Category: TV

“Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” – The Final Trailer is Here!

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Here we have the final trailer for Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.  I’m looking forward to this!

Guillermo del Toro – the master of horror – presents a collection of unprecedented and genre-defining stories that will challenge our traditional notions of horror.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities is an anthology of sinister stories, told by some of today’s most revered horror creators – including the directors of The Babadook, Splice, Mandy, and many more.

Unlock Your Fears with Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities

Stephen King’s Storm of the Century (1999) / Z-View

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Storm of the Century (1999)

Director:  Craig R. Baxley

Screenplay:  Stephen King

Stars:  Tim Daly, Debrah Farentino, Colm Feore, Jeffrey DeMunn, Casey Siemaszko and Stephen King

Tagline: Give him what he wants and he’ll go away.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

As the residents of the small remote Little Tall Island off the coast of Maine, prepare for a blizzard that is predicted to be the storm of the century, a murderer is discovered sitting in a chair, eating cookies next to the corpse of the old woman that he beat to death with a cane.  Mike Anderson (Daly), store owner and part-time constable and his deputy bring the stranger in to the jail cell located in the back of Anderson’s store.  Because of the storm, all transportation to the island is shut down.  They’ll have to hold him until the storm passes.

The man gives his name as André Linoge (Feore). He tells Anderson and those watching, “Give me what I want, and I’ll go away.”  Linoge has information about Anderson and others that no one could possibly know.  He also seems to have ability to make folks do things against their will.  When two people commit suicide and “Give me what I want and I’ll go away” is found written beside them, they start to believe that Linoge is a demon.  As the storm worsens, Linoge displays more powers, inflicting hallucinations and causing people to commit murder.  If they give Linoge what he wants, will he really go away?  And what could he possibly want?

Storm of the Century is a three part mini-series that creates a slow burn as we’re introduced to Linoge and come to realize that he may be more than an evil man.  Tim Daly was excellent as the level-headed, moral part time constable/store owner.  Jeffrey DeMunn was perfect as the unlikable town manager.  Equally as good was Colm Feore as the menacing  André Linoge.  As a viewer, you cannot help but think about what you would do in that situation.  Would you give him what he wants?

Storm of the Century earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Most Dangerous Game” (2020) Starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz / Z-View

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Most Dangerous Game (2020)

Director:  Phil Abraham

Screenplay:  Nick Santora

Stars:  Liam Hemsworth, Sarah Gadon, Christoph Waltz, Zach Cherry and Chris Webster

Tagline: None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

When Dodge Tynes (Hemsworth) learns that he has an inoperable brain tumor, his only worry is providing for his pregnant wife after he’s gone.  A nurse gives Dodge a card for the Tiro Fund, a foundation that helps people with terminal illnesses.  Trio CEO, Miles Sellars (Waltz), meets Dodge and tells him he’s a perfect candidate for assistance.  As a former athlete who still jogs daily, Dodge is in shape and this will help if he agrees to the deal.

The deal is Dodge agrees to be prey for five hunters.  Every hour that Dodge is alive, money will be wired into his account.  If he survives 24 hours, he wins the hunt and his family will have over 24 million dollars.  If he is killed before the game ends, his wife will keep all money in the account.  Once the game starts, there is no stopping it.  If Dodge tells anyone about the game, he will become prey forever.  He cannot leave the city and he must carry a phone that will give his location for 15 seconds every hour.

Ultimately Dodge agrees to play the game… and the race is on.  But can Sellars truly be trusted?  What information is he hiding from Dodge… and how will that impact the game?

Most Dangerous Game is based on the short story The Most Dangerous Game written by Richard Connell in 1924.  It has been adapted many, many times and when done right, never gets old.  Most Dangerous Game gets it right.  Originally seen on the Roku channel as 7 or 8 minute episodes, it has now been compiled into a 2 hour and 7 minute film.  Since each episode had to get the viewer to want to see the next, there are a ton of great action scenes, cliffhangers and twists.

