Movies you never get tired of

[Raptor]

If you're not familiar with this "phenomenon", begin with the official web site, http://rockyhorror.com/. When you're up to speed, http://cosmosfactory.org/ has additional details.
Resident fans had the great pleasure of a special showing this past midnight, compliments of the ARTS COUNCIL! (Don't laugh! I have them looking into getting GODZILLA. The head guy also dressed up as Riff-Raff).
Some of us only had a few days' warning (not being too good at keeping up with local happenings very well, the radio station losing the release they should have received a month ago and the paper being typically last minute (what they call "timely") but "got our act together" quite well! At least the paper showed up to cover it all.
Anyway, hampster bedding (unused) makes a great substitute for confetti, a number of Super Soakers DID get smuggled in (along with more "conventional" water guns) and newbies can be readily identified as the ones NOT showing up with at least ONE Wally World sack to accommodate necessary audience participation "stuff". Said "stuff" (including at least two packages of raw hot dogs that my particular bunch had nothing to do with) is now scattered about our lovely renovated Ritz Civic Center that used to be a movie house. At least the cedar chips will keep moths and mildew out of the upolstery...
"Everything goes better with Black & Decker" yelled during the carving sequence of the dinner scene was one personal contribution to the "legend" while our chanting of "Kong! Kong! Kong!" (when Rocky climbs the tower toward the end) from our split group (for better "initiation" of the newbs) went above most folks' heads. SFX related comments were lost also.
It's also fair game to "get even" with those who hugged the back wall during the whole show when they're leaving as they have to come down the side aisles. These are the ones who have the widest range of targets for longer range objects (like full rolls of toilet paper). The trick to the TP is unrolling a good quantity, hanging onto the end and then launching it for the "streamer" effect.
Other than the "I just got hit by a HOT DOG?!", I'd say the sheer number of playing cards got the most notice. As for the rice and other mess, that's part of it and the Arts Council was even selling "audience participation kits" (with cue sheets) as a fund raiser.
There probably would have been a Super Soaker battle after the show right on downtown Main Street but a train was coming and a bunch of us wanted to get across the tracks before the road engines got to doing some serious switching.
The screening was such a big success they hope to do it again in March! If the town prudes sound off about the Arts Council sponsoring it (and us "heathens" attending), we can always take to wearing Mickey Mouse ears with "If you don't like RHPS, join the Club!" (or somesuch...)

[Cosmos]

It became manditory, when I was participating in the amateur theatre curcuit of my neck of the woods, to enjoy Rocky horror picture show. I was reluctant to enjoy it but with so many references to so many favorite movies.

we had a small scale screening with a cast and with just the 30 of us it was amazing and made me wonder how great a full fledged screening would be with a crowd of strangers of like mind.

Im glad to see there's still people collecting to not just dream it....but be it.

[Jet Jaguar]

Back in the day, as the kiddies say , I went over 20 some times to Midnight showings of TRHPS.
Even went to one where they had a Wedding!
The groom was Eddie, and the bride Columbia!
The Priest dressed up as Riff Raff :0

It was all a lotta fun back then

[Raptor]

It still is! I can't think of another movie that involves the audience the way this one does. It's a very unique entertainment experience, watching the AUDIENCE as well as what's going on up on the screen!

[Jet Jaguar]

Another good Cult/audience participation film is
Rock and Roll High School with The Ramones[i]

[Mecha74]

Thinking back to your childhood, are there any films that you remember that really stayed with you, still enjoy today or started an entirely new obsession? This topic may appeal more to some of our older members.

My list......

'Destroy all Monsters'(first Goji film I ever saw, well atleast the last 20 minutes anyway , need I say more?)

'The Legend of Boggy Creek', this movie scared the Hell out of me when I was 7 years old(considering I live out in the boonies), and it had the same effect on my brothers when they were my age.

'The Seven Deadly Venoms', the first martial arts movie I ever saw, it started my obsession with films of this genre.

'Track of the Moonbeast', possibly one of the worst films ever made , but at the age of 6 aside from Godzilla I also loved dinosaurs and werewolves. And suddenly there is a film about a weredinosaur! Do the math people.

'The Abominable Dr. Phibes', 'Dr. Phibes Rises Again' and 'The Madhouse', The legendary Vincent Price has played countless unforgettable roles throughout his long and incredible career, for some reason though these films stuck with me more than others.

'The Planet of the Apes' film series, I could spend hours talking about why these films kick endless ###! I loved them when I was young and was later able to appreciate the more intricate and mature subject matter they addressed once I got older.

