A Look Back: The Karate Kid III
The Karate Kid (1984) is one of my favourite movies – a true sporting underdog story replete with surprises, good villains, and an exciting conclusion. Given its success, a sequel was inevitable. Cue The Karate Kid Part II (1986), which does well to build on the characters we grew to love – Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Mr Miyagi (Pat Morita) – as well as increase the stakes, with Daniel now fighting for his life. An interesting bit of trivia: in the four Karate Kid movies, it’s Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) – Daniel’s adversary in The Karate Kid II – who’s the only villain to land on a blow on Miyagi. Given…
A Look Back: Rocky V
I’m such a big fan of Rocky V (1990), even though it’s considered the weakest instalment in the franchise – even by creator and writer Sylvester Stallone himself. The first movie – Rocky (1976) – remains a masterpiece, and is one of the best sporting movies ever made. Rocky II (1979) avoids the mistake a lot of sequels make in rehashing the events of its predecessor. Even though the story is based around a championship rematch, Rocky, as a person, continues to grow. He marries, he becomes a father, he has to deal with financial responsibilities – this is not the same oblivious loanshark enforcer he was in the first…