Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
When I saw that Andrew Krahnke was going to be a guest at HeroesCon 2026, I knew I wanted to try to get a sketch from him. I’d never met Krahnke, but I knew his work through his graphic novel BLOODRIK.
I sent Krahnke an e-mail to see if he was taking pre-show commissions. As you can see above, he was. I thought Krahnke would be great for a Rambo piece, and was he ever.
This is my first piece from Andrew Krahnke. I hope there will be more.
Leo Leibelman is a freelance artist who has provided art for comics, trading cards, novels, instructional materials, film storyboards and more. Leo Leibelman takes commissions.
Leo Leibelman presents the film that made Russell Crowe a star!
“Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?” – Maximus
Constantine (2005)
Director: Francis Lawrence
Screenplay: Kevin Brodbin, Frank Cappello; story by Kevin Brodbin; based on Hellblazer by Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale and Peter Stormare.
Tagline: Hell wants him. Heaven won’t take him. Earth needs him.
The Plot (beware of spoilers)…
LA Detective Angela Dodson turns to John Constantine, a occult expert and exorcist, to help her investigate her sister’s suicide. Constantine discovers that demons have a plan to enter the human realm using the Spear of Destiny and Angela’s sister.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
John Constantine was created by writer Alan Moore, during his run on DC Comics’ Swamp Thing. After negative experiences with movie adaptations of his work (From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Moore refused to have anything to do with Hollywood. He went as far as to reject any money or credit for movie adaptations of his characters or work.
Constantine just didn’t resonate with me. Most folks like it better than I do. As always, your mileage may vary.
Constantine (2005) rates 2 of 5 stars
Niccolò Fioriti worked up a clever alt Rear Window poster. I like how on point and well done this one is.
“Why would a man leave his apartment three times on a rainy night with a suitcase and come back three times?“ – L.B. Jefferies
From Here to Eternity (1953)
Director: Fred Zinnemann
Screenplay: Daniel Taradash; based on FROM HERE TO ETERNITY by James Jones
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Philip Ober, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden, Claude Akins, Al Silvani and George Reeves.
Tagline: WARDEN… who wouldn’t do it… even for her… PREW… who wanted to be left alone… KAREN… who was looking for a real man… MAGGIO… you just have to laugh at him… LORENE… to look at her you’d never guess…
The Plot…
1941. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, a professional boxer who retired after blinding another fighter, is transferred to Fort Shafter in Hawaii. Captain “Dynamite” Holmes is excited to get Prewitt under his command. Prewitt on his boxing team is a sure thing to win the Regimental Boxing Championship. When Prewitt refuses to box, Holmes decides to “break him”.
To that end, Captain Holmes orders his subordinates to make Prewitt’s life miserable. Extra duties. Extreme punishments. Nothing can break Prewitt’s resolve. Company punishments for Prewitt’s “infractions” distance his fellow soldiers from him. Only Private Angelo Maggio is willing to be friendly with Prewitt. This causes friction between Maggio and the sadistic Sergeant Judson.
Sergeant Milton knows Captain Holmes is wrong, but it would be career suicide to disobey him. Of course Milton’s affair with Captain Holmes’ wife would have the same result.
Things are past a breaking point…
… then the morning of December 7th dawns…
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
From Here to Eternity was nominated for thirteen 1954 Academy Awards. It won eight.
From Here to Eternity tied Gone with the Wind with the eight Oscars won by a single film. This record stood for over a decade. The films were also winners of the Best Picture Oscar. Interestingly enough only one actor appears in both: George (Superman) Reeves. Reeves had small roles in both films and is actually uncredited in From Here to Eternity.
Claude Atkins made his film debut in this film.
From Here to Eternity is a classic.
From Here to Eternity (1953) rates 5 of 5 stars.
The vintage feel of this alt Dracula poster by Rory Martinez
is fire.
“For one who has not lived even a single lifetime, you’re a wise man, Van Helsing.“ – Dracula
Here’s a photo of the original Will Elder and Harvey Kurtzman art used for Mad #259 published in December 1985. This image is from the Sylvester Stallone Heritage Auction.
Carrie (1976)
Director: Brian De Palma
Screenplay: Lawrence D. Cohen; based on CARRIE by Stephen King
Stars: Sissy Spacek, John Travolta, Piper Laurie, William Katt, Nancy Allen, P.J. Soles, Michael Talbott and John Travolta.
Tagline: If you’ve got a taste for terror… take Carrie to the prom.
The Plot…
High school is almost unbearable for Carrie. She’s sixteen, immature and an easy target. At school Carrie is bullied daily. Her home life isn’t any better. Carrie is being raised by a single mother who is a religious zealot.
A particularly rough hazing incident in the PE showers leaves Carrie sobbing on the floor. Sue, one of the school’s most popular girls, feels remorse for her involvement. So she asks her boyfriend, Tommy Ross (also one of the cool kids) to take Carrie to the prom. Sue thinks that if Carrie is seen on a date with Tommy other kids might start viewing Carrie differently. Tom eventually agrees.
At first Carrie thinks she’s being set up. Tommy finally convinces Carrie he’s sincere. Carrie agrees to go despite her mother’s refusal to allow the date.
What Sue, Tommy and Carrie don’t know is that Chris, one of the girls involved in the PE incident, has a plan to humiliate Carrie at the Prom. Chris has no idea how badly her “prank” can go. She also has no idea that Carrie has recently discovered telekinetic powers.
Time for the prom. It will be a night you’ll never forget.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Although the ending of the movie is different than Stephen King’s book, King has said he like the movie’s ending better.
Sue Snell is played by Amy Irving. Sue’s mother is played by Priscilla Pointer… who is Amy Irving’s real life mother.
John Travolta, who just became a teen idol thanks to his role on Welcome Back Kotter, has a small role but was billed second on posters/ads.
