Category: Crime

High Sierra (1941) / Z-View

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High Sierra (1941)

Director:  Raoul Walsh

Screenplay: John Huston and W.R. Burnett from a novel by W.R. Burnett

Stars: Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Curtis, Henry Hull and Cornell Wilde.

The Pitch: “Raoul Walsh. John Huston. WR Burnett. Ida Lupino. Bogart.”

Tagline: “The Blazing Mountain Manhunt for Killer ‘Mad-Dog’ Earle!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Roy Earl [Bogart] an infamous bank robber [think Dillinger] is sprung from prison by an old crime boss who wants Earl for a big robbery.  Obligated for his freedom, Earl drives west to check out the set up.

Once he meets up with his old boss, Earl discovers the robbery plan is good and the money is right, but his partners are young, inexperienced thugs looking to make a name for themselves… plus they have a woman [Lupino] with them and everyone knows women weaken legs and crime plans don’t work out.

Before it is over there will be a robbery, people killed, double-crosses and a manhunt for the “Mad Dog Killer” Roy Earl.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

11 Complicated Facts About “Shaft”

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Kristin Hunt and Mental_Floss present 11 Complicated Facts About Shaft.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. A WHITE NEWSPAPER REPORTER CREATED SHAFT.
John Shaft made his debut in Shaft, a novel by Ernest Tidyman. Tidyman was a reporter for The Cleveland News, The New York Post, and The New York Times before he began writing the Shaft series, which included seven detective stories. Along with John D.F. Black, he adapted his first Shaft book into the screenplay for the first film. He would later go on to write the screenplays for The French Connection (1971) and High Plains Drifter (1973) as well as Shaft’s Big Score! (1972) and the Shaft TV series (1973-1974). His work earned him an NAACP Image Award.

3. SHAFT’S MUSTACHE WAS NON-NEGOTIABLE.
The Los Angeles fiasco was behind him, but Parks immediately faced another scare when he spied his star, Richard Roundtree, heading to the bathroom with a towel and razor. Producer Joel Freeman had asked him to get rid of his soon-to-be legendary mustache. Parks told Roundtree emphatically, “Shave it off and you’re out of a job.” And with that, the ‘stache stayed in the picture.

11. THERE’S A SHAFT COMIC BOOK SERIES.
There hasn’t been a new Shaft movie since the 2000 reboot starring Samuel L. Jackson, but Dynamite Entertainment began printing a Shaft comic book series in 2014. The comics are penned by David F. Walker, who also published the first Shaft novel in over 40 years this February. The latest comic series finds Shaft as a part-time consultant on a blaxploitation movie; Walker intended this meta subplot to be a commentary on “clueless producers who think they have their finger on the pulse of blackness.” And yes, that was an intended slam on the upcoming remake.

West of Zanzibar (1928) / Z-View

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West of Zanzibar (1928)

Director:  Todd Browning

Screenplay:  Elliott J. Clawson

Stars: Lon Chaney, Lionel Barrymore and Mary Nolan .

The Pitch: “Let’s make a movie with Lon Chaney directed by Todd Browning!”

Tagline: “A story of love and revenge in the African jungles!”

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A magician named Phroso [Chaney] discovers his wife has been having an affair with a man named Crane [Barrymore].  Phroso confronts Crane, and during their fight is thrown over a rail, breaking his back and leaving him paralyzed and alone.

Later his wife returns only to die a short time later.  Before she dies Phroso learns that she had a daughter and Crane is now an ivory dealer in Africa.  Phroso heads to Africa with the child and plots his revenge.  First his makes sure that his wife’s daughter is raised in a brothel so that she grows up to be a drug-addicted prostitute.  Then he  takes on the persona “Dead Legs” and over the course of nearly two decades builds his criminal empire.

Once the time is right, Phroso brings the grown daughter to him so that he can extract his final revenge on her and Crane.  Dark stuff, indeed and with a twist [although easily seen coming] worthy of the Twilight Zone.

