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It ain’t over ’till it’s over

I finally got round to watching Rocky Balboa on DVD, having missed it in the cinema. When the sixth installment of the Rocky Franchise was announced I was disappointed, and didn’t believe that there could be another part to the Rocky story.

I think it was a very wise decision to title the film “Rocky Balboa”, as opposed to “Rocky VI”. This is not a “Rocky” film, more it is a film about Rocky. It is more of a character piece than the previous installments, with the first hour containing no boxing, other than in the title sequence which merely sets up the back story of Rocky’s Opponent for the inevitable finale.

While I feared with my previous rant post that it would be a vehicle to boost Stallone’s ego and frankly limp career, Stallone actually lets the story tell itself. The characters around Rocky become more than window dressing, and get room to breathe alongside the larger-than-life character of Balboa. Marie, the young girl from the first Rocky film provides both a link to the series past, but also allows for a positive female role. I always thought Adrian was far too discouraging of Rocky - having a character believe in Balboa’s ideals (however misguided they might have been) is a breath of fresh air.

The other minor characters are a bit hit and miss - the plot thread contrasting Rocky’s son resenting his father’s ‘big shadow’ and Marie’s son gaining some self-belief is glossed over, and doesn’t really get as much gravitas as it pehaps deserved. However, with a 90 minute running time and several plot angles to explore, some things have to fall by the wayside.
However, the star turn is surprisingly by Burt Young. As Rocky’s brother-in-law Paulie has never been a likeable character, he bullies his sister, was resentful and jealous of Rocky’s success, and was even the instigator of Rocky’s bankruptcy. However, with the assistance of some of the best lines in the film, Young injects a spark into the character that finally makes him a lovable rogue.

Perhaps the most jarring part of the movie, and one which people will love or hate are the certain sections of the finale fight that switch into black & white. The boxing in the film is more ‘real’ than we’ve seen before in a Rocky movie, and even in the behind the scenes features, Stallone states that for the first time, the punches are real - they actually land (much to the director, and I’m sure Stallone’s insurers disapproval). Raging Bull was shot completely in black & white, and Scorcese made that decision to make the fights look more brutal. With Rocky, it doesn’t work - bright primary colours have defined the series.

Overall, an enjoyable movie and one I will watch multiple times, but despite all its efforts, I still don’t see it as part of the Rocky franchise, more of a companion piece.

I’m a firm believer that we waste a hell of a lot of money in this country. The latest example is the design of the 2012 olympics logo. This mess is apparently representing the “vision at the very heart of our brand” and is “an invitation to take part and be involved”.

It looks a mess, that is what it is.

I’m open to radical design, but this is just a joke. It says nothing about London, the UK or the games.

Below are the logos for the bids. Now, while the Madrid one looks boring, the NYC one is cheesy, the Paris one looks like a Eurovision logo, and the London one is a bit obscured with the ribbon, at least they’re all colourful, and represent something about the city or the games. (The ribbon on London is the Thames, if you’ve never noticed).

The year before I went to college, they had a rebrand. They spent over £2,000 for a graphic designer to simply come up with a stylised ‘h‘ (for Halesowen College). Instead of passing the design to the art department and encouraging the students to design a logo (which I’m sure would have helped (a) get an idea of real-world applications of design, and (b) cout towards coursework), they decided to waste their money. The student’s design would have been free!

If the 2012 committee had put any amount of thought into this - why didn’t they contact the colleges, universities and schools of London and encourage the children (who would be most affected by the games) to design a logo?

It really makes me sad.