Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
THE FURTHER MIS-ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH | Final Trailer
Deal me in.
Showcases more of Cliff Booth’s backstory in his new role as a Hollywood fixer.
CAST: Brad Pitt, Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Peter Weller, Matt Groove, and JB Tadena
Check out this Halloween alt poster by Devon Whitehead!
“Death has come to your little town, Sheriff.” – Dr. Loomis
Wolverine by Wes Craig!
HELLBENT: AN ORPHAN X NOVEL by Gregg Hurwitz
First sentences…
Evan moved swiftly through the door to his penthouse suite at the Castle Heights Residential Tower, his RoamZone pressed to his ear. The phone, encased in hardened rubber and Gorilla glass, was as durable as a hockey puck and essentially impossible to trace. Every incoming call to 1-855-2-NOWHERE traveled in digital form over the internet through a labyrinth of encrypted virtual-private-network tunnels. After a round-the-world tour of software telephone-switch destinations, it emerged through the receiver of the RoamZone.
Evan always answered the phone the same way.
Do you need my help?
This time, for the first time, the voice on the other end was a familiar one.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Evan Smoak and other children without families were raised in a secret off-the-books government program. The children were called Orphans. Evan was Orphan X.
The Orphans were trained to become the ultimate assassins. As adults, they were perfect for black bag assignments. Able to kill with their hands, or any weapon, they possessed every strategy to alone and covertly complete a mission. If caught or killed, because they had no family, the government had plausible deniability.
Orphan X became a legend whose name was spoken in whispers.
Finally, Evan Smoak had enough killing. He escaped and set up a new life. Instead of taking lives, he saved them. Smoak found people with nowhere to turn and rescued them.
Evan never dreamed he would receive a call for help from Jack Johns. Johns was the closest thing to a father Evan ever had. Now Evan has an assignment. Find and save a sixteen year old girl Van Sciver has marked for death.
Van Sciver, the new director of the Orphan program, wants Evan dead. Van Sciver knows going after the child will expose Evan. And Van Sciver will be ready with every assassin at his disposal.
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Greg Hurwitz’s ORPHAN X novels are immediate must buys for me. Each new tale is intelligent, entertaining and builds on what came before.
Rating:
It’s been years since I last saw Christine. Thanks to Francesco Francavilla’s alt poster, I just might have to remedy that.
“Whoa, whoa. You better watch what you say about my car. She’s real sensitive.” – Arnie Cunningham
Boorman and the Devil (2025)
Director: David Kittredge
Stars: John Boorman, Louise Fletcher, Mike Flanagan, Joe Dante, Linda Blair.
Tagline: Every artist has his demon.
The Plot…
After the success of The Exorcist, a sequel was a foregone conclusion. BUT, there were two BIG problems:
So the studio turned to John Boorman. Boorman was coming off the success of Point Blank and Deliverence. Boorman wasn’t afraid to tackle the sequel. In fact Boorman had big ideas he wanted to explore and technically challenging camera set-ups he wanted to tackle. Boorman’s wanted to create an epic.
The reality turned out much differently. The movie went significantly over its shooting schedule and budget. Boorman became deathly ill forcing the production to shut down for five weeks. Boorman planned to shoot on location at The Vatican, in Ethiopia, and the original MacNeil house and its famous steps in Georgetown. Because of delays and cost overruns, none of this happened. Boorman was forced to repeatedly rewrite the script due to cost cuts. Actors sometimes received new scenes right before filming.
The film was a disaster. Critics savaged it. After the first week audiences stayed away. Audiences laughed during viewings. Boorman hurriedly prepared a director’s cut, but it was too late. It would be four years before John Boorman would direct another film.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Boorman and the Devil is an excellent peek behind the movie-making curtain. It’s ironic that this documentary is universally praised while the movie it was made about is almost universally panned.
Boorman and the Devil (2025) rates 4 of 5 stars.
Marv from Frank Miller’s Sin City is one of my all-time favorite characters. I love seeing artists do their “take” on the big lug. Today we have Marv by Kevin Castaniero.
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000)
Director: Kevin Brownlow
Stars: Lon Chaney, Kenneth Branagh, Forrest J. Ackerman, Ray Bradbury, Lon Chaney Jr., Jackie Coogan and Orson Welles.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Lon Chaney, “The Man of a Thousand Faces,” was the child of deaf parents. At the age of 19, Chaney, went on the road playing in vaudeville and theater acts.
