“John Wick, Chapter 2” Poster
Check out this new John Wick, Chapter 2 poster. The Wick has been relit!
Category: Crime
San Quentin (1937)
San Quentin (1937)
Director: Lloyd Bacon
Screenplay:
Peter Milne and Humphrey Cobb
Stars: Pat O’Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, Barton MacLane and Joe Sawyer.
The Pitch: “Hey,let’s make a dramatic romance focused around a prison.”
Tagline: “IT’S EASIER TO FIGHT TEN PRISON RIOTS THAN TAME ONE DIZZY DAME!”
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Captain Stephen Jameson (O’Brien) tasked with bringing discipline to the prisoners of San Quentin goes there to make a difference. Jameson falls in love with the sister (Sheridan) of one of the convicts (Bogart). When the convict escapes Jameson vows to bring him in.
One of the most unintentionally funny movie endings ever.
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Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
Director: Don Siegel
Screenplay: Richard Collins
Stars: Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon, Robert Osterloh, Paul Frees, Don Keefer, Alvy Moore, Dabbs Greer and Whit Bissell.
The Pitch: “Hey,let’s make a dramatic expose on prison life.”
Tagline: YOU ARE CAUGHT IN THE SCORCHING CENTER OF A PRISON RIOT! YOU feel the savage frenzy of 4000 caged humans! YOU see the horror of the wolf pack on a vengeance kick! YOU sweat out every second with tortured hostages! YOU rock with the impact of brute force against bullets!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
James Dunn (Brand) leads a prison riot intended to bring about better conditions for all prisoners. Unfortunately, Dunn’s partner in the uprising is Crazy Mike Carnie (Gordon) who sees this as his chance to get back at guards and maybe more.
Leo Gordon is a force of nature in this.
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“The Godfather”: Solozzo’s Death – Script to Screen Analysis
The Godfather is one of the finest movies ever made. If you agree, you’ll enjoy this script to screen video analysis.
13 Surprising Facts About “Carlito’s Way”
Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 13 Surprising Facts About Carlito’s Way. Here are three of my favorites…
6. JOHN LEGUIZAMO TURNED DE PALMA DOWN FOUR TIMES.
Leguizamo played the memorable (to most) Bronx native Benny Blanco only after De Palma let him create his own character. He told The A.V. Club that he turned the director down four times because he “just felt that it wasn’t enough of a part. Luckily, [Brian] De Palma and I had worked together on Casualties Of War (1989), so he let me improvise my ass off. I totally went off. I created this character, you know, all the bizarre back story, that he’s a go-getter who can’t wait to meet Pacino. I think that was the first time I really felt like I had found myself in movies. That was a great time… I’ll always love De Palma, because Carlito’s Way was where I found myself in film.”
9. PENN AND DE PALMA DID NOT ALWAYS GET ALONG.
“He’s an operatic moviemaker, so the reality level is somewhere off in De Palma-ville, and to get hold of it is impossible,” Penn claimed in 1996. “How to serve him is hard to get a grasp on, so it can become confrontational. And it did, to a degree, on Carlito’s Way.” He also said that working with Pacino was something he loved. “Working with him balanced that whole experience out.”
“I remember when I was shooting Carlito’s Way,” De Palma said, after he was asked if any of his actors took things too far. “There’s this scene where Sean is all coked up, and he’s trying to get [Al Pacino] to go on the boat trip with him. Because of where the sun was, I was shooting Sean over Al’s back for the beginning. I shot ten, fifteen takes, and I thought it looked pretty good. But Sean said, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’ I said ‘What?!’ He said, ‘We don’t have it.’ I said, ‘I think we do.’ He said, ‘I need a few more takes.’ He said, ‘Twenty.’ I said, ‘Twenty?? Ok…’ I shot ten more, I think, and then I said, ‘Sean, I have to shoot this two-shot, then I gotta go over and shoot Al. He’s been playing to you all morning.’ But Sean was never happy with the scene. And I came around, and shot a two-shoot, and an over-the-shoulder.”
11. A PLANNED WORLD TRADE CENTER SHOOTOUT HAD TO BE CHANGED AT THE LAST MINUTE.
“I had elaborate storyboards of this whole shootout on the escalators that were in the World Trade Center,” De Palma said. “I spent weeks and weeks photographing it … and a couple of days before we were about to shoot, they blew it up.” The epic shootout took place in Grand Central Station instead.
