Category: Crime

“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” starring Gerard Butler & O’Shea Jackson – The Final Trailer is Here!

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The Den of Thieves 2 final trailer is here.
Deal me in.

Gerard Butler (Plane, Has Fallen series) and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton, Godzilla: King of the Monsters) return in the sequel to 2018’s action-heist hit Den of Thieves.

In DEN OF THIEVES: PANTERA, Big Nick (Butler) is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie (Jackson), who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world’s largest diamond exchange.

“The Woman in the Window” (1944) directed by Fritz Lang, starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey and Dan Duryea / Z-View

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The Woman in the Window (1944)

Director:  Fritz Lang

Screenplay:  Nunnally Johnson based on ONCE OFF GUARD by J. H. Wallis

Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey, Dan Duryea, Edmund Breon, Thomas E. Jackson, Dorothy Peterson, Arthur Loft, Iris Adrian, George “Spanky” McFarland and Robert Blake.

Tagline: It was the look in her eyes that made him think of murder.

The Plot…

Richard Wanley is a mild-mannered, middle-aged college professor.  While his wife and kids are away, Wanley decides to meet some friends at a club.  In the store window next to the club is a large painting of a beautiful woman.  Wanley stops to admire it before heading into the club.

During a conversation with his friends, the painting is brought up.  All of the men agree that the woman is beautiful.  At the end of the evening as Wanley leaves the club, he decides to look at the painting one more time.  The woman IS beautiful.  Wanley is surprised to see a woman watching him stare at the portrait.  He is even more surprised to see it is the woman from the painting.  Her name is Alice Reed (Bennett).

Wanley and Alice engage in small talk.  She invites Wanley to her place for a nightcap.  Wanley agrees.  As they are talking, a man bursts into the room.  The intruder is Alice’s lover who believes Alice is cheating.  The man attacks Wanley.  In the struggle Wanley kills the man in self-defense.

Wanley and Alice decide the best thing is to dispose of the body and act like nothing ever happened.  Of course neither Wanley nor Alice are professional criminals.  They make mistakes and leave behind clues.  As the police begin to close in, a crooked ex-cop sees an opportunity for blackmail.

Wanley has no idea how to escape this nightmare.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Woman in the Window was nominated for one Academy Award: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture – Hugo Friedhofer, Arthur Lange

Director Fritz Lang and three of his stars (Edward G. Robinson, Dan Duryea, and Joan Bennett) from The Woman in the Window reteamed in Lang’s next film: Scarlet Street.

George Spanky McFarland and Robert Blake (both former child stars of the Our Gang series) have uncredited cameos.  McFarland would not appear in another film until 1986’s The Aurora Encounter (which was his last film appearance).

The original film ending was very bleak.  Director Fritz Lang came up with the new ending and the inventive way it was shot.

The Woman in the Window (1944) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Black Gravel” (1961) directed by Helmut Käutner / Z-View

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Black Gravel (1961)

Director:  Helmut Käutner

Screenplay:  Helmut Käutner, Walter Ulbrich

Stars: Helmut Wildt, Ingmar Zeisberg, Wolfgang Büttner, Anita Höfer and Peter Nestler.

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

Post-World War II West Germany.  The population struggles with shortages of jobs, and life’s necessities such as food, water and housing.  The major source of revenue for the small village of Sohnen is the nearby American Air Force base.  The soldiers spend their money on booze and broads.  The black market flourishes.

Robert Neidhardt has always made his way on the outskirts of the law.  Now he owns a huge truck and drives for Air Base construction projects.  Neidhardt makes extra cash working with a group diverting black gravel from the construction sites to a private buyer.

One evening Neidhardt  stops to assist (for a price) a couple stranded on the side of the road. The car belongs to American Air Force Major John Gaines.  Neidhardt offers to tow the car into town for ten bucks.  Major Gaines agrees.  He and his wife get into Neidhardt’s truck.  Neidhardt is shocked.  The Major’s wife, Inge, is Neidhardt’s former lover.  She left one day with no explanation.

