Category: Crime

THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA by Ed Brisson, C.P. Smith and Tim Bradstreet

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THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA by Ed Brisson (writer), C.P. Smith (artist) and Tim Bradstreet (cover artist) sounds like a winner.  Here’s the synopsis…

“One last job” for washed-up demolitions expert Wyatt could mean the last days for all mankind in THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA, an apocalyptic crime thriller from AWA!

It’s supposed to be an easy score: An armored car traveling desert back roads with $50 million in dirty cash. But things go sideways, people end up dead, and there’s no money in the truck. What’s all this have to do with a cult called The Sons of the Salton Sea? And is mankind REALLY doomed to eternal damnation if the Sons don’t fulfill their deadly mission? It might just be the end of the world as we know it in this explosive crime thriller from Ed Brisson (Predator, Murder Book) and C.P. Smith (THE RESISTANCE: UPRISING, ARCHANGEL 8)!

Wyatt, a professional thief living off the grid, is recruited by his brother for one last job. Their target: an armored car traveling down a desolate stretch of California highway. But when it turns out that their target is carrying not gold bars but human cargo, Wyatt is plunged into a conflict between warring factions of a doomsday cult. The cult claims that it is their solemn duty to save the world by means of human sacrifice. Will Wyatt protect the boy who has come into his charge? Or will he be swayed by the cult’s increasingly convincing claims that the end of the world is fast approaching?

THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA drops February 20, 2024.

“Born Losers” (1967) directed by & starring Tom Laughlin / Z-View

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Born Losers (1967)

Director: T.C. Frank (Tom Laughlin)

Screenplay by: James Lloyd (Elizabeth James)

Starring: Tom Laughlin, Elizabeth James, Jeremy Slate, William Wellman Jr., Jack Starrett, Robert Tessier, Jeff Cooper, Stuart Lancaster, Delores Taylor and Jane Russell.

Tagline: KITTEN ON WHEELS WITH HER BIKE, HER BOOTS and HER BIKINI! Out for kicks… in for trouble! She’s going to Join the… BORN LOSERS

The Story:

The Born Losers motorcycle gang has begun to terrorize a small California town. Victims and witnesses alike are terrified to testify against them.

Billy Jack is a former Viet Nam vet who lives a quiet life in the mountains.  On a trip to town, Billy Jack sees gang members savagely beating a man.  Although no one else is willing to help, Billy Jack grabs his rifle.  He orders the gang to stop.  One gang member says he doesn’t have enough bullets to get them all and they begin to surround him.  Billy Jack shoots one in the leg.  The police arrive and arrest everyone including Billy Jack.  Billy Jack later learns that his fine for firing the gun was more than the gang members got for assault.

News spreads that gang members have raped some young women.  Only one is willing to testify.  She is being kept in protective custody at a hotel.  When gang members lure the cop guarding her away, others go to kidnap her.  Billy Jack intervenes.

Billy Jack plans to keep her safe until the trial.

What chance does one man have against an outlaw biker gang?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Tom Laughlin had the character Billy Jack in mind for years before he ever made it to the screen.  Born Losers was written to cash in on the biker craze and be a springboard for Billy Jack.  Elizabeth James, the movie’s co-star wrote the screenplay using the name James Lloyd.  The thought was who would want to see a biker movie written by a chick?

Tom Laughlin, who played Billy Jack, directed Born Losers. He used the pseudonym T.C. Frank. His three children are named Teresa, Christina and Frank. His wife Delores Taylor has a quick cameo as a mother with two children (played by Teresa and Frank).

Movie tough guy, Robert Tessier, makes his film debut in Born Losers!

Born Losers was successful enough for Laughlin to get financing to make Billy Jack.  When Billy Jack became a breakout hit, American International re-released Born Losers.  They advertised it with a new poster that focused on Billy Jack.  The box office of Born Losers ended up being American International’s highest grossing release until 1979.

