Category: Paradise Alley

Sly Stallone’s Most Underrated Characters!

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Kacie Lillejord, at ScreenRant created her list of the 10 Best Underrated Sylvester Stallone Characters.  I love lists, so I decided to play along.  Using just Lillejord’s choices, I ranked the same characters. (Please note that the higher on the list, the more underrated.)  Afterwards I mention three Stallone characters that didn’t make her list, but would have made mine.

Lillejord

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10/10 Sergeant Joseph “Joe” Bomowski from Stop or My Mom Will Shoot

10/10 Sheriff Freddy Heflin from Cop Land

9/10 Sergeant Deke DaSilva from Nighthawks

09/10 Sergeant Deke DaSilva from Nighthawks

8/10 Judge Joseph Dredd from Judge Dredd

08/10 Gabriel “Gabe” Walker from Cliffhanger

7/10 Frank The Repairman from Las Vegas

07/10 Lieutenant Marion Cobretti from Cobra

6/10 Sheriff Freddy Heflin from Cop Land

06/10 Frank The Repairman from Las Vegas

5/10 Gabriel “Gabe” Walker from Cliffhanger

05/10 Lincoln Hawk from Over the Top

4/10 Lieutenant Marion Cobretti from Cobra

04/10 Ray Tango from Tango & Cash

3/10 Sergeant John Spartan from Demolition Man

03/10 Sergeant John Spartan from Demolition Man

2/10 Ray Tango from Tango & Cash

02/10 Judge Joseph Dredd from Judge Dredd

1/10 Lincoln Hawk from Over the Top

01/10 Sergeant Joseph “Joe” Bomowski from Stop or My Mom Will Shoot

Characters that didn’t make Lillejord’s list that would have made mine:

  • Jack Carter from Get Carter:  Jack Carter has so much potential plus Sly had scenes that showcased some of his best acting.
  • Cosmo Carboni from Paradise Alley:  Wise-cracking and cynical but with a kind heart.    
  • Robert Rath from Assassins:  Sly played an intelligent assassin who wanted out.  This character had a lot of potential.
  • Jimmy “Bobo” Bonomo from Bullet to the Head:  Sly played an assassin who came up from the streets and wasn’t ready for the “modern” world.  I liked the character and would have liked to have seen more.

Who’d I miss?

Sly Stallone Directed Films, Ranked

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Jake Dee at ScreenRant looked at the IMDb to come up with Every Movie Sylvester Stallone Has Directed, Ranked.  I decided to compare the IMDb rankings with my own.  After the chart are my thoughts…

Jake Dee (ScreenRant)

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1. Rocky II

1. Rocky Balboa

2. Rocky Balboa

2. Rocky III

3. Rambo

3. Rambo

4. Rocky IV

4. Paradise Alley

5. Rocky III

5. The Expendables

6. The Expendables

6. Rocky II

7. Paradise Alley

7. Rocky IV

8. Staying Alive

8. Staying Alive

Dee and I agreed on two rankings: #3 – Rambo and #8 – Staying Alive.

I placed Rocky Balboa in the #1 spot for a few reasons. Sly did a wonderful job of capturing the feel of the first movie, but making sure that it also captured how things had changed with the passing of time. I also have a special place for Rocky Balboa because it was such a longshot to be made and it gave the series a wonderful bookend closing.

Rocky III made the #2 spot because Sly was able to take the classic Rocky format (from 1 and 2) and modernize it. It was a dangerous move (Rocky loses, Mickey dies, new music, fast pace, add pro-wrestling) but it worked.

Rambo is #3. Sly placed Rambo with a team and made the battle scenes more graphic. Many thought an older Rambo wouldn’t work, but Sly showed that it would not only work but be one of the best films in the Rambo series.

Paradise Alley comes in at #4. Paradise Alley doesn’t get enough love. Sly’s directorial debut and he chooses a period piece that walks the fine line between drama and comedy. I’m a huge Paradise Alley fan.

#5 is The Expendables. Don’t call it a comeback. What a cool idea. Sly brings together fan favorite action stars and he makes it work not only for this film, but also a new movie series.

Rocky 2 is #6. Sly taking over the directing chores from the man who won the Oscar for directing Rocky. It was a big step, but Sly didn’t falter. Rocky II is a worthy follow-up.

Rocky IV comes in at #7. I like the idea for Rocky IV but it falters just a bit with the Miami Vice quick-cut editing to music. I have grown to enjoy Rocky IV more over time and especially with the way it sets up Creed.

The final spot goes to Stayin’ Alive. I enjoyed this film, but one of Sly’s movies has to come in at #8. Taking on this movie was a huge challenge and props to Sly for stepping up.

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

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Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

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Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

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Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

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Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week

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Sly and the Family Stallone News for the Week:

“Paradise Alley” – Rare, Behind the Scenes Video!

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I think a return trip to Paradise Alley is in order.  We could catch up with the Carboni brothers, Frankie the Thumper, Big Glory, Stitch, Mumbles and all the other mugs there.  Maybe we could swing over to the dance hall and see Annie and Bunchie and hear that smug dance hall crooner.  We could end the night with a rooftop race.  

Are you in?

Source:  Brian Stooss‎ ULTRA STALLONE FanPage
Rare : Behind the Scenes of Paradise Alley  Kudos : Joe Breen

11 Surprising Facts About Sylvester Stallone

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Jake Rossen and Mental Floss posted 11 Surprising Facts About Sylvester Stallone.  How could I not play along even if, my guess is correct, and readers here, aren’t surprised?  Here’s my top three…

1. AN ERRANT PAIR OF FORCEPS GAVE SYLVESTER STALLONE HIS DISTINCTIVE LOOK.
Many comedians have paid their bills over the decades by adopting Sylvester Stallone’s distinctive lip droop and guttural baritone voice. The facial feature was the result of some slight mishandling at birth. When Stallone was born on July 6, 1946 in Manhattan, the physician used a pair of forceps to deliver him. The malpractice left his lip, chin, and part of his tongue partially paralyzed due to a severed nerve. Stallone later said his face and awkward demeanor earned him the nickname “Sylvia” and authority figures telling him his brain was “dormant.” Burdened with low self-esteem, Stallone turned to bodybuilding and later performing as a way of breaking through what seemed to be a consensus of low expectations.

5. SYLVESTER STALLONE WROTE A NOVEL.
In addition to his acting ambitions, Stallone decided to pursue a career in writing. After numerous screenplays, he wrote Paradise Alley, a novel about siblings who get caught up in the circus world of professional wrestling in Hell’s Kitchen. Stallone finished the novel before deciding to turn it into a screenplay. Paradise Alley was eventually produced in 1978. The book, which was perceived as a novelization, was published that same year. (It appeared in hard cover and mass market paperback. – Craig)

10. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER ONCE TRICKED SYLVESTER STALLONE INTO STARRING IN A BOX OFFICE BOMB.
Stallone has often discussed his rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger, as the two action stars were believed to be the two biggest marquee attractions in the 1980s. Recalling his 1992 bomb Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Stallone told a journalist in 2014 that he believed Schwarzenegger was to blame. “I heard Arnold wanted to do that movie and after hearing that, I said I wanted to do it,” he said. “He tricked me. He’s always been clever.”