'Cannonball Run 1 and 2', The first non sci-fi or horror films I was ever able to sit through in my youth. Captain Chaos still rules!

'Demons 1 and 2' You've all heard me harp about these! These movies scared me worse than any other film that I ever watched in my life and gave me seemingly endless nightmares for 4 long years! Thanks alot Thomas,(one of my older brothers)ya jerk!

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the movie', When I was 13 I got hooked on the cartoon and the toyline! It helped me to start writng fan fiction as well! And when the film came out I went nuts! When it finally came out on home video I watched the damn thing hundreds of times!


Well, how about the rest of you?

[BS Digital Q]

Originally Posted by Mecha74

'Track of the Moonbeast', possibly one of the worst films ever made , but at the age of 6 aside from Godzilla I also loved dinosaurs and werewolves. And suddenly there is a film about a weredinosaur! Do the math people.

Ah, now THAT brings back some memories...

Yeah, it is a bad film, but the cover on the tape was just breathtaking! Very good art (even if it didn't actually describe accurately what was in the movie itself, a rather derivative hybrid of your standard werewolf type films and meteor from outer space mutating people style films).

[Cole Deschain]

Lessee...

The Princess Bride- What an awesome movie. Sincerely. "Offer me anything that I ask for." "Anything you want-" "I want my father back, you S.O.B." Even cooler to remember because didn't get thecomedy in a lot of it. I took it 100% seriously.

The entire bloody showa Godzilla series- I started with these in 1987 or so (about the year my family got a VCR), and watched every single one within a year and a half.

The Magnificent Seven- Saw this during my western phase... which led to...

The Seven Samurai- Greatest. Movie. Ever.

Ran- I still have trouble believing that my parents let me see this gory flick when I was six... I think it is in some way my Uncle Robbie's doing. Anyhow. Amazing movie. And it's funny that I got to see it so young, since I didn't watch Predator or Alien until I was 13 or so.

Return of the Jedi- I have dim memories of seeing this one in the theatre. The speeder bikes stuck with me... oddly enough, the Rancor did not.

E.T.- I can remember when this movie was new. Sheesh. Where's my cane and bifocals?

Top Gun- My cousin loved this movie... This was back before everybody on Earth owned a home movie system, so it stayed in the theatre all summer... and we went to see it about five times.

[Kiryu goji]

King Kong vs Godzilla: The first time I saw Godzilla (and kong for that matter) on screen. I bought it when I was six, and naturally, I rooted for godzilla. To this day, I love the movie, it's just a fun film to watch!

Godzilla vs Monster Zero: The second Godzilla movie I ever saw, It was my favorite untill I became an Avid G-fan. It still remains as a favorite.

King Kong: The original Kong movie has allways been a favorite of mine, and though I've never liked Kong as much as Godzilla, I still love him none the less.

The Valley of Gwangi: I have allways loved ray Harryhausen's films, and 'Gwangi' was the first I ever saw. The title monster was very well done, and I felt bad for him when he died inside the church at the end.

Jurassic Park: This movie came out the year I was born, and was one of the many things that began my life long obsession with Dinosaurs (that still exists to this day). I had wanted to see it seemingly forever, and eventually, my dad gave in and let me see it when I was 4. I was completley awe-struck, and it has allways been far and away my favorite movie ever!!!

The Lost World: Saw this one three days after it came out in '96. It was the first dinosaur movie I ever saw in a theater, and I was as mesmorised as I was when I saw the original two years earlier. Even though I had no idea what anyone was saying, I liked it!

Tremors: Interesting story about this one. I was at the library with my dad, and he said 'I think you'll really like this one. It's about these monsters that sense your footsteps and come up from underground to eat you.' His description alone made me terrified of this movie. It became serious, as it was not long before I couldn't bring myself to walk over a foot, and I hadn't even seen the movie yet! After about three months, I finally summoned enough 'courage' to see it, and I found that there wasn't much scary about it at all! I recall thinking 'I was scared of this?' Since then, I've grown to love all four films and have become an avid Tremors fan.

Mystery Science theater 3000, the movie: I remember renting this from the library and laughing my guts out with my family. It was hillarious! My favorite line: 'Oh my god my waffles! Oh, the humanity!'

[Raptor]

Although seen on television, I would say the UNIVERSAL HORROR classics FRANKENSTEIN, THE WOLFMAN, DRACULA and THE MUMMY, thanks to my Mom who has always been a big fan of them since they first came out. My own love of monsters, science fiction and fantasy, cinema and even READING no doubt could be traced to them also.

