Category: Celebs

In Conversation… Sylvester Stallone on CBS Sunday Morning! (Full Video)

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This past Sunday, Sly was interviewed on the set of Tulsa King.  Bravo to all involved.

In the new Paramount+ series “Tulsa King,” Sylvester Stallone stars as an aging New York mafioso fresh out of prison who finds himself setting up a new criminal organization on the plains of Oklahoma. Stallone talked with correspondent Lee Cowan about his first foray into television; the enduring power of “Rocky”; and how he’s matured into a new style of acting.

“Dave Stevens: Drawn to Perfection” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster and trailer for Dave Stevens: Drawn to Perfection is here.  I cannot wait to see this!

Dave Stevens was a once-in-a-lifetime artist who created the hit comic book series The Rocketeer that reintroduced the world to ’50s pin-up queen Bettie Page and was adapted into a beloved feature film. Dave carried with him a style born of 1930s American Pop Culture, an era he never experienced firsthand, but lived on in his heart and through his illustrations. His award-winning, 35-year career spanned advertising, comics, animation, movies, and TV working with luminaries like Jack Kirby, Doug Wildey, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Landis, and Joe Johnston. Widely considered one of the best illustrators of his generation, Dave Stevens lived life the way he drew, meticulously pursuing a perfection he saw in his mind. His elegant brush work and iconic imagery continue to attract fans and inspire new generations of artists.

“Mindcage” starring Martin Lawrence, John Malkovich & Melissa Roxburgh – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I like the poster and dig the trailer for Mindcage starring Martin Lawrence, John Malkovich and Melissa Roxburgh.  It took me a second to accept Lawrence in a serious role, but this could work.  What do you think?

In this spellbinding thriller, detectives Jake Doyle (Martin Lawrence) and Mary Kelly (Melissa Roxburgh) seek the help of an incarcerated serial killer named The Artist (John Malkovich) when a copycat killer strikes. While Mary searches for clues in The Artist’s brilliant but twisted psyche, she and Jake are lured into a diabolical game of cat and mouse, racing against time to stay one step ahead of The Artist and his copycat.

Starring Martin Lawrence, Melissa Roxburgh, John Malkovich, Robert Knepper, Jacob Grodnik, and Aiden Turner.

“Crash Goes the Hash” (1944) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Crash Goes the Hash (1944)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay:  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Dick Curtis, Bud Jamison, Symona Boniface and Vernon Dent.

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Larry, Curly and Moe get hired as reporters.  They’ll get a $100 bonus if they can get a photo of Prince Shaam of Ubeedarn (Curtis) and Mrs. Van Bustle (Boniface) who are rumored to be on the verge of marriage.  The boys get jobs as a cook and waiters for a big party at Mrs. Van Bustle’s mansion.  Hijinks follow…

Crash Goes the Hash is one of the most popular Stooges’ shorts.  Sadly during it’s filming Curly had his first small stroke.  There’s a scene where one of the characters tells the boys they’re acting like the Three Stooges and the boys are offended.

Crash Goes the Hash earns 4 of 5 stars.

“London After Midnight” & “Curse of the Wolfman” Graphic Novels are Coming in 2023!

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Here’s some cool news for monster movie and comic books fans.  Source Point Press and Chaney Entertainment have teamed to create two new graphic novels for 2023.  The first, London After Midnight is based on the most famous lost film in the world.  Made in 1927, London After Midnight starred Lon Chaney as a vampire!  The second, The Curse of the Wolf Man will be a sequel to The Wolf Man (1941) which starred Lon Chaney, Jr.

Writer, Dirk Manning and artist Marianna Pescosta will be the creative team for London After Midnight.  The Curse of the Wolf Man will be written by Josh Werner with illustrations by Stan Yak and colorist Colin Johnson.  Ron Chaney (Lon Chaney’s great-grandson and CEO of Chaney Enterprises) will be involved with the creative teams. Look for London After Midnight and The Curse of the Wolf Man on Kickstarter in the spring of 2023,

Source: Rue Morgue.

