Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Duane Swierczynski’s new novel California Bear sounds like a must-buy. Here’s the synopsis…
A cinematic new mystery from an award-winning crime writer, California Bear follows two unlikely vigilantes whose decision to take justice into their own hands pits them against the villains behind California’s coldest cases—and their own twisted histories.
California Bear drops on September 5, 2023. Pre-orders are available now.
Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
Director: Dick Richards
Screenplay: David Zelag Goodman based on Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
Stars: Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland, Sylvia Miles, Anthony Zerbe, Harry Dean Stanton, Jack O’Halloran, Joe Spinell, Sylvester Stallone, Kate Murtagh, Ted Gehring and Logan Ramsey
Tagline: I need another drink … I need a lot of life insurance … I need a vacation … and all I’ve got is a coat, a hat, and a gun !
The Plot…
Moose Malloy (O’Halloran) just finished a seven year prison stretch. Now the big lug wants to reconnect with his girl, Velma. He hasn’t heard from her in years, but believes once he sees her all will be as it was. So Moose hires Marlowe (Mitchum) to find her. Marlowe explains that seven years is a long time, they have little to go on and Velma has probably moved on. (That last part nearly gets Mitchum’s face rearranged.)
So Mitchum reluctantly takes on the case. As he digs deeper, people start dying… and Marlowe may be next.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Farewell, My Lovely is a classic tale of love and betrayal. It’s been adapted as a film three times and all are good.
My first thought was Mitchum (legend that he is) was a bit old to play Phillip Marlowe. But as the movie progressed, my thinking changed to, “Why not an older world weary take on the PI?”. Jack O’Halloran (in his first role!) is perfectly cast as the slow thinking mountain of a man determined to find his old flame. The supporting cast includes many familiar faces including Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland, Sylvia Miles, Anthony Zerbe and Harry Dean Stanton. Sly Stallone and Joe Spinell have small roles, but would go on to appear in Rocky the following year! Kudos to Kate Murtagh for her take on a tough madam who can take a punch as good as she gives!
Dick Richards does an excellent job of creating a world that feels like LA in 1941. David Shire’s wonderful soundtrack adds to the feel of the era.
Every version of Farewell, My Lovely is worth a look. This one is no exception.
Farewell, My Lovely earns 4 of 5 stars.
As we start 2023, let’s pause for a look at the BEST OF 2022. I hope you see something that you enjoyed or gets you interested to check out. Here we go…
Movies and Limited Series
In 2022, I watched 409 movies and limited series. That number is up 37 from last year. None were seen in a theater! My favorite films and limited series released in 2022 included (in alpha order):
Tulsa King would have made the list, but since the season hasn’t finished yet, I haven’t added it. It will definitely make next year’s Best Of list.
Books
In 2022, I read 37 books (2 less than last year). My favorites from this year included (in the order I read them):
Love & Bullets Megabomb Edition by Nick Kolakowski
Boise Longpig Hunting Club by Nick Kolakowski
The Devil’s Own Piss… by Whiskey Leavins
61 Hours by Lee Child
Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
At Their Own Game by Frank Zafiro
IQ by Joe Ide
Murder in Grease Paint by Whiskey Leavins
And Sometimes I Wonder About You by Walter Mosley
Righteous by Joe Ide
Trouble is What I Do by Walter Mosley
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino
Later by Stephen King
Down the River unto the Sea by Walter Mosley
I’m surprised I didn’t read anything by Joe Lansdale this year. How did that even happen??
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 2022 and some thoughts for each…
10. Top 10 Most Iconic Horror Movie Villains – Dropped from #7 last year. Second year in a row to drop.
09. Batman & Manbat by Marshall Rogers & John Beatty! New to the list!
08. The Different Covers for David Morrell’s First Blood. New to the list!
07. “Clean” starring Adrian Brody – The Poster and Trailer are Here! New to the list!
06. Gadot & The Rock Strike a Pose – was in the 8th spot last year.
05. Evidence Points to NEW Suspect as the Zodiac Killer. New to the list!
04. Louis Meyers: Evidence He was the Zodiac Killer – came in the #3 spot last year and #2 the year before.
03. Dracula Through the Ages – was in our 4th spot last year. Flipped places with Louis Meyers.
02. The TWILIGHT ZONE New Year’s Eve Marathon is Coming and the Full Schedule is Out! – was the most popular post last year but was beat out this year by Schwarzenegger and Williams.
01. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk” – regains the #1 spot for the year.
