rra
King Koopa
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Post by rra on Jan 29, 2008 1:15:10 GMT -5
RAMBO (2008) - ***In watching the big action climax in RAMBO when the Burmese freedom fighters arrive to help Rambo kick some ass, I had deja vue flashbacks of RAMBO III where you had similar insurgents in Afghanistan make an ambush charge against the big bad Soviets. You know, Rambo's buddies who repaid America's help by crashing airplanes into the World Trade Center. Considering that writer/director/star Sylvester Stallone wanted his iconic action hero to be very pessimistic about humanity in his hermit lifestyle, he should have made a point of how John Rambo once tried to help a people in great need, and ended up inadvertedly helping the future Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. I would definately have bought why such a person voluntarily bannishes himself into the deep jungles of Burma out of shame, and refuses initially to help some folks out. That's such a goddamn goldmine of an idea wasted, and that's my beef with Stallone as a scriptwriter. He displays some good ideas, or at least concepts that are worth playing around as genre junk in even the worst RAMBO and ROCKY pictures. His problem is that he's notoriusly just lazy and pens shortcuts. It makes me wonder how he ever pulled off ROCKY without pulling a ROCKY II. Take the scene between Rambo and the mercenaries. There is a point to be made about these bitter soldiers of fortune, without nations or allegiances, deciding to put their asses on the line for an unselfish noble cause. It's pure action junk, but Akira Kurosawa made a masterpiece in THE SEVEN SAMURAI out of such material. Instead, Stallone wastes this subplot as simply an excuse for why they follow his command. I would have figured Rambo killing a Burmese platoon with ease was enough, but whatever. What is funny is that while RAMBO tries to cut back (somewhat) on the cartoonish stupidity that I just outright despise about the other RAMBO sequels, its team-mission story structure is a pure theft of James Cameron's damn good script draft for RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II. Like that script, RAMBO tries to make a point that while Stallone is a badass solo fighting machine in the original FIRST BLOOD, he can't take on an army by himself with pure ease, guns that never need to be reloaded, and steroid muscles. You know, like the film version of FIRST BLOOD PART II we unfortunately got instead. There are other tiny things in RAMBO that annoy me. Why did the paper-thin butcher of a villain have to be gay? I know in Stallone's world, this is "depth," but instead its just shallow and for the Christian Missionary captives in the film, I'm sure it gives them moral justification to hold back those sodomites back in America. Also, where did all those enemy soldiers come from in the finale? Plus, whats with that gratuitous mass rape scene? You have Rambo save a white American Christian woman from getting jumped, but he ignores the natives that get the NYC Subway ride. Did this hero of the Reagan Decade become a racist towards all Asians this side of Mickey Rourke in YEAR OF THE DRAGON because the Vietnamese beat him up with bamboo and leeches? What an asshole. So in spite of my rants, why did I sorta enjoy RAMBO? Because the action scenes are perhaps the most intensive, more violent, and most balls-to-the-wall we've seen in American action cinema since ROBOCOP. People don't fall down via the magical PG-13 rating or digital-blood. No, they all get ripped to bits in this good ole fashion squid-orgy, though when Stallone gets behind the machine gun, its literally more of a squash-fest. Like ROBOCOP, it abuses the hell out of its R-rating, and then some. In that regard, the fourth and perhaps final John Rambo adventure is the only watchable sequel to the original and best FIRST BLOOD if only because this aint (as much) Stallone the egomaniac of the 80s who had to win both the Cold War and Vietnam after the fact. I do think though that its ironically funny that Stallone trashed Cameron's draft for FIRST BLOOD PART II back in the day for being "moody"...and yet inbetween the arrows, bullets, and rain...that's what RAMBO is.
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rra
King Koopa
Posts: 10,145
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Post by rra on Jan 29, 2008 2:01:27 GMT -5
Since Ebert didn't review RAMBO, here's A.O. Scott of the New York Times. Not a favorite critic of mine, but whatever.....
Rambo (2008) January 25, 2008
Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back in the Jungle
By A. O. SCOTT Published: January 25, 2008
Has it really been 20 years? Last time we saw John Rambo, in 1988, he was involved in some cold war endgame stuff in Afghanistan, and his action-movie franchise, begun in 1982 with “First Blood,” seemed to be sputtering toward self-parody. Since then Rambo has faded into semi-obscurity, though his name is sometimes still used, perhaps a bit unfairly, as a synonym for revanchist, go-it-alone militarism.
When I saw the posters announcing his imminent return, I wondered whom he would be fighting this time. In “Rambo: First Blood Part II,” the cumbersomely titled centerpiece of the earlier trilogy, he went back to Vietnam to collect payback both from the Communists and, indirectly, from the pusillanimous desk jockeys who supposedly messed up that war the first time around. Given this résumé, it seemed reasonable to assume that now he might be heading back to Central Asia to hunt down Osama bin Laden, a job no one else seems inclined to tackle.
