Rocky Balboa Tagged Articles at Cinematical

1a. The Lord of the Rings (December 17-19, 2001-2003)
This just goes without saying, doesn't it?

1b. The Exorcist (December 26, 1973)
The Exorcist is a perfect Halloween movie, with its colored leaves and chilly autumn winds. But here's a secret: it opened the day after Christmas, 1973. I can only imagine: you and the family are slightly hung over from turkey dinners and an overabundance of gifts. You yawn, put down your empty egg nog mug, step over the discarded wrapping paper, move past the Christmas tree, past Grandpa Fred asleep on the couch, wrap up in scarves and hats, pile in the car, drive down to the movie theater, and buy tickets for... this? For spinning heads and pea-soup vomit? Yet it worked, and it was a huge hit. This was what people wanted to see that winter. Perhaps it was a reflection of those dark times. Just last year, during our own dark times, AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem opened on Christmas Day. I have an AVPR ornament on my tree to prove it.

• Tab Thacker (1962-2007) - Wrestler and actor (pictured) who played Officer "House" in Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol and Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach. He also appears in Wildcats, City Heat and Melvin Van Peebles' Identity Crisis. He died after a long illness complicated by diabetes December 28. (WRAL.com)
• Jeanne Carmen (1930-2007) - B-movie actress and pinup model who appears in The Monster of Piedras Blancas and Untamed Youth. She died of lymphoma December 20, in Irving, California. (Variety)
• Peter Handford (1919-2007) - Sound recordist and mixer who won a Best Sound Oscar for Out of Africa and was nominated for his work on Gorillas in the Mist. He also worked on Hope and Glory, Dangerous Liaisons, Julia, Tom Jones, Night and the City, Summertime, Murder on the Orient Express and Hitchcock's Frenzy and Under Capricorn. He died November 6 in Suffolk, England. (Times Online)
• Edward Hansen (c.1925-2007) - Assistant director of Disney's Robin Hood, The Aristocats and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and production manager of The Fox and the Hound, Mickey's Christmas Carol and The Black Cauldron. He died December 20. (The Big Cartoon Forum)
  
• Jerzy Kawalerowicz (1922-2007) - Polish filmmaker who co-wrote and directed the Cannes winners Joan of the Angels and Pharaoh, which was nominated for an Oscar, as well as 2001's Quo Vadis? He died December 27. (EUX.tv)
• Michael Kidd (1915-2007) - Choreographer who worked on Guys and Dolls, The Band Wagon, Li'l Abner, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Hello, Dolly!, Star!, and Merry Andrew, which he also directed. He acted in Stanley Donen's It's Always Fair Weather and Movie Movie, Michael Ritchie's Smile and Blake Edward's Skin Deep. He received an honorary Academy Award in 1997 for "his services in the art of the dance in the art of the screen." He died of cancer December 23, in Los Angeles. (Variety)
  
• Pat Kirkwood (1922-2007) - Actress and singer who portrayed music hall star Vesta Tilley in 1957's After the Ball. She died of Alzheimer's Disease December 25, in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England. (Variety)

The man known in most circles as Sly Stallone surprised the heck out of people last winter with Rocky Balboa -- the sixth and final installment in Stallone's 31 year-old boxing franchise. It was a slow film, sure, but it reflected Sly's age, as well as the physical and mental spot Rocky was in. Now, however, Stallone is going in a completely different direction with John Rambo -- the fourth and final installment in Stallone's 25 year-old action franchise. Co-written and directed by Stallone (first time he's helming a Rambo flick), the couple of teasers we've been shown so far clearly reveal that Sly is still a lean, mean fighting machine -- and for those who thought he might be holding back due to age or whatever, you'll need to check out this latest trailer (if you can call it that -- it's more like a montage of clips) in which John Rambo is violent as all hell.

And I love the way the film looks too -- there seems to be none of this Hollywood-style hiding of the blood; John Rambo makes no doubt about the fact that it will be a high-octane, balls-to-the-wall, R-rated action flick ... and I don't know about you, but we need one of those. In the film, Rambo is placed in charge of rescuing a group of Christian human rights missionaries after a group of brutal Burmese army men take them hostage. Aiding Rambo on his mission are five young mercenaries -- although I have a feeling our man won't need their help much. Also starring in the film are Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden and newcomer Maung Maung Khim, as the villainous Major Pa Tee Tint. John Rambo is due out this December.