BONUS REVIEW: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (1981)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

6

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, once, in January of 2017

BEST SEQUENCE

Ginny putting on Pamela's sweater to defeat Jason

BEST LINE

“Jason! It’s all done, Jason! You’ve done your job well and mommy is pleased”

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

33%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Friday the 13th Part 2 sets the template for the franchise to follow with more teen victims, more gruesome set pieces, and fewer reasons to keep following along."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"Five years after the events of the first film, a summer camp next to the infamous Camp Crystal Lake is preparing to open, but the legend of Jason is weighing heavy on the proceedings."

DIRECTOR

Steve Miner

MAIN CAST

Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King, Stu Charno, Warrington Gillette, Steve Daskewisz

THOUGHTS

• Very cutting, Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus, but keep following along we shall
• First movie with Jason as the killer, but not necessarily the most recognizable version of him. No hockey mask, that's in the next movie. Instead Jason wears a burlap sack with a very off-putting single eyehole. Jason's also a bit more agile in this one - running through the woods, pursuing his victims, not quite the lumbering menace that we'll come to know and love
• Everything else is pretty unremarkable and nondescript, though. Forgettable victims, zero plot, buy hey, that's slashers for ya
• The most memorable segment is probably when we see Jason's shrine to his mother, complete with Pamela's sweater and decomposing head, but even that is presented without much fanfare. It's kind of just there and then it's in the background
• Best kill: machete to the face, wheelchair rolling backwards down the stairs
• Second-best kill: spear through two people and also through the mattress, reminiscent of Kevin Bacon's death in the first one, which is appropriate because in this movie this happens to an actor called Bill Randolph, whom I would describe as Dollar Store Kevin Bacon. Kevin Spam
• Side note, since rewatching the first Friday the 13th, I watched a movie called In a Violent Nature, and I liked it a lot. I saw it as an elevated version of the Friday the 13th movies (even if some people cringe at that term), and man, some of the kills in In a Violent Nature you won't be forgetting anytime soon
• Lastly, I had the honour of rewatching Friday the 13th Part 2 with my wife, Ashley, and my friend, Analisa, and here are their one-line contributions to this review
  
• Ashley: "Muffin the Dog is the winner"
  
• Analisa: "Pamela Voorhees is an icon"
• Not long to wait for the next one! We'll be seeing that hockey mask in December

#52-B: CREED (2015)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

8.5

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Never

BEST SEQUENCE

Final fight with "Pretty" Ricky Conlan

BEST LINE

“Your father was special. Tell you the truth, I don’t know if you’re special. Only you’re gonna know that when the time is right.” - Rocky to Donnie

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

95%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"Creed brings the Rocky franchise off the mat for a surprisingly effective seventh round that extends the boxer's saga in interesting new directions while staying true to its classic predecessors' roots."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed."

DIRECTOR

Ryan Coogler

MAIN CAST

Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Tony Bellew

THOUGHTS

• There's more boxing so it gets a higher Thrill Score. End of review
• Just kidding. I don't think it's fair to say that Creed is better than Rocky, as they're fairly different movies (despite a lot of obvious similarities) and Creed certainly benefits from not only building off of the foundation laid by Rocky, but also the advances in filmmaking and storytelling that we've seen in the 40 years between the two movies being released. I do think it's fair to say that I was more entertained by Creed, though. More consistent action, and I was physically pumping my fist during Donnie's climactic fight in a way that I wasn't during Rocky's climactic fight with Donnie's father (and incidentally, the character's name is Adonis, but he refers to himself as Donnie throughout the movie so that's how I'm going to refer to him as well)
• I do also think Creed benefited from this being my first time seeing it, whereas I knew exactly what to expect for Rocky. This is also still kind of funny, though, because a lot of the beats are the same, especially in the final boxing matches - the protagonist seems outmatched, then he starts landing some hard punches, and baby, you got a stew going (to quote Apollo Creed himself, Carl Weathers). And, spoiler alert for both Rocky and Creed, in a funny twist of fate, both fights even end the same way - our protagonist goes the distance and gives the champ more than he bargained for, but our protagonist still loses in split decision. And I appreciated this ending in both movies - it was still entirely satisfying to see both Rocky and Donnie prove that they had what it takes to take on the champ, even if it didn't result in a full victory. Besides, gotta save something for the sequels, right?
• This is a great starring role for Michael B. Jordan, charismatic as always, and Sylvester Stallone got his second ever acting nomination for a very poignant, touching performance as the aged Rocky. If I recall, I'm pretty sure Stallone was heavily favoured to win Best Supporting Actor that year, but it ended up going to Mark Rylance for Bridge of Spies
• Some incredibly dynamic and exciting camerawork from Ryan Coogler, especially during the fights. It almost feels like you're there in the ring with them
• Finally, as a reboot/spinoff of the Rocky franchise, Creed was also kicking off a new series all its own, really, and I liked the differences in motivation between the two movies. In Rocky, Rocky Balboa was a nobody, someone who had to prove himself and start his own legacy through grit and determination. Donnie, on the other hand, already had a built-in legacy, and sky-high expectations that he needed to live up to. I liked seeing how the two different characters dealt with the differing circumstances

