Category: Movies

“Razorback” (1984) / Z-View

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Razorback (1984)

Director: Russell Mulcahy

Screenplay:  Everett De Roche based on Razorback by Peter Brennan

Stars: Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whiteley

Tagline: No nightmare will prepare you for it…

The Plot…

When his wife is killed covering a story, Carl Winters (Harrison) travels to the Australian outback to find the cause.  Soon Winters is caught up in the hunt for a giant Razorback that has been terrorizing the area for years.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I had wanted to see Razorback for years because it was directed by Russell Mulcahy.  I’m a huge fan of Mulcahy’s direction of Highlander.  Sadly, Razorback fell waaaay short of my expectations.

Razorback just didn’t resonate with me at all.  I didn’t care much for the characters. The story had several dead spots.  The way the Razorback was killed came off as just plain silly.  Of course your mileage may vary.

Razorback (1984) rates 1 of 5 stars.

“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” (2004) starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law & Angelina Jolie / Z-View

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Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Director: Kerry Conran

Screenplay:  Kerry Conran

Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law,  Angelina Jolie and Giovanni Ribisi.

Tagline: The world will tremble.

The Plot…

The year is 1939.  Ace reporter Polly Perkins (Paltrow) is investigating the disappearance of five prominent scientists.  During a secret meeting with one of her sources the city comes under attack by giant flying robots! Soon Sky Captain arrives to assist with the defense of the city.  Reports come in from around the world of similar attacks.

Polly meets with Sky Captain and convinces him to allow her to assist with his investigation into the source of the robots.  Soon they will be involved in an adventure to save the world!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Kerry Conran, the writer/director created Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow as a love letter to the comics, films and serials that he grew up loving.  He perfectly captured the feel of these adventures from his youth.  Most of the sets were computer generated using blue screens.

I saw Sky Captain during its initial release and rated it 4 of 5 stars.  I recently rewatched the film and have revised my rating to 3 of 5.  My feeling this time was the film was a little long, but it could be that I knew the story.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Bad City” – Two Posters and Trailers are Here!

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Today we have two posters and two trailers for Bad City.  I like the first poster and trailer best, but the second poster and trailer would still be enough to get me on board.  Deal me in!

BAD CITY: Watch on Digital August 1, 2023 |
Long plagued by poverty and crime, Kaiko City has been torn apart by rampant corruption and growing violence between the local Yakuza faction and a notorious Korean crime boss. But when a mafia-connected businessman runs for mayor and begins systematically eliminating his opponents, a former police captain imprisoned for a brutal murder is released in a final desperate effort to reclaim the city.

Directed by: Kensuke Sonomura
Cast: Hitoshi Ozawa, Akane Sakanoue, Katsuya, Masanori Mimoto, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi, Yasukaze Motomiya, Tak Sakaguchi, Kazuki Namioka, Mitsu Dan, Masaya Kato, Lily Franky, Rino Katase.

If you’re in the mood for breathtaking street fights, martial arts madness, compelling tales of gangsters, thrilling action sequences, and phenomenal acting, then come on over to Bad City. This is where you’ll find it all.

Welcome to Bad City, but beware: once you step in, you’re in for a wild ride of Japanese action-thriller mayhem, courtesy of director Kensuke Sonomura (known for his work on “Hydra,” “Baby Assassins,” and “I Am a Hero“). With his impressive background in stunts and action coordination, Sonomura delivers a hard-hitting tribute to V-Cinema, featuring the legendary Hitoshi Ozawa.

I’m a big fan of the first season of Interview with a Vampire.  Bring on season 2!


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“Alien: Resurrection” (1997) starring Sigourney Weaver & Winona Ryder / Z-View

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Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Screenplay:  Joss Whedon based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett

Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Dominique Pinon, Ron Perlman, Gary Dourdan, Michael Wincott, Kim Flowers, Dan Hedaya, J.E. Freeman, Brad Dourif, Raymond Cruz and Leland Orser.

Tagline: Witness the resurrection.

The Plot…

Over two hundred years have passed since the events of Alien 3.  On a remote space station military scientists are using DNA from Ellen Ripley (Weaver) to create clone hosts for Xenomorphs.  The current clone, Ripley 8 (Weaver), due to the melding with the alien embryos has increased strength, reflexes and acidic blood.

