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Cinema Shock - Ep. 146 — RAMBO (2008)

Ep. 146 — RAMBO (2008)

09/26/19 • 83 min

Cinema Shock

To celebrate the release of the fifth Rambo film, RAMBO: LAST BLOOD on September 20th, we're spending the entire month of September celebrating one of the most iconic characters of 80s action cinema, Psychotronic icon John Rambo, by working our way through the entire RAMBO franchise, one film at a time.

This week, we're taking a look at what was thought to be, at the time, the fourth and final John Rambo adventure, 2008's RAMBO!

After being absent from the screen for two decades, John Rambo made his triumphant return to the big screen in this fascinating and ultra-violent outing, this time directed by Sylvester Stallone himself.

On this episode, we'll discuss the origins of this story, which sees Rambo taking on pretty much the entire Burmese military in Stallone's attempt to shine a spotlight on the real life atrocities being committed in that corner of the world.

Whether he's successful in doing so is up to the viewer, and that's another part of the discussion we'll get into, as well as the movie's somewhat muddled views on the necessity of violence.

While this episode officially concludes our Rambo series, be on the lookout for a One Shot in the next few days in which we give a quick review of the fifth (and final?) film in the series, the newly-released RAMBO: LAST BLOOD!

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show:  twitter.com/psychotronicpod facebook.com/psychotronicpod instagram.com/psychotronicpod

Follow Justin:  twitter.com/justin_bishop instagram.com/justin_bishop letterboxd.com/justin_bishop

Follow Gary: twitter.com/rockandrollgary instagram.com/rockandrollgary letterboxd.com/rockandrollgary

Please rate review and subscribe on Apple PodcastsGoogle PlayStitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

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To celebrate the release of the fifth Rambo film, RAMBO: LAST BLOOD on September 20th, we're spending the entire month of September celebrating one of the most iconic characters of 80s action cinema, Psychotronic icon John Rambo, by working our way through the entire RAMBO franchise, one film at a time.

This week, we're taking a look at what was thought to be, at the time, the fourth and final John Rambo adventure, 2008's RAMBO!

After being absent from the screen for two decades, John Rambo made his triumphant return to the big screen in this fascinating and ultra-violent outing, this time directed by Sylvester Stallone himself.

On this episode, we'll discuss the origins of this story, which sees Rambo taking on pretty much the entire Burmese military in Stallone's attempt to shine a spotlight on the real life atrocities being committed in that corner of the world.

Whether he's successful in doing so is up to the viewer, and that's another part of the discussion we'll get into, as well as the movie's somewhat muddled views on the necessity of violence.

While this episode officially concludes our Rambo series, be on the lookout for a One Shot in the next few days in which we give a quick review of the fifth (and final?) film in the series, the newly-released RAMBO: LAST BLOOD!

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show:  twitter.com/psychotronicpod facebook.com/psychotronicpod instagram.com/psychotronicpod

Follow Justin:  twitter.com/justin_bishop instagram.com/justin_bishop letterboxd.com/justin_bishop

Follow Gary: twitter.com/rockandrollgary instagram.com/rockandrollgary letterboxd.com/rockandrollgary

Please rate review and subscribe on Apple PodcastsGoogle PlayStitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

Previous Episode

undefined - Ep. 145 — RAMBO III (1988)

Ep. 145 — RAMBO III (1988)

To celebrate the release of the fifth Rambo film, RAMBO: LAST BLOOD on September 20th, we're spending the entire month of September celebrating one of the most iconic characters of 80s action cinema, Psychotronic icon John Rambo, by working our way through the entire RAMBO franchise, one film at a time.

This week, the third film in the series, RAMBO III (1988).

In FIRST BLOOD PART II, John Rambo had transformed from the PTSD-addled Vietnam vet to an icon of Reagan-era American patriotism, but it's RAMBO III that really solidified him as a straight-up American superhero.

Between those two films, Rambo had been given his own Saturday morning cartoon, and in his third outing, he pretty much personifies a cartoon brought to life. Gone is the haunted man that he began as in the original FIRST BLOOD.

In this episode, we'll discuss that transformation and we'll track RAMBO III's tumultuous journey to the big screen in which crew changes — including the director — and difficult shooting locations contributed to what would become, at the time, the most expensive film ever made.

Since RAMBO III appears in The Sacred Texts (aka Michael J. Weldon's Psychotronic Video Guide), it gets an automatic nomination for the Psychotronic Hall of Fame. Vote in our poll to let us know if you think it deserves to go in!

VOTE: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T6YDZHQ

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Contact us at any of the social media accounts listed below, or be a part of the show by calling us at (864) 371-9931 and leaving us a voicemail of 3 minutes or less and we'll use it on our next episode!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show:  twitter.com/psychotronicpod facebook.com/psychotronicpod instagram.com/psychotronicpod

Follow Justin:  twitter.com/justin_bishop instagram.com/justin_bishop letterboxd.com/justin_bishop

Follow Gary: twitter.com/rockandrollgary instagram.com/rockandrollgary letterboxd.com/rockandrollgary

Please rate review and subscribe on Apple PodcastsGoogle PlayStitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

Next Episode

undefined - One Shot: RAMBO: LAST BLOOD (2019) Review

One Shot: RAMBO: LAST BLOOD (2019) Review

We recently wrapped up a month-long discussion of the entire RAMBO franchise to date, but we couldn't let Rambo Month go by without discussion the film that served as its inspiration.

RAMBO: LAST BLOOD, Sylvester Stallone's fifth outing as John Rambo, was recently released to theaters to less-than-stellar reviews. But if you're wondering what our hosts Gary and Justin think of it, you're in luck!

In this review, we give our general thoughts on the film before delving into spoiler territory about halfway through (don't worry; there's plenty of warning). 

What did you think of RAMBO: LAST BLOOD? Let us know by hitting us up on any of the social media platforms listed below!

Visit our website at www.psychotronicfilmsociety.com. There you'll find all of our past episodes and our full list of Psychotronic Hall of Famers!

Theme song: “Foreign Body” by the Slasher Film Festival Strategy from their album PSYCHIC SHIELD. More info: http://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com

Join our Discord server! https://discord.gg/5Q3uUDv

Follow the show:  twitter.com/psychotronicpod facebook.com/psychotronicpod instagram.com/psychotronicpod

Follow Justin:  twitter.com/justin_bishop instagram.com/justin_bishop letterboxd.com/justin_bishop

Follow Gary: twitter.com/rockandrollgary instagram.com/rockandrollgary letterboxd.com/rockandrollgary

Please rate review and subscribe on Apple PodcastsGoogle PlayStitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts!

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