“The Man in the Barn” (1937) Directed by Jacques Tourneur / Z-View

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The Man in the Barn (1937)

Director:  Jacques Tourneur

Screenplay:  Morgan Cox

Stars:  Carey Wilson, Virginia Brissac. 

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

In 1903, David E. George on his deathbed claimed to be John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed Abraham Lincoln.

Although accepted history has it that Booth was killed in a barn twelve days after his murder of President Lincoln, this short explores the possibility that David George was in fact John Wilkes Booth!

I wanted to see this short for two reasons:

  1. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur, the director of The Cat People, Out of the Past, Curse of the Demon and so many other films.
  2. It involved the conspiracy theory that John Wilkes Booth survived until 1903.  I’m a sucker for a good conspiracy theory.

Tourneur’s talent is wasted & so was my time.

The Man in the Barn earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Barbarian” (2022) Written and Directed by Zach Cregger, starring Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård & Justin Long / Z-View

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Barbarian (2022)

Director:  Zach Cregger

Screenplay:  Zach Cregger

Stars:  Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Matthew Patrick Davis, Richard Brake, J.R. Esposito, Derek Morse and Zach Cregger.

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

Tess Marshall (Campbell) arrives late one rainy night to the home she’s rented. Tess is in town for a job interview.  Surprisingly, she finds the house has been double-booked.  The other renter is named Keith (Skarsgård).  After unsuccessfully trying to reach the rental office, Tess decides to get a hotel room.  When she’s unable to find any available, she learns there’s a big convention in town.  Keith suggests that they both stay in the house.  Although a little concerned about Keith at first, Tess feels comfortable enough to stay the night.  Keith takes the couch and Tess the bedroom with the door locked.

The next morning Tess and Keith leave for the day.  Tess is shocked by the condition of the neighborhood.  Every house on the block is deserted and dilapidated.    After her interview, Tess returns to the house.  Keith isn’t back yet.  As Tess is checking out the place, she accidentally locks herself in the basement.  Looking for another way out, Tess discovers a hidden room.  In the room is a dirty, bloody mattress and a camcorder.  Tess is starting to freak out when she hears Keith has returned…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Writer-director Zach Cregger intentionally made Barbarian‘s tone feel like two different films.  The first half is “a Fincher movie” while the second is like “a Raimi movie…”.   This creates an interesting juxtaposition.  In the first half of the film, Tess doesn’t trust her instincts enough to leave.  She then makes poor decisions, but for good reasons.  Cregger lets it all play out slowly and as Tess begins to think the situation is okay, we as an audience still have doubts.  When things reach a climax, Cregger breaks away to introduce a character named AJ (Long).

At first this is very disorienting.  Then it becomes clear that AJ’s story ties in to what’s happening with Tess.  In fact, AJ will soon find himself in the same danger as Tess.  When a character is introduced late in a film, he/she is often the hero who will save the day.  Not so, here.

Not only did Cregger change up character expectations, but this is where his filmmaking style changes.  Things move quicker and we’re no longer in a psychological thriller, but a full blown horror movie.  Hats off to Cregger for having faith in himself (and his audience) to make such a move.

Not only is there a disparity in the tone of Tess and AJ’s stories, but their characters as well.  Tess made poor decisions to help another, while AJ makes poor decisions for selfish reasons.  The contrast between the characters as well as the way their stories are shown are as different as, uh, up and down.  ; )

Georgina Campbell is an actress that I hadn’t seen before.  She’s excellent.  I’ll be watching for her in the future. Bill Skarsgård hits all the right notes.  Is he the nice guy he wants us to believe or is he a monster who has Tess fooled?  Justin Long plays against type and does it well.  The real star of the show is writer/director Zach Cregger,  Barbarian is his first feature and he executed it with style.  I’m excited to see Cregger’s plans for his next film.

Oh, and if you think you’ve figured out how the movie plays out from this review… you haven’t.

