Category: Books

Best of 2024: FILMS / BOOKS / Posts

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As we start 2025, let’s take a look at the BEST OF 2024. I hope you see something that you enjoyed or gets you interested to check out. Here we go…

Movies and Television Series

In 2024, I watched 396 movies and tv series. That number is down 13 from last year. My favorite films and limited series released in 2024 included (in alpha order):

  • American Nightmare
  • Apollo 13: Survival
  • Arnold
  • Arnold & Sly: Rivals, Friends, Icons
  • Carry-On, The
  • Cross: Season 1
  • Fargo: Season 5
  • From Darkness to Light
  • Greatest Night in Pop, The
  • Interview with the Vampire: Season 2
  • Mayor of Kingstown: Season 3 (A)
  • Mr. McMahon
  • Reacher: Season 2
  • Rebel Ridge
  • Shogun
  • Stallone Family, The Season 2
  • Sugar: Season 1

Books

In 2024, I read 46 books (up 25 from last year) My favorites from this year included (in the order I read them):

  • A Seance for Wicked King Death by Coy Hall
  • Racing the Light by Robert Crais
  • Ways of the Wolfe, The by James Carlos Blake
  • There and Back by Eric Beetner
  • The Wake-Up by Robert Ferrigno
  • The Amateurs by Marcus Sakey
  • Blood Grove by Walter Mosley
  • Scarecrow Returns by Matthew Reilly
  • The Man Who Came Uptown by George Pelecanos
  • Bright Orange for the Shroud by John D. McDonald
  • Silent Joe by T. Jefferson Parker

My Most Popular Posts of the Year

I continue to find some surprises in what became my most popular posts each year. Here are the top ten for 2024 and some thoughts for each…

  • 10. SYFY’s 2023/2024 Twilight Zone New Year’s Eve Marathon Schedule is Up! -– Who doesn’t love the Twilight Zone?
  • 09. Top 10 Most Iconic Horror Movie Villains – After two years in the 10th spot, it moves into 9th place.
  • 08. Dracula Through the Ages – Fell from the #3 spot last year.
  • 07. Steranko’s Concept Art for “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” – New to the list!
  • 06. Philip Marlowe – Who Played Him Best? Ranking the Actors Who Played Him! – New to the list.
  • 05. “Arcadian” starring Nicholas Cage – The Poster and Trailer are Here! – New to the list.
  • 04. Louis Meyers: Evidence He was the Zodiac Killer. – Same spot as last year (and the year before.)
  • 03. Batman – “It Was a Dark and Stormy Night” by Snoopy (Charles Schulz), Len Wein & Walt Simonson! – Came in at #3 for the first time on the list.
  • 02. New Evidence Points to Gary Francis Poste as The Zodiac Killer! – Jumped to the #2 spot in for the first appearance on the list.
  • 01. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk”. – Returned to the #1 spot. It was #2 last year.

My All-Time Most Popular Posts

  • 10. Joel Osteen in Jacksonville – held on to the 10th spot for three years in a row.
  • 09. Gadot & The Rock Strike a Pose – in the 9th spot for the last four years.
  • 08. Steve Reeves as Superman – No change.
  • 07. TOP 10 MOST ICONIC HORROR MOVIE VILLAINS! – No change.
  • 06. New Billy the Kid Photo Discovered – Moves down from 5th.
  • 05. Dracula Through the Ages – Moves up to the 5th spot.
  • 04. SYFY’s 2023/2024 TWILIGHT ZONE New Year’s Eve Marathon is Up! – No change.
  • 03. Zodiac Killer Code Cracked? – No change!
  • 02. Louis Meyers: Evidence He Was the Zodiac Killer – No change!
  • 01. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk” – was #1 for the last two years and continues to be our most popular post of all-time.

It’s always interesting to see which topics resonate with fans and continue to be popular long after their initial post.

BRIGHT ORANGE FOR THE SHROUD: A TRAVIS MCGEE NOVEL by John D. MacDonald / Z-View

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BRIGHT ORANGE FOR THE SHROUD: A TRAVIS MCGEE NOVEL by John D. MacDonald

First sentence…

Another season was ending.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Travis McGee is shocked when Arthur Wilkinson shows up unannounced.  Arthur is near death.

A year ago Arthur was on top of the world.  He was part of the Florida beach crowd partying the nights away.  Arthur wasn’t a playboy.  Most thought him odd.  But Arthur was a nice guy with a considerable inheritance.  That made Arthur the perfect target for Wilma Ferner.  She was a looker.  Soon enough Wilma and Arthur were married and moved away.

In less than a year Wilma had drained Arthur’s bank account.  She got Arthur to invest in what turned out to be a scam. Once the money was gone so was Wilma.

McGee plans to nurse Arthur back to health.  Then he’s going to find Wilma and her scam artists… and make them pay.

Rating:

“Scrooge” aka “A Christmas Carol” (1951) starring Alistar Sim / Z-View

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Scrooge aka A Christmas Carol (1951)

Director:  Brian Desmond Hurst

Screenplay:  Noel Langley based on A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens

Stars: Alastair Sim, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley, Michael Hordern, Francis De Wolff, Miles Malleson and Ernest Thesiger.