But it turns out I misjudged Rambo, and maybe also Sylvester Stallone, who directed and wrote (with Art Monterastelli) the newest “Rambo,” and who plays the title character. When we first encounter him, this weary warrior has retreated from geopolitics, passing the time at a remote river station in the Thai jungle, where he hunts poisonous snakes and dabbles in blacksmithing. Old Rambo seems kind of depressed, to tell the truth, until his wrath is stirred by the viciousness of the Burmese Army.
Burma? But why not Burma? (In this movie, no one calls it Myanmar.) As a precredit montage of actual news clips reminds us, the military government of that nation has been engaged not only in widespread authoritarian abuses but also in a brutal, long-running campaign against the Karen ethnic minority. And it is with the Karen that Rambo, once roused from his weary cynicism, throws in his lot. No longer the bloody avatar of wounded American pride, he seems more inclined toward humanitarian intervention — a one-man N.G.O. with a machete. Will he show up in Darfur next?
Not that he is motivated by abstract moral concern. (And not that he is entirely alone. Some grumpy mercenaries are on hand to add firepower and profanity to the cause.) With Rambo, the political is always personal. He temporarily joins the Karen cause because some Western aid workers, carrying only Bibles, medical supplies and an air of sanctimony, hire him to ferry them upriver into Burma. He is skeptical about their mission, and their leader (Paul Schulze) seems like kind of a jerk, but something about Sarah (Julie Benz), the only woman in the group, touches Rambo’s soul. This is not a matter of sexual desire, but rather the kind of spiritual awakening that can be expressed only in misty abstractions. (“What you’re trying to do is change what is?” “And what is?” “Go home.”)
Sarah wonders why Rambo — she calls him John — has stayed away from the United States for so long. (This is partly answered in a dream sequence flashing back to some of the earlier episodes.) “Don’t you want to see what’s changed?” she asks. One thing that has is that women in action movies are encouraged to do their own fighting, but Mr. Stallone is old school in this regard. Blowing heads off and slicing abdomens is man’s work. Ms. Benz is on hand to scream, gasp, fall in the mud and huddle in a damp bamboo cage, waiting to be raped by the Burmese bad guys or rescued by Rambo.
And these bad guys make the Vietcong in the second Rambo movie look like paintball-slinging weekend warriors. “Rambo” is, for most of its fairly brief running time, a blood bath punctuated by occasional bouts of clumsy dialogue. There are beheadings, mutilations, disembowelings — enough gore to rival “Apocalypto.”
But the movie does have its own kind of blockheaded poetry. The first installments in the cycle were better films than polite opinion might lead you to believe. At the time their politics made some people nervous, but to dwell on Rambo’s ideological significance was (and still is) to miss his kinship with the samurais and gunslingers of older movies. Mr. Stallone is smart enough — or maybe dumb enough, though I tend to think not — to present the mythic dimensions of the character without apology or irony. His face looks like a misshapen chunk of granite, and his acting is only slightly more expressive, but the man gets the job done.
Welcome back.
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Post by Doctor Tull-eus S. Venture on Jan 29, 2008 10:00:29 GMT -5
What were the major changes to Cameron's original script?
I seem to recall that Stallone insisted that the ending be scripted in the way it appeared on film because he had to get his frustrations out about how Vietnam vets and POWs were crapped on by America.
The only problem was that whole point seemed to have gotten lost when he blew up Murdoch's office and his expensive 9-ft tall computer boxes and soda machines with an M-60, unlike the emotional breakdown in front of Richard Crenna in First Blood.
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DJ Peapod
Samurai Cop
RKO...Romantically Evil
Posts: 2,115
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Post by DJ Peapod on Jan 29, 2008 10:06:46 GMT -5
Here's a review:
If you like big explosions, nonsensical blowing up of body parts, and cool ass shooting sequences...yeah, this movie good for you!
I saw this movie last saturday, and it was just one holy s*@$ moment after another...it was great
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algertman
Hank Scorpio
Heroes Die. Legends Live Forever.
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Post by algertman on Jan 29, 2008 10:57:58 GMT -5
Things of note
The dream sequence has the original Fist Blood ending edited in
Rambo forcing Trautman to shoot him
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Post by The Thread Barbi on Jan 29, 2008 11:52:16 GMT -5
I don't think 'lazy' is the correct word to describe Stallone. A guy who directs, acts and writes the movie, and does more situps than me or you is hardly lazy.
Cuts corners, yes, but definitely not lazy.
So rra, did you grow a mullet magically, after being exposed to so much manliness?
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Post by texaswhopper on Jan 29, 2008 14:17:26 GMT -5
"I need more Cobras okay?"
