Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
I love this Sinners alt poster by Nate Gonzales. Hope you do as well.
“I am your way out. This world already left you for dead. Won’t let you build. Won’t let you fellowship. We will do just that. Together. Forever.” – Remmick Jones
Signs (2002)
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix and M. Night Shyamalan.
Tagline: The first sign you can’t explain. The second sign you can’t ignore. The third sign you won’t believe..
The Plot…
Graham Hess, a former Episcopal Priest, is a single father with two young children. They live on Graham’s farm outside a small town in rural Pennsylvania. Six months ago, Graham’s wife was killed when a car struck her as she was out for a walk. After his wife’s death, Graham lost his faith in God and quit the church. Graham’s younger brother Merrill, a high school baseball star who washed out of the minor leagues, moved in to help with the kids.
When a large crop circle suddenly appears in his cornfield, Graham blames teenage vandals. Then get creepy when Graham sees shadows that appear to be people in his cornfield and even his roof. Next crop circles on other farms start appearing. This is followed by multiple reports of UFOs over major cities around the world. Rumors of an alien invasion spread like wildfire.
And then it happens.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
M. Night Shyamalan said that The Birds, Night of the Living Dead, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers were his main influences for Signs. He had the cast watch The Birds prior to filming.
M. Night Shyamalan said Sign‘s title has two meanings. “One is the crop signs, but it is also about faith and the existence of signs from above.”
Signs is a fun popcorn movie. It’s funny, suspenseful, frightening and reaffirming.
***SPOILER*** Some critics of the film point out it was stupid of the aliens to invade Earth since water creates a big problem for them. (And Earth is mostly covered by water.) This is easily discounted if we assume that Earth, despite it’s issues for the aliens, is the best planet they can get to for their survival.
Signs (2002) rates 4 of 5 stars.
THE FURTHER MIS-ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH | Official Trailer #2
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Deal me in.
PITT. TARANTINO. FINCHER.
THE FURTHER MIS-ADVENTURES OF CLIFF BOOTH.
ONLY IN IMAX NOVEMBER 25.
GET TICKETS NOW: https://www.cliffboothfilm.comWatch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/82054606
Hangmen Also Die (1943)
Director: Fritz Lang
Screenplay: John Wexley; story by Fritz Lang, Bertolt Brecht
Stars: Brian Donlevy, Walter Brennan, Anna Lee, Gene Lockhart, Dennis O’Keefe
and Alexander Granach.
Tagline: Fritz Lang’s masterpiece of intrigue and deception.
The Plot…
World War II rages. Nazis control Czechoslovakia. Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi in charge of the occupation is so brutal he’s been given the nickname “The Hangman of Europe”. The Czech resistance’s scheme to assassinate Heydrich is a success, but the escape plan goes sideways.
Dr. František Svoboda, the Hangman’s killer goes on the run. As the Nazis close in, a young woman named Mascha helps hide Svoboda. Unable to find their leader’s killer, the Nazis begin a door-to-door search. They also round up civilians for executions.
With the Nazis closing in and the execution of innocents underway it appears all hope is lost…
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Hangmen Also Die! was nominated for two 1944 Academy Awards…
There really was a Nazi named Reinhard Heydrich nicknamed “The Hangmen”. Although Heydrich was assassinated, Hangmen Also Die! is a fictionalized account.
Hangmen Also Die! was made during the height of World War II. Hangmen Also Die! went into production just four months after the death of Reinhard Heydrich.
The Nazi response to the assassination was…
Hangmen Also Die (1943) rates 4 of 5 stars.
The teaser for Criminal is here and man, does it check all the boxes. I’ve been a fan of the graphic novel series from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips since issue one. This series adaptation looks great. I love that they’re dropping all episodes in each “chapter” at once.
Deal me in!
All you have to do is aim, breathe, and squeeze. From the acclaimed graphic novel series, Criminal comes to Prime Video in two parts on January 13 and 27.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Director: Edgar Wright
Screenplay: Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright
Stars: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Nick Frost, Dylan Moran, Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton.
Tagline: In a time of crisis a hero must rise…from his sofa.
The Plot…
Shaun is a 29 year-old slacker with a deadend job. Liz, his girlfriend just dumped him. She grew tired of Shaun’s promises to grow up. Shaun would speak the words then revert back to playing video games or hanging out at the pub with his out of work friend, Ed.
Shaun and Ed are so oblivious that they don’t notice a zombie apocalypse has started until it comes to their front door.
Now Shaun has a plan. He will rescue his mother. And Liz. That’s the plan. Now all he has to do is figure out how.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
George A. Romero liked Shaun of the Dead so much he asked Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright to cameo as zombies in Land of the Dead. They did and appear as two chained zombies used in a photo stand.
My preference for zombie (and most horror) movies is a serious take. Shaun of the Dead is the rare exception that works.
Shaun of the Dead (2004) rates 4 of 5 stars.
Mr. T: I Pity the Fool (2026)
Director: Scott Weintrob
Stars: Mr. T, Terry Crews, Dirk Benedict, Dwight Schultz, George Peppard, Cheri Oteri, Eddie Murphy and Hulk Hogan.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Mr. T burst on the scene as Clubber Lang in Rocky III. He became world famous. A television show (The A-Team) was built around him. So was a cartoon. Feature films followed. Mr. T became a cultural icon.
The world knows Mr. T, but how many know Laurence Tureaud, the man who became Mr. T? This is his story.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
From humble beginings, to a career as a bodyguard to the famous, Mr. T was a self-made man. When Sylvester Stallone gave Mr. T the opportunity, it was T’s preparation that made him a star.
Mr. T: I Pity the Fool is a nice overview. I wish it was longer and went more in depth. Still it does a good job through interviews with Mr. T, celebrities who worked with him as well as friends and family of hitting the high (and low) points of Mr. T’s life.
Mr. T: I Pity the Fool (2026) rates 4 of 5 stars.
If you’re following Rich Davies, you might have already seen his cool Hellboy alt poster. Even so, it’s worth another look.
“Aw, crap.” – Hellboy
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.
+++
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
