Category: Books

“Death by Lightning” (2025) written by Mike Makowski, directed by Matt Ross, starring Michael Shannon, Matthew Macfadyen, Nick Offerman and Betty Gilpin / Z-View

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Death by Lightning (2025)

Created by: Mike Makowsky; based on DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC: A TALE OF MADNESS, MEDICINE AND THE MURDER OF A PRESIDENT by Candice Millard

Director:

  • Matt Ross (Eps. 1-4)

Teleplay:

  • Mike Makowsky (Eps. 1-4)

Stars: Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Shannon, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, Bradley Whitford, Nick Offerman, Laura Marcus, David Nykl, Alfie Tempest, Paula Malcomson, Barry Shabaka Henley and Vondie Curtis-Hall.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Congressman James Garfield went to the 1880 Republican National Convention to give a nomination speech.  Garfield’s oratory was so powerful that through an unlikely series of events he became the party’s nominee.  Although an underdog, Garfield won the election and became the 20th President of the United States.

Charles Guiteau, an ex-con, chronic liar and thief has dreams of glory and fame.  Guiteau admires Garfield and feels their destiny’s are intwined.  But they are not.

So Guiteau decides to kill the man he admires.  Guiteau shoots Garfield in the back.  Garfield is bedridden and in pain for months.  Eighty days after being shot he dies.  James Garfield was President just 200 days.  But his Presidency had a positive impact to this day that few realize.

Charles Guiteau dreamed of fame.  He was executed for his crime and is largely forgotten except to historians.

This is their story.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Death by Lightning is an amazing, but true story.  Although a dramatization, it sticks very close to the actual events.  Kudos to Mike Makowsky, who wrote the teleplay for all four episodes, and to Candice Millard who wrote the book which inspired the project.

The cast is amazing.  Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Shannon, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, Bradley Whitford and Nick Offerman give performances that deserve awards.  They are amazing.  It was also nice to see Barry Shabaka Henley and Vondie Curtis-Hall appear.

Death by Lightning gets my highest recommendation.

Death by Lightning (2025) rates 5 of 5 stars.

FEVER HOUSE by Keith Rosson / Z-View

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FEVER HOUSE by Keith Rosson

First sentences…

Tim Reed sits in the driver’s seat of his ancient and rust-punched Datsun hatchback, balancing a screwdriver on the tip of his finger.  Hutch and Tim are killing time, waiting for some poor guy to come home so they can terrify him and, if necessary, perform grievous harm to the architecture of the man’s body.  It’s the usual deal: reluctance to pay a debt owed.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Tim and Hutch are leg-breakers for Peach Sorreno.  Although the two are more than willing to throw a beatdown on deadbeats who’ve borrowed from Peach, when Tim and Hutch show up to collect, more often than not they come away with money.  That’s par for the course and the way it’s been working that night.

Until they get to Wesley.

Wesley’s a methhead. He claims he has no money.  When Tim and Hutch search Wesley’s apartment, they find a severed hand in his refrigerator.  Tim and Hutch decide to take Wesley and the hand to Peach’s warehouse.  There they’ll sort out what to do next.

What Tim and Hutch don’t know, but will soon learn is the hand causes anyone near it to get violent, murderous thoughts.  These urges become so strong and persistant that those under the influence lose control and act on them.  They will brutally murder anyone near.  Worse still, the killed by a person under the influence of the demon hand, reanimate as zombies with the same sadistic killing urges.

As the madness spreads two factions work to recover the hand…

  • Peach Sorreno knows Tim and Hutch had the hand, but do they still?  Sorreno wants it badly, and brings in Nick Coffin, one of his “fixers” to resolve the issue.

 

  • A US government black ops organization that deals with the occult has been searching for the hand.  Under the direction of David Lundy (who wants the demon hand to weaponize it), two field agents, John Bonner and Samantha Weils are boots on the ground.

With each passing minute, the fevor spreads.  One infected becomes two.  Two become four.  If the hand isn’t recovered and destroyed, it could be the end of the world.

