RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II (1985)

After blowing up half the town of Jerkwater, U.S.A. in the first film, Vietnam War veteran John J. Rambo is tossed in the slammer where he passes the time breaking rocks with a sledgehammer.  Three years later, he's offered a pardon if he accepts a mission to sneak into Vietnam and locate some suspected American prisoners of war.  He accepts, but it's not until he's about to take off on his mission that he learns he's only suppose to photograph the American prisoners, not rescue them.  Things don't go quite as planned.

RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II is one of the best 1980's action movies of all time.  Great acting, awesome explosions, badass sound effects, tons of people getting shot and stabbed and blown the fuck up, torture, memorable bad guys, a very well-written script that keeps the story moving along at a lightning pace, explosive arrows, leeches, strong cast full of familiar faces, a helicopter dogfight, a pit full of pig pee-pee, the guy from Cobra Kai getting kneed in the nuts.  It's awesome!

I could go on about this film for hours, but nobody wants to hear my ramblin' ass bullshit.  If you're interested in the history of action movies and / or American Cinema, then double-feature FIRST BLOOD followed by this film.  Or...if you really want to explode yer ballsack up through the roof of your mouth...double-feature Rambo 2 with DEADLY PREY.

Part 1 - First Blood (1982)
Part 3 - Rambo III (1988)
Part 4 - Rambo (2008)
Part 5 - Rambo: Last Blood (2019)

THE TERMINATOR (1984)

Los Angeles, 1984.  Sarah Connor is about to have a bad day.

Little does Sarah know, while riding a scooter to her waitressing job, but she is about to be the focus of one of the most important events in human history.  The simplified version (as to not spoil the story or the sequels too much) is in 1997, a super intelligent and self-aware computer system called Skynet launches a worldwide nuclear assault on humanity.  In the aftermath, some humans band together to form The Resistance.  Their leader is one John Connor, son of Sarah Connor.  For decades they fight the robot army controlled by Skynet.  Finally, in 2029, on the verge of defeat, Skynet sends a cyborg assassin back in time to 1984 to kill John Connor's mother before he is even born.  Not a bad idea, except that the Resistance also sends back a human, Kyle Reese, to protect Sarah.  What follows is exciting as fook!

THE TERMINATOR is without a doubt one of the the most influential movies of all time.  Not just on other movies, but on popular culture as well.  As for me, I've seen it, at least, a hundred times.  The story is brilliant (not only is it action-packed and thought provoking, but it's actually romantic as well), perfect use of slow-motion, the direction and editing are unbelievable (there is not a single wasted moment in the entire film, every single scene is moving it forward!), it looks amazing and the acting is great all the way through.  Outside of a few minor goofs (car headlights in the police station scene, gun sounds, etc.), THE TERMINATOR is an outstanding film and entertaining even after numerous viewings.  A timeless classic.

Part 2 - Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Part 3 - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Part 4 - Terminator Salvation (2009)
Part 5 - Terminator Genisys (2015)
Part 6 - Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)