Category: Crime

“Beverly Hills Cop” (1984) starring Eddie Murphy / Z-View

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Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Director: Martin Brest

Screenplay:  Daniel Petrie Jr.; story by Danilo Bach, Daniel Petrie Jr.

Stars:  Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher, Ronny Cox, Steven Berkoff, James Russo, Jonathan Banks, Stephen Elliott, Gilbert R. Hill, Paul Reiser, Frank Pesce, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot.

Tagline: He’s been chased, thrown through a window, and arrested. Eddie Murphy is a Detroit cop on vacation in Beverly Hills.

The Plot…

Axel Foley is a quick-witted Detroit street cop who doesn’t play by the rules.  Axel is surprised when Mikey, his ex-con childhood friend,  suddenly shows up.  Mikey says he’s doing well and living in Beverly Hills now.

That night Mikey is killed.  It turns out he was in possession of German bearer bonds.

Axel takes vacation time and heads to Beverly Hills to find Mikey’s killers.

The heat is on!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

At one point, Sylvester Stallone was attached to star in Beverly Hills Cop.  Although it was intended to be a comedy, Stallone’s rewrite took out the humor and made it more of a straight action film.  That wasn’t want the producers wanted.  Sly bowed out with the understanding he could keep his script ideas.  Stallone turned those ideas into his film Cobra.

Eddie Murphy, John Ashton and Judge Reinhold improvised many of their lines.

Bronson Pinchot’s Serge was supposed to interact with another store salesman and Axel Foley. Pinchot’s improvs and accent were so funny, the other salesman’s part was substantially reduced and Pinchot’s role increased.

The movie proved so popular in test screenings, Paramount approved sequels before the film’s official release.

Beverly Hills Cop features the feature film debut of Damon Wayans.  He is listed in the credits as Banana Man.

The mansion that appears in the final shootout was once owned by silent film star Harold Lloyd.  The estate was also used in the final shootout in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s film Commando.  Ironically, in both films a character named Jenny was being rescued.

Director Martin Brest appears as the desk clerk who checks Axel out of the hotel at the end of the film.

Beverly Hills Cop is a great comedy/action film.  It leans more into comedy than action, but there is a heaping helping of both.

Beverly Hills Cop (1984) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Psycho Killer” (2026) / Z-View

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Psycho Killer (2026)

Director: Gavin Polone

Screenplay:  Andrew Kevin Walker

Stars:  Georgina Campbell, James Preston Rogers, Malcolm McDowell

Tagline: Meet your new nightmare.

The Plot…

Jane Archer, like her husband Mike, is a Nebraska Highway Patrol officer.  Jane is going off duty when over the radio she hears that Mike has pulled a car over.  Since she’s near Jane decides to swing by.

Mike says for Jane to head on home.  It’s a simple traffic stop.  As Jane drives away, she sees her husband gunned down.  The killer takes off as Jane’s attempts to save Mike fail.

Jane is convinced that her husband was killed by a serial killer the press has named The Satanic Slasher.  This psycho killer is a behemoth who has left dozens of corpses all across the Midwest.  At each crime scene the police find bizarre occult symbols.

Jane takes time off.  She believes that The Satanic Slasher isn’t randomly traveling the country.  She’s convinced the killer has a destination in mind.  If she can figure it out and get there first, she can finish him.

What Jane and no one knows is this psycho killer has an endgame in mind that will exponentially increase his number of victims and shock the world.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Psycho Killer took a looong time to get made.  Andrew Kevin Walker finished the script in 2007.  In 2009, Fred Durst was set to direct with Eli Roth as the producer.  Gavin Polone, who ended up directing the film, signed on in 2010!

I was surprised. Psycho Killer was better than I expected.  It remined me of the type of movies I’d see at drive-ins in the 70s.  Perhaps nostalgia got the best of me.  Your mileage, as always, may vary.

Psycho Killer (2026) rates 3 of 5 stars.

DOWN THERE aka SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER by David Goodis / Z-View

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SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER by David Goodis

First sentences…

There were no street lamps, no lights at all.  It was a narrow street in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia.  From the nearby Delaware a cold wind came lancing in, telling all the alley cats they’d better find a heated cellar.  The late November gusts rattled against the midnight-darkened windows, and stabbed at the eyes of the fallen man in the street.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Eddie Lynn is a piano player in a small jazz club. Eddie comes in each night, plays the piano and keeps to himself. Eddie is an enigma. Always quiet.  Never talks about his past.  But boy, can he make the piano sing.

