Okay...since I'm on the movie tip this week, it's time to defend a few of the more slept-on and unjustly-dissed movies of the last decade or so...feel free to disagree...
- "Rocky V": Okay, this one has been maligned beyond belief, and some hardcore Rocky fans (my dad and Bill Simmons among them) go so far as to deny its existence. While it does fall well short of the first four, however, I liked it.
I know. Hear me out, though.
You CAN'T end the saga in Russia. There has to be a movie that ties it all together, and the concept of Rocky fighting again at Foreman's age would be too much. Granted, the everything-hits-the-shitter-at-once scenario is a little far-fetched, and the decision to cast Sage Stallone as Rocky Jr. when he looks nothing like the last son is just criminal. But the movie has its merits. It brings Rock back to where he started (we needed another Father Carmine shot), he becomes the underdog once again, and this is the one film in the series that delves into the shady side of boxing -- complete with a dead-on Don King parody. A series that spanned this long and hit this many lives needs closure...and "V" does that about as well as could have been expected. Yeah, it's easily the worst of the Rocky movies...but compared to the average movie, I'll still rank it as at least satisfactory. It needed to happen.
- "Bulworth": This film wasn't so much maligned as it was ignored. Easily the most underrated film of the '90s, Beatty's stab at political satire is so good that most people can't even fully grasp everything on the first viewing. There's just too much to absorb...and the sheer comedic value of seeing a 60-year-old white guy in a skully and baggy shorts, kicking rhymes and walking down the streets of South Central, is just too much to pass up.
If you haven't seen this, go rent it or buy it today. Steal it if you must. But this is definitely one of the 10 best movies I've seen...and it's the foundation for 90 percent of my political philosophy. I AM a Bulworth Democrat. Too bad the only politician we've had that comes close to him in real life (Bradley) was ignored by the media (and, by proxy, the public) in 2000. Maybe we wouldn't be in such a shitstorm.
- "Dogma" and "South Park": Two more hard-hitting satires that don't get the credit they deserve because they're almost TOO entertaining. Kevin Smith has made so many pointless movies ("Clerks," etc.) that no one really expected a point from him, and they dissed...and not many people went into "South Park" expecting a huge media-blast. But it's there.
- "King of New York": Amazing how many people don't know this movie exists. The better, less-publicized precursor to "New Jack City," complete with a far better cast (Walken, pre-breakout Snipes, pre-milk-carton Caruso, a great supporting ensemble and Fishburne in arguably his best role ever). As far as action movies go, this one's up there...but if you hate darkness and graphic violence...you may want to stay away.
- "Whiteboyz": It's a long way from "8 Mile," but it's a pretty interesting look at what happens when some gangster-rap-obsessed farm boys from Iowa decide they know what life in the 'hood is all about. Like "American History X," however, most of the cats who needed to take a lesson from this film probably didn't get it.
Then again, I dunno if more than 10 people SAW this one.
Bonus points for the first real appearance of fine-ass (and recently MIA) Piper Perabo, though...what ever happened to that chick?
Not the most hard-hitting entry ever, but something to ponder nonetheless.
-- O
4:34:24 AM 
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