At 22, Lon Chaney married Cleva Creighton, a sixteen year old singer. The troubled marriage produced one son and lasted eight years. It ended when his wife attempted suicide. A scandal followed and Lon Chaney left theater for motion pictures.
For several years Lon Chaney made his living playing bit parts for Universal. Chaney did his own make-up and was adept at transforming his look into whatever character he was to play. In 1919, Lon Chaney got the role that made him a star in The Miracle Man. Bigger and better roles followed.
Chaney became famous for his ability to disappear into a character. Whether he was playing a double amputee (The Penalty), an armless knife-thrower (The Unknown), a deformed hunchback (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), a little old lady (The Unholy Three), a horrifying skull-faced psycho (The Phantom of the Opera), or any of the other roles he took on, audiences were thrilled. Despite his characters physical and moral failings, Chaney brought a sense of humanity to each.
At the height of his stardom, Lon Chaney developed lung cancer and died shortly after being diagnosed. The man died. His legend lives on.
This is his story.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Lon Chaney is my favorite silent movie star. Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces is an excellent documentary well worth your time.
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000) rates 5 of 5 stars.
George Romero’s follow-up to his classic Night of the Living Dead is of course, Dawn of the Dead. While I prefer the original, many folks think Dawn is the best of Romero’s zombie films. Who am I to argue?
Dawn of the Dead alt poster by Garreth Gibson.
” Every dead body that is not exterminated becomes one of them. It gets up and kills! The people it kills get up and kill!” – Dr. Foster
The Huckleberry by Phil Meatchem who calls Doc Holiday his favorite Val Kilmer performance. I couldn’t agree more.
“Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave.” – Doc Holliday
Footloose (1984)
Director: Herbert Ross
Screenplay: Dean Pitchford
Stars: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, Dianne Wiest, John Lithgow, Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Penn.
Tagline: He’s a big-city kid in a small town. They said he’d never win. He knew he had to.
The Plot…
Ren and his mother moved from Chicago to the small town of Bomont, Utah. It’s a huge change for Ren, a high school senior, but he’s trying to adapt. Ren has made a few friends. Willard, a real country boy, is his closest buddy. Ariel, a girl Ren’s attracted to, likes him as well. Unfortunately, Ren has made a few enemies. Reverand Moore, Ariel’s father, sees Ren as a bad influence. Ariel’s older ex-boyfriend, Chuck Cranston is looking for a chance to get a couple of friends and beat-up Ren.
When Ren learns there is a city ordinance that bans dancing, he makes it his mission to get an exception for the Senior Prom. This only makes Reverand Moore dislike him more (no pun intended).
Ren’s not a quiter. The odds are against him. But like Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse, the kid’s gotta dance.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Footloose was nominated for two 1985 Academy Awards…
In the opening credits over 150 different pairs of dancing feet were shot. Most were cast and crew. Kenny Loggins wore the gold shoes.
While it is true that Chris Penn was not a good dancer (one of the reasons that led to the scenes of Kevin Bacon teaching him how to move), Kevin Bacon also had five different doubles for all of his dance scenes. One of Bacon’s dance doubles was Peter Tramm who was at the time married to Marine Jahan. Jahan was the uncredited dance double for Jennifer Beals in Flashdance.
Dianne Wiest and John Lithgow played Lori Singer’s parents. Wiest is just 9 years older than Singer. Lithgow just twelve.
Frances Lee McCain played Ren’s mother. She is only twelve years older than Kevin Bacon.
Footloose is a fun little movie full of cliches, dancing and music. If you go with it, you should have a fun time.
Footloose (1984) rates 3 of 5 stars.
Patrick Stewart died on October 28, 2026. He was 86.
Patrick Stewart was encouraged by his teachers to get into acting. By the age of twelve, Patrick was a member of local drama groups. He quit school at the age of 15. Patrick Stewart worked at a various jobs, attended drama classes and continued to seek roles in local plays.
His first professional stage appearance was in 1959 at the Theatre Royal, Bristol in Cyrano de Bergerac. In 1964 Mr. Stewart’s first television credit appears on his acting resume. It wasn’t until 1975 that Patrick Stewart got a feature film credit. When Patrick Stewart was chosen to play Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation (the role that made him famous), the Los Angeles Times referred to him as an “unknown British Shakespearean actor”.
