Category: Crime

“Red Eye”: Season 2 (2026) starring Jing Lusi, Lesley Sharp, Jemma Moore, Cash Holland and Steph Lacey / Z-View

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Red Eye: Season 2 (2026)

Created by: Peter A Dowling

Directed by:

  • Kieron Hawkes (eps. 1-3)
  • Camilla Strøm Henriksen (eps. 4-6)

Teleplay by:

  • Peter A Dowling (eps. 1-2; 4-6)
  • Jingan Young (ep. 3)

Stars: Jing Lusi, Lesley Sharp, Jemma Moore, Cash Holland, Steph Lacey and Richard Armitage.

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

An assassin has made his way into the US Embassy in London where a huge party filled with diplomats, rich donors, corporate leaders and politicans.  After killing a US Department of Security Agent, the assassin makes a call ordering the Embassy be placed on lockdown.  If anyone leaves, a plane carrying high ranking officials will be blown out of the sky.

Detective Hanna Li is assigned to work with US Security Officer Clay Brody to find and bring down the assassin.  Li and Brody have a history which ended badly.  As Li and Brody search for the assassin and try to discover his endgame, the body count increases.  They come to realize, the assassin wants more than revenge.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)… 

Red Eye continues to provide the right mix of action and mystery.  Bring on season 3.

Red Eye: Season 2 (2026) rates 4 of 5 stars.

HOW NOT TO DIE IN PRISON: A SURVIVAL GUIDE by Taylor Sheridan and Tom Nelson!

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HOW NOT TO DIE IN PRISON: A SURVIVAL GUIDE by Taylor Sheridan and Tom Nelson is coming!  Here’s the lowdown…

The debut book from Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Taylor Sheridan, creator of Landman and cocreator of Yellowstone — a no-bullsh*t, darkly funny survival guide to life inside a maximum-security prison, cowritten with prison-hardened ex-con Tom Nelson.

So, you f*cked up. Can’t talk your way out of it, buy your way out of it, or beg your way out of it.

You are going to prison. You will be living under a set of rules made up by men who have demonstrated to society that they need a big ol’ time out. There is no book of these rules. Nobody will tell them to you. But when you break one—boy, will you know it. For the newbie, the fish, the fresh meat—this book is your survival guide. How to mind your business without becoming a target. When to walk away. When to stand your ground.

This is how you don’t die. Follow the advice in this book, and you just might make it out alive.

Pre-orders are available now.

“Albino Alligator” (1996) directed by Kevin Spacey; starring Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, Gary Sinise, William Fichtner, Viggo Mortensen, John Spencer, Skeet Ulrich, M. Emmet Walsh and Joe Mantegna / Z-View

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Albino Alligator (1996)

Director: Kevin Spacey

Screenplay: Christian Forte

Stars: Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, Gary Sinise, William Fichtner, Viggo Mortensen, John Spencer, Skeet Ulrich, M. Emmet Walsh, Joe Mantegna, Melinda McGraw, Doug Spinuzza, Spencer Garrett, Enrico Colantoni and Frankie Faison

Tagline: They Planned The Perfect Crime… Until It All Went Perfectly Wrong!

The Plot…

When their robbery goes sideways, brothers Dova and Milo and their sociopathic partner Law find themselves on the run from the cops.  They’ve already killed three people.  One of them a cop. Plus Milo is badly wounded.

It’s well past midnight and the streets are empty.  If they keep running, they know they’ll get caught.  So the three take refuge in a bar that’s closing.  Inside they find five people: Janet, her boss Dino, an older man at the bar, a young man at the pool table and business man alone at one of the tables.

Dova and Law pull their guns and order everyone to stay seated.  Law is ready to blast away.  It won’t take much to send him over the edge.  Dova just wants to patch his brother up and hide out until they can slip away in the morning.

What nobody inside knows is the FBI has the bar staked out.  It is surrounded by agents ready to close in.

Why was the FBI already there?  What will happen if they charge in?

It’s late.  Last call before the action starts…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Albino Alligator showcases Kevin Spacey’s debut as a director.  It also features my favorite Faye Dunaway performance.