Liam Hemsworth is believable as the former athlete trying to stay alive.  Christoph Waltz brings the right amount of cocky arrogance to his part.  Sure, the hunters are cliches (the Englishman who plays by the rules, the martial arts chick, the cowboy, the priest, and an aging hippie), but that’s part of the fun.  I had a blast watching Most Dangerous Game and wish more movies followed the format.

Most Dangerous Game earns 4 of 5 stars.

Rob Zombie’s “The Munsters” (2022) / Z-View

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The Munsters (2022)

Director:  Rob Zombie

Screenplay:  Rob Zombie based on the television show The Munsters by Allan Burns, Chris Hayward

Stars:  Cassandra Peterson, Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Richard Brake, Daniel Roebuck, Dee Wallace, Sylvester McCoy, Pat Priest, Jorge Garcia, Catherine Schell and Butch Patrick

Tagline: None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

The Munsters was a television comedy that ran for two seasons from September 1964 to May 1966.  The show featured a family of monsters living in the suburbs.  The family consisted of Herman Munster, based on Frankenstein’s monster; his vampire wife, Lilly; their son Eddie (a werewolf); Lilly’s father, Grandpa who was a vampire and their niece, Marilyn who was pretty by conventional standards (but the family thought of her as unattractive).  The comedy came from neighbors’ reactions to the Munsters and the family’s interactions with each other and normal folks.

Rob Zombie’s reboot explores how Herman and Lilly first fell in love.  I wanted to like The Munsters.  While I wasn’t a huge fan of the original series, I did watch it as a child.  My wife who is just a few months younger than me was a huge fan.  She had high hopes for the reboot.  We started watching and she was ready to bail after the first few scenes.  Ultimately we stuck with it for about 30 minutes before tapping out.

Part of the problem is the movie starts with several scenes and no Munster in sight.  Instead we have a mad scientist and his halfwit hunchback, Floop (I kid you not.  His name is Floop.  Is that supposed to get a cheap laugh?) robbing graves.  When Floop is sent to retrieve the brain of one of the world’s smartest men, he instead brings back the man’s brother’s brain.  The world’s smartest man and his brother, who happens to be one of the world’s dumbest men both conveniently (for the joke to work) died within hours of each other.

Meanwhile Grandpa is trying to hook Lilly up with a Nosferatu-looking vampire.  We get to see them on a date.  Lilly’s brother (a werewolf) is trying to get Grandpa to sell the house.  Meanwhile the mad scientist is creating Herman.  Oh, and there’s scenes of Grandpa watching Transylvania tv talk shows.

Does this sound like fun or anything even remotely funny?  If you think so, then give The Munsters a go.  It wasn’t for me… or my wife who is a Munster‘s fan.  Of course your mileage may differ.

The Munsters earns 1 of 5 stars.

RIP: Louise Fletcher

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Louise Fletcher died yesterday at the age of 88.  No cause of death was given.

Ms. Fletcher is best known for her Best Actress Academy Award wining role as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  That role also won her Best Actress BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards.  Louise Fletcher began her career in television.  She would go on alternate between television and feature films throughout her career.

Some Louise Fletcher television appearances include: Bat Masterson; Yancy Derringer; Maverick; The Untouchables; Wagon Train; Perry Mason; Medical Center; The Twilight Zone (1988); In the Heat of the Night; Tales from the Crypt; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; ER and Heroes.

Louise Fletcher feature film appearances include: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Exorcist II: The Heretic; The Cheap Detective; The Lady in Red; Strange Invaders; Brainstorm; Firestarter and Invaders from Mars.

Louise Fletcher became a household name because of her role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  It took a strong screen presence to match Jack Nicholson and she more than held her own.  With over 135 credits on her resume and her nearly 60 years in show business she was much more than Nurse Ratched.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Louise Fletcher’s family, friends and fans.

“Into the Deep” – The Trailer is Here!

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Netflix is known for documentaries and Into the Deep looks like a good one.  Deal me in.

Filmmaker Emma Sullivan was looking to profile eccentric inventor Peter Madsen and his homemade rocket for a documentary. Instead, she captures incriminating footage that helped convict him of the murder of journalist Kim Wall.