Some of Patrick Stewart’s television work includes: Story Parade; Theatre 625; BBC Play of the Month; Play for Today; Fall of Eagles (3 episodes); Anthony and Cleopatra; Omnibus (2 episodes); North and South (4 episodes); The Madness; I, Claudius (4 episodes); Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The BBC Television Shakespeare; Little Lord Fauntleroy; Smiley’s People; Maybury (20 episodes); Star Trek: The Next Generation (176 episodes); Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; 500 Nations (3 episodes); Moby Dick (2 episodes); A Christmas Carol; Frasier; The Lion in the Winter; High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman (8 episodes); Extras; Hamlet; The Hollow Crown (2 episodes); Futurama; The Simpsons (2 episodes); The Daily Show; Oscar’s Hotel for Fantastical Creatures; Robot Chicken (3 episodes); Blunt Talk (20 episodes); National Theatre Live: No Man’s Land; Family Guy (15 episodes); Star Trek: Picard (30 episodes); Bait (2 episodes) and American Dad! (125 episodes).
Some of Patrick Stewart’s feature film work includes: Hennessy; Excalibur; The Plague Dogs; Dune; Wild Geese II; Lifeforce; L.A. Story; Gunmen; Robin Hood: Men in Tights; Star Trek: Generations; Star Trek: First Contact; Conspiracy Theory; Safe House; Star Trek: Insurrection; The Prince of Egypt; X-Men; Star Trek: Nemesis; X2: X-Men United; X-Men: The Last Stand; X-Men Origins: Wolverine; The Wolverine; X-Men: Days of Future Past; Green Room; Logan; Charlie’s Angels; Dr. Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness and The Sheep Detectives.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Patrick Stewart’s family, friends and fans.
Rocky Balboa by Manuel Brancato!
“You had the talent to become a good fighter, but instead of that, you become a legbreaker to some cheap, second rate loanshark!” – Mickey Goldmill
Beetlejuice (1988)
Director: Tim Burton
Screenplay: Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren; story by Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson
Stars: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder and Glenn Shadix.
Tagline: In This House… If You’ve Seen One Ghost… You Haven’t Seen Them All.
The Plot…
Adam and Barbara Maitland are almost home when they swerve to avoid hitting a dog. Their car goes over a bridge and into the river.
When Adam and Barbara wake up they’re home.
And dead.
Adam and Barbara are now ghosts in their country home. When their house is sold, the new owners are a New York real estate developer, his wife who considers herself an artist and their goth daughter.
Adam and Barbara hate changes made to the house by the new owners. So they decide to scare the new family into moving. That doesn’t work so Adam and Barbara decide they’ll move on. But because of afterlife red tape and bureaucracy, Adam and Barbara can’t leave their former house for 125 years. The afterlife is like nothing they could have imagined.
Adam and Barbara learn about Betelgeuse, a self-proclaimed bio-exorcist. Despite warnings that Betlegeuse is a rude, crude, spirit that cannot be trusted, Adam and Barbara decide to ask for his help.
Be careful what you ask for… you just might get it.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Beetlejuice was nominated and won one Academy Award for Best Make-up – Ve Neill, Steve LaPorte, and Robert Short.
Catherine O’Hara met her future husband, Bo Welch who was production designer for Beetlejuice, during filming.
Tim Burton originally wanted Sammy Davis, Jr. to play Beetlejuice. The studio wouldn’t agree.
Sylvia Sidney plays a smoking ghost with a hole in her throat through which she exhales smoke. Sadly Ms. Sidney died from throat cancer at the age of 88.
Geena Davis is so cute in this film.
Michael Keaton is perfect as Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuice (1988) rates 4 of 5 stars.
Randy Martin and his his wife, Laura were one of the first people that I knew who had an art themed collection. Theirs is Edward Scissorhands. Anyway, I was at one of the first (maybe even the first) conventions when I started getting Sylvester Stallone character sketches. Randy (who is a collector, not a professional artist) said he had an idea for a Stallone sketch. I said (in my best Rocky III voice), “Go for it!”
The result is a, pardon the expression, knockout! It still brings a smile to my face.
