Is Sly this generation's John Wayne?
581668
I would've laughed had someone asked me that thirty years ago. Heck, a little as five years ago. But as Stallone has reached the twilight of his career, I began to look back on his progression as an actor. And it struck me that I had seen this before - in The Duke.

Consider this: It's the spring of 1970. The Academy Awards are being presented.

In what was without question the peak of The Anti-Establishment Movement and the nexus of liberal America - Hollywood - for his indelible and unforgettable work in '<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/True-Grit-1969/dp/B000ID1VYS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">True Grit (1969)</a>', the academy presented The Best Actor statue to none other than John Wayne.

John Wayne. The embodiment of The Establishment. The very object of derision across the social spectrum in 1970. He won for Best Actor.

Why?

Why would Hollywood - the heart and soul of counterculture - give that man the top award for male thespians? He should have been shunned, laughed out of contention, but wasn't. He beat out Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton, and BOTH Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman - only the second time in history the Academy nominated two male leads in the same film.

John Wayne came up on top. He won.

Why?

Because despite all the rhetoric, all the anger over the war in Vet Nam, and the passion of the liberals - even they saw that the man had delivered a superlative performance. Maybe the best performance of his entire career.

That kind of dispassionate objectivity - sadly lost to us nowadays - is what defines iconic film. John Wayne earned the Best Actor Oscar for a wonderful performance. Period. None of the extraneous civil discord had anything to do with one actor in one film. The man who had become the very representation of "everything wrong" had stepped outside his own cultural shadow and delivered.

So, just like we use the name "Rambo" as a laughable verb and snide adjective - I look at Stallone - the actor.

He's not the same man he was a generation ago. Shockingly, he's become an actual thespian. I don't think general audiences, who are distracted more than ever, has really looked at him in a role for a while now. Admittedly, he's not likely to ever win a competitive acting Oscar. But has he, over the past decades, learned enough of the craft to present a believable character? Has he the skill to step into the life of a fictional person and make it seem real?

Yes.

So I offer this film recommendation. A very decent movie with Oscar winners De Niro, Basinger, and the eternal Alan Arkin (one of my all-time favorite actors) delivering in another solid Peter Segal vehicle. No big surprises, the retread plot one that has been done a thousand times before - but in this film - done with excellence. Also props to Josh Bernthal, glad to see him moving up from the small screen. Notice, I didn't say "walking" toward a brighter future. <g>

Personal Notes:

- I won't spoil the hilarious cameos. But if you're a fan of real-life grudge matches - trust me - worth every penny to see this flick. <rofl>

- Why they didn't get Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler into the production is a sad mystery.
254213
I like John Wayne. The Sands of Iwo Jima is a movie that depicts some of the training and life of a US Marine in World War II. It has it's ups and downs, but still a good movie.
1406280
I am only half way through this biography, so the rating might change before I am finished.

Because John Wayne was such an iconic figure in motion pictures, I felt that I needed to read about his life and what prompted his life actions.  I find that Scott Eyman's book introduced me to a man who I didn't know a lot about, except that he made umpteen movies.

Now I know why.  He was a determined young boy and man and wanted to do something with his life.  He worked hard in several studios, was befriended by John Ford, and learned his trade by observing and being at the right place at the right time.  Fame did not come immediately, but he was prepared for it when it arrived.

He married young and often.  He loved his families and cronies, but could be distant.  He was kind-hearted and loyal.  His conservative politics determined his outlook for his movie roles and formulated his personal beliefs.  He made several top notch films over a five decade career and learned how to direct.

