Category: Movies

“The Street Fighter” starring Sonny Chiba / Z-View

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The Street Fighter (1974)

Director:  Shigehiro Ozawa

Screenplay:  Kōji Takada, Motohiro Torii

Stars:  Sonny Chiba, Yutaka Nakajima

Tagline: If you’ve got to fight…fight dirty!

The Plot…

Terry Tsurugi, a martial arts master, is approached by the Yakuza to kidnap Sari, a billionaire’s daughter.   Terry opts to instead protect her.

Now the forces of the Yakuza are gunning for Terry and Sari.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I wanted to see The Street Fighter when it was first released in 1974.  I couldn’t because it was rated X because of the violent fight scenes.  No one under 17 admitted.  I had just turned 16.  When I finally got to see The Street Fighter I was so disappointed.

Sonny Chiba is a legend among many martial arts fans.  To me his facial expressions/grimaces were over the top and even comical.

The Street Fighter (1974) rates 2 of 5 stars.

THE STEPS: A MEMOIR by Sylvester Stallone / Z-View

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THE STEPS: A MEMOIR by Sylvester Stallone

First sentence…

On a dirt road leading to the sea, deep in the Pyrenees Mountains, I saw a sign.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Most everyone thinks they know Sylvester Stallone’s story.  He’s that famous.

The child raised by dysfunctional divorced parents.  The student expelled from twelve schools.  The young man who wanted to be an actor, but was rejected time and time again.  So incredibly determined to get just one shot that he turned to writing… and struck gold with a screenplay.  He created a story that producers wanted so much that they were willing to pay a small fortune for him NOT to star in it.  But Sylvester Stallone stuck to his guns.  He got his shot for less money, but a percentage of the profits.  Rocky was made and the rest is history.

Yeah, most everyone thinks they know Sylvester Stallone’s story.  And they do, if you’re just talking broadstrokes.  The amazing thing is that what we know just scratches the surface.

Until now.

Sly Stallone’s memoir THE STEPS is an unvarnished look at his life.  He takes us from his difficult birth in a charity ward (which left him with a partially paralyzed face due to an accident with forceps) to his international stardom thanks to Rocky.   Most Stallone fans know it wasn’t an easy journey.  It wasn’t.  But even his most ardent fans will be surprised by Stallone’s candor and the things we didn’t know.

THE STEPS is an easy read, even when the situations are tough.  Stallone’s writing style makes you feel as if Sly is sitting with you telling you stories of his life. (And if you get the audible version, he will be!)  Sly’s sense of humor comes through.  So does his determination.  Although THE STEPS isn’t a self-help book, there are lessons that Sly learned that can be adapted to one’s daily life.

I’ve been a Sly Stallone fan, and followed his career since Lords of Flatbush. Yet there’s so much in THE STEPS I didn’t know.  And even the things I did know, Sly discusses in greater depth.  THE MEMOIR is everything Sylvester Stallone / Rocky fans could want.

Hopefully Sly enjoyed the process of writing THE STEPS enough for him to take the story farther.  Who wouldn’t love to get Sly’s thoughts and behind-the-scenes stories on each project in his career?

THE STEPS by Sylvester Stallone gets my highest recommendation.

Rating:

“Icefall” (2025) starring Joel Kinnaman / Z-View

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Icefall (2025)

Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky

Screenplay:  George Mahaffey, Steve Isles

Stars:  Joel Kinnaman, Cara Jade Myers, Danny Huston and Graham Greene.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Harlan, a loner, is on a remote frozen lake preparing to ice fish.  His plans change when he finds a case full of money. Harlan decides to keep the cash and sets out across the ice.

Ani, the local Game Warden, sees Harlan out on the ice and decides to see what he’s up to.

When the plane carrying the stolen loot went down, everyone on board died in the crash.  The transmitter on the case didn’t.   The thieves on the ground have been on a mission to retrieve the case of cash.

As Ani questions Harlan, the crooks show up.  A gunfight ensues.

Ani and Harlan barely escape into the wilderness with the criminals closing in.  Ani and Harlan are utnumbered and outgunned.

As the temperature drops so do their odds of survival.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Graham Greene has a small role and sadly it was his last feature film appearance.

Icefall can accurately be described as Cliffhanger Horizontal or Cliffhanger Lite.

Icefall (2025) rates 2 of 5 stars.

Sly Stallone is Rambo by Jim Ivey!

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I was going through the vault and found this piece that Jim Ivey surprised me one day when I was visiting him.  Jim (and most of my other friends) liked to occasionally razz me about my admiration for Sylvester Stallone.

Jim was one of my oldest (in age and length of time) and dearest friends. Jim was the owner of The Cartoon Museum in Orlando, Florida, when I first met him. At the same time, Jim also worked as a syndicated cartoonist [The Thoughts of Man], a political cartoonist [The Orlando Sentinel], a publisher [CartooNews], teacher [UCF cartooning class] and comic book convention organizer [OrlandoCon]. Jim made a lot of life-long friends through these activities and I was one of them.