My All-Time Most Popular Posts
The top 4 didn’t change and only one new post broke in to the All-Time most popular posts. Let’s see how things shook out…
10. Joel Osteen in Jacksonville – dropped from 7th to 10th. Two years in a row of drops. May not make the list next year.
09. Gadot & The Rock Strike a Pose – was in the 9th spot for the last two years.
08. The TWILIGHT ZONE New Year’s Eve Marathon is Coming and the Full Schedule is Out! – New to the list! I love the love that the TZ is getting!
07. Steve Reeves as Superman – was the #5 all-time most popular post last year.
06. Dracula Through the Ages – up from the 10th spot. Vampires are in.
05. TOP 10 MOST ICONIC HORROR MOVIE VILLAINS! – from 6th to 5th. Two years in a row of moving up!
04. New Billy the Kid Photo Discovered – 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 last year 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.
Jonathan Maberry’s sequel to Kagen the Damned, Son of the Poison Rose will be available on January 10, 2023. Here’s the synopsis…
Son of the Poison Rose marks the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry’s epic, swashbuckling Kagen the Damned series.
The Silver Empire is in ruins. War is in the wind. Kagen and his allies are on the run from the Witch-king. Wild magic is running rampant everywhere. Spies and secret cabals plot from the shadows of golden thrones.
Kagen Vale is the most wanted man in the world, with a death sentence on his head and a reward for him―dead or alive―that would tempt a saint.
The Witch-king has new allies who bring a terrible weapon―a cursed disease that drives people into a murderous rage. If the disease is allowed to spread, the whole of the West will tear itself apart.
In order to build an army of resistance fighters and unearth magical weapons of his own, Kagen and his friends have to survive attacks and storms at sea, brave the haunted wastelands of the snowy north, fight their way across the deadly Cathedral Mountains, and rediscover a lost city filled with cannibal warriors, old ghosts, and monsters from other worlds. Along with his reckless adventurer brothers, Kagen races against time to save more than the old empire… if he fails the world will be drenched in a tsunami of bloodshed and horror.
Son of the Poison Rose weaves politics and espionage, sorcery and swordplay, treachery and heroism as the damned outcast Kagen fights against the forces of ultimate darkness.
Pre-orders are available now.
Here is the second trailer to M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin. Deal me in.
Knock at the Cabin – Only in Theaters February 3, 2023
https://www.knockatthecabin.com/While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.
From visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin stars Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Tony award and Emmy nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag), BAFTA nominee Nikki Amuka-Bird (Persuasion, Old), newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn (Little Women, Landline) and Rupert Grint (Servant, Harry Potter franchise).
Universal Pictures presents a Blinding Edge Pictures production, in association with FilmNation Features and Wishmore Entertainment, an M. Night Shyamalan film. The screenplay is by M. Night Shyamalan and Steve Desmond & Michael Sherman based on the national bestseller The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. The film is directed by M. Night Shyamalan and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Marc Bienstock (Split, Glass) and Ashwin Rajan (Servant, Glass). The executive producers are Steven Schneider, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos and Ashley Fox.
Interview with the Vampire Season 1 (2022)
Directors: Alan Taylor (episodes 1-2); Keith Powell (episodes 3-4); Levan Akin (episodes 5-6); Alexis Ostrander (episode 7)
Teleplay: Rolin Jones (episode 1); Jonathan Ceniceroz & Dave Harris (episode 2); Rolin Jones & Hannah Moscovitch (episode 3); Eleanor Burgess (episode 4); Hannah Moscovitch (episode 5); Coline Abert (episode 6); Rolin Jones & Ben Philippe (episode 7)
Stars: Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, Assad Zaman, Bailey Bass, Rae Dawn Chong and Dana Gourrier
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Interview with a Vampire is an adaptation of Anne Rice’s novel, Interview with a Vampire.
In 1910, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Anderson) is a successful black business man. He owns several brothels and rubs shoulders with many of the city’s civic leaders. Louis meets and befriends Lestat de Lioncourt (Reid). Lestat is handsome, charismatic and somewhat mysterious. He’s also a vampire! As Louis and Lestat spend time together, their friendship grows. Ultimately, Lestat turns Louis into a vampire.
Louis is shocked and sickened by what he’s become. He vows to never see Lestat again… but that doesn’t last. Lestat teaches Louis how to hunt, the things that will kill a vampire, and how to blend in among humans. Louis makes Lestat agree to some concessions. They will prey only on the worst humans. Lestat agrees, but he’s a remorseless killer. The promise is a sham. There is more that Lestat keeps secret.
