Category: Movies

“The Belko Experiment” (2016) written by James Gunn / Z-View

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The Belko Experiment (2016)

Director:  Greg McLean

Writer: James Gunn

Stars: John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, John C. McGinley, Sean Gunn, David Dastmalchian, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker,   and Abraham Benrubi.

Tagline: This Is Not A Drill

The Plot…

Belko Industries is situated in a remote building on the outskirts of Bogotá, Colombia. It hires people from all over the world to work for them.  On for the first day of work an implant is placed in the base of a new employee’s neck in case something happens to them.

One day when Mike (Gallagher) arrives at work, he notices a new squad of security guards telling the Bogotá staff to go home.  Mike thinks little of it and checks in.  A short time later a voice comes over the intercom.  It instructs everyone to stop and listen.  They are told that unless two employees are killed within 30 minutes, more will die. Suddenly steel shutters come down on all windows and doors sealing everyone in the building.

Reactions vary, but most believe it to be a terrible prank.  When 30 minutes pass and no one is killed the voice returns to the intercom.  It announces since the group did not comply, instead of two people dying, four will.  Four employees are killed when the implants in their heads detonate.  The voice then says that unless thirty employees are dead within two hours sixty will die.

All hell breaks loose.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

James Gunn of The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker fame wrote the screenplay with the intention of directing it.  When the film was ready for production, Gunn was going through a divorce and passed on directing.  Still, several actors who regularly appear in Gunn’s films were cast including Sean Gunn (his brother), Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry and Stephen Blackehart.

I loved the concept, but felt that we didn’t get to know any of the characters.  I would have preferred to care/know more about who lived and died with less emphasis on gore.

The Belko Experiment (2016) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Who Done It?” (1949) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Who Done It? (1949)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer:  Edward Bernds

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Christine McIntyre and Emil Sitka

Tagline: None

The Plot…

When wealthy Mr. Goodrich (Sitka) receives a note from a serial killer saying Goodrich will be his next victim, he hires our boys to guard him.  When our guys arrive they are greeted by Goodrich’s niece who says her uncle is missing.  Little do Larry, Moe and Shemp know, but the niece and her two accomplices are behind this!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Who Done It? is one of my favorite Shemp shorts.  It contains the mansion with hidden panels, a scary looking monster/creep and the hijinks that come when our boys are running for their lives from room to room.

Moe sprained his ankle crashing through a door and so in scenes where he’s limping, the limp is real!

Who Done It? (1949) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Watcher” (2022) starring Maika Monroe / Z-View

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Watcher (2022)

Director:  Chloe Okuno

Writer: Chloe Okuno based on the screenplay by Zack Ford

Stars: Maika Monroe, Karl Glusman, Burn Gorman

Tagline:  Evil Wants to be Seen.

The Plot…

Julia (Monroe) and Francis (Glusman) are newlyweds. They’ve just moved to Bucharest, Romania for Francis’ job,  While Francis is at work, Julia is alone.  She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t able to speak the language.  When Julia sees a man in the apartment across the street constantly staring into her apartment, it begins to creep her out.  Then she notices a man following her.  Julia tells her husband but he thinks it’s just her nerves.

When Julia learns that a serial killer known as The Spider is torturing and beheading women in Bucharest, she is sure that the killer is planning for her to be his next victim.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Maika Monroe is very good in this role.  I look forward to seeing more of her in the future.

Chloe Okuno adapted Zack Ford’s screenplay.  Ford had originally set the story in Brooklyn.  It was a smart move to change the location to Bucharest.  It made Julia even more isolated and increased the probability that her nerves were playing tricks on her.

Burn Gorman was excellent as the creepy neighbor.

Watcher is a slow burn.  The ending plays with the viewer.  Overall there’s a Hitchcock feel to the film and that’s never a bad thing.

Watcher (2022) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Sock-a-Bye Baby” (1942) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Sock-a-Bye Baby (1942)

Director:  Jules White

Writer:  Clyde Bruckman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Vernon Dent, Bud Jamison and Dudley Dickerson

Tagline: None

The Plot…

A crying woman leaves a baby on the boys’ doorstep.  So our boys decide to raise the child.  Later Larry sees an article about a kidnapped infant.  When the woman returns with police to retrieve her baby, our guys mistakenly believe the cops think that they’re kidnappers.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The title, Sock-a-Bye Baby, was first used in a Popeye cartoon!

Pearl Harbor had recently been bombed by the Japanese when this short was made. Curly sings a tune where he says, “What am I sayin’? Poo on the Japanese.”

