Category: Crime

The MGM 31 Day Movie Challenge

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I saw the MGM 31 Day Movie Challenge and thought it would be fun to play along.  Except for days that ask for a very specific movie I’m going to use favorite films that are great but less likely to be chosen.  Here we go…

  • Day 1:  Movie I’ve watched the most – Rocky.  No surprise there.  Also in the running would be some other Stallone films, Enter the Dragon with John Wick and World War Z offering some newer challenges to the throne of most watched.
  • Day 2: Movie that makes me cry – Saving Private Ryan.  When old man Ryan asks if he is a good man something always seems to get in my eye.
  • Day 3: Movie that make me laugh – Steamboat Bill, Jr.  Made over 90 years ago by the great Buster Keaton.  It’s a silent film that still resonates.
  • Day 4: Movie with a number in the title – District B13 (2004).  A little known action film with tons of parkour and fun.
  • Day 5: Movie with a teacher – Rope directed by Alfred Hitchcock.  Two college men host a dinner party with their murder victim hidden in the same room. James Stewart stars.
  • Day 6: Movie from the 90s – Last of the Mohicans.  I’ve been wanting to watch this again… now even more!
  • Day 7: Favorite musical – The Wizard of Oz!  Musicals aren’t my favorite genre, but The Wizard of Oz is one of my all-time favorite movies.
  • Day 8: Movie from the 80s – Nighthawks.  Sly Stallone is ahead of the curve with a buddy movie about terrorism in the United States.  At the time a lot of folks thought and said, “That could never happen here.”
  • Day 9: Movie with a person’s name in the title – Rambo.   Stallone returns to the character with one of the best films of the series.
  • Day 10: Movie that reminds you of your mom – Conan, the Barbarian.  My wife and I took my mom to see it and she spent the last half of the movie in the lobby.  She hated it.
  • Day 11:  Movie with a color in the title – Black Rain.  Another under-rated film.
  •  Day 12: Your favorite Rom-Com – The Apartment.  I’m not a huge Jack Lemmon or Shirley MacLaine fan, but they are perfect in The Apartment.
  • Day 13: Movie from the year I was born – Elevator to the Gallows.  A man murders his boss who is also the husband of his mistress.  Unexpected events lead the police to his trail…
  • Day 14: Your favorite horror flick – Night of the Living Dead.  George Romero’s movie’s impact is felt to this day.
  • Day 15: A  movie from the 70s – Enter the Dragon.  The best Bruce Lee and martial arts movie of all-time.  Pure perfection.
  • Day 16: Your favorite movie to quote: Rocky Balboa.  “Life ain’t all sunshine and roses… It’s not how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can be hit and…”
  • Day 17: Movie from the 60’s – Requiem for a Heavyweight.  One of the best boxing movies of all time.  Written by Rod Serling, directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason and Mickey Rooney.
  • Day 18: Film based on a book – To Kill a Mockingbird.  Classic book and classic movie.
  • Day 19: Favorite Action/Adventure movie: Since I’ve listed Enter the Dragon, Rocky and Rambo and because John Wick is an obvious choice, I’m going with The Adventures of Robin Hood directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn in his greatest role.
  • Day 20: Favorite comedy – The Great Race.  I’ve come to love this movie more with every viewing! (Maybe I’m more of a Jack Lemmon fan than I knew.)
  • Day 21: First movie I saw in a theater – It may have been Goldfinger, Help! or Mary Poppins.
  • Day 22:  Movie that stars my favorite actor or actress – Cop Land.  Sly held his own with Deniro, Keitel and Liotta.
  • Day 23: Favorite cult classic – From Dusk Till Dawn.  I love this film!
  • Day 24: Favorite film series – Rocky.  No surprise there.
  • Day 25: Favorite remake – Dawn of the Dead directed by Zack Snyder.
  • Day 26: Favorite Holiday Movie – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. (Yeah, I love A Christmas Story, too.)
  • Day 27: Movie with the Best Soundtrack – Sharkey’s Machine directed and starring Burt Reynolds.  More folks should give that soundtrack a play.
  • Day 28: Movie made by my Favorite Director – Paradise Alley directed by Sylvester Stallone.  His first directorial effort and it is under-rated.
  • Day 29: Favorite Animated movie – The Incredibles.
  • Day 30: Favorite Childhood movie – The original Planet of the Apes!
  • Day 31: Movie that starts with the first letter of your name: Cabin in the Sky.  Made in 1943 with an all black cast and it is amazing.  One of my all-time favorites.

“The Last Days of American Crime” Trailer is Here! (Plus the 17 Year Journey to Make It)

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Below we have the trailer to The Last Days of American Crime.  If the title sounds familiar it could be because I’ve been talking about The Last Days of American Crime for almost 17 years.  Yep, 17 years.  I’ll explain after the trailer.