Up next: Well, I don't know if this was just coincidence or somehow intentional on the AFI's part, but there's more boxing coming at you (and I didn't even mention the fact that Pulp Fiction was also boxing adjacent with Bruce Willis's character Butch). It's one of Martin Scorsese's most highly regarded movies, Raging Bull from 1980

#52: ROCKY (1976)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

6

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Yes, but it's been a long time, probably 20 years ago or so

BEST SEQUENCE

It's tempting to pick the climactic bout between Rocky and Apollo Creed, but I'm going to go with the training montages. The final fight is well done, and it is exciting, but those training montages actually stirred the soul and gave me chills

BEST LINE

"I was nobody. But that don't matter either, you know? 'Cause I was thinkin', 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 neighbourhood."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

92%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"This story of a down-on-his-luck boxer is thoroughly predictable, but Sylvester Stallone's script and stunning performance in the title role brush aside complaints."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect."

DIRECTOR

John G. Avildsen

MAIN CAST

Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith

THOUGHTS

• Rocky is an enjoyable movie, and as a film it's better than the 6/10 that I gave it, but I wouldn't call it thrilling. It's actually very patient, I'd even call it quiet for the majority of its runtime. It stands to reason that what thrills we would find in a boxing movie would come from the boxing content, and by my count we see less than 15 minutes of Rocky actually boxing in this 2-hour movie. Do I wish there was more boxing? Honestly, no, not really. What we get is effective, but this is really more of a character study of a guy who gets his lucky shot at the big time. Still, while that final boxing match is certainly meaningful for the characters involved, it's hard to give this a higher thrill score based on that alone
• And so, I'm giving the edge to the spirit-lifting as opposed to the heart-pounding. Watching Rocky train for the big fight in classic montage fashion really did give me some chills. Kicking off with Rocky drinking five raw eggs (which Stallone clearly actually did, no movie magic there), running in his iconic grey tracksuit and Converse high tops (which I couldn't even imagine running in), and the wonderful shots of Philadelphia, including the famous run up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps (which is especially meaningful because earlier in the movie we see Rocky panting and limping his way up the same steps before walking away, defeated)
• And the music! If you don't have a visceral reaction to "Gonna Fly Now," well, I don't know what to say. This may also be more common knowledge than I realize, but worth mentioning, there's no "Eye of the Tiger" to be found here - that wasn't released until 1982 and Rocky III
• As alluded to in my last review, Rocky did very well at the Oscars that year - nine nominations and three wins, taking home the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. It was also a pretty competitive year, and Rocky won Best Picture over the previously discussed All the President's Men and the eventually to be discussed Taxi Driver, among others
• Rocky was Stallone's breakthrough role, and not only was he nominated for Best Actor, he also received a nomination for the screenplay he wrote. Looking through his filmography I was surprised by how few of his movies I've seen - I haven't seen any Rambos, and this is the only Rocky movie I've seen, and those two franchises make up a large percentage of his starring roles. He's very good in this, and Rocky is a much sweeter character than people may realize, shy and unassuming. While I haven't seen any more movies in the Rocky franchise, I do have a good idea of what follows, including the eventual fate of Apollo Creed. And so, before moving on from the tale of Rocky Balboa, I'd like to check in on him again, a little later in his life. Therefore...

Up next: We're supplementing the list again with Creed from 2015