Category: Movies

Here’s the “Chameleon” Poster and Trailer!

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Here’s the poster and trailer for Chameleon.

Recently released ex con Patrick is unable to find a legitimate opportunity to get ahead and stumbles back into a life of crime when unpredictable Dolph, whom he owes for protection while in prison, pays him a visit. They begin a series of cons that involve seducing and kidnapping west LA trophy wives in order to extort money from their wealthy husbands. However, their latest victim Rebecca is not who she seems, threatening to ruin everything just when Patrick’s had a change of heart and ready to call it quits.

Z-View: “Extraction”

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Extraction (2020)

Director: Sam Hargrave

Screenplay: Joe Russo (based on the graphic novel Ciudad by Ande Parks, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Fernando Leon Gonzalez, Eric Skillman)

Stars:  Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Rudhraksh Jaiswal and David Harbour.

The Pitch: “Let’s turn the Ciudad graphic novel into a movie!”

No Tagline:

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) is part of a mercenary team hired to rescue a drug lord’s kidnapped son.  To complete the extraction the team must journey into Dhaka, a city ruled by the rival drug lord who kidnapped his rival’s son.  All is going well until the team is betrayed and Rake finds himself alone with the boy trying to get to the extraction site. To get there he will have to fight the corrupt cops, the drug lord’s soldiers and street gangs looking to earn the reward offered up by drug lord.

The premise of Extraction is a classic action picture trope. Yet, Extraction puts twists on aspects of the movie that could have easily been cliches.  Rake has a death-wish but the cause of his troubles provides reason to succeed in this mission at any cost.  The person who betrayed the mission does it for an unusual reason.  The location of the movie is one seldom (never?) seen and provides fresh opportunities for action scenes and those action scenes are equal to those that you’d find in John Wick movies.

Extraction left me impressed, thinking about the characters, story and ending well after the final credits.  I can’t wait to watch it again!

Rating:

The “Sword of God” Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Here’s the poster and trailer for Sword of God.  I like the looks of this one.

In the early Middle Ages, a contingent of knights embarks on a dangerous journey to spread Christianity and baptize the pagan inhabitants of an isolated village hidden deep in the mountains of a faraway island. After being shipwrecked, the two survivors set out to complete their mission, but as they attempt to convert the tribe, their diverging beliefs put them at odds with one another. Soon, love is confronted with hate, peace with violence, sanity with madness, and redemption with damnation.

Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Bartosz Konopka, this genre-bending historical epic has been hailed as a “stunning showcase of experiential horror” (Bloody Disgusting) that “strikes with brutal clarity” (ScreenAnarchy).

The Classic Universal Horror Films Ranked!

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Sarah Bea Milner at ScreenRant posted The Original Universal Dark Universe Ranked, Worst To Best.  You know I can’t resist a great list so here are Milner’s rankings and mine…

Milner

Zablo

9. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1923)

9. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1923)

8. Dracula (1931)

8. The Mummy (1932)

7. Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)

7. The Phantom Of The Opera (1925)

6. The Phantom Of The Opera (1925)

6. The Wolfman (1941)

5. The Mummy (1932)

5. Frankenstein (1931)

4. The Wolfman (1941)

4. The Invisible Man (1933)

3. Frankenstein (1931)

3. The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

2. The Invisible Man (1933)

2. Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)

1. The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

1. Dracula (1931)

Jackie “The Great One” Gleason Trivia!

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When I was a little kid for most of the country The Jackie Gleason Show was must-see tv.  As I got a little older I discovered, in reruns, The Honeymooners.  Then in high school Jackie hit big again with his classic role as Sheriff Buford T. Justice in Smokey and the Bandit.

Gleason was also great dramatic actor (see The Hustler and Requiem for a Heavyweight if you don’t believe me) but comedy was where Gleason spent the majority of his career.  Gleason was a true talent making it big on stage, television, radio and movies.

If you don’t know much about the man known as The Great One, check out 18 Fascinating Facts about Jackie Gleason presented by the fine folks at MeTV.  Here are three of my favorite facts and my thoughts on each…

When you see him pat his stomach on The Honeymooners, it’s because he forgot a line.  Well, perhaps it wasn’t 100% photographic. The sitcom was filmed live, so there were no do-overs.

(If you’ve never seen The Honeymooners you owe it to yourself to check it out. Classic comedy! – Craig)

His debut album still holds the record for most consecutive weeks in the Billboard top ten — a whopping 153.  Gleason was a massive music star. In a way, he was a forerunner of ambient pioneer Brian Eno, in that he wished to craft records of what he called “musical wallpaper.” His easy listening instruments, especially Lonesome Echo, remain cult favorites. His first album, 1952’s Music for Lovers Only, spent a mind-boggling three years near the top ten. To put that in perspective, Thriller only managed 78.