+++

When I started FEVER HOUSE I expected a crime novel with horror overtones.  What I got was an epic, crime/conspiracy/horror/demonic/apocalyptic tale that I absolutely loved.  I’ve already purchased the sequel and it’s nearing the top of my next-to-read pile.

FEVER HOUSE gets my highest recommendation.

Rating:

“The Thicket” (2024), starring Peter Dinklage, Juliette Lewis, Esmé Creed-Miles, Levon Hawke and Leslie Grace with Gbenga Akinnagbe / Z-View

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The Thicket (2024)

Director: Elliott Lester

Screenplay: Chris Kelley, based on THE THICKET by Joe R. Lansdale

Stars: Peter Dinklage, Juliette Lewis, Esmé Creed-Miles, Levon Hawke, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Ned Dennehy, James Hetfield, Macon Blair, Arliss Howard, Leslie Grace,  Ryan Robbins, Teach Grant,  Derek Gilroy, Roger LeBlanc and David Midthunder.

Tagline: Death comes fast in Texas

The Plot…

Jack, his sister Lula and their grandfather Caleb, are on their way to Caleb’s 700 acre ranch in Montana.  At a ferry crossing they come across the infamous outlaw Cut-Throat Bill and her gang.  Caleb is murdered.  Jack left for dead and Lula is kidnapped.

Jack makes it to the next town.  There he sees part-time bounty hunters / grave diggers Reginald Jones and Eustace Howard in action.  Jones and Howard make an unlikely pair.  Jones has dwarfism and Howard is a black man.  Jack wants to hire them to help him rescue his sister.  Jones and Howard are hesitant to go against Cut-Throat Bill and her gang.  When Jack tells them he owns a 700 acre ranch in Montana and offers them land if they take on the job.  They agree knowing that success is unlikely.

What chance does a young kid, and part-time bounty hunters have against Cut-Throat Bill and her gang?  Let’s find out.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Thicket is based on Joe R. Lansdale’s novel of the same name released by Mulholland Books on September 10, 2013.  Making the film was a longtime passion project for Peter Dinklage.  Dinklage was first linked to the project in 2014.

Juliette Lewis has never been better.  She owns every scene as the frightening and murderous Cut-Throat Bill.

The Thicket (2024) rates 4 of 5 stars.

RETURN OF THE MALTESE FALCON by Max Allan Collins / Z-View

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THE RETURN OF THE MALTESE FALCON by Max Allan Collins

Publisher: Hard Case Crime

First sentence…

Samuel Spade, leaning back in his swivel-chair, studied the modest pine tree that might have sprouted tinsel-trimmed from where his late partner’s desk had till lately stood.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

THEN…

Detective Sam Spade was pulled into the search for the legendary Maltese Falcon, a jewel-encrusted gold statuette intended as a gift for the 16th century King of Spain.  Spade’s partner was murdered.  Spade was the prime suspect. 

Brigid O’Shaughnessy who hired Spade, was willing to use money, her female charms and anything else to get Spade’s protection from criminals after the Falcon.  The others were Casper Gutman, an obese gentleman malefactor and his thugs, Cairo and Wilmer Cook.  Gutman depended on his brains and lies.  When that didn’t work, Cairo and Cook would use their guns.

In addition to Spade’s partner, two others were killed in pursuit of the bird.  Turns out Brigid was the murderess.  She’s now behind bars.  So is Cairo.  But the story doesn’t end there…

NOW…

About a week has passed since Sam Spade’s life was upended.  Rhea Gutman, the teenage daughter of Casper Gutman, wants to hire Spade to find the Maltese Falcon.  Rhea informs Spade, her father was murdered, but she wants to complete his life’s mission.  Rhea believes the Falcon is somewhere close.  Spade accepts her retainer.

In short order, Spade is approached independently by several people who also want the Falcon.

  • Dixie Monahan, an infamous and dangerous Chicago gambler.  He has no legal claim to the bird, but sees an opportunity to make money.

