Category: Crime

Jonathan Maberry: Born with a Love of Storytelling

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Jonathan Maberry: Born with a Love of Storytelling is an interview with, well, Jonathon Maberry.  Fans of Mayberry’s fiction as well as folks who’d like advice on writing should check it out.

If you don’t know… Jonathan Maberry is…

…a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning suspense author, editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. Jonathan Maberry was named one of the Today’s Top Ten Horror Writers, and his books have been sold to more than two-dozen countries. Jonathan is known for his writing that spans several different genres; including horror, mystery and young adult fiction.

Source: The Reading Lists.

 

S. Craig Zahler & Vince Vaughn Talk “Brawl in Cell Block 99”

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I’m a huge fan of S. Craig Zahler’s Bone Tomahawk and am really looking forward to his next film, Brawl in Cell Block 99.  Advance reviews are positive, especially singling out Vince Vaughn’s performance.

Although Brawl in Cell Block 99 is supposed to be in release now, it’s not playing at any theaters in my area.  Still, the publicity is coming and you can read interviews about the film with S. Craig Zahler and Vince Vaughn at Coming Soon, Film School Rejects and /Film.

Neal Adams Presents “Batman vs Elmer Fudd” by Tom King and Lee Weeks

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Batman vs Elmer Fudd.

Sounds stupid, right?  No way in the world this could be an excellent comic book, right?

Wrong.  Way wrong.

Written by Tom King with art by Lee Weeks, Batman vs Elmer Fudd is an amazingly good comic.  Since it sold out of it’s initial print run, if you want to get a copy you’re probably out of luck.  However comics legend Neal Adams has created a video homage that is worth a watch.

Source: Neal Adams.

Dan Panosian, Down-But-Not-Out Boxers and “Killing Me Softly”

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Dan Panosian recently sat down (or perhaps he stood up) for an interview with Adventures in Poor Taste to talk about his new series Slots.

I’ve always enjoyed Panosian’s art and he’s a great guy so there’s that.  In the interview I discovered that Dan’s a fan of the film Killing Them Softly.  I thought I was the only one.  So there’s another reason to like Dan.  If you check out the interview, I’ll bet you’ll find a couple for yourself.

A “Die Hard” Christmas

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If you have a hard-to-buy-for Die Hard fan in your life, then A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic by Doogie Horner (author), and J.J. Harrison (artist) may be just what you need.

And if A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic is a home run, then the 80 page Die Hard: The Authorized Coloring and Activity Book from 20 Century Fox should be worth a couple of bases.  (Not sure where the baseball analogy came from.  On that I struck out.)

 

Phantom Lady (1944) / Z-View

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Phantom Lady (1944)

Director: Robert Siodmak

Screenplay: Bernard C. Schoenfeld (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich based on his novel written as William Irish

Stars: Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis, Elisha Cook Jr., Regis Toomey and Milburn Stone.

The Pitch: “A romantic thriller with a man’s life on the line!”

Tagline: A STORY THAT HAS THRILLED MILLIONS!

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Scott Henderson (Curtis), who is in an unhappy marriage, spends his night at a bar drinking with a woman he’s just met. When Henderson gets home he discovers his wife has been murdered and the woman he’d just met is his only alibi… only no one seems to remember seeing her with him.

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Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949) / Z-View

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Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)

Director: Charles T. Barton

Screenplay: Hugh Wedlock Jr. & Howard Snyder

Stars:  Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff

The Pitch: “It’s time for Bud and Lou to meet Boris!”

Tagline: MORE GHOULISH GLEE THAN WHEN THEY MET FRANKENSTEIN

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

When the bellboy (Costello) becomes the prime suspect of a murder in a remote hotel full of shady characters, only the hotel dick (Abbott) believes his innocence.  The race is on to find the killer before he kills again… and the bellboy is in the killer’s sights!

I was surprised that Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff didn’t hold up as well as I remembered it.  I was sure it would get a “B” rating or higher.  As a kid, it would have gotten an “A” — yet it is still fun with some good laughs.

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Blood Simple (1984) / Z-View

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Blood Simple (1984)

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (uncredited)

Screenplay: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Stars:  John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh

The Pitch: “Let’s make a noir!”

Tagline: Breaking up is hard

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

When a vengeful husband (Hedaya) learns that his wife is cheating on him, he hires a sleazy PI to kill them.  What follows is a classic throwback film noir that jumpstarted the Coen brothers’ career.

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Rio Bravo (1959) / Z-View

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Rio Bravo (1959)

Director: Howard Hawks

Screenplay: Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett based on a short story by B.H. McCampbell

Stars:  John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, John Russell and Claude Akins.

The Pitch: “The Duke wants to make Rio Bravo.”

Tagline: You’ve seen nothing like ’em together… and in the heat and hate of Rio Bravo nothing can tear ’em apart!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

When Sheriff John T. Chance (Wayne) refuses to let a rich rancher’s brother walk after committing a murder, Chance finds himself up against nearly 2 dozen hired guns.  Coming to Chance’s aid is an old man, a drunk who used to be a gun fighter and a kid with a fast draw.

The basis of Rio Bravo was used to a comedic effect in Blazing Saddles.

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