Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Sly Stallone has an official Youtube Channel. It features Sly taking us behind the scenes on his latest projects and items in his SlyStalloneShop. What’s really cool is they just posted an hour and a half documentary: The Making of ROCKY VS. DRAGO by Sylvester Stallone (with John Herzfeld behind the camera)!
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Liam Gaughan, at /Film, came up with his list of The Twenty Best Western Movie Actors and it is a good one. As I thought about my choices the top two were easy. The tough part was deciding which order for the top two and who would get the third spot. After some deliberation here are my top three…
#3. Kurt Russell comes in at the third spot based on two strong lead performances in Tombstone and Bone Tomahawk. It’s a shame Russell hasn’t made more westerns because the genre suits him.
#2. Clint Eastwood was my choice for the number two spot and I really considered putting him in at #1. Eastwood’s westerns always score well with fan and critics. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Josey Wales and Unforgiven are considered classics. I wouldn’t argue too hard against Eastwood in the number one spot, but this time out I gave it to…
#1. John Wayne. My first place spot goes to the man that most folks think of first when they think of cowboy movie stars. Wayne’s career spanned 50 years and he made so many popular westerns: Stagecoach, Angel and the Badman, Fort Apache, Red River, Hondo, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, True Grit, The Cowboys and The Shootist are some of my favorites.
I like the poster and the trailer for Blonde. Purple. I’m a sucker for crime movies as long as they look good. Blonde. Purple makes the cut.
A nameless out of his depth inexperienced criminal is stuck in a bank, after a heist went wrong. How will he get out? His accomplice has been shot outside by the trigger happy police. Now with a 16 year old hostage called Maddison inside the bank, he has one move left: if his accomplice dies, he’ll kill the girl. We follow his journey to escape, whilst learning how he got into the situation in the first place. A journey that will force him to face truths about himself that he has been avoiding all his life. Available November 30.
Directed by Marcus Flemmings
Sylvester Stallone and John Herzfeld (Actor/Writer/Director and Sly’s long-time friend) take us behind the scenes to share Sly thoughts on the Rocky franchise with a focus on Rocky IV: Rocky vs Drago.
During the Covid-19 shutdown of 2020, Stallone tackled his long-planned cut of the film: the result is ROCKY IV: ROCKY VS. DRAGO, a fine-tuning of the legendary film as well as a fascinating time capsule of a pop-cultural moment.
When it was released in 1985, ROCKY IV became the highest-grossing of all the “ROCKY” films. From writer, director and star Sylvester Stallone, ROCKY IV also features Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Brigitte Nielsen, Dolph Lundgren, Tony Burton, Michael Pataki, Robert Doornick, and Stu Nahan. Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff produced the original film, with James D. Brubaker and Arthur Chobanian serving as executive producers.
Kyle Hotz shares his take on Frank Miller’s Marv from Sin City. What I wouldn’t give to see Hotz do a Sin City tale! If you’d like to see more of Kyle Hotz’s art, you can at his Instagram.
I’ve never been a big fan of The Beach Boys. I like several of their songs, but was more into other bands. It has always intrigued me how people in the music industry talk about the genius of Brian Wilson. I like the look of this trailer and look forward to learning more about the man behind the band.
Join The Beach Boy’s Brian Wilson on an intimate journey through his legendary career as he reminisces with Rolling Stone editor and longtime friend, Jason Fine. Featuring a new song written and performed by Wilson and interviews with Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Nick Jonas, Linda Perry, Jim James, Gustavo Dudamel and Al Jardine.
brianwilsonlongpromisedroad.com
Rob Hunter, at Film School Rejects, posted a fun piece called 43 Things We Learned from ‘The Suicide Squad’ Commentary with James Gunn.
9. (Joel) Kinnaman was challenged as he’s not typically associated with comedies, but he quickly showed a talent and an affinity for earning laughs. (For All Mankind is where I first really noticed what a fine actor Kinnaman is. I highly recommend the series as well. – Craig)
14. Gunn says John Cena is “probably the most gifted improvisational actor I’ve ever worked with in my life.” (I found this a bit surprising, but was happy to hear it. Cena seems like a nice guy off screen. – Craig)
26. Elba doesn’t actually smoke, and he has asthma, so the scene where Bloodsport smokes in the back of the van left his eyes watering. “I had to take a tear out of his eye with visual effects because I liked the shot.” (Elba doing what it takes for his art! – Craig)
One of my favorite comic book characters is Marv from Frank Miller’s Sin City yarns. Miller didn’t create the art above. That’s Simon Bisley’s riff on our buddy Marv and I like it. Hope you do as well.