Albino Alligator (1996) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Eichmann” (2007) / Z-View

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Eichmann (2007)

Director: Robert Young

Screenplay: Snoo Wilson

Stars: Thomas Kretschmann, Troy Garity, Stephen Fry.

Tagline: Husband. Father. Soldier. Monster.

The Plot…

Fifteen years after the end of World War II, Adolf Eichmann was captured.  Although a high  official in the Nazi Party, an officer of the SS and one of the major organisers of Hitler’s Final Solution, Eichmann claimed to have no knowledge of the holocaust and was just as a small, insignificant bureaucrat—a “little cog in the machinery” who followed orders.

Captain Avner Less, an Israeli police officer, was assigned to interview Eichmann in an effort to get him to self-incriminate.  It will be a battle of wills to get justice served.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Prior to his capture Adolf Eichmann was the most wanted Nazi war criminal in the world. CIA documents released in 2006, showed that U.S. and West German intelligence knew that Eichmann was alive in Argentina, but fearing he might expose former comrades who had been useful to the CIA and the German government, did nothing.

Eichmann (2007) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Normal” starring Bob Odenkirk, Henry Winkler and Lena Headey – The Trailer is Here!

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The trailer for Normal is here and I’m on board.

Deal me in!

In theaters April 17
http://normalthemovie.com/

The latest collaboration between Bob Odenkirk, JOHN WICK creator Derek Kolstad and NOBODY producer Marc Provissiero, director Ben Wheatley’s (FREE FIRE, HIGH RISE) kinetic neo-Western stars Odenkirk as an unassuming substitute sheriff with a troubled past who, after moving to a small, sleepy town, responds to a bank robbery and unknowingly uncovers something far more explosive.

For Sheriff Ulysses (Odenkirk), his provisional posting to the quaint Midwestern American town of Normal was meant to be a welcome respite from both his marital woes and recent moral injuries in the line of duty. But when a botched bank robbery interrupts the municipality’s tranquil pace, a dark secret is inadvertently exposed, and Ulysses soon discovers that the town is anything but its namesake.

Starring Bob Odenkirk, Lena Heady and Henry Winkler

Directed by Ben Wheatley

“His & Hers” (2026) starring Tessa Thompson & Jon Bernthal / Z-View

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His & Hers (2026)

Developed by: William Oldroyd; based on HIS & HERS by Alice Feeney

Directors:

  • William Oldroyd (Eps. 1-2; 6)
  • Anja Marquardt (Eps. 3-5)

Teleplay:

  • William Oldroyd (Eps. 1; 3)
  • Tori Sampson (Ep. 2)
  • Erika Sheffer (Ep. 3)
  • Dee Johnson (Ep. 4)
  • William Oldroyd and Tori Sampson  (Ep. 5)
  • Bill Dubuque (Ep. 6)

Stars: Tessa Thompson, Jon Bernthal, Pablo Schreiber, Marin Ireland, Sunita Mani, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Crystal Fox, Kristen Maxwell, Leah Merritt, Tiffany Ho, Isabelle Kusman, Dave Maldonado and Chris Bauer.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

A murder brings television news reporter Anna Andrews back to her small hometown.  Her estranged husband, Jack is a Detective working the case.  Things take a turn when Anna finds evidence that Jack may have been the killer.  At the same time Jack is finding clues pointing to Anna as the murderer.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I’m a Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal fan.

Pablo Schreiber and Chris Bauer co-starred together in Season 2 of The Wire.

As we were watching I told my wife who the real murderer was.  She laughed and said that would be too crazy.  I then said, “No, it’s really _____.”  My wife replied, “That would be even more out there.”  Guess what?  I wasn’t wrong.

His & Hers (2026) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Perdita Durango” aka “Dance with the Devil” (1997) starring Rosie Perez, Javier Bardem and James Gandolfini / Z-View

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Perdita Durango aka Dance with the Devil (1997)

Director: Álex de la Iglesia

Screenplay: Barry Gifford, David Trueba, Jorge Guerricaechevarría, Álex de la Iglesia; based on 59° And RAINING: THE STORY OF PERDITA DURANGO by Barry Gifford

Stars: Rosie Perez, Javier Bardem, Aimee Graham, Demián Bichir, Santiago Segura, Don Stroud, Roger Cudney and James Gandolfini.

