Explaining the Existence of 80s Action Movie Ballads
Why did so many action films cap off hours of brutal violence with a soulful song about peace and hope?
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Rambo on Overthinking It
I’m Just Kiddin’ Like Jason: Parodying the Ridiculous
What’s the difference between a parody and its source material – if the source material was already pretty ridiculous?
Surprise! A. O. Scott Likes Rambo. And So Should You.
Movie critic A. O. Scott has what appears to be a new series of retrospective video reviews of his favorite movies on the New York Times website, and much to my surprise, his latest entry is an independent art film … Continued
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The Most Mismatched Fistfights in Movie History: Sylvester Stallone v. John Lithgow
[Every now and again, when we are on the verge of vomiting up the crap Hollywood is shoveling down our throats, this weekly series by Matthew Belinkie reminds us to keep things in perspective. —Ed.] The Movie: Cliffhanger Why It … Continued
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What We Talk About When We Talk About Overthinking It (Rambo Week Postscript)
No sooner did I finish my weeklong series on Rambo than I came across this little corner of the blogosphere, and I think it, as much as anything else, helps me clarify why I bothered to do a weeklong series … Continued
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The Two Faces of Sly
This week, I’ve delved into the True Meaning of Rambo in preparation for his (brief) return from irrelevance. Today, I’ll close the series out with a quick look at two great characters Mr. Stallone originated — one has his own … Continued
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The American Tragic Hero #1 — John Rambo
Above all else, America is dedicated to the proposition that “what happened to other countries isn’t going to happen to us.” As such, our variations on the tragic hero struggle to buck free of their core restrictions, often with startling … Continued
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First Blood: Awaiting Rambo’s Requiem
Our old buddy Rambo’s got the best poster for a new movie I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a pretty good work of graphic design (I love how Rambo’s mullet forms the drips of a hasty paint job), but … Continued
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