Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Dan Panosian recently sat down (or perhaps he stood up) for an interview with Adventures in Poor Taste to talk about his new series Slots.
I’ve always enjoyed Panosian’s art and he’s a great guy so there’s that. In the interview I discovered that Dan’s a fan of the film Killing Them Softly. I thought I was the only one. So there’s another reason to like Dan. If you check out the interview, I’ll bet you’ll find a couple for yourself.
The Last of the Mohicans (1936)
Director: George B. Seitz
Screenplay: Philip Dunne based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper
Stars: Randolph Scott, Binnie Barnes, Henry Wilcoxon.
The Pitch: “Let’s turn the classic Last of the Mohicans into a movie!”
Tagline: James Fenimore Cooper’s Greatest Tale Of Rousing Adventure!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
A classic love story set against the background of the Colonial Indian Wars. A half-breed Indian scout becomes entangled in a blood dispute between Magua and Colonial Munro, when Munro’s daughters are targeted for execution by Magua and his warriors.
Rating:
If you have a hard-to-buy-for Die Hard fan in your life, then A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic by Doogie Horner (author), and J.J. Harrison (artist) may be just what you need.
And if A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic is a home run, then the 80 page Die Hard: The Authorized Coloring and Activity Book from 20 Century Fox should be worth a couple of bases. (Not sure where the baseball analogy came from. On that I struck out.)
Phantom Lady (1944)
Director: Robert Siodmak
Screenplay: Bernard C. Schoenfeld (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich based on his novel written as William Irish
Stars: Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis, Elisha Cook Jr., Regis Toomey and Milburn Stone.
The Pitch: “A romantic thriller with a man’s life on the line!”
Tagline: A STORY THAT HAS THRILLED MILLIONS!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Scott Henderson (Curtis), who is in an unhappy marriage, spends his night at a bar drinking with a woman he’s just met. When Henderson gets home he discovers his wife has been murdered and the woman he’d just met is his only alibi… only no one seems to remember seeing her with him.
Rating:
This shot of David Harbour as Hellboy is making the rounds because of how well it looks to capture Mignola’s Hellboy.
Some folks are upset that Ron Perlman and Guillermo del Toro won’t be coming back to complete their Hellboy trilogy. I was disappointed as well, but that won’t stop me from seeing Neil Marshall’s darker, rated-R version.
I’ve also seen complaints that Harbour’s Hellboy looks like Perlman’s Hellboy. Ok. Let’s think about that for a second. They’re both playing the same character, so shouldn’t they look similar?
I’m a fan of Perlman and Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy and hope to be of Marshall & Harbour’s Hellboy as well.
Hellboy directed by Neil Marshall, starring David Harbour, Mila Jovovich, Ian McShane and Daniel Dae Kim premieres January 11, 2019.
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)
Director: Charles T. Barton
Screenplay: Hugh Wedlock Jr. & Howard Snyder
Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff
The Pitch: “It’s time for Bud and Lou to meet Boris!”
Tagline: MORE GHOULISH GLEE THAN WHEN THEY MET FRANKENSTEIN
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
When the bellboy (Costello) becomes the prime suspect of a murder in a remote hotel full of shady characters, only the hotel dick (Abbott) believes his innocence. The race is on to find the killer before he kills again… and the bellboy is in the killer’s sights!
I was surprised that Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff didn’t hold up as well as I remembered it. I was sure it would get a “B” rating or higher. As a kid, it would have gotten an “A” — yet it is still fun with some good laughs.
Rating:
Blood Simple (1984)
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (uncredited)
Screenplay: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Stars: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh
The Pitch: “Let’s make a noir!”
Tagline: Breaking up is hard
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
When a vengeful husband (Hedaya) learns that his wife is cheating on him, he hires a sleazy PI to kill them. What follows is a classic throwback film noir that jumpstarted the Coen brothers’ career.
Rating:
Rio Bravo (1959)
Director: Howard Hawks
Screenplay: Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett based on a short story by B.H. McCampbell
Stars: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Walter Brennan, Ward Bond, John Russell and Claude Akins.
The Pitch: “The Duke wants to make Rio Bravo.”
