Category: Crime

“Duster” (2025) created by J.J. Abrams & LaToya Morgan; starring Josh Holloway, Rachel Hilson and Keith David / Z-View

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“Duster” (2025)

Created by: J. J. Abrams, LaToya Morgan

Teleplay by:

  • (eps. 1; 3) J. J. Abrams & LaToya Morgan
  • (ep. 2) LaToya Morgan & J. J. Abrams
  • (ep. 4) Sue Chung
  • (ep. 5) Lucas Brown Eyes
  • (ep. 6) Matt Lambert
  • (ep. 7) Michael Horowitz
  • (ep. 8) LaToya Morgan

Directed by:

  • Steph Green (eps. 1-2; 5-6)
  • Darren Grant  (eps. 3-4; 7-8)

Stars: Josh Holloway, Rachel Hilson, Asivak Koostachin, Sydney Elisabeth Smith, Benjamin Charles Watson, Camille Guaty, Adriana Aluna Martinez, Greg Grunberg, Evan Jones, Sofia Vassilieva, Jonathan Dixon, Corbin Bernsen, Kevin Chamberlin, Matt Lauria, Gail O’Grady and Keith David.

Tagline: Everyone needs an inside man.

The Plot…

The year is 1972.  Nina Hayes, the F.B.I.’s first Black female agent is assigned to the Phoenix, Arizona office.  There she is expected to keep a low profile and not rock the boat as she works on the Ezra Saxton case.  Saxton is a Black crime kingpin for the area.  Nina thinks she may have an “in” by turning Jim Ellis, Saxton’s getaway driver.

Jim is a trusted family friend of Saxon’s.  In fact Jim’s older brother worked for Saxon as well.  Saxon loved his brother like a son.  When Jim’s brother was murdered, Jim took his spot in the organization.  There’s no way Jim would betray Saxton.

When Nina shares evidence with Jim that Saxton may have been behind his brother’s murder, all bets are off.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Duster is a fun ride.  Josh Holloway is perfect as Jim Ellis. I’m surprised we don’t see Holloway more often in big productions.  Duster was a great, uh, vehicle for his talents.

I’d never seen Rachel Hilson before.  She’s wonderful as the young, outsider set to solve a case.  Hilson and Holloway had great on-screen chemistry.

Keith David is always good.  He’s perfectly cast as Saxon.

Duster features one of the coolest openings before each episode.  Watch for slight changes as the season progresses.  Very clever.  Very fun.

It’s unfortuante that Duster wasn’t renewed for Season 2.  It currently has a 7.2 rating on IMDb.  At Rotten Tomatoes it currently sits with 93% from reviewers and 85% from users of the site.  So people did enjoy Duster.  Sadly, not enough tuned in when it premiered for the greenlight for a second season.

If you haven’t seen Duster, you should give it a try.

“Duster” (2025) earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Final Score” starring Dave Bautista, Ray Stevenson and Pierce Brosnan / Z-View

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Final Score (2018)

Director:  Scott Mann

Screenplay: David T. Lynch, Keith Lynch, Jonathan Frank

Stars: Dave Bautista, Ray Stevenson, Martyn Ford, Gordon Alexander, Peter Pedrero, Craig Conway, Bill Fellows and Pierce Brosnan.

Tagline: 35,000 lives. 90 minutes. No extra time.

The Plot…

Michael Knox, an ex-U.S. soldier visiting London, takes his teenage niece to a soccer game.  When terrorists take control of the stadium, it is up to Knox to save the day.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

If you said that Final Score sounds like “Die Hard in a Stadium“, you wouldn’t be wrong.  If you said that Final Score sounds like a knock-off of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Sudden Death you’d be right.

Final Score (2018) rates 2 of 5 stars.

The Batman Who Strikes Fear Into the Hearts of Evil-Doers by Dustin Nguyen!

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Batman is a character that can work in just about any setting/genre.  Is your Batman the world’s greatest detective?  Do you prefer Batman when played as camp?  Or maybe you like Batman teamed with other superheroes?  Would you prefer as much time be given to Bruce Wayne?  Maybe you like Batman as a mentor to Robin?  Then again, maybe an old man Batman like Frank Miller cooked up is the one that resonates best for you?

