Category: Movies

“Day of the Dead 2: Contagium” (2005) / Z-View

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Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005)

Director: Ana Clavell, James Dudelson

Screenplay: Ryan Carrassi, Ana Clavell

Stars: Justin Ipock, Laurie Maria Baranyay, John F. Henry III.

Tagline: Every day has a beginning

The Plot…

In 1968, the Ravenside facility was a military hospital.  A biological experiment there accidentally turned soldiers into zombies.  Immediately things were out of control.  A private stole one of the vials and placed it in a thermos.  The soldier was killed trying to escape but the thermos was never found.  Thankfully the zombie uprising at the facility was contained. Word of it never leaked out.

Now Ravenside Memorial Hospital serves people struggling with mental illness. When one of the patients finds a thermos, you know what is about to take place.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

This movie was titled in an effort to cash in on George Romero’s success with zombie films.  It has NO relationship to Romero or any of his movies.

Day of the Dead 2: Contagium’s tagline is “Every day has a beginning.”  The same can be said for the movie.  It had a beginning and it began badly.  I hoped it would get better.  It didn’t. I tapped out after 41 minutes.

Day of the Dead 2: Contagium currently has a 2.3/10 rating in IMDb.  

Day of the Dead 2: Contagium (2005) rates 1 of 5 stars.

“Gemini Man” (2019) starring Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen & Benedict Wong / Z-View

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Gemini Man (2019)

Director: Ang Lee

Screenplay: David Benioff, Billy Ray, Darren Lemke from a story by Darren Lemke, David Benioff

Stars: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong, Ralph Brown, Ilia Volok.

Tagline: Who will save you from yourself

The Plot…

Henry Brogan (Smith) is an assassin for a secret US government agency.  He’s the best in the business, but the kills are starting to weigh heavy.  Even though he’s “taking out” really bad people, it’s getting harder to pull the trigger.  So after his last kill, Henry retires to a cabin by the sea at Buttermilk Sound, Georgia.

Soon after, Henry is contacted by a former partner.  Henry learns that he was given bad intel for his last hit.  The guy Henry assassinated wasn’t the threat to our government that Henry was led to believe.  When Henry’s former partner is killed, Henry knows he’s next.

What Henry doesn’t know, is that one of the agents sent to kill him is his clone.  If Henry’s the best assassin ever, how can he beat a younger, stronger version of himself?

Henry better figure it out and fast.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Gemini Man has an interesting plot.  The technology of 2019 is good enough to make a young Will Smith acting/fighting with his older self work. 

Will Smith makes a good hero.  He’s matched by an equally good villain in Clive Owen.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Benedict Wong are standouts.  Winstead is believable in the quiet moments as well as when the action revs up.  Wong provides restrained comic relief.

The action scenes come at a rate that allows you to go with the flow instead of thinking, this is a pretty by-the-numbers story. 

Where the movie goes off the rails is the last battle between old Will, Winstead, young Will and a large number of heavy armored and armed agents.  Despite the fact that they’re outnumbered and outgunned, Will and Winstead leave cover repeatedly to move forward. They kill agents by shooting them in the neck. Since the agents are wearing bulletproof helmets and armor, that’s the one shot that will take them out. 

Then if you can accept that 51 year old Will has repeatedly battled 21 year old Will to a standstill, you also have to buy that 55 year old Clive Owen who has spent the last few decades behind a desk can also hold his own in a fight with the best assassin in the business.  If your suspension of disbelief is still hanging in, wait until they bring out an even younger clone of Will Smith to kill the 21 year old clone and the original. 

I was tempted to rate Gemini Man a “2” but until that last battle, it was a solid “3” so I’m going with that.

Gemini Man (2019) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Your Lucky Day” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I love the poster for Your Lucky Day.  The trailer gives away a lot, but it looks good.

Deal me in.

YOUR LUCKY DAY | In Theaters November 10, On Digital November 14 |
After a dispute over a winning lottery ticket turns into a deadly hostage situation, the witnesses must decide exactly how far they’ll go—and how much blood they’re willing to spill—for a cut of the $156 million.

