Movie #8 of 2026: Rocky IV (1985) There’s the seed of a good idea in this movie when Apollo Creed, by now close friends with his former rival Rocky, is killed in the ring while boxing against their latest opponent. (It is, notably, the thread that filmmaker Ryan Coogler would later pick up for his …
Tag Archives: rewatch
Movie Review: Rocky III (1982)
Movie #7 of 2026: Rocky III (1982) “Eye of the Tiger” is a great song, but I’m not sure in the final analysis if Rocky III is a great movie or not. Length isn’t always a determination of that, but this one shaves about 20 minutes off the runtime of its predecessors, resulting in a …
Movie Review: Rocky II (1979)
Movie #6 of 2026: Rocky II (1979) Rocky (1976) was a genuine cultural sensation that deservedly launched its writer and lead actor Sylvester Stallone into Hollywood stardom. Expectations would thus have been pretty high for this sequel, in which he returns to those roles while also picking up directing duties, but in my opinion, it …
Movie Review: Rocky (1976)
Movie #5 of 2026: Rocky (1976) The original Rocky film is one of those neat pieces of media where the on-screen plot aligns nicely with the behind-the-scenes story. Viewers get to see a poor boxer plucked from obscurity to fight the heavyweight champion in a nationally-televised bout, going further than anyone thought possible thanks to …
Movie Review: The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Movie #3 of 2026: The Matrix Revolutions (2003) A disappointing but acceptable conclusion to the original Matrix trilogy. This third feature is nowhere near as imaginative as its predecessors with their mindbending fight scenes and special effects, rushing through the comparable moments somewhat perfunctorily and spending far too long on the defense of Zion. For …
Continue reading “Movie Review: The Matrix Revolutions (2003)”
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 23
TV #3 of 2026: Classic Doctor Who, season 23 If you’re a modern viewer catching up on old Doctor Who, you might not notice anything immediately amiss when finishing season 22 and starting this next one. There’s an introductory framing device that’s new, involving the Time Lords putting the Sixth Doctor on trial for his …
Movie Review: The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Movie #2 of 2026: The Matrix Reloaded (2003) As a movie, The Matrix (1999) is perfectly standalone. As a box office hit and a genuine cultural phenomenon, however, it was probably always going to launch a franchise, and this first sequel is a pretty solid follow-up. It’s messy and overstuffed by comparison, even ignoring the …
Movie Review: The Matrix (1999)
Movie #1 of 2026: The Matrix (1999) This sci-fi parable of an artificial reality that surrounds us all is just a stone-cold classic, instantly iconic in its confident vision and worldbuilding. The Matrix really was like no other movie to come before it, or even any that followed, including its own sequels. The script is …
Movie Review: Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991)
Movie #26 of 2025: Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991) One of the strangest genre pivots for a sequel that I’ve ever seen, swapping the time-travel shenanigans of the first movie for the afterlife experience of this installment’s title. Things here start out fine: the last film established that a utopian future was somehow built …
Continue reading “Movie Review: Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991)”
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 22
TV #56 of 2025: Classic Doctor Who, season 22 Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor is a hard incarnation to love, especially here in his first full season (after regenerating near the end of the last one). He’s pompous and insulting to everyone, but particularly to his companion Peri, whom he yells at, belittles, fat-shames, leaves for …
The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 