The next morning Neidhardt calls on Inge.  Although they are still attracted to each other, Inge wants no part of Neidhardt.  She knows they’re bad for each other.  But the attraction is too strong.

Soon Neidhardt’s affair, his illegal trucking activities, and the death of two young lovers will put his life at risk.  Despite his best efforts, the noose is tightening…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Black Gravel is extremely dark.  It features adult themes.  Black Gravel was edited and shown with a more upbeat ending during the initial release.  In 2009, the film was restored to the version shown now.  It’s hard hitting and not for everyone.

I’m surprised Black Gravel is better known among fans of noir.

Black Gravel (1961) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“The Mask of Dimitrios” (1944) starring Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Zachary Scott / Z-View

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The Mask of Dimitrios (1944)

Director:  Jean Negulesco

Screenplay: Frank Gruber; based on THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS by Eric Ambler

Stars: Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Steven Geray, Eduardo Ciannelli, Kurt Katch, John Abbott, Monte Blue, David Hoffman and Vince Barnett.

Tagline: Thrilling successor to “The Maltese Falcon”

The Plot…

Cornelius Leyden, a mystery writer, is spending a night in Istanbul.  Leyden meets Colonel Haki, a Turkish police offical.  Haki is a fan of Leyden’s books.  Haki shares the story of Dimitrios Makropoulos, a famous international criminal who was recently found murdered.  Leyden is intrigued.  Colonel Haki allows Leyden to see Makropoulos’ corpse.  Haki also gives Leyden background info on the dead man.

Leyden decides to interview those who knew Dimitrios Makropoulos and perhaps write a book about the criminal mastermind.  As Leyden digs deeper he learns just how cunning and brutal Dimitrios Makropoulos was.

Maybe cunning enough to fake his own death.  Maybe cunning enough to kill anyone looking into his life.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Peter Lorre had the most screen time of anyone in the film.  Yet, he was given fourth billing.  Lorre was listed behind Sydney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott (in his first feature film) and Faye Emmerson (who had a small role).  Lorre felt that his lowered status was because Jack L. Warner (one of the studio heads) was not a fan.

Orson Welles played Colonel Haki in Journey into Fear.

The Mask of Dimitrios (1944) rates 3 of 5 stars.

BLOOD GROVE: AN EASY RAWLINS MYSTERY by Walter Mosley / Z-View

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BLOOD GROVE by Walter Mosley

First sentence…

I looked down from the third-floor office window onto the hastily built greenhouse in our back-fence neighbor’s yard.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Easy Rawlins is at his desk when a man enters the small office.  Easy has seen the look of a shell-shocked soldier before.  He’s seeing it again.  The man’s name is Craig Kilian.  Kilian’s a white man who wants to hire Easy.  Even in 1969, that’s not an everyday occurrence.

Kilian wants Easy to find out if Kilian murdered a man.  He thinks he did.  Kilian and a beautiful woman were alone in a citrus grove when a stranger attacked.  Kilian thinks in the struggle he stabbed the man.  Killed him dead.  Yet when Kilian came to the woman was gone.  So was the man he stabbed.

Easy feels sorry for the battle fatigued vet so he takes the case.

As Easy follows the clues, it becomes a tangled mess involving missing money, a sociopathic killer, cops and grifters.

+++++

I’m a Walter Mosley fan.  His Easy Rawlins tales are the best.  BLOOD GROVE is no exception.  If you’ve followed Mr. Mosley’s career, you’ll enjoy appearances in this one by Mouse Alexander, Fearless Jones, Jackson Blue and Christmas Black.

Rating:

“Hurricane Heist” (2018) directed by Rob Cohen / Z-View

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Hurricane Heist (2018)

Director:  Rob Cohen

Screenplay: Scott Windhauser, Jeff Dixon; story by Anthony Fingleton, Carlos Davis

Stars: Toby Kebbell, Maggie Grace, Ryan Kwanten, Ralph Ineson, Jamie Andrew Cutler, Ed Birch, James Barriscale, Erik Rondell, Mark Rhino Smith, Brooke Johnston  and Ben Cross

Tagline: The storm of the century… the heist of a lifetime.

