James Byron Huggins’ THE LAST HUNT is a HIT and the Sly Stallone Connection!

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James Byron Huggins’ THE LAST HUNT (the third in the Hunter trilogy) is a hit!  It currently has a 4.5 / 5 star rating at Amazon.  Its Goodreads rating is even better – 4.65 / 5 stars.

Perhaps even more impressive is that THE LAST HUNT sits in Goodreads’ Listopia #1 spot on the list of Best Action & Thrillers Ever.  Huggins is in the company of legends (Child, Clancey, Lundlum and Evanovich) and leads the pack! (See chart below.)

Long time readers of this site know that James Byron Huggins wrote HUNTER with Sylvester Stallone in mind as the lead character.  In fact Sly discussed ideas with Byron prior to the novel being written and the second edition is dedicated to Sylvester Stallone.

Sly Stallone has held the movie rights to HUNTER since the start.  A couple of times it appeared that the movie adaptation of Hunter would be soon on Sly’s agenda.  But the movie business proceeds in mysterious ways, and HUNTER has yet to reach the production stage.  Sly’s Balboa Productions still has the rights and hopefully fans will get to HUNTER as a feature film or television series.

Every book in the HUNTER trilogy gets my highest recommendation.

 

“Bronson” (2008) directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, starring Tom Hardy / Z-View

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Bronson (2008)

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Screenplay: Brock Norman Brock, Nicolas Winding Refn

Stars: Tom Hardy.

Tagline: The Man. The Myth. The Celebrity.

The Plot…

Since he was a small boy, Michael Peterson got into trouble.  In 1974, at the age of 19, Peterson took a sawed-off shotgun and attempted to rob a post office.  He was caught and sentenced to seven years in prison.  His mother hoped he’d be out in four.

Michael Peterson is still in prison.  Peterson’s continued savage acts of violence repeatedly added years to his sentence.  He was sent to a psychiatric hospital, but the violence continued, so he returned to regular prison.  Peterson has served over 50 years with the majority of them spent in solitary confinement.

Along the way Peterson changed his name to Charles Bronson and took pride in his notoriety.

This is his story.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Tom Hardy met with Charles Bronson several times prior to filming.  After seeing the film, Bronson said that Hardy had his mannerisms, voice and personaity down pat.

If male frontal nudity offends you, avoid this film.

One of Bronson‘s taglines called it “A Clockwork Orange for the 21st Century“.  I agree.

Bronson (2008) rates3 of 5 stars.

“Intruder in the Dust” (1949) / Z-View

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Intruder in the Dust (1949)

Director: Clarence Brown

Screenplay: Ben Maddow; based on INTRUDER IN THE DUST by William Faulkner

Stars: David Brian, Claude Jarman Jr., Juano Hernandez, Porter Hall, Elizabeth Patterson, Charles Kemper, David Clarke, David Clarke, Elzie Emanuel, Lela Bliss and Will Geer.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

In the 1940s in a small Southern town, Lucas Beauchamp, a man of color, is falsely arrested for the murder of a white man.  It will be up to a teenage boy, his lawyer uncle and an old woman to find the true killer before a lynch mob loses control.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The film was shot on location in Oxford, Mississippi.  William Faulkner, who wrote the source novel grew up in Oxford.

William Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for literature for his novel INTRUDER IN THE DUST.

Intruder in the Dust (1949) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Predator: Badlands” (2025) directed by Dan Trachtenberg; starring Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi / Z-View

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Predator: Badlands (2025)

Director: Dan Trachtenberg

Screenplay: Patrick Aison; story by Patrick Aison, Dan Trachtenberg; based on characters created by Jim Thomas, John Thomas

Stars: Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi.

Tagline: First hunt. Last chance.

The Plot…

The creatures we know as Predators are actually named Yautja.  The Yautja are raised by a code: Yautja are prey to none. Friend to none. Predator to all.  The weak are killed rather than bring shame to their clan.

Dek is a Yautja reaching adulthood.  He is considered a runt.  Dek’s father, the clan leader has decided Dek will bring shame to the clan.  In order to prove his worth Dek travels to Genna, a place so dangerous it is called the “Death Planet”.  There Dek plans to hunt and kill a Kalisk, one of the few creatures feared by Yautja.

On the planet Dek will face multiple dangers he couldn’t imagine.  He will also learn that the Yautja code isn’t always true…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Elle Fanning is excellent as the andriod Thia.  The character could have come off as irritating, but Fanning’s performance had the right balance.  Dek gets irritated (as he should) but the scenes provide the right amount of humor.

Predator: Badlands has a different tone from other films in the franchise.  There is a “cute” creature that shows up.  If it was just “Disney” cute, it would have not worked (for me).  But there is something about it that we don’t see at first that adds another layer and I liked it.  There is also a scene involving Thia (well, part of her) that gets a laugh and may have gone a bit too far… but why nitpick about a fun change of pace?

