Rocky Balboa: Why Haven't You Gone and Seen it Yet?

We are very quick to label people as has-beens, wash-ups, or past their ability to give us, the all important people, something worth our attention. Cynicism and the ability to critique literally everything that exists in time and space seems, to me, to be one of the truest talents of the human race, especially in my generation. I know because I'm really good at it too. Doesn't matter if we know a thing about it, we can tell you all kinds of things wrong with it. To quote weatherman Phil Connors from Groundhog Day, "People like blood sausage. People are idiots." And I tend to agree. Artistic merit, commercial or otherwise, is almost entirely subjective; I don't care who you are. People go with their feelings and experiences or current "needs" when deciding if something was "good" or not. So with that in mind, people being idiots and all, I, a "people" myself, offer up my first film recommendation for Associated Content readers: Rocky Balboa.

This is a good movie. It is. It bears the marks of craftsmanship. There are "flaws" in many movies, decisions that a critic, armchair or otherwise, will call a distraction, a mistake, a...flaw. Sometimes, many times, a flaw, if you're asking me, could be called a fingerprint. I think this is especially true in a film that was crafted and dreamt up, instead of one that was cobbled together by six screenwriters, twelve producers, test screening audiences, marketing teams, and a few very large egos. Most often, an independently produced film fits the crafted category. There are a few great exceptions that make it out of the studio system. This is one of them.

If I were reading this from the outside, I'd even assume Sylvester Stallone had me on the payroll. Don't worry; get to know me and you'll think that about a few dozen people. I'm just gracious. I write. I intend to direct again. I know that sometimes, honestly, what someone thought after analyzing your work is really is, and make sure you grasp this, is just an opinion. I arm chair critic myself, plenty. I'm an idiot too.