Category: Movies

“The Predator” (2018) / Z-View

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The Predator (2018)

Director:  Shane Black

Screenplay:  Fred Dekker, Shane Black based on characters created by Jim Thomas, John Thomas

Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Jake Busey and Yvonne Strahovski

Tagline:   You’ll never see him coming.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

While on a rescue mission, Quint McKenna (Holbrook) and his team are attacked by a Predator.  Against all odds, McKenna escapes with his life as well as a Predator faceplate and armor.  McKenna is sure no one will believe his story about an alien encounter so he mails the Predator gear to himself.  McKenna’s plan is to get home and collect the package before his estranged wife, Emily ( Strahovski) gets to it.

McKenna’s plan is foiled when he is picked up for debriefing.  Meanwhile at home, McKenna’s son opens the package and accidentally triggers the alien technology.  At his debriefing McKenna tells about his team’s encounter with the Predator. He is then placed in a group of soldiers with mental issues.  Meanwhile in another part of the facility, a sedated Predator is being prepped for examination.  The Predator wakes up, breaks it’s bonds and kills anyone in it’s way as it escapes.

McKenna is telling the other soldiers about his run-in with the Predator and they’re all laughing at the “real” nut among them… until they see the Predator jumping out of a lab window.  McKenna and the crazy soldiers take-over a bus and give chase.  The Predator escapes and McKenna realizes it is after the armor he mailed to himself.  McKenna and the “loonie” soldiers are the kid’s only chance for survival.

Man, I really had high expectations for The Predator.  Shane Black as the director and co-writer of the screenplay!  It had a good cast (Boyd Holbrook, Sterling K. Brown and Thomas Jane to name three).  What could go wrong?

The Predator starts out okay.  But as the movie rolls along it comes off the rails.

  • We get bad joke after bad joke.
  • The Predator gets into a van and kills a soldier in the back.  When the driver asks his partner if he’s okay, the Predator picks up the man’s severed arm which is in a “thumbs up” position and shows it to the driver.
  • There are Predator dogs with dreadlocks… that play fetch.
  • Two of the “loonie” soldiers get impaled across from each other.  Despite mortal injuries and great pain, they shoot each other in the head to end the other’s misery.
  • We learn that the Predators keep coming back to earth because of climate change and they will thrive as we die off.  What?
  • We learn that McKenna’s autistic son is seen as the next stage of human evolution.
  • We see our heroes jump on the surface of a Predator space ship and those who don’t get cut in half by the ship’s force field will have the chance to bring the ship down by jumping into one of it’s turbines?!
  • Oh, and there’s good Predators and bad Predators… and some are really BIG.

What a mess.  The Predator rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Fatty’s Plucky Pup” (1915) / Z-View

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Fatty’s Plucky Pup (1915)

Director:  Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle

Screenplay:

Starring:  Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Fatty’s girlfriend is kidnapped and it’s up to Fatty, his dog and the Keystone Cops to save her.  Thank goodness for the dog!

Fatty’s best moments: when he slowly realizes he’s set his bed on fire (and how he deals with it), hanging up his mother’s clean wash, dealing with dog catchers and getting revenge on amusement park con men.  There’s a lot of other stuff in between, but once it comes down to saving his girlfriend, Fatty’s dog becomes the star!

Fatty’s Plucky Pup rates 3 of 5 stars.

Movie Snacks – National Survey Results!

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Fandango, the nation’s largest ticketing service surveyed 2,500 film goers across the U.S. about movie concession snacks.  Above we see a summary of the results.

  • 83% said that movie theater popcorn tastes better than popcorn made at home.  (100% agree.)
  • 53% says nachos are the best hot snack, but 77% avoid messy snacks when on a date.  (I agree with the 53% and pity the 77%  – of course I’m married, so she expects me to be messy).
  • 47% buy concessions even if they are late to a movie.  (If I’m late, I don’t go.  There will be other showings.  And to that 47% – shame on you for disrupting the movie for others!)
  • 48% like to mix candy in their popcorn.  (Genius! I’ve eaten popcorn and candy at the same time, but never mixed the candy into the popcorn!  Genius, I say again!)

Survey: Top Five Candies Mixed into Popcorn

Zablo’s Choices

1. M&Ms / Peanut M&Ms

1. M&Ms / Peanut M&Ms

2. Reese’s Pieces

2. Reese’s Pieces

3. Rasinets

 3. Goobers

4. Goobers

 4. Rasinets

5. Milk Duds

 5. I do not want Milk Duds in my popcorn!

Source:  /Film.