Born Losers generated 3 more Billy Jack movies; Billy Jack (1971), The Trial of Billy Jack (1974) and Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977).

Jack Starrett plays a deputy much like the deputy character he played in First Blood.

Most folks may be surprised my rating for Born Losers is so high.  The film resonates with me.  I saw Born Losers on a double feature with Billy Jack when I was in 9th grade.  (The perfect age for both those movies.)  My “date” was my girlfriend and future wife.  I love that Tom Laughlin had a vision and despite many, many obstacles (losing financing, losing distribution, etc.) was able to make his dream come true and create a legendary character.  Your mileage may vary.

“Cry Terror!” (1958) written & directed by Andrew L. Stone, starring James Mason, Rod Steiger, Inger Stevens, Neville Brand, Angie Dickinson, Kenneth Tobey & Jack Klugman / Z-View

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Cry Terror! (1958)

Director: Andrew L. Stone

Screenplay by: Andrew L. Stone

Starring: James Mason, Rod Steiger, Inger Stevens, Neville Brand, Angie Dickinson, Kenneth Tobey, Jack Klugman, Jack Kruschen, Carleton Young, Barney Phillips, Chet Huntley, Jonathan Hole, Mae Marsh and William Schallert.

Tagline: TERRIFYING…as the time-triggered explosive of a mad bomber ticking-ticking-ticking!

The Story:

Jim Molner (Mason) is sickened to discover that his old army buddy, Paul Hoplin (Steiger) duped him.  Molner created a small, but powerful bomb design.  He was told it was for the U.S. army.  Hoplin instead used it to extort money from an airline.  He had one of the bombs placed on a airplane where it would be found with a note demanding $500,000.00.  The note said there were other bombs on other planes and gave a deadline for payment.

Now Jim, his wife, Joan (Stevens) and their small daughter are being held by Hoplin’s crime partners.  Molner and his daughter are captives of Vince (Klugman) and Eileen Kelly (Dickinson).  Joan is at the mercy of Steve (Brand), a convicted rapist.  Jim and Joan realize that they and their daughter are going to be killed even if the money is delivered.  It will be up to them to figure a way to survive.  The clock is ticking.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers

Cry Terror! features an awesome cast:

  • James Mason, who had earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination three years prior was the star.
  • Rod Steiger, who also earned an Oscar nomination three years prior, for Best Supporting Actor, co-starred. Steiger is great as the nerdy, creepy but dangerous mastermind.
  • Inger Stevens in only her second feature film played Mason’s wife.  Her life would end tragically by suicide when she was just 35.
  • Neville Brand is excellent as a pill-popping sexual predator.
  • Angie Dickinson plays a woman as tough as the men and even more cold-hearted.  She’d hate to kill a kid, but she’d despise losing the payoff even more.
  • Jack Klugman as a bad guy!
  • The rest of the cast features many familiar faces: Kenneth (The Thing From Another World) Tobey, Jack (The War of the Worlds) Kruschen, Carleton (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) Young, Barney (The Twilight Zone) Phillips, Chet (The Huntley – Brinkley Report) Huntley, Jonathan (The Twilight Zone) Hole and William (The Patty Duke Show) Schallert.

Kudos to Cry Terror! writer and director Andrew L. Stone for writing/directing a movie that still holds up. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. The year before Cry Terror! was released, Stone wrote and directed a film called Julie.  It starred Doris Day as a woman who learns that her insanely jealous husband intends to kill her.  Julie featured many of the same actors (Barney Phillips, Jack Kruschen, Carleton Young, Harlan Warde and Mae Marsh) as Cry Terror! Andrew L. Stone received a Best Writing, Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination for Julie.

“The Killer” (2023) directed by David Fincher, starring Michael Fassbender / Z-View

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The Killer (2023)

Director: David Fincher

Screenplay by: Andrew Kevin Walker based on The Killer by Alexis “Matz” Nolent, Luc Jacamon

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard, Sala Baker, Endre Hules and Monique Ganderton.