When journalist Kim Wall disappears after boarding inventor Peter Madsen’s submarine, his changing story about her fate masks a terrifying truth.

Tulsa King | Inside Tulsa King | Paramount+

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TULSA KING follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone), just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Okla. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet. The series also stars Andrea Savage (“I’m Sorry”), Martin Starr (“Silicon Valley”), Max Casella (“The Tender Bar”), Domenick Lombardozzi (“The Irishman”), Vincent Piazza (“Boardwalk Empire”), Jay Will (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), A.C. Peterson (“Superman & Lois”) with Garrett Hedlund (“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”).

The series will be executive-produced by Sheridan, Winter, Stallone, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin and Allen Coulter. Braden Aftergood is also set to executive-produce.

Stream the new series on November 13, exclusively on Paramount+.

“An Honest Liar” (2014) / Z-View

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An Honest Liar (2014)

Directors:  Justin Weinstein, Tyler Measom

Written by:  Justin Weinstein, Tyler Measom, Greg O’Toole

Starring: James Randi, José Alvarez, Penn Jillette, Teller, Adam Savage, Alice Cooper, Bill Nye, Uri Geller  and Peter Popoff

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

James Randi began his career as a carnival magician and escape artist.  His goal was to learn every trick performed by Harry Houdini and improve on them where he could.  In the early 1970s, as “The Amazing Randi” was winding down his escape artist act, his career took an interesting path that led to even greater fame.  Randi turned his sights on con artists such as faith healers, psychics, and folks claiming supernatural powers.  Randi would recreate their “miracles” and then explain how he did them!

Two of his most famous run-ons occurred with Uri Geller and Peter Popoff.  Geller was making the rounds on tv shows, moving objects and bending spoons with just his mind.  Geller was scheduled be a guest on The Johnny Carson Show.  Carson’s staff reached out to Randi who gave specific instructions on how to insure that Geller couldn’t cheat.  When Geller appeared on the Carson show he was unable to perform any of his “supernatural” tricks.  This developed into a long-running feud between Randi and Geller.

Peter Popoff was a faith healer who claimed God spoke to him and used Popoff as a conductor of miracles.  Randi had video tape of Popoff performing his miracles.  It turned out Popoff was wearing an earpiece and his wife was reading information collected from prayer cards of those in attendance. Randi had the audio to prove it! Does it get any lower?

James Randi led an amazing life and these are just two highlights from his long career.  An Honest Liar takes us from his early to his last days.  Along the way Randi met the love of his life and there’s even a twist to that.

I was a fan of The Amazing Randi since I first learned of him in the 1970s.  I loved seeing his appearances and his outlook on life.  Randi wouldn’t rule anything out, but remained skeptical.  That seems like a pretty good way to approach things.

An Honest Liar earns 5 of 5 stars.

RIP: Henry Silva

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Henry Silva died on September 14, 2022.  Mr. Silva was 95.

Henry Silva accumulated over 140 acting credits during his long career.  He alternated between television and feature films roles throughout his career.  Mr. Silva was at his best when the character he played was at his worst.  Henry Silva was often cast as a villain.  He excelled in playing hit men, criminals and mobsters.

Some of Henry Silva’s television appearances include: Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Thriller; The Untouchables; Dr. Kildare; The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; The Outer Limits; Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; Wagon Train; Daniel Boone; Tarzan; Laredo; Cimarron Strip; The High Chaparral; I Spy; Mission Impossible; Hawaii Five-O; Night Gallery; Bearcats; The Streets of San Francisco; The F.B.I.; Batman: The Animated Series; The New Batman Adventures and Superman: The Animated Series.

Mr, Silva’s feature films include: The Tall T; A Hatful of Rain; The Bravados; Ocean’s Eleven;  Cinderfella; The Manchurian Candidate; Johnny Cool; Never a Dull Moment; Love and Bullets; Alligator; Sharky’s Machine; Cannonball Run II; Code of Silence; Above the Law; Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and Ocean’s Eleven (2001).