Rope (1948)directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Jimmy Stewart / Z-View
Rope (1948)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay: Hume Cronyn adapted from the play by Patrick Hamilton
Stars: John Dall, Farley Granger, Edith Evanson, Douglas Dick, Joan Chandler, Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, Dick Hogan and James Stewart
The Pitch: “Hey, turn Rope into a movie!”
Tagline: Nothing ever held you like Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Shortly before a dinner party they’re hosting, two college intellectuals strangle a man and hide his body in a trunk in their apartment. They then decide to serve their dinner party on the trunk. Invited to the dinner party are the man’s parents, his girlfriend, her former boyfriend and one of their past professors.
Because one of the murder’s thinks he is so intellectually superior he continues to taunt and tease his crime partner… only thing is, someone at the dinner party is picking up the clues.
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North by Northwest (1959)
North by Northwest (1959)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay: Ernest Lehman
Stars: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis, Leo G. Carroll, Martin Landau, and Edward Platt
The Pitch: “Hey, Hitchcock wants to make a new movie.”
Tagline: Alfred Hitchcock takes you…. North by Northwest!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Roger Thornhill (Grant) is mistaken as a U.S. spy by foreign agents. Thornhill is kidnapped and brought to Philip Vandamm (Mason) for questioning. Thornhill is totally at a loss since he isn’t a spy. Thinking that he just won’t speak, Vandamm orders his agents to kill Thornhill.
Thornhill escapes and goes to the authorities who don’t believe his story. Vandamm is a rich, respected man who is scheduled to speak at the United Nations. Thornhill goes to the U.N. to speak to Thornhill and ends up framed for his murder. Now on the run from foreign agents and the police, Thornhill led on a cross-country chase to prove his innocence.
North by Northwest has it all: drama, suspense, humor and romance. A true classic!
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The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Director: John Huston
Screenplay: John Huston based on the novel by Dashiell Hammet
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Sydney Greenstreet, Ward Bond and Elisha Cook Jr.
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s make The Maltese Falcon with Bogart in the lead.”
Tagline: A guy without a conscience! A dame without a heart!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
A woman (Astor) shows up unexpectedly at the office of private detectives Sam Spade (Bogart) and Miles Archer. She needs help and because she’s a looker, Miles jumps at the chance to take lead on the case. Within hours Archer is found dead and Spade is drawn into a very different case — involving the acquisition of a priceless statute… The Maltese Falcon.
The woman hopes to get her hands on the Falcon before Kasper Gutman (Greenstreet) and his two gunmen (Lorre and Cook) find it. To do this she will need Spade’s help. Spade is up to the challenge but with the cops breathing down his neck for the murder of his partner (who DID kill him?) and more murders to come, Spade may be in over his head.
The Maltese Falcon is a classic.
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Saul Goodman Gets His Own Collectible Figure
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fans are going to be all over this Saul Goodman 1/6 scale figure.
The Saul Goodman figure stands approximately 12″ (30.5cm) tall, features an authentic likeness to the character portrayed in the critically acclaimed ‘Breaking Bad’ television series drama, and includes a finely tailored suit and some of Saul Goodman’s most essential accessories…
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12” (30.5cm) tall articulated figure featuring tailored clothing
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Head sculpt with realistic likeness to the character portrayed in the series
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Formal suit
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Formal red shirt
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Silk tie
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Gold pin
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Blue ribbon
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Pocket square
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Wingtip shoes
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One (1) Briefcase (openable)
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One (1) Gold Watch
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One (1) Laptop
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One (1) Newspaper
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One (1) Money rolls
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Six (6) interchangeable hands:
– One (1) pair of relaxed hands
– One (1) pair of fists
– One (1) right hand for holding
– One (1) right pointing hand
No Country for Old Men (2007)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Director: Ethan Coen and Joel Cohen
Screenplay: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin, Stephen Root, Rodger Boyce, Beth Grant, Kit Gwin, Gene Jones, Myk Watford and Kelly Macdonald.
The Pitch: “Hey, the Cohen Brothers want to make No Country for Old Men.”