  • Corinne Wonderly, the younger sister of the imprisoned Brigid O’Shaughnessy wants to get and sell the Falcon.  She plans to use the money raised to help her sister get a good lawyer.

  • Stewart Blackwood is a British Museum curator.  He claims that he legally purchased the Maltese Falcon and it was stolen.  Blackwood has a bill of sale.

Never one to turn down money, Spade accepts retainers from each.

Spade then works to untangle the lies, double crosses, twisted motivations and shifting alliances brought on by greed and self-preservation.  Several people have already died in pursuit of the jewel-encrusted bird.

More will as well.

+++++

Recently Max Allan Collins gave away several copies of RETURN OF THE MALTESE FALCON.  I was a lucky winner.  Truth be told, I would have bought a copy had I not won one.

Collins is an author that I follow.   I’m a huge fan of Max Allan Collins’ Nate Heller series.  Every new Heller tale is a must-buy for me.  Collins also completed several of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer novels (from partially finished manuscripts and outlines).  I’ve read almost all of them.  Collins’ Quarry crime novels are also good.  I’ve read some of them.  Same could be said for Collins’ Ms. Tree comics, his Dick Tracy strips and his movie adaptations and other novels.  Max Allan Collins can be counted on to deliver a great tale each time out, but it’s his Nate Heller series that does it best for me.

RETURN OF THE MALTESE FALCON shouldn’t be thought of as a sequel.  It’s a continuation of the story.  Taking on Hammet’s classic characters was a bold move.  I’m very happy to say that Collins met the challenge.

Collins is to be commended.  Not only for daring to step up and continue Hammet’s classic, but also for his ease at transporting readers to 1928 San Franciso.  Collins take on Spade and the other characters feels like Hammet from their motivations to dialogue.  Collins humor (just the right amount) and witty dialogue shine.  The plot twists are unexpected, but not outlandish.  They work to provide a surprisingly and satisfying climax.

RETURN OF THE MALTESE FALCON not only reaches the bar set by Collins’ Nate Heller novels but that of Hammet in the original tale.  I don’t say this lightly.

I’d love to see Collins provide us with another Sam Spade outing.  Maybe even one that crosses over with Nate Heller.

RETURN OF THE MALTESE FALCON gets my highest recommendation.

Rating:

RIGHTEOUS TRASH by Nick Kolakowski / Z-View

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RIGHTEOUS TRASH by Nick Kolakowski

First sentence…

It was midnight but I was still wide awake in bed when the security lights in the back yard blazed to life.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Jake Halligan needs a break.  He’s not making much as a bounty hunter.  If his finanaces don’t improve, he could lose everything.  His land.  His wife.  His daughter.

When Jake’s crazy sister, Frankie unexpectedly returns from Mexico, Jake doesn’t know what to expect.  Frankie has come back to restart her illegal arms business.  Jake wants no part of it.

Frankie is the best shot Jake (or nearly anyone) has ever seen.  Frankie plans to enter and win Crazy Bill’s world famous shooting contest. Frankie knows the grand prize money will give her the startup cash she needs.  There’s just one problem.  She has to win.

Jake has faith in Frankie.  Although the contest draws crack shots from around the country, Frankie is the best.  Even on a bad day, Frankie would be tough to beat.  Jake decides to take a leap of faith.  He goes to a loan shark and borrows $100,000.00.  He’s going to bet it all on Frankie winning.  If she does Jake can pay off the loan plus interest and be flush again. But if Frankie doesn’t win, Jake will lose everything including his life.  The loan shark told him as much.

Soon Jake and Frankie are the targets of rival gangs, corrupt politicians, and Federal Agents.  Oh, and let’s not forget the loan shark who wants his money… or Jake dead.

+++

RIGHTEOUS TRASH is the third outing for Jake and Frankie.  If you’re a fan of crime stories featuring non-stop action with a nice mix of humor, then this one is for you!

Rating:

BLOOD AND MAGICK by James R. Tuck / Z-View

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BLOOD AND MAGICK by James R. Tuck

First sentences…

I should have known.

