Listings for Friday, May 9, through Thursday, May 15, 2008

First Blood

Capsule by Dave Kehr

From the Chicago Reader

This 1985 action film hangs on an interesting reversal, taking the crazed-killer-in-the-woods theme from Friday the 13th and turning it inside out--the psychopath is now our hero, a maladjusted ex-Green Beret played by Sylvester Stallone. The director, Ted Kotcheff, does a good job with the violence and suspense, working well with the widescreen format, and he seems fully aware of the dark, subversive implications of the material, even if the screenplay doesn't allow him to resolve them successfully. The chief drawback is a preening, doe-eyed Stallone, whose insistence on playing for pathos drains much of the effective ambiguity from his character. With Brian Dennehy (quite good) and Richard Crenna. R, 97 min. Screening with an alternate ending and a new interview with Stallone.

This movie is currently playing at: Century 12 and CineArts 6 | City North 14 | Niles ShowPlace 12 | River East 21

Send a letter to the editor.