[kent]

Rocky IV- First live action movie I ever saw and it has remained my favorite movie of all-time! It gave me a hero in Rocky and Sylvester Stallone to look up to. It also got me hooked on physical fitness and Stallone's other films. Words simply cannot describe my love for this film!

The Land Before Time- My favorite cartoon film back in the day. Being an avid Dino fan I was (and still am) in the day, I just fell in love with it. Too bad the series took more of a lighthearted approach. This one is still the best of the series.

Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster- Saw this when I turned eight back in 1992. First Godzilla movie I ever saw and I owe a lot to this film for making me the huge Godzilla fan I am now.

Godzilla Vs. Megalon- Dad bought this for my brother and I about a week after my b-day. Back then, this movie was great; and to some respect it still is. But then I didn't know about the tons of stock footage, etc. This one still has a special place in my heart.

Mothra Vs. Godzilla- Rented this from the local video store and it became one of my all-time favorites!

Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero- Read above ^

[BS Digital Q]

Brief listing...

Godzilla's Revenge- First Godzilla movie I ever saw. 'Nuff said.

Terror of Mechagodzilla- Second Godzilla I ever saw, I loved it as well.

Bad Company- One of the first horror-themed movies I've ever seen...the amusement ride still sticks...*shudders*

The Blob- Still have not-so fond memories of this one.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe- This BBC miniseries, while technically not a movie, is still up here for one particular scene involving a werewolf that scared me with nightmares for 8 years.

[Megabyte]

Batman- Before I started kindergarden I would literally watch this movie as soon as I got up in the morning, to the point where I can recite almost every line of the film. Not to mention this sparked my interested into the mind of Tim Burton and in superheroes in general.

Ghostbusters- Another one I can basically recite and watched a lot at a young age. Sure the Terror Dogs scared the bahjesus out of me, but I loved every minute of it and Bill Muray has become somewhat of a hero of mine.

Jurassic Park- Being the dinosaur nut as a kid, this was the ultimate dino film at the time. And boy, I loved it so much I recall seeing it in theaters about 11 times! I thought no being could stand up to the T-Rex until...

Godzilla 1985- Caught it one evening on KCAL 9 and I was hooked! As soon as I could I bought it on VHS only to discovered that there were MORE movies out there to be bought. Along with Terror of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla vs. Gigan and Monster Zero, these were the most watched G-films in my youth.

King Kong (1933)- I picked this up at my library and being put into awe at this achievement. Sadly all I had was the blasphemous "colorized" version on tape until TCM came around.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- Being a huge fand of the cartoon series, this instantly became a favorite.

The Nightmare Before Christmas- For some odd reason, the strange style of the film has just drew me to it and loved it ever since.

[godofPH]

Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs were my first love, and I still love dinosaurs till this day. This movie pretty much defined my childhood with its dinosaurs. I didn't really understand what was going on in the movie (besides dinos eating people) till I was 10 or 11.

The Land Before Time Series: See Jurassic Park

We're Back! A dinosaur's story: See Jurassic Park

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Movie: Unlike most kids of my age, I wasn't a very big fan of the show. But the movie I loved for some reason.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers the Movie: The show had GIANT ROBOT DINOSUARS!!!!!! Thats what attracted me to the movie, I'd hoped there would be some great Zord action. Of course they lost their dino zords, but they got giant robot Monkeys, Bears, Frogs, Hawks, and wolves instead!

The Lion King: One of the very first movies I can remember seeing, this movie remains, to this day, IMO the best Disney animated movie ever

[Kaiju_Sensai]

Here are the only two movies I could say that I've ever truly been obsessed with.

The Land Before Time- The very first movie I was ever obsessed with, I saw it 3 or 4 times at the theater. Even though its been a very long time since I've last seen it, I still fondly remember it. The best thing about it was, and still is, Sharptooth. One of the coolest movie T-Rexes ever.

Jurassic Park- The last movie I ever remember being truly obsessed with. Saw it like 5 times at the theater and later nearly 30 times overall, though I haven't watched it in like 9 years. Will always be best remembered because my first "crush" ever on a girl (the actress that played Lex), which is still going on to a certain extent, was because of this movie. Not much of a fan of the original anymore, though I still love the series itself overall. It introduced me to one of my idols (Stan Winston) and was also what turned me into a Special Effects buff. Overall I'd say this movie alone has had a bigger effect on me & the shaping of my life, than every other experience in my life combined.

[Bruticus]

Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974) - I no longer remember whether this was my first Godzilla film; it was either it or...

Godzilla vs Gigan - I think this was more likely to be my first G film, as far as I can remember.

Transformers the Movie - Still one of my favorite animated movies, though I can't even remember the very first time I saw it.

If I think of more, I'll post them.