When a fire breaks out in a poor part of town, Louis pulls Claudia (Bass), a young girl, from a burning building. Claudia is on the verge of death. Louis saves Claudia by turning her. Louis and Lestat become her “uncles” and the three vampires live together.
Over time Claudia sees the differences between Louis and Lestat. Louis is compassionate and caring. Lestat is self-centered and heartless. A rift forms. Louis and Lestat are already having issues with their toxic relationship. Problems increase with Claudia’s need for independence. Plus rumors are growing about strange goings on in Louis and Lestat’s mansion…
All of this is relayed in flashbacks as Louis is interviewed by Daniel Malloy (Bogosian), a cynical writer planning a book on Louis’ life.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Interview with the Vampire Season 1 is a tour de force. Well written with extremely well cast actors joined by top notch direction results in a wonderful viewing experience.
Jacob Anderson (Louis) and Sam Reid (Lestat) have chemistry. I knew Anderson from his impressive role on Game of Thrones. I had seen Reid a decade ago in the mini-series Hatfields & McCoys, but didn’t remember him until looking up his credits. Reid makes an impact here! Baily Bass as Claudia is an actress to watch. I’d never seen her before, but imagine she’ll be a household name soon. She’s that talented. Eric Bogosian is great as the cynical writer. I’ve never been a big fan of Bogosian’s but he’s perfect here.
Interview with a Vampire isn’t your typical vampire tale. These vampires have more desires than just drinking blood. It’s interesting how different aspects of a vampire’s life are explored. First there’s the loneliness. A vampire is a rare creature that if discovered by humans would be killed. All of a vampire’s relationships change. Family and friends know something is different. Vampires never age. They are rarely seen during the day. How to get rid of the bodies they feed on? How long before missing people are linked to the vampire?
Interview with a Vampire Season 1, like Anne Rice’s novel, doesn’t shy away from the homosexual aspects of Louis and Lestat’s relationship. Nothing graphic is shown. Louis was a closeted homosexual in 1910. Lestat was uninhibited and took whatever he desired whether it was a woman or a man. Who’d think that a toxic vampire relationship would make great television.
I loved every episode of Interview with a Vampire Season 1. There’s a lot of ground to cover between 1910 and 2022. While many questions were an answered even more were not. I look forward to Season 2.
Interview with the Vampire Season 1 earns 5 of 5 stars.
Q & A (1990)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Screenplay: Sidney Lumet based on the novel Q & A by Edwin Torres
Stars: Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton, Armand Assante, Patrick O’Neal, Lee Richardson, Luis Guzmán, Charles S. Dutton, Jenny Lumet, Paul Calderon, Dominic Chianese, Leonardo Cimino, Fyvush Finkel and John Capodice
Tagline: When the questions are dangerous, the answers can be deadly.
The Plot…
Late one night Al Reilly (Hutton) is awakened by a call from Kevin Quinn (O’Neal), the head of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau. Quinn wants Reilly to investigate a police shooting. Mike Brennan (Nolte) a decorated NY city cop with a reputation for being tough killed a small-time Puerto Rican hood. Brennan claims it was self-defense. Quinn tells Reilly it’s an open-and-shut case.
Reilly, Detective Luis Valentin (Guzmán) and Detective Sam Chapman (Dutton) conduct a Q & A of all the witnesses. Brennan claims he was following up on an informant’s tip and shot in self-defense. Bobby Texador (Assante) a Puerto Rican crime boss was there. He says he didn’t see a thing. It turns out Texador’s wife, Nancy (Lumet) was once involved with Reilly. She disappeared from Reilly’s life six years ago without a word. Texador tells Reilly he knows about the relationship and threatens him.
Quinn wants Reilly to wrap up the investigation and clear Brennan. Reilly and Valentine don’t believe that things went down the way Brennan says. Chapman warns them that Brennan has connections upstairs and with some shady folks. Reilly decides to dig deeper.
When Brennan finds out Reilly is still investigating the shooting he threatens Reilly. Now Reilly is feeling pressure from his boss, plus the threats from Brennan and Texador have him on edge. Many people will die before the truth is known… but will justice win out?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Sidney Lumet pulled together an all-star cast for Q & A. Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton and Armand Assante have never been better. Luis Guzmán and Charles S. Dutton are always solid. Jenny Lumet (Sidney Lumet’s daughter) is perfect in her role as Assante and Hutton’s love interest. A special shout out for Fyvush Finkel’s performance as a slimy lawyer.
Sidney Lumet made several great films during his career. He was nominated for Academy Awards as Best Director five times. Although Q & A didn’t get the same recognition, it should have.
