Category: Movies

“Blood Vessel” (2019) / Z-View

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Blood Vessel (2019)

Director: Justin Dix

Screenplay by: Justin Dix, Jordan Prosser

Starring: Nathan Phillips, Alyssa Sutherland, Robert Taylor, Christopher Kirby, Alex Cooke, Mark Diaco, John Lloyd Fillingham, Troy Larkin and Vivienne Perry

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

1945.  World War II.  A life raft with five survivors of a hospital ship torpedoed by a Nazi U-boat has been adrift in the ocean for days.  With supplies and hope for rescue running low, the survivors spot a ship.  Although it is a German vessel, with nothing to lose, they board it.  The German sailors are all dead, their bodies horribly mutilated.  They find a young girl and two chained boxes…

I love the Blood Vessel poster (above) and the film exceeded my expectations.  I’m a fan of movies where a diverse group of people are thrown together and forced into life or death situations.  Blood Vessel checks all the boxes.  Early in the movie we’re shown that you cannot be sure who will live or die.  I loved that the vampire didn’t look human.  It was also a cool idea to use the time period when Germany was sure to lose the war and were Nazi officials were exploring occult options as a last resort.  Blood Vessel is a movie that I’m going to enjoy re-watching and would make a great double feature with Overlord!

Blood Vessel earns 4 of 5 stars.

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie (2022) / Z-View

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The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie (2022)

Director: Mark Moormann

Starring: Don McLean, Peter Gallagher, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Jiles Perry “J.P.” Richardson Jr. aka The Big Bopper, Garth Brooks, Brian Wilson  and Tyson Fury

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

In December 1971, Don McLean’s American Pie single was released.  It went to #1 and held that position for four weeks.  At the time it was the longest song (8 minutes and 42 seconds) to enter the Billboard charts.  At the time a single of that length was unheard of.  American Pie was a worldwide hit topping the charts in the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.  Fifty years later and people of all ages know the words to the song, but speculation runs rampant about their meaning.

Don McLean wrote the song as a musical poem open to interpretation.  While McLean admitted that “the day the music died” referred to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, speculation was that the song also referenced the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, political protests and more.  McLean would never confirm or deny the meaning of his lyrics.  He was quoted as saying, “You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me … Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on.”

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie looks at the genesis of the song, it’s impact on the world and Don McLean shares the meaning of the lyrics.  I was in 7th grade when American Pie was released.  Everyone, including adults, were talking about the song and it’s meaning.

I enjoyed this documentary.  It was cool to see the struggle McLean had in getting the lyrics just right.  Then to learn (and see) that the producer and musicians knew that they had something special, but the recording session wasn’t working until.. (I won’t give it away),  While I’m glad that Don McLean has confirmed the things that inspired his lyrics, I’m taking the perspective that like all poetry, once it’s released, it is up to each individual to determine what the poem means to him/her.

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie earns 4 of 5 stars.

Sputnik (2020): “The Only Survivor Did Not Come Back Alone” / Z-View

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Sputnik (2020)

Director: Egor Abramenko

Screenplay by:  Oleg Malovichko, Andrey Zolotarev

Starring: Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk and Pyotr Fyodorov

Tagline:  The only survivor did not come back alone.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Tatyana Klimova (Akinshina), a  psychiatrist with a high success rate and unusual methods, is brought to a remote military facility.  Colonel Semiradov (Bondarchuk) has recruited Tatyana to work with Konstantin (Fyodorov),  the lone surviving cosmonaut of a recent space mission.

Initially Tatyana is told that Konstantin is in isolation and under military guard due to quarantine protocols.  She soon learns the real reason.  An alien life form is alive in Konstantin.  The creature feeds off nutrients in Konstantin’s food and in turn keeps him alive.  Colonel Semiradov is looking for a way to weaponize or kill the creature – no matter if the process kills Konstantin.  Tatyana wants to save Konstantin, even if it kills the creature.

Sputnik is a Russian film helmed by first time director, Egor Abramenko.  It could have easily turned into an Alien rip-off, but instead we’re given a film that is more psychological in nature.  The creature is unlike most outer-space monsters and is as creepy as it is scary.  There’s a nice twist at the end (but again, not like you’d expect in most horror films).  I enjoyed Sputnik.  It was different than I thought it’d be, but in a good way.