[darthzilla99]

Godzilla vs. the smog monster: First g-movie I every saw. I would rent this movie so many times at randells until they changed movies and I did not see this movie again for almost 10 YEARS!!!! Then I found a godzilla vs. hedorah vhs tape that I thought was a british release (I did not know what bootlegs were and I only just found out that region 0 g-movies are bootlegs just a couple months ago.) and I am still unsure if it is a bootleg. After the movie, it has the orgianal japanese trailer and a sing along of the save the earth song in japanese. If it is a bootleg, then I will get the sony dvd because I like to support the Big-g. Ironcally, The one godzilla movie that got me hooked on the big-g, my dad utterly hates it.

Bettalejuice: I loved this movie when I was a kid and I liked the t.v. cartoon as well.

Batman: another movie I wachted alot in my youth. I also liked the 90s t.v. show.
teenage mutant ninja turtles: I wachted the movies and the cartoon alot. still do.

[Figment]

There's a lot of them but here are some highlights
Sesame Street movies such as Follow That Bird(far better then Grouchland) in addition to the three 'field trip' specials including Don't Eat the Pictures, Big Bird in China (the Monkey King song was damn catchy and the parts with Oscar and Telly digging to China were classic) and Big Bird in Japan(The songs were really catchy and this was my first introduction to Japanese culture really, as it would be until 1998 until I saw a G-film)
The Muppet Movie, Great Muppet Caper, Muppets Take Manhattan are classics and still are some of my favorite movies
Beauty and the Beast was one of the earliest movies I saw apparently, though out of the 90's Disney animation rennisance, Lion King and Aladdin are probably my favorites
Jurassic Park was an undeniably cool movie and, in my opinion, still has some of the best effects around. And I did like Lost World, damn fun movie, especially the T-Rex scenes.
Snoopy Come Home had lots of great moments, especially the songs by the Sherman Brothers and Thurl Ravenscroft singing "No Dogs Alowed"
The original Star Wars trilogy was amazing, though I finally saw it in 1996 on VHS though. A New Hope, unaltered, is my Mom's favorite science fiction film and that she believed the rest of the saga wasn't really needed though Empire and Jedi were good thanks to Harrison Ford...

[MouthForWar]

All the old Godzilla/Toho sci-fi, King Kong, and Gamera movies.
Jaws Series
Jurassic Park
Original Star Wars Trilogy
Independence Day (hate to say it, but I loved it as a kid. Its gotten less and less enjoyable over the years)
Ninja Turtles
Ninja Turtles 2
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters 2
Batman
Batman Returns
Original Superman series
Gremlins
Gremlins 2
Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend
Space Balls
Predator
Terminator
Terminator 2
Beetlejuice
Lion King
Nightmare Before Christmas
Rumble In The Bronx

I was quite the eclectic kid!

[SuperXAsh]

-Dragonslayer- Keep in mind though i had forgotten this movie's name for a long time after viewing it when i was like 4.

-Ghostbusters- Not wanting to sound like a chicken, but this movie scared the crap outta me when I was a kid. Love it to death now, but still feel chills going up my spine when I see the scenes that really made that horrific impression on me.

-Ghostbusters 2- Not as freaky as the first one, but still remember being a bit squeamish around that river of slime.

-Time Bandits- Don't remember much from this movie, just that it had lotsa midgets, some old bald dude chasing after them, and this poor kid caught up in the middle of it all.

-Who's Harry Crumb?- A good John Candy flick.

-Land Before Time- Before all the sequels, the one that started it all. Great f'n movie that I'm glad I own, just real slick in how it's done.

-Godzilla 1985- My first Goji movie... ^_^ and the one that started me on this path. Really hope to find it on DVD sometime and buy it.

-Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla- The SHOWA version. This made the biggest impression on me from the other showa flicks (course i didn't even know what a "Showa" was) because it was the first time I saw Goji almost lose.

-Godzilla vs. Gigan- Another memorable flick, as the beat-down Goji recieves in this was another almost scarring moment for my young childhood. :P

-Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster- the first time i had seen Rodan, Mothra, as well as Ghidorah. So yeah... I'll remember this one, it was like my 2nd Goji flick if I remember correctly.

-Jaws: The Revenge- Funny thing... a now former friend of the family used to own a copy of this movie. So EVERYTIME I went over (which was almost every weekend when our families would get together) I'd watch Jaws: The Revenge. I more than likely wore the crap out of that tape. This probably explains why I'm alot more soft on it with my opinions than with the previous Jaws installment, #3... sorry... i meant 3-D.