Q & A is set up so that the audience knows from the start that Brennan is a cold-blooded killer. We know the danger that Reilly is in before he does. The tension builds as Reilly digs deeper. The mystery for the audience isn’t IF Brennan murdered the guy, but WHY he murdered him. There’s also the subplot of why Reilly’s girl left him all those years ago. How did she end up with the crime boss Bobby Texador? And what will Texador do when he finds out Reilly still loves his wife?
Q & A earns 5 of 5 stars.
All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Director: Edward Berger
Screenplay: Ian Stokell, Lesley Paterson, Edward Berger based on the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Stars: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Paul Bäumer (Krammerer) is about to graduate high school when he and his classmates hear a rousing patriotic speech about joining the service. Paul and his friends enlist thinking that the war will be over soon and they’ll come back heroes. They will learn how wrong they are… if they survive.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
All Quiet on the Western Front is based on Erich Maria Remarque’s anti-war novel of the same name. Written in 1929, it was banned when the Nazis took over Germany. All Quiet on the Western Front has been adapted three times. Twice for feature films and once for television. It’s a timeless story about the harsh realities of war.
This 2022 adaptation is excellent. It won National Review awards as one of the Top Five Foreign Language Films and for Best Adapted Screenplay. It won for Best Makeup and Hairstyling as well as Best Visual Effects in the European Film Awards.
All Quiet on the Western Front contains powerful, tense scenes of war that are heightened by quiet moments before and after the carnage. There are scenes that will stay with you. For me, one of the most telling is when the new recruits are unknowingly given uniforms taken off dead soldiers. The bullet holes having been sewn together by scores of women at sewing machines.
It’s also a sad comment when young soldiers on both sides are in the elements with little to eat, fighting the weather as well as each other. Meanwhile diplomats and high ranking soldiers are getting the best food and amenities as they argue the terms of surrender. Then when an agreement to end the war at 11:00 is reached, one power-hungry commander orders his soldiers to make a last minute attack that will cost many, many lives but have no positive outcome to the war.
If I was to nitpick, I might say that All Quiet on the Western Front was a bit long, but not long enough to kill my enjoyment of it.
All Quiet on the Western Front earns 4 of 5 stars.
Eerie Archives Volume 2 is available for pre-order now. Here’s the lowdown…
A gruesome gold mine of horror, suspense, and the supernatural, Eerie magazine (and its partner in crime, Creepy), set the bar for gripping tales of terror in the comics medium.
Collecting the groundbreaking series, Eerie Archives is now available in a value-priced paperback edition. Under a jaw-dropping cover painting by Frank Frazetta lies a collection of chilling tales written by comics legend Archie Goodwin and illustrated by a murderer’s row of top talents including Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, Neal Adams, Gray Morrow, Johnny Craig, Dan Adkins, and more.
Collects Eerie magazine #6–#10.
Deal me in. Pre-Orders are available now.
Hey! If you were excited to learn that Dark Horse is republishing Creepy magazine in a trade paperback format, you’re going to love to know that Eerie is also getting the same treatment!
Now available in an affordable paperback format, Eerie Archives Volume 1 features some of the most acclaimed works of horror, murder, and the macabre in the history of graphic fiction.
Eerie, like its killer kin Creepy, features work from many of the grandmasters of comics storytelling, including Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Gray Morrow, Alex Toth, Steve Ditko, and others and stories by the legendary Archie Goodwin.
Features the ultra-rare Eerie #1, for which only 200 “ashcan” copies were originally printed!
Collects Eerie magazine #1–#5.
Deal me in. Pre-Orders are available now.
Yesterday I posted about Creepy Archives Volume One. That got me to thinking that maybe Volume Two has been announced. Guess what…
The second bone-chilling volume of Creepy Archives is now available in a value-priced paperback edition, showcasing some of most harrowing stories of horror, murder, and supernatural mayhem in comics history!
Created by a who’s-who of comics legends, including Archie Goodwin, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Gray Morrow, Reed Crandall, John Severin, and more. Of special interest are Goodwin and Crandall’s superb adaptations of “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Body Snatcher” by gothic horror master Edgar Allan Poe.
Collects Creepy magazine issues #6–#10 and includes original letters pages, text features, and ads.
Deal me in. Pre-Orders are available now.
When I was a kid I’d sometimes get to read a Creepy magazine. Creepy contained, well, let’s just go to the synopsis…
Gather your wooden stakes, silver bullets, and the skeletons in your closet, and prepare for a descent into horror and science-fiction history with Creepy Archives Volume 1!