(Who’d a thunk it? – Craig)

He believed in aliens.  Gleason studied the paranormal and UFOs. It is rumored that President Nixon shared secret information about UFOs with the Hollywood star.

(Gleason told people that then President Nixon actually showed him a captured alien ship and alien corpse! – Craig)

Bruce Lee Gets the Criterion Collection Treatment!

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Bruce Lee is getting the Criterion Collection treatment and his fans are going to love it.  The seven-disc Blu-ray box set will contain Lee’s greatest hits (The Big Boss / Fist of Fury / The Way of the Dragon / Enter the Dragon / Game of Death) and will be chock full of special features, including alternate versions of the films, interviews, documentaries and much more!

Here’s some of what the seven disc Special Edition will feature…

  • 4K digital restorations of The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Game of Death, and The Way of the Dragon, with uncompressed original monaural soundtracks
  • New 2K digital restoration of the rarely-seen 99-minute 1973 theatrical version of Enter the Dragon, with uncompressed original monaural soundtrack
  • 2K digital restoration of the 102-minute “special-edition” version of Enter the Dragon
  • Alternate audio soundtracks for the films, including original English-dubbed tracks and a 5.1 surround soundtrack for the special-edition version of Enter the Dragon
  • Six audio commentaries: on The Big Boss by Bruce Lee expert Brandon Bentley; on The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Game of Death, and The Way of the Dragon by Hong Kong–film expert Mike Leeder; and on the special-edition version of Enter the Dragon by producer Paul Heller
  • High-definition presentation of Game of Death II, the 1981 sequel to Game of Death
  • Game of Death Redux, a new presentation of Lee’s original Game of Death footage, produced by Alan Canvan
  • New interviews on all five films with Lee biographer Matthew Polly
  • New interview with producer Andre Morgan about Golden Harvest, the company behind Hong Kong’s top martial-arts stars, including Lee
  • New program about English-language dubbing with voice performers Michael Kaye (the English-speaking voice of Lee’s Chen Zhen in Fist of Fury) and Vaughan Savidge
  • New interview with author Grady Hendrix about the “Bruceploitation” subgenre that followed Lee’s death, and a selection of Bruceploitation trailers
  • Blood and Steel, a 2004 documentary about the making of Enter the Dragon
  • Multiple programs and documentaries about Lee’s life and philosophies, including Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend (1973) and Bruce Lee: In His Own Words (1998)
  • Interviews with Linda Lee Cadwell, Lee’s widow, and many of Lee’s collaborators and admirers, including actors Jon T. Benn, Riki Hashimoto, Nora Miao, Robert Wall, Yuen Wah, and Simon Yam and directors Clarence Fok, Sammo Hung, and Wong Jing
  • Promotional materials
  • New English subtitle translations and subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Jeff Chang

Bruce Lee’s Greatest Hits: The Criterion Collection will be available July 14, 2020.

The All Time Funniest Movies!

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Christopher Dale at Listverse presented his list of the Top 10 Funniest Movies Of All Time.  While Dale picked some good comedies, my list would have looked a lot different.  First, here’s Dale’s top ten and my rankings of his choices.

Dale

Zablo

10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

10. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
I’ve never seen the movie or the tv show…
and don’t have plans to. – Craig

9. Airplane! (1980)

9. Superbad (2007)
The other movie on the list I’ve never seen but may watch it at some point. – Craig

8.  Caddyshack (1980)

8.  Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
I saw this in a theater and was underwhelmed. I’m in the minority though. – Craig

7.  The Naked Gun (1988)

7.  Borat (2006)
Borat had it’s funny moments. – Craig

6.  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

6.  Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
It’s funny but not as funny as some of Farrell’s other movies that didn’t make the list. – Craig

5.  Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

5.  Caddyshack (1980)
I saw Caddyshack in a theater and liked it a bunch. – Craig

4.  South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

4.  Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
So funny… more so if you like the 60era Bond! – Craig

3.  Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

3.  The Naked Gun (1988)
The Naked Gun is truly funny – especially the Umpire scenes. – Craig

2.  Borat (2006)

2.  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
A Christmas classic that never fails to entertain. – Craig

1. Superbad (2007)

1.  Airplane! (1980)
I saw this in a crowded theater and the experience was one of my favorites. Watching it at home without a crowd and it is just not as funny. – Craig

Movies I would have included but didn’t make the cut… Stepbrothers; Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, The Great Race, Arsenic and Old Lace; Dr. Strangelove; The Princess Bride; Richard Pryor Live....