Sputnik earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Dead for a Dollar” Directed by Walter Hill, Starring Christoph Waltz & Willem Dafoe – The Trailer is Here!

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Walter Hill as the director gets me on board… Christoph Waltz and Willem Defoe are icing on the cake.  Dead for a Dollar?  Yep, deal me in.

Veteran bounty hunter Max Borlund is deep into Mexico where he encounters professional gambler and outlaw Joe Cribbens – a sworn enemy he sent to prison years before. Max is on a mission to find and return Rachel.

Cast: Christoph Waltz, Willem Defoe, Rachel Brosnahan, Benjamin Bratt

Available in THEATERS, on DIGITAL and ON DEMAND, September 30th, 2022

Magnum Force (1973) Starring Clint Eastwood / Z-View

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Magnum Force (1973)

Director: Ted Post

Screenplay by:  John Milius, Michael Cimino from a story by John Milius based on characters created by Harry Julian Fink, R.M. Fink

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitchell Ryan, David Soul, Tim Matheson, Kip Niven, Robert Urich, Felton Perry, Maurice Argent, Richard Devon, Tony Giorgio, Jack Kosslyn and John Mitchum

Tagline:  Clint Eastwood is Dirty Harry in Magnum Force

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Someone is killing criminals who have escaped justice in court.  As the dead bodies pile up, Inspector Harry Callahan (Eastwood) begins to suspect that the killer is a cop.  As Harry continues his investigation, he discovers that he is now on the killer’s hit list!

Clint Eastwood returns in the second outing as his most popular character, Dirty Harry Callahan.  Magnum Force is Eastwood’s favorite Dirty Harry film.  It’s easy to see why.  The screenplay by John Milius and Michael Cimino provides a great response to critics who said Dirty Harry is a fascist vigilante.  Plus Eastwood’s supporting cast includes several stars on the verge of their breakout roles (David Soul in Starsky & Hutch, Tim Matheson in The Quest and Robert Urich in S.W.A.T.).  Hal Holbrook is perfect as Lt. Briggs, Calahan’s supervising officer.

Magnum Force provides a great showcase for Eastwood doing what he does best; playing the loner who despite “the system” gets the job done. Eastwood starts and ends Magnum Force with memorable dialogue.  The film opens with a repeat of the “Do you feel lucky, punk?” speech and ends with “A man’s got to know his limitations.”  In between we see Harry react to situations (Eastwood has facial expressions that rival Vince McMahon’s), stop a hijacking, being hit on (in different ways) by women and bad guys and overcoming the odds win the day.

Magnum Force earns 4 of 5 stars.

“The English” Starring Emily Blunt – The Teaser and Trailer are Here!

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The teaser and trailer for The English starring Emily Blunt has me on board.

An epic chase Western, The English takes the core themes of identity and revenge to tell a uniquely compelling parable on race, power, and love. An aristocratic Englishwoman, Lady Cornelia Locke, and a Pawnee ex-cavalry scout, Eli Whipp, come together in 1890 middle America to cross a violent landscape built on dreams and blood. Both of them have a clear sense of their destiny, but neither is aware that it is rooted in a shared past. They must face increasingly terrifying obstacles that will test them to their limits, physically and psychologically. But as each obstacle is overcome, it draws them closer to their ultimate destination—the new town of Hoxem, Wyoming. It is here, after an investigation by the local sheriff Robert Marshall and young widow Martha Myers into a series of bizarre and macabre unsolved murders, that the full extent of their intertwined history will be truly understood, and they will come face-to-face with the future they must live.

THE ENGLISH Trailer (2022) Emily Blunt

“The Plague” (2014) / Z-View

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The Plague (2014)

Director: Nick Kozakis, Kosta Ouzas

Screenplay by:  Kosta Ouzas

Starring: Don Bridges, Tegan Crowley, Scott Marcus and Steven Jianai

Tagline:  Pray you don’t survive.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

After a zombie outbreak, a small group of survivors have taken refuge in a barn.  Arguments about what do next tear the group apart and lead to murder.  Everyone but Evie (Crowley) is ready to move on.  Evie wants to wait for her boyfriend, John (Marcus) to return.  He finally does, but only Evie waited.