Tagline:  None

The Story:

When a professional assassin misses his target, his employers mark him for death.  The assassin realizes in order to survive he will have to kill his way up the chain of command to get the hit on him called off.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers

This movie is based on the graphic novel The Killer written by Alexis “Matz” Nolent and  illustrated by Luc Jacamon.

Fans of 1970s sitcoms will get a kick out of the aliases the Killer uses: Felix Unger (The Odd Couple), Archibald Bunker (All in the Family), Oscar Madison (The Odd Couple), Howard Cunningham (Happy Days), Reuben Kincaid (The Partridge Family), Lou Grant (The Mary Tyler Moore Show / Lou Grant), Sam Malone (Cheers), George Jefferson (The Jeffersons), and Robert Hartley (The Bob Newhart Show).

This is the second teaming of David Fincher and Andrew Kevin Walker.  Their first was Se7en.

The Killer features an awesome fight scene between The Killer and a huge guy.

“Monsieur Spade” starring Clive Owen – The Trailer is Here!

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The Monsieur Spade trailer is here.  Lookin’ good.

Sam Spade (Clive Owen) is back for a brand-new chapter. When six beloved nuns are brutally murdered at the local convent, secrets emerge and new leads are established. Turns out, the murders are somehow connected to a mysterious child who is believed to possess great powers.
#MonsieurSpade premieres January 14 on AMC and AMC+.

“A Haunting in Venice” (2023) directed by Kenneth Branagh, starring Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh &Tina Fey /Z-View

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A Haunting in Venice (2023)

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay by: Michael Green based on Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Riccardo Scamarcio.

Tagline:  Death is just the beginning.

The Story:

The year is 1947.  The world famous detective Hercule Poirot (Branagh) is retired and living in Venice.  Because of Poirot’s fame, people from all over the world attempt to hire him.  Poirot turns down every offer.

When Poirot’s old friend, mystery author Ariadne Oliver (Fey) visits, she tells Poirot about psychic Joyce Reynolds (Yeoh).  Poirot scoffs.  All psychics are frauds.  Ariadne agrees, but says that she couldn’t figure out how Joyce Reynolds pulls off her readings.  Ariadne says that if the smartest person she knows (herself) can’t figure it out, perhaps the second smartest (Poirot) can.

Ariande invites Poirot to attend a Halloween séance.  It will be held in a building that was once an orphanage.  It is now said to be haunted by orphans who were locked in and left to die during a plague.  Joyce Reynolds will lead the séance.  Poirot agrees to come along.  Ariande figures Poirot will either expose Reynolds as a fraud or not.  Either way she will have a story.

Everyone invited arrives for the séance. Reynolds while channeling a spirit says that one of the people in attendance is a murderer!  In short order, Joyce Reynolds is found impaled on a statue.  Periot locks everyone in. One of them is the killer.

Hercule Poirot is out of retirement.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers

Kenneth Branagh filmed on location in Venice.  He also didn’t tell the actors in advance about things like doors slamming, lights suddenly going out, etc.  He wanted to get their actual responses to startling events.

This was Tina Fey’s first appearance in a feature film or television production that wasn’t a comedy.  She was excellent as Ariadne Oliver.

This is Kenneth Branagh’s third outing as Hercule Poiroit.  He starred and directed Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Death on the Nile (2022) as well as A Haunting in Venice (2023).  I hope he does more.

“Fast Charlie” starring Pierce Brosnan – The Trailer is Here!

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Fast Charlie is based on Victor Gishler’s novel GUN MONKEYS.  I read the books years ago.  If the movie is as good, we’re in for a treat.  The trailer looks like it might be.

Deal me in.

Charlie Swift is a fixer with a problem: the target he’s whacked is missing his head and the only way Charlie will be paid is if the body can be identified. Enter Marcie Kramer, the victim’s ex-wife and a woman with all the skills Charlie needs.