“The Last Outlaw” (1993) starring Mickey Rourke, Dermot Mulroney, Ted Levine, John C. McGinley, Steve Buscemi, Keith David and Paul Ben-Victor / Z-View

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The Last Outlaw (1993)

Director: Geoff Murphy

Screenplay:  Eric Red

Stars:  Mickey Rourke, Dermot Mulroney, Ted Levine, John C. McGinley, Steve Buscemi, Keith David and Paul Ben-Victor.

Tagline: You’re looking at the face of a killer with nothing left to lose

The Plot…

After the Civil War a renegade band of outlaws terrorize frontier towns robbing banks. They are a former Confederate squad that decided to stay together after the war ended. Under the command of Graff and his second-in-command Eustis, the outlaws are deadly.

Things go south during a robbery.  Several members of Graff’s squad are shot as they ride out of town.  Just slightly ahead of the posse, the outlaws stop to assess injuries.  One of the team is badly wounded.  Graf is ready to put him out down, despite the man’s protest that he can ride.  Eustis intervenes.  Things quickly escalate.  Eustis shoots Graf off his horse as the outlaws ride away.

Graf is taken prisoner by the posse.  In order to save his life, Graf offers to help the posse bring down his former teammates.  They accept.

As Eustis attempts to lead the few remaining soldiers to safety, Graff and the posse close in with murderous intentions.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Keith David, Ted Levine, John C. McGinley and Steve Buscemi do a lot of the heavy lifting.  They’re always good.

I’m usually a Mickey Rourke fan, but this role didn’t work for me.

The Last Outlaw could be subtitled Josey Wales Lite.

The Last Outlaw (1993) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Spartacus” (1960) directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Tony Curtis and Woody Strode / Z-View

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Spartacus (1960)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Screenplay: Dalton Trumbo; based on SPARTACUS by Howard Fast.

Stars:  Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Tony Curtis, John Ireland, Herbert Lom, John Dall, Charles McGraw, Harold J. Stone, Hume Cronyn, Richard Farnsworth and Woody Strode.

Tagline: They trained him to kill for their pleasure. . .but they trained him a little too well. . .

The Plot…

Spartacus, a Thracian slave, is so rebellious that he is sentenced to die.  Before the execution is carried out, Lentulus Batiatus buys Spartacus. Batiatus trains former slaves to become gladiators.  These gladiators will die fighting each other to provide entertainment for rich and powerful Romans.

Spartacus’ rebellious ways continue at the school for gladiators.  Pushed to his limit, Spartacus fights back against one of his oppressors.  To his (and everyone’s surprise) the other gladiators-in-training join in Spartacus’ revolt.

Spartacus and his well-trained gladiators move from village to village freeing slaves along the way.  Most freed slaves join the rebellion.

Rome is worried.  The slave uprising must be put down.   So the most powerful army in the world turns its sights on Spartacus.  The revolt must be crushed!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Spartacus was nominated for six 1961 Academy Awards and won four…

  • Nominee for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture – Alex North
  • Nominee for Best Film Editing – Robert Lawrence
  • Winner for Best Costume Design, Color– Valles, Bill Thomas
  • Winner for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color – Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom, Russell A. Gausman, Julia Heron
  • Winner for Best Cinematography, Color – Russell Metty
  • Winner for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Peter Ustinov

Anthony Mann was the original director of Spartacus.  Creative differences between Mann and Kirk Douglas led to Stanley Kubrick coming on as director.  The salt mine locations were the only Mann directed scenes to make the final cut.  Ironically, Douglas and Kubrick also had major creative differences.

A few years after the release of Spartacus, Anthony Mann directed Kirk Douglas in The Heroes of Telemark.

Stanley Kubrick disliked the working conditions of this film.  It is the only “work-for-hire” credit on his resume.  On every other Kubrick film, he had complete control.

A scene cut for the original release was restored in 1991.  It is the scene where Marcus Licinius Crassus (Sir Laurence Olivier) attempts to seduce Antoninus (Tony Curtis) using inuendo of snails and oysters.  The original soundtrack was lost.  Curtis re-recorded his lines.  Since Olivier had died, Anthony Hopkins (who was known to imitate Olivier’s voice) was brought in to re-record Olivier’s lines.  Hopkins is thanked in the updated credits

The 1991 restoration contains exactly four additional minutes of footage than the original release.  Two minutes are the famous “snails and oysters” scene with the additional two minutes going to the overture, intermission, and exit music.

Kirk Douglas said that he made Spartacus because he was turned down for the lead in Ben-Hur.

I was surprised to see Hume Cronyn as a gladiator!

Spartacus is a classic.  A film everyone should see.

Spartacus (1960) rates 5 of 5 stars.

Sly Stallone as Rocky Balboa by Gagnu!

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Sly Stallone as Rocky Balboa by Gagnu!

