Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
As I was going through the Zablo vault, I came across a watercolor of Cobra by Thomas Boatwright that I’d never posted. Boatwright used to regularly livestream art and for a few years was a guest at HeroesCon. Getting art from Thomas Boatwright was always a joy.
I was going through the Zablo vault and discovered I had never shared this art. It’s Sly Stallone as Cosmo Carbooni from Paradise Alley by John Beatty. It is one of my many favorite pieces that John has done for me over the years.
John nailed the likeness. His use of white highlights makes the piece pop. I absolutely love it.
Public Enemies (2009)
Director: Michael Mann
Screenplay: Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman, Michael Mann; based on PUBLIC ENEMIES: AMERICA’S GREATEST CRIME WAVE AND THE BIRTH OF THE FBI, 1933–34 by Bryan Burrough
Stars: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Christian Stolte, Jason Clarke, Stephen Graham, David Wenham, John Judd, Stephen Dorff, James Russo, Giovanni Ribisi, Wesley Walker, Channing Tatum, Casey Siemaszko, Billy Crudup, Domenick Lombardozzi, Don Frye and Stephen Lang.
Tagline: America’s Most Wanted
The Plot…
1933. The Great Depression is raging. Gangsters such as John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and others have been robbing banks with impunity. Despite killing cops and the occassional bystander, these criminals are becoming folk heroes. J. Edgar Hoover, the Director of the FBI has ordered Agent Melvin Purvis to put together a task force. Purvis’ orders are to bring in these gangsters dead or alive.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Although Public Enemies isn’t a documentary, it is very close to the real life stories.
Michael Mann filmed John Dillinger’s famous escape from Crown Point Jail at the real jail. Although it had been turned into a historical museum, it was redressed along with the store fronts on the square to how they would’ve appeared in 1933. Mann also filmed the Little Bohemia shoot-out at the real lodge and in the same room Dillinger stayed in.
During a getaway scene Johnny Depp drives a 1932 Studebaker that was actually used by Dillinger as a getaway car following a bank robbery in Greencastle, Indiana. The car was on loan from an auto museum.
Public Enemies (2009) rates 4 of 5 stars.
Crime 101 starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, and Halle Berry – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
He’s about to break every rule he’s ever lived by.
Watch the trailer for #Crime101 now, starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, and Halle Berry. See the movie only in theaters February 13.
Set against the sun-bleached grit of Los Angeles, Crime 101 weaves the tale of an elusive thief (Chris Hemsworth) whose high-stakes heists unfolding along the iconic 101 freeway have mystified police.
When he eyes the score of a lifetime with hopes of this being his final job, his path collides with a disillusioned insurance broker (Halle Berry) who is facing her own crossroads, forcing the two to collaborate.
Determined to crack the case, a relentless detective (Mark Ruffalo) closes in on the operation, raising the stakes even higher. As the multimillion-dollar heist approaches, the line between hunter and hunted begins to blur, and all three are forced to confront the cost of their choices–and the realization that there’s no turning back.
Adapted from Don Winslow’s acclaimed novella of the same name, the film is written and directed by Bart Layton (American Animals, The Imposter). Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte round out the cast.
Frankenstein by Frederick Cooper!
No Way Up (2024)
Director: Claudio Fäh
Screenplay: Andy Mason
Stars: Colm Meaney, Will Attenborough, Phyllis Logan, James Carroll Jordan and Manuel Pacific.
Tagline: The plane crash was just the beginning.
The Plot…
A plane crashes into the ocean killing most of the passengers. As the plane settles on an undersea ledge an air pocket forms in the back of the split fuselage. Ava (the daughter of a rich man), Brandon (Ava’s bodyguard), Jed (Ava’s boyfriend), Kyle (Jed’s buddy), Rosa (a child) traveling with her grandparents and Danilo (a flight attendant) make their way to the slowly shrinking area of air.
If the air pocket lasts long enough the survivors hope a rescue team will get to them. But as the air pocket slowly shrinks, the plane begins to move towards the edge of the ledge… and sharks find their way into the wreckage.
It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
No Way Up (2024) is what would be a classic drive-in movie, if we still had drive-ins. Low budget. A “B” star in the lead (who dies early on). A monster (the sharks). Young people in danger. Enough in the group that you’re not sure who will live.
No Way Up (2024) rates 2 of 5 stars.
Yvan Quinet created this alt poster for Conan the Barbarian. Crom!
You can see more of Yvan Quinet’s art at his website and/or his Instagram page.
Source: AMP Posters.
The Naked Gun (2025)
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Screenplay: Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, Akiva Schaffer; based on Police Squad! by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
Stars: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Eddie Yu, Moses Jones, Busta Rhymes, Carl Gilliard, Elliott Grey, Wilbur Fitzgerald and Cody Rhodes & Dave “Batista” Bautista.
Tagline: Look out crime he’s fully armed.