So far I have been pleased with the book and can put John Wayne in a time when America needed a hero.  Janet Metzger
167163
Another Birthday gift for my grandson.  Bruce Dern going to be in trouble again.  No one shoots John Wayne!  Bruce has been a great actor for the roles he portrayed.  He deticated himself and sacrificed his name and face in this movie.  He said it himself, he received hate mail for shooting John Wayne.
2194044
This is a classic character that your parents and grandparents grew up with remade for modern times. This is back when heros were Roy Rogers and Randolph Scott. However, do not let that fool you; this is a MUCH more up to date version. 21 Jumpstreet, the TV show, gave us Johnny Depp who stars in this movie and is an internationally known actor. This modern western has all the comic book feel yet with gunfights, explosions, and high speed horse chases. The train race scene(s) are THE BEST TRAIN RACE scenes I have ever seen! I MEAN IT. This movie is action packed, Old West style, with a masked man called The Lone Ranger and his partner, Tonto. This movie has a little of everything to offer in violence, comedy, and action. Tonto brings most of the comedy but is tough when he needs to be. Rated PG-13 for violence and innuendo. Enjoy!
2126754
Do you know the personality of Eric Stonestreet? It's not too hard to miss it's the unique character of Modern Family. No, not the little Asian girl, the older but witty adult male that plays her father. I'm not too familiar with the gentle mans work but I'm sure the list of plays that he'd want to be in would include this one and the streetcar named desire.
212974
it's okay. if you like spaghetti westerns. it had a couple of good 1930's John Wayne and 1933  (listed as 1941) Randolph Scoot movie.
132046
Not the typical John Wayne movie, but still great.  Oliver Hardy adds some humor, but not they typical "Laurel and Hardy" humor.
4829859
At first glance, the story seems ho-hum:  A busy mother (Kyra Sedgewick, TV's "The Closer," in a limited role) temporarily leaves her 14-year-old son "Walter" (Haley Joel Osment, Oscar nominee for "The Sixth Sense") with her two eccentric uncles (Robert Duvall and Michael Caine), who live on an old, barely modest farm in a small town (the movie is also book-ended by Josh Lucas as the adult Walter).  They are, however, believed to be wealthy, though still frugal, but is this money rightly theirs, or are their African stories about how they attained their fortune just fictional tales by two crazy old men?  Being an Uncle and Great Uncle may make me a little biased about this movie about Great Uncles (or just uncles who are great), but so be it, because "Secondhand Lions" overflows with rich imagination and adventurous storytelling, complete with visuals and surprises around every corner, a true lightweight charmer.
343487
Sylvester Stallone stars as a mob enforcer who returns home after his brother's death, only to discover the man was involved with sleazy mob enforcers and porn moguls. The film attempts to modernize the original's plot but winds up lessening the impact and dating itself. The action is uninspired, and the filmmakers went overboard with distracting editing and camera work.
2424390
Growing up with the OSS 117 book series from my parents' bookshelves, I was eager to see what a screen version of this famous spy character would be like. I was leery, though, of a comedic version...  But it turned out GREAT!
And I was also wondering if the old 1950s setting would turn a younger croud away... And indeed a lot of the culture of the time - wonderfully recreated by the filmmakers - doesn't translate well into today's world, but it is still a heck of an homage to the 50s and even the 60s, with a mischievous wink at French colonialism.
AND Dujardin is incredible as a young Sean Connery "sorta, kinda" lookalike!
Don't take it seriously at all (as I am sure it was intended by the producers and director) and you will have a fun hour and a half...
4732000
My Dad loves John Wayne. He knows everything about him; including that his actual name was Miriam. The Sons of Katie Elder is good. It's about her 3 sons who are argueing after her death. The Shootist is John Wayne's last movie coincidently beacause it is about a shootist's last shoot out. Big Jake is about a guy who leaves his family and has to rescue his grandson he didn't know that he had. I like them all.
1663143
Good movie with John Wayne playing a little different kind of part.  This character is not as rough and tuff as most parts he plays.
2984630
I saw this movie when I was in middle school and loved it.  I still do.  It is pure fun. And you will have fun if you don't take it too seriously.  The actors seem to be having the best time in the movie. John Wayne is his usual character, barking orders at everyone.  It's a fun watch and the cinematography is absolutely beautiful.
1145619
When is someone going to come out with a satisfactory biography of America's greatest star?  It used to be that people scoffed at John Wayne's acting, but in recent years the circle has come around and i think we all know he wasn't a bad actor but an incandescent performer with infinite gobs of star quality radiating all around him like shooting stars.  And yet the biographies of him lack his moral depth and complexity.  Invariably they are written by people like Michael Munn, an okay journalist but a man with too many irons in the fire (18 previous books, including lives of Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone) to afford himself the luxury of time--the precious time it would take to write a first-class biography of this great, iconic presence.  Munn has interviewed a lot of people, all of whom sound pretty much the same in his chatty transcriptions, and he has gotten close to many who were close to the Duke, and the book is readable enough, but it doesn't come close to conveying what happens to an audience when they sit through a John Wayne picture, the intense identification and mythologizing of his screen character as it moves from frame to frame, decade to decade.  Munn also in British and gives Wayne through the British  tabloid lens, when as we know Wayne was American as apple pie.

And he brings a lot of rumors to the book, particularly those which emphasize Wayne's right-wing political views and his proud conservatism.  All very well and good but to make Wayne a hero on the basis that Joseph Stalin put out a fatwa on him is just ridiculous.  If Stalin had wanted Wayne assassinated (for what reason?) wouldn't it have been taken care of during Stalin's lifetime?

Munn also fails to gloss over Wayne's miserable personal life.  In fact the way he lingers on it makes you think he enjoys seeing the Duke brought to his knees by the women around him and by his troubled, semi-nutty mentor John "Pappy" Ford.
4131785
The Sly Cooper games were a trilogy that really showcased the PS2, and I was disappointed when the series dried up.  Then, I was concerned that the new Sly game wouldn't live up to my fond memories of those PS2 games.  Not to worry... if you enjoyed the Sly games on the PS2, you'll enjoy Sly on the PS3.  There's not a lot of change, gameplay-wise, from those classic games, but we really wouldn't *want* that.  We want to see the gang have an adventure, to run, to jump, to pickpocket, to throw bombs and unleash the might of THE MURRAY upon cartoon henchmen.  In addition to all of the characters from the previous games, there are five ancestors of Sly's who you play on a mission here and there, which adds to even more variety.  If you didn't like the other Sly games, this one won't make you a believer, but if you enjoy platform games at all... this is a great one, regardless of your age.
4857935
His friends & fans simply call him Duke.

More than 20 yrs. after his death he is still coming in 1st or 2nd in polls askings Americans who their favorite actor is.

Why is this?

Come on, he's dead already!

Beginning in 1930 with THE BIG TRAIL & ending in 1976 with THE SHOOTIST, DUKE has been bigger than life, a symbol to the world of the ruggedness, tough independence, personal conviction, & courage that make up the American character.

I love him not just because he was a great actor, but because he played roles that showed us an America to be proud of. He was the type of guy you wouldn't mind sitting with in a bar for a few drinks &, definitely, you'd love him at your back in a fight!

The author of this book will help you understand & appreciate John Wayne the way I & millions the world over do.

You will never look at John Wayne, the actor & the man, in the same way ever again.

He is my favorite American Actor of all time, and, before I sold the collection a couple of years ago, I owned nearly all his films on Video.

Not the best book out there, but still informative.