Directed by: Daniel Brown
Cast: Angus Cloud, Elliot Knight, Jessica Garza, Sterling Beaumon, Mousa Hussein Kraish, Jason Wiles, Sebastian Sozzi, Spencer Garrett, Jason O’Mara

RIP: Dick Butkus

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Dick Butkus died yesterday in his sleep.  Mr. Butkus was 80.

Dick Butkus was born in Chicago.  He played his entire football career in Illinois.

Dick Butkus attended Chicago Vocational High School.  On the football team he played fullback, linebacker, punter, and placekicker.  He averaged 5 yards per carry as a fullback, but preferred to play defense.  He became the first junior to earn the Chicago Sun-Time’s high school player of the year award.

Mr. Butkus attended the University of Illinois, where he played center and linebacker.  He had a stellar college career.  In his freshman year, he made the 1962 All-Big Ten Conference football team.  The following year, he was named the team’s most valuable player. Dick Butkus also earned the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten’s most valuable player.  He was also a unanimous choice as center for the 1963 College Football All-America Team,  In 1964, Dick Butkus was named Co-Captain of the team.  UPI named him college football’s Lineman of the Year.  Mr. Butkus was named the Player of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association and The Sporting News. He was also named his college’s most valuable player for the second year in a row. Dick Butkus also earned a spot on the 1964 All-America team.  Although he didn’t win, he was in the running for the Heisman Trophy (as the best college football player) which is extremely rare for a defensive player.

Dick Butkus was the third overall pick in the 1965 NFL draft.  He played his entire 9 year career with the Chicago Bears.  Mr. Butkus was named the AP’s NFL Defensive Player of the Week four times in his career.  He came in 3rd place for the NFL’s Rookie of the Year Award (again, rare for a defensive player).  His rookie year he made the AP’s first-team All-Pro as well as a spot in the Pro Bowl (the first of eight straight).  Dick Butkus was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1969 and 1970.

Dick Butkus’ pro career was cut short due to knee injuries.  He is credited for redefining the middle linebacker position. Some of his honors include:

  • His college jersey number, 50, was retired by the Illinois Fighting Illini.
  • ESPN named Dick Butkus the 70th greatest athlete of the 20th century
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame voters named Dick Butkus to the NFL’s 1960s All-Decade Team
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame voters named Dick Butkus to the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team
  • In his first year of eligibility he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979
  • He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
  • The Bears retired Dick Butkus’s No. 51 jersey in 1994
  • NFL Officials & media personnel named Dick Butkus to the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1994
  • Named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s All-Century Team in 1999
  • The Sporting News named Dick Butkus the 9th Best Player Ever in the NFL in 1999
  • A sculpture of Dick Butkus premiered at Soldier Field among other Chicago Bear greats in 2004
  • Mr. Butkus was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2008
  • Dick Butkus was named the 10th best player ever by the NFL Network in 2010
  • The NY Daily News named Dick Butkus the 8th best NFL player ever in 2014
  • Mr. Butkus was inducted to the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016
  • Mr. Butkus was named a laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois in 2018
  • Mr. Butkus was awarded the Order of Lincoln, the state’s highest honor, by the Governor of Illinois in 2018
  • NFL Officials & media personnel named Dick Butkus to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019

Dick Butkus created the Butkus Foundation to support charitable causes.

After retiring from professional football, Dick Butkus became a broadcaster, actor and was in demand by advertisers to endorse many products.

Some of Dick Butkus’ television appearances include: Brian’s Song; Emergency!; McMillan & Wife; Police Story (2 episodes); The Six Million Dollar Man; The Rockford Files; Rich Man, Poor Man; Wonder Woman; Taxi; Fantasy Island (2 episodes); Vegas; Magnum PI; Matt Houston; The Greatest American Hero; Simon & Simon; Blue Thunder (11 episodes); The Love Boat; Murder She Wrote; Half Nelson (7 episodes); Night Court (2 episodes); Matlock; Growing Pains; My Two Dads (27 episodes); MacGuyver (3 episodes); Coach (2 episodes); Hang Time (52 episodes) and The Bernie Mac Show.

Some of Dick Butkus’ feature film appearances include: Mother, Jugs & Speed; Gus; Johnny Dangerously; Gremlins 2; Necessary Roughness; The Last Boy Scout and Any Given Sunday.

