Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Here’s a new Unhinged poster and the final trailer. Cool idea to make the trailer a public service announcement. Unhinged should be a fun ride.
Starring: Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius Directed By: Derrick Borte Synopsis: A woman becomes embroiled in a violent case of road rage after honking at the wrong guy.
Arkansas (2020)
Director: Clark Duke
Screenplay: Clark Duke and Andrew Boonkrong (based on the novel by John Brandon)
Stars: Liam Hemsworth, Clark Duke, Michael Kenneth Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Eden Brolin, Chandler Duke, John Malkovich and Vince Vaughn.
The Pitch: “Clark Duke wants to turn Arkansas the book into Arkansas the movie!”
Tagline: Kyle and Swin are working their way to the top…but the top has other plans.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Kyle (Hemsworth), a low level drug courier, finds himself working with Swin (Clark) on a delivery. Neither would have never chosen the other to be a partner, but it’s what the boss wants. And the boss is a ruthless, mysterious Arkansas drug kingpin known only as Froggy.
Things go smoothly for Kyle and Swin until they don’t… and then the deadly retribution spiral begins.
I loved Arkansas. Great cast – Hemsworth has never been better – and Duke impressed me with his acting/directorial debut. Malkovich and Vaughn make everything better and this is no exception. I also enjoyed seeing Michael Kenneth Williams and Vivica Fox in supporting roles. Eden Brolin (Josh Brolin’s daughter) is an actress I hadn’t seen before and she was excellent. Brad William Henke and Jeff Chase have small but impressive, important roles. Arkansas has the right mix of tension and humor.
Arkansas may be too quirky for some, but I loved it.
The poster and trailer for Measure for Measure are here. I’m always ready for a good crime story and this one mixes in a forbidden love as well. I’m in.
A contemporary re-telling of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. An unlikely romance ignites between a young immigrant Muslim girl and a young musician, set against Melbourne’s notorious commission flats, where a world of crime, drugs, and racial disharmony reign….
That Texas Blood #2 is part of an on-going series published by Image Comics.
*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***
“A BROTHER’S CONSCIENCE,” Part One The first five-part story arc BEGINS HERE! Los Angeles-based writer Randy Terrill returns to his abandoned home of Ambrose County, Texas after the sudden and mysterious death of his brother Travis.
If you missed the sold out first issue of That Texas Blood you’re in luck. Second printings should be available and issue 2 starts a new story arc.
Randy Terrill has bad memories of Ambrose County, Texas. He and his brother, Travis, used to drink, party, and well, do other things that Randy wants to put behind him. He moved to LA and gave up his wild ways. It wasn’t easy and the bad memories linger.
When Randy receives word that Travis has died Randy knows, despite all misgivings, he has to return home. Things can’t get any worse.
No one is happy to see Randy back in town or unhappy that his brother died. And then Sheriff Joe Bob Coates tells Randy something that makes things a lot worse.
That Texas Blood maintains the quality from Condon and Phillips that earned issue 1 universal rave reviews. That Texas Blood continues to earn my highest recommendation.
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This is the cover to Reckless, the first of three new graphic novels coming from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips through Image Comics. Each of the graphic novels will be a complete separate standalone crime story. Here’s how Brubaker describes Reckless…
Meet Ethan Reckless: Your trouble is his business, for a price.
A former student radical, with the scars to prove it, Ethan is one part repo man, one part private eye, and one part wrecking ball. But when a fugitive from his Weather Underground days reaches out for help, Ethan will have to face the only thing he really fears… his own past.
It’s sex, drugs, and murder in early ‘80s Los Angeles, as Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips launch their first graphic novel series with an electrifying new take on the paperback pulp hero.
Brubaker goes on to say that Reckless will be 144 pages, premiere in December with the second book scheduled for April 2021. Again, each of these books will be a completely standalone graphic novel. Man, this hits a bunch of my crime fiction sweet spots.
If you subscribe to Brubaker’s free newsletter you are able to see three pages from Reckless and they look wicked. If you don’t subscribe, you’ll definitely want to check out The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips to Launch Graphic Novel Series ‘Reckless‘.
Dead Body Road: Bad Blood #2 is part of a six-issue mini-series published by Image Comics.
*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***
Hunter Hale is on the run from Monk Sinclair, boss of everything underground in their county…at least until Bree Hale declares war on him to defend her brother.