While I’ve enjoyed all the versions of Batman described above (and many more), my favorite has always been the Batman that is a creature of the night.  The Batman who just being seen strikes fear into the hearts of evil-doers.  The Batman that is never seen in daylight and is thought by some to be an urban legend.  You know, the kind of Batman in the drawing above by Dustin Nguyen.

“Brothers by Blood” aka “The Sound of Philadelphia” (2020) / Z-View

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Brothers by Blood aka The Sound of Philadelphia (2020)

Director:  Jeremie Guez

Screenplay: Jeremie Guez; based on BROTHERLY LOVE by Pete Dexter

Stars: Matthias Schoenaerts, Joel Kinnaman, Maika Monroe, Nicholas Crovetti, Antoni Corone, Michael McFadden, Joshua Lacey and Ryan Phillippe.

Tagline: Loyalty Has a Price

The Plot…

Peter and Michael are cousins raised together in a family of criminals from childhood.  Now adults, the two of positions of power within the Irish mob.  Tensions have been high between the Irish and Italians.  To make matters worse, Peter’s behavior has grown increasingly erratic.  Michael will need to make some tough choices before they are made for him.  He will also have to come to grips with the tragedy that cost his sister and father’s lives years ago.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I was expecting more.

Brothers by Blood aka The Sound of Philadelphia (2020) rates 3 of 5 stars.

Sly Stallone is The Tulsa King by Rich Hennemann!

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Rich Hennemann is a freelance artist. A few years ago I picked up his sketchbook and a sketch and I was hooked. Since then I’ve gotten several sketches from Rich.

For this piece I requested Sly Stallone as Dwight Manfredi from the hit television series Tulsa King.   Rich absolutely nailed it.  I couldn’t be more pleased.  There will be more art from Rich in my future.  If you’re a sketch collector, you owe it to yourself to get a piece as well.

“Nuremberg” – The Trailer is Here!

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Judgment is coming.
The official trailer #1 for NUREMBERG, only in theaters November 7.

The Allies, led by the unyielding chief prosecutor, Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), have the task of ensuring the Nazi regime answers for the unveiled horrors of the Holocaust while a US Army psychiatrist (Rami Malek) is locked in a dramatic psychological duel with former Reichsmarschall Herman Göring (Russell Crowe).

Written & Directed by: James Vanderbilt
Based on the Book: THE NAZI AND THE PSYCHIATRIST By Jack El-Hai

Starring: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Leo Woodall, and Michael Shannon

“Ivory King” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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We have the poster and trailer for Ivory King.

Deal me in.

King Ivory features a star-studded ensemble including James Badge Dale (The Departed), Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), Michael Mando (“Better Call Saul”), Rory Cochrane (Black Mass), Ritchie Coster (The Dark Knight), George Carroll (The Town), Sam Quartin (Candy Land), newcomer Jasper Jones, Academy Award®-nominee Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves), and Academy Award®-winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter).

Based upon extensive research with law enforcement, gangs, inmates, migrants, and addicts, all walks of life intersect in this fentanyl exposé. With potency one hundred times that of heroin and nearly undetectable at the border, fentanyl has flooded the market, triggering a tidal wave of overdoses, crime, and addiction.

Work hits too close to home for Tulsa drug cop, Layne West (Dale), when his son, Jack (Jones), becomes an addict. In conjunction with his partner, Ty (Carroll), and FBI counterpart, Beatty (Cochrane), West makes it his mission to take down those responsible, including the Mexican cartel’s local shot-caller, Ramón Garza (Mando), Indian Brotherhood War Chief, Holt Lightfeather (Greene), who controls state-wide trafficking from inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester a.k.a. “Big Mac,” and the local Irish Mob family outfit, led by George “Smiley” Greene (Foster), along with his mother, Ginger (Leo), and uncle, Mickey (Coster). As Holt educates West: “The cartels want your kids, the next generation, who want what is new, and fentanyl is new.”