Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Stephen M. Lepore at the Daily Mail posted the FBI has IDENTIFIED Zodiac Killer as Air Force veteran Gary Francis Poste – who died in 2018 – and has partial DNA sample that could link him to five serial murders, cold case investigator claims. I would love a definitive answer to who the Zodiac Killer was and perhaps we are close to getting it.
We really enjoyed Joe Pickett Season 1. Looking forward to June 4th!
In Season 2, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett (Michael Dorman) discovers a hunter murdered in the mountains and realizes his is just one of a series of gruesome murders. To solve the case and catch the killer, Joe must navigate a radical anti-hunting activist, a ghoulish set of twins living off the grid, and his own tortured past. Joe and his wife, Marybeth (Julianna Guill), discover that the murdered men weren’t as innocent as they seemed, but when they dig too deep, they are forced to go on the run and fight for their very lives.
Stream the Season 2 premiere of Joe Pickett on June 4, exclusively on Paramount+.
Looking forward to this one!
You don’t mess with the hat. FX’s Justified: City Primeval premieres July 18 on FX. Stream on Hulu.
Starring Timothy Olyphant, Aunjanue Ellis and Boyd Holbrook. Raylan Givens left the hollers of Kentucky and is balancing life as a U.S. Marshal with being a part-time father. A chance encounter sends him to Detroit and on a collision course with a violent sociopath and a formidable defense attorney.
The Black Lotus poster and trailer are here.
Starring: Rico Verhoeven, Frank Grillo & Marie Dompnier
An ex-special forces operative wages a one-man war through the streets of Amsterdam to rescue his friend’s daughter from the local crime syndicate.
Here’s the poster and trailer for God is a Bullet starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe and Jamie Foxx. The poster looks old-school and the trailer does it’s job. Not only do I want to see the movie, I’ve put the book on my list for future purchase.
Inspired by true events and based on the best-selling novel GOD IS A BULLET written by Boston Teran, the film follows detective Bob Hightower (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who finds his ex-wife murdered and his daughter kidnapped by an insidious cult. Bob takes matters into his own hands and infiltrates the secretive cult to try to save his daughter. With the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin (Maika Monroe), Bob and Case go down the rabbit hole with The Ferryman (Jamie Foxx) to save his daughter and find closure for Case from the cult – and its maniacal leader (Glusman) – that took so much away from her.
RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2023
CAST: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maika Monroe, Jamie Foxx
Jason Copland’s FULL TILT is finally ready for pre-orders on ZOOP! My order is in. Here’s a preview…
After five years of hard work, passion and sacrifice, the epic indie crime-scifi-noir comic by Jason Copland is FINALLY being collected here for the first time!
FULL TILT is a perfect book for those that love gritty noir tales, dystopian future realities and kinetic black and white art. Think Sin City meets The Godfather in the setting of Blade Runner.
This soon-to-be modern day classic is presented in a slick 320-page oversized 7.8″ x 12″ hardcover.
Here’s the synopsis…
New Manhattan, once the gleaming, state-of-the-art city of the 23rd-century, is now in the throes of social and moral decay. Its despondent citizens lose themselves in narcotics and hi-tech toys. Corrupt law enforcement agencies terrorize the populace. Bloodthirsty fans cheer as indentured gladiators fight deathmatches to gain their freedom. It’s the end of civilization… and the five crime families control it all.
Massimo Miller, the fiercely loyal consigliere of the Chessa family, narrowly survives an attack that wipes out all five of New Manhattan’s crime-syndicate bosses. As the massacre’s lone survivor, the new bosses accuse him of the assassinations and gather their armies to hunt him down.
Injured and alone, Miller must battle his way homeward through enemy territory to discover the party responsible for the death of his mentor… and make them pay.
The choice between love and loyalty brought Massimo Miller to this moment. To make it right, he’ll have to go FULL TILT.
Joey Portelli at The Flix Zone came up with a list of five Under-Appreciated Crime Films of the 1970s. Portelli’s choices are good ones. I love crime films and haven’t seen any of his picks. Before you click over (and if you love crime films, you should), here are my quick thoughts on each.
Darker Than Amber (1970, Robert Clouse): How have I never heard of this one? Rod Taylor plays John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee. The very-good and under-rated William Smith plays a sadistic bodybuilder antagonist. Robert “Enter the Dragon” Clause directs. Wait until you read the plot.
The Last Run (1971, Richard Fleischer): George C. Scott plays an aging getaway driver for the syndicate on his last job. Richard “Compulsion” Fleischer directs. This one may have been ahead of its time.
Fear is the Key (1972, Michael Tuchner): Portelli describes this one as “a pure 1970s adrenaline rush” with “a terrific plot twist that completely shifts the films gears half way through”. I’ve heard enough to know I’m in. When you click over you’ll learn the cast and more.
The Nickel Ride (1974, Robert Mulligan): Jason Miller, hot off of his starring role in The Exorcist teamed with Robert “To Kill a Mockingbird” Mulligan for this crime drama. Bo Hopkins and John Hillerman co-star.
Newman’s Law (1974, Richard T. Heffron): This one takes a different spin. George Peppard plays an honest cop set up to take a fall. Richard T. Heffron (who directed the very under-rated I, the Jury starring Armand Assante) helms this one.
Thanks to Joey Portelli. I’m going to put these five on my list of movies to be seen.
Regular readers have heard me sing the praises of Laird Barron’s Isaiah Coleridge tales. Barron has a new one coming soon. THE WIND BEGAN TO HOWL premieres on Kindle on May 16th and paperback on June 16th. My preorder is in. Here’s the synopsis…
Laird Barron’s acclaimed crime saga makes a triumphant return in THE WIND BEGAN TO HOWL, an all-new story set after the events of Worse Angels. A seemingly benign case gradually pulls mob enforcer-turned-P.I. Isaiah Coleridge into a chilling mix of music, movie magic, mayhem, and madness.