Sissy Spacek was in real life a high school Homecoming Queen.
Carrie features Amy Irving’s feature film debut.
I had read the Stephen King novel a few years prior to seeing the movie. When the film came out I was a junior in high school. I saw it with a date at a midnight showing. I thought the film was ready to roll the end credits. Then the final scare comes. It caught me so off guard I jumped out of my seat. Yeah, try playing that off with your date. No, I wasn’t scared. Really.
One of Carrie’s taglines was: Carrie may look perfectly innocent, but she’ll shock you right out of your seat… and that’s a promise! In my case, promise kept.
Carrie (1976) rates 5 of 5 stars.
What a cool, dramatic visual of Rocky Balboa vs Clubber Lang created by Reggy The Marker Artist. Perfect angle to capture the intensity of battle! Take a bow, Reggy!
“No, I don’t hate Balboa. I pity the fool, and I will destroy any man who tries to take what I got!” – Clubber Lang
The Sting of Stings (1927)
Director: James Parrott
Screenplay: H.M. Walker
Stars: Charley Chase, Enda Marion, Bull Montana.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Charley and Edna decide to share their good fortune by taking a group of young underprivileged boys to the carnival. The youngsters chosen all come from the local juvenile hall.
After several mishaps, Charley and crew arrive at the carnival. There the fair’s monkey-man sees his son with Charley, a stranger. Thinking his son has been kidnapped, the carnival worker becomes one angry monkey.
What else could go wrong? A lot.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The carnival gags are fun… especially when Charley’s new car gets a spin on the Ferris Wheel.
The Sting of Stings (1927) rates 4 of 5 stars.
Back From Eternity (1956)
Director: John Farrow
Screenplay: Jonathan Latimer; story by Richard Carroll; based on the film Five Came Back (1939) directed by John Farrow
Stars: Robert Ryan, Anita Ekberg, Rod Steiger, Phyllis Kirk, Keith Andes, Gene Barry, Fred Clark, Beulah Bondi, Cameron Prud’Homme, Jesse White, Barbara Eden and Jon Provost .
Tagline: 30 MINUTES TO LIVE – Head-hunter Drums grew louder in the jungle and a condemned criminal held 9 lives in his hands.
The Plot…
A small passenger plane headed for Boca Grande is knocked off course by a violent storm. Damage caused by the storm forces the plane to set down in a dangerous jungle inhabited by cannibals.
The passengers include the pilot Bill Lonagan, his co-pilot Joe Brooks, an elderly couple: Professor Spangler and his wife, a mobster transporting his boss’ young son, a sexy prostitute named Rena, a bounty hunter named Crimp and his prisoner, the murderer Vasquel, as well as Jud Ellis and his fiancée Louise Melhorn.
The pilots believe that they can repair the plane and make it flyable given enough time. When the cannibal drums are heard, they realize time is running out. The plane can fly, but will only carry five people. But which five?
Prepare to begin boarding…. cannibals are coming!
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Back From Eternity is a remake of the 1939 film Five Came Back which starred Chester Morris, Lucille Ball and John Carradine. It was also directed by John Farrow.
Back From Eternity features the movie debut (although uncredited) of Barbara Eden as a college girl.
Jon Provost, who plays the mobster’s young son, would go on to fame as Timmy on the hit tv show Lassie.
I’m a huge fan of Back From Eternity and the original Five Came Back.
Back From Eternity (1956) rates 5 of 5 stars.
The art above was a prelim John Beatty created back in 1986 for a painting he thought about doing. John had seen the trailer for Sly Stallone’s Cobra and thought the film had potential. Unfortunately, the prelim was as far as he got. Luckily for me, John let me keep it.
The Black Scorpion (1957)
Director: Edward Ludwig
Screenplay: Robert Blees, David Duncan
Stars: Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, Mario Navarro.
Tagline: Every horror you’ve seen on the screen grows pale beside the horror of “THE BLACK SCORPION”
The Plot…
An earthquake in Mexico gives rise to a new active volcano. Geologists Dr. Hank Scott and Dr. Arturo Ramos are sent to ground zero to assess damage. As they close in on the epicenter, they discover houses and cars destroyed but not from the earthquake or volcano. Locals believe a demon is killing their cattle and causing the damage.
It’s not demons but prehistoric scorpions that now have a path to the surface. These monsters are on the loose and hungry!
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Willis O’Brien, who created the stop-motion effects King Kong (1933), supervised the special effects for The Black Scorpion. Although working with a much smaller budget, most of this movie’s charm is from O’Brien’s work.
The giant trapdoor spider and enormous worm were models left over (and not used) from King Kong (1933).
If the sounds made by the giant scorpions sound familiar, give another listen to the sounds of the ants in Them!.
The Black Scorpion (1957) rates 2 of 5 stars.
Now THAT is one bad ass Blade poster created by Nick Levy. While I wasn’t a fan of the original Blade, I absolutely love Blade II. Blade Trinity was good, but fell short of Blade II greatness. With that said, I must agree with Nick Levy when he says…
There’s only one Blade. And his name is Wesley Snipes.
Heart of the Beast directed by David Ayer and starring Brad Pitt, J.K. Simmons, Anna Lambe – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Deal me in.
It’s not who you live for… It’s who you’d die for.
Watch Brad Pitt in the new trailer for David Ayer’s #HeartOfTheBeast – only in theatres September 25th.
After a harrowing plane crash, Special Forces officer James Belmont (Brad Pitt) and his combat dog, Odin, find themselves stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness. Together, they are forced into a brutal fight for survival against the elements.
From acclaimed filmmaker David Ayer, Heart of the Beast is an intense adventure thriller that explores the unbreakable bond between a man and his best friend as they face their greatest battle yet.