One night when Eddie is playing, a man rushes in. He’s Eddie’s estranged brother on the run from two thugs who aren’t far behind. Eddie wants no part of his brother’s problem, yet he can’t stand by and do nothing. The choice to get involved will expose Eddie’s past, drag him into a world of crime and result in several murders.

Will Eddie survive?

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DOWN THERE, David Goodis’ classic crime novel was written in 1956.  It was adapted into a 1960 French film by François Truffaut.  The film was titled Shoot the Piano Player. Some reprints of Goodis’ novel use the SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER title.

Although based on David Goodis’ classic noir novel, DOWN THERE, the screenplay makes significant changes to the protagonist.  In the movie his name is Charlie, in the novel it is Eddie. In the movie Charlie is small, shy and passive.  In the novel, Eddie is physically imposing and he projects confidence.  Eddie chooses to be private for an unknown reason.  Charlie is naturally introverted.

I like the film adaptation, but the novel is better.  Much better.

DOWN THERE is one of my all-time favorite novels.  It’s hardboiled noir at its best.

Rating:

“The Bride!” (2026) written & directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale / Z-View

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The Bride! (2026)

Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Screenplay:  Maggie Gyllenhaal; based on FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley

Stars:  Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal, Penélope Cruz.

Tagline: Here comes the mother f*%#ing BRIDE!

The Plot…

Mary Shelley, the author of FRANKENSTEIN, had another story she wanted to tell.  Sadly she died before she could write it.  But she’s not letting that stop her…

1930s.  Chicago.  Ida, a dame who hangs around mobsters, suddenly becomes possessed. During a rant, Ida falls down a flight of stairs and dies.

Frankenstein’s monster has traveled the world and settled in Chicago.  He’s assumed the identity of a gangster named Frank.  Frank has learned that Dr. Cornelia Euphronius is working to bring the dead back to life.  Frank gets Dr. Euphronius to create a companion for him.  She uses Ida’s corpse.

Ida has no memory of her past life.  Frank tells her she was his bride.  Together they go on a crime spree of, uh, monstrous proportions.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Bride is not for everyone.  It’s an outrageous mash-up of genres that include horror, romance, gangster, musical and comedy.

I appreciate what was attempted, but for me it was a swing and a miss.  Your mileage, as always, may differ.

The Bride! (2026) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Motor City” starring Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, Pablo Schreiber & Ben Foster – The Trailer is Here!

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I’m diggin’ how this Motor City poster and trailer have a throwback to the 70s feel.

Deal me in.

In 1970s Detroit, a working-class romantic is framed by a ruthless gangster after falling for his girlfriend. After years in prison, he returns with only one mission: revenge.

In Theaters July 24th

Directed by: Potsy Ponciroli
Starring: Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, Pablo Schreiber, Ben Foster

“Bang” (2025) starring Jack Kesy and Peter Weller / Z-View

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Bang (2025)

Director: Wych Kaosayananda

Screenplay:  Peter M. Lenkov, Ken Solarz

Stars:  Jack Kesy, Peter Weller.

Tagline: Once a killer, now the mark.

The Plot…

William Bang is the best hitman in Morgan Cutter’s organization.  Bang is an efficient, heartless killer. He always gets the job done.  When a rival ambushes Bang, shooting him seven times in the chest, it appears Cutter’s number one man is a goner.

But an emergency heart transplant saves Bang.

Bang recovers.  He learns that the heart he was given came from a kind man who was newly married and expecting a child.  Bang develops a conscience.  Bang has, if you will, a change of heart.  Bang decides to give up his life of crime and become a better person.

This doesn’t sit well with Cutter.  If Bang won’t kill for him, then by gosh, he’ll have Bang killed.  Cutter orders everyone in his criminal organization to find and kill Bang.

Bang not only had a miraculous change of, ahem, heart in his attitude, but for a guy who just survived an emergency heart transplant, he’s physically ready as well.

Bring on the bad guys!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

A heartless hitman named Bang who has a change of heart after getting a heart transplant.  THAT says it all.

Bang (2025) rates 2 of 5 stars.