There were signs.  I’m supposed to be the damn expert.  I should have caught the warnings.

I should have.

But I was completely clueless until the minute the restaurant exploded in a wave of eldritch flame and burning glass.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Deacon Chalk knows the truth about things that go bump in the night.  Chalk looks like a stereotypical biker.  Bald head.  Tats. Tall, broad-shouldered and muscular.  But Chalk is anything but stereotypical.  Several years ago, he almost died along with his family.  Vampires took them out.  But Chalk was saved by an angelic blood transfusion.  Yeah, angel’s blood.

Now Chalk and the small circle of friends that surround him are monster hunters.

But not tonight.

Chalk, his girlfriend Tiff, and their friends are having a quiet dinner.  Then all hell explodes.  Literally.  Members of a coven known as the Wrath of Baphomet attack.  They’re after the “Blood of the Trinity”.

Chalk and his team are no longer the monster hunters… tonight the monsters hunt them.

+++

BLOOD AND MAGICK is the third book in James R. Tuck’s Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter series.  I’ve read and enjoyed all three.

I love crime, noir and detective/anti-hero stories. Add the right mix of humor and violence and I’m on board. The tales don’t normally feature werewolves, vampires, witches or demons.  But Tuck’s Deacon Chalk yarns do, and they work.

Chalk is the type of anti-hero I like. Smart (but not brainy), tough and with enough attitude to get him in tight jams as he tries to (mostly) do the right thing. While I’m not ready for a constant diet of this genre, when I do want another taste, I know James R. Tuck is open for business with other tales.

 

Rating:

“One Battle After Another” (2025) written & directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti / Z-View

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One Battle After Another (2025)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson; based on VINELAND by Thomas Pynchon

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Benicio Del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall, Wood Harris, Starletta DuPois and Kevin Tighe.

Tagline: Some search for battle, others are born into it…

The Plot…

Bob and his sixteen year old daughter, Willa live off the grid in California.  Bob’s a stoner and over-protective of Willa.

But for good reason.

Seventeen years ago, Bob’s real name was Pat.  Pat was a member of a revolutionary group that robbed banks, broke immigrants out of detention centers and bombed military instilations.  Willa’s mother was also a member of the militant group.  She abandoned Pat and Willa when she fled to Mexico to avoid prison.

Bob and Willa’s peaceful existence is about to be shattered.  Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw, for secret personal reasons, wants Willa dead.

Lockjaw has the might of the US military at his disposal… and he’s closing in.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

One Battle After Another made more critics’ annual “best of” lists in 2025 than any other film, including the most 1st-place votes.

One Battle After Another features Chase Infiniti’s film debut.  She is excellent.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro and Teyana Taylor are perfectly cast.  Sean Penn, who is always excellent, deserves an Academy Award for his performance as Col. Lockjaw.

One Battle After Another is an excellent film.  It features over-the-top characters and outlandish situations.  It’s full of action with the right amount of humor.  I wouldn’t argue with anyone calling it their #1 film of the year (although I’d go with Sinners).  The acting, directing and writing is excellent.  However, I don’t feel that One Battle After Another is a film I’ll often revisit.  Your mileage as always may vary.

One Battle After Another (2025) rates 4 of 5 stars.

THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE: A Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery by Lawrence Block

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THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE: A Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery by Lawrence Block

First sentences…

The lobby was a bit worse for the wear.  The large oriental carpet had seen better days, lots of them.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Bernie Rhodenbarr is a witty, mild-mannered book lover.  Bernie can usually be found running his used bookstore.  Where Bernie is never sledom found is at his second profession.  Bernie’s a thief.

Alice Cottrell, the former teenage lover of the world-famous, reclusive author Gulliver “Gully” Fairborn visits Bernie in his bookstore.  Gully is the author of NOBODY’S BABY, the novel that influenced a generation.  Even Bernie felt the book had a positive impact on his life, changing the way he looked at the world.  Instead of a sequel or following up NOBODY’S BABY, Gully became a traveling recluse.  He wanted no publicity and his life kept private.