Dead Body Road: Bad Blood 2 picks up where issue one left off. The chase is on. Hunter Hale is scared and on the run with Monk Sinclair’s woman. Monk is following leads and growing more enraged with each passing moment. Bree (Hunter’s sister) doesn’t know what Hunter has gotten himself into, but she knows if she doesn’t reach him first, Hunter won’t live to tell her.
Justin Jordan, Benjamin Tiesma, Matt Lopes and Pat Brosseau are back with another great issue. And let’s not forget the cover by Matteo Scalera and Moreno Dinisio.
Dead Body Road: Bad Blood continues with a story that should entertain all crime / action fans.
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Stephen King is coming back with another Hardcase crime story. Later will drop on March 2, 2021. Here’s the synopsis…
#1 bestselling author Stephen King returns with a brand-new novel about the secrets we keep buried and the cost of unearthing them.
SOMETIMES GROWING UP
MEANS FACING YOUR DEMONSThe son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine – as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.
LATER is Stephen King at his finest, a terrifying and touching story of innocence lost and the trials that test our sense of right and wrong. With echoes of King’s classic novel It, LATER is a powerful, haunting, unforgettable exploration of what it takes to stand up to evil in all the faces it wears.
Pre-orders are available now!
Here we have the poster and trailer for The Silencing. Looks pretty good!
A reformed hunter and a female sheriff get caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse when they set out to track a killer who may have kidnapped his daughter five years earlier.
The poster and trailer for Seized are here. Glad to see Mario Peebles in this Scott Adkins action movie. Hopefully it will be a fun couple of hours.
Hiding out with his son Taylor on the Mexican coast, Nero (Scott Adkins, Doctor Strange) hopes to put his violent Special Forces career behind him. But after Nero’s home is attacked and Taylor is abducted, the mysterious Mzamo (Mario Van Peebles, Heartbreak Ridge) orders Nero to slaughter the members of three rival crime syndicates. If he fails, Taylor will die. With bullets flying and bodies dropping, Nero must now complete his mission ― and find Mzamoʼs hideout, to exact his revenge.
Director: Isaac Florentine
Below is a teaser for the 4th season of Fargo. I love that each season tells a complete story and the following season, while may be related in some aspect to the previous, features new characters and new situations.
The fourth installment of Fargo is set in 1950 Kansas City, where two criminal syndicates fighting for a piece of the American dream have struck an uneasy peace. Chris Rock stars as Loy Cannon, the head of the African American crime family who trades sons with the head of the Italian mafia as part of tenuous truce.
The Breaking Point (1950)
Director: Michael Curtiz
Screenplay: Ranald MacDougall (Based on Ernest Hemingway’s novel To Have and Have Not)
Stars: John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter, Juano Hernandez and Wallace Ford.
The Pitch: “Let’s redo To Have and Have Not but make it closer to Hemmingway’s novel!”
Tagline: There’s nothing more deadly than a gentle man pushed too far!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Harry Morgan was a war hero, but that doesn’t mean much any more. Times are tough. Now Morgan is a charter boat captain with a wife, two little girls and a stack of bills he needs to take care of. When a sleazy lawyer offers Morgan a chance at some easy money, he turns it down. Morgan knows something legal will come along.
And it does. Morgan gets a week’s rental from a business man wanting a fishing trip to Mexico. Things start to go sideways when the man unexpectedly brings along his sexy, flirtatious girlfriend. The woman is trouble and she knows it.
In Mexico, the man decides to cut his trip short and agrees to pay Morgan in the morning before they head back. The next day Morgan learns that the man skipped out and flew back to the states. Morgan is stuck in Mexico with no money, the guy’s girlfriend and no way home.
Of course the easy money offer is still available…
The Breaking Point is an under-rated gem. If you like noir, then this is for you.
This is Garfield’s best role. Patricia Neal is perfect as the sexy, trouble-making young woman with experience beyond her years. Thaxter is great as the wife trying to keep things together as her husband makes increasingly bad decisions. Juano Hernandez, as Morgan’s best friend, isn’t there with Walter Brennan comic relief.
I can’t believe I waited so long to finally watch The Breaking Point. Part of the problem may be the poster and trailer aren’t good indicators of how great the film is. And that final scene!