Reanimated in all its gruesome glory in a value-priced paperback format, and in its original magazine size, this terrifying tome presents some of the finest work by comics legends Archie Goodwin, Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Reed Crandall, Alex Toth, Joe Orlando, Gray Morrow, and more. Collects Creepy magazine issues #1–#5 and includes original letters pages, text features, and ads.
I love that the reprint will contain the original ads, letters pages, etc. It goes without saying when you have artists like Frazetta, Toth and Williamson that they are worth the price of admission. I think I’m gonna have to get this. Pre-Orders are available now.
I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about It Dies With You by Scott Blackburn. Here’s the synopsis…
Scott Blackburn’s searing literary debut explores the dangerous world of secrets threatening to upend a rural Southern town, perfect for fans of David Joy and Brian Panowich.
For nearly a decade, twenty-nine-year-old Hudson Miller has made his living in the boxing ring, but a post-fight brawl threatens to derail his career. Desperate for money, Hudson takes a gig as a bouncer at a dive bar. That’s when life delivers him another hook to the jaw: his estranged father, Leland, has been murdered in what appears to be a robbery-gone-bad at his salvage yard, Miller’s Pull-a-Part.
Soon after his father’s funeral, Hudson learns he’s inherited the salvage yard, and he returns to his Bible-belt hometown of Flint Creek, North Carolina, to run the business. But the business is far more than junk cars and scrap metal. It was the site of an illegal gun-running ring. And the secrets don’t end there; a grisly discovery is made at the yard that thrusts Hudson into the fight of his life.
Reeling for answers, Hudson joins forces with his father’s former employee, 71-year-old, beer-guzzling Vietnam vet Charlie Shoaf, and a feisty teenage girl, Lucy Reyes, who’s fiercely seeking justice for her own family tragedy. With a murderer on the loose and no answers from the local cops, the trio of outcasts launch an investigation. The shocking truth they uncover will shake Flint Creek to its very core.
The It Dies With You lowdown has all of my Spidey-senses tingling so much that it made my Christmas Wish List. (I have it on good authority, I won’t be disappointed.) If It Dies With You sounds like something you or someone you love would like, it is available now.
It Dies With You Hardcover
It Dies With You Kindle
Walter Mosley’s Every Man a King drops on February 21, 2023. It’s the second in Mosley’s King Oliver series. Here’s the synopsis…
In this highly anticipated sequel to the Edgar award winner Down the River Unto the Sea, Joe King Oliver is entangled in a dangerous case when he’s asked to investigate whether a white nationalist is being unjustly set up.
When friend of the family and multi-billionaire Roger Ferris comes to Joe with an assignment, he’s got no choice but to accept, even if the case is a tough one to stomach. White nationalist Alfred Xavier Quiller has been accused of murder and the sale of sensitive information to the Russians. Ferris has reason to believe Quiller’s been set up and he needs King to see if the charges hold.
This linear assignment becomes a winding quest to uncover the extent of Quiller’s dealings, to understand Ferris’ skin in the game, and to get to the bottom of who is working for whom. Even with the help of bodyguard and mercenary Oliya Ruez—no regular girl Friday—the machine King’s up against proves relentless and unsparing. As King gets closer to exposing the truth, he and his loved ones barrel towards grave danger.
Mosley once again proves himself a “master of craft and narrative” (National Book Foundation) in this carefully plotted mystery that is at once a classic caper, a family saga and an examination of fealty, pride and how deep debt can go.
Pre-orders are available now.
Every Man a King Hardcover
Every Man a King Kindle
Barry Eisler has a new novel coming out on December 6, 2022. It features Dox, a supporting character from earlier adventures, getting center stage. Amok will be available as a hardcover, a paperback, on Kindle and as an audiobook on the same day! Here’s the scoop…
When the government offers a twenty-six-year-old former Marine a five-figure payday, there’s only one question: Who does he have to kill?
1991. A restless young man called Dox is back home in Texas. His friends have missed him, and his mother and sisters need him. But after four years as a Marine and another two as a CIA contractor fighting the Soviet Union alongside the Afghan mujahideen, small-town life in Abilene is a suffocating dead end.
Another secret war, this one in Southeast Asia, offers a big payday and the solution to his family’s troubles. But secret wars are never what they’re billed to be, and Dox is about to get the education of his young life. Among the lessons―the only thing more dangerous than war is falling in love with your enemy.
Pre-orders are available now.
Amok Hardcover
Amok Paperback
Amok Kindle
