Here we have the poster and trailer for Zappa. I don’t really care for the poster, but the trailer has me interested in seeing the movie. I was never a big fan of Frank Zappa’s music, but then again, I never was exposed to much of it. I am interested in learning more, so this is one I’ll want to watch.
With unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage, ZAPPA explores the private life behind the mammoth musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time. Alex Winter’s assembly features appearances by Frank’s widow Gail Zappa and several of Frank’s musical collaborators including Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White and others.
The trailer for Girl starring Bella Thorne, Mickey Rourke and Chad Faust definitely looks like a drive-in movie feature. As regular readers know, that’s not always a bad thing. I do think the trailer gives away the story but that doesn’t mean I won’t tune in.
A young woman (Bella Thorne) heads back to her hometown, intent on exacting revenge on her abusive father, only to discover someone beat her to it. She soon finds herself prey to a sinister sheriff (Mickey Rourke) and his wicked brother (Chad Faust) as she slowly uncovers a family legacy more disturbing than she ever could have imagined.
Here we have the poster and trailer for George Clooney’s Midnight Sky. Although the poster is just ok, the trailer is interesting. Sadly, I read in some online comments what may be the big twist to the story. I hate when that happens. Since Midnight Sky is on Netflix, I’ll definitely tune in.
Our humanity always endures.
This post-apocalyptic tale follows Augustine (George Clooney), a lonely scientist in the Arctic, as he races to stop Sully (Felicity Jones) and her fellow astronauts from returning home to Earth, where a mysterious global catastrophe has taken place. Clooney directs the adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton’s acclaimed novel Good Morning, Midnight, co-starring David Oyelowo, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir and Tiffany Boone. Coming to Netflix December 23rd.
Drew Struzan’s art, like the wolfman piece above, always makes the day a little better! So anytime you need a day brightener, head over to Drew Struzan’s Instagram!
Here are the poster and trailer for Dreamland. The poster shows some imagination and the trailer ain’t bad either. (Update – I just learned that the poster is not official and was made by a fan! What an awesome job she did. Her name is Nicole Baroudi and you can see more from her by clicking the link! – Craig 10/28/20)
Academy Award® nominee Margot Robbie (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) “is fantastic” (Indiewire) in this “dazzling” (Hollywood Reporter) love story set amidst America’s struggle during the Great Depression. Eugene Evans (Finn Cole, “Peaky Blinders”) dreams of escaping his small Texas town when he discovers a wounded, fugitive bank robber Allison Wells (Robbie) hiding closer than he could ever imagine. Torn between claiming the bounty for her capture and his growing attraction to the seductive criminal, nothing is as it seems, and Eugene must make a decision that will forever affect the lives of everyone he’s ever loved. Travis Fimmel (Warcraft), Kerry Condon (Avengers: Infinity War) and Lola Kirke (American Made) also star in this “beautifully shot coming-of-age story” (Indiewire).
Featuring: Margot Robbie, Finn Cole, Garrett Hedlund, Travis Fimmel, Kerry Condon, Darby Camp, Lola Kirke
2. KURT RUSSELL PASSED UP A CHANCE TO BE IN STAR WARS TO DO A TELEVISION WESTERN. (Since he hadn’t been offered either of the Star Wars roles he was up for, he made the right decision. A bird in the hand… – Craig)
5. KURT RUSSELL WAS PAID TWICE HIS GOING RATE FOR STARGATE BECAUSE HE WAS CONSIDERED IMPOSSIBLE TO DISLIKE. (Who doesn’t like Kurt Russell? I went to see Stargate and didn’t particularly like it. I went because I like Russell, so it was money well-spent by the Stargate producers. – Craig)
6. KURT RUSSELL MAY HAVE STEALTH-DIRECTED TOMBSTONE. (Turns out that Russell may have directed Tombstone the way that Stallone directed Rambo, First Blood: Part Two! – Craig)
James Randi aka The Amazing Randi died on Tuesday at the age of 92. Mr. Randi began his career as a magician (that’s where the Amazing part of his name came from). He was a different kind of magician though.
Sure, he could perform mind-reading stunts, bend spoons just as those who claim to do so via mental powers, escape from padlocked chains and the like, but The Amazing Randi claimed no supernatural powers. In fact he offered his own money (eventually getting the amount to one million dollars) own money to anyone who could show scientific evidence of supernatural powers. No one ever collected.
James Randi became famous for debunking spiritualists, mind readers and the like who claimed supernatural powers to defraud people. He had his own radio show, television specials and was a popular guest on television shows. Randi was also the author of ten books. By all accounts he was a fun guy to be around.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to James Randi’s family, friends and fans.
Check out Sly Stallone as Jack Carter by Mike W. Lynch! This was Mike’s first time drawing Sly and he nailed the likeness.
Mike Lynch had a contest for a free drawing and my buddy, Ron Wendt aka Darth_Rawn won. Instead of getting a piece for himself, he asked for the Stallone piece above to gift to me! Ain’t friends great?
You can see more of Mike’s art using the two links above (Instagram and Twitter). Thanks to Mike and Ron for a sweet addition to my Stallone art collection.