Tagline: One of the world’s most loved character actors, Alastair Sim, in a masterful portrayal of one of the world’s best loved characters, Scrooge!

The Plot…

Ebenezer Scrooge is an old, cheap businessman whose only joy in life is making money.  He doesn’t pay his workers much and never donates to charity.  Scrooge alienates family members and see holidays as a way for business to make more money.  But they won’t get his!

On Christmas Eve Scrooge is visited by a ghost who tells him that he will later be visited by three ghosts: the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.  Scrooge will be shown his life and learn that unless he changes, the afterlife won’t be paradise.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The films original title was Scrooge.  When it came to the US, it was retitled as A Christmas Carol.

Scrooge aka A Christmas Carol (1951) rates 4 of 5 stars.

THE MAN WHO CAME UPTOWN by George Pelecanos / Z-View

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THE MAN WHO CAME UPTOWN by George Pelecanos

First sentence…

When Antonius thought of all the things that they’d wrong the day of the robbery, wearing hoodies might have been at the top of the list.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Michael Hudson is in prison awaiting trial.  Michael is at a cross roads.  If found guilty of robbery, his life will go in one direction.  If the jury decides he’s not guilty, another.  Problem is, he’s guilty. And they have him dead to rights.  Michael was the getaway driver in a job that went bad.

It’s sad to realize your potential too late.  Michael’s not a bad looking guy.  He’s not dumb.  Michael could make something of his life, given another chance.  Michael’s decided if he somehow gets freedom, he’s done with crime.  He’ll get a job. Any job.  Then he’ll continue to better himself.

A miracle happens.  Private investigator Phil Ornazian sends word to Michael not to worry.  Sure enough and soon enough Michael is released.  The witness identifying Michael is no longer sure it was him.  Unbelievable.  A sentence of five years in a federal pen vanished.

Michael is done with crime.  He gets a job as a dishwasher and starts planning for the future.

Then Michael is visited by Ornazian.  Time to pay the piper.  Ornazian and a retired cop moonlight by ripping off drug dealers and pimps.  It’s easy money since the folks they steal from would never go to the cops.  Ornazian needs a getaway driver for a score.  Michael isn’t interested.  Ornazian reminds Michael that he owes him.  Who knows, maybe the witness’ memory comes back.

Michael agrees to drive… one last time.

Rating:

“From Darkness to Light” written & directed by Eric Friedler, Michael Lurie / Z-View

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Director:  Eric Friedler, Michael Lurie

Screenplay: Eric Friedler, Michael Lurie

Stars: Jerry Lewis, Mel Brooks, Martin Scorsese, Harry Shearer and Sarah Silverman.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

In 1971, producer Nat Wachsberger, approached Jerry Lewis about directing and starring in an adaption of THE DAY THE CLOWN DIED by Joan O’Brien.  Lewis knew the story of Helmut, a once famous clown now a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp.  Nazis see Helmut entertaining the children.  The Nazis then use Helmut to lead the kids to the gas chamber.  Lewis was intrigued.  It would be a fine line to walk — finding humor in a dark story and at the same time present a film that said something about the human condition.  Lewis was told he could tweak the script and would have full control of the film.

Lewis agreed.  He lost 35 pounds preparing for the role.  Lewis cleared his schedule and threw himself fully into the project.  With just a couple of weeks of filming left, Lewis learned the producer’s rights to the film ran out.  The producer couldn’t (or wouldn’t) come up with money to re-secure the movie rights. Further money to complete the film wouldn’t be coming.  Lewis reportedly paid $2 million of his own money to cover costs.

The Day the Clown Cried became a thing of legend.  Never completed. Never released.  A rough cut was seen by just a very few people.  In fact, most folks didn’t know the story behind the story… until now.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I always wondered if The Day the Clown Cried would be released.  Now I know why it wasn’t.  Lewis was questioned about the movie from 1972 to his death.  He refused to show footage and would only say he wasn’t happy with the job that he did.

In August 2015, it was reported that Jerry Lewis donated a copy of The Day the Clown Cried to the Library of Congress.  Lewis stipulated that the unfinished film not be screened until 2024.  In August 2024, a limited screening was held.

From Darkness to Light is a wonderful documentary.  With vintage interviews, footage and stills from the film, viewers are treated to answers to the many mysteries of The Day the Clown Cried.

From Darkness to Light (2024) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“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.

SCARECROW RETURNS by Matthew Reilly / Z-View

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SCARECROW RETURNS by Matthew Reilly

First sentence…

The plane hurled down the airstrip, chased by furious machine-gun fire, before it lifted off with a stomach-lurching swoop and soared out over the vast expanse of Artic sea ice that stretched away to the north.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Dragon Island, located near the Artic circle, was a Russian possession.  There the best Russian scientists conducted cutting-edge experiments with no guardrails.  When Russia collapsed in 1991, so did the program. Since then only a skeleton crew of scientists have lived and worked there.

