Talky Balboa

With I Play Rocky hitting theatres this November, Logan and Ty hit the red carpet at the Calgary International Film Festival for an early screening of the 2026 biographical drama about the making of the 1976 classic Rocky. Directed by Peter Farrelly and starring Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone, the film tells the story of the underdog who fought to get his screenplay made and refused to give up on his dream of playing the iconic boxer himself.

Before stepping into the theatre, Logan and Ty share their expectations for the film before breaking down their thoughts in a spoiler-free review. SPOILER WARNING! Once the gloves come off, the duo dives into behind-the-scenes trivia, what the movie gets right and wrong about the making of Rocky, and even a few thoughts on the soundtrack. Then, it's time to go the distance and deliver their final scores. Does I Play Rocky live up to the legacy of one of cinema's greatest underdog stories? Tune in to find out!


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Warning, we were very hungover during this episode... We’re going back to the beginning! This week on Talky Balboa, Logan and Ty tackle Sylvester Stallone’s 1978 directorial debut, Paradise Alley. Stallone plays Cosmo Carboni — a hustler trying to make a better life for himself and his brothers in 1940s Hell’s Kitchen. (Lenny and Victor are the other two)

It’s wrestling, family drama, questionable fashion, and peak early Stallone. We’re breaking down the movie, Stallone’s first crack at directing, and whether Paradise Alley deserves more attention as we continue our journey through the Stallone filmography.

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Talky Balboa will be attending CIFF to cover, I Play Rocky

This movie rules! Sylvester Stallone takes a break from punching people in the face and steps into the world of small-town cops, corruption, and a whole lot of New Jersey accents. This week on Talky Balboa, Logan and Ty dive into 1997’s Cop Land, Stallone’s surprisingly dramatic turn alongside Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Harvey Keitel. Is it a Stallone movie? Is it a cop thriller? Is it somehow both? We’re breaking it all down as we continue our journey through the Stallone filmography.

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Talky Balboa will be attending CIFF to view and cover I Play Rocky.

This is the worst movie we have ever watched. 

This week on Talky Balboa, we enter the deeply uncomfortable world of Ricky 1. A Rocky parody so bafflingly shitty that it almost feels like a movie someone found buried in a landfill.

Shot in 1983 and released years later, Ricky 1 takes the basic Rocky formula and somehow makes it about a male stripper/gigolo who wants to become a boxing champion. There’s romance, there’s boxing, there are bizarre detours into other movies, and there is absolutely no reason any of this should exist.

We’re breaking down the cheap sets, the questionable acting, the truly deranged plot, and the many, MANY ways Ricky 1 fails to capture even a molecule of Rocky magic. Basically, we effing hated it. 
It’s not Rocky. It’s not even really a movie.


It’s Ricky 1.

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Talky Balboa will be attending CIFF to view and cover I Play Rocky. 

Wow! You know what isn't more interesting than boxing? Arm wrestling!

Logan and Ty from Talky Balboa are on the final march toward Stallone flicks as they approach the screening of I Play Rocky. Today's episode covers the 1987 action... sports film? Over the Top... if you can even call it that genre. Anyways, that's what it says online about it. 

Stallone has traded in his boxing gloves and replaced them with a strap for arm wrestling... an arm-wrestling strap. You can probably tell we're having a hard time articulating exactly what the deal is with this film. So sit back in your truck and relax as we discuss the behind-the-scenes bankrupting trivia, the strange plot, the excellent soundtrack, and so much more.

We're about to go Over the Top this episode!...See what we did there??? 



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In 2024, Sylvester Stallone released a director’s cut of his 2006 film Rocky Balboa. But how much did he actually change? Was this a major retooling on the level of his Rocky IV director’s cut, or is this a director’s cut that maybe didn’t need to exist?

Logan and Ty are back to dive into Rocky Balboa, breaking down the biggest changes between the two versions and deciding whether Stallone’s new cut adds anything meaningful to one of Rocky’s finest chapters... or if the original already got the job done.

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Talky Balboa will be attending CIFF to cover the upcoming film, I Play Rocky.

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Ty and Logan recorded a very drunk but also very funny episode on the film Ghostbusters (1984) in the Talky Balboa format. We can't release this episode publicly...OBVIOUSLY! So support us with 2$ and enjoy a bonus episode! In HIGH QUALITY WAV. FORMAT OR MP3.

Hokey Smokes! It's a new episode of everyones favorite Rocky Balboa podcast!!! Ty and Logan are back with maybe the most wild Rocky movie yet!!! The 2000 film The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Adding some much needed low quality animation to the franchise! It also takes a bold swing and completely recast Rocky! How will it hold up to all the other films? Buckle up! This Robert De Niro vehicle has the green light. Ty, Logan, and producer Jack Quaid are ready! Are you?

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Logan and Ty sat down and watched the grainy leaked version of the Rocky 5 Workprint. Being HUGE fans of Rocky V (we are being sarcastic) we thought, what a good idea to dive into the strange afterlife of Rocky V and the infamous workprint that changed everything. 

While the theatrical release took a hit for its 90s-style editing,  it is rumored that director John G. Avildsen was so frustrated with the studio’s final cut that he eventually leaked his own personal version online—even uploading it to YouTube—just to show the world his original vision. This 'director’s cut' swaps out the hip-hop soundtrack for Bill Conti’s classic score, changes the history of Little Marie, and restores a much-debated spiritual/faith element: Mickey appearing as a literal ghost in the alleyway to cheer Rocky on during the final street fight. It’s a fascinating look at the movie we almost got. But that all begs the question does this make the movie better than the one that we got in 1990? 

Get ready as we take a look at behind the scenes interviews, breakdown the differences in the variations of the film, and did they make Rocky... umm... more slow in this version? If so, why!?!?! 

Want to watch it in glorious 14p resolution yourself: https://youtu.be/Ku0gl0SU86E 

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While it’s tough to pin down a definitive "grand total" for the Rocky franchise, the numbers are staggering. Across nine films, including the Creed saga, the franchise has racked up an estimated 60 to 70+ awards over five decades—yet only 3 of those are Academy Awards!

It’s time to settle the score and hand out some hardware of our own. Welcome to The Talkies!We’re rolling out the red carpet for every film covered in Season 1 of our podcast (yes, even Grudge Match gets an invite).

Logan and Ty have their suits on and the envelopes are ready. Who takes home the gold? Tune in for the inaugural Talky Balboa Awards!Follow us @TalkyBalboa and subscribe so you never miss a round!

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