Owen Wilson plays Carl Nargle, a soft-spoken, Bob Ross-type painter, who hosts a painting show on a Vermont PBS station. For 22 seasons, he’s been painting and whispering his way to local fame if not fortune. Carl lives in a customized 1970s van called “Vantastic” and wears his hair andContinue Reading
2015’s Creed was a dynamite reshaping of the Rocky franchise that managed to simultaneously introduce a new character and extend the life of a beloved icon. 2018’s Creed II played it safe and, while enjoyable, was less interested in moving its titular character forward as it was revisiting Rocky’s past.Continue Reading
I was only a few minutes into Zero Hour! when I recognized the name Ted Striker or, as it is spelled in the movie, Ted Stryker. The name of the protagonist of this 1957 thriller, as played by Dana Andrews, is the same as the protagonist of 1980’s Airplane!, asContinue Reading
In preparation for the upcoming release of Creed III, I figured I’d catch up by watching Creed II. Having really enjoyed the first movie, I was looking forward to the sequel. Creed II finds Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) winning the heavyweight championship and then facing a foe from hisContinue Reading
In 2006, Sylvester Stallone wrote and directed what was ostensibly the last entry in the Rocky franchise, Rocky Balboa. If left as it was, it would have been a fitting end to the series. However, director and co-writer Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) has relaunched the series through the offspring ofContinue Reading
Over a decade ago, I saw a trailer for a movie that appeared to be about a young film-maker being influenced by Star Wars. It had a strange title: 5-25-77. That was, of course, the date that the original Star Wars was released. As time went on, every now andContinue Reading
While browsing Criterion Collection titles at my local Barnes and Noble, a fellow shopper recommended The Sword of Doom. His opinion was totally unsolicited but I entertained him by looking at the cover. I am by no means knowledgeable about samurai films but the synopsis on the back of theContinue Reading