Here’s my review of The Many Saints of Newark.
I like the poster and cast for Dangerous but the trailer has left me with mixed feelings.
Ex-con and reformed sociopath Dylan Forrester (Scott Eastwood) is trying to quietly serve out his parole — with the help of a steady supply of antidepressants and his eccentric psychiatrist (Mel Gibson). But when his brother dies under mysterious circumstances, Dylan breaks parole and, with a dogged FBI agent (Famke Janssen) on his trail, goes to uncover the truth. A band of heavily armed mercenaries wants something Dylan’s brother was hiding, and Dylan will need all his guile and tactical skills to survive in this action-packed thriller costarring Kevin Durand and Tyrese Gibson.
The second trailer for Red Notice is here and I like it! I didn’t care for the first trailer. Now I want to see the movie. I’m going to have to re-watch the first again to see what’s changed. Maybe it was just me.
An Interpol-issued Red Notice is a global alert to hunt and capture the world’s most wanted. But when a daring heist brings together the FBI’s top profiler (Johnson) and two rival criminals (Gadot, Reynolds), there’s no telling what will happen.
Watch Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot in RED NOTICE, on Netflix November 12:
Michael Bay is back and it looks like he has a winner! After seeing the trailer for Ambulance sign me up for a ride!
Over one day across the streets of L.A., three lives will change forever.
In this breakneck thriller from director-producer Michael Bay, decorated veteran Will Sharp (Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Candyman, The Matrix Resurrections), desperate for money to cover his wife’s medical bills, asks for help from the one person he knows he shouldn’t—his adoptive brother Danny (Oscar® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, Zodiac, Spider-Man: Far From Home). A charismatic career criminal, Danny instead offers him a score: the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history: $32 million. With his wife’s survival on the line, Will can’t say no.
But when their getaway goes spectacularly wrong, the desperate brothers hijack an ambulance with a wounded cop clinging to life and ace EMT Cam Thompson (Eiza González, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Baby Driver) onboard. In a high-speed pursuit that never stops, Will and Danny must evade a massive, city-wide law enforcement response, keep their hostages alive, and somehow try not to kill each other, all while executing the most insane escape L.A. has ever seen.
Ambulance is produced by Michael Bay, p.g.a., Bradley J. Fischer, p.g.a. (Zodiac, Shutter Island) for New Republic Pictures, James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, 2022’s Scream) and William Sherak (Ready or Not, 2022’s Scream) for Project X, and Oscar® nominee Ian Bryce (Transformers franchise, Saving Private Ryan).
The screenplay is by Chris Fedak (Prodigal Son, Chuck), based on the original story and screenplay for the 2005 Danish thriller Ambulancen by Laurits Munch-Petersen and Lars Andreas Pedersen.
Kevin Delsignore at CBR.com came up with his list of The All-Time Most Influential Horror Movies. (Sadly, although it was an interesting list, it is no longer available.) I decided to play along and using Delsignore’s films, came up with my top two. Interestingly enough, my #1 pick didn’t make his list.
#3. Jaws: While some may argue that Jaws isn’t really a horror film, it made Delsignore’s list, so for our purposes here it is. Jaws not only spawned 3 sequels but also inspired countless other shark, octopus, orca, alligator, piranha… well, you get the idea, movies.
#2. Halloween: John Carpenter’s Halloween spawned 11 sequels with a 12th on the way. It also opened the door for low-budget unstoppable serial killer movies where the victims were usually teenage kids (Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, etc.)..
#1 Night of the Living Dead: My choice for the top spot is Night of the Living Dead and surprisingly it didn’t even make Delsignore’s list! Not only did George Romero re-invent the “rules” for zombies, but he kickstarted a genre that has expanded from movies to tv to comics to video games and more. What’s just as crazy is that the zombie craze is still going strong over 50 years later!
The Tragedy of Macbeth written and directed by Joel Coen, starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand will premiere in theaters December 25 and then stream on Apple TV+ starting January 14. I think this will be theater viewing for me..
Betty Lynn, the actress best known as Barney Fife’s girlfriend on The Andy Griffith Show, died yesterday at the age of 95.
Many folks are surprised and the number of movies and television shows Ms. Lynn appeared in (probably because her role of Thelma Lou is so ingrained in our memories). When Mark Evanier was a child, Betty Lynn was his next door neighbor. They developed a life-long friendship and Evanier has written on his blog about Betty Lynn many times over the years. If you click over you’ll find his initial post about her passing and all about Ms. Lynn’s amazing life.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Betty Lynn’s family, friends and fans.