Until today.

Today, a terrorist group that calls themselves the Army of Thieves let it be known that they have control of the island.  They have set in motion something that will literally burn the atmosphere above the USA, Russia and every country along that latitude/longitude.  The only way to stop the process is with boots on the ground.  Neither Russia nor the US has military ships/planes close enough.

There is one hope.  Marine Captain Shane “Scarecrow” Schofield is on site about 100 miles north of Dragon Island.  Schofield, a couple of marines and a few civilians have been testing extreme cold weather gear.  They could get to the island before the deadline.  Once there the odds would be overwhelmingly against their survival, let alone stopping the Army of Thieves.

When there is only one chance to save the world, you take it.  Even if it’s a suicide mission.

+++++

Matthew Reilly is the king of page turning nonstop action.  His villains are truly evil. Shane “Scarecrow” Schofield although outmanned and outgunned never gives up. Each cliffhanger will push you forward.  Reilly shocks and surprises readers with outlandish situations and roller-coaster thrills.

Rating:

“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:

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.

“The Phantom Carriage” (1921) screenplay, directed by and starring Victor Sjöström / Z-View

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The Phantom Carriage (1921)

Director:  Victor Sjöström

Screenplay: Victor Sjöström; based on Körkarlen by Selma Lagerlöf

Stars: Victor Sjöström, Hilda Borgström, Tore Svennberg

Tagline: Do the Dead Come Back? Can Your Soul Leave Your Body – And Return Again? Is Spiritualism a Reality?

The Plot…

Three drunkards are in a graveyard on New Year’s Eve.  One of the boozers, David, explains the legend that the last sinner to die each year is doomed.  This unfortunate must spend the next year driving Death’s carriage to collect the souls of the dead.  As the clock nears midnight David gets hit on the head with a bottle.  He falls to the ground.  It appears that David’s soul is seen leaving his body.

A carriage approaches…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Charlie Chaplin said The Phantom Carriage was the best film ever made.

The special effects for this 1921 film were done mainly through double (or more) film exposures.  Filming took place from May to July 1920.  Post-production work took five months!

The Phantom Carriage (1921) rates 5 of 5 stars.

SKULL FULL by Anthony Neil Smith

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SKULL FULL by Anthony Neil Smith drops tomorrow.  Here’s the lowdown…

A collection of stories by 2024 Horror Showdown Finalist Anthony Neil Smith about f****d-up families, f****d-up relationships, f****d-up crimes, and f****d-up f**kedness, and are adorably twisted around a darkly humorous core.

Anthony Neil Smith is a novelist whose short fiction has appeared in HAD, Bull, Cowboy Jamboree, Maudlin House, Reckon Review, and many more. He’s a professor at Southwest Minnesota State University, and current editor of online lit mag Revolution John. One of his stories appeared in Best American Mystery & Suspense 2023. He’s been nominated for a Pushcart twice, and for Best of the Net twice. Another story collection, THE TICKS WILL EAT YOU WHOLE, is forthcoming in March of 2025.

REVELATION by Robert Knott / Z-View

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REVELATION by Robert Knott

First sentence…

Augustus Noble Driggs was lying inside the small stone room on a bunk, thinking about Jesus and whatnot.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

US Marshall Virgil Cole and Deputy Everette Hitch receive word that several convicts have escaped prison. Worse still, they have taken the warden’s wife with them.  One of the escapees is none other than Augustus Noble Driggs.  Driggs is “square-jawed, handsome, and built like a muscled thoroughbred stallion.”  He’s well educated, resourceful and a West Point graduate.  Driggs is accurate with both pistol and long rifle.  Smart, physically fit and capable.  Driggs is a stone cold killer and dangerous adversary.

Virgil and Everette ride out to track down Driggs and the convicts.  Little do they know that an equal danger is brewing in Appaloosa.

+++++

Robert Knott does Robert B. Parker proud with another Virgil and Everett yarn.

Rating:

MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES by Jonathan Maberry!

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I’m a big fan of Jonathan Maberry’s novels.  My favorite is his JOE LEDGER series, but everything I’ve ever read by Maberry has been worthy.

MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES is on my “must-buy” list. (How about that cover by Lynne Hansen!)

MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES drops December 3rd, 2024.  Below is the synopsis…

Gerald “Monk” Addison used to be a soldier. Sometimes he’s a bounty hunter. Mostly, he’s a killer of killers.
His body is covered with the faces of victims of serial killers, human traffickers, and other monsters. Their blood is mixed with holy water and then inked onto his skin, allowing him to relive their deaths. To feel what they felt, and to see what they saw. The faces of the killers.

And then Monk goes hunting.

He is forever haunted by the ghosts who hire him. A madman mystic. A man driven to darkness and acts of shocking violence. Monk is a good man on a dark and dangerous road in search of personal redemption. In search of red justice.

MYSTIC collects the Monk Addison case files, pitting him against the most dangerous kinds of human monsters. These are stories of a complex and driven hunter of men. They are tales of a mystic hunting the nightmare streets and back alleys.