A group of mercenaries arrives at the space station with cargo for the military.  Soon after two adult Xenomorphs escape.  It then becomes a battle for survival as more adult aliens are released throughout the ship!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I am a huge fan of Alien Resurrection mainly due to the unique characters and actors playing them.  The mercenary crew could be stars of their own movie(s)!  I would love to see some of their adventures.  The mercenary crew consists of…

  • Annalee Call (Ryder) – the newest member of the team.  She’s hiding a secret that will be revealed.
  • Dom Vriess (Pinion) – the mechanic. He’s a paraplegic with a motorized wheelchair (that also has secrets)!
  • Ron Johner (Perlman) – a battle scarred warrior with a bad attitude and short temper.
  • Gary Christie (Dourdan) – the second-in-command who exudes cool.
  • Frank Elgyn (Wincott) – the leader.  He’s cynical and willing to do questionable things to make a buck, but is committed to his team.
  • Sabra Hillard (Flowers) – the co-pilot of the mercenary ship and Elgyn’s woman.

In addition, we have…

  • General Martin Perez (Hedaya) – the commanding officer of the space station.
  • Dr. Jonathan Gediman (Dourif) – one of the scientists experimenting with the adult aliens.  He should know  better than to poke the bear.
  • Vincent DiStephano (Cruz) – one of the space station soldiers who joins the mercenaries in an effort to survive.
  • Larry Purvis (Orser) – a civilian who joins the mercenaries.  Purvis carries a deadly secret.

There is also a subplot which involves Weaver and Ryder.  For me that takes a backseat to the  the characters — the military, mercenaries and civilians in a battle against the aliens on a spaceship heading towards Earth! There are so many fun scenes –

  • The mercenaries entering the ship under military guard.
  • Johner (Perlman) flirting with Ripley 8 (Weaver) and being put in his place.
  • Johner’s (Perlman) interactions with Dom Vriess (Pinion).
  • Dr. Jonathan Gediman (Dourif) as he realizes the adult aliens have outsmarted him.
  • The long shot of a grenade bouncing down a walkway to drop into an escape pod just as an alien does the same.
  • The underwater escape and the discovery that the aliens are following! Plus Gary Christie (Dourdan) and  Dom Vriess’ (Pinion) solution to Dom being unable to swim!

Many people have complained about Ripley 8’s relationship to the aliens as well as the look of the Xenomorph Queen.  I understand the complaints and would agree that these are the weakest parts of the movie.  Still, the things I love about the film far outweigh these concerns.  Alien Resurrection is one that I have watched and enjoyed multiple times.

Alien: Resurrection (1997) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Along Came a Spider” starring Morgan Freeman / Z-View

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Along Came a Spider (2001)

Director: Lee Tamahori

Screenplay:  Marc Moss based on  Along Came a Spider by James Patterson

Stars: Morgan Freeman, Michael Wincott, Monica Potter, Anton Yelchin, Jay O. Sanders, Michael Moriarty,
Penelope Ann Miller and Christopher Shyer.

Tagline: A tangled web of danger and deceit…

The Plot…

When a senator’s daughter is kidnapped, the kidnapper contacts retired Detective and author, Alex Cross (Freeman).  The abductor wants to become famous by taunting the police with the hope that Cross will write a book about the case. Not all is as it seems…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Morgan Freeman and a twist ending are the highlights of this one.

Along Came a Spider (2001) rates 3 of 5 stars.

The All-Time Best Action Movies!

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Variety posted The 50 Best Action Movies of All Time.  Like all lists of this sort it included some films that most might not consider (as action films) and left off others.  Still, lists can be fun. I decided to see how I’d rank the same films.  *** means I haven’t seen the movie.  (And I cannot believe I still haven’t seen Hard Boiled.)