Anthea Landau. Gully’s former agent, kept years of Gully’s private letters.  She plans to auction them off in a few days keeping the money for herself.  Gully wants the letters destroyed.  Anthea wants to pay Bernie to steal them before the auction.

Bernie decides t0 take possession of the letters.  Landau lives at The Padington, a once famous, but no rundown hotel.  Bernie takes a room.  Getting into Landau’s apartment late at night is a breeze.  Bernie quietly enters her bedroom and after a brief search finds the letters.  As he’s exciting, Bernie sees a huge knife sticking out of Landau’s chest.

She wasn’t sleeping.  She was dead. Recently murdered.

And now the cops are about to enter the room.

If Bernie can’t find a way out, and discover who killed Landau, he’ll  take the fall.

+++

THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE is the ninth Bernie Rhodenbarr novel.  Each story features a murder mystery full of witty dialogue, a healthy does of humor, interesting characters, multiple suspects and a conclusion where Bernie brings everyone together to explain the intricacies of the tale and expose the murderer.

Bernie Rhodenbarr tales are always fun.

Rating:

“Cross: Season 2” starring Aldis Hodge and Isaiah Mustafa – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The Poster and Trailer for Cross: Season 2 Are Here!  Loved season one.

Deal me in.

Alex Cross is back for justice.

An all new season of Cross is out February 11 on Prime Video.

About Cross: A Washington, D.C. crime drama that follows Alex Cross, a brilliant homicide detective, whose personal struggles threaten to derail his career and life. Based on the worldwide bestselling book series by James Patterson.

ANTIHEREO: AN OPRHAN X NOVEL by Greg Hurwitz is Coming!

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There’s a new Greg Hurwitz Orphan X novel that will drop on February 10th.  It’s the 11th in the series and it’s titled ANTIHERO.  Here’s the synopsis…

In the next book in this New York Times best-selling series, Evan Smoak takes on his most complex mission yet―one where he not only has to protect but also avenge, and find a way to balance vengeance with mercy.

Once a black ops assassin for the government known as Orphan X, Evan Smoak broke with the program and went deep underground, using his operational rules and skills to help the truly desperate with nowhere else to turn.

When Luke Devine, one of the most powerful men in the world, has a psychological crisis, Evan flies to the East Coast to help him. While there, he learns of a young woman who was kidnapped off the New York City subway, clearly in danger and in need of aid. With no name and few clues, Evan and his team track down the missing woman, who was assaulted and abandoned. Evan offers his help―and sets out finding the young men responsible. But the woman insists that Evan abandon his usual methods―no vengeance and, in particular, no killing. Which will prove no easy feat given the mounting incoming threats from all sides. In a mission that takes Evan from coast to coast, from the poorest corners of society to the richest, Orphan X must figure out a way to protect the innocent, avenge the victimized, and balance justice with a measure of mercy.

ANTIHERO: AN ORPHAN X NOVEL  Hardcover

ANTIHERO: AN ORPHAN X NOVEL  Kindle

FRONT SIGHT: THREE SWAGGER NOVELLAS by Stephen Hunter / Z-View

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FRONT SIGHT: THREE SWAGGER NOVELLAS by Stephen Hunter

City of Meat

First sentence…

Chicago 1934

The bickering got so bad, finally, that the director called both Sam Cowley and Mel Purvis to Washington to talk out the command difficulties in the productive but messed-up Chicago field office of the Justice Department’s glamorous Division of Investigation.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

J. Edgar Hoover is basking in the attention that his Division of Investigation is getting from the capture killing of John Dillinger.  Hoover wants more of the same.  The next big-name gangster Hoover wants to bring down is Baby Face Nelson.  Who better to get the job done, than the man who killed Dillinger?

Not the federal agent who was creditied with doing the deed.  No, Hoover wanted the man who actually pulled the trigger. Charles Swagger.  Swagger was smart.  Equally important he was cool and calm when bullets flew.  And Swagger hit what he aimed at.

