Category: Movies

“Sicario 2” is “Sicario” on “Steroids”

Sicario was one of the best movies in recent memory.  Naturally, a sequel is planned with Taylor Sheridan returning to write the screenplay which will focus Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) and Matt Graver (Josh Brolin).

To read more about Sicario 2 and how Taylor Sheridan describes it check out Jack Giroux’s “Sicario” Screenwriter Says the Sequel Is The First Movie on “Steroids” at /Film.

The Legend of Tarzan (2016) / Z-View

The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

Director: David Yates

Screenplay: Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer based on the Tarzan stories created by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie and Djimon Hounsou.

The Pitch: “Isn’t about time for a new Tarzan movie?”

Tagline: “Human. Nature.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

John Clayton aka Tarzan [Skarsgård] is living a wealthy life in England with his beautiful wife Jane [Robbie] when they are lured back to Africa under false pretenses. Jane is kidnapped and Tarzan goes to save her.  Soon Tarzan finds himself pitted against a native tribe [he did kill the chief’s son] and an army.  Of course Tarzan isn’t called the King of the Jungle for nothing.

 

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The Top Ten Toughest Heroines in Horror and SciFi

ComingSoon.net recently posted their choices for The Top Ten Toughest Heroines in Horror and SciFi.

Using just their list I would say the top three are Ripley from Aliens, Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road and Sarah Conner from Terminator 2.

My question is how could they not include: Lornetta “Mace” Mason from Strange Days, Charly Baltimore from The Long Kiss Goodnight and Michonne from The Walking Dead??

Dark Was the Night (2014) / Z-View

Dark Was the Night (2014)

Director: Jack Heller

Screenplay: Tyler Hisel

Stars:  Kevin Durand, Lukas Haas and Steve Agee.

The Pitch: “Hey, anybody remember the movie ‘Prophecy’?”

Tagline: “Evil’s Roots Run Deep”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Strange things are happening and the townspeople are on edge.  Giant cloven hoof prints going through town, pets and livestock turning up missing or mutilated, strange sounds at night have people jumpy.  Some think that a legendary creature is back.

They’re not far off.

Bonus points for the ending.  Minus points for the CGI.

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Dave Wachter and Jack Carter

Dave Wachter is back and he brought his take on Sly from the Get Carter. I met Dave several years ago and became an instant fan. I wasn’t the only one to discover Dave’s fantastic sketches! How can you not like a great guy who is a terrific artist?

It has become a HeroesCon tradition that I get  Dave to draw his take on Sly.  Somehow this one was never posted until now.

You can see more of Dave’s art at his site. – Craig

The Courier (2012) / Z-View

The Courier (2012)

Director: Hany Abu-Assad

Screenplay: Brannon Coombs, Pete Dris

Stars: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Josie Ho, Til Schweiger, Miguel Ferrer, Lili Taylor, Mark Margolis and Mickey Rourke.

The Pitch: “I’ve got an idea for a new ‘Transporter’ movie!”

Tagline: “He delivers”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

transporter courier is hired to deliver a briefcase containing who knows what.  He’ll be paid a million dollars if he meets the deadline.  If he is late his family will be killed.

I’m a Jeffrey Dean Morgan fan and The Courier starts out fun enough with a girl held at gunpoint on a plank from the top of a roller coaster.  The clock is clicking down — will the courier get the money there in time.

I won’t spoil it for you but after that intro we’re off and running (the clock is ticking again after all).  Great cast and a fun movie right up until the very end.  Things seem rushed and convoluted as the movie comes to a close.  Mickey Rourke has a glorified cameo.

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Creed (2015) / Z-View

Creed (2015)

Director: Ryan Coogler

Screenplay:  Ryan Coogler, Aaron Covington

Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Andre Ward, Tony Bellew, Ritchie Coster and Graham McTavish.

The Pitch: “I’ve got an idea for a new ‘Rocky’ movie!”

