Post by klep on Feb 20, 2017 7:39:52 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/20: Creed
THIRD WEEK OF BLACK FILM MONTH
What is it that boxers are looking for when they step into the ring? The thrill of the fight? That feeling of rising up to the challenge of their rival? Or is it to make their mark - to be remembered for something? Do these fighters just want to leave a record behind of their greatness and their accomplishments?
Nearly every scene of Creed is about legacy. The very first scene demonstrates that Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan as an adult, Alex Henderson here) has all of the fight that his father Apollo had. Apollo becomes an obsession with Adonis, leading him to quit a promising career of white-collar work to step into the ring. He has a strong desire to prove himself - to leave a greater mark than he could sitting behind a desk. But there's little doubt he also admires his father, and honor that legacy as well.
But Apollo's isn't the only legacy in question here. Rock Balboa (Stallone, as always) is retired from the game, but the persistence of young Adonis draws him back out to train him. Rocky quickly becomes a surrogate father to Adonis, and the boy becomes his own legacy - someone to carry on his wisdom and tradition. His paternal attitude towards Adonis is made all the more poignant by the revelation that he has cancer, and Adonis may truly be his last chance to leave a mark on the world.
While boxing itself no longer has quite the cultural cache it once did, boxing films still seem to retain their power and appeal. Perhaps it's because they offer us a story about life in miniature. Hard work, struggle, perseverance all in search of a goal that may mean nothing to anyone but you, and sometimes even after all that you still come up short. And sometimes, when you win you lose and when you lose you win. And we can get all of these out of a story about two guys who climb into a ring and beat each other up.
And that's the final bit of legacy Creed leaves us with. The Rocky franchise has had its ups and downs over the years, and the continuing release of sequels with little justification have turned it into a punchline. But Creed shows us that the franchise still has life in it, and reminds us of why Rocky is so beloved to begin with.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/27: Devil in a Blue Dress
FOURTH WEEK OF BLACK FILM MONTH
Our final film for Black Film Month will be Carl Franklin's Devil in a Blue Dress, starring a young Denzel Washington as a man hired to find a woman in post-war Los Angeles. It is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 2/21: Batman
In the late 80s Warner Brothers decided to revive a franchise that had been dead on film for over 20 years with a new Batman movie, and to film it they turned to Tim Burton. Now, as the Caped Crusader's latest film The Lego Batman Movie is in theaters, the podcast crew is returning to Burton's take on this hero to discuss how Batman has evolved in the intervening time. Batman is available for rent on Amazon Video, and is free for Prime members with an HBO add-on.
THIRD WEEK OF BLACK FILM MONTH
What is it that boxers are looking for when they step into the ring? The thrill of the fight? That feeling of rising up to the challenge of their rival? Or is it to make their mark - to be remembered for something? Do these fighters just want to leave a record behind of their greatness and their accomplishments?
Nearly every scene of Creed is about legacy. The very first scene demonstrates that Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan as an adult, Alex Henderson here) has all of the fight that his father Apollo had. Apollo becomes an obsession with Adonis, leading him to quit a promising career of white-collar work to step into the ring. He has a strong desire to prove himself - to leave a greater mark than he could sitting behind a desk. But there's little doubt he also admires his father, and honor that legacy as well.
But Apollo's isn't the only legacy in question here. Rock Balboa (Stallone, as always) is retired from the game, but the persistence of young Adonis draws him back out to train him. Rocky quickly becomes a surrogate father to Adonis, and the boy becomes his own legacy - someone to carry on his wisdom and tradition. His paternal attitude towards Adonis is made all the more poignant by the revelation that he has cancer, and Adonis may truly be his last chance to leave a mark on the world.
While boxing itself no longer has quite the cultural cache it once did, boxing films still seem to retain their power and appeal. Perhaps it's because they offer us a story about life in miniature. Hard work, struggle, perseverance all in search of a goal that may mean nothing to anyone but you, and sometimes even after all that you still come up short. And sometimes, when you win you lose and when you lose you win. And we can get all of these out of a story about two guys who climb into a ring and beat each other up.
And that's the final bit of legacy Creed leaves us with. The Rocky franchise has had its ups and downs over the years, and the continuing release of sequels with little justification have turned it into a punchline. But Creed shows us that the franchise still has life in it, and reminds us of why Rocky is so beloved to begin with.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/27: Devil in a Blue Dress
FOURTH WEEK OF BLACK FILM MONTH
Our final film for Black Film Month will be Carl Franklin's Devil in a Blue Dress, starring a young Denzel Washington as a man hired to find a woman in post-war Los Angeles. It is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 2/21: Batman
In the late 80s Warner Brothers decided to revive a franchise that had been dead on film for over 20 years with a new Batman movie, and to film it they turned to Tim Burton. Now, as the Caped Crusader's latest film The Lego Batman Movie is in theaters, the podcast crew is returning to Burton's take on this hero to discuss how Batman has evolved in the intervening time. Batman is available for rent on Amazon Video, and is free for Prime members with an HBO add-on.