Neither Evie are John are well-suited for survival in this new world.  When Charlie (Jianai) arrives at the barn, they gain renewed hope.  Charlie is an outdoorsman, a marksman and just wants their companionship.  Charlies says in return he will feed and protect them.  What could go wrong with that?

John and Evie should know that sometimes the humans are the most dangerous part of a zombie apocalypse.

The Plague has an interesting idea, but falls short in the execution.  It’s not a bad film, especially for a low budget production.

The Plague earns 2 of 5 stars.

“The Last Victim” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster and trailer for The Last Victim are here.  Deal me in.

In this stylised western thriller, a group of modern-day outlaws and their terrifying leader are pursued by a local sheriff, played by Ron Perlman (Hellboy), after committing a horrific crime in a desolate southwest town. When a professor and her husband cross paths with the criminals, everyone is drawn into a spiral of violence and retribution where morality becomes ambiguous, and survival is the only option.

The Last Victim also stars Ali Larter (Heroes) and Ralph Ineson (Game of Thrones) and is directed by Naveen A. Chathapuram.

“The Gauntlet” (1977) Starring Clint Eastwood / Z-View

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The Gauntlet (1977)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Screenplay by:  Michael Butler,  Dennis Shryack

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince and Bill McKinney

Tagline:  Clint Eastwood is the man in the middle of The Gauntlet

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Ben Shockley (Eastwood) is a Phoenix cop who drinks too much and does just enough to get by on the job.  So when Police Commissioner Blakelock (Prince) personally choses him to go to Las Vegas to extradite a “nothing witness” for a “nothing trial”, Shockley doesn’t think too much of it.  Gus Malley, the “nothing witness”, turns out to be Augustine Malley (Locke).

Malley claims that she is has information on government officials with mob ties and that she’s been targeted for execution.  She tells Shockley that he was chosen because no one would question him not getting her safely back.  When Shockley and Malley are nearly killed, he realizes she’s right.  Important people with ties to the mob and police have made it their mission to kill Shockley and Malley… and Shockley’s made it his to get her back safely to testify!

Ben Shockley is the opposite of Dirty Harry, but Eastwood is just as convincing in this role.  Gus Malley is played by Sandra Locke, Eastwood’s off screen lover at the time.   Pat Hingle has a small but important role as Shockley’s friend on the force.  William Prince is excellent as the slimy Police Commissioner.  Eastwood puts just the right amount of humor in The Gauntlet.  And how about that Frank Frazetta poster?

The Gauntlet earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Coogan’s Bluff” (1968) Starring Clint Eastwood / Z-View

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Coogan’s Bluff (1968)

Director: Don Siegel

Screenplay by:  Herman Miller, Dean Riesner, Howard Rodman  from a story by Herman Miller

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Susan Clark, Tisha Sterling,  Don Stroud, James Edwards, David Doyle  and Albert Popwell

Tagline:  A Prisoner On the Loose, A Cop Over the Edge. This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Them.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Walt Coogan (Eastwood) is a Deputy Sheriff sent to New York City to extradite James Ringerman (Stroud), an escaped murderer, back for trial in Arizona.  What Coogan thought would be an easy pick-up/return, turns into a mess when he learns Ringerman overdosed on LSD and is being held for medical clearance.  Coogan gets no assistance from Lt. McElroy (Cobb) who views Coogan as a “Texas” bumpkin.

Rather than wait for Ringerman to be cleared, or go through the days of paperwork to get an override for extradition, Coogan bluffs his way into the medical unit and gets custody of Ringerman.  On the way to the airport, Coogan is jumped and badly beaten by Ringerman’s crime partners.  With no police support, Coogan makes it his mission to track down Ringerman and get him back to Arizona!

Eastwood was born to play characters like Walt Coogan. Don Siegel and Eastwood make a great team (and Coogan’s Bluff is a nice warm-up for Dirty Harry).  Coogan’s Bluff isn’t a comedy, but there is a nice amount of humor mixed with the action.  Folks who only know David Doyle from Charlie’s Angels will get a kick out of him playing a tough guy.  Coogan’s Bluff was the basis for the hit series McCloud starring Dennis Weaver.

Coogan’s Bluff earns 3 of 5 stars.