Tagline: You can’t stop what’s coming.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
In the badlands of modern day Texas, Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) comes across a massacre – a massive drug deal that went sideways. Among the dead bodies Moss finds two million dollars in cash. Moss takes the money and leaves the scene unreported. When the drug dealers discover the missing money, they send Anton Chigurh, a psycho hitman (Bardeem) to track down the money. Chigurh kills without remorse and the bodies start piling up as he tracks Moss.
Once Moss realizes that someone is on to him he prepares for the worst having no idea how bad it will get.
No Country for Old Men is a modern day masterpiece. It is a film that will stick with you.
Rating:
Hell or High Water (2016)
Hell or High Water (2016)
Director: David Mackenzie
Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan
Stars: Ben Foster, Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges, Gil Birmingham and Gregory Cruz.
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s make a modern day western.”
Tagline: Justice isn’t a crime.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Two brothers, one an ex-con and one recently divorced, have a plan to pay off the family ranch’s reverse mortgage before the foreclosure deadline. Oil has been discovered on the ranch which will set them up for life, if the payment can be made to the Texas Midland Bank (which has a reputation of keeping people in debt until they can no longer pay and then taking their land).
Their plan involves robbing several Texas Midland Banks. Nobody is supposed to get hurt or killed. Of course we all know how such plans work out. And the brothers didn’t count on Texas Ranger, Marcus Hamilton.
Rating:
Conflict (1945)
Conflict (1945)
Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Screenplay: Arthur T. Horman & Dwight Taylor
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, Sydney Greenstreet, and Rose Hobart
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s reteam Bogie and Greensteet in a murder mystery.”
Tagline: SUSPENSE…SUSPICION…MAN-WOMAN DESIRES!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Richard Mason (Bogart) has fallen in love with his wife’s younger sister (Smith). When the opportunity arises and he has the perfect alibi, Mason kills his wife so he can begin putting the moves on little sis.
Things go sideways when his wife’s body is not found and strange things begin to happen making it appear she is still alive. Could she be or is Mason cracking up due to the strain of murder?
Rating:
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) starring Lana Turner & John Garfield / Z-View
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Director: Tay Garnett
Screenplay: Harry Ruskin Niven and Busch; based on THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M. Cain
Stars: Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway, Hume Cronyn, Leon Ames, Audrey Totter and Alan Reed.
Tagline: Their Love was a Flame that Destroyed!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Frank Chambers, a drifter stops at a diner and is offered a job by the middle-aged owner, Nick Smith. As Frank begins to turn down the work, he spots Cora, a very attractive waitress and changes his mind.
Soon enough Frank learns that Cora is Frank’s wife. Frank would be ready to move on except that Cora seems interested in him. Although both Frank and Cora attempt to fight the attraction, it’s strong and won’t be denied. It doesn’t take long until Frank and Cora are planning Nick’s demise.
And we all know how those things work out, don’t we?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Garfield and Turner definitely had chemistry. I love how each of them fights the attraction.
James M. Cain, who wrote the novel that the movie was based on, was so impressed with Lana Turner that he gave her a leather-bound copy of the book inscribed, “For my dear Lana, thank you for giving a performance that was even finer than I expected.”
The Postman Always Rings Twice has a couple of great twists. The cast and direction are top notch.
A classic.
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Double Indemnity (1944)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Director: Billy Wilder
Screenplay: Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler from the novel by James M. Cain
Stars: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson and Walter Huston
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s turn James Cain’s Double Indemnity into a movie!”
Tagline: From the Moment they met it was Murder!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Walter Neff [MacMurray], an insurance salesman, meets and falls hard for the wife [Stanwyck] of one of his clients. Before too long they’re plotting his murder to cash in on an insurance policy that Neff tricked him into buying. Because Neff is in the business he believes they can pull off the murder and make it look like an accident so they can collect on the double indemnity clause.
The only thing between them and the cash is to commit the murder and pull it off without a hitch or Neff’s partner figuring out it wasn’t an accident.
If you like noir, you’ll love Double Indemnity. Directed by Billy Wilder with snappy dialogue and mounting tension. If you only know MacMurray from My Three Sons or Stanwyck from The Big Valley, prepare to be shocked!
A classic.
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“John Wick” is Coming to Dynamite Comics in 2017
One of my favorite movies of the last few years was John Wick. I’m really looking forward to the sequel (February 10th) and now have a new comic series coming from Dynamite Comics. The comic series won’t adapt the movies but will instead tell new John Wick stories which I think is a very smart move.
Source: Bleeding Cool.