Tagline: “Your legacy is more than a name”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Adonis Johnson-Creed is the illegitimate and widely unknown grown son of Apollo Creed.  Fighting is in his blood.  When Adonis decides to give pro boxing a go, he seeks out Rocky Balboa to train him.  Rocky isn’t interested but before it is over Adonis and Rocky will both face the fights of their lives.

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Court Rules “Lockout” Copies Too Much from “Escape from New York”

Escape from New York and Lockout are two of my favorite movies.  That should be no surprise since a Paris appeal court ruled that they’re basically the same story. 

…Luc Besson must pay more than $500,000 (450,000 euros) in damages to John Carpenter and rights holder StudioCanal for plagiarizing Carpenter’s 1981 classic Escape From New York when he made the 2012 film Lockout.

Although there are similarities are there enough to justify the penalty?  Not sure I agree, but since Luc Besson’s people aren’t complaining, who am I to?

Source: Deadline.

Cabin in the Sky (1943) / Z-View

Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Director: Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley (uncredited)

Screenplay: Joseph Schrank based on the musical by Lynn Root

Stars: Ethel Waters, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, Lena Horne, Butterfly McQueen, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Kenneth Spencer, and Duke Ellington.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a movie version of ‘Cabin in the Sky!’”

Tagline: “Broadway’s big, fun-jammed music show is on the screen at last–crowded with stars and songs and spectacle in the famed MGM manner!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Little Joe [Anderson] dies after being shot during a night of gambling and fast women. Before his soul can be claimed, Little Joe’s wife, Petunia [Waters] prays so hard for Little Joe that angels show up just as the Devil’s soldiers prepare to wisk him away.  A decision is made that Little Joe will be returned to the living and have six months to earn his way heaven or be claimed by the devils.  The catch is Little Joe will remember none of this.

The devils plot to place every obstacle possible in Little Joe’s path from fast women like Georgia Brown [Horne] to fast cash and no-account friends.  Will Joe make it to the Cabin in the Sky?

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O.J.: Made in America (2016) / Z-View

O.J.: Made in America (2016)

Director: Ezra Edelman

The Pitch: “The make a documentary like ‘Making a Murderer’ but with the most famous murder trial in American history!”

No Tagline.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

An amazing documentary that explores in detail the trial of OJ Simpson for the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman as well as the history of the years leading up to the murders. And not just the history of OJ and Nicole, but also the United States – the evolution of civil liberties, the reputation of the LA police, the rise of O.J. Simpson’s celebrity as a sports and movie star and how these different factors came together to create a climate that gave us the OJ Simpson murder trial.

The documentary takes us past the criminal trial to the civil trial, OJ’s life following it and the subsequent activities and trial that cost OJ Simpson his freedom.

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Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953) / Z-View

Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)

Director: Charles Lamont
Screenplay: D.D. Beauchamp and Howard Christie from a story by John Grant.
Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Robert Paige and Anita Ekberg.

The Pitch: “How about Abbott & Costello go to Mars?”

No Tagline: “THEY’RE OUT OF THIS WORLD ON A MISGUIDED MISSLE!”

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Abbott and Costello accidently launch a rocket destined for Mars. It ends up in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Bud and Lou think they’re on Mars after interacting with locals. When they get back on the rocket they’re joined by two escaped cons and all four of them end up on the planet Venus which is ruled by women. Will Bud and Lou get back to Earth? Will they even want to?

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The Night Stalker (2016) / Z-View

The Night Stalker (2016)

Director: Megan Griffiths
Screenplay: Megan Griffiths
Stars: Bellamy Young, Lou Diamond Phillips and Louis Herthum.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a movie about the real life serial killer known as ‘The Night Stalker’.”

No Tagline.

The Plot…

A young woman [Young] is given the job to get to know Richard Ramirez aka “The Night Stalker” in an effort to find out if he is responsible for a murder attributed to another man who is sentenced to die for it.

Thoughts…

Phillips is convincing as The Night Stalker.

The drawings that are seen in Richard Ramirez’s cell are actual drawings done by Ramirez.

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