Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
What do you think of the new poster for Jordan Peele’s Nope? I like it. Bonus points for the tagline: A New Terror from the Mind of Academy Award Winner Jordan Peele. That lets us know it will be horror, and how often do we get a horror film from an Academy Award Winner? Deal me in.
I really like everything about this Alien art by Alex Ogle.
First, it tells a story or at least makes you want to know what happened before and after what we see. Second, Alex’s color choices are awesome. They highlight the pen and ink work instead of drawing attention away from the foundation of the piece.
This art reminds me of a synthesis of Bernie Wrightson and Kyle Holtz, but is 100% Alex Ogle. You can see more of Alex’s art at his Instagram page.
Phil Pirrello decided to rank The 25 Scariest Sci-Fi Movies Ever Made. I decided to play along using just his top five to see how we’d compare. The results are below…
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Pirrello |
Zablo |
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1. The Thing (1982) |
1. Alien: Because we had never seen a creature like this and because anyone in the cast could die the scare factor was increased. |
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2. Alien (1979) |
2. The Thing: Watch the blood test scene and tell me that The Thing doesn’t belong in the top two. I dare ya! |
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3. The Fly (1986) |
3. Aliens: If the colonial marines can’t stand up to them, what can? (Congrats to Sigourney Weaver for making the top 3 with two different directors!) |
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4. Aliens (1986) |
4. The Fly: Equal parts scary and gory. |
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5. The Invisible Man (2020) |
5. The Invisible Man: was much better than I thought it would be. |
Other films in Pirrello’s list that I would have rated higher: Pitch Black; 10 Cloverfield Lane; Us; Predator; A Quiet Place; and Terminator.
What We Do in the Shadows is one of my favorite current shows. If you don’t watch it, you should consider checking it out. If you do watch, you know how good it is. Below is the teaser for season 3 which premieres on September 2nd!
A look into the daily (or rather, nightly) lives of four vampires who have “lived” together for hundreds and hundreds of years in Staten Island.
Here we have the poster and trailer for Risen. The poster is okay and the trailer is better. This kind of reminds me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Arrival (2016). I’ll check it out at some point.
Disaster unfolds when a meteor strikes a small town, turning the environment uninhabitable and killing everything in the surrounding area. Exobiologist Lauren Stone is called to find answers to the unearthly event. As she begins to uncover the truth, imminent danger awakens and it becomes a race against time to save mankind.
Today we have the poster and trailer to Kingdom: Ashin of the North. Billed as a special episode, but at 92 minutes, I see it more as a spinoff movie.
I’ve enjoyed both seasons of Kingdom and Kingdom: Ashin of the North is written by Kim Eun-Hee. who wrote both seasons as well. I had no idea this was coming, so call me surprised and deal me in!
This summer, a 92 minute thirst for blood begins.
Kingdom: Ashin of the NorthA Kingdom Special Episode: Kingdom: Ashin of the North
Coming July 23, only on Netflix
Stars: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge and Mary Lynn Rajskub.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…Dan Forester (Pratt) is an ex-military high school science teacher who believes he is destined for something bigger. Forester will get his opportunity when he is drafted to fight in a war being held nearly 3 decades in the future.
Still with me?
Okay. In the future earth has been invaded by aliens who have killed almost everyone on the planet. In an effort to turn the tide and save humanity, future soldiers have come back into the past to recruit people to fight in the future. A worldwide draft is instated and draftees are sent to the future to fight aliens for seven days. If they survive they are returned to their proper time. Forester is drafted.
Forester and the others in his group learn there is no training. They are given weapons and transported to the future to kill aliens. Less than 30% will survive the seven days. In Forester’s group we have a nervous college professor, a tough as nails vet who has done three tours and a bunch of others who we learn nothing about (yep, they’re alien fodder). As soon as they are in the future Forester’s team is given a mission and off we go. Alien battles come fast and furious and we learn about the plan to save the world.
What I liked: Chris Pratt was good. This may be his best performance yet. Edwin Hodge is a standout as the soldier with 3 tours. Sam Richardson provides comic relief (although maybe too much in some spots). I loved seeing Mary Lynn Rajskub and wish she was given more to do. The action is non-stop once. I really liked how they explained who could participate in the time travel (coming and going). I liked the explanation of how the aliens got to earth. All through the movie I was thinking these creatures don’t have the brains for space travel.