So when word reached Washington that Baby Face Nelson was seen around the Chicago Union Stock Yards, Charles Swagger was sent down to investigate.

Alone, in the dark, Swagger is walking the stockyard when he is attacked by a lunatic.  Forced to defend himself, Swagger kills the man.  When the stockyard police arrive, they’re ready to sweep the event under the rug.  A white police office killed a “coon” in self-defense.  Nothing to see here.

So Swagger investigates.  Turns out the man he killed was hopped up on a new drug.  So far it was only found in the  7th District of Chicago.  Although several murders could be tied to people under the influence of the drug, the people killed didn’t rate.  The local cops wrote off the murders as business as usual for the area.

Swagger feels differently.  His investigation shifts.  Swagger plans to find the source of the drug and bring them to justice.  He knows it involves powerful people somehow associated with the stockyard.  He’s getting pressure from local cops and stockyard officals to back off.  His bosses in Washington want results on Baby Face Nelson.

But Swagger won’t quit.  Even if it kills him.

+++

Johnny Tuesday

First sentence…

It was February 1945, and in the cities of America, small or large, town, burg, village, or hamlet, everybody smoked.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Earl Swagger is, like his father Charles, a former soldier and lawman known for his brains, toughness and marksmanship.  Earl’s undercover investigation into a successful bank robbery that resulted in two murders is going nowhere.  His resistance from the local officials indicate the robbery is tied to something bigger than a couple of thugs looking for an easy score.

But what could it be?

Perhaps it’s the money laundering or the gambling ring or the two gangs looking to get on top? Earl knows that he’s being manipulated by a fem fatale.  But to what end?

And what could be worse than being trapped in a remote, deserted house with a cold blooded hitman?

+++

Five Dolls for the Gut Hook

First sentence…

Hot Springs,
Arkansas,
1978

I am improving.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Bob Lee Swagger is like his grandfather and father a decorated soldier.  Bob’s war was Viet Nam.  There he was a sniper.  One of the best.  But Bob’s not a lawman.  And since the war, he’s struggled with drinking too much and survivor’s guilt over lost men.

Bob is surprised when he’s approached by an old friend from Hot Springs, Arkansas.  A serial killer has been brutally butchering young women there.  The police are stuck.  No leads.  No progress.  And the murders keep occuring.  Five so far.

Bob is confused.  He’s a sniper, not a detective.  And that’s exactly why they want him.  He’s told, “We need somebody smart who can look at stuff from different angles and maybe see something that our best people have missed… you are the son and grandson of two of the greatest detectives this state has ever produced.”

Bob agrees to assist with the investigation.  They know the killer will strike again soon.  The clock is ticking.

+++

Stephen Hunter’s Swagger novels are automatic buys for me.  I love the family history.  Hunter is an excellent story teller.  FRONT SITE provides three tales and each is a banger.  FRONT SITE gets my highest recommendation.

Rating:

Craig’s Best of 2025: Films / TV / Books / Posts

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Happy New Year!

As we start 2026, let’s take a look at the BEST OF 2025. I hope you see something that you enjoyed or gets you interested to check out. Here we go…

Movies and Television Series

In 2025, I watched 375 movies and tv series. That number is down 21 from last year. My favorite films and limited series released in 2025 included (in alpha order):

  • A House of Dynamite
  • aka Charlie Sheen
  • Amateur, The
  • American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden
  • Americas, The
  • Caught Stealing
  • Chaos: The Manson Murders
  • Duster
  • Havoc
  • Last Samurai Standing: Season 1
  • Mayor of Kingstown: Season 4
  • Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
  • Paradise: Season 1
  • Pitt, The
  • Reacher: Season 3
  • Sean Combs: The Reckoning
  • Sinners
  • Sly Lives
  • Surviving Black Hawk Down
  • Tulsa King: Season 3
  • Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
  • Wick is Pain
  • WWE Unreal: Season 1

Books

In 2025, I read 37 books (down 9 from last year) My favorites from this year included (in the order I read them):