“Fatty’s New Role” (1915) / Z-View

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Fatty’s New Role (1915)

Director:  Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle

Screenplay:

Starring:  Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Fatty (Arbuckle) is a hobo who gets thrown out of a bar for trying to mooch some hooch.  Some of the regulars at the bar decide to play a joke on the bar’s owner and they convince him that Fatty is a mad bomber who will be back to blow up the bar.  What sounds like a potentially great set-up falls short of greatness.

Fatty’s New Role rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Fatty’s Chance Acquaintance” (1915) / Z-View

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Fatty’s Chance Acquaintance (1915)

Director:  Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle

Screenplay:  Mack Sennet

Starring:  Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Fatty (Arbuckle) and his wife meet another couple while walking in the park.  They strike up a conversation not realizing that the man they just met is a thief… until he steals Fatty’s wife’s purse!  Then it is the usual hijinks with the thief on the run from a cop and Fatty using his cane to get at the other woman’s purse.

I’m a Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle fan.  Fatty Chance Acquaintance earns 4 of 5 stars.

RIP: Isidoro Raponi

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It is just being reported that Isidoro Raponi died on May 27, 2022, from congestive heart failure.  Mr. Raponi was 76 years old.

While Isidoro Raponi’s name may not be familiar, his movie work surely is.  Mr. Raponi was a mechanical effects expert for movies.  In addition to helping design, build and operate E.T. for Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Mr. Raponi’s effects could be seen in King Kong (76), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Running Man and The Godfather Part III to name a few of the movies he worked on.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Isidoro Raponi’s family, friends and fans.

George Perez and Svengoolie – The Fan Connection!

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The photo above is of George Perez (in the middle), George’s wife Carol, and Svengoolie.  If you don’t know who George Perez is, either do a search on my site or Google him.  I’ll wait.

Ok, now that we’re on the same page with the late George Perez, one of the most popular artists to ever draw a comic, let’s talk Svengoolie.

Svengoolie is a host of horror movies.  He’s been doing this gig for over 40 years.  For the last decade or so, Svengoolie’s show has been on Me-TV every Saturday at 8pm.  It’s a weekly ritual for many horror movie fans who Tweet along.

As it turns out, George Perez was a Svengoolie fan, and Svengoolie was a George Perez fan! George and/or his art had appeared on Svengoolie’s shows.  When George passed, Svengoolie paid tribute on his next episode.  Which brings us to the art below.  Svengoolie says George…

… once asked me about who some of my favorite superheroes were — and surprised me by sending a fantastic book about his artwork — in which he had actually drawn, on the inside cover, Batman and Captain America discovering a familiar artifact of our set! It is a cherished reminder tome of a friend who was not only a great artist, but a really good and generous man.

Svengoolie shared this in his latest newsletter.  You can learn about Svengoolie, his upcoming shows and more here.

“Old” (2021) / Z-View

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Old (2021)

Director:  M. Night Shyamalan

Screenplay:  M. Night Shyamalan based on the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters

Starring:  Gael García Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, Aaron Pierre and M. Night Shyamalan

Tagline: It’s only a matter of time.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Guy and Prisca Cappa along with their young children, Maddox and Trenton arrive at a luxurious remote island resort.  The next morning the resort manager invites the Capra family to join a select few on a trip to a secluded part of the beach off limits to the general population.  Joining them are Charles, his young wife, their daughter along with Charles’ elderly mother and  another married couple, Jarin and Patricia Carmichael.

The secluded area is surrounded by high rock formations. They are driven to a path that will take them to the beach.  Once on the beach they are surprised that a famous rapper, “Mid-Size Sedan”, is there.  They are shocked to see his girlfriend lying dead in the sand!  There is no cell service so the group is unable to contact the resort. Anyone trying to walk back to the road suffers painful headaches and loses consciousness.  As the group argues about what to do, they notice that the children are suddenly looking much older.  Somehow the beach is aging everyone one year for every thirty minutes!

As the group struggles with the reality of their situation one of them begins to have psychotic episodes endangering everyone.  Will they figure a way off the beach?  Will anyone survive?  Only time will tell.

Old works because of M. Knight Shyamalan’s talents behind the camera.  The story is interesting, but would probably have worked better as a thirty minute episode of The Twilight Zone.  My nit to pick with Old is that it becomes redundant, and although the characters’ bodies age, they should remain at their original age mentally.  This makes some of what happens gross (and I’m not talking about the brittle bones lady).  I do give credit for the explanation of how the characters were chosen for the secluded beach.