Sock-a-Bye Baby (1942) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” – The Poster and Full Trailer are Here!

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Ok, I’m in.  Love the poster.  The trailer has the right feel.  Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny looks to be a good bookend to Raiders.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in theaters June 30.

Harrison Ford returns as the legendary hero archaeologist in the highly anticipated fifth installment of the iconic “Indiana Jones” franchise, which is directed by James Mangold (“Ford v Ferrari,” “Logan”). Starring along with Ford are Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”), Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”), John Rhys-Davies (“Raiders of the Lost Ark”), Shaunette Renee Wilson (“Black Panther”), Thomas Kretschmann (“Das Boot”), Toby Jones (“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”), Boyd Holbrook (“Logan”), Oliver Richters (“Black Widow”), Ethann Isidore (“Mortel”) and Mads Mikkelsen (“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”). Directed by James Mangold, the film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanuel, with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas serving as executive producers. John Williams, who has scored each Indy adventure since the original “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in 1981, is once again composing the score.

“Bill Russell: Legend” (2023) / Z-View

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Bill Russell: Legend (2023)

Director:  Sam Pollard

Stars: Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Satch Sanders, Bill Walton, Jeannine Russell, Jalen Rose, Karen Russell, Lawrence O’Donnell, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Stephen Curry, Bill Bradley, Shaquille O’Neal, Earl Monroe  and Chris Paul.

Tagline:  He Changed More Than the Game

The Plot…

Bill Russell: Legend explores Russell’s life on and off the basketball court. Archival news reports as well as interviews with Bill Russell, his contemporaries, current athletes and sportswriters round out this two part series.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Bill Russell is considered by many the greatest basketball player of all time.  He made every team he played on the best. Bill Russell led his high school team to two California State High School Championships.  In college his team won two back-to-back NCAA titles.  As an Olympian, the U.S. basketball team won a Gold Medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. When he went into the NBA his team, the Boston Celtics won 11 championships in his thirteen-year career. The last two were won with Bill Russell playing and serving as the coach!  “He has more NBA championship rings than he has fingers.”

Off the court Bill Russell was a man concerned with civil rights and world events.  He was a proud man that felt that the things he did off the court were more important.  I am not the biggest basketball fan in the world, but I give Bill Russell: Legend my highest recommendation.

Bill Russell: Legend (2023) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Three Missing Links” (1938) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Three Missing Links (1938)

Director:  Jules White

Writer:  Searle Kramer

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Ray Corrigan and Dudley Dickerson

Tagline: None

The Plot…

The boys are janitors at a movie studio when they are discovered!  Curly is perfect to star in the studio’s next feature.  He’ll play the missing link.  Larry and Moe will get parts.  They head to a jungle for location filming.  There they have run-ins with a cannibal/medicine man who sells “love candy”, a lion and a gorilla.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Three Missing Links (1938) is the first Stooges short to be directed by Jules White.  White would go on to produce and/or direct over 130 of the Stooges 190 shorts.

It’s a funny twist that Curly eats the “love candy” and becomes enamored with the gorilla to the point that the gorilla is frightened and runs away.

Three Missing Links (1938) rates 5 of 5 stars.

RIP: Bill Butler

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Wilmer Cable Butler aka Bill Butler died yesterday at the age of 101, just two days short of his 102nd birthday.

Mr. Butler graduated with a degree in engineering from the University of Iowa.  He began his professional career as an engineer at a Gary, Indiana radio station.  He moved to Chicago to help design and build ABC television affiliate stations.  Mr. Butler then moved to WGN-TV where he worked live camera reports for local shows and commercials.

It was at WGN where Bill Butler met director William Friedkin.  Friedkin was prepping a documentary. He asked Mr. Butler to serve as his cinematographer.  The documentary was The People vs. Paul Crump, about a death row inmate.  The documentary assisted in getting Crump exonerated.  It was also Bill Butler’s first professional film credit.  Mr. Butler would go on to become one of the most requested and admired cinematographers in the industry.

Some of Bill Bulter’s feature films include: Fearless Frank; The Rain People; Drive, He Said; The Return of Count Yorga; Hickey & Boggs; The Conversation; Jaws; Lipstick; The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings; Demon Seed; Capricorn One; Damien: Omen II; Grease; Uncle Joe Shannon; Ice Castles; Rocky II; Can’t Stop the Music; The Night’s the Lights Went Out in Georgia; Stripes; Rocky III; Rocky IV;  Biloxi Blues; Graffiti Bridge; Hot Shots!; Sniper; Cop & ½; Beethoven’s 2nd; Anaconda and Frailty.