-Star Wars Trilogy- Before the Special Editions, before the Prequels, in a galaxy far far away... there was the Star Wars trilogy. A modern fantasy fairy tale. Still one of the best trilogies of all time.

-Indiana Jones Trilogy- Who doesn't like old school adventure serial movies? Indiana Jones is quite possibly THE action adventure series. Back when Spielberg was THE MAN.

-Transformers: The Movie- OWNAGE in a small compact disc or tape. ^_^

Now there's undoubtedly more, but im just not in the mood to list em all.

[juan]

Rocky VI

That’s right, you heard it: Rocky VI. People have been making jokes about it and shaking their heads about it and some die-hard fans hope to watch it for no other reason than that its Rocky. I like Rocky because it’s Rocky but also because some of those old movies were dang good. We’ve come a long way since that first Rocky film so many decades ago and in more ways than one.
I’ve decided to make a list of what there is to be told about Rocky and what there is to be of the Rocky legacy.

Rocky I
This is the granddaddy of Rocky, the one that started them all and quite perhaps the best. Oddly enough, from what I learned, it was meant to be a one time, one shot movie. It certainly came out that way, a super low budget movie made on the cheap that was a super simple feel good movie… and to some degree that’s what made it great.
If you haven’t seen this it goes as follows. It’s about a down on his luck, no-name wannabe boxer that lives in the slums who started and ended a nobody, who doesn’t have so much as a high school education named Rocky. He’s boxes part time and works as a leg breaker for a loan shark but hides a heart of gold behind a mask of cruelty. He tries to do something with his life and manages to find a nice girl named Adrian. At the opposite end of all this is the current heavy weight boxing champ, Apollo Creed. To prove that America is still the land of opportunity, he, on a whim, decides to schedule an exhibition bout with someone he chooses at random from a phone book. The lucky man? Rocky!
This is a bolt from the blue and Rocky can’t believe it. For a while he refuses, thinking he’s not good enough but towards the end he decides he has to do it. To prove to himself that once at least, he did something, once at least, he was someone. He fights Apollo and never once does he give up, instead going the distance. Thus, Rocky is the real winner even though Creed is still the champ.
This is everyone’s story. I heard that it began when an amateur boxer challenged Muhammad Ali to a fight; he lost the fight of course but he never intended to win. Instead he did it to show he went the distance. Rocky’s director saw it and got the idea for a movie. It’s a very uplifting story that reaches out to all of us; see, Rocky can’t win because he’s us. Rocky is the underdog, the little guy, like all of us. It’s meant so that we can empathize with him. I can relate to him, all the jobs I’ve held so far have been minimum wage and my father is a garbage man; so yes, despite my fancy schmancy college degrees, my family and I are officially lower class. See, Rocky is not about being rich or fancy—after all, how many of us will save the world or become president? It’s about going the distance. The movie tagline was “his whole life was a one in a million shot” and it shows. The night before the fight, Rocky is in bed talking to then girlfriend Adrian, saying, “I know I can’t beat him but for once I want to know that I did something that I’m not just another bum from the neighborhood.” Its about how it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are on the ladder, as long as you believe in yourself, as long as you go the distance, that’s all that matters. We may look like bums from the neighborhood but as long as we have that faith, we know that there is in fact a hero in all of us.

Rocky II
See… the first Rocky was meant as a simple, one shot morality tale. It was never meant to be continued. It was certainly never meant as a franchise and to some degree, a big money making franchise undermines the whole point. In any case the story is continued in a sequel. Now it makes you think, sure Apollo won the decision but we feel that Rocky was the real winner and that indeed happens. We see that from the start.
The two boxers go home and for Apollo, there’s nothing but insecurities; it was nothing but some damn exhibition and he almost lost to so damn nobody. He gets hate mail by the bag by people calling him a fake. As for Rocky, he’s hailed as big man by everyone in the neighborhood, he went toe to toe with the champ, he showed the rich snot who the real man is! (See, if Rocky were to have actually won, then the locals would start saying, “Now Rocky thinks he’s too good for us!”) Apollo, seeking to show the world that he just got cocky that last time, that Rocky just got lucky, challenges him for a rematch. Rocky on the other hand is just trying to get on with his life, he’s thinking of putting boxing away and getting a real job.
But… Rocky never got that good an education, so he can’t really do anything but fight. The man is stuck in all sorts of dead end jobs that many of us probably had at some point. He’s married Adrian and they have their son, Rocky Jr.; Rocky wants to put away fighting and be with his family and Adrian is a part of that. She fears for her husband and those doubts get in the way of his training. It comes to a head when she suffers a coma; at this, Rocky just looses all will to go on and it looks like his fighting is over. When Adrian comes out of her coma, there’s Rocky saying that if she wants him to quit fighting, he’ll do it. At which Adrian holds the baby saying, “I want you to win, win!” (At which Mickey the trainer shouts, “C’mon what are we waiting for!”) Which of course Rocky does!
It continues the story of Rocky very well and it’s a great story in and of itself. Its not as good as the first, it doesn’t have the same moral force, but its still a good story and does an excellent job of continuing Rocky I.