Variety

01. The Road Warrior (1981)
02. Die Hard (1988)
03. North by Northwest (1959)
04. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
05. Enter the Dragon (1973)
06. The French Connection (1971)
07. The Matrix (1999)
08. Aliens (1986)
09. Seven Samurai (1954)
10. Bullitt (1968)
11. Speed (1994)
12. Goldfinger (1964)
13. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
14. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
15. Hard Boiled (1992)
16. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
17. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
18. Ben-Hur (1959)
19. The Wild Bunch (1969)
20. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
21. Heat (1995)
22. The Wages of Fear (1953)
23. Gladiator (2000)
24. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
25. United 93 (2006)
26. Point Break (1991)
27. Police Story (1985)
28. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
29. Foxy Brown (1974)
30. Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011)
31. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
32. Commando (1985)
33. Run Lola Run (1998)
34. Fast Five (2011)
35. The Black Pirate (1926)
36. Casino Royale (2006)
37. Once Upon a Time in China Part II (1992)
38. Inception (2010)
39. Duel (1971)
40. The Raid (2011)
41. The Warriors (1979)
42. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
43. The Bourne Identity (2002)
44. The Day of the Jackal (1973)
45. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
46. Hero (2002)
47. Vanishing Point (1971)
48. The Fugitive (1993)
49. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
50. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Zablo

01. Enter the Dragon (1973)
02. Die Hard (1988)
03. Aliens (1986)
04. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
05. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
06. The Matrix (1999)
07. The Road Warrior (1981)
08. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
09. The Warriors (1979)
10. Commando (1985)
11. Casino Royale (2006)
12. Gladiator (2000)
13. Heat (1995)
14. Point Break (1991)
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
16. Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011)
17. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
18. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
19. The Bourne Identity (2002)
20. Speed (1994)
21. Fast Five (2011)
22. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
23. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
24. Goldfinger (1964)
25. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
26. North by Northwest (1959)
27. The Fugitive (1993)
28. Duel (1971)
29. The Wild Bunch (1969)
30. The Wages of Fear (1953)
31. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
32. Ben-Hur (1959)
33. Inception (2010)
34. Run Lola Run (1998)
35. Bullitt (1968)
36. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
37. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
38. Foxy Brown (1974)
39. Seven Samurai (1954)
40. The French Connection (1971)
41. Vanishing Point (1971)
42. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
*** Hard Boiled (1992)
*** United 93 (2006)
*** Police Story (1985)
*** The Black Pirate (1926)
*** Once Upon a Time in China Part II (1992)
*** The Raid (2011)
*** The Day of the Jackal (1973)
*** Hero (2002)

“The Silence of the Lambs” (1991) starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins / Z-View

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The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme

Screenplay: Ted Tally based on The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, Frankie Faison, Don Brockett, Stuart Rudin, Ted Levine, Roger Corman, Charles Napier and Chris Isaac.

Tagline: Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Brilliant. Cunning. Psychotic. In his mind lies the clue to a ruthless killer. – Clarice Starling, FBI. Brilliant. Vulnerable. Alone. She must trust him to stop the killer.

The Plot…

A serial killer the press calls Buffalo Bill is murdering women.  He then skins them and leaves their bodies in water without any clues. The FBI investigation is at a standstill.

Clarice Starling (Foster), an FBI agent still in training, is personally selected to interview Dr. Hannibal Lector (Hopkins).  Lector, known as Hannibal the Cannibal, is a serial killer with a genius IQ. He murdered and ate his victims.  Now held in a maximum security prison for the criminally insane, Lector may be the only one with insight on catching Buffalo Bill.

But can Lector be trusted?  The clock is ticking…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Silence of the Lambs is an excellent adaptation of Thomas Harris’ best-selling novel.  It is rightully considered one of the finest movies ever made.

The Silence of the Lambs collected Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally).

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed” (2023) / Z-View

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Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (2023)

Director: Stephen Kijak

Stars:
Rock Hudson, Lee Garlington, Armistead Maupin, Piper Laurie, Illeana Douglas and  Linda Evans.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed explores the double life led by Rock Hudson who was Hollywood’s top leading man for years.  Women desired him and men wanted to be like him.  What the world at large didn’t know: Rock Hudson was gay.  The studios worked to keep his secret and Hudson played along (to an extent). Of course the secret could no longer be hidden once Rock Hudson became the first star to die from AIDS.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I was surprised about how so many people were aware that Rock Hudson was gay, but the secret never got out to the public. Hudson was promiscuous, didn’t shy away from going to gay bars, parties, etc. but the secret held.

