1984, what a year…..

Communists boycott the Olympic Summer Games in retaliation for the US boycott in 1980.

Eddie Murphy explodes onscreen with Beverly Hills Cop.

Arnold becomes a household name by hunting down Sarah Connor.

And Sylvester Stallone cements his claim as one of the top action heroes in ’80s cinema with not one, but two films.  He continued his success with Rocky IV.  Then came the anti-Rocky movie:

First Blood

We are introduced to a man, who is peaceful until pushed, but once pushed, fury is unleashed.  First Blood yielded two sequels: Rambo and Rambo III.  By the release of Rambo II, the public had tired of the character and showed it by not watching Rambo III.

So Rambo went away to the jungles, presumably gone forever….

Until now.

I got out of 27 Dresses in time to catch the start of Rambo (and even some trailers).  I decided I needed to get some testosterone pumping again.  And Rambo delivered.

This is a gritty movie, with very real looking effects not polished in a CGI lab.  I have not seen gun violence like this since Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down.  The volume was up, because I felt every explosion, every crack of gunfire.  It is an older Rambo, but it is still Rambo; one content to mind his own business while living with his nightmares.

Yet, trouble comes, as it always does.  This time it takes the form of a missionary group.  What convinces our hero is a young woman, played by Julie Benz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel).  I liked Julie’s work here — being vulnerable and scared, exact opposite of the vampire I knew for years on TV.

Naturally when she gets in trouble, Rambo feels a need to rescue her.  What ensues is what most guys want to see: unharnessed violence and action.  This is not for the faint of heart — Blood flows and not one drop feels gratuitous.  Casting is good, and the cinematography is great.

My Advice: See it at full price.  Definitely not a date movie, but one hell of a ride with some things that make you think….

No matter how many years pass, one always remembers their first , true love.  I don’t just mean the good things, but all of the things: quirks, pet peeves, and events.   This is sometimes good and sometimes bad.  After all, everyone you are with gets judged against that first person, even without us recognizing it.

I remarked in an earlier review this year that the main character had some the things I hated about one of the women I have loved over the years.  I guess Karma is deciding to have fun with me through Hollywood.  But I will get to that in a minute…

So after busting out of a poker game early, I decided to go to the movies instead of waiting around for 2 hours for the next game.  I drove up to the Oveido Marketplace to see what was playing at that time.  27 Dresses started in three minutes, so I chose it.  The theater was packed and I ended up in the third row, looking up at the screen.

27 Dresses focuses on one woman’s efforts to be all she can be while having a crush on her boss and helping everyone she knows with their weddings.  Katherine Heigl stars as our poor, lonely girl that is so sweet and pretty that it is hard to believe that she has not found someone yet.  Until you see how she makes eyes at her boss, who is oblivious.

What follows is a fairly formulaic story from the person who wrote The Devil Wears Prada.  Once again, good casting pulls this movie together.  If you stay in the shallow end of thought, it is a fun movie.  However, the editor needs to be hit over the head.  We have a scene where Heigl talks about her favorite part of a wedding, followed by a scene 10 minutes later where she expresses surprise and tells the SAME character about the SAME favorite part.  That pulled me out of the story.  Directors and Editors have a basic responsibility to watch for things like that.

So why all of that stuff before about a woman I loved?  Well, in watching the movie, I felt like I was watching a 30-something version of her.  Subscription to Bride magazine? Check.  Always reading the announcements? Check.  Always knowing and planning details about weddings? Check.  It was as if I had teleported back to 1991, sitting beside her as she rambled on about some cool wedding thing.  Very eerie…

My advice:  Grab a date and check it out — good date movie; might even score a few points…