Before we get into my review of Tax Collector, let me say that I’m a David Ayer fan and after seeing the poster and trailer for Tax Collector back in July, I posted them both saying that I looked forward to seeing the movie.
ComingSoon.net recently had a contest for a free DVD of Tax Collector. I entered and won a copy. That copy is what I am reviewing.
Tax Collector (2020)
Director: David Ayer
Screenplay: David Ayer
Stars: Bobby Soto, Cinthya Carmona, Shia LaBeouf, Jose Conejo Martin, Cheyenne Rae Hernandez, George Lopez and Brian Ortega.
The Pitch: “David Ayer is ready to make another movie!”
Tagline: From the Creator of “Training Day” and “End of Watch”
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
David Cuevas (Soto) and his crime partner, Creeper (LaBeouf) are tax collectors for a crime lord known as The Wizard. They collect a 30% tax on all illegal gang activity in the city. If the money isn’t on time or the count comes up short, Cuevas and Creeper resolve the issue so it doesn’t happen again.
Cuevas is living a double life of sorts. He has a beautiful wife and two children. He wants to be a good husband and father. The life Cuevas lives has given him a nice house, lots of money and respect, but the things he does to earn them are hard to justify. While Cuevas is a religious man, his partner, Creeper has come to terms with who they are and what they do.
Things go smoothly until a Conejo (Martin), a rival gang lord, returns to the city with intent to take over the Wizard’s operation. Conejo meets with Cuevas and offers him a choice: join Conejo or Cuevas and his family will be killed.
To tell more would be to give away too much. The movie contains more than a few twists, but it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone going to see Tax Collector that there are scenes of brutal violence. If you’re a fan of David Ayer, then you know what to expect.
As a screenwriter, Ayer got my attention with Training Day. As a director, it was with Street Kings. Then as a writer/director he brought us Harsh Times, End of Watch, Sabotage (one of Arnold’s best), and Fury just to name a few. Ayers’ films take us into a world where men are placed in violent situations and there are consequences to their actions.
I’ve never been a big Shia LaBeouf fan, but man, he owns every scene he is in. His character, Creeper, is a stone cold killer, and LaBeouf was perfect for the part. Remember No Country for Old Men and the character Anton Chigurh played by Javier Bardem? Remember the universal praise Bardem rightly received? I’d rate LaBeaouf’s performance at the same level.
Other standout performances include Cheyenne Rae Hernandez as Gata and Jose Conejo Martin as Conejo. It was also cool to see George Lopez playing against character and Brian Ortega from the UFC in a supporting role.
I really liked the Tax Collector. If you’re a David Ayer fan, you probably will as well.
Conchata Ferrell passed away yesterday as a result of complications following a cardiac arrest. She was 77.
Best known as Berta on Two and a Half Men, this is just one of her 131 acting credits! Check out all the appearances. What a career, but even if Conchata had only been on Two and Half Men, her career would have been made. She was perfect in that role.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Conchata Ferrell’s family, friends and fans.
Billie Holiday had one of the greatest voices of all time and changed the face of American music. She was a woman of breath-taking talent and global popularity while also stirring controversy. She started a notable rebellion singing “Strange Fruit” which exposed the realities of Black life in America and earned her powerful enemies. Raw, emotional and brutally honest, Billie is filled with never-before-heard interviews from musical greats like Charles Mingus, Tony Bennett, Sylvia Syms and Count Basie.
Director: James Erskine
1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.
Starring Academy Award Winner Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke, and Charles Dance. MANK is directed by David Fincher.
In Select Theaters November and on Netflix on December 4.
The trailer for News of the World starring Tom Hanks is here!
This Christmas, Universal Pictures is proud to present Tom Hanks starring in News of the World, a moving story written and directed by Paul Greengrass, reuniting for the first time with his star from their 2013 Best Picture nominee Captain Phillips.
Five years after the end of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Hanks), a widower and veteran of three wars, now moves from town to town as a non-fiction storyteller, sharing the news of presidents and queens, glorious feuds, devastating catastrophes, and gripping adventures from the far reaches of the globe.
In the plains of Texas, he crosses paths with Johanna (Helena Zengel, System Crasher), a 10-year-old taken in by the Kiowa people six years earlier and raised as one of their own. Johanna, hostile to a world she’s never experienced, is being returned to her biological aunt and uncle against her will.
Kidd agrees to deliver the child where the law says she belongs. As they travel hundreds of miles into the unforgiving wilderness, the two will face tremendous challenges of both human and natural forces as they search for a place that either can call home.
News of the World is directed by Greengrass (the Bourne films, United 93) from his screenplay with Luke Davies (Lion), based on the National Book Award finalist and best-selling novel by Paulette Jiles. The film is produced by Gary Goetzman (Mamma Mia! franchise, Greyhound), Gail Mutrux (The Danish Girl, Donnie Brasco) and Gregory Goodman (22 July, 8 Mile). The executive producers are Steven Shareshian and Tore Schmidt. The film’s music is by eight-time Academy Award® nominee James Newton Howard.
