Category: Celebs

“Get on Up” (2014) / Z-View

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Get on Up  (2014)

Director:  Tate Taylor

Writers: Jez Butterworth (screenplay),  John-Henry Butterworth (screenplay), Steven Baigelman (story)

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis, Lennie James, Craig Robinson and Octavia Spencer.

Tagline:  The Funk don’t Quit.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

The life story of The Godfather of Soul, James Brown.  If all you know is his music, this biopic will take you from Brown’s very humble beginnings in a broken home with parents that didn’t want him to being one of the best known performers in the world.   Along the way we get hints of both the genius and the self-destructive tendencies of James Brown.

Chadwick Bosman becomes James Brown — you forget he’s acting.  Special mention for Viola Davis, Lennie James and Octavia Spencer whose impact is felt long after they are off screen.  James Brown’s music is always a plus!  Get on Up was a fun ride and rates 4 of 5 stars.  

“Uncut Gems” (2019) / Z-View

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Uncut Gems  (2019)

Director:  Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie

Writers:  Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie

Starring:  Adam Sandler, Julie Fox, Idina Menzel, Keith William Richards, Tommy Kominik, LaKeith Stanfield  and Kevin Garnett.

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Howard Ratner (Sandler) is a big time gems dealer who should be on top of the world.  He has a successful business and a beautiful wife and kids. He brings in enough money to support a lifestyle most can only dream of.  Ratner’s self-destructive behavior has his business on the verge of collapse, his marriage near divorce.  He understands what is happening and yet continues to make the worst possible choices.

Ratner’s a degenerate gambler in debt to bookies and he keeps gambling — hocking items from his store to get enough for the next sure thing.  He’s having an affair, paying for an expensive apartment for a woman he knows loves his lifestyle and not him.  And when Ratner is lucky enough to get a chance to get out from under it all he screws that up… repeatedly.

Adam Sandler is excellent as Howard Ratner, one of the most unlikeable screw-ups in movie history. The problem I had with the film is that Ratner is so despicable, there’s no one to pull for.  He moves from one screw-up that he caused to the next.  That became tiresome as did the screaming and threats.  So for me Uncut Gems gets 2 of 5 stars.

“Rattlesnake”  (2019) / Z-View

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Rattlesnake  (2019)

Director:  Zak Hilditch

Writers:  Zak Hilditch

Starring:  Carmen Ejogo, Theo Rossi  and Appy Pratt.

Tagline:  Time waits for no one.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Katrina Ridgeway (Ejogo) and her little daughter Clara (Pratt) get a flat tire on a deserted desert road.  As Katrina changes the tire, Clara wanders a bit and is bitten by a rattlesnake.  With no cars in sight, and no cell service, Clara is fading fast.  Suddenly Katrina hears music coming from a trailer!

Katrina runs Clara to the trailer where she finds an old woman.  Katrina explains what happened.  The woman says she can help.  She tells Katrina to change the tire. There is a hospital ten minutes away.  As Katrina turns to leave, the woman says, “We can talk about payment later.”  Katrina changes the tire and returns to find the old woman gone.  She rushes Clara to the hospital, but doctors can find no evidence of a snake bite.

The doctor suggests Clara spend the night for observation.  Katrina agrees.  A few minutes later a well dressed man enters the room saying he is there to discuss payment.  Katrina tells him she has insurance. The man cuts her off saying, “What was done for your daughter doesn’t come cheap. Her little soul was spared. And now you owe one in return.”

Katrina Ridgeway, “I’m sorry, I thought you said soul.”

“Ms. Ridgeway, you don’t have long to pay your debt. You only have until sunset, which is now only seven hours away. The soul you take can be any one of your choosing, but it must be human. And it must be paid in full and on time.”

Katrina quickly comes to realize that unless she kills a human within seven hours, her daughter will die!

Carmen Ejogo is the glue that holds Rattlesnake together.  Theo Rossi is so good at being bad.  Rattlesnake is like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone.  My favorite scene is in the hospital where Katrina begins to realize the deal she’s made.  Rattlesnake is one of those films where it’s about the journey and not the destination.

Rattlesnake rates 3 of 5 stars.

RIP: James Bama

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Last night word began leaking that James Bama had died.  I wanted to wait for a verified source.  Sadly, it is true.  James Bama died yesterday, just 4 days short of his 94th birthday.

James Bama grew up wanting to be a cartoonist.  He had his first professional sale, a drawing of Yankee Stadium, at the age of 15.  After a stint in the service, Mr. Bama began his career as a commercial illustrator.  He created art for paperback covers, movie posters, and magazine illustrations.  James Bama is perhaps most widely known for the 62 paperback covers he did for the Doc Savage series.  Later in his career Mr. Bama became known for his many western paintings.