Terminator 2: Judgment Day gave Dan Trachtenberg the inspiration to turn the antagonist of the original film into the protagonist of the sequel.

The logo that appears on the back of Thia’s eyes are the classic Weyland-Yutani logo that was featured on the synth Andy’s eyes in Alien: Romulus.

I had my doubts about making a Predator the hero of a film but hats off to Trachtenberg, he did it.  I enjoyed Trachtenberg’s Prey as well.  I wonder what he will do in going for a trifecta.

Predator: Badlands (2025) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“WWE: Unreal” – Season 2 (2026) / Z-View

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WWE: Unreal – Season 2 (2026)

Director: (Eps. 1-5) Terrell Riley, Steve Trout

Stars: John Cena, Michael Coulthard (Michael Cole), Aoife Cusack (Lyra Valkyria), Walter Hahn (GUNTHER), Paul Levesque (‘Triple H’), Colby Lopez (Seth Rollins), Pat McAfee, Stephanie McMahon, Bruce Prichard, Rebecca Quin (Becky Lynch), Demi Bennett (Rhea Ripley), Mark Calaway (The Undertaker), Shane Helms, Paul Heyman, Brian James (Road Dogg).

Tagline: It’s More Real Than You Think

The Plot…

WWE Unreal gives fans unprecedented access behind-the-scenes at how professional wrestling works.  Cameras are allowed into the writers’ room as the executives on the creative team prepare for the WWE next big events.

This season…

  • Seth Rollins agrees to a SummerSlam storyline that will fool even friends and family.
  • Becky Lynch works to get in shape for her WrestleMania comeback.
  • Pat McAfee works to move from behind the mic to in the ring competitor.
  • R-Truth is fired (for real) but his fans have a different plan.
  • Naomi agrees and works towards moving from babyface to heel.
  • Anything that can go wrong does with Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria’s match.
  • John Cena competes in his last SummerSlam.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

When I was a kid everyone involved in professional wrestling worked to make sure that it was thought of as “real”.  Then in 1989, Vince McMahon announced professional wrestling  wasn’t a legitimate sport, but instead was sports entertainment.  The bumps and injuries are real, but the match outcomes are predetermined.  Pro wrestling fans didn’t care.

I haven’t watched pro wrestling in years, but I was interested in the behind-the-scenes access.  I wasn’t disappointed.  In fact, WWE Unreal got me interested in watching again.

WWE: Unreal – Season 21 (2026) rates 5 of 5 stars

“Navajo Joe” (1966) starring Burt Reynolds / Z-View

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Navajo Joe (1966)

Director: Sergio Corbucci

Screenplay: Piero Regnoli, Fernando di Leo; story by Ugo Pirro

Stars: Burt Reynolds, Aldo Sambrell, Fernando Rey.

Tagline: There’s no escaping his one-man vendetta of unrelenting violence!

The Plot…

When a gang of outlaws murders his entire village for scalps, Navajo Joe vows revenge.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

When Burt Reynolds was offered the chance to go to Italy to film Navajo Joe, he reached out to Clint Eastwood.  Eastwood had achieved fame for A Fistful of Dollars and A Few Dollars More.  Eastwood said it was a good experience and raved about director Sergio Leone.  Reynolds thought Navajo Joe was going to be directed by Sergio Leone.  He was mistaken.  The director was Sergio Corbucci.  Reynolds tried to walk away, but the contracts had already been signed.

To make matters worse, Corbucci thought Marlon Brando was going to be the star of the film.  Needless to say, Reynolds and Corbucci didn’t get along.  Making the film wasn’t a fun experience for either man.

Burt Reynolds said in interviews it was the worst professional experience he ever had and “the film was only shown in prisons and airplanes because the audience couldn’t leave.”

Who am I to argue with Burt Reynolds.

Navajo Joe (1966) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Naked Ambition” (2023) starring Bunny Yeager / Z-View!

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Naked Ambition (2023)

Director: Dennis Scholl, Kareem Tabsch

Writer: Dennis Scholl

Stars: Bunny Yeager, Dita Von Teese, Larry King.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Bunny Yeager started her career as a model.  She transitioned to behind the camera and became one of the most popular cheesecake photographers working.  Bunny’s work with Bettie Page sent both into the popular culture stratosphere.

This is her story.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Bunny was one of the first photographers for Playboy and even discovered Playboy’s first Playmate of the Year.  Bunny then went on to have her photos in more mainstream magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Redbook to name a few.  Bunny’s photos of Ursula Andress exiting the water on the beach for the James Bond film Dr. No are perhaps her most famous shots.

When magazines became more graphic, Bunny refused to follow the trend and her photos became less in demand.  Bunny Yeager’s photos saw a resurgence of popularity in the 1990s.

Naked Ambition (2023) rates 4 of 5 stars.