Category: Celebs

“The Rock” Movie Trivia and a “Making Of” Documentary!

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Joey Paur at GeekTyrant posted 25 Fun Facts About Michael Bay’s THE ROCK and a Short “Making Of” Documentary.  Here are three of my favorite facts and my comments on each…

Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered the role of Cage’s character, but at the time the script was only eighty pages “with a lot of handwriting and scribbles, and it didn’t seem fully baked.” He said he regrets not taking the role.

(I’m an Arnold fan, but he would have been wrong for this role. – Craig)

Michael Biehn, who has played Navy S.E.A.L.s, or some variation thereof on multiple occasions, was unsure of himself while acting for the first time here against real S.E.A.L.s. He told Bay he was freezing up pretending to be the leader in front of them, as well as in Connery’s presence.

(That would have been intimidating. – Craig)

Michael Bay’s idea for a sequel involves a now-married Goodspeed in possession of the microfilm evidence who finds himself pursued by the government, and with nowhere else to turn, he’s forced to ask Mason for help.

(That would have been a great idea.  Sadly, it will never happen now. – Craig)

If you’ve enjoyed these facts, click over to see the rest and to check out the Making Of The Rock documentary.

Svengoolie, Horror Movies and Bernie Gonzalez!

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When I was a kid growing up in Indiana, I looked forward to staying up late each weekend and watching a horror movie.  They were hosted by Sammy Terry.  It was something most of my friends did and it was always cool either watching with them or knowing they were watching too.

These days you don’t have to stay up late (unless you call 8 – 10pm late) and you can still catch a weekly horror movie.  These monster films are hosted by Svengoolie.   A lot of folks watching post comments on Twitter and it’s almost like watching with friends when I was a kid.  You might want to give it a try if this sounds like fun.

Each week, Bernie Gonzalez, the creator, artist and writer of Midnight Mystery (highly recommended) posts foreign movie posters for the film Svengoolie runs.  This week he posted the cool French poster for The Horror of Dracula.  Gonzalez’s posts are just another good reason to join in the fun!

“Spenser Confidential” / Z-View

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Spenser Confidential (2020)

Director: Peter Berg

Screenplay: Sean O’Keefe & Brian Helgeland based on characters created by Robert B. Parker and the novel by Ace Atkins

Stars:  Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, Bokeem Woodbine, Marc Maron, Donald Cerrone  and Post Malone.

The Pitch: “Let’s turn Ace Akins’ Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novel into a movie!”

Tagline: The Law Has Limits. They Don’t.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

If you’re not a fan of Robert B. Parker and Ace Atkins Spenser characters there’s an outside chance you may like Spenser Confidential.  If you are a fan of the books, my guess is that you’ll hate this movie.  That’s because not a single character goes unchanged to something fundamentally different from the novels.

Spenser goes from an intelligent, wisecracking ex-cop to a less than stellar (IQ-wise) ex-con who aspires to be a trucker.  In the novels, Susan is a Harvard-educated, calm, supporting soul mate to Spenser.  In the movie she becomes a foul-mouthed, crazy girlfriend that Spenser works to avoid until he needs sex or help with the “case”.  In the novels Hawk starts out as a respected rival who works on the fringes of the law and ultimately becomes Spenser’s best friend (outside of Susan).  In the movie Hawk is a big, nerdy, untrained lug who dreams of being a MMA Champion who is forced to be Spenser’s roommate.

Peter Berg is usually a director that makes fun movies.  Not here.  Brian Helgeland wrote the screenplays for LA Confidential, Payback, Mystic River, and Man on Fire.  Spenser Confidential isn’t in the same ballpark… not even the same continent.

You may be thinking that if I wasn’t such a big fan of Parker and Atkins’ Spenser novels I would have liked Spenser Confidential better.  Perhaps I would have liked it a bit more… but not much.

Rating:

The Poster and Trailer for “The Quarry” Starring Shea Wigham and Michael Shannon!

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Here is the poster and trailer for The Quarry.  The poster is okay, I like the trailer more.  The Quarry looks like a winner.