Me Time (2016) Starring Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg / Z-View

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Me Time (2016)

Director:  John Hamburg

Screenplay by:  John Hamburg

Starring: Kevin Hart, Mark Wahlberg and Regina Hall

Tagline:  This is not what he had in mind.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Sonny (Hart) and Huck (Wahlberg) were buddies who loved to party and push the limits.  But that was 15 years ago.  Sonny is now a stay-at-home dad who takes care of his successful wife (Hall) and two kids.  Sonny volunteers daily at his kids’ elementary school,  He has no time for outside interests.  When Huck invites Sonny to a weeklong celebration, he declines.  Sonny’s wife convinces him that he should take some “me time”.  She’ll take the week off of work and reconnect with the kids while Sonny spends time with his old friend.

Sonny agrees.  It may be the worst week of his life… if he survives.

Me Time goes all out to be funny.  It has its moments, but unfortunately many of them are more gross than funny: pooping in a bucket, pooping on his wife’s boss’ bed, Sonny getting caught by his young daughter as he pleasures himself and sticking his wife’s boss’ cooking utensils down his pants are just a few examples.  Another problem is the things that happen in a scene have no impact once the scene ends.  Sonny is badly clawed by a mountain lion. Audience laughs.  Move on.  Sonny has his hand smashed by a bill collector.  Hand is shown mangled.  Audience laughs.  Move on.  The pranks that Huck and Sonny pull at his wife’s boss’ house should get them arrested.  Move on and have the boss soon become friends with Sonny.

Me Time has a it’s moments.  If you like gross comedy where reality is secondary to jokes and you’re a Kevin Hart fan, then you’ll probably like Me Time better than I did.

Me Time earns 2 of 5 stars.

“It Stains the Sands Red” (2016) / Z-View

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It Stains the Sands Red (2016)

Director: Colin Minihan

Screenplay by:  Colin Minihan, Stuart Ortiz

Starring: Brittany Allen, Juan Riedinger and Merwin Mondesir

Tagline:  It NEVER rests. It NEVER sleeps. It NEVER stops.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

A zombie apocalypse has just started.  Molly (Allen) and her boyfriend, Nick (Mondesir) have left Vegas and are driving to a remote desert airfield where friends are meeting to fly to a safe location.  When their car becomes disabled and a zombie kills her boyfriend, Molly has no choice but to attempt to walk across the desert to the airfield still miles away… with the zombie in slow pursuit!

It Stains the Sands Red takes an interesting premise and through dumb / illogical choices of Molly (and the screenwriters), the film becomes less scary and more irritating.  The idea of a zombie chasing you through an area where there are few places to hide, little in the way of weapons and a climate that will wear you down, while the zombie never tires, never sleeps and has no need for food or water is a good one.

Still it would be hard to sustain a feature film where a zombie follows a person for 90 minutes.  To their credit, Minihan and Ortiz add things/people to the mix.  Where the film goes south (for me) is when Molly begins to talk to the zombie and it responds.  C’mon folks!  Zombies are mindless eating machines.  They don’t think, they don’t listen and they don’t respond to commands.

It Stains the Sands Red earns 2 of 5 stars.

“The Land Unknown” (1957) / Z-View

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The Land Unknown (1957)

Director: Virgil W. Vogel

Screenplay by:  László Görög based on a story by Charles Palmer, William N. Robson

Starring: Jock Mahoney, Shirley Patterson, William Reynolds, Phil Harvey and Henry Brandon 

Tagline:  Lost and Terrorized in Prehistoric Time.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Commander Alan Roberts (Mahoney), Lt. Jack Carmen (Reynolds), mechanic Steve Miller (Harvey) and reporter Margaret Hathaway (Patterson) take a helicopter to explore an area of warm water in  Antarctica!  When they run into an unexpected storm, low fuel causes them to sit down.  The helicopter is damaged in the landing.  When the fog clears they realize that they are out of radio contact and in a world unchanged since prehistoric times!  Man-eating plants, dinosaurs and something that they never expected to find put their lives in danger.  Will they get the helicopter fixed in time to save them?

The Land Unknown was originally conceived as a big-budget extravaganza.  Prior to filming the budget was drastically cut.  Although filmed in Cinemascope, color was too expensive and all scenes were shot on a back lot.  Children and those old enough to fondly remember low-budget horror films will find enough fun in The Land Unknown.  Viewers not in those categories will see Barney and puppets attacking a toy helicopter.  So be advised your mileage may vary.  For me…

The Land Unknown earns 2 of 5 stars.