As a final response to terrorism and crime, the U.S. government plans to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts. Graham Bricke (Édgar Ramírez), a career criminal who was never able to hit the big score, teams up with famous gangster progeny Kevin Cash (Michael Pitt), and black market hacker Shelby Dupree (Anna Brewster), to commit the heist of the century and the last crime in American history before the signal goes off. Based on the Radical Publishing graphic novel created by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini, The Last Days of American Crime is directed by Olivier Megaton, written by Karl Gajdusek, produced by Jesse Berger, p.g.a., Jason Michael Berman, p.g.a., and Barry Levine, with Sharlto Copley also co-starring.

Watch The Last Days of American Crime on Netflix June 5

Okay.  Let me tell you about those 17 years…

Way back in November of 2003, I posted Meet Rick Remender.  Rick was a comic writer and artist I met through my buddy, John Beatty.  John was inking Rick’s pencils on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Rick also had an idea for a comic mini-series he called The Last Days of American Crime.  I loved the art, title and idea for the story.

In 2007, I met Rick at HeroesCon.  Not only did I get hang with him for a bit, Rick also did a Stallone sketch for my collection.  Rick said that The Last Days of American Crime was still in the works. Rick had so many projects going (Fear Agent, Sea of Red, and Strange Girl just to name three) that I had started to think that he’d never get to it.


In March of 2009, I posted the art above and the news that  “The Last Days of American Crime” would premiere later that year in a three issue [48 pages each] mini-series with art by Greg Tocchini.  Yea!  The wait was nearly over.  And how about Greg Tocchini’s art!

In April 2009, we got a look at Tocchini’s The Last Days of American Crime preview cover made for Comic-Con.

In August 2009, CBR.com ran a 17 page preview of The Last Days of American Crime.

In September 2009, CBR.com gave us another preview.  The anticipation was building…

In November 2009, the news was Sam Worthington had signed on to produce and star in a big screen adaptation of Rick Remender’s The Last Days of American Crime.  Wow!  We’d probably see The Last Days of American Crime movie in a year or so, right?

In December 2009, we got another preview of The Last Days of American Crime mini-series.

In September 2010, I posted The Not So Last Days of American Crime. Rick had announced that he had ideas for more tales set in the same The Last Days of American Crime universe!

And now nearly 17 years after that first post and almost ten years after my final post about The Last Days of American Crime we have a trailer for the movie.  How long until someone starts calling Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini overnight sensations?

“Darkness Falls” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Above we have the Darkness Falls poster.  Below we have the trailer and in between we have the synopsis.  I like their twist on the serial killer genre.

After his wife’s suicide, Detective Jeff Anderson becomes convinced that she has been murdered. Obsessed with his investigation, he finds out that his wife was the victim of a team of father-and-son serial killers and sets out to stop them.

Directed by: Julien Seri
Starring: Shawn Ashmore, Gary Cole, Daniella Alonso

Russell Crowe is “Unhinged” – We have the Trailer to Prove It!

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Russell Crowe is Unhinged and we have the trailer to prove it!

Academy Award winner Russell Crowe stars in Unhinged, a timely psychological thriller that explores the fragile balance of a society pushed to the edge, taking something we’ve all experienced- road rage – to an unpredictable and terrifying conclusion. Rachel (Caren Pistorius) is running late to work when she has an altercation at a traffic light with a stranger (Crowe) whose life has left him feeling powerless and invisible. Soon, Rachel finds herself and everyone she loves the target of a man who decides to make one last mark upon the world by teaching her a series of deadly lessons. What follows is a dangerous game of cat and mouse that proves you never know just how close you are to someone who is about to become unhinged.

The Poster and Trailer for “Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo” are Here! 

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The poster and trailer for Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo are here!  I’ve always been a fan and look forward to seeing this and learning more about him!

Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo is the feature documentary experience, revealing the extraordinary life journey of Hollywood’s most unlikely hero, Danny Trejo. From an early life of drugs, armed robbery and hard prison time, to the red carpets of Hollywood blockbusters and helping troubled addicts, Danny gives a firsthand account of one of the greatest transformations of human character ever put to film.

Having spent 71 years starring in a personal expedition that outshines any Hollywood fiction, Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo, is the shocking story of one man’s capacity to overcome his demons, only to discover redemption through the most unlikely of journeys. Through the exploration of his old stomping ground and the supporting cast of family, friends and some of the world’s biggest stars, join Danny Trejo as he delivers a raw and sobering account of his transformation from a hardened criminal to celebrated Hollywood icon and beloved friend of all who cross his path.

The Poster and Trailer for “The Last Narc” are Here!

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Here’s the poster and trailer for The Last Narc.  This looks good.

In the Amazon Original The Last Narc, former cartel insiders divulge the bone-chilling details behind the notorious murder and kidnapping of DEA Agent “Kiki” Camarena. Through never before seen interviews, this four-part docuseries will unravel the story of Camarena, the drug cartel he infiltrated, and the narc who risked everything to discover the truth.

Here’s the “Chameleon” Poster and Trailer!

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Here’s the poster and trailer for Chameleon.

Recently released ex con Patrick is unable to find a legitimate opportunity to get ahead and stumbles back into a life of crime when unpredictable Dolph, whom he owes for protection while in prison, pays him a visit. They begin a series of cons that involve seducing and kidnapping west LA trophy wives in order to extort money from their wealthy husbands. However, their latest victim Rebecca is not who she seems, threatening to ruin everything just when Patrick’s had a change of heart and ready to call it quits.