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin, James Caan
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Release Date: 12/8/23

BLOOD STANDARD (An Isiah Coleridge Novel) by Laird Barron / Z-View

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BLOOD STANDARD (An Isiah Coleridge Novel) by Laird Barron

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Hardcover: ‎336 pages

First sentence…

As a boy, I admired Humphrey Bogart in a big way.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Isiah Coleridge had been a hit man and enforcer for the mob.  Working out of Alaska (yeah, the mob wets their beak there too), Coleridge was the gold standard.  He was a big, tough half-Maori, half-Caucasian, able to handle himself.  And he had more brains than you’d expect.

If Coleridge had given it any thought, he wouldn’t have punched Vitale Night, a mob captain, in the throat. Normally that would be a death sentence. Even if the jabroni deserved it.  Which Night did. But Coleridge got lucky when his boss went to bat for him.  Coleridge was exiled from the mob and Alaska.  He was told to lay low because Vitale Night still wanted revenge.

Living in upstate New York, Isaiah Coleridge begins to adjust to a quiet life.  Keeping a low profile isn’t so bad.  Coleridge begins to make new friends.  All is going well until a teenage girl disappears and Coleridge agrees to look into it.  As the big man digs deeper, he begins to make waves and attract the kinds of attention that can be dangerous.

BLOOD STANDARD is stylish, brutal, witty, and fun.

Laird Barron is as adept at storytelling as Isaiah Coleridge is at handling a violent situation.  Both Barron and Coleridge have jumped to the top of my must-read list.

Rating:

“Abandoned” (1949) starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler, Raymond Burr with Mike Mazurki / Z-View

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Abandoned (1949)

Director: Joseph M. Newman

Screenplay by: Irwin Gielgud, William Bowers (additional dialogue)

Starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler, Raymond Burr, Jeanette Nolan, Steve Darrell, Frank Cady and Mike Mazurki.

Tagline:  NO NAME FOR HER BABY…only a PRICE! 

The Story:

Paula Considine (Storm) goes to L.A. in search of her missing sister.  Her sister left their small town because she was pregnant and not married.  It’s late when she arrives at the missing person’s bureau.  There she meets Mark Sitko (O’Keefe), a newspaper reporter.  When Sitko notices a shady character following Paula, he intervenes.  Soon Sitko and Paula discover that Paula’s sister was murdered and her baby stolen by child traffickers.  As they dig deeper, Sitko and Paula become marked for murder!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

The film uses a semi-documentary style popular at the time.

Gale Storm had been making movies for close to a decade when she got the co-starring role in Abandoned.  A few years later Ms. Storm would become a tv star in her own series, My Little Margie which ran for four seasons.  She followed that with another starring television role in The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna.  It also ran for four seasons.

Jeff Chandler has a supporting role.  He would soon break out into leading roles.

Raymond Burr is cast as a heavy.  He played a lot of those type roles in those days because he was good at it.  Mr. Burr would go on to become a bigger star playing a good guy.  Perry Mason ran for 9 seasons, earned Raymond Burr two Best Actor in a Leading Role Emmys and earned him world-wide fame.Years after Perry Mason went off the air, it returned with Mr. Burr starring in 26 television movies.

Mike Mazurki appears as a thug which was par for the course.  I love it when Mazurki appears in any production.  He had an interesting life.  Mr. Mazurki played football and basketball in college and professionally,  He earned a law degree from Fordham.  Then he decided to become a professional wrestler because he could earn more money!  He also worked as a bodyguard before being discovered and cast in movies.

Abandoned was ahead of it’s time.  The topic of black-market babies and child trafficking could be pulled from today’s headlines.  The film also faced aspects being censored.  Still, if you read between the lines it becomes pretty clear that Paula’s dad was probably the baby’s father.

“A Murder at the End of the World” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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This has a Glass Onion or Hercule Poirot feel to it.  So far, I like what I see.  Deal me in!