Henry Silva had a face you’d never forget.  The villains he played were tough and self-assured.   Any hero Henry Silva went against was in for a tough time.  Mr. Silva is perhaps best known for his role in The Manchurian Candidate (where he has a fantastic martial arts battle with Frank Sinatra — and this was 1962!).  My favorite Henry Silva appearance is in Sharky’s Machine. He played a creepy, coked up, nearly unstoppable hitman.  Henry Silva made a career playing bad guys and that was a good thing for audiences.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Henry Silva’s family, friends and fans.

RIP: Gary Nelson

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It was just announced today that Gary Nelson died of natural causes on May 25, 2022, at the age of 87.  Mr. Nelson was a television and feature film director who had a career that spanned 65 years!  Gary Nelson began his career as a second assistant director in 1955.

Gary Nelson directed many episodes of popular television shows including: Have Gun Will Travel; The Andy Griffith Show; Gunsmoke; It’s About Time; F Troup; Gilligan’s Island; Gomer Pyle; Get Smart; The Ghost and Mrs. Muir; Love American Style; Kojak; Police Story and The Magical World of Disney.

Television movies directed by Mr. Nelson include: To Kill a Cop; Murder Me, Murder You; More Than Murder; Get Smart, Again!; Revolver; The Return of Ironside and Fugitive Nights: Danger in the Desert, to name a few.

Gary Nelson also directed five feature films:  Molly and Lawless John; Santee; The Black Hole; Jimmy the Kid and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold.

What a long and distinguished career!  Gary Nelson is probably best known as the director of The Black Hole.  I love the range that he displayed as director, moving from situation comedies to one hour dramas and films of both genres with ease.  Gary Nelson was also the original director of Sly Stallone’s Nighthawks.  The IMDb lists him as an uncredited director, so I wonder if any scenes he shot made the final film.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gary Nelson’s family, friends and fans.

“A League of Their Own” Season 1 (2022) / Z-View

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A League of Their Own, Season 1 (2022)

Directors:  Jamie Babbit (Eps. 1-3); Ayoka Chenzira (Ep. 4); Katrelle Kindred (Ep.5); Will Graham (Ep. 6); Silas Howard (Ep. 7); Anya Adams (Ep. 8)

Teleplay by: Will Graham & Abbi Jacobson (Eps. 1 & 8); Abbi Jacobson (Ep.2); Desta Tedros Reff (Ep. 3); Michelle Badillo (Ep. 4); Mfoniso Udofia (Ep.5); Will Graham (Ep. 6); Sanaz Toossi (Ep.7)

Starring:  Abbi Jacobson, Chanté Adams, D’Arcy Carden, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Roberta Colindrez, Kelly McCormack, Priscilla Delgado, Molly Ephraim, Melanie Field, Kate Berlant, Dale Dickey, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Lea Robinson and Rosie O’Donnell

Tagline: None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

A League of Their Own is an loose adaptation of the 1992, A League of Their Own hit movie.  The update introduces new characters and storylines.

The year is 1943.  World War II is raging.  In an effort to increase morale at home the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League is formed.  A League of Their Own follows a group of women from try-outs through the first season on the Rockford Peaches.  The focus is on…

  • Carson Shaw (Jacobson), a married woman from the midwest who’s life has been somewhat sheltered.  Her husband is in the service.  Carson develops feelings for Greta.
  • Maxine “Max” Chapman (Adams) is an African-American woman with a fastball that rivals those thrown by most men.  Maxine won’t even get a chance to tryout for the team because she’s black, but when one door closes…
  • Greta Gill (Carden) is a wild woman, who lives life and encourages Carson in more ways than one.
  • Clance Morgan (Ikumelo) is Maxine’s best friend, a newlywed who wants to be a comic book artist (and not a baseball player)
  • Jo DeLuca (Field) is Greta’s best friend and a power hitter
  • Toni Chapman (Ekulona) is Maxine’s mother who doesn’t support her baseball ambitions

While the above characters get most of the screen time, A League of Their Own does an excellent job of showcasing each of the players on the Rockford Peaches.  It’s interesting that women’s baseball is used as the backdrop for a time in America when women couldn’t open a checking account without their husband’s permission, African-Americans were still segregated from whites and being gay was thought of as a disease or even contagious.