  • 1. Joe Ledger: Secret Missions 1 by Jonathan Maberry
    2. The Big Empty by Robert Crais
    3. Joe Ledger: Secret Missions 2 by Jonathan Maberry
    4. Burn to Shine by Jonathan Maberry
    5. The Friends of Pancho Villa by James Carlos Blake
    6. Blue Moon by Lee Child
    7. King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby
    8. Ceremony by Robert B. Parker
    9. Hatchet Girls by Joe R. Lansdale
    10. Hunter’s Moon by James Byron Huggins
    11. Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz
    12. Front Sight by Stephen Hunter
    13. Fever House by Keith Rosson
    14. November Road by Lou Berney
    15. Hush Money by Robert B. 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 2025 and some thoughts for each…

10. The Syfy Channel’s 2025 “Twilight Zone” Christmas Marathon Schedule is Up! – The Twilight Zone Marathon Schedule posts are always popular. Last year the TZ New Year’s Marathon Schedule clocked in at #10.

9. The 25 Best ’90s Movies – New to the top ten!

8. Evidence Points to Gary Francis Poste as The Zodiac Killer! – Fell from the #2 spot.

7. Wolverine (and that scary smirk) by John Byrne! – New to the top ten!

6. The Dichotomy Philosophy Quiz – New to the top ten!

5. RIP: Johnny Crawford – New to the top ten!

4. Syfy’s Twilight Zone 2025/2026 New Year’s Marathon Schedule is Up! – The TZ New Year’s Marathon announcement moved from the 10th spot to #4!

3. Batman – “It Was a Dark and Stormy Night” by Snoopy (Charles Schulz), Len Wein & Walt Simonson! – No change. Was in the #3 spot last year.

2. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk” – moved from the #1 spot last year.

1. “CAUGHT STEALING” screenplay by Charlie Huston, directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring Austin King, Regina King & Zoe Kravitz – The Trailer is Here! – Making it’s first appearance on the list and in the #1 spot.

My All-Time Most Popular Posts

10. The 2021 TWILIGHT ZONE New Year’s Eve Marathon is Coming and the Full Schedule is Out! – The Twilight Zone Marathon posts are always popular.

09. Gadot & The Rock Strike a Pose – this is the fifth year in a row that the Gadot & The Rock Pose post has remained in the 9th spot.

08. Steve Reeves as Superman – this is the third year in a row that Steve Reeves as Superman flew in to the 8th spot.

07. TOP 10 MOST ICONIC HORROR MOVIE VILLAINS! – For the second year in a row.

06. Billy the Kid Photo Discovered – holding strong for two years in a row.

05. Dracula Through the Ages – moved to the 5th spot last year and held on for the second year in a row.

04. SYFY’s 2023/2024 Twilight Zone New Year’s Eve Marathon Schedule is Up! – remains our 4th most popular post for the second year in a row.

03. Zodiac Killer Code Cracked? – Came in 3rd last year and held that spot.

02. Louis Meyers: Evidence He Was the Zodiac Killer – our second all-time most popular post for the second year in a row.

01. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk” – our all-time most popular post for the third year in a row.

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

“Shattered” (1991) written & directed by Wolfgang Peterson, starring Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins and Greta Scacchi / Z-View

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Shattered (1991)

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

Screenplay: Wolfgang Petersen; based on THE PLASTIC NIGHTMARE by Richard Neeley

Stars: Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins, Greta Scacchi, Joanne Whalley, Corbin Bernsen, Bert Rosario, Kellye Nakahara, Frank Cavestani and Theodore Bikel.

Tagline:  A love he can’t forget. A murder he can’t remember.

The Plot…

Dan Merrick wakes up in a hospital with no memory of how he got there.  His injuries were gruesome.  He barely lived.  His face required reconstructive plastic surgery.  The concussion left him with psychogenic amnesia.  But he lived.

Dan learns driving home late one night he and Judith, his wife, were involved in a terrible accident. The car went off the road and over a steep embankment.  Judith suffered minor injuries when she was thrown from the car.  Dan has no memory of the accident or anything from his past.  The doctors say it could slowly return… or not.

