Yo Adrian!

So… It has recently come to my attention that there is a whole other race of people out there. People who have spent their entire lives watching crappy movies and reading crappier books. YOU are what’s wrong with the world today! How can we expect to fight off the impending alien invasion if you don’t know what to do when you find yourself in a room fool (I don’t even know if I can really consider this a “typo”. I was thinking “FOOLS” while attempting to type “full” And well… It stays) of Ovomorphs! Ok, I admit, I had to Google search that one to find the proper name for them, but that’s not the point! The point is that I know that if I find myself surrounded by them it’s head down, find an exit, return later with fire, and you should too! Or, what if you find yourself outside on a beautiful day, the skies open up, and all of the sudden (because these things almost always come out of nowhere) you are surrounded by shark flinging tornadoes? What then!? If no one in your life up until this point has taught you the importance of Ferris and his friends taking a day off, or why Lennie had to kill George, or why Max went mad, or why the animals took over the farm (and the house) I guess I’ll do the job for them. Starting off with my favorite movie… Rocky.

Ok, Rocky isn’t actually my favorite movie, it’s Rocky IV, but in order to fully appreciate it you must watch the preceding three movies and the following three (yes, it’s three(soon to be four), not just two). I really do not know how some of you have made it this far without watching this series of movies, and how you are somehow ok with this, but let me tell you that you are wrong! Take a weekend to sit your do-nothing down on the couch (like you normally do) and put on some great American cinema. My hope is that you watch the movies and then come back to read the rest of this post. But I know you. You’re a rebel, who up until now has gone through life with an “I do what I want” attitude. I honestly do not know how to fully explain how amazing this series is without giving spoilers. With that in mind, I’ll try to keep them to a minimum but, um, *spoiler alert*.

 

Rocky

Sylvester Stallone wrote this movie himself. Shopped it around to producers who all loved it, and told them that his only stipulation is that he has to star in the film… Which, they all hated. Finally, someone said screw it, and look what we have today! I mean seriously, stop reading this, and GO LOOK. How is THAT not enough of a boost to get you interested in the movie? He bet on himself, and won, ‘Murica! The story goes: Apollo Creed is an arrogant heavyweight boxing champ who makes a money move and decides to offer a title match to a no name boxer. Rocky Balboa is a loan shark and local amateur boxer in Philadelphia (America’s birth place), who is barely making ends meet. At the time, Sly actually was barely making ends meet. To the point where he sold his dog… Which he later bought back… Which has a cameo in the movie… Along with a set of turtles which he brought home after filming… Go. Watch. It. It’s the classic underdog story before there was a “classic underdog story”. When you’re watching this (because I know you will) pay attention to the journey that Rocky and Apollo take to get to the fight. Ignore the borderline #MeToo-ish awkward pushiness at the end of Rocky’s first date with Adrian. -Here’s a little Fun Fact for ya, the ice rink scene was added because the place that they originally wanted to film in was unavailable. The rink actually was closed, and the guy who let them use the rink during after hours in the movie actually worked for the rink. In the movie he gets on the ice in sneakers because Sly couldn’t skate in real life.- Then, fight back those tears that will want to creep out after the match when Rocky is looking for Adrian in the crowd. Yes, I tear up in Rocky… I tear up in all of the films in this series, except for the one which actually should bring a tear to my eyes. Oh, and to make it even better, basically the entire cast was made up of people that no one really wanted in the movie to begin with. The budget was under 1 million dollars, the cast used most of their own clothes. The film had to be shot in under a month in order to stay under budget. It really is the classic that should have never been.

Alright, unfortunately I went a little overboard and went over my blabber-limit on this one, so this might take two, three, or four more posts… Sorry, not sorry… Not even a little bit.

~

Until next time, go watch Rocky!

P.S. Yea, that’s me running down “The Rocky Steps”. I had to go up them twice to get the picture right… I really do not understand how people can take such amazing photos while running, someone teach me!