From the novel by Damon Galgut comes this searing thriller, a tale of sin and redemption set in the wilds of Texas. After murdering a traveling preacher, a fugitive drifter (Shea Whigham, Joker) travels to a small town and poses as the man he killed. Though the congregation loves the drifter’s sermons of forgiveness, the local police chief (Academy Award® nominee Michael Shannon, The Shape of Water) is suspicious of the man. Soon a gruesome discovery at a local quarry forces the killer to fight for his freedom.

Two Posters and a Trailer for “Arkansas” Starring Vince Vaughn, Liam Hensworth and Many Others!

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Here are two posters and a trailer for Arkansas.  I like both posters – love the Arkansas logo with the skull –  and the clever tag line “Kyle and Swin are working their way to the top… but the top has other plans.”  The trailer shows how quirky Arkansas will be.  The question is will it be too quirky?

The Most Popular Movie for each Year from 1950 On

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Jake Rosen at Mental Floss recently posted The Most Popular Movie for each Year from 1950 On.  Here’s how many I saw and my favorite for each decade.

  • 1950 – 1959:  6 and BEN-HUR (1959) gets the nod.
  • 1960 – 1969: 7 with BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) coming out on top.
  • 1970 – 1979: 10 (yep, I saw ’em all) and you know that ROCKY (1976) was my favorite.
  • 1980 – 1989: 10 again.  RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) wins.
  • 1990 – 1999: 10 (I’m on a roll.)  TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY is my fav.
  • 2000 – 2009: 6.  PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST (06) gets the nod in the weakest decade so far.
  • 2010 – 2019: 4.  GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014) in a decade when I’ve only seen four of the top ten.

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition – Last Call

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If like me, you’re a Darwyn Cooke fan… and if like me, you’re a Richard Stark fan, and if like me, you already own or have pre-ordered  Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition, then you’re going to love this post.

Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition – Last Call has been announced for a September 29, 2020 release!  This oversized edition will contain…

Features more than 100 pieces of never-before-seen Parker art by Darwyn Cooke; a round table talk with Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Bruce Timm, and Scott Dunbier on Parker and Cooke; and a brand-new 17-page story by multiple Eisner Award-winning creators Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

Darwyn Cooke crafted four universally acclaimed Parker graphic novels, adapted from the works of Richard Stark (A pseudonym for Donald Westlake), before his untimely death. This volume will be (along with the Martini Edition) the last word on Cooke’s brilliant Parker stories.

This edition is a loving tribute to the legacy of Darwyn Cooke and Parker.

If like me, then today you’re going to pre-order Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition – Last Call and count down the minutes until its release.

Vin Diesel’s Best Movie Roles

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Tim Grierson and Will Leitch posted their choices for VIN DIESEL’S 5 BEST MOVIE ROLES (OTHER THAN DOMINIC TORETTO, OBVIOUSLY).  While I agree with their five choices, my rankings are different.

Grierson and Leitch

Zablo
5. Hugo Toorop from Babylon A.D. (2008) 5. Xander Cage, introduced in xXx (2002)
4. Xander Cage, introduced in xXx (2002) 4. Groot, introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
3. Riddick, introduced in Pitch Black (2000) 3. The Iron Giant from The Iron Giant (1999)
2. The Iron Giant from The Iron Giant (1999) 2. Hugo Toorop from Babylon A.D. (2008)
1. Groot, introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 1. Riddick, introduced in Pitch Black (2000)

For the record I would have placed Riddick ahead of Toretto if that was an option.  Toretto would then be #2.

I’m glad to see that Toorop (from Babylon A.D.) made the list.  I love that movie despite it’s flaws.

The Poster and Trailer for “Greyhound” Starring Tom Hanks is Here!

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How about the poster and trailer for Greyhound with a screenplay by and starring Tom Hanks?

The only thing more dangerous than the front lines was the fight to get there. Screenplay by Tom Hanks inspired by actual events, Greyhound comes to theaters June 12.

In the early days of WWII, an international convoy of 37 Allied ships, led by captain Ernest Krause (Tom Hanks) in his first command of a U.S. destroyer, crosses the treacherous North Atlantic while hotly pursued by wolf packs of Nazi U-boats.