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Old vs New: Willy Wonka vs Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
When I was growing up in the 1970s, it seemed that three movies were replayed annually: The Wizard of Oz (1939), The Great Race (1965), and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). This was before pay-tv, streaming, digital channels, the internet, rentals, and, well, everything. We had four channels and that was it. Regardless of how often I’d seen these movies, I’d always tune in again, finding something magical in each. They all, in their own way, dealt with the fantastic, and two of them featured children as protagonists. As a kid, who didn’t want to believe in magic, wonder, and boundless possibilities? These are the sort of stories…
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Old vs New: Rocky vs Creed
After six movies spanning thirty years, a number of title defenses, as well as a series of impossible victories, what was left for the Rocky universe? The answer is Creed (2015), a soft reboot which introduces the new lead of Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan), the illegitimate son of the legendary Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). I actually had a similar idea about twenty years ago – continue the boxing story with one of Apollo’s sons. It’s the logical move. In Rocky Balboa (2006), we see that Rocky’s only son, Robert (Milo Ventimiglia), works in some corporate job, so it’s not like he’s going to put on the gloves. I thought…