James Bama was inducted into the Illustrator’s Hall of Fame on June 28, 2000.  He was inducted into the Monster Kid Hall Of Fame at The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards in 2005.

I first became aware of Mr. Bama’s art with his beautiful renditions of the Universal Monsters on the Aurora Monster Model Boxes.  I can remember how much my buddy and I loved the art, often more than the models.  It wasn’t until I was older that I learned Mr. Bama’s name as I saw more and more of his art.  What a wonderful and varied career he had.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to James Bama’s family, friends and fans.

“Love and a .45” (1994) / Z-View

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Love and a .45 (1994)

Director:  C.M. Talkington

Writers: C.M. Talkington

Starring:  Gil Bellows, Renée Zellweger, Rory Cochrane, Peter Fonda and Michael Bowen.

Tagline:  In The End There Are Only Two Things That Matter…

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A convenience store thief (he’s got it down to a science) and his fiancé are on the run for Mexico.  Chasing them are cops, two loan sharks and the thief’s crazy ex-crime partner.  Love and a .45 tries hard to be outrageous, hip and cool.  Characters named Watty Watts, Starlene Cheatham, Billy Mack Black, Dinosaur Bob and Creepy Cody give you an idea of what we’re dealing with.  Tarantino Lite.

Renée Zellweger is so young here that she doesn’t look like the movie star she would become.  Rory Cochrane as Billy Mack Black is good.  I saw Love and a .45 years ago and liked it better than my recent viewing, so your mileage may differ.  Love and a .45 gets 2 of 5 stars.

Reservoir Dogs (1992) / Z-View

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Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Director:  Quentin Tarantino

Writers:  Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary

Starring:  Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Kirk Baltz, Edward Bunker and Quentin Tarantino.

Tagline:  Seven Killers, Six Colors and One Perfect Crime.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Six thieves, unknown to each other, are brought together by a crime boss for a jewel heist.  The robbery goes sideways from the start. Both cops, civilians and crooks are killed.  The surviving thieves meet at the rendezvous warehouse and attempt to discover the rat.

Reservoir Dogs is arguably Quentin Tarantino’s finest film.  Well written and directed with a cast up to the task.  Reservoir Dogs earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Highlander” (1986) / Z-View

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Highlander (1986)

Director:  Russell Mulcahy

Writers:  Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson (screenplay) from a story by Gregory Widen

Starring:  Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, Roxanne Hart, Beatie Edney  and Jon Polito.

Tagline: There can be only one.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Highlander is an example of catching lightning in a bottle.  Everything, the director, the cast, the editing, the locations and music came together to create a fun ride.  In the wrong hands, Highlander could have crashed and burned, but the original (avoid the sequels!) takes flight.

The opening scene finds Russell Nash (Lambert) in the audience at a professional wrestling match.  While Nash could have been at any other event, picking pro wrestling sends a signal to the audience.  Professional wrestling is about bigger than life personalities who represent good and evil.  While the bad guy often seems to be bigger and stronger, good usually prevails!  Highlander follows that formula.

From the beginning of time they have walked among us.  Immortals who can only be killed by beheading. When two immortals meet they fight to the death for when there is only one left alive in the world, that immortal will receive the prize.  That time is upon us!

This is Russell Mulcahy’s finest film.  Sean Connery may have been born to play James Bond, but I cannot think of anyone who could have done a better job as Ramirez (and the two characters are vastly different).  This was Clancy Brown’s breakout role – he’s big, terrifying and perfect as Kurgan.  Christopher Lambert is the star and this is his finest role.  Queen was hired to provide one song for the film, but after seeing a rough cut wrote two more.  Honestly, I had my doubts how well Queen would work with the story, but I was wrong. The music helps make the movie so good.

If you’ve never seen Highlander, give it a go.  It’s definitely a film of the 80s, but still holds up.  Avoid the sequels.  As for the original Highlander, with me it rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Cop Land” (1997) / Z-View

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Cop Land alt poster created by Andi Ewington

Cop Land (1997)

Director:  James Mangold

Writer: James Mangold

Starring:  Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Patrick,  Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Noah Emmerich, Cathy Moriarty, John Spencer, Frank Vincent, Malik Yoba, Arthur J. Nascarella  and Edie Falco.

Tagline:  No One Is Above The Law.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

James Mangold brought together an all-star cast to create a modern day western.  Freddy Heflin (Stallone) is the Sherriff of Garrison, New Jersey.  Garrison is a small town where a high percentage of the folks who live there are New York City police officers.  They work in the city and then drive over the bridge to their nice safe little town.  Most residents don’t know that a small group of the cops living in Garrison have mob connections.