I’m old enough to remember when the “Rock Hudson and Jim Nabors are getting married” rumor went viral.  My mother and her best friend didn’t believe that Rock Hudson was gay… although they wouldn’t be surprised about Jim Nabors.

I also remember the tons of stories about Rock Hudson having AIDS. The rumors are true! Plus the controversary of Hudson kissing Linda Evans in a scene despite knowing he had the virus.

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (2023) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“The Celluloid Closet” (1996) / Z-View

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The Celluloid Closet (1996)

Director: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman

Screenplay: Vito Russo, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Sharon Wood, Armistead Maupin

Stars: Lily Tomlin, Tony Curtis, Armistead Maupin, Whoopi Goldberg, Harvey Fierstein, Gore Vidal, Farley Granger and Shirley MacLaine.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The Celluloid Closet explores how the film industry, from the silent era to the mid-1990s dealt with members of the LGBT community on screen and behind the scenes.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

It’s interesting to see how the on screen portrayal of this community has changed (or not) in the last almost 100 years.  I also enjoyed the movie scenes that were so obvious if you knew what to look for, but went over the heads of most folks (including me).

The Celluloid Closet (1996) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“A Haunting in Venice” starring Kenneth Branagh – The Trailer is Here!

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I’ve seen the first two Branagh Hercule Poirot movies and am looking forward to A Haunting in Venice even more than them!

Watch the brand-new trailer for #AHauntingInVenice, only in theaters September 15.

The unsettling supernatural thriller based upon the novel “Hallowe’en Party” by Agatha Christie and directed by and starring Oscar® winner Kenneth Branagh as famed detective Hercule Poirot, will open in theaters nationwide September 15, 2023.

“A Haunting in Venice” is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve, “A Haunting in Venice” is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.

Reuniting the team of filmmakers behind 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and 2022’s “Death on the Nile,” the film is directed by Kenneth Branagh with a screenplay by Oscar® nominee Michael Green (“Logan”) based upon Agatha Christie’s novel “Hallowe’en Party”. The producers are Kenneth Branagh, Judy Hofflund, Ridley Scott, and Simon Kinberg, with Louise Killin, James Prichard, and Mark Gordon serving as executive producers. A brilliant acting ensemble portrays a cast of unforgettable characters, including Kenneth Branagh, Kyle Allen (“Rosaline”), Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent”), Jamie Dornan (“Belfast”), Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), Jude Hill (“Belfast”), Ali Khan (“6 Underground”), Emma Laird (“Mayor of Kingstown”), Kelly Reilly (“Yellowstone”), Riccardo Scamarcio (“Caravaggio’s Shadow”), and recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”).

“The Lost Boys” (1987) starring Jason Patric & Kiefer Sutherland / Z-View

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The Lost Boys (1987)

Director: Joel Schumacher

Screenplay: Janice Fischer, Jeffrey Boam, James Jeremias from a story by Janice Fischer, James Jeremias

Stars: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Barnard Hughes, Edward Herrmann, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Jamison Newlander and Alex Winter.

Tagline: Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.

The Plot…

Lucy (Wiest) and her two teenage sons, Michael (Patric) and Sam (Haim) move to the small, beachside town of Santa Clara, California.  At night the boys like to hang out at the amusement park/arcade on the beach.  That’s where Michael meets Star (Gertz).  There’s a definite attraction between the two, which only infuriates David (Sutherland), the leader of a small motorcycle gang.  Meanwhile Sam has met two brothers, Edgar (Feldman) and Alan (Newlander) who are convinced Santa Clara is the home of a vampire coven.

They’re not wrong.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

You’d be hard pressed to find a more 80s movie than The Lost Boys.  From the cast to the way the movie is shot, The Lost Boys screams mid-1980s.  This is my favorite Joel Schumacher film.  For a movie that seems to want to be scary, there’s just a bit too much humor for my taste.

The Lost Boys (1987) rates 3 of 5 stars.