Rating:

Badlands (1973) / Z-View

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Badlands (1973)

Director:  Terrence Malick

Screenplay: Terrence Malick

Stars: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates and Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen and Terrence Malick.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a movie based on the killing spree of Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate.”

Tagline: “In 1959 a lot of people were killing time. Kit and Holly were killing people.”

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Kit [Sheen] is a twenty-something garbage man with a lot of swagger.  Holly [Spacek] is a fifteen year old school girl who falls for Kit.  They see each other secretly until her father  [Oates] discovers the affair and forbids Holly to see Kit again.

Kit comes to take Holly away and ends up killing her father.  Holly decides to run away with Kit.  This begins their cross-country killing spree.

Rating:

Tell (2014) / Z-View

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Tell (2014)

Director:  J.M.R. Luna

Screenplay: Timothy Williams

Stars: Milo Ventimiglia, Katee Sackhoff, Jason Lee and Robert Patrick.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a crime movie with supporting players!”

No Tagline.

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Ethan Tell [Ventimiglia] reluctantly joins in on a big heist and ends up in possession of a million dollars.  Now that he has the money, how will he keep his crime partner, his wife [Sackhoff], his parole officer and a couple of corrupt cops from killing him and taking the money.

I was expecting more.

Rating:

American Heist (2014) / Z-View

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American Heist (2014)

Director:  Sarik Andreasyan

Screenplay: Raul Inglis

Stars: Hayden Christensen, Adrien Brody, Jordana Brewster and Akon.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a crime movie!”

No Tagline

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

James Kelly [Christensen]’s older brother, Frankie [Brody], just got out of prison for a crime they did together.  Now Frankie’s back in town just at the time James was making a real go of things with his business and girlfriend.

Despite his best efforts, James gets pulled into a bank heist that could cost him everything.

Rating:

Wild Card (2015) / Z-View

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Wild Card (2015)

Director:  Simon West

Screenplay: William Goldman

Stars: Jason Statham, Milo Ventimiglia, Stanley Tucci, Sofía Vergara, Jason Alexander and Anne Heche.

The Pitch: “Jason Statham and a bunch of star cameos in a William Goldman script about a Vegas bodyguard.”

Tagline: “Never bet against a man with a killer hand.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Nick Wild [Statham] is a Vegas bodyguard who helps a female friend out of a tough situation only to learn that he was messing with the son of a powerful mobster.  What’s a bodyguard to do but play the hand he was dealt.

I’m a Jason Statham fan, but Wild Card was a letdown.  I was disappointed that most of the all-star cast show for a scene or two and then are never to be seen again.  It also didn’t help that Wild is a gambler who does something very stupid towards the end of the movie. Stanley Tucci is great in his limited screen time.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars.

Triple 9 (2016) / Z-View

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Triple 9 (2016)

Director: John Hillcoat

Screenplay: Matt Cook

Stars: Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Aaron Paul, Kate Winslet, Gal Godot and Norman Reedus.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a gritty crime movie — look at the cast we have lined up!”

The Tagline: “A deadly heist needs a killer distraction”

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A crew of dirty cops are being blackmailed.  In order to get out from under, the cops plan a huge heist during a Triple 9 (that they will manufacture).  A triple 9 is code for “cop down” and the cop going down is the rookie not in their crew.

I was hoping for more [look at that cast!], but I did like Triple 9.

Rating:
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Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry

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Kill Switch by Jonathan Maberry

What do you do when the power goes off?

 

  • Terrorists have acquired a terrible new weapon that can crash the power grid and plunge America into a new dark age. A coordinated attack is planned to shut out all lights and emergency services to ten major cities. Planes will fall, hospitals will go dark, no help will come.
  • And in that terrible darkness, a dreadful plague will be released. If the lights go off, nothing can stop the bioweapon from killing millions.
  • At the same time, the intelligence services are being torn apart from within by a plague of betrayal, murder, and suicide. Even the Department of Military Sciences is stumbling in its response to the growing threat.
  • Time is running out, and Joe is being hunted by a terrifying new kind of assassin. A team of remote viewers have the ability to take over any person and turn ordinary citizens into killers. Where can you turn when there’s nobody left to trust?
  • Joe Ledger faces his deadliest challenge as friends and allies become enemies and all of the lights begin to go out…

Maberry puts the DMS in the worst place yet against perhaps their toughest adversaries.  The clock is ticking down to an bio-weapon attack on ten cities.  The terrorists have the ability to take over the minds of anyone to do their bidding and the DMS has been ordered to stand down by the President.