THE GIRL WITH THE DEEP BLUE EYES by Lawrence Block / Z-View

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THE GIRL WITH THE DEEP BLUE EYES by Lawrence Block

First sentence…

The phone woke him from a dream.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Gallatin County Florida Sheriff William Radburn has information that Lisa Otterbein plans to have her husband killed.  A local no-good snitched to Radburn after being approached by Lisa.  She was looking for a killer.  Someone to murder her wealthy husband.

So Sheriff Radburn decides to set up a sting.  If Radburn gets Lisa on tape asking a hitman to murder her husband, she will go to prison and a life will be saved.  Radburn approaches Doak Miller.  Miller is a retired New York City cop with 24 years of service.  Miller recently moved to Gallatin County after his wife divorced him.  Miller is new to the area, experienced and could pass as a killer.

Radburn meets with Miller and lays out the plan.  Miller will wear a wire, act as the hitman, and record Lisa asking him to kill her husband.

Miller meets with Lisa.  She’s beautiful.  More than beautiful really.  Stunning. With amazing deep blue eyes.  Miller is attracted to her.  But he has a job to do.  Miller says all the right things and gets Lisa’s responses on tape.

Radburn is surprised when he listens to the recording.  Lisa doesn’t want a hitman.  She doesn’t want her husband killed.  Sure, their marriage has hit a rough patch, but kill him?  Never.  Miller says his experience dealing with criminals and liars tells him Lisa is telling the truth.  The sheriff was given bad info.

Except he wasn’t.

Miller told Lisa how to respond.  Practiced his questions and her answers until they sounded right.  THEN he recorded the exchanges.

Now Miller and Lisa are heading into a red hot affair and planning a cold-blooded murder.

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Lawrence Block wrote this in 2015, but it has the feel of the erotic tales he wrote under pseudonyms at the start of his career.  If you’re a fan of tales like DOUBLE INDEMNITY and THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, this one is for you.

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“Tuner” starring Leo Woodall, Havana Rose Liu and Dustin Hoffman – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I don’t know how, but Tuner flew under my radar until someone posted about it on my forum (https://craigzablo.proboards.com/).  Tuner has a unique concept, an interesting poster, a good cast and a trailer that works.

Deal me in.

In #tuner, Academy Award-winning director Daniel Roher’s first narrative feature, Leo Woodall stars as a gifted young piano tuner whose heightened sense of hearing draws the attention of criminals, who see his talents as useful for opening safes as for tuning Steinways.

With his once-promising musical career over, he works across New York with his mentor Harry Horowitz (Academy Award-winner Dustin Hoffman), encountering a range of characters, including composition student Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu), with whom he forges an unexpected connection. Niki’s safecracking work threatens his budding romance with Ruthie and pulls him into increasingly dangerous territory. Blending romance, drama, and the taut suspense of a heist thriller, TUNER also features performances from Tony Award-winner Tovah Feldshuh, Jean Reno, and Lior Raz.

LEATHER MAIDEN by Joe Lansdale / Z-View

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LEATHER MAIDEN by Joe R. Lansdale

First sentences…

When you grow up in a place, especially if your childhood is a good one, you fail to notice a lot of the nasty things that creep beneath the surface and wiggle about like hungry worms in rotten flesh.  But they’re there.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Cason Statler, a Gulf War vet and Pulitzer Prize-nominated reporter was on top of the world.  Then he blew it. Cason had an affair with his boss’ wife… and the boss’ thirty-year-old stepdaughter.  That cost Cason his job… and his reputation.

So Cason returned to his small hometown of Camp Rapture, Texas where he was able to get a job as a reporter for the local newspaper.  It’s a big step down for a Pulitzer Prize nominee.  Cason is drinking too much.  He’s fighting jealous feelings towards his older brother who is a happily married college professor.  Plus Cason is spending too much time checking up on his ex-wife.

One day digging through old files, Cason discovers the unsolved murder of Caroline Allison.  Caroline was an intelligent college student who just vanished.  The only clue was her abandoned car.  Cason realizes this could be his ticket back to the big leagues.  He begins a series of articles about Caroline.  As Cason digs deeper he discovers other linked crimes of blackmail, torture and murder.  Worse still Cason’s brother is somehow involved.

Cason has no choice but to keep digging, no matter the cost.

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Joe Lansdale has written another winner.

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