“It really don’t matter if I lose this fight. It really don’t matter if this guy opens my head, either. ‘Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. Nobody’s ever gone the distance with Creed, and if I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I’m still standin’, I’m gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren’t just another bum from the neighborhood.” – Rocky Balboa

“Kiss Me Deadly” (1955) directed by Robert Aldrich; starring Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart and Juano Hernandez / Z-View

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Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Director: Robert Aldrich

Screenplay: A.I. Bezzerides, Robert Aldrich (uncredited); based on KISS ME DEADLY by Mickey Spillane.

Stars:  Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez, Marjorie Bennett, Strother Martin and Jack Elam.

Tagline: Blood red kisses! White hot thrills! Mickey Spillane’s latest H-bomb!

The Plot…

Driving home late one evening, Mike Hammer nearly runs over a woman in the middle of the road.  She’s barefoot and wearing just a trenchcoat.  Hammer stops.  The woman is running from someone but doesn’t say who.

Hammer gives her a lift, but soon thugs catch up to them.  The last thing Hammer hears is the woman’s scream.  When he wakes up, he’s in the hospital.  The goons killed the woman, then threw her and Hammer’s unconscious body in the car before pushing it over the cliff.

Hammer believes whatever the woman was involved in was “something big”.  Plus he wants payback.

Hammer’s going to get answers he couldn’t have imagined and find himself the target of a crime syndicate after the result of a top secret government experiment.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Although based on Mickey Spillane’s novel of the same name, the film makes changes to Hammer as well as the plot.  In the film, Hammer is a sleazy LA PI who never uses a gun; instead of a fearless NY private eye.   In the film, Hammer finds himself in international intrigue with a suitcase containing stolen atomic material.  In the book, Hammer is up against the Mafia after a suitcase of heroin.

Kiss Me Deadly features Cloris Leachman’s first theatrical film role.

The haunting ending will stay with you long after the film ends.

Kiss Me Deadly (1955) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Day of the Fight” (1951) directed by Stanley Kubrick / Z-View

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Day of the Fight (1951)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Narration:  Robert Rein

Stars:  Walter Cartier, Vincent Cartier.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Day of the Fight is a sixteen minute short.  It begins with a brief history of boxing and then follows professional middleweight boxer Walter Cartier from morning through his main card fight.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Walter Cartier was not only a professional boxer, but a professional actor as well.  He is best known for his role as Private Claude Dillingham on The Phil Silvers Show.

Stanley Kubrick can be seen as the camera operator.  It cost Kubrick $3,900.00 to make this short and he sold it to RKO for $4,000.00.

House of Numbers (1957) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Big Trouble in Little China” Alt Poster by Michael Rogers!

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Check out this alt poster for Big Trouble in Little China by Michael Rogers.

” When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like that: “Have ya paid your dues, Jack?” “Yessir, the check is in the mail.”” – Jack Burton

“Red Dawn” (1984) directed by John Milius; starring Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, Ben Johnson, Harry Dean Stanton, Ron O’Neal, William Smith, Frank McRae, Lane Smith and Powers Boothe / Z-View

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Red Dawn (1984)

Director: John Milius

Screenplay:  Kevin Reynolds, John Milius; story by Kevin Reynolds

Stars:  Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, Ben Johnson, Harry Dean Stanton, Ron O’Neal, William Smith, Frank McRae, Lane Smith and Powers Boothe.

Tagline: In our time, no foreign army has ever occupied American soil. Until now.

The Plot…

The United States is surprised by a sneak attack.  The combined forces of the Soviet Union, Cuba and Nicaragua did the unthinkable.  Foreign paratroopers land across the midwest.  One groups touches down outside the small town of Calumet, Colorado.  The invaders come in blasting.

A group of teenagers, with a small amount of supplies and weapons escape into the mountains.  From their vantage point, they see their town taken over and learn that the World War III has begun.

As supplies run low, they learn that the war is raging.  The US military responded and turned back the advancement of foreign powers.  There is a current stalement and the nearest safe zone is 40 miles away.

When a couple of soldiers accidentally come across a few of the teens, they respond by killing the foreign fighters.  When the invaders discover their dead comrades, they respond by executing several townsfolk.

The teens decide they are through with just hiding.  They launch guerilla attacks on the invaders. They leave “Wolverines” signs behind after each attack. The Wolverines are surprisingly successful.  Word spreads and provides hope to the oppressed.  The leaders occupying the town decide that the  Wolverines must be caught and executed.

As World War III rages, what chance of survival do a ragtag group of teens have against the combined invading armies of three countries?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Red Dawn was the first film released with a MPAA PG-13 rating.

In the original screenplay there was a love story subplot between Jed (Patrick Swayze) and Toni (Jennifer Grey).  The subplot was cut. Swayze and Grey later appeared as lovers in Dirty Dancing.

A love scene between Lea Thompson and Powers Boothe’s characters was cut after preview audiences found the age difference uncomfortable.

Red Dawn features Charlie Sheen’s feature film debut.

I saw Red Dawn when it was first released.  I was a first year teacher.  The scene of the invading paratroopers landing outside the school was chilling.  I’ve watched the film several times over the years (and recently) — it still provides chills.

Red Dawn (1984) rates 4 of 5 stars.