The Plot…
“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for a funny movie, I can tell you The Naked Gun (2025) might fit the bill. Frank Drebin has passed on. But Frank Drebin, Jr. has taken his place and what Frank Jr. does have are a very particular set of skills, skills he acquired over a very long career. Skills that make him a nightmare for audiences like you. If you watch his movie now, that’ll be the end of it. But if you don’t,at some point you will. And it won’t will kill you.”
Naked Gun (2025) might have easily been called Sons of the Police Squad. Each of the lead characters from The Naked Gun movies have passed on and their sons have taken their spots.
Book ’em.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
If you enjoyed Police Squad! and The Naked Gun movies, you should enjoy this outing.
Naked Gun (2025) rates 3 of 5 stars.
Trouble in Mind (1985)
Director: Alan Rudolph
Screenplay: Alan Rudolph
Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine, Lori Singer, Geneviève Bujold, Joe Morton, Divine, George Kirby, John Considine, Dirk Blocker, Gailard Sartain, Allan F. Nicholls and Albert Hall.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
As Walter Hill said about Streets of Fire… it takes place in another time and another place. Trouble in Mind is set in Rain City.
John Hawkins, Hawk to his friends, has just been released from prison. Hawk did a stretch for murder. He was a cop who killed a gangster. It cost Hawk his job and eight years of his life. But he’d do it again to protect the ones he loves. These days he hangs out at Wanda’s Cafe as he decides what’s next.
Coop and Georgia are a young couple with a baby named Spike. They hoped Rain City would provide them a fresh start. Money is tight despite Georgia getting a job as a waitress at Wanda’s Cafe. So Coop starts taking jobs for a crook named Solo. As the money starts coming in Coop begins to believe he’s cut out to be a gangster.
Hawk is attracted to Georgia. He knows where the path Coop is taking leads. He wants to save Georgia from the heartache. Georgia is torn. She loved the man her husband used to be. She’s got to do what’s best for her and her child.
Coop and Solo’s crimes have put them at odds with another gangster. Hawk and Coop are also headed for a showdown.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Roger Ebert wrote Trouble in Mind “is a movie that takes place within our memories of the movies.” After seeing the film, you’ll understand what he meant. It has all the tropes you’d expect in a neo-noir but with flourishes that work in “another time, another place” or dream settings.
Trouble in Mind (1985) rates 3 of 5 stars.
Here we have the poster and trailer for Troll 2.
Despite it being on the surface a silly concept, Troll was a fun movie. So ignore the somewhat goofy looking poster for Troll 2 and check out the trailer. Then get in the mood for a fun drive-in movie when Troll 2 premieres on December 1st.
A new troll has awakened!
Join Nora, Andreas, and Captain Kris as they embark on their most dangerous adventure yet. With the clock ticking and chaos spreading, they’ll need new allies and ancient secrets to stop the rampage. Can they save Norway before it’s too late?
Watch Troll 2, Dec 1 on Netflix.
“An American Werewolf in Edinburgh” by Gene Gonzales. I was totally blown away by this piece. Here’s what Gene had to say about it…
We’ve been to Edinburgh, Scotland numerous times. Our home away from home, really. I think it would be a great setting for a werewolf story. Maybe a remake of the classic film “American Werewolf in London”?
I’d love to see Gene draw a werewolf story in this style!
The Inspector General (1949)
Director: Henry Koster
Screenplay: Philip Rapp, Harry Kurnitz; Suggested by the play by Nikolai Gogol
Stars: Danny Kaye, Walter Slezak, Barbara Bates, Elsa Lanchester, Gene Lockhart, Walter Catlett, Rhys Williams, Leonard Bremen, Albert Cavens and Alan Hale.
Tagline: We Won’t Tell, Danny!!! But wait till that luscious little lovely finds out you’re not the Inspector General!!!
The Plot…
Georgi, an uneducated but kind-hearted fool, is kicked out of a band of gypsies for revealing that a miracle potion being sold is anything but. Georgi wanders into the small town of Brodny.
Brodny is governed by a corrupt Mayor who along with his council are making themselves rich at the expense of the town’s citizens. The Mayor has learned that an Inspector General has secretly been sent to each city by the King. The Inspector General’s job is to find corruption and make the guilty pay.
The Mayor believes that Georgi is the Inspector General. Which is all well and good until the REAL Inspector General arrives.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The Inspector General is a fun movie. Be aware that the film is in the public domain so there are several versions available, some with cut scenes or songs.
The Inspector General (1949) rates 4 of 5 stars.
I like this art for The Lost Boys by 𝐒𝖚𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖗𝖎𝖆 𝐕𝖎𝖑𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖟 at least as much as I like the movie. What say you?
I’d been a fan of Ryan Kelly’s art for some time. When I saw that he was taking mail order commissions, I jumped on board. I requested Sly Stallone as Jack Carter from Get Carter. Kelly killed it. This was my first commission from Ryan Kelly. I hope it’s not my last.
I’m always up for a new alt poster for Escape from New York. Angora came through like a champ.
