Rocky Balboa

Went to see "Rocky Balboa" tonight....the theater next door to us only carried it in the French version, and we were too lazy to find one that was playing the English version, so I thought what the hell, let's see it in French. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to follow the plot of a Rocky movie anyway, hey? Anyways, I have to admit that I kind of liked it. It followed the general Rocky formula which has been successful in the past. As always, my favorite parts were the "training montage" scene featuring some of the best movie theme music you will ever hear (you could probably swap the scenes in the training montage part between each movie and nobody would know the difference...but it's still good) and the actual fight scene. Also, good choice of opponent in Mason "The Line" Dixon (Rocky villains always have great names). Plus lots of authentic Philly footage that I totally recoganized. Not a cinematographic masterpeice, but an enjoyable film to watch despite (and perhaps due to) its predictability.

By the way, I'd like to point out that I accurately predicted the existence of a Rocky VI movie in my 2003 Holiday Greeting's card, posted below. In the card (an homage to my new city of Philadelphia at the time), I even gave the following recount of the plot for Rocky VI:

"In the latest heart-wrenching installation of the Rocky saga, a brain-damaged and Parkinsonian Rocky must contend with his latest threat in the ring, the wily Nate “Crusher” Hellman (played by himself). “Crusher” Hellman is a towering juggernaut of super-human strength and heartless brutality, a savage Russian fighting machine honed to physical perfection by Soviet technology and sent to Philadelphia to taunt Rocky out of retirement. Despite protests by his loving wife (Talia Shire) Rocky is eventually goaded into a championship match by a series of expertly-crafted “Your Mama” jokes by Hellman. Directed by film-maker Woody Allen, this movie culminates in a bone-crushing finale in which Rocky must overcome his various neurologic impairments to participate in the fight of his life!"

Hmmmm....not too far off perhaps. French for the Day: the word for punch is "coup de poing" (literally: "blow of the fist").