Old isn’t a great film or one of M. Night Shyamalan’s best but still rates 3 of 5 stars.

“The Mutations” aka “The Freakmaker” (1974) / Z-View

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The Mutations aka The Freakmaker (1974)

Director:  Jack Cardiff

Screenplay:  Robert D. Weinbach, Edward Mann

Starring: Donald Pleasence, Tom Baker, Brad Harris and Michael Dunn

Tagline:  It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature…… it can be HORRIFYING! EVEN TO THEM!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Professor Nolter (Pleasence) believes he is close to a breakthrough.  His goal to create the next stage in human development — a hybrid human/plant!  Nolter gives the results of his failed experiments to a circus sideshow owner who puts them on display.  When students from Professor Nolter’s class start disappearing, it’s time to check to see if the sideshow is getting bigger.

The Mutations would have been the third or fourth feature at a drive-in theater.  Donald Pleasence wanted to play his character “low key”.  If that means without emotion and monotone, he succeeded.  Like many low-budget films of this type made in the early 70s, The Mutations included several topless scenes with women who were in danger,  The producers brought in real sideshow performers to take up some of the slack when no boobies were showing.

Jack Cardiff, the director of The Mutations, was an Oscar nominee for Best Director in 1960, but you’d never guess it from this film.  Mr. Cardiff was better known for his Oscar-worthy Cinematography (3 nominations for Best Cinematography with one win and one Honorary Oscar)!  As a side note, Jack Cardiff was the Director of Photography on Rambo; First Blood, Part II.

The Mutations barely earns a 2 of 5 star rating.

“Fatty Joins the Force” (1913) / Z-View

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Fatty Joins the Force (1913)

Director:  George Nichols

Screenplay:  Mack Sennett

Starring:  Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Fatty (Arbuckle) is walking in the park with his girlfriend (who has a thing for policemen), when a little girl falls into a pond, Fatty’s girlfriend pushes him in to rescue the child.  The little girl turns out to be the Police Commissioner’s daughter.  The Commissioner is so appreciative, he makes Fatty a police officer.

Once Fatty is on the force, let the good times roll!  Fatty attempts to break up a fight and gets the worst of it.  While catching his breath afterwards, four boys pelt him with food and Fatty gets a pie in the face.  When Fatty strips down to his underclothes and goes into the pond to wash up, the boys cut up Fatty’s clothes.  Fatty comes out and dresses in his cut up duds. When two ladies see Fatty in his strange outfit hiding in the bushes, they think a mad man is loose!  Meanwhile, Fatty’s police coat is found floating in the pond.  His squad thinks he drowned… until two policemen bring in the captured mad man aka Fatty!  Fatty is put behind bars while his girlfriend is consoled by the police chief.

All this take place in 12 minutes with Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle as the star.  That earns Fatty Joins the Force 4 of 5 stars.

“The Man from Toronto” Starring Kevin Hart & Woody Harrelson – the Trailer is Here! 

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The Man from Toronto trailer is here.  Kevin Hart mistaken for the world’s deadliest assassin!  Deal me in.

A case of mistaken identity arises after a screw-up sales consultant and the world’s deadliest assassin—known only as The Man from Toronto— run into each other at a holiday rental. Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson star in this action packed comedy only on Netflix 6/24.

“Attack!” (1956) / Z-View

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Attack! (1956)

Director:  Robert Aldrich

Screenplay:  James Poe, based on the 1954 play Fragile Fox by Norman Brooks

Starring:  Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Eddie Albert, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen  and Strother Martin

Tagline: TRAPPED BEHIND ENEMY LINES…THEY PASSED THE WORD ALONG TO — ATTACK!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

World War II is rumored to be coming to an end, but the fighting on the front lines is still fierce.  When Lt. Costa (Palance) and a few of his men discover a German machine gun post, they radio Captain Cooney (Albert) and advise him of the situation.  Lt. Costa believes with covering fire, his men can take out the pill box.  Captain Cooney agrees his men will provide the cover needed.

As Lt. Costa’s men approach and begin firing on the Germans, he radios for the protective cover.  Captain Cooney seeing Costa’s men being shot down, freezes and never gives the order for the protective cover fire.  Lt. Costa loses several good men.

