Rocky II

Year of Release:  1979
Director:  Sylvester Stallone
Screenplay:  Sylvester Stallone
Starring:  Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith 
Running Time:  119 minutes
Genre:  Drama, sports

Sequels are sometimes seen as shameless attempts to grab more cash from the fans of an already successful film, and while plenty are like that, there are many sequels which are as good, if not better, than the original. Rocky II is certainly as good as it's predecessor, and in some ways it is better.  It picks up straight from where the first film ends, with boxers Rocky Balboa (Stallone) and Apollo Creed (Weathers) recovering from their championship fight.  Despite having technically won the fight, Apollo has lost face due to how close the match was, and is determined to have a rematch with Rocky to salvage his pride.  However, Rocky has retired from boxing, and having married his girlfriend Adrian (Shire), and with a large payday from the fight, newfound fame and sponsorship and endorsement deals, the future is looking pretty rosy.  However, Rocky is not very good with money, and soon fritters it all away, and his fame and endorsement deals soon dry up.  With a growing family to support, Apollo's insistent demands for a rematch become hard to ignore.

The film retains all the things that fans of the first film enjoyed, including the triumphant training montage and climatic boxing match, which is bigger and better this time round.  It also retains the gritty, working class feel of the first film, even if it lacks some of it's edge.  Stallone is good as ever as Rocky, the tough bruiser with a gentle heart, Talia Shire is good, if underused as Rocky's new wife Adrian, and Burgess Meredith is great as Mickey, the broken down old pug who trains Rocky.  Carl Weathers is good as ever as Apollo Creed, and it's a pity that the film doesn't have more of him.  The character has an edge that he didn't have in the first film, now that he has something to prove.  While the film has it's soap opera elements, it has a lot of heart and humour.  We care what happens to these people.  It also works as a sequel, because it continues and expands on the story of the first film.

Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) and Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) duke it out in Rocky II     

The Firm (1989)

Year of Release:  1989
Director:  Alan Clarke
Screenplay:  Al Hunter Ashton
Starring:  Gary Oldman, Lesley Manville, Phil Davis, Charles Lawson
Running Time:  70 minutes
Genre:  Drama

London, 1988:  Clive "Bex" Bissel (Oldman) is a 30 year old estate agent, who lives an apparently comfortable suburban life with his wife, Sue (Manville) and baby son.  However when the weekend comes, Bissel is the leader of the ICC (Inter City Crew), a hooligan "firm" (an organised gang who attach themselves to soccer teams and go to matches with the sole purpose of fighting rival gangs).  Bissel has an ambitious plan to unite the rival firms into one for a European championship, with the aim of causing havoc on an international scale.  However the rivalries are not so easily put aside.

This made-for-TV movie was the final work from acclaimed director Alan Clarke, who died in 1990 at the age of 54.  Like much of his work, this is an examination of male aggression and social commentary, which is as much about Britain at the end of the 1980s as it is about soccer thugs.  Hooliganism was a real hot button topic at the time, and these are not the traditional disaffected young men, they are mostly not "victims of society" but middle-class people with good jobs and plenty of money, who commit the violence for the "buzz".  This is an exciting film, shot with a constantly roving camera a times almost shoving the viewer into the middle of these guys, and the film has a real sense of danger (apparently some of the fighting scenes weren't entirely fake).  Gary Oldman gives a terrifying performance as the mercurial Bex, always well-dressed, charismatic and intelligent, but who can turn on a dime and unleash savage brutality.  This is definitely a film about men, and women don't really get a look in, the only major female character is Sue, and Lesley Manville does not have that much to do, but she does appear in a very disturbing sequence that was cut from the broadcast version of the film, but is available in the "director's cut".  Alan Clarke himself was a committed soccer fan and hated the hooligans for ruining the game, the film makes a point of never actually showing any soccer at only one point are any of them seen at a game, and they aren't watching it.  The film periodically erupts into violence, which is sudden, savage and brutal.  It might be a TV movie but it is definitely not for the faint of heart.  A brutal, confrontational work.

Gary Oldman gets bang out of order as the leader of The Firm  

The Color of Money

Year: 1986
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenplay: Richard Price, based on the novel by Walter Tevis
Starring: Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, John Turturro
Running Time: 119 minutes
Genre: Sports, drama

Summary: New York City. "Fast" Eddie Felson (Newman) was once a successful professional pool hustler (basically a player who pretends to be less skilled then they actually are for the purpose of luring a less skilled player into playing against them for money), but he now sells liquor, although he still misses the excitement of his former career, and sometimes puts up some of the stake money for other hustlers. One night he meets Vincent (Cruise), a volatile but very talented pool player, and Vincent's shrewd girlfriend Carmen (Mastrantonio). Eddie sees a chance both to make some money and also to recapture some of his glory days and takes Vincent under his wing, becoming his mentor as well as putting up some of the stake money for Vincent. However, Eddie's increasing frustration with Vincent's impetuousness and Carmen's scheming soon causes tension.

Opinions: This movie is a sequel to the classic 1959 movie The Hustler, which was also based on a Walter Tevis novel, with Paul Newman reprising his role as "Fast" Eddie Felson. However, the film only makes occasional very brief references to the events in the earlier movie. This movie marked Martin Scorsese's first foray into mainstream commercial film-making after a couple of financial flops, namely The King of Comedy (1983) and After Hours (1985). The commercial success of this film gave Scorsese the clout to make his long-cherished pet project The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).
Despite being a very mainstream film, it still features many of Scorsese's trademark stylisic flourishes and is very much a Martin Scorsese movie. The movie features impressive performances notably Paul Newman who is effortlessly cool as "Fast" Eddie and Tom Cruise's energetic performance as the wild Vincent. There are also appearances by rock star Iggy Pop, Forest Whitaker and Charles Scorsese (Martin Scorsese's dad). Martin Scorsese provides a brief voice-over at the start of the film explaining the rules of nine-ball pool. It also features a snappy screenplay from novelist and screenwriter Richard Price and a typically cool and eclectic soundtrack.
While the film is not the classic that The Hustler it is still a good film in it's own right and a worthy sequel.



Pool hall blues: Tom Cruise and Paul Newman in The Color of Money