What bothered me:Despite the things I didn’t care for, The Tomorrow War has a core cast that is likeable, a script that keeps things moving and a conflict that involves saving the world. If you’re looking for a fun ride (and don’t give it too much thought) you’ll enjoy The Tomorrow War.
I like both the poster and trailer for Tailgate. Yes, it seems to be very similar to Unhinged, but I really enjoyed that film, so maybe Tailgate will be as fun a ride.
You probably wouldn’t notice if I didn’t mention it, but there are no words spoken in the trailer. It is a Dutch film and perhaps the studio didn’t want it so obvious to American audiences. But the trailer is still very effective.
Hans is a self-confident man, driving across the country with his wife and two daughters by his side. His ego gets the better of him when he gets into an argument with another driver. The van driver turns out to be the wrong man to cross on the road, and sets out to teach Hans a deadly lesson. Skillfully pushing the buttons of Hans’s arrogance, a simple family road trip turns into a deadly obstacle course in this nerve-wracking, blackly comic morality tale thriller.
Director: Lodewijk Crijns
Writer: Lodewijk Crijns
Stars: Jeroen Spitzenberger, Anniek Pheifer, Roosmarijn van der Hoek
Today we have the teaser for The Walking Dead: The Final Season, Part 1. I look forward to seeing how this series ends. The Walking Dead is one of the tv series that I can say I was with from the start (and if all goes well) and saw every episode. It’s been a fun ride.
The Walking Dead returns for Season 11 on Sunday, August 22.
The Hunting screams drive-in movie. Low budget? Check. Monster movie? Check. No big name stars? Check. Monster not clearly shown in trailer? Check. Craig would watch it? Check.
I like the poster. (The only nit I would pick is that the title font looks too much like The Howling.) The werewolf in the poster looks kind of cool but I’m not sold on the one in the trailer. It’s hard for movies to come up awesome looking werewolves. If it were up to me, I’d try to get my werewolf to look as close to the wolf man in Curse of the Werewolf.
At any rate, I’ll check out The Hunting if it comes to one of my streaming services.
Today we have the second trailer for Blood Red Sky which is a crime/horror mash-up starring Dominic Purcell as the main villain. Deal me in.
Nadja and her ten-year-old son are on an overnight flight from Germany to New York when a group of terrorists violently take control of the plane and threaten the lives of the passengers. Suddenly Nadja faces an impossible choice – should she reveal her dark side and the inner monster she has kept hidden from her son for years in order to save him? The hunters become the hunted in this action-horror from director Peter Thorwarth, starring Peri Baumeister and Dominic Purcell.
First there was the screenplay for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino. Then the trailer for the movie was released. Then we got the movie.
Then Tarantino decided to adapt his screenplay/movie into a novel. Today we get a trailer for the novel. Then on July 29th Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the novel, by Quentin Tarantino will drop. Until then, the trailer…
Hollywood 1969… You shoulda been there! Based on his Academy Award-winning film, Quentin Tarantino’s first novel is here! Buy and read #OnceUponATimeInHollywood today!
Quentin Tarantino’s long-awaited first work of fiction — at once hilarious, delicious, and brutal — is the always surprising, sometimes shocking new novel based on his Academy Award-winning film.
Below we have the final trailer for The Tomorrow War. At the very least The Tomorrow War should be a fun couple of hours. I’m looking forward to it!
THE TOMORROW WAR premieres July 2, 2021 globally on Prime Video
In The TOMORROW WAR, the world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.
Directed by Chris McKay
Written by Zach Dean
Produced by David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Jules Daly, David Goyer, Adam Kolbrenner
Executive Produced by Rob Cowan, Chris Pratt, Brian Oliver, Bradley J. Fischer
Starring Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge, Jasmine Mathews, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Keith Powers
Today we have two posters and a trailer for Vampir. I like both posters quite a bit. It’s not often we get art on a film poster. Both have an old school horror feel to them.
The Vampir trailer also has an old school horror feel to it. I have a feeling that this will be a love or hate it type film. I’ll give it a shot.
Blood Red Sky – The Trailer is Here! Free on Netflix? Yeah, deal me in.
A woman with a mysterious illness is forced into action when a group of terrorists attempt to hijack a transatlantic overnight flight. In order to protect her son she will have to reveal a dark secret, and unleash the inner monster she has fought to hide.
Watch Blood Red Sky, only on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/BloodRedSky