Rocky III
This really begins to drift away from the Rocky spirit.
Years pass and we see that the man is now very rich and famous; he’s the boxing champion of the world. His son grows up knowing only luxury and his father feels on top of the world, and why not? The man has gone from the rags to riches and has fulfilled the American dream! Rocky is proud of himself and after the city unveils a statue of him, he thinks to retire from boxing, undefeated. Yet while there, some nut called Clubber Lang (played by Mister T of all people!) roars his way forwards challenging Rocky to a fight. After fierce words are exchanged, Rocky accepts the challenge but his trainer Mickey vows not to help him and as to why, it’s because he thinks Rocky just isn’t good enough. He says Rocky lost the edge that he went and got civilized. “You ain’t been hungry since you won dat belt.” Even so, Rocky convinces Mickey to come back, despite the old man’s frustrations and how Rocky doesn’t take his training seriously at all. The frustrations are justified when Rocky loses and his title of boxing champ; at the same time, alas, Mickey dies.
With this, Rocky just wants to give up but then salvation comes from an unexpected source, his old foe Apollo Creed. Creed hears Rocky saying he doesn’t want to box anymore but doesn’t believe it. Apollo remembers the misery and bitterness he felt after losing his title and he doesn’t want Rocky to go through it. He offers to train Rocky for a rematch with Lang and Rocky accepts. Even so, his heart isn’t in it causing Creed to shout, “Damn it! What’s wrong with you!? […] There is no tomorrow!” It’s Adrian who finally makes Rocky understand that he has to do it for himself; he has to know that he’s not afraid. With that enlightenment, Rocky knows what he must do and trains in earnest, defeating Lang and winning his self-respect back.
It’s an odd mix of good and bad in this. The bad is that it moves away from the Rocky spirit in having Rocky as the fancy rich man; this isn’t quite the poor underdog we remember from the first movie. But the bad of the movie is limited to that. To some degree, that’s the point because this isn’t our Rocky. As Mickey tells him, he hasn’t been hungry since he won the belt. Apollo tells him that he needs to will to fight in order to fight, the “eye of the tiger.” As the theme song, “Eye of the Tiger” hints, Rocky has traded his passion for glory; he lost the nobility that made him a winner, even in defeat. At the end, we see that it is indeed our Rocky, past the money and the cars it’s still him, he’d just forgotten. What makes this a good movie is that like the earlier films, it’s not a about a boxer named Rocky, it’s about a man named Rocky who just happens to be a boxer. This is seen with how the film does not end in the ring with him triumphant over land but in a friendly bout with enemy turned friend, Apollo. Apollo still wants to get even for their last fight. When Rocky remarks that he’d thought Creed had gotten over their last fight, Creed replies, “I lied.” “Oh you lied!” They get ready to box and Apollo says, “too bad we gotta get old.”
Oddly enough, you get the feeling that this was meant to be a finale movie. Rocky has gone from rags to riches over the course of the three films, he’s lost one friend—Mickey—and he’s gained another—Apollo—thus going full circle. Through the film, Rocky says he wants to retire and at one point they remark about his being too old to win back the title from Lang. At the final fight, the commentator says, “This is going to Rocky’s last fight, win, lose, or draw.” And indeed, this is the last time we see Rocky box professionally. (You can hear one commentator in Rocky IV say the big fight there is unauthorized.) When he goes up against Apollo that one last time, having turned an enemy into a friend, they remark, it’s a shame they have to get old.
This would have made a fine movie to end it… but the franchise continued.