Rambo-"**** YOU okay"
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rra
King Koopa
Posts: 10,145
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Post by rra on Jan 29, 2008 14:43:52 GMT -5
I don't think 'lazy' is the correct word to describe Stallone. A guy who directs, acts and writes the movie, and does more situps than me or you is hardly lazy. Cuts corners, yes, but definitely not lazy. So rra, did you grow a mullet magically, after being exposed to so much manliness? Dude, that's why I only criticized him as a scriptwriter.....he has (usually) good ideas to work with, but he's lazy in reaping the crops he planted. Look at ROCKY V. A bad movie, even most ROCKY fans disown it. Yet it had some damn good ideas that Stallone pissed up a flag pole. From the retired hero taking a kid under his wings, but pulling an Anakin Skywalker and falling to the Dark Side of boxing.....Duke the corrupt Don King-esque promoter....Rocky's hardass head coming back to haunt him.... Now take ROCKY BALBOA. Alot of good ideas, and for the most part, Stallone doesn't puss out with the ending. I'm still shocked he went with the only real ending. (Though Perry, you haven't lived until you saw the Stallone scripted/directed disaster-spectacle STAYING ALIVE)... Well, maybe it gave you some desperately needed hairs on your balls....Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood already did it for me years ago.
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rra
King Koopa
Posts: 10,145
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Post by rra on Jan 29, 2008 14:46:10 GMT -5
Things of note The dream sequence has the original Fist Blood ending edited in Rambo forcing Trautman to shoot him Yeah, I sorta dug that. I wonder how many folks realized it.... It was the same ending of the original Novel too (roughly), and thats why I get mad when people trash William Friedkin's THE HUNTED. Why? Because its practically FIRST BLOOD the book. The movie that Stallone script-doctored is a good ROCKY treatment of the material.
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rra
King Koopa
Posts: 10,145
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Post by rra on Jan 29, 2008 14:46:40 GMT -5
Here's a review: If you like big explosions, nonsensical blowing up of body parts, and cool ass shooting sequences...yeah, this movie good for you! I saw this movie last saturday, and it was just one holy s*@$ moment after another...it was great In that regard, thats why I gave the thumbs up.
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rra
King Koopa
Posts: 10,145
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Post by rra on Jan 29, 2008 15:06:56 GMT -5
What were the major changes to Cameron's original script? I seem to recall that Stallone insisted that the ending be scripted in the way it appeared on film because he had to get his frustrations out about how Vietnam vets and POWs were crapped on by America. The only problem was that whole point seemed to have gotten lost when he blew up Murdoch's office and his expensive 9-ft tall computer boxes and soda machines with an M-60, unlike the emotional breakdown in front of Richard Crenna in First Blood. Here it is: www.dailyscript.com/scripts/firstblood2.htmlThe main changes were: (1) The Opening - Instead of a Georgia prison work detail, Trautman goes to a VA hospital. The U.S. Army did keep Rambo from criminal prosecution for what happened in FIRST BLOOD, but treating him like an animal, they threw him into a deep dark "cell" and threw away the key. (2) Team - Rambo's mission to observe those POW camps, he's sent with a partner, a tech-wizz who's a greenhorn on the field. Rambo thinks he doesn't need him, but he really does ultimately... (3) Heel Turn - In the movie, you could tell immediately when we meet Murtaugh that he would be an asshole. In Cameron's screenplay, his heel turn is like Paul Reiser was in ALIENS. From pen-pusher to hands-on advisor to total corporate douchebag. In Cameron's FIRST BLOOD PART II, his scene of Rambo abandoned by the choppers is brilliant. (4) FIRST BLOOD - In that movie, you have Rambo be this one-man army, and all that stupidity. In Cameron's screenplay, Rambo is the same believable hardcore soldier from FIRST BLOOD, but even such a badass aint beat the VietCong and Russians on his own... (5) Heartbreak - Cameron's scenes between the Vietnamese contact and Rambo are so much more powerful, and more heart-breaking. (6) Finale - I forgot the ending really.
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Post by The Thread Barbi on Jan 29, 2008 15:53:49 GMT -5
Look at ROCKY V. A bad movie, even most ROCKY fans disown it. Yet it had some damn good ideas that Stallone pissed up a flag pole. From the retired hero taking a kid under his wings, but pulling an Anakin Skywalker and falling to the Dark Side of boxing.....Duke the corrupt Don King-esque promoter....Rocky's hardass head coming back to haunt him.... Now take ROCKY BALBOA. Alot of good ideas, and for the most part, Stallone doesn't puss out with the ending. I'm still shocked he went with the only real ending. (Though Perry, you haven't lived until you saw the Stallone scripted/directed disaster-spectacle STAYING ALIVE)... Well, maybe it gave you some desperately needed hairs on your balls....Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood already did it for me years ago. Was STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT a Stallone script? And mate, I'm a hairy bathturd as it is. Without watching RAMBO.