Barbarian earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Idle Roomers” (1944) Starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Idle Roomers (1944)

Director:  Del Lord

Screenplay:  Del Lord, Elwood Ullman

Stars:  Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Duke York, Christine McIntyre and Vernon Dent

Tagline: None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Moe, Larry and Curly are bellmen at an upscale hotel.  When Mr. and Mrs. Leander check in, the boys only see Mrs. Leander.  Not knowing she has a jealous husband, they fight over helping her to her room.  When the husband arrives, there’s trouble.  And even more trouble when the wolfman he has caged gets loose!

Curly does most of the heavy-lifting in this one (and I’m not just talking about the Leander’s luggage).  Any time you have the boys running out of their minds with fear from monsters, you’re guaranteed laughs.

Idle Roomers earns 4 of 5 stars.

“The Patient” starring Steve Carell and Domhnall Gleeson / Z-View

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The Patient (2o22)

Directors:  Chris Long (episodes 1,2, 8-10); Kevin Bray (episodes 3-5); Gwyneth Horder-Payton (episodes 6,7)

Teleplay:  Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg

Stars:  Steve Carell, Domhnall Gleeson, Laura Niemi and David Alan Grier.

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

Dr. Alan Strauss (Carroll) is a psychotherapist who one morning wakes up in the basement of a strange house.  A chain is padlocked to his leg and a bolt in the cement floor.  Dr. Strauss soon learns that his captor is Sam Fortner (Gleeson).  Fortner is a serial killer who believes that Dr. Strauss can cure him of the compulsion to kill.

Thoughts (Beware of spoilers)…

What a great setup for a limited series.  If Strauss cures Fortner, Strauss is a liability because of his knowledge of the murders.  If Strauss can’t cure Fortner, there’s no reason to keep him alive.  It’s a game of cat and mouse and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

I was a little hesitant that Steve Carroll was the dramatic lead because of his role as Michael Scott from The Office.  I shouldn’t have worried.  Carroll was excellent, as is Laura Niemi who plays Sam’s mother.  She’s aware that her son is a serial killer, but cannot bring herself to turn him in.  David Alan Grier (another comedian) shows his dramatic chops.

The real surprise to me was Domhnall Gleeson.  What a performance!  Definitely worthy of an Emmy.  While I had seen Gleeson in a few films (True Grit, Dredd and The Revenant), I had no idea of how good an actor he is.

I liked that The Patient was written as series of ten episodes.  Because it was a limited series all bets were off as to who would live or die.  Expect some surprises along the way.

The Patient earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Lucky Ghost” aka “Lady Luck” (1942) Starring Mantan Moreland & F.E. Miller / Z-View

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Lucky Ghost aka Lady Luck (1942)

Director:  William Beaudine

Screenplay:  Lex Neal, Vernon Smith

Stars:  Mantan Moreland, F.E. Miller, Maceo Bruce Sheffield and Napoleon Whiting. 

Tagline:  A Thriller-Diller Laff Sensation Feature!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Washington (Moreland) and Jefferson (Miller) are down-on-their-luck friends looking for an opportunity.  When they meet a couple of rich men standing by a limo, they learn that the driver has gone for gas.  Washington entices the men into a dice game.  By the time the driver has returned, Washington has won all of the men’s money, their fancy clothes and the car!

Washington and Jefferson have the driver take them to a nearby country club.  The club is run by a crook named Dr. Brutus Blake (Sheffield).  Blake invites Washington to play in his private gambling room.  There he plans to swindle Washington out of all his cash using crooked dice.  What Blake doesn’t know is that ghosts are watching and don’t like what they’re seeing.

The movie really takes off once Mantan begins playing craps in the club.  He’s hilarious when he’s forced to roll using dice he knows will cause him to lose.  Lady Luck isn’t as funny as Mr. Washington Goes to Town, but this semi-sequel has its moments.

Lucky Ghost aka Lady Luck earns 3 of 5 stars.