Rocky IV
This is quite probably the worst of the Rocky films… and the one I most like! It’s the best fight! It adds nothing significant and it has no real point. It drifts so far away from the spirit of the earlier films that you’re left wondering, is this Rocky? Rocky is supposed to be about loveable underdog… and this is a cold war era thriller disguised as a boxing movie. It could have worked on its own but in the context of the other films… it makes no sense.
Rocky is formerly retired from Rocky when his friend Apollo accepts an exhibition bout against Soviet boxer Ivan Drago. Apollo fights and dies. Rocky challenges the Russian and he wins. And that’s the plot in a nutshell.
Unlike earlier, or later, films, this has little to be learned and the plot is dreadfully repetitive of the previous film. There is some drama in how Adrian doesn’t want her husband to fight but finally decides to support him because he’s her husband. A central theme is the power to change; this is seen in when Rocky tries to discourage Apollo from fighting. They’re watching footage from their old fights when Rocky says, “That’s not us no more, we’re changing into regular people.” Creed shouts that he doesn’t want to change, that they don’t even have a choice. “We’re the warriors and without a challenge to face, without some damn war to fight, the warrior might as well be dead.” When Rocky goes to fight, Adrian shouts, why can’t he change? We see that there is hope at the end with how he tells the Russian crowd that there was hatred on each side for the other, but with how he won them over with his boxing skills, there were changes. “If I can change and you can change, everybody can change!”
That leads to another major point. This film was made during the Cold War which for those to young to remember was a fifty year test of wills between the United States and Russia, then called the Soviet Union. It could have lead to World War III but thank God it didn’t! Oddly enough with how the US faces a new threat in radical Islam, Rocky IV’s lessons are still relevant. We need to discern the good from the bad of the other way of thinking; I’ll be a nice communist Gorbachev being a friendly down the street Imam and Stalin being Bin Laden. It’s “Wecan get along,” message still resonates today… even if it has absolutely nothing to do with the world of Rocky…
And it has the best damn fight scene of ANY Rocky movie! And the best training scene! As a boy, I’d watch the entire movie just for the fight!