A Murder at the End of the World is a mystery series featuring a Gen Z amateur sleuth and tech-savvy hacker “Darby Hart.” Darby and eight other guests are invited by a reclusive billionaire to participate in a retreat at a remote location. When one of the other guests is found dead, Darby must use her skills to prove it was murder before the killer takes another life.

A mystery of epic proportions. Watch OFFICIAL TRAILER 2 for FX’s A Murder at the End of the World streaming 11.14. Only on Hulu.

“JFK: What the Doctors Saw” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I’ve followed all of the JFK assassination conspiracies since I was a child.  I read the Warren Report when I was in high school.  Although I’m not expecting much that I’m not already aware of, it will interesting to see JFK: What the Doctors Saw.

So yeah, deal me in!

Previously unreleased footage unveils an extraordinary reunion involving seven doctors who were present in the Parkland Hospital Emergency Room where President John F. Kennedy was rushed after being shot on November 22, 1963.

Their testimonies divulge unsettling medical details surrounding the assassination, raising doubt about government investigations that found Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

Stream the new P+ Original documentary JFK: What The Doctors Saw on November 14, exclusively on Paramount+

“Mother’s Day” (2023) directed by Mateusz Rakowicz, starring Agnieszka Grochowska / Z-View

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Mother’s Day (2023)

Director: Mateusz Rakowicz

Screenplay by: Lukasz M. Maciejewski, Mateusz Rakowicz

Starring: Agnieszka Grochowska, Szymon Wróblewski.

Tagline:

The Story:

Nina (Grochowska), is a NATO Special Operations agent. Years ago she gave up her baby so he could be raised by loving parents in a safe environment.  Although Nina checks in on him regularly (from afar), her son knows nothing about her.  That will change when he is kidnapped by thugs looking to get back at Nina.  Now all bets are off.  Nina will use all her skills to rescue her son.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Mother’s Day exceeded every expectation I had for it.  Everything about Mother’s Day is what action movie fans love.  Mateusz Rakowicz knows how to direct action and keep the quieter scenes interesting.  Co-writers Lukasz M. Maciejewski and (director) Mateusz Rakowicz have created a story full of outrageous characters involved in over the top battles. Thankfully, Agnieszka Grochowska who plays Nina, is more than up to the task.  I hope to see more of her and director Mateusz Rakowicz in the future.

The Death Kiss (1932) starring Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan, Adrienne Ames & Vince Barnett / Z-View

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The Death Kiss (1932)

Director: Edwin L. Marin

Screenplay by: Gordon Kahn, Barry Barringer based on THE DEATH KISS by Madelon St. Dennis

Starring: Bela Lugosi, David Manners, John Wray, Adrienne Ames, Vince Barnett and Edward Van Sloan.

Tagline: IT’S FULL OF THRILLS!  IT’S FULL OF FUN!  IT’S FULL OF MYSTERY!  IT’S FULL OF BIG NAMES!

The Story:

When a movie’s leading man is killed on stage during the filming of a scene, in full view of everyone, the only question is: Who did it?  Evidence seems to point to one person, then another.  Finally it looks like the murder was committed by the leading lady.  Franklyn Drew (Manning) believes she was set up.  Drew begins to follow clues that will lead him to the true killer and maybe get him killed as well.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Three stars (Bela Lugosi, David Manners and Edward Van Sloan) of Dracula, made the year before, return to star in The Death Kiss.

The film’s copyright wasn’t renewed, so the film fell into the public domain.  Beware of poor copies!

David Manners as Franklyn Drew is charming.  Vince Barnett as Movie Studio Police Officer Gulliver is a hoot.  They make the perfect duo as together they investigate the murder.  Barnett in a way is Barney Fife to Manners Andy Griffith.  I would have loved to have seen them in a series of murder comedies.

Although Bela Lugosi gets top billing, it is actually David Manners who gets the most screen time.  He’s never been better.

The gunfight at the end of the movie is hand-tinted.  This produces a cool effect for gunshots and flashlights.