Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
I’m sure you’re aware that this version of Raymond Chandler’s classic Farewell, My Lovely has an all-star cast that includes Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland, Sylvia Miles, Anthony Zerbe, Harry Dean Stanton. Jack O’Halloran, Joe Spinell, and Sylvester Stallone. Did you know that it also features pulp writer Jim Thompson in his first and last acting role!
Man, I can not wait for this one. It will great to see Marv and the rest of the Sin City crew back up on the big screen.
Now if only Frank Miller would come up with some new Sin City yarns.
The art above is a just a small taste of the preview art by Darwyn Cooke for his adaptation of Donald Westlake’s [writing as Richard Stark] Slayground.
You can see much more at Comic Alliance’s: DARWYN COOKE ADAPTS A MASTERPIECE IN ‘RICHARD STARK’S PARKER: SLAYGROUND..
Natural News recently posted 10 Ways to Spot a Sociopath.
If you discover you have all the tells you’ll be in the same boat as the The Neuroscientist Who Discovered He Was a Psychopath.
Source: Smithsonion.com.
The Pitch: “Hey, We could remake “The Mechanic” with Jason Statham in the Charles Bronson role and Ben Foster in the Jan-Michael Vincent role.”
“Let’s do it!”
The Tagline: “Someone has to fix the problems.” [Where was this person when this remake was made?]
The Overview: Jason Statham is Author Bishop aka The Mechanic. Bishop is a hit man — the best in the business and able to kill without leaving a clue. Often his hits look like fatal accidents. Bishop works alone, is precise, methodical and logical. When Bishop’s mentor is killed, Bishop takes on the mentor’s son as an apprentice. This will lead to the death of many including one or both of them.
*** Beware – minor spoilers can be found below ***
The Good:
The Bad:
The Ugly:
Rating: 2 out of 5
The Pitch: “Hey, Sly has a great action screenplay that he was gonna use for Rambo available. It’s based on a book by Chuck Hogan. Sly says Jason Statham is up for the lead.”
“Let’s do it!”
The Tagline: “How far would you go to protect your home?”
The Overview: Jason Statham plays Phil Broker, a retired under-cover DEA agent who moved to rural Louisiana to raise his 9 year old daughter after the death of his wife. When his daughter bloodies the nose of a class bully (who happens the be the child of the local meth dealer) things quickly escalate and Statham’s past as a DEA agent becomes known. Soon an outlaw motorcycle gang and local thugs are both looking for revenge.
*** Beware – minor spoilers can be found below ***
The Good:
The Bad:
The Ugly:
Rating: 4 out of 5
When movie fans talk about the films of Alfred Hitchock the first ones mentioned are usually, Vertigo, Psycho, North by Northwest, and Rear Window. Often the list goes on a bit more before Rope is mentioned. And that’s too bad because many folks never get around to seeing it.
Rope stars Jimmy Stewart in Hitchock’s adaptation of a play based on the infamous Leopold-Loeb murder case. (Another excellent movie based on the Leopold-Loeb murder case is Compulsion starring Orson Welles, Dean Stockwell and Bradford Dillman.) It’s interesting to note that Hitchcock filmed Rope as if it was done with one continuous shot to keep the feel of a stage play!
Dead Body Road by Justin Jordan and Matteo Scalera is a six issue mini-series that tells the story of an ex-cop named Gage who is killing those he feels are responsible for his wife’s death. According to Jordan it’s amodern-day western, crime thriller, with noir sensibilities.
You can see more of the art and read an interview with Justin Jordan over at Newsarama.
The Pitch: “Hey, Jules Dassin the director behind American films such as “Brute Force” and “The Naked City” has been blacklisted in America. I bet we could get him on the cheap to make a low-budget heist film!”
“Let’s do it!”
The Tagline: “Rififi …means Trouble!”
The Overview: After returning home after a five-year stint in prison for a jewelry heist, Tony le Stéphanois is recruited by his old crime partners for a hit and run heist on a jewelry store. Tony declines, but later counters with a bigger plan… against all odds they’ll pull a robbery that will get them millions if they’re successful and dead if they’re not. Before it is over one of the crew will betray them. A child will be kidnapped and both the cops and gangsters will be after them.
The Good:
The Bad:
The Ugly:
Rating: 5 out of 5
Recently The Guardian posted their choices for the Top Ten Film Noir.
Their list is a good one and included:
10. They Live by Night
09. Kiss Me Deadly
08. Blood Simple
07. Lift to the Scaffold
06. The Third Man
05. Out of the Past
04. Double Indemnity
03. Touch of Evil
02. Chinatown
01. The Big Sleep
Yeah, that’s a nice list. I’ve seen 8 of the 10 [missing out on They Live by Night and Lift to the Scaffold].
If I were to quibble, I’d move Double Indemnity to the #1 spot and move something out to bring in The Postman Always Rings Twice [original version, thank you].
Your eyes aren’t deceiving ya.
That is a sample of some of the preview art by Darwyn Cooke for his adaptation of Donald Westlake’s [writing as Richard Stark] Slayground.
The art is on display at Donald Westlake’s site and can be seen here.
Source: Almost Darwyn Cooke’s Blog.
Pulp a one shot self-published
Writer: Jeremy Holt
Artist: Chris Peterson
Pulp is a 24 page one shot comic written by Jeremy Holt and illustrated, lettered and colored by Chris Peterson. It’s a ‘film noir’ type tale of solitude and how obsession plays on the psyche. Includes pinup by Brian Level.
Pulp is the tale of John Merchant, an obsessed writer [is there any other kind] and how he achieved his fame. The writing and art meld perfectly. The story is a simple one, but told with a level of complexity that makes it all the more surprising as the reveals become clear. I’ve read it three times so far and appreciate it more with each reading. Pulp could have easily been titled Noir because it represents both genres so well.
Jeremy Holt and Chris Peterson are creators that I am going to watch. They’ve created a comic more than worth the price of admission. I look forward to seeing what they cook up next.
Pulp gets my highest recommendation with the understanding that this is a comic for mature audiences and not kids. If you’re a fan of crime comics, pulp fiction, and noir, then Pulp is for you!
Rating: 5 out of 5
According to this article in the New York Times, Bob Weinstein is…
…hoping to quickly follow the August release of the film “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For,” directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, with a “Sin City” television series from Mr. Miller and Mr. Rodriguez.
Man, I hope that comes to pass. A Sin City television series, especially if overseen by Miller and Rodriguez could be so cool.
I’d hope that the series would be an anthology of overlapping stories and characters rather than just follow one or a couple of the characters. This would open up the series which already has so much potential.
I’ll post more news as it becomes available.
Source: Coming Soon.
“Hey Craig, do you think Cymberline will be any good?”
I don’t know. What’s Cymberline about?
“Kings. Queens. Soldiers. Bikers. War.”
Ok, you’ve got my interest. Tell me more.
“It’s an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Cymberline.”
Huh? Really? Ok. It has a good cast. Let’s see the trailer.
Did you catch this interview with Frank Darabont by AJ Marechal that ran in Variety? Darabont talks about his departure from The Walking Dead and how it led to Mob City.
I’m a Darabont fan and hope that Mob City kills it in ratings. I have no doubt that critics will dig it.
