Category: Crime

Everyone Knows “The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral”

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Everyone knows the story of The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Well, let me rephrase that.  Everybody thinks they know the story of The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

You’d be surprised at how many people think the gunfight really took place at the O.K. Corral.  [As an interesting side note, had the Cowboys stayed at the O.K. Corral, they wouldn’t have broken any city laws by wearing their guns, which of course was the “reason” for the confrontation between the Earps, Doc Holiday and the Cowboys.]

If you’d like to read a short, detailed and well written account of The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, by Eddie Deezen, you can, thanks to Neatorama.

“Sabotage” / Z-View

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The Pitch: ”Hey, let’s remake Agatha Christie’s ‘Ten Little Indians’ as a gritty thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

“Are you kidding?  No one will come to see that.”

“They will if we cut the trailers to make it look like an action movie!”

“Let’s do it!”

The Tagline:  “Leave No Loose Ends”

The Overview:  Forget what you saw in the trailers… or at least what you think you saw.

The trailers made Sabotage appear as a movie about an elite team of DEA agents led by Arnold Schwarzenegger who take down a cartel kingpin.  In retaliation for the bust, the team is set up to look as if they stole $10 million of drug money and Arnold’s wife and son are kidnapped by the cartel.  Following the set-up of the trailer, we wonder if someone on the team stole the money and will the team go to Mexico and save Arnold’s wife and son.

Well… that’s not exactly what the movie is about.

*** Beware –  spoilers are found below ***

Arnold is the leader of an elite team of DEA agents, but we learn very quickly that his wife and son were kidnapped, tortured and killed by Mexican drug dealers months ago.  We then see Arnold lead his team into a major drug raid that is exciting and violent.  Before the rest of the DEA force is brought in, Arnold’s team steals and hides ten million dollars.

Things go sideways when Arnold’s team goes back to retrieve the money and it’s gone.  To make matters worse the DEA realizes ten million dollars is missing and Arnold’s crew is suspect.  In addition to dealing with everyone suspecting them of stealing the cash, Arnold’s team has to wonder if the cartel is on to them or if one of the team members took the loot.  The stakes are raised when one by one the team begins to turn up brutally murdered.

The Good

  • David [Training Day, Street Kings] Ayer creates gritty cop thrillers and Sabotage is no exception.
  • The supporting cast which includes Sam Worthington, Joe Manganiello, Josh Holloway, Terrence Howard, Max Martini, Mireille Enos and Olivia Williams are excellent.
  • Sabotage gives us something different than expected.  I like that the trailer teased our expectations.
  • The movie feels real.  It is full of violence, profane language, and takes us into a world where brutality and death are ways of life.  This isn’t an action movie where dozens of people get killed and the hero quips one-liners.
  • I liked the ending.

The Bad:

  • Some people are going to be put off by the violence and profanity.  From what I had heard I went in expecting it to be much worse than it was. [Not that I wanted more.]
  • What happens when you cross drug dealers.
  • What happens when you can no longer trust your team.

The Ugly:

  • Parking on a train track.
  • Hanging out on the ceiling.
  • Not being able to see where you’re driving when you’re making an escape.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Schwarzenegger “Sabotaged” By Excessive Violence?

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Sabotage starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by David Ayer opens today.  By all accounts Sabotage is very, very violent.  While I don’t mind a “R” rated film, some reviews indicate that Sabotage goes too far.  I plan to see Sabotage today and judge for myself, but too much violence will keep away viewers and is really unnecessary.

IMPAwards has several Sabotage character posters on display… and not a single one is overly violent.

7 Really-Creepy Unsolved Murder Mysteries

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If you get queasy reading about grisly murders you’ll want to skip this blog post about 7 Unsolved Murder Mysteries to Keep You Up at Night.  They include…

1. Hinterkaifeck… six residents of Hinterkaifeck, a small farmstead in Germany, were murdered with a mattock (a tool similar to a pickaxe)…And days before the murder, Andreas told neighbors he’d discovered a strange set of footprints in the snow leading from the forest to the home, but not back. He’d also heard footsteps in the attic, and a set of keys went missing.

2. Villisca Axe Murders… A string of axe murders across the country prior to and following the Villisca murders closely resembled each other (mirrors in the house were covered; gloves were worn by the killer; a basin in which the murderer washed himself off found in the kitchen), but were never officially connected…

 

3. The Axeman of New Orleans… an axe murderer killed eight people in New Orleans and surrounding communities, with more victims suspected… The Axeman published a chilling letter in the newspaper which, in part, read: “I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians and your foolish police call the Axeman. When I see fit, I shall come and claim other victims. I alone know whom they shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody axe, besmeared with blood and brains of he whom I have sent below to keep me company.” …

4. The Moonlight Murders… unknown serial killer called the “Phantom Killer” shot 10 people (five of whom died) in and around Texarkana…

5. Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run… The official victim count is 12, but investigators believe the true number is likely higher. The Mad Butcher was so named for beheading and dismembering his victims…

6. Jack the Ripper… Several letters purporting to be from Jack himself were publicized around the time of the murders, including the one that appointed the name “Jack the Ripper,” though this one was later said to be a hoax. Another letter, known as the “From Hell letter,” in which the author claimed to have fried and eaten half of a victim’s kidney, was thought to be authentic. Delivered with the letter was a small piece of human kidney in a box…

7. The Zodiac Killer… Among the correspondence sent by the Zodiac killer to newspapers were four cryptograms, only one of which has been definitively decoded. It reads, in part: “I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN IT IS MORE FUN THAN KILLING WILD GAME IN THE FORREST MAN IS THE MOST DANGEROU[S] ANAMAL OF ALL” (sic)…

Read the full article for all the facts… if you dare!

How Many Gangs were in The Warriors?

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How many gangs were featured in Walter Hill’s cult classic The Warriors?

Let’s see…

There were, of course, the Warriors.

Everybody remembers the Baseball Furies.

The gang that called all gangs for a meet were the Gramercy Riffs.

Then there was the scary gang that rode [inside and outside] the school bus — the Turnbull AC’s.

The all girl gang was the Lizzies.

The gang that almost let the Warriors pass through their territory was the Orphans (so low on the gang food chain they weren’t even invited to the gathering).

The gang that set all other gangs on the Warriors were the Rouges.

There was a gang that dressed flashy and were only seen at the start and they were called the Boppers.

So I got 8.  Did you do better?

There were actually 21 street gangs featured in The Warriors and Mental Floss counts them down for us!

Louis Meyers: Evidence He Was the Zodiac Killer

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The photo on the left is Louis Meyers.  The drawing on the right is a police sketch of the Zodiac Killer.

The Zodiac Killer is responsible for 5 unsolved murders in the San Francisco area committed between 1968 and 1969.  The Zodiac Killer taunted police in letters to newspapers and claimed to have killed as many as 37 people.  The Zodiac Killer was never caught.

Louis Meyers died in 2002, but before he died Meyers confessed to his best friend, Randy Kenney, that he (Meyers) was the Zodiac Killer.  Meyers claimed that he picked the victims (usually couples in lovers lane or secluded spots) because his girlfriend broke up with him.

Evidence supporting Meyers claim he was the Zodiac Killer…

  • In 1976 Meyers told another friend, Bob Robitaille, that he (Meyers) was the Zodiac Killer but Robitalle didn’t believe him.
  • Meyers lived in the area of the Zodiac killings.
  • Meyers attended two schools that were also attended by two of the Zodiac’s victims.
  • Meyers also worked at the same restaurant as another of the Zodiac’s victims.
  • Meyers worked at military surplus store.  A military boot print was left at one of the Zodiac’s crime scenes.
  • Meyers was stationed overseas in the military from 1971 to 1973.  Authorities received no letters from the Zodiac Killer during this time period.

All of these facts are circumstantial, but authorities have now added Louis Meyers to the list of Zodiac Killer suspects.

Source: DailyMail

The White Suits #1 / Z-View

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The White Suits is a four issue mini-series created by Frank Barbiere & Toby Cypress published by Dark Horse Comics.

Writer: Frank Barbiere

Artist: Toby Cypress

Mysterious killers dressed in white, they savaged the Cold War Russian underworld—then disappeared. Now they have resurfaced in New York, leaving a trail of dead mobsters. In this bloody wake, an amnesiac and an FBI agent search for the answer to a single question: Who are the White Suits?

The Pitch: “Mysterious hit men, a resourceful female FBI agent with a personal quest and a tough guy suffering from retrograde amnesia.  What do ya say?”

“Let’s do it!”

The Tagline:  “Sometimes you can tear a memory wide open.”

The Overview: The White Suits, mysterious hit men who took on the Russian underworld, have resurfaced in the US and are now going after American mobsters.  Sarah Anderson was a little girl when her dad disappeared along with The White Suits.  How and why is a mystery.  She’s now a FBI agent now and wants answers.  We also have a man with a violent past who suffers from retrograde amnesia.  The three are on a violent collision course.”

*** Beware – minor spoilers are found below ***

The Good

  • Frank Barbiere creates a story that moves.  He has a lot of ground to cover but it never feels like exposition.
  • The White Suits is a crime comic that encompasses a mystery or two or three but never at the sake of action.
  • Cypress’ art is loose and unique.
  • The black and white art with a splash of color works!

The Bad:

  • What happens to mobsters when The White Suits show up.
  • Cypress’ art is loose… and won’t be to everyone’s taste.

The Ugly:

  • Automatic weapons in a crowded night club.

I’m a sucker for crime fiction.  Especially well done crime fiction.  The White Suits qualifies on both counts.  Bring on issue 2!

Rating: 3 out of 5