Rocky Balboa [Blu-ray] Reviews

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1. carol irvin "carol irvin"

   May 18, 2011 at 6:29 am

   34 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

   
   If you have always loved House the character, and I have, it is better than ever, November 9, 2009

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   carol irvin “carol irvin” (United States) –
     

     

     

   This review is from: House, M.D.: Season Six (DVD)

   If you are interested in watching a character develop other than Hugh Laurie as House, stop right now. The round robin of supporting doctors continues and the only ones for sure who remain constants on the series are Wilson, Cuddy and Forman. These are the only characters you can count on seeing week in and week out. They are all dwarfed by House as the lead too. These other three do pretty well with him but still, if Hugh Laurie suddenly quit, I very much doubt you’d have a show called Forman or Wilson or Cuddy. The show would be DOA.

   So realizing that House is more than ever the whole show, how is it? If you have always loved House the character, and I have, it is better than ever, because House is better than ever as a character. Hugh Laurie gives it his all in every single episode. Perhaps the opening two episodes are the strongest he’s ever done where he is in a mental hospital, first detoxing and then dealing with his breaks from reality leading to his complete mental breakdown. Laurie covers House’s stint as a mental patient in true virtuoso form. Then he has to pick up practicing medicine again back at the hospital so we start in with new episodes with his new patients. These remain the same strong dramas as before. He has dramas with his doctors too, all different ones with Wilson, Cuddy and Forman being the only constants. If you want to see any other particular doctor, it is simply the luck of the draw on which episode you play to get that character.

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2. Sherry Porubcansky

   May 18, 2011 at 6:16 am

   28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

   
   Smartest Show on TV, May 20, 2010

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   Sherry Porubcansky (Cedarburg, WI United States) –
     

   This review is from: House, M.D.: Season Six (DVD)

   Anyone who cares about great writing – hopefully, we’ve all gotten over the loss of Aaron Sorkin for The West Wing – well, okay, nobody’s reached his level – but I continue to be fascinated by this character. Thanks to the writers for delivering intricate character pieces within the “okay, first scene, somebody’s going to contract a mysterious illness right NOW’ basic setup – this show could so easily have sunk to one-trick pony oblivion but for the writing and the amazing acting from Hugh Laurie. If you’ve ever seen him on a talk show and been surprised at his all-too-humble personality, you’re not alone. He transforms himself into this tortured, brilliant, loving and lovable character. He’s acerbic. Brilliant. Sarcastic. Brutally truthful. Hilarious (but you never laugh at this character, only with him). And yes, tortured – by the pain in his leg and, of course, his heart. As I look over the episodes from this season, I’m thinking of one more reason to give it my highest recommendation: if you or anyone you know ever goes into therapy, watch this season. I’ve never seen such a terrific depiction of what therapy is at its best. Ever. And I’ve had many therapists, two of whom had the ability to make me see my world from a different angle, with different eyes. That’s a pitifully inadequate description, so buy this season of House and measure any therapy against what you see in this television show. It really is superlative TV.

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3. Mr. "alan5973"

   May 18, 2011 at 5:25 am

   83 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

   
   A Fitting End To The Rocky Balboa Saga!, February 20, 2007

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   Mr. “alan5973” (USA) –
     

   This review is from: Rocky Balboa (DVD)

   When it was revealed that there was going to be a Rocky VI, many naysayers groaned and complained that enough was enough and that Sly was too over the hill and couldn’t pull it off. But the TRUE FANS out there knew differently. Even the critics, who initially made skeptical/negative comments about the sixth installment, started turning their stories around after viewing the film in its entirety. Rocky Balboa is a real winner of a movie, that fully realizes the essence of the original classic and brings the saga full circle to a thrilling, emotional, and very memorable conclusion.

   Many years have gone by since last we saw Rocky, who is now a widower, estranged from his son and still mourning the loss of his beloved wife, Adrian. There are some truly touching moments of Rocky at the cemetery, sitting by her grave (when I saw the film in theaters, no one in the audience made a sound – even the rowdy ones – during these scenes, out of pure respect for the characters) as well as Rocky’s journey, with Paulie, to all the places he took Adrian on their classic first date. So touching.

   Now Rocky has his own restaurant, where he greets his customers and regales them with past stories of glory. But deep inside of him is a rage that he must get out of himself and conquer in order to move on with his life. The only way to do that is to go back in the ring. But when a computer simulated match between Rocky and the current reigning heavyweight champion of the world, Mason Dixon, is shown on TV, showing Rocky as the victor, word spreads like wildfire for the real thing.

   No Rocky film is complete without a training montage, and this film’s got it in spades. Stallone has the character of Rocky so integrated within himself, and gives nothing short of one of his finest performances on screen. Many memorable scenes, including Rocky’s long and emotional talk with his son, as well as his new relationship with Marie (the young woman Rocky walked home back in the first installment) make for truly compelling drama. And the climactic fight at the finale is the icing on the cake. It’s inspirational and never disappoints for a second.