Tagline: You’ve seen nothing like ’em together… and in the heat and hate of Rio Bravo nothing can tear ’em apart!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
When Sheriff John T. Chance (Wayne) refuses to let a rich rancher’s brother walk after committing a murder, Chance finds himself up against nearly 2 dozen hired guns. Coming to Chance’s aid is an old man, a drunk who used to be a gun fighter and a kid with a fast draw.
The basis of Rio Bravo was used to a comedic effect in Blazing Saddles.
Rating:
Kate Erbland and Film School Rejects present 33 Things We Learned from the Conan the Barbarian Commentary. Here are three of my favorites…
The narration at the beginning of the film was intended to be for Schwarzenegger. Milius points out that certain executives at Universal – he doesn’t name any names – didn’t trust Schwarzenegger, and there were concerns about his accent. “I said, ‘Of course, he has an accent. That’s why he’s Arnold.’,” says the director.
Milius hired actors to play against Schwarzenegger specifically based on their size, as he didn’t want many of Conan’s enemies to be smaller than he was. The director felt it helped build Conan as this iconic hero if he continuously took on and bested men who were much larger. “To have an opponent for Arnold, the guy has to be huge,” says Milius. Even James Earl Jones and Max Von Sydow are taller than the 6’2″ Schwarzenegger.
Executive producer Dino De Laurentiis wanted Milius to take out the scene with Conan, Valeria, and Subotai getting drunk in an inn, because he didn’t think it was dignified enough for the characters, particularly Conan. “The idea is that it’s great. They aren’t dignified. They have money, and they’re totally drunk and excited with power,” explains Milius. De Laurentiis especially didn’t like the shot where Conan passes out in his soup. “It’s like an Alka-Seltzer commercial,” says Schwarzenegger.
20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)
Director: Nathan Juran
Screenplay: Robert Creighton Williams (as Bob Williams) & Christopher Knopf from a story by Charlotte Knight (as Charlott Knight)
Stars: William Hopper, Joan Taylor, Thomas Browne Henry
The Pitch: “Let’s make a monster movie!”
Tagline: Greatest Monster Since King Kong Ravishes the Earth!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
When the first spacecraft returning from Venus crash-lands in the ocean it releases a small creature that quickly grows to gigantic proportions and terrorizes Rome!
Rating:
Mister Roberts (1955)
Director: John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy , Joshua Logan (uncredited)
Screenplay: Frank S. Nugent and Joshua Logan based on the play by Thomas Heggen and
Joshua Logan from the novel by Thomas Heggen
Stars: Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, Jack Lemmon, Betsy Palmer, Ward Bond, Nick Adams, Ken Curtis, Harry Carey, Jr. and Patrick Wayne
The Pitch: “Let’s turn the Broadway Play ‘Mister Roberts’ into a movie!’”
Tagline: The Six-Year Stage Smash on the Screen!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Easy-going Lt. Roberts (Fonda) has done such a great job acting as a buffer between the tyrannical Captain Morton (Cagney) and his men that every attempt to get into the action of WWII has been stopped. Yet the fallout from the men’s last leave may finally get Roberts his wish.
Mister Roberts is one of those movies that most folks like better than me, so as always, your mileage may vary.
Rating: 3 of 5 stars.
Here’s the international trailer to The Snowman. Lookin’ good.
Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody makes a better short crime movie than you might think. Give the link below a go and see if you don’t agree.
Journey Into Fear (1943)
Director: Norman Foster, Orson Welles (uncredited)
Screenplay: Joseph Cotten from the novel by Eric Ambler
Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dolores del Rio and Agnes Moorehead
The Pitch: “Let’s bring back Welles and Cotten and try for another ‘The Third Man!’’”
Tagline: Welles and Del Rio together! as Terror Man vs. Leopard Woman–for possession of a mysterious stranger in the powder-keg Middle East…a man with a military secret worth more than his love and his life!…It’s menace melodrama thrilled with mighty mystery and suspense…SEE IT!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Howard Graham (Cotten) finds himself pursued by Nazi agents out to kill him. In an effort to shake them, Graham ends up on an old frieghter heading out to sea… and discovers that the Nazis are also on board.
Welles has a small but important role. Cotten is more than capable of carrying the film. The cat and mouse chase on the high ledge during a torrential downpour is classic.
Rating:
The Teaser is Here! Frank Grillo is the Wheelman!