When the soldiers return to camp, Lt. Costa reports the incident to Lieutenant Colonel Bartlett (Marvin).  Bartlett is aware of Captain Cooney’s shortcomings as a soldier.  He is also very much aware that Cooney’s dad is a judge with a lot of political sway back home.  Colonel Bartlett has political ambitions after the war. Bartlett flat out tells Costa that he won’t do anything to upset the judge.   Lt. Costa is livid.  He says if Cooney freezes again and any of his men die, he will kill Captain Cooney.  Colonel Bartlett says that their unit is unlikely to see any more action.

Then an order comes down to take back a city fortified by German soldiers with tanks!  Captain Cooney, Lt. Costa and their men head back into battle.  Will Captain Cooney “freeze up” again?  If so will more good soldiers die as a result?  And if that does happen, will Lt. Costa keep his word and kill the Captain?

Directed by Robert (The Dirty Dozen; The Longest Yard; Emperor of the North) Aldrich, Attack doesn’t feel like a 1950s war film. Part of that is due to the great cast they assembled:

  • Eddie Albert plays the cowardly Captain Cooney perfectly.  He’s the disappointing son to a powerful judge.  A wanna be tough guy, who should have never risen to the rank where he leads men into battle.  What makes Albert’s portrayal even more impressive is that he was an actual Bronze Star medal winner in World War II.
  • Jack Palance is the hero of the film and my guess is he enjoyed the change of pace since he was usually cast as a villain.
  • Lee Marvin plays the smug Lt. Colonel who will put his ambitions ahead of his men’s lives.
  • Robert Strauss and Buddy Ebsen provide just the right amount of comedy relief.

Norman Brooks (wrote the play) and James Poe adapted it to create the screenplay.  Attack! has a surprisingly modern take on war.  The screenplay was so controversial that the Defense Dept. refused to provide ANY support for the film!

Attack! is an under-rated film with a great cast, talented directed and surprising story.  It earns a 4 of 5 star rating from me.

“My Name Is Julia Ross” (1945) / Z-View

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My Name Is Julia Ross (1945)

Director:  Joseph H. Lewis

Screenplay:  Muriel Roy Bolton, based on the novel  The Woman in Red by Anthony Gilbert

Starring:  Nina Foch, May Whitty, George Macready and Roland Varno

Tagline:  She went to sleep as a secretary … and woke up a madman’s “bride”!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Julia Ross (Foch) is getting desperate. She’s out of work and behind on her rent. The man she loved, Dennis Bruce (Varno) has left to marry another.  Julia has applied for jobs, without luck.  When she sees an ad for a personal secretary, Julia heads to the agency.  Mrs. Hughes (Whitty) says the job pays well, but requires a dedicated person. She asks if Julia has family or a boyfriend.  Julia has neither and is hired on the spot.  Mrs. Hughes needs Julia to come to her house immediately.

Julia returns to her apartment to get her personal items.  As she is leaving, Dennis Bruce shows up.  He’s come to his senses and realizes he loves Julia.  She is happy and explains that she’s starting a new job.  She gives Bruce Mrs. Hughes’ address and agrees to meet him the following evening for dinner.

Julia goes to Mrs. Hughes’ house, is greeted and shown to her bedroom.  Julia wakes up two days later in a different bedroom.  This one is on the upper floor of a mansion.  Julia learns that she’s in a different town and her name isn’t Julia Ross. Her name is Marion and she’s suffering from a mental illness.  Mrs. Hughes is her mother-in-law!  She assures Julia that she and her son Ralph are going to do everything in their power to nurse her back to health.

Julia cannot understand why this is happening.  Why would Mrs. Hughes and Ralph take such extreme measures to make her think she’s crazy?  Either Julia has suffered a nervous breakdown and is Marion, or Ralph and his mother have plans that put Julia’s life in danger.  But why?  Julia will find out if it kills her.

I would have never watched My Name is Julia Ross if it wasn’t for Turner Classic Movies Noir Alley hosted by Eddie Mueller.  My Name is Julia Ross is that rare breakout film that deserves more attention.  Originally released as a “B” movie, it became the first feature on many double bills.

My Name is Julia Ross wastes little time setting up the plot and moves at a brisk pace throughout.  Clocking in at just 65 minutes, the film packs in plot twist after plot twist and ratchets the tension as Julia comes to realize she’s not crazy, but is trapped by a madman and his mother!  Hats off to George Macready as the insane and sadistic Ralph Hughes who can’t wait to kill Julia (and is ready to kill his own mother)!

I also appreciate the ending.  Although it wraps things up quickly, there is a moment that will bring a gasp from audiences.  Nina Foch had a long career as a tv actress.  I’m surprised she didn’t do more features.

My Name is Julia Ross rates 4 of 5 stars.