This time, Coleridge’s dark journey forces him to confront a brutal truth: For some who try to escape the past, there is no way out.
“Hardboiled and trippy at the same time, THE WIND BEGAN TO HOWL by Laird Barron is a twisted ride through the darker recesses of the mind complete with conspiracy theories, ex-government operatives, movie madness, and possibly a portal into another dimension. Read at your own risk.” – Alma Katsu, author of THE FERVOR
“Isaiah Coleridge hits back hard in this bare-knuckle novella that’s equal parts Hollyweird fiction and conspiracy-laden Catskills noir.” – Clay McLeod Chapman, author of GHOST EATERS
Matt Wagner created the Batman story Heist which first appeared in Batman: Black and White #3. It’s a short story but is so creatively done and stylish it’s one of my favorites. Above we have the opening splash page. Below is just one panel from the story. The Bristol Board has posted the complete tale in a larger format. Click over and enjoy!
If you’re a fan of Joe Ide’s IQ novels, you probably know that there’s a new one dropping on May 9th. Here’s the lowdown…
In the latest installment in Joe Ide’s “superb” series (Washington Post), the relentless, hard-bitten PI, Isaiah Quintabe, is faced with a nightmarish scenario when the love of his life is kidnapped by a maniacal hitman who bears a grudge against him.
Danger has always followed IQ, a reality he’s keenly aware of as he’s laid up in a hospital bed, recovering from injuries sustained in his last case. Isaiah cannot help himself from being the hero, and any misery he’s suffered as a result—wounds from a knife fight, gnawing paranoia—he’s suffered alone. Yet as IQ recovers, five hundred miles from East Long Beach, he’s unaware that Grace has been abducted by his sworn enemy, the professional hitman Skip Hanson. Skip is savage and psychotic, determined to punish Isaiah for sending him to prison and destroying his life. Now, Isaiah and his sometimes partner, ex-hustler Juanell Dodson, must track scant clues through L.A.’s perilous landscape as Grace’s predicament grows more uncertain.
A complication arises in the form of Winnie Hando, a homicide detective with something to prove. Stubborn and effective, Winnie sees Isaiah’s efforts as an obstruction to the investigation and a possible embarrassment: an unlicensed PI can’t be seen doing the department’s job better than the department. Winnie tries to stop Isaiah while pursuing the case herself, their struggles clashing and slowing their progress. As the desperate hunt winds on, Isaiah fears that even if he can bring Grace home alive, things between them will never be the same. This latest series installment is an explosive collision of drug dealers, thieves, maniacs, shotguns, vicious dogs, stampeding horses, and Ide’s signature energy, grit, and profundity.
The poster and red band trailer for The Equalizer 3 starring Denzel Washington is here. Equalizer 3 looks to possibly be the best of the series. Deal me in.
Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has struggled to reconcile the horrific things he’s done in the past and finds a strange solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Finding himself surprisingly at home in Southern Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends’ protector by taking on the mafia.
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Written by: Richard Wenk
Based on the television series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim
Produced by: Todd Black / Jason Blumenthal / Denzel Washington / Antoine Fuqua / Steve Tisch / Clayton Townsend/ Alex Siskin / Tony Eldridge
Executive Producer: David Bloomfield / Tarak Ben Ammar / Andy Mitchell
Cast: Denzel Washington / Dakota Fanning / David Denman
David Bordwell at CrimeReads has written an excellent overview of Rex Stout and his long-running detective/mystery series featuring Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.
Wolfe was a 285 pound genius who leaves his brownstone home only in the most extreme emergencies. He “breeds orchids, reads, drinks vast quantities of beer, and dines on meals of rare delicacy.” To support his life’s luxuries, Wolfe works as a private detective. Since he detests venturing away from his sanctum, Archie Goodwin serves as Wolfe’s assistant. “Slender and strong, reasonably handsome, Archie is attractive to and attracted by women of many ages… Archie fetches clients, witnesses, and suspects to meetings.”
I am a, pardon the pun, huge fan of Nero Wolfe mysteries. If you are as well, check out David Bordwell’s “HOLMES AND WATSON IN MANHATTAN”: MUSINGS ON THE CREATION OF NERO WOLFE AND ARCHIE GOODWIN. If you’re not a fan, give the piece a look as well. You might become one.
S.A. Cosby fans will want to check out S.A. Cosby Is Finding His Religion. If you’re not a fan read any of his books. You soon will be.
My Darkest Prayer
Blacktop Wasteland
Razorblade Tears
All Sinners Bleed
Graham Humphreys created this cool alt poster for Death Proof. While Death Proof isn’t one of my favorite films, it does feature Kurt Russell and Rosario Dawson directed (and in a screenplay) by Quentin Tarantino. If you’d like to see more of Graham Humphreys’ art, you can at his Instagram page.
Sharky’s Machine is an under-rated gem. Starring and directed by Burt Reynolds, it features an amazing cast and soundtrack. Check out this documentary and then (re)watch the film. You can thank me later. ; )
Gator McKlusky examines the 1982 film “Sharky’s Machine” with a focus on the amazing career of Burt Reynolds. Taken from the documentary “The Burt Reynolds Story” available on this channel. Be sure and check out the other segments and chapters for this in-depth series, documented in the unique way that has helped make this a fan favorite.
Written by Al Glasgow & Craig Cefola
Video by Craig Cefola
Open Music by Wheelhouse Junction
Ending Music by New Messiah