Dick Butkus was my favorite football player when I was a kid.  I was a Chicago Bears fan and Mr. Butkus is a big reason for that.  I loved his style of play.  When he retired, I enjoyed seeing him in the broadcast booth or popping up in a movie, television show or commercial.  You can imagine the smile I had when I watched ROCKY for the first time and saw that his dog was named Butkus.  I also appreciate that Mr. Butkus backed several charitable causes.  What a life he lived.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dick Butkus’ family, friends and fans.

“Hard Boiled Mahoney” (1947) starring Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Dan Seymour & the Bowery Boys / Z-View

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Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947)

Director: William Beaudine

Screenplay: Cy Endfield, Edmond Seward, Tim Ryan

Stars: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, William ‘Billy’ Benedict, David Gorcey, Dan Seymour, Pierre Watkin, Bernard Gorcey, Patti Brill and Noble Johnson.

Tagline: DEFECTIVE DETECTIVES!

The Plot…

A woman mistakenly thinks that Slip (L. Gorcey) and Satch (Hall) are detectives.  She hires them to find her sister.  The clues lead to Dr. Rolfe Carter (Watkin).  Slip and Satch arrive at Dr. Carter’s office just as he’s being murdered.  Slip is knocked unconscious.  He awakens to find that he’s been set up to take the fall.

Slip escapes.  Now Slip, Satch and the rest of the Bowery Boys need to find the real killer.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

This is one of the Bowery Boys better outings.

Dan Seymour is a welcome addition to the cast.  He plays the main bad guy.  You may know Seymour from his appearances in To Have and Have Not, Key Largo, The Big Heat, or another of his over 100 acting credits.

Patti Brill is in only a few scenes as Slip’s girl, but she makes an impact.

Heads up: There is a scene where two of the Bowery Boys are disguised as a shoe shiner and customer.  The shoe shiner is in blackface.

Hard Boiled Mahoney (1947) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Night Swim” starring Wyatt Russell & Kerry Condon – The Trailer is Here!

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Night Swim

Coming Soon to Theaters

No running. No diving. No lifeguard on duty. No swimming after dark.

Atomic Monster and Blumhouse, the producers of M3GAN, high dive into the deep end of horror with the new supernatural thriller, Night Swim.

Based on the acclaimed 2014 short film by Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire, the film stars Wyatt Russell (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as Ray Waller, a former major league baseball player forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, who moves into a new home with his concerned wife Eve (Oscar® nominee Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin), teenage daughter Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle, this fall’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) and young son Elliot (Gavin Warren, Fear the Walking Dead).

Secretly hoping, against the odds, to return to pro ball, Ray persuades Eve that the new home’s shimmering backyard swimming pool will be fun for the kids and provide physical therapy for him. But a dark secret in the home’s past will unleash a malevolent force that will drag the family under, into the depths of inescapable terror.

Night Swim is written and directed by Bryce McGuire (writer of the upcoming film Baghead) and is produced by James Wan, the filmmaker behind the Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring franchises, and Jason Blum, the producer of the Halloween films, The Black Phone and The Invisible Man. The film is executive produced by Michael Clear and Judson Scott for Wan’s Atomic Monster and by Ryan Turek for Blum’s Blumhouse.

“Horizon: An American Saga” starring Kevin Costner – The Poster & Trailer are Here!

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Deal me in.

In the great tradition of Warner Bros. Pictures’ iconic Westerns, “Horizon: An American Saga” explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America. RELEASE DATE: June and August 2024

“Why Worry?” starring Harold Lloyd / Z-View

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Why Worry? (1923)

Director: Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor

Screenplay: Sam Taylor (story), H.M. Walker (titles)

Stars: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, John Aasen, Wally Howe.

Tagline: Come and See the Enormous Giant, 8ft. 9in. high, who helps Harold Quell a Revolution in Six reels of the cleverest and funniest humor imaginable.

The Plot…

Harold Van Pelham (Lloyd) is a wealthy hypochondriac.  Pelham decides to go to the South American island of Paradiso for his health.  There Pelham finds himself in the middle of a revolution… winds up rooming with men who are to be shot at dawn… befriends a giant… takes on an army… and finds true love!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Why Worry really takes off when Lloyd befriends the giant with a toothache.  Repeated attempts to remove the giant’s tooth bring laughs.