Rocky V
This is a far cry from the films just before it in that its not about a boxer who just happens to be named Rocky, its about a man, Rocky, who just happened to be a boxer—past tense. Rocky doesn’t even box once in this film, it shows him when all the battles are done, and by doing so it reaffirms that what made the first film great wasn’t so many big fights, but that it was a good story about one good man. In fact, the original director of Rocky I returned to forever end (or so we thought) the story he began.
It opens with our hero returning home from Russia and being warmly received; while there, he is met by promoter Duke Ellington and his minion, the current boxing champ. Rocky, who retired the champ in Rocky III, leaves and goes home; however we see that by some unwise financial deal, Rocky has lost everything, his house, his cars, everything. All that God giveth, God hath taken away and our underdog finds himself in the gutter. He’s back in the old neighborhood and it’s like all his battles never happened. Unable to do anything else, he opens a gym and trains boxers, one of whom is named Tommy Gunn. Tommy is a poor, homeless, down on his luck kid who sought out Rocky in the hopes of being trained by him. Thinking to repeat history, Rocky latches on to Tommy and the two of them hit boxing, even at the cost of alienating his wife and his son. However, Tommy is lured to the proverbial dark side by Duke the promoter and he betrays his mentor, ultimately challenging him to a street brawl which Rocky wins by the narrowest of margins. It ends with reconciled Rocky and Rocky Junior at the Philadelphia courthouse where they see the statue erected in Rocky III. Thus the father can tell his son that once upon a time, the old man did something, that he wasn’t just another bum from the neighborhood…
In several ways this is the best since Rocky I by how it emphasizes not on mere boxing but on the human aspects; the final battle isn’t in a ring but in an alley. Three things underscore this. The first is that it goes full circle in every way—or so it seems. The film acknowledges this by having Rocky go through his old things and finding his old jacket, at which Adrian playfully puts on her old glasses. Regardless, though we never thought we’d see it, Rocky finds himself where it all began, the old slum where he grew up. As if God—or the director—were punishing her, Adrian goes back to the same pet shop we found her in the first film, something her husband can’t believe. At one point Rocky asks her if they ever really left and she says that she doesn’t know. After having tried so hard and having gone so far, we can feel Rocky’s despair when he screams that he’s back to just being another bum from the neighborhood. In the first film, he hoped that by going against Apollo Creed, he might prove his own worth to himself, to be able to tell his son that—same phrase narrative verbatim—he wasn’t just another bum from the neighborhood. It’s as if all he tried, all he suffered was for nothing. In the end, though, the darkness serves to make the light that much brighter when Rocky finds a new sense of self respect and has his son at his side, showing him the statue that proves that once, he wasn’t just another bum from the neighborhood. That really brings it home by fulfilling the vow Rocky made in the first film and brings back the central truth. It isn’t about awards or money or fame, as long as you went the distance, as long as you believed in yourself, that all that matters.
In this, it also serves to show that its time to pass on the torch to the next generation with what he tries to do. As said, Rocky feels extreme despair at having lost everything but he feels new hope in being able to train a protégé, Tommy. He feels as if can repeat history and he does think of himself as Mickey; this is seen with how he has flashback to when he was training for his first fight. Mickey gives young Rocky his lucky cufflinks and says, “And if ever you think of giving up, this thing’ll be like an angel on your shoulder and it’ll scream, ‘get up you sonuvab.itch! …because Mickey loves you.” Rocky trains Tommy and he feels like he’s being born again, that he has another chance; to that end, he pours everything into Tommy, even ignoring his own son.
Rocky Junior is heartbroken at this and drifts away; he feels that his father only cares about boxing and not about his family. (Its worth noting that Junior is much older than he was in Rocky IV even though this film opens just a few minutes after it. No more than one year can have passed as near the end of both films we see Christmas. Also, you can only wonder what it must be like for Junior who grew up in luxury to all of a sudden to find himself in a slum. Rocky Senior at least knows the score but Junior has no idea what he should do.) Yet Rocky’s favoring of Tommy seems to be in vain as Tommy joins up with the greedy promoter Duke Ellington. Rocky begs his protégé not to go with Duke, that he’s a vampire, that Mickey tried to protect him these guys, from that bad things of boxing and now that that’s what he wants to do for Tommy. At that the youngster shouts, “Dammit, you ain’t Mickey and I ain’t you!” He leaves at which Rocky who’s been suffering brain damage from all his fights starts hallucinating; he’s found by Adrian who tells him to leave Tommy that, “If you’re going to pass something on, pass it on to your son!” This is made clear when Tommy wins the championship and says that there’s one man whom he has to thank for all of this, the man who was like an angel on his shoulder, Mr. Duke Ellington. Rocky who sees this on TV is heartbroken and goes to a bar to nurse his grief. Tommy meanwhile is angry by how the press still remembers Rocky and thinks that the only way to stop being called Rocky’s robot is to beat the man. But of course, after a hostile exchange between Tommy and Pauly, Adrian’s brother, Rocky destroys his creation. It ends with Rocky and Junior running up the steps as it always is; the father gives his son the lucky cufflinks at which the son thanks him. Rocky hug his so saying, “Thank you for being born.” We then see a closing montage of shots from all the movies.
This was really meant to be the last. It wraps up every last lose end and it goes full circle. In fact, underscoring this, the director originally planned for Rocky to die in the fight against Tommy—this explains all the emphasis on Rocky’s brain damage. In this ending it would have ended with Adrian at the hospital, telling the reporters than even though her husband is dead, his spirit lives on all those who go the distance and we then fade into a shot from Rocky I with him running up the steps. Alas, the studio nixed it and made sure that Rocky would live, in order to make another movie if the opportunity ever arose. If Rocky were to have died, the only way they could have made another movie would have been to have a prequel, have Junior box, or to bring back Rocky from the grave.
But now we have Rocky VI. The makers of the movies tried several times to end it with Rockys I, III, and V but enter the evil capitalists… sigh. From what I read, Rocky will be in the old neighborhood, running a restaurant. (What happened to his running the gym?) People come and listen to him tell stories from the old days. The Italians have mostly moved out and Asians have moved in. Adrian is dead and Rocky Junior now works in a fancy company. Meanwhile, they come up hypothetical matches and see that if the current champ were to have fought Rocky in his prime, that Rocky would have won. The current champ then challenges Rocky to an exhibition bout with the Italian Stallion accepts. Junior is unsure and asks his father if he’s too old at which dad says you never now until you try and you gotta go the distance.
We’ll see.

[cattra]

Rocky? I don't think I've seen any of them. Oh check out Wierd Al Yankovic's CD The Food Album to hear a parody of the Song Eye of the Tiger(Or something like that) from one of the rocky movies. Funny stuff!

[Mecha74]

You know what I'm talking about. The kinda scenario where you're channel surfing and you suddenly come across the film in question. And even though it will be heavily edited, have commercials and you already have the DVD, you will still stop and start watching it. You love the film or films so damn much you just don't care and possibly even need therapy.

My list...

Aliens(extended edition preferably)
Predator
John Carpenter's The Thing
The Fog(the original)
Dawn of the Dead(both the original and the remake)

Honorable mention despite not being on TV= 'Casshern', I've watched this damn thing about 100 times or so!

How about the rest of you?

[Dino Hunter 2.0]

Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Predator
Any of the original Star Wars movies
Gremlins
Gremlins 2
Tremors
Tremors 2

[Zigra]

G54
Aliens
Vampire Hunter D
Project A-ko
The Lord of the Rings movies
The Empire Strikes Back
Revenge of the Nerds


Hmm, I'm sure there are more than that. I'll have to look through my collection to refresh my memory.......