You know that’s not going to happen.  Sadly people we have grown to know and care for are going to die trying to save our country.  Maberry creates characters that feel real so when we lose them (and we do throughout the course of the series) it hurts.

Kill Switch mixes just the right amount of actions (tons), suspense (much), and humor (as needed) to propel you to the bloody climax.  I can’t wait for Ledger’s next mission!

Rating:

‘The Shield’ Writers Talk Where Vic Mackey Is Now – Let’s Bring Back “The Shield”

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“I have some ideas where Vic Mackey is, but I don’t know where Vic Mackey is until someone puts me in a writers’ room with a group of these people and some people who aren’t here and give us a week to sort it out,” Shield creator, Shawn Ryan said, pointing to the rest of The Shield writers on stage, including Kurt Sutter, Glen Mazzara, Scott Rosenbaum and Chic Eglee.

Shawn Ryan said this to an audience at the ATX TV Festival last Saturday.  I sure hope someone at FX was listening.  Who wouldn’t love to see a Shield mini (or even on-going) series?  It worked with 24.  FOX is doing it with Prison Break.  C’mon FX, let’s do this!

Source: Deadline.com.

Sly Stallone to Star & Jim Mickle Set to Direct…

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Sly Stallone is set to star in a film currently titled Godforsaken (although the name will change) as an…

…aging ex-con with more regrets than memories. Upon hearing about his son’s death his solitude is quickly broken as he must now protect the only family he has left and avenge a son he hardly knew.

Jim [Cold in July] Mickle is on board to direct for STX Entertainment.

Source: Deadline.

Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Notebook

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I can’t imagine a book that movie fans will want more than Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Notebook.

When Coppola realized that he would direct The Godfather, he re-read Mario Puzo’s novel and made important notations right on the book’s pages. Check out the example below or better yet, click here, to see a full-size version.

The notations would be Coppola’s road map to make The Godfather and he considered them as important as the screenplay.  Coppola explains his process and importance of making his Godfather Notebook in the video below.

The Godfather Notebook will reprint Francis Ford Coppola’s notes and annotations on The Godfather novel by Mario Puzo.  I can’t wait to get my mits on a copy.  “Leave the gun, and take the cannoli… and The Godfather Notebook.”

Ridley Scott to Direct S. Craig Zahler’s Wraiths of the Broken Land

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Ridley Scott is set to direct an adaptation of S. Craig Zahler’s novel Wraiths of the Broken Land. Drew Goddard will take the screenwriting reins.

This is an all-star team:  

  • Ridley Scott is the acclaimed director of Gladiator, Blade Runner, Alien and so many more fan favorite films.
  • S. Craig Zahler is the writer and director of Bone Tomahawk as well as the up-coming Brawl on Cell Block 99.
  • Drew Goddard is known for his work on Netflix’s Daredevil, The Martian, World War Z and more.

As for Wraiths of the Broken Land, here’s how Amazon describes it…

A brutal and unflinching tale that takes many of its cues from both cinema and pulp horror, Wraiths of the Broken Land is like no Western you’ve ever seen or read. Desperate to reclaim two kidnapped sisters who were forced into prostitution, the Plugfords storm across the badlands and blast their way through Hell. This gritty, character-driven piece will have you by the throat from the very first page and drag you across sharp rocks for its unrelenting duration. Prepare yourself for a savage Western experience that combines elements of Horror, Noir and Asian ultra-violence. You’ve been warned.

 

Source: ComingSoon.