The funniest scene has Lloyd repeatedly jumping on a commandant and hitting him until the soldiers he was leading (from the rear) realize what is happening.  Lloyd then runs off with the soldiers after him and the Captain again leading from behind.  Lloyd then knocks the Captain down and starts beating him again.  This happens several times with Lloyd using some inventive means to get his licks in.

It’s hard to believe Why Worry premiered 100 years ago.

Why Worry? (1923) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Rumble Through the Dark” starring Aaron Eckhart & Bella Thorne – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster and trailer for Rumble Through the Dark have done their job.

Deal me in.

Rumble Through The Dark – Watch the trailer now!

In Theaters on November 3 and On Digital and On Demand November 10.

Golden Globe® nominee Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) stars as a desperate, bare-knuckle cage fighter battling for the only thing he has left in Rumble Through The Dark, a riveting action thriller based on Michael Farris Smith’s celebrated novel THE FIGHTER. Bella Thorne (The DUFF) shines alongside Eckhart in this gripping film about one man’s last-ditch effort to save his family home against the strongest of foes and the longest of odds.

Starring Aaron Eckhart, Bella Thorne, Ritchie Coster, Amanda Saunders, Joe Hursley, Mike McColl, Derek Russo, Christopher Winchester, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

“The Beekeper” written by Kurt Wimmer, directed by David Ayer, starring Jason Statham – The Poster and Trailer are Here!  

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The Beekeeper is written by Kurt (Sons of Anarchy) Wimmer, directed by David (Sabotage, Fury) Ayer and stars Jason (The Transporter) Statham.

Deal me in.

Expose the corruption. Protect the hive.

Watch the trailer for #TheBeekeeper, directed by David Ayer and starring Jason Statham. Only in theaters January 12.

In The Beekeeper, one man’s brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers.”

Directed By: David Ayer

Starring: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Minnie Driver, with Phylicia Rashad and Jeremy Irons

Written By: Kurt Wimmer

The 10 Greatest 1930s Horror Movies!

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Vincent LoVerde at CBR came up with his list of the 10 Greatest Classic Horror Films of the 1930s, Ranked. Before you click over, here is how I’d rank them along with a thought on each.

Loverde

Zablo
10. The Black Cat (1934) *** Vampyr (1932) – I haven’t seen this yet, but hope to this month!
09. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) 09. Freaks (1932) – Doesn’t resonate with me. Most folks love it.
08. The Invisible Man (1933) 08. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) – Kids miss stuff, adults will see.
07. Island of Lost Souls (1932) 07. Island of Lost Souls (1932) – Another underrated winner!
06. Dracula (1931) 06. The Black Cat (1934) – Underrated. Karloff & Lugosi!
05. King Kong (1933) 05. King Kong (1933) – Who doesn’t love King Kong?
04. Frankenstein (1931) 04. The Invisible Man (1933) – Didn’t care for it as a kid. Love it now.
03. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) 03. Frankenstein (1931) – was my favorite horror film at one point.
02. Freaks (1932) 02. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) – Even better than the original.
01. Vampyr (1932) 01. Dracula (1931) – The King of Vampires gets my #1 spot.

“Beast” (2022) starring Idris Elba / Z-View

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Beast (2022)

Director: Baltasar Kormákur

Screenplay: Ryan Engle, story by Jaime Primak Sullivan

Stars: Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, Leah Jeffries.

Tagline: Sometimes the rustle in the bushes actually is a monster.

The Plot…

Dr. Nate Samuels (Elba) was separated from her wife when she developed cancer and died.  Now, in an effort to reconnect with his two teenage daughters he’s taken them on vacation to Africa.  Samuels’ old friend, Martin Battles (Copley) is a biologist with access to restricted areas of the preserve.  As they drive across the savannah they are able to get close to many wild animals.  When they reach a small village on the preserve  they are shocked to find all the villagers dead.  A rouge lion is on the loose.  Before Nate, his daughters and Martin can get back to the truck, the lion attacks.  Martin is badly injured.  Now the group is stranded.  The lion will return.  Their only hope for survival rests with Nate.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Watching Beast is an okay way to spend an hour and a half if you’re willing to put your brain on hold.

Beast (2022) rates 2 of 5 stars.