Some of Bill Butler’s television projects include: The People vs. Paul Crump; Something Evil; Circle of Fear (5 episodes); Savage; The Execution of Private Slovik; Raid on Entebbe; The Thorn Birds (4 episodes); A Streetcar Named Desire and  A Walton Wedding.

Bill Butler is best known for his work with Steven Spielberg on Jaws.  They had worked together previously on two television movies, Something Evil and Savage.  I first saw Bill Butler’s work on The Execution of Private Slovik, a television movie starring Martin Sheen.  It felt like I was watching a feature film and much of the credit for that goes to Mr. Butler.

I loved how throughout his career Bill Butler could move from low-budget genre films to high budget star vehicles.  He was at home with gritty dramas as movies geared to kids.  He worked on so many films that I love: Jaws; Capricorn One; Rocky 2, 3 &4 and Frailty to name a few.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bill Butler’s family, friends and fans.

The 50 Best Movies of the 21st Century (so far)

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Six film critics at The Hollywood Reporter came up with their list of The 50 Best Films of the 21st Century (So Far).  Of the 50 from their list, here’s what I’ve seen and how I’d rate them…

The Hollywood Reporter

Craig
49 ‘Black Panther’ (2018) 43 ‘Grizzly Man’ (2005)
43 ‘Grizzly Man’ (2005) 41 ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)
41 ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006) 40 ‘Summer of Soul’ (2021)
40 ‘Summer of Soul’ (2021) 38 ‘Children of Men’ (2006)
39 ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ (2016) 05 ‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001)
38 ‘Children of Men’ (2006) 39 ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ (2016)
15 ‘The Power of the Dog’ (2021) 04 ‘Zodiac’ (2007)
10 ‘Get Out’ (2017) 15 ‘The Power of the Dog’ (2021)
05 ‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001) 10 ‘Get Out’ (2017)
04 ‘Zodiac’ (2007) 49 ‘Black Panther’ (2018)

The Hollywood Reporter article got me thinking.  I decided to list my Top 50 movies for the 21st century.  It was harder than expected.  They are listed in alpha order after giving the top spots (again in alpha order to the Sly Stallone films that I included).  Any surprises?  Any great films that I missed?  Take a look and let me know.

Craig’s Top 50 for the 21st Century (So Far)
*** Creed (2015) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
*** Expendables, The (2010) Man on Fire (2004)
*** Get Carter (2000) Meet the Parents (2000)
*** Rambo (2008) Mist, The (2006)
*** Rocky Balboa (2006) No Country for Old Men (2007)
28 Days Later… (2002) No Sudden Move (2021)
300 (2006) Open Range (2003)
Apocalypto (2006) Patriot, The (2000)
Army of the Dead (2021) Pitch Black (2000)
Atomic Blonde (2017) Predators (2010)
Bad Boys II (2003) Reign of Fire (2002)
Baby Driver (2016) RRR (2022)
Babylon A.D. (2007) Rundown, The (2003)
Black Panther (2018) Shutter Island (2010)
Blade II (2002) Sicario (2016)
Bone Tomahawk (2015) Sin City (2005)
Dawn of the Dead (2004) Stepbrothers (2008)
Extraction (2020) Taken (2008)
Faster (2010) Top Gun: Maverick (2023)
Frailty (2001) Town, The (2010)
Get Out (2017) Train to Buscan (2016)
Gladiator (2000) Training Day (2001)
Hotel Artemis (2018) True Grit (2010)
John Wick (2014) / John Wick 2 (2017) /John Wick 3 (2019) Way of the Gun (2000)
Lockout (2012) World War Z (2013)

 “Spiral: From the Book of Saw” (2021) starring Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson & Max Minghella / Z-View

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 Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)

Director:  Darren Lynn Bousman

Writer: Josh Stolberg, Peter Goldfinger

Stars: Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, Richard Zeppieri, Ali Johnson, Edie Inksetter, Nazneen Contractor and Chad Camilleri.

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

When an off-duty cop is found murdered in a subway, clues indicate the killer is a fan of Jigsaw, the deceased serial killer.  Jigsaw would trap, incapacitate his victims and then kill them using elaborate methods causing pain and disfigurement.  Detective Zeke Banks (Rock) and rookie Detective William Schenk (Minghella) are assigned to the case.

