot. After his grandmother’s house gets seized, due to unpaid taxes, Happy turns to golf, hoping to cash in on the power of his shot and save the house in which he was raised.

I decided to revisit this title after not seeing it for years. It is still funny. This is back before Sandler’s act got old and tired. Shooter McGavin, played perfectly by Christopher McDonald, is the guy you love to hate. And you cannot help rooting for Happy Gilmore, in spite of his flaws. That fight scene with Bob Barker is still a classic.

This is a very entertaining movie. In the stupid comedy genre, it is well done.

Rating: ««««

First Blood (1982)

Genre: Action / Thriller

Directed by: Ted Kotcheff

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy

Running Time: 93 minutes

Based on the David Morrell novel of the same name, First Blood tells the story of John Rambo, a discharged Vietnam vet and Green Beret who decides to visit a former comrade only to find out he passed away from cancer after the war. As he leaves on foot, Rambo crosses the little town of Hope, Washington. He is intercepted by local sheriff Will Teasle, who takes the veteran for a vagrant. After being subjected to abuse at the police station, Rambo snaps and starts waging war on the little community.

While he may not be the best actor of all-time, Stallone has had a knack for picking some characters that would maximize his strengths. In the process, he made us care about these characters, be it the ultimate underdog Rocky Balboa or the killing machine John Rambo.

First Blood, the first title in the Rambo franchise, did a solid job of exposing the life that awaited many Vietnam veteran after that war. Those lines delivered by Stallone, in character, towards the end were quite powerful. Brian Dennehy was the perfect choice as the abusive sheriff who finds himself way over his head. On the other hand, Richard Crenna’s performance felt wooden and false.

In my book, First Blood remains a classic that I love to watch again and again.

Rating: ««««

Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones (2019)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Stan Lathan

Cast: Dave Chappelle

Running Time: 65 minutes

In his latest comedy special, Dave Chappelle truly pulls no punches. He tackles such issues as drugs, the Me Too movement, LGBTQ, Michael Jackson, pedophilia, R. Kelly, Louie C.K. and much more. To fully appreciate this corrosive work of art, one needs a keen sense of humor and a solid notion of the second degree in comedy. I loved this show. Chappelle has a habit of laughing a lot at his own material, which will irritate me sometimes, but the stuff he wrote is solid. I am not offended easily, and I almost felt bad for laughing at some of this material, but I did laugh…out loud…and a lot.

Rating: ««««

Woodstock: Three Days That Defined A Generation (2019)

Genre: Documentary

Directed by: Barak Goodman

Running Time: 96 minutes

Fifty years after the original Woodstock Music Festival, held over the course of three days in August 1969, in Bethel, New York, this documentary serves as a very compelling reminder of how this great moment in history would define the generation it meant to represent.

I love how this documentary sets Woodstock in its proper context, with an America still reeling from the Vietnam War and the feelings of the younger generation towards the conflict. It was really interesting to hear from the people involved and to find out how the whole thing came together. It was a sheer miracle how everything ended up going so well in spite of the logistical issues. It sure would be awesome to see such collaboration between people of various generations nowadays.

Rating: «««««