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Post by Doctor Tull-eus S. Venture on Jan 29, 2008 16:17:51 GMT -5
What were the major changes to Cameron's original script? I seem to recall that Stallone insisted that the ending be scripted in the way it appeared on film because he had to get his frustrations out about how Vietnam vets and POWs were crapped on by America. The only problem was that whole point seemed to have gotten lost when he blew up Murdoch's office and his expensive 9-ft tall computer boxes and soda machines with an M-60, unlike the emotional breakdown in front of Richard Crenna in First Blood. Here it is: www.dailyscript.com/scripts/firstblood2.htmlThe main changes were: (1) The Opening - Instead of a Georgia prison work detail, Trautman goes to a VA hospital. The U.S. Army did keep Rambo from criminal prosecution for what happened in FIRST BLOOD, but treating him like an animal, they threw him into a deep dark "cell" and threw away the key. (2) Team - Rambo's mission to observe those POW camps, he's sent with a partner, a tech-wizz who's a greenhorn on the field. Rambo thinks he doesn't need him, but he really does ultimately... (3) Heel Turn - In the movie, you could tell immediately when we meet Murtaugh that he would be an asshole. In Cameron's screenplay, his heel turn is like Paul Reiser was in ALIENS. From pen-pusher to hands-on advisor to total corporate douchebag. In Cameron's FIRST BLOOD PART II, his scene of Rambo abandoned by the choppers is brilliant. (4) FIRST BLOOD - In that movie, you have Rambo be this one-man army, and all that stupidity. In Cameron's screenplay, Rambo is the same believable hardcore soldier from FIRST BLOOD, but even such a badass aint beat the VietCong and Russians on his own... (5) Heartbreak - Cameron's scenes between the Vietnamese contact and Rambo are so much more powerful, and more heart-breaking. (6) Finale - I forgot the ending really. Thanks for the link to the script. This is amazing. Pity it was watered down so much.
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rra
King Koopa
Posts: 10,145
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Post by rra on Jan 29, 2008 17:32:14 GMT -5
Look at ROCKY V. A bad movie, even most ROCKY fans disown it. Yet it had some damn good ideas that Stallone pissed up a flag pole. From the retired hero taking a kid under his wings, but pulling an Anakin Skywalker and falling to the Dark Side of boxing.....Duke the corrupt Don King-esque promoter....Rocky's hardass head coming back to haunt him.... Now take ROCKY BALBOA. Alot of good ideas, and for the most part, Stallone doesn't puss out with the ending. I'm still shocked he went with the only real ending. (Though Perry, you haven't lived until you saw the Stallone scripted/directed disaster-spectacle STAYING ALIVE)... Well, maybe it gave you some desperately needed hairs on your balls....Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood already did it for me years ago. Was STOP! OR MY MOM WILL SHOOT a Stallone script? And mate, I'm a hairy bathturd as it is. Without watching RAMBO. You sure? I mean, considering how much you asked/talked of how RAMBO grows hair on balls....I was sorta confused.
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rra
King Koopa
Posts: 10,145
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Post by rra on Jan 29, 2008 17:33:23 GMT -5
Here it is: www.dailyscript.com/scripts/firstblood2.htmlThe main changes were: (1) The Opening - Instead of a Georgia prison work detail, Trautman goes to a VA hospital. The U.S. Army did keep Rambo from criminal prosecution for what happened in FIRST BLOOD, but treating him like an animal, they threw him into a deep dark "cell" and threw away the key. (2) Team - Rambo's mission to observe those POW camps, he's sent with a partner, a tech-wizz who's a greenhorn on the field. Rambo thinks he doesn't need him, but he really does ultimately... (3) Heel Turn - In the movie, you could tell immediately when we meet Murtaugh that he would be an asshole. In Cameron's screenplay, his heel turn is like Paul Reiser was in ALIENS. From pen-pusher to hands-on advisor to total corporate douchebag. In Cameron's FIRST BLOOD PART II, his scene of Rambo abandoned by the choppers is brilliant. (4) FIRST BLOOD - In that movie, you have Rambo be this one-man army, and all that stupidity. In Cameron's screenplay, Rambo is the same believable hardcore soldier from FIRST BLOOD, but even such a badass aint beat the VietCong and Russians on his own... (5) Heartbreak - Cameron's scenes between the Vietnamese contact and Rambo are so much more powerful, and more heart-breaking. (6) Finale - I forgot the ending really. Thanks for the link to the script. This is amazing. Pity it was watered down so much. You know what's awesome? Cameron cranked it out while he was trying to finish THE TERMINATOR, and was also scripting ALIENS. Now that's quality Hollywood workrate.
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