Tagline: Get On The Road

The Plot…

Perdita Durango, in Mexico to scatter the ashes of her dead sister, meets Romeo Dolorosa who is on the run.  Dolorosa is a drug dealing, bank robbing satanist.  The two hook-up and devise a plan to kidnap a couple of college students and use them in a cannibalistic ceremony.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Álex de la Iglesia has a very visual style.  He was joined by terrific leads in Rosie Perez, Javier Bardem and James Gandolfini.  But the subject matter was too over the top gross for me.  I tapped out at about the 20 minute mark when a coked-up Dolorosa was hacking up a dead body in front of tourists.  He then threw the limbs in a boiling pot of blood and drank from it.

The character of Perdita Durango first appeared as a minor character in WILD AT HEART another novel by Barry Gifford.  On film she first was played by Isabella Rossellini in the adaptation of the novel.

Javier Bardem’s hairstyle in Perdita Durango is worse than his in No Country for Old Men.

Perdita Durango was released in the United States as Dance with the Devil.

Perdita Durango aka Dance with the Devil (1997) rates 1 of 5 stars.

“The Beast in Me” (2025) starring Claire Danes, Matthew Rhys and Jonathan Banks / Z-View

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The Beast in Me (2025)

Created by: Gabe Rotter

Directors:

  • Antonio Campos (Eps. 1-2; 7-8)
  • Tyne Rafaeli (Eps. 3-4)
  • Lila Neugebauer (Eps. 5-6)

Teleplay:

  • Gabe Rotter and Daniel Pearle; story by Gabe Rotter (Ep. 1)
  • Gabe Rotter (Ep. 2)
  • Erika Sheffer (Ep. 3)
  • C.A. Johnson (Ep. 4)
  • Daniel Pearle (Ep. 5)
  • Ali Liebegott (Ep. 6)
  • Mike Skerrett (Ep. 7)
  • Howard Gordon & Daniel Pearle (Ep. 8)

Stars: Claire Danes, Matthew Rhys, Brittany Snow, Natalie Morales, Tim Guinee, Hettienne Park, Deirdre O’Connell, Julie Ann Emery, Amir Arison, Peter Grosz, Bill Irwin, Kate Burton and Jonathan Banks.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Aggie Wiggs was on top of the world.  She was an award-winning author with a beautiful wife and child. They lived in a big old house in a wooded remote area.  It was a beautiful life.

Then it all fell apart when a driver crashed into her car killing her son.  Aggie suspected the man was drunk, but he was not charged.  After that Aggie’s marriage fell apart.  It’s been several years now.  Things haven’t gotten better for Aggie.  Her next book is way overdue and the publisher wants it.

Aggie is surprised when Nile Jarvis moves in next door.  Jarvis is the the super rich real estate magnate suspected of killing his first wife.  Although Jarvis was never charged, his wife disappeared under mysterious circumstances.  Jarvis is a ruthless business man used to getting his way in every aspect of his life.  He’s also a narcissist and perhaps a sociopath.

When Aggie decides to write a book about Jarvis, it brings her into his orbit.  Which is a dangerous place to be.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Beast in Me was executive produced by Claire Danes, Jodie Foster and Conan O’Brien.

Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys had no idea how the series would end when they signed on to star.

Claire Danes, Matthew Rhys, Natalie Morales and Jonathan Banks are excellent.  The series is well written and well directed.  It gets my highest recommendation.

The Beast in Me (2025) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Sympathy for the Devil” (2023) starring Nicholas Cage & Joel Kinnaman / Z-View

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Sympathy for the Devil (2023)

Director: Yuval Adler

Screenplay: Luke Paradise

Stars: Nicolas Cage, Joel Kinnaman.

Tagline: Revenge is a hell of a ride.

The Plot…

David Chamberlain is worried he won’t make it in time for his child’s birth.  As David pulls into the hospital parking lot, a man with a gun jumps into the backseat and orders David to drive.  The gunman appears crazy and David’s car was picked at random.

Things aren’t always as they appear.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Sympathy for the Devil is a fun ride.

Sympathy for the Devil (2023) rates 3 of 5 stars.