A Guide to the Rocky films 2

Creed II, the eighth film in the series is hitting theatres in the UK tomorrow, so here is part II to a guide to the Rocky films. After Rocky I-IV followed the same formula, Stallone tried to evolve the series and take it in new directions. Rocky V also seemed to mark the point where Stallone started to select real-life boxers to star in the series in key roles. If you have not seen these films you should really go and check them out for yourselves (except for Rocky V!), before watching the latest instalment. But give this a read if you are in need of a reminder of Rocky Balboa’s thrilling exploits in the ring!

A Guide to the Rocky films 1

Creed II, the eighth film in the series is hitting theatres in the UK tomorrow, so here is a guide to the Rocky films that started back in 1976 with the original classic. If you have not seen these films you should really go and check them out for yourselves (except for Rocky V!), before watching the latest instalment. But give this a read if you are in need of a reminder of Rocky Balboa’s thrilling exploits in the ring!

Top Ten Robin Hood Adaptations

Given how unsurprisingly terrible 2018’s Robin Hood has turned out to be, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite Robin Hood adaptations for you to watch instead! Everyone is familiar with the legendary heroic outlaw Robin Hood, originally depicted in English folklore as a champion of the common people against injustice. According to legend he was a highly skilled archer and swordsmen who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. In some ballads he is depicted as a noble knight returning from the Crusades, to find his lands taken by the Sheriff.

Iceman

Set in the Otztal Alps, more than 5300 years ago a small Neolithic clan has settled near a creek. Their leader, Kelab, is the keeper of the groups holy shrine Tineka, but whilst Kelab is away hunting, the settlement is attacked, the shrine taken and the members of the clan brutally murdered, including his wife and son…blinded by rage and pain he sets out with the only survivor of the raid, his newborn son, on a devastating path of revenge. He must also fight for the infants survival against the immense forces of nature and against a growing sense of doubt over the morality of his quest.

Black ’47

 

In 1847, the deadliest year of the Great Famine of Ireland, the battle-hardened Feeney deserts the Connaught Rangers (88th Regiment of Foot) to return home to Ireland, where he finds his country ravaged beyond recognition by the Great Famine. When he discovers that his mother has died of starvation and his brother has been hanged by the British, he goes on a relentless quest to get even with the powers-that-be who have wronged both his family and country. Only one man can stop him, disgraced British army veteran and former officer of the 88th, Hannah, whose own loyalties are more complex than they appear…

Outlaw King

This historical action-drama tells the story of Robert the Burce’s transformation from a defeated noble to the leader of a Scottish rebellion during the oppressive occupation of Medieval Scotland under Edward I of England. In response to this oppression, Robert seized the crown of Scotland and gathered a small, but impassioned, army to resist the vast force of the tyrannical king and his volatile son, Edward, the Prince of Wales. Robert the Bruce was one of the most famous warriors of his generation and eventually led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He is revered in Scotland today as a national hero after his stunning victories at Loudoun Hill in 1307 and Banockburn in 1314 resulted in the re-establishment of an independent Scottish Kingdom.

Overlord

Hours before D-Day a squad of US paratroopers drop into Nazi-occupied France to carry out a crucial mission. Tasked with destroying a radio transmitter atop a fortified church, the desperate soldiers join forces with a young French villager to infiltrate the compound and take down the tower. But, in a mysterious Nazi bunker, the squad come across a lot more than just plain old German soldiers…

Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later vs. Halloween (2018)

These two instalments in the Halloween franchise were both attempts to reboot a series that had started off with the landmark 1978 horror classic called Halloween; directed by John Carpenter and starring Donald Pleasance and Jamie Lee Curtis. The reason for this article is the startling similarity between the two reboots plots, how superior H20 is and a response to the critical acclaim of this years Halloween. The first sequel, Halloween II, was intended to put an end to the story of Michael as the last we see of Michael is him walking out of an explosion towards Jamie in flames, before collapsing to the ground dead. But due to a rather trivial plot twist where Dr. Sam Loomis discovered Laurie is Michael’s sister, somehow we got nine more films! Whilst Halloween II had turned the terrifying nearly supernatural “Shape” into a plodding zombie killing machine (pretty much Jason Voorhees), the Thorn Trilogy really did hammer the nail into the coffin and made Michael into a joke antagonist controlled by a cult.