European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 29, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A Rocky comeback would give screen much needed punch Paul t. Carlson whatever happened to Rocky not the mountains or the common trails of life but the first motion picture. In a talking about the Type of motion picture. You know sports flicks. I went to Sec a recent rendition of this Type of movie. I wont mention any names but lets just say its initials were kick Boxer ii. It was awful. Times have changed since i was a kid. What was once a National interest in boxing has turned into a martial arts epic. Now it seems the More a person knows about the ancient ways the better. Done to get me wrong. I like a Good karate movie just As much As anyone else. Unfortunately they re really hard to find. It used to be a kid just wanted to see the Champ win the title. Now they be traded that in for graphic portrayals of vengeance and bloodshed. Not too Long ago one could go see a flick like Rocky and leave feeling Good and emotionally charged. The crowd would come away saying Quot go Rocky a now the movies leave us Flat and confused. Two minutes later its hard to remember what you just saw. In Rocky there were Quality actors decent drama that played with the audience and an original dialogue that not Only supported the picture but also was one you could identify with. Nowadays they have unknown actors scripts costing Ess than some periodicals and themes so Boring they put even the most hyper of kids to sleep. In Rocky you Felt for the Young unknown Boxer played by Sylvester Stallone As he battled poverty personal problems and his own sense of being. You Felt like you were in Rocky a training Camp the whole Way through the movie. It was a Good feeling when the heavyweight Champ picked Rocky for the heavyweight title shot. Now because of sequel mania movies Lack originality and seem the same. Movies ends Are so predictable the Only Heartfelt emotions you get Are from eating too much Salty Popcorn. The characters in movies today seem to be loners. Their designer clothes look like something from an mtg video. They could be Down and out and still pose for gentleman a quarterly. Some of today a karate movies still have old asian men who Are martial arts experts. Like we Haven to seen that cliche before. Keeping with tradition they speak softly with enough ancient philosophies to make a Buddhist Monk role his eyes. One things for sure Rocky had character. He might have been the toughest Guy on the Block but he still had time for his dog and pet turtles. His main theme was from the heart to fight his Way out of the ghetto. Even during his Busy training schedule he found time to keep kids off the Street. We used to see the Gruff old Man played by Burgess Meredith bark out commands to Rocky in a voice darkened by cigarettes and age. His saying a you got heart kid and that s what it takes a would always ring in my ears. In Rocky you could feel the blood drip off Rocky a hands As he practice punching sides of beef in a meat cooler. His one Arm push ups were impressive As Well As his raw egg breakfasts. These Days its hard to imagine myself splitting a Board with my head snatching pebbles out of the masters hand or pulverizing a cinder Block with my Ankles. Its just not too realistic. Speaking of blood today there a too much during the fight scenes. We Are constantly bombarded by Gross images that would make Freddy Krueger cringe. In karate movies today the More bloodshed and spit in the direction of the camera the better. Nuts sure there was blood in Rocky but it seemed justified by the last round of the world title fight. For today a movies they should use a different rating system. Not the usual four Star approach or the thumbs up or Down method. Instead they should use audience participation. For instance the number of people in the front Row heaving their guts out might Tell you something. The More physical the reactions you had at the end of the show stomach cramps for example the worse the movie. The Best of All would be the number of butt welts on someone a behind after kicking themselves for actually paying for the show. I say bring Back the Kodity Type movies. The big drama Between the italian stallion and Apollo greed was great. It charmed the audience with a sense of Hope and Pride not often found. Today there Are entirely too Many cheaply made movies that done to mean anything and Are a waste of time. I could just hear Rocky saying a Wyo Adrian my fans really need me in the  the movie Industry should Stop pulling punches and replacing them just for kicks. Its time that Rocky made his ultimate comeback. Pfc. Paul t. Carlson is stationed in Plum Sens Germany. Send in your column plus a photo of yourself to be our guest sunday Magazine the stars and stripes Apo 09211 or Postrach 11 14 37, d-6100 Darmstadt 11,  laugh contents Collins London England Type Hajj to Aye Haj clean a copyright 3 1992. Cartoonists i i Milors Syndicate from the cover .4-7 Oscar night dawning. Sidelights.8-9 Walt baby love plugs in to Urban hits. Odds amp ends .10 miss manners on Flower Power. In tune.11 a Basic instinct Quot a sexual thriller this weeks films.12-13 Chuck Vonch the effects of Quot Lawnmower Man. Quot Complete cafes circuit listings. Television listings .14-16 local Cable and satellite schedules. Home entertainment 17 Danny Devito on the Money. On Parade is the latest on Princess Caroline. Voices. Linda Ellerbee dreads democratic drips. Words and wit.20 Tony Konheiser has his own Oscar favourites. Books.21 Gay Talese a Quot unto the  classified ads .22-27 last laugh .28 Dave Barry on the grave matter of cards. Walt baby love is a hit on the air. Page 8 sunday is a weekly supplement of the stars and stripes editor Backy Fox Art direction Peter Jaeger production Susie Stonum editorial assistance Marian Hamilton Louis Pierce sunday March 29, 1992