As Banks and Schenk follow leads, more cops are found murdered by Spiral.  Each murder strikes closer to Banks’ circle of fellow officers,,, and now Banks’ father is missing.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I was a fan of the original Saw.  The sequels that I watched (I haven’t seen them all) put more emphasis on gory, bizarre methods of murder.  I realize that is part of the appeal of these movies, but I prefer to see the set-up and let my imagination do the rest.  I was hoping that Spiral would be more of a serial killer mystery with less emphasis on gore.

There’s a twist at the end that for my money works.

Darren Lynn Bousman directed Saw sequels 2, 3 and 4.  I liked the choices he made in Spiral (well, except for some of the torture scenes),

Chris Rock impressed me in Fargo and I enjoyed him here.  Samuel L. Jackson elevates any movie.  I’d never seen anything with Max Minghella before.  He does an excellent job, especially in the film’s final set piece.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“No Census, No Feeling” (1940) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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No Census, No Feeling (1940)

Director:  Del Lord

Writer:  Harry Edwards, Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Bruce Bennett, Symona Boniface, Vernon Dent and Frank Mills

Tagline: Those madcap merchants of mirth score a laugh touchdown!

The Plot…

While on the run from the cops, our guys hide in a building hiring census takers.  Soon the boys have jobs. They end up at a rich woman’s mansion and create havoc.  Then they get the bright idea that a stadium full of fans would provide plenty of “customers”.  But when Larry, Curly and Moe are mistaken for professional football players, all bets are off.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

An extended scene where Curly adds alum to the punch and all guests (our guys included) try to talk through puckered lips is hilarious.

Moe asks one man, “Are you happy or married.”  Nyuk-Nyuk-Nyuk.

No Census, No Feeling (1940) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Tassels in the Air” (1938) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Tassels in the Air (1938)

Director:  Charley Chase

Writer:  Al Giebler, Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Symona Boniface, Vernon Dent and Bud Jamison

Tagline:  They’re Nuthouse Painters!

The Plot…

When Moe is mistaken for the famous painter, Omay, the boys are hired to paint and redecorate a rich woman’s mansion.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The gag that “Curly goes crazy” whenever he sees/smells something is used again in Tassels in the Air.  This time whenever Curly sees tassels, he goes loco until he’s tickled under the chin.  This gimmick was used in three previous Stooges shorts (in Punch Drunks, Horses’ Collars and Grips, Grunts and Groans).

The director, Charley Chase directed and acted in hundreds of shorts and features. In one scene Vernon Dent appears dressed like Oliver Hardy.  Some wonder if this was Chase’s influence as a nod to the comedy great.

Tassels in the Air (1938) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“George A. Romero’s Resident Evil” – The Trailer is Here!

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It’s unfortunate that Romero’s Resident Evil didn’t happen. At least we get this documentary.

In 1998, Constantin Film set out to adapt the greatest horror video game franchise of all time, hiring legendary film director George A. Romero. Now, Key 13 Films, in association with Point Five Films and director Brandon Salisbury set out to uncover the mystery behind why Romero’s vision was never produced.

George A. Romero’s Resident Evil is a stylized documentary, utilizing archived footage, unearthed documents, and newly filmed interviews with a wide variety of personalities. The documentary combines elements from Capcom’s hit video game series and the raw, visceral style of George A. Romero to full immerse the audience in a cinematic horror aesthetic.

Now, audiences everywhere will experience the “darkest day of horror the world will never know”, as they uncover the unrequited vision of… George A. Romero’s Resident Evil.

QUENTIN BY TARANTINO by Ameziane Amazing!

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Quentin Tarantino fans are gonna love this!

TAKE A DIVE INTO THE BRAIN OF MASTER AUTEUR QUENTIN TARANTINO, AS AMÉZIANE AMAZING TAKES US ON A JOURNEY THROUGH HIS RISE TO INDIE BLOCKBUSTER FAME THROUGH ICONIC DIALOGUE, MARTIAL ARTS, AND STYLISH VIOLENCE.

“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.”

Just like that, fans of Quentin Tarantino are transported into his iconic films, but here is a deeper dive into the man himself, the story of Quentin by Tarantino!

In a first-person account, Améziane Amazing, leads us through the life story of this iconic auteur, from his humble beginnings as a video shop clerk, to his rise through iconic indie blockbusters, all the way to global superstar.

Discover the influences, opinions, and history of one of the world’s most iconic filmmakers, unmistakable in his style and talent.

This looks interesting.  Pre-orders are available now.