The writing on A League of Their Own is really sharp and it doesn’t hurt that the series is well cast.  All of the actresses that play major characters are excellent.  Kudos also to Lea Robinson as Uncle Bertie,  Nick Offerman who plays the former pro who is brought in to coach the Peaches and Rosie O’Donnell who plays the owner of an underground gay bar.  Maxine “Max” Chapman (Adams) and her best friend Clance Morgan (Ikumelo) have a chemistry as best friends that could sustain a half hour comedy on their own.

A League of Their Own surprised me in how good it was.  I hope we get a second season.

A League of Their Own, Season 1 earns 4 of 5 stars.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD: The Deluxe Hardcover by Quentin Tarantino / Z-View

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: The Deluxe Hardcover by Quentin Tarantino

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Harper

First sentence…

The buzzer on Marvin Schwarz’s desk makes a noise.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the fictionalized account of Hollywood actor and tv star, Rick Dalton, his stuntman and best friend, Cliff Booth and the famous/infamous folks they run into in Hollywood in the late 60s.  If you’ve seen Tarantino’s movie of the same name, then you know the story… or at least most of it.  The novel goes into greater detail especially in regard to Cliff Booth.  If you liked the movie, you should enjoy the book.  If you think, I’ve seen the movie, I don’t need a rehash in a novelization, you might be surprised.  There’s a different story structure in the novel than the film and time to dig a deeper into the characters.

If you haven’t seen the movie, let me get you up to speed.  Rick Dalton was a rising movie star.  He had a western tv series called Bounty Law.  It was popular and ran for a few years.  Dalton then went into feature films, but that was then.  Now Dalton appears to be on his way down.  He’s been regulated to guest starring in television shows and usually ends up beaten and beaten up by the star of the show.  Dalton hopes he’ll get another run at feature films.  Cliff Booth is a World War II decorated vet, a stuntman and Rick’s best friend.  Booth may or may not have killed his wife (we find out for sure in the novel).  He also went toe-to-toe with Bruce Lee in a challenge that pretty much ended Booth getting stunt work.  Rick and Cliff will also have run-ins with the Charlie Manson family, Sharon Tate and others.  To say more would be to say too much,

Tarantino is more of a story-teller than a writer.  Someone said if the novel was better written, it wouldn’t be as good.  That may sound strange, but I get the sentiment.  As you read Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, there’s the feeling that we’re hearing the tale from an insider and not a writer somewhere trying to polish his prose.  I loved the inside stories/legends of real life actors/actresses in Hollywood.

The Deluxe Edition also features a Rick Dalton Bounty Law episode script; Photos of lobby cards from two of Rick Dalton’s feature films, two Bounty Law stills, two Bounty Law TV Guide covers, two Bounty Law comic book covers, a Bounty Law lunchbox, Bounty Law production art, a Bounty Law board game, 8 movie posters featuring Rick Dalton and other real-life stars, and a MAD magazine Bounty Law parody featuring the cover and story by Andrew Secunda and Tom Richmond.

I enjoyed Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and hope that Tarantino writes more novels.  I’m a sucker for a good story.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood rates 4 of 5 stars.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: The Deluxe Hardcover
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Paperback
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Kindle

“Tulsa King” Starring Sylvester Stallone – The Trailer is Here!

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The trailer for Tulsa King starring Sylvester Stallone hits all the right notes.  I cannot wait to see this series!

TULSA KING follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone), just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Okla. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet. The series also stars Andrea Savage (“I’m Sorry”), Martin Starr (“Silicon Valley”), Max Casella (“The Tender Bar”), Domenick Lombardozzi (“The Irishman”), Vincent Piazza (“Boardwalk Empire”), Jay Will (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), A.C. Peterson (“Superman & Lois”) with Garrett Hedlund (“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”).

The series will be executive-produced by Sheridan, Winter, Stallone, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin and Allen Coulter. Braden Aftergood is also set to executive-produce.

Stream the new series on November 13, exclusively on Paramount+.