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More Better Deals by Joe R. Lansdale
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Mulholland Books
First sentence…
I folded the check and put it in my shirt pocket and tried not to grin.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Ed Edwards is a used car salesman and a big believer in buyer beware. Ed’s not above rolling back an odometer, telling little lies or flirting with a customer if it means a sale. Ed’s doing okay, but is okay ever enough? Ed dreams of bigger things than being top salesman in a two man used car lot.
When Ed’s boss sends him to repossess a Cadillac, he meets Nancy. At first Ed just wants the caddy, but Nancy is beautiful and flirty. When Nancy invites Ed in for a drink, he doesn’t hesitate. Sure, she’s married, but that’s on her, right? Unhappily married as it turns out. Even better. One thing leads to another and before too long Ed and Nancy’s hot affair turns to thoughts of murder.
See if Nancy’s big, dumb brute of a husband wasn’t in the picture, she and Ed could make some real money with the drive-in and pet cemetery businesses that her husband owns. You can guess the rest… except you can’t because Joe Lansdale is writing this tale!
Joe crafts More Better Deals with the dark humor and memorable characters that we’ve come to expect from this master storyteller. I blazed through loving every page and unexpected twist. If you’re a fan of noir and stories like The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity then More Better Deals is for you. (And don’t say I didn’t warn you about a scene so creepy it will stay with you for days!)
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Dia de los Muertos is a paperback that collects the three issue mini-series published by Image Comics.
*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***
Inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead, artist extraordinaire Riley Rossmo (Debris, Green Wake, Cowboy Ninja Viking) joins forces with nine different writers to tell tall tales from beyond the grave!
Riley Rossmo teams with 9 different writers to present 9 stories set against the backdrop of Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations. There is a supernatural undercurrent running through each tale.
It is interesting how Rossmo changes his art style to compliment each story being told. I enjoyed each of the tales, but I’d the standout for me was Mine by Joshua Williamson and Rossmo. It has a great set-up and leads the reader to a surprise ending. If you’re a fan of Rod Serling’s The Night Gallery, then you should like this collection.
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Thomas Jane, Anne Heche, Jason Patric, and Gregory Harrison star in The Vanished. Here are the poster and trailer. I like the looks of this.
Midnight of the Soul is a paperback that collects the five issue mini-series published by Image Comics.
*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***
Joel Breakstone, a GI liberator of Buchenwald and brutally damaged goods, follows a path of vengeance that leads to redemption in a violent journey into his own heart of darkness―in a spiritual adventure from comics’ contemporary master of crime and punishment, HOWARD CHAYKIN.
Joel Breakstone is having a bad night. Of course every day and night since coming back from the war five years ago has been rough. Breakstone can’t shake the memory of an incident that nearly killed him. He and his buddy had come upon a Nazi about to execute a POW. A shootout occurred and when the smoke cleared his buddy, the POW and the Nazi were dead and Breakstone was severely wounded. He lived, but came home with a drinking problem.
But back to Breakstone’s bad night – After a bad argument with his wife, she leaves for work. Breakstone while looking for some booze finds evidence that his wife has been working as a hooker. Still half drunk, Breakstone grabs his gun and jumps on his motorcyle to find her.
His wife is with one of her best clients, a musician under contract to mobsters. Suddenly a man busts in and kills the musician. Breakstone’s wife barely escapes.
Breakstone is on the hunt for his wife. The killer and the cops are also looking for her. Before the night is over she will be found. Who will get to her first? And will it matter?
I’m a big fan of Howard Chaykin stories and art. Often Chaykin doesn’t hold back on the adult situations in his tales and this is one of those. If that’s offensive, this yarn isn’t for you.
Midnight of the Soul has a lot going on besides the hunt for Breakstone’s wife. There is also the mystery of why the musician was murdered. Plus Breakstone’s foggy memory of the incident that left 3 people dead and nearly killed him. All will be resolved before the night is over.
I like that the action takes place over the course of one night. As Breakstone tracks down his wife his journey takes him across the city to strip bars, diners, and jazz clubs. Along the way we meet a wide variety of characters some who are also looking for Breakstone’s wife.
Chaykin is at the top of his game with the art in Midnight of the Soul. Jesus Aburtov’s colors enhance the story without drawing attention to his work in a “look at these hues” sort of way. Often I think Chaykin’s art works best in black and white, but not this time! The story reminds me of an old movie with a modern sensibility (or an “R” rating). Chaykin’s heroes, or in this case, anithero, don’t always do the noble thing, but they do what is right for their character.
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