Welcome to Rockyland

On December 29, 2010, IFC News posted Matt Singer’s article, “Welcome to Rockyland: Sylvester Stallone’s Viagra Cinema.” In the piece Singer explores Sly’s resurgence to the top at an age when “action stars” have long since retired.  Here are some excerpts:

  • On July 6, 2011 Sylvester Stallone will turn 65 years old. At an age when most Americans are considering their Social Security benefits, Stallone’s career is the healthiest it’s been in decades.
  • His latest film, “The Expendables,” was the first he’s headlined to gross over $100 million in the U.S. since “Rocky IV” back in 1985. Ten years ago, Stallone’s career was dead and he was a joke. Now he’s the world’s leading manufacturer of viagra cinema, movies designed to showcase the aging male frame as it performs unnatural but remarkable physical feats.
  • What Stallone’s done is basically without precedent. All of his former rivals for action film supremacy have faded away or moved on; all of his predecessors turned to moodier and more reflective work by the time they were his age.

  • …the world of Stallone’s viagra cinema: a place of physical and moral decay, the Philadelphia of “Rocky Balboa,” the Burma of “Rambo,” or the corrupt fictional island of Vilena in “The Expendables.” The heroes Stallone plays in these films refuse to concede to the decay around them or bend to the physical limitations of their age. The world may decay; Sylvester Stallone does not.
  • Given Stallone’s age, and the fact that he surrounded himself in “The Expendables” with fresh action stars like Statham and Terry Crews, it seemed reasonable to assume that he was making the film as a symbolic passing of the torch; that it would be about what it’s like to realize you’re not faster than light anymore. Nope. Ross is correct about his skills… “The Expendables” isn’t about making way for a new generation. It’s about putting that new generation in their place and showing them how it’s done. Casting Stallone’s old contemporaries like Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke was good for some chuckles; it was also good for showing how good Stallone looks in comparison to them.
  • In “Rocky V,” when Rocky was forced into retirement (a first time), his constant refrain was “I didn’t hear no bell!” signifying that his life is not over and that he continues to endure. Twenty years later, Stallone is still fighting, still refusing to hear the bell. The longer he refuses, the deeper he gets into Rockyland, the more strangely compelling his viagra cinema gets.

Singer has written an excellent piece and I highly recommend it to all SZoners. – Craig

Ryan Cody: Sly is the Demolition Man

That’s Ryan Cody’s take on Sly from Demolition Man.  I’d been wanting to get a sketch from Ryan for a while now, but since he doesn’t make it to east coast shows and I don’t get west, it didn’t look good.  Not long ago, Ryan was going to a show and offered fans some discounted sketch opportunities and even extended the offer to me through the mail.

I jumped on board for two pieces and the Demolition Man is the first.  You’ll see the second in the coming weeks.  Until then check out Ryan’s blog and his DA site.

Thanks to Ryan! Hopefully we can do it again sometime. – Craig

“Demolition Man” One of the Best

On June 17, 2010, Den of Geek posted their list of The 12 Best Pure Hollywood Action Films of the 1990s.  Making the list were Executive Decision, The Mask of Zorro, Mission: Impossible, Speed, Goldeneye, The Rock, The Last Boy Scout, The Matrix, Starship Troopers, Terminator: Judgment Day, Con Air and Demolition Man (which came in 5th).

Here’s some of what was said about Demolition Man:

Demolition Man is an absolute riot. It has a whale of a time with its script, as Stallone plays the brawny old fashioned cop failing to grasp futuristic technologies (there’s perhaps an Expendables parallel there)

The dialogue here is golden, and Demolition Man isn’t just a fine action film (you’ve got to love it when Wesley Snipes gets hold of futuristic weaponry), but a cherishable comedy too.

To read the full review, as well as the write-ups of the other films to make the list, click this link.

“Demolition Man” Gets Some Love

Demolition Man was the topic of the May 21, 2010 installment of Film School Rejects: Junk Food Cinema.  Here’s a taste of what they had to say…

Stallone is fantastic in Demolition Man.

I love the fight scenes between Stallone and Snipes.

If you’d like to read the whole post, then click here.

AMC: Top 5 Sly Stallone Movies

On April 30, 2010, the AMC Movie Blog posted their choices for The Five Best Movies of Sylvester Stallone.  Here are their choices and a little of the rationale for selection:

5.  Demolition Man: …Nothing about this movie should work — dated jokes about Taco Bell, a ridiculous time-travel setup — but it work it does, from start to finish. Credit Stallone’s amusing fish-out-of-water performance…

4. Cliffhanger: …Die Hard on a mountain, Cliffhanger is as cool as it sounds… Stallone reminds us why he’s one of the best action stars ever. He radiates intensity.

3. Copland: …Stallone turned his career around with this serious (and underappreciated) drama…

2. Rambo: No. We’re not talking about the original — that’s First Blood. We’re not even talking about Rambo: First Blood II, the sequel. While we love those both, this bare-bones, bloody action film ranks as one of the best flicks in years..

1. Rocky: Not just Stallone’s best but also one of Hollywood’s best…

If I were making the list Rocky Balboa would have been near the top forcing Demolition Man off the list.  And while it may not be one of Sly’s Top 5 best, Get Carter still is one of my favorites.  To see AMC’s whole post with all of their comments as well as some Stallone movies that nearly made it to the Top 5, then click here.

“Demolition Man” Makes the Cut

On April 25, 2010, Shadowlocked.com posted a piece called Top 10 Scenes of Claustrophobic Horror in Movies.  Coming in at #7 was Demolition Man.  Here’s why it was chosen:

There’s nothing in itself terribly claustrophobic about the notion of suspended animation, so frequently used in films such as Planet Of The Apes (1968) and the same year’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. You’re out cold anyway, right? The horror of unjustly-imprisoned cop Sly Stallone in Demolition Man is that he later recounts that he was conscious throughout the many decades of his aspic imprisonment.

To see the entire list, just click here.

Dick Giordano’s Demolition Man #6

Dick Giordano, the comics legend is back! During his fifty plus years in the biz he’s done everything from ink all the greats (including himself) to serve as Editor-in-Chief of DC Comics, to co-founding his own comic company.

I had the good fortune to pick up six model sheet headsketches of Sly that Mr. Giodano did before starting work on DC Comics adaptation of “Demolition Man”. This is the sixth.  To see all of the other headsketches, click here.