The Plot…

A well organized group of thieves plan to rob a Federal Reserve money shredding facility in the small town of Gulfport, Alabama.  The crooks are going to do so under the cover of a Category 5 Hurricane heading for the evacuated city.

Standing in their way are two individuals: Treasury agent Casey Corbyn (Grace) and a National Weather Service meteorologist named Will (Kebbell).  If the thieves don’t kill them, the hurricane might.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Hurricane Heist isn’t as bad as reviews might lead you to believe.  It has excellent effects/scenes/stunts, but they get crazier as the movie goes on.  Still, I enjoyed it.  As always, your mileage may vary.

Hurricane Heist (2018) rates 3 of 5 stars.

HATCHET GIRLS by Joe R. Lansdale

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Joe R. Lansdale has a new Hap & Lenard tale set to premiere on August 19, 2025.  It’s titled HATCHET GIRLS.  Here’s the lowdown…

Hap and Leonard never go looking for trouble, and yet trouble, in the more vicious and ridiculous of forms always seems to find them. Your next dose of pitch-black comedy, mystery, and mayhem has arrived, just as the best friends may finally be calling it quits.

When Hap and Leonard are called in on a strange request (subduing a meth-hopped hog) by a desperate young lady, they quickly learn this woman is part of a fringe group: The Hatchet Girls, who have pledged their allegiance to a crazed and grudge-bearing leader bent on bloody societal revenge. The timing couldn’t be worse to be caught in such a vile, sticky wicket of a case: both boys are wrapped up in their domestic lives: Leonard is in the midst of wedding planning with fiancee, Pookie. And meanwhile, Hap and Brett are hard at work on their new home. Homemaking bliss will have to wait as Hap and Leonard are driven to stop the danger in its tracks and better understand the group’s mission and the plans they have already set in place for helter-skelter esque mayhem.

Life changes, midnight sneaks, and dark encounters with misguided dames who yell “Chop, Chop,” lead Hap and Leonard into one of their darkest adventures yet.

Pre-orders are available now.

“Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey” (2024) / Z-View

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Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey (2024)

Director:  Joe Berlinger (Eps. 1-3)

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

In a crime that rocked the nation, six year old JonBenet Ramsey was reported as kidnapped.  The kidnappers left a long ransom note (reported as looking like mom’s writing; written on mom’s writing pad) asking for $188,000 in exchange for the safe return of JonBenet.  ($118,000 is the amount that dad received as a Christmas bonus and is an odd amount to request at any rate.)

The police came.  So did family friends who received word of the kidnapping.  The police allowed everyone in the house.  An officer suggested that dad check the house again.  Dad found JonBenet bound with her mouth tapped on the floor in a downstairs play room.  Dad took the tape off her mouth and brought her upstairs.

The case made national news.  Speculation ran wild.  The parents and JonBenet’s nine year old brother became the main suspects.  The parents reported behaviors seemed suspicious.  A grand jury was paneled.  No one was ever charged.

This documentary explores the mistakes the police made, the evidence that was withheld and the push to make JonBenet’s parents the main suspects.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

It’s a shame how the reporters were not given the full facts of the case.  The only reason that occurred was to put pressure on JonBenet’s parents.  Much was made of the ransom note (and it still needs to be explained) but handwriting experts said it was NOT her mother’s writing.  That was never to my knowledge reported.  Much was also made about there being no footprints in the snow near the broken window that the killer supposedly used.  While there was some snow in the front of the house, there was no snow on the ground near the window side.  So of course there were no footprints in the snow.  There were many things like this that is pointed out in the documentary.

We also learn of several child molesters that were considered suspects.  One even had repeated phone calls admitting to killing JonBenet.

This documentary is an eye-opener.  Not into who actually did the killing, but how the public’s perception of the killing was manipulated.

I hope someday we do learn the truth and the killer is brought to justice.

Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey (2024) rates 4 of 5 stars.