Freddy Heflin always wanted to be a New York City cop, but hearing loss in one ear made him un-hirable. Hefflin owes his job as Sherriff of Garrison to Ray Donlan (Keitel). Heflin admires Donlan and the New York cops that live in Garrison.  They have a  camaraderie that he wants to be part of.

An Internal Affairs investigation involving Ray Donlan and several other police officers leads to Garrison, Although Heflin doubts the legitimacy of the complaints, he later discovers the concerns are legit and the corruption goes much deeper than anyone knew.   Heflin wants to do the right thing but finds himself alone and outgunned.

When you look at the cast that Mangold brought together for this relatively low budget film, you know it goes back to the screenplay.  Mangold created a rich story with multiple characters, all having an integral part in the tale.  Many folks who thought Rocky was Stallone and doubted his acting ability were surprised to see him hold his own against heavyweights like De Niro and Keitel.  Ray Liotta also shines in his role as Freddy’s lone cop friend who is intent on getting out of Garrison.

Cop Land is a film that gets better with every viewing.  I loved it and rate it 5 of 5 stars.

“Corrective Measures” Starring Michael Rooker and Bruce Willis – The Trailer is Here!

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Below is the trailer for Corrective Measures starring Michael Rooker and Bruce Willis.  With the recent news about Bruce Willis’ health, watching this will be bittersweet.

CORRECTIVE MEASURES takes place at San Tiburon, an Ubermax prison hidden in the Great Northwest, resided by monsters, cyborgs and supervillains, all equipped with 24-hour power inhibitors and shock-collars. The overseer, Warden Devlin (Michael Rooker, “Suicide Squad”) is as corrupt as his charges. His sole interest is in getting his hands on Julius Loeb’s (Bruce Willis, “Die Hard”) untraceable fortune. But Julius Lobe, AKA “The Lobe,” is the most notorious prisoner, and a super genius who may not be so willing to part with his riches. The already fragile peace of the prison descends into chaos with the arrival of Payback (Dan Payne, “Watchmen”), a murderous vigilante with red intentions, and Diego Diaz (Brennan Mejia, “Power Rangers”), a driver on a trumped-up sentence. As tensions between the inmates and staff heighten, “The Conductor” (Tom Cavanagh, “The Flash”) sends shocks through the prison system and order is officially turned upside down. CORRECTIVE MEASURES is the story of an everyman’s journey into darkness. The film also stars Kat Ruston (“The 100”), Kevin Zegers (“Rebel”), and Hayley Sales (“Deadpool 2”).

“One Night in Bangkok” (2020) / Z-View

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One Night in Bangkok (2020)

Directors:  Wych Kaosayananda

Writer: Wych Kaosayananda

Starring:  Mark Dacascos  and Vanida Golten.

Tagline:  Six Hours. Five Hits. Who will survive?

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

One Night in Bangkok is a reworking of the 2004 film, Collateral.  This time the city is Bangkok, Tom Cruise has been replaced by Mark Dacascos and Jamie Foxx by Vanida Golten.  The story is basically the same, a hitman hires a driver for the night.  The driver comes to understand that at each stop her passenger is killing people.  The reason for the hits has changed from Collateral to ONiB, but that’s just details.

The easiest way to describe One Night in Bangkok is to call it Collateral Lite.  Dacascos and Golten are so likeable, that it’s an easy ride. If you enjoy low budget action films where you don’t have too think to hard, then you should enjoy One Night in Bangkok.  I did and for that reason I rate it 3 of 5 stars.

“Rocky” by Liam Proniewicz!

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Liam Proniewicz created the poster for Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky series above.  I like how Proniewwicz took a classic image and made it his own.

Liam Proniewicz is a British artist/designer whose clients have included Netflix, Lionsgate, BBC and Sky.  Proniewicz’s website contains many examples of his work.  Fans will be happy to hear that there are also dozens of prints available.

“The Last Victim” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The Last Victim looks like a winner.  Deal me in.

The Last Victim follows a group of modern-day outlaws (led by Ineson), pursued by an aging sheriff (Perlman), who deal with the fallout of a crime gone wrong in the harsh landscape of the American Southwest. When a young professor (Larter) and her husband cross paths with the gang, they are drawn into a chain of vengeance where morality is ambiguous and survival is the only priority. DECAL will release The Last Victim in theaters and on VOD on May 13th.

“Find Her” – Written, directed and starring Nick McCallum – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I like the poster and trailer for Find Her.  Deal me in.

When an ex-cop arrives in a small town searching for answers to a murdered ranch owner and his missing daughter, it slowly becomes clear he has his own personal agenda to finding the truth.

Written, directed and starring Nick McCallum.  Also starring Richard Gunn, Anais Lilit, Stelio Savante and John James.