Judith is so loving and attentive to Dan as he recovers.  Dan learns he was a partner in an architectural firm.  Slowly flashes of memory come to Dan but they make no sense.  As Dan is going through things he comes across hidden photos.  They are of Judith.  With another man.  Judith was cheating on him!

As Dan’s memory slowly returns he begins to wonder about the accident. The same wreck that nearly killed him, left Judith with minor injuries.  If Judith and her lover were trying to kill him, Dan is sure that they will conspire to finish the job.

If only he could remember…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)… 

Shattered delivers as a Hitchcockian psychological erotic thriller.  It’s a fun neo-noir mystery filled with surprises and a fun twist ending.

Shattered reminds me of a film that would have been made in the 1940s, but instead is a product of 1990s film sensibilities.

I love it.

Shattered (1991) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Caught Stealing” written by Charlie Huston, directed by Darren Aronofsky; starring Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio and Benito Martinez Ocasio / Z-View

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Caught Stealing (2025)

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Screenplay: Charlie Huston; based on CAUGHT STEALING by Charlie Huston

Stars: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Griffin Dunne, Shaun O’Hagan, Action Bronson, Matt Smith, Nikita Kukushkin, Yuri Kolokolnikov, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Oleg Prudius, Liev Schreiber, Benito Martinez Ocasio, Bad Bunny, Carol Kane and Vincent D’Onofrio.

Tagline: 2 Russians, 2 Jews and a Puerto Rican walk into a bar…

The Plot…

Henry “Hank” Thompson was a baseball phenom headed to the big leagues straight out of high school.  Then a tragic auto accident left a friend dead and Hank with a career-ending injury.  A career that never even had a chance to get started.

That was ten years ago. 1988.  Now Hank is a New York City bartender.  He drinks too much, lacks real ambition, and still loves The San Francisco Giants.  Oh, Hank also loves Yvonne.  She’s a positive influence and it looks like they may have a future.  Life is good.  Except for his nightmares about the car crash. What could have been and what was.

Still, with Yvonne, life is on the right track.

When Hank’s neighbor, Russ Miner has to leave for a few days to visit his hospitalized father, Hank is talked into taking care of Russ’ cat.  It isn’t long after, that two Russian mobsters show up.  They’re looking for Russ.  When Hank cannot give the thugs the answers they want, they beat Hank nearly to death.

Detective Elise Roman questions Hank. She thinks he’s withholding information.  He’s not.  Detective Roman informs Hank that the Russians are dangerous. (No kidding.)  Worse still, his neighbor Russ works for the infamous Drucker brothers.  The Drucker brothers are known killers, but never leave anyone alive willing to testify against them.  Detective Roman warns Hank that with the Russians and the Druckers after him, he won’t have long to live.  Neither will anyone close to him.  If the Russians don’t get them, the Druckers will.

Hank has no clue what everyone is looking for.  Hank understands if he doesn’t figure it out, he’s dead… and so are his family and friends.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)… 

Charlie Huston’s Henry “Hank” Thompson trilogy (CAUGHT STEALING / SIX BAD THINGS / A DANGEROUS MAN) earned the #1 spot in my favorite books of 2006.  They get my highest recommendation.  Although the movie makes changes from the novel, I still loved the adaptation.

Caught Stealing is exceptionally well cast.  It is my favorite Austin Butler film.  It would be cool to see the rest of the Hank Thompson trilogy adapted and Butler make the transformation to A DANGEROUS MAN.  Zoë Kravitz is perfect as Hank’s love interest.  Kudos also to Regina King, Griffin Dunne, Shaun O’Hagan, Liev Schreiber, Bad Bunny, Carol Kane and Vincent D’Onofrio.  They shine.

Caught Stealing has a couple of shocking twists.  It also has the right mix of suspense, humor and action.  I loved it.  Caught Stealing gets my highest recommendation.

Caught Stealing (2025) rates 5 of 5 stars.