Brian's Thoughts on Movies

My discussion on the Rocky films, continued.  Spoilers below:                                                                                       Rocky V  (1990) Rocky V has a reputation as the nadir of the series.  Stallone has said that it is because he created a story that is too depressing and Rocky movies are supposed to be inspiring.  The producers have said that the film was scripted for Rocky to die at the end until an 11th hour change which gives the film a mixed tone.  I will admit I have a soft spot for it because after all the showiness of Rocky IV it tried to go back to focus on the characters and develop the relationship between Rocky and his son, which had not been don until this point....

Body swapping stories are an old trick in films and are often used comedically.  In the 1980s there were switching parent and child bodies (Freaky Friday, Vice Versa, Like Father Like Son).  Parent Trap took a pair of twins and had them switch places but Face/Off  does something new with the concept by taking a hero and a villain and having them switch faces and forcing them to adapt to each other's lives while trying to stop each other. Spoilers for Face/Off below Director John Woo was famous for his action heavy and Catholic themed Hong Kong films like The Killer and Hard Boiled.  Woo's films explored the effect on violence on its heroes and victims and often mirrored the hero and villains in some way. Woo's characters often wear black suits, slide around a lot, hold two guns, and have Mexican standoffs, sometimes in slow motion. The Killer in particular, is a powerful film in which the title character, played by Chow Yun Fat, tries to raise money for an operation ...