   Rocky Balboa belongs in the collection of every fan (and non-fan alike for that matter) and the DVD is loaded with wonderful bonus features, including Audio Commentary with Stallone, Deleted Scenes, Featurettes, Alternate Ending, and more. Pick this film up and watch it again and again. You’ll be happy you did.

   Rocky Balboa – a fitting end to the Rocky Saga!

   “But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” – Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa

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4. James Koenig "konedog"

   May 18, 2011 at 5:01 am

   53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

   
   A Fitting Wrap to the Rocky Series, December 27, 2006

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   James Koenig “konedog” (Minnesota) –
     

   If you liked the original “Rocky”, you will really like this movie, as it is more about the character Rocky, his feelings, his life, and his future. Rocky 3, 4, and 5 are missing the vital heart and soul we loved in Rocky 1 and 2 so much – we fell in love with the Rocky character, his humanness, his gentleness (despite his hulking size and profession), his love of Adrian, Mick, and Paulie. In “Rocky Balboa”, Sylvester Stallone has captured the essence of Rocky once again. The film will move you as it did me. I laughed out loud, I was inspired, I cheered, and I cried.

   Rocky V was supposed to the last Rocky film, but the film was disappointing in that it had no real conclusion of the character of Rocky. Stallone was disappointed with it, and for years pestered the studios to allow him one more installment. With “Rocky Balboa, Stallone once again causes us to fall in love with Rocky, and he ends the film with a just and satisfying conclusion. I guarantee you will like this film if you liked the original “Rocky.”

   This final installment of the Rocky series, “Rocky Balboa”, has much of the flavor of the original Rocky (1976) release. The emphasis is not on the fight, rather, it is on the character of Rocky, and how he is struggling to maintain himself after the unexpected and premature death of his beloved Adrian. Adrian has died and Rocky’s life stopped when she died. He is stuck in the past, with no clear vision of his future without her at his side. Each morning, Rocky begins his day by sitting beside Adrian’s grave in a wooden chair he stores in the crook of a nearby tree. He brings her fresh flowers and contemplates their past love together. He has a restaurant, called “Adrian’s”, where Rocky entertains his guests with stories of his past boxing glories. It so happens it is the 5-year anniversary of Adrian’s death, and Rocky, as he has done each of the previous 5 years, goes back to the old neighborhood to relive his fond loving memories of Adrian, like the pet store, the skating rink, their apartment, and Mick’s boxing gym. Rocky misses Adrian so much he cannot get over her. She is like a ghost who dominates his every waking moment.

   Like the original “Rocky”, this film devotes enjoyable time in developing the character of Rocky and his interactions with old and new characters. Th “old” characters are Paulie (Adrian’s brother), Rocky’s son (now a fledgling businessman, struggling to carve out a life outside his famous father’s shadow), Spider Rico (a former opponent, and now Rocky’s friend and confidant), and “Little Marie”, (now a grown woman who works at the neighborhood bar) who Rocky walked home from a street corner in the original film (Marie was perhaps 12 years old then – she is pushing 40 years old in this film).

   The new characters are Step, Marie’s son, whom Rocky befriends like a father figure, and Mason “The Line” Dixon, the current heavyweight champion, who is stuck in his own life rut. Like art imitating real life, the heavyweight division is in the dumps with no real contenders for Dixon to fight. Dixon is booed by fans despite him easily winning his matches against all the pretender “contenders”. The fans are in a state of unrest, because there is no boxer on the scene with the credentials to give Mason Dixon a real fight. And so, Dixon has doubts about himself. Is he really a champion when he has no viable competition? Does he have a fighter’s heart? Can he go the distance with a real challenger? Can he get up and fight if he gets knocked down? It appears that Dixon will never find the answers to his questions until a computer fight with Rocky Balboa is generated. Much like the real-life computer fight between Rocky Marchiano and Muhummad Ali, the Dixon-Balboa fight ends with Rocky KO’ing the current champion. Dixon’s manger and handlers use the computer fight to generate interest in a real fight with Rocky Balboa. Dixon needs the positive publicity the fight will bring him, and he needs to settle the issue of how he would do against a real champion like Balboa. At first, Dixon is incredulous that someone as old as Rocky could even step in the ring with him, as Rocky is in has mid to late fifties. The match is set as an exhibition, and Dixon tells Rocky he will carry him and not embarass him. Little does Dixon know, Rocky still feels he has something to prove, and he takes the fight seriously, giving Dixon the war he needs to prove his mettle.

   Rocky accepts the challenge to fight despite the disapproval of his son and Paulie. They fear for the very life of Rocky. But Rocky eventually convinces them that he has to fight because he cannot go into eternity with a whisper. The Rock believes a man is always a man, and has the soul of a fighting man even when he ages. The fight for Rocky is a metaphor for the value of one’s life at any age, and is also his personal battle to move…

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