Z-View: “Extraction”

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Extraction (2020)

Director: Sam Hargrave

Screenplay: Joe Russo (based on the graphic novel Ciudad by Ande Parks, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Fernando Leon Gonzalez, Eric Skillman)

Stars:  Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Rudhraksh Jaiswal and David Harbour.

The Pitch: “Let’s turn the Ciudad graphic novel into a movie!”

No Tagline:

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) is part of a mercenary team hired to rescue a drug lord’s kidnapped son.  To complete the extraction the team must journey into Dhaka, a city ruled by the rival drug lord who kidnapped his rival’s son.  All is going well until the team is betrayed and Rake finds himself alone with the boy trying to get to the extraction site. To get there he will have to fight the corrupt cops, the drug lord’s soldiers and street gangs looking to earn the reward offered up by drug lord.

The premise of Extraction is a classic action picture trope. Yet, Extraction puts twists on aspects of the movie that could have easily been cliches.  Rake has a death-wish but the cause of his troubles provides reason to succeed in this mission at any cost.  The person who betrayed the mission does it for an unusual reason.  The location of the movie is one seldom (never?) seen and provides fresh opportunities for action scenes and those action scenes are equal to those that you’d find in John Wick movies.

Extraction left me impressed, thinking about the characters, story and ending well after the final credits.  I can’t wait to watch it again!

Rating:

Stephan Franck’s PALOMINO: A Neo Noir Graphic Novel

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Stephan Franck is back with a new Kickstarter called PALOMINO.  Franc describes it as a Neo Noir Graphic Novel Set In LA’s Country Music Clubs.

The year is 1981. The American Century is running on fumes, but the end isn’t anywhere in sight.

At the center of PALOMINO is a unique father-daughter relationship. Eddie Lang’s an ex-cop turned working musician with big dreams, but dreams don’t pay the rent. So Eddie reluctantly works as a private investigator to provide for his teenage daughter, Lisette.

Eddie and Lisette share an unbreakable bond and a dry sense of humor. But they’re stuck.

They’re haunted by a terrible loss and an unsolved crime that looms large over their lives. They’re running out of time to fix their family.

And just as things seem at a stalemate, a new murder case upends their lives.

If this sounds like something you’d like check out Stephen Franc’s Palomino Kickstarter.  I’m in.

Bruce Lee Gets the Criterion Collection Treatment!

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Bruce Lee is getting the Criterion Collection treatment and his fans are going to love it.  The seven-disc Blu-ray box set will contain Lee’s greatest hits (The Big Boss / Fist of Fury / The Way of the Dragon / Enter the Dragon / Game of Death) and will be chock full of special features, including alternate versions of the films, interviews, documentaries and much more!

Here’s some of what the seven disc Special Edition will feature…

  • 4K digital restorations of The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Game of Death, and The Way of the Dragon, with uncompressed original monaural soundtracks
  • New 2K digital restoration of the rarely-seen 99-minute 1973 theatrical version of Enter the Dragon, with uncompressed original monaural soundtrack
  • 2K digital restoration of the 102-minute “special-edition” version of Enter the Dragon
  • Alternate audio soundtracks for the films, including original English-dubbed tracks and a 5.1 surround soundtrack for the special-edition version of Enter the Dragon
  • Six audio commentaries: on The Big Boss by Bruce Lee expert Brandon Bentley; on The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Game of Death, and The Way of the Dragon by Hong Kong–film expert Mike Leeder; and on the special-edition version of Enter the Dragon by producer Paul Heller
  • High-definition presentation of Game of Death II, the 1981 sequel to Game of Death
  • Game of Death Redux, a new presentation of Lee’s original Game of Death footage, produced by Alan Canvan
  • New interviews on all five films with Lee biographer Matthew Polly
  • New interview with producer Andre Morgan about Golden Harvest, the company behind Hong Kong’s top martial-arts stars, including Lee
  • New program about English-language dubbing with voice performers Michael Kaye (the English-speaking voice of Lee’s Chen Zhen in Fist of Fury) and Vaughan Savidge
  • New interview with author Grady Hendrix about the “Bruceploitation” subgenre that followed Lee’s death, and a selection of Bruceploitation trailers
  • Blood and Steel, a 2004 documentary about the making of Enter the Dragon
  • Multiple programs and documentaries about Lee’s life and philosophies, including Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend (1973) and Bruce Lee: In His Own Words (1998)
  • Interviews with Linda Lee Cadwell, Lee’s widow, and many of Lee’s collaborators and admirers, including actors Jon T. Benn, Riki Hashimoto, Nora Miao, Robert Wall, Yuen Wah, and Simon Yam and directors Clarence Fok, Sammo Hung, and Wong Jing
  • Promotional materials
  • New English subtitle translations and subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Jeff Chang

Bruce Lee’s Greatest Hits: The Criterion Collection will be available July 14, 2020.