Category: Movies

“Support Your Local Sheriff!” (1969) starring James Garner, Joan Hackett and Walter Brennan / Z-View

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Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)

Director:  Burt Kennedy

Screenplay: William Bowers

Stars: James Garner, Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, Henry Jones, Willis Bouchey, Gene Evans, Walter Burke, Kathleen Freeman, Dick Haynes and Bruce Dern. 

Tagline: Our trouble-shooting sheriff always put his finger on it (or in it). No wonder they call him The Fastest Finger in the West.

The Plot…

When gold is discovered in the small settlement of Calendar, it becomes a lawless boom town overnight.  Every sheriff the city council hires is either killed or leaves in a hurry. The townsfolk find themselves at the mercy of the Danby family who own the property surrounding Calendar.

When Joe Danby kills a man over a card game, only Jason McCullough is willing to testify that it was murder.  McCullough is just passing through, but in need of money.  So when he’s offered the sheriff’s job, he accepts.

McCullough is as quick with his wits as he is with a gun.  He’ll need to use both since he’s sheriff of a town full of drunken miners, a jail with no bars, a cold blooded murder for a prisoner and the Danby family out for revenge.  McCullough’s biggest problem may be the mayor’s daughter Purdy.

Giddy up!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I saw Support Your Local Sheriff when it was first released.  I was ten.  Seeing it again brings back great memories.  Support Your Local Sheriff has the right mix of action and humor.  James Garner was perfect as the gunslinger who’d rather use his wits than his gun.

Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) rates 5 of 5 stars

“Alien: Covenant” (2017) directed by Ridley Scott / Z-View

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Alien: Covenant (2017)

Director:  Ridley Scott

Screenplay: John Logan, Dante Harper; story by Jack Paglen, Michael Green; based on characters by Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett

Stars: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollett, Uli Latukefu, Tess Haubrich, Lorelei King, Javier Botet and Goran D. Kleut. 

Tagline: Run

The Plot…

The year is 2104.  The spaceship Covenant, carrying over 1,000 colonists in cryogenic stasis, is damaged in deep space.  Several crew members are killed.  Walter, the android overseeing the mission, wakes mission specialists to perform repairs.  Suddenly the ship begins receiving transmissions from an uncharted planet.

Despite protests, the Covenant’s new Captain decides to send a scouting crew to investigate.

Run!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Alien Covenant didn’t resonate with me.  I’m a fan of the franchise.  Alien, Aliens and Alien Resurrection are favorites.  Sadly Alien Covenant fell far short of those films.  Your mileage may vary.

Alien: Covenant (2017) rates 2 of 5 stars

“Affinity” starring Marko Zaror – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Here’s the poster and trailer for Affinity starring Marko Zaror.

Deal me in for a fun-looking drive-in movie.

AFFINITY – Official Trailer | On Digital September 30

Official film page: https://wellgousa.com/films/affinity

Chilean martial-arts star Marko Zaror is Bruno, an ex-SEAL struggling with PTSD. He lives a life in fear of his demons until one day when he discovers a beautiful woman with no past of her own. Together they begin to build a life, but when she disappears, Bruno must return to his violent past if he’s going to save her from a shocking conspiracy in this riveting, fast-paced sci-fi action film from director Brandon Slagle.

Directed by: Brandon Slagle
Cast: Marko Zaror, Louis Mandylor, Brooke Ence, & Jane Mirro

“Charley Varrick” (1973) directed by Don Siegel; starring Walter Matthau and Joe Don Baker / Z-View

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Charley Varrick (1973)

Director:  Don Siegel

Screenplay: Dean Riesner, Howard Rodman; based on THE LOOTERS by John H. Reese

Stars: Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Felicia Farr, Andrew Robinson, Sheree North, Norman Fell, Benson Fong, Woodrow Parfrey, William Schallert, Jacqueline Scott, Marjorie Bennett, Rudy Diaz, Colby Chester, Hope Summers, Craig R. Baxley, Don Siegel, John Vernon, Bob Steele and Charles Matthau. 

Tagline: It’s not easy to rob the Mob and stay alive.

The Plot…

Charley Varrick wasn’t always a criminal.  At one time he was a stunt pilot.  Then a crop duster.  When his crop business went south, Charley became a bank robber.  He was always careful to pick small banks in remote locations.

When Charlie and his three man crew knock off a bank in a no name town, things go sideways.  Two of his crew are killed along with the bank’s security guard.  Charlie and Harmon get away with the loot.  They’re shocked to discover they have $750,000.00.  There is no way that tiny bank should have that kind of cash.  Radio reports are that the thieves made off with $2,000.00.

Charlie realizes that the bank was being used by the mob to launder money.  He knows that if you steal from the mob, they will find and kill you no matter how long it takes.  Charlie tells Harmon they’ll need to sit on the money for a few years.  If they’re lucky, they’ll live to slowly spend it.  Harmon just wants his cut now — he plans to live it up.

As if that isn’t bad enough, the cops are working the case.  Worse still, the mob has hired a stone cold killer to track down the cash and kill the thieves.

It’s not easy to rob the Mob and stay alive.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Walter Matthau’s son, Charlie plays the role of the little boy in front of the bank that gets robbed.

Director Don Siegel plays a character named Murphy.

Surprisingly Walter Matthau wasn’t a fan of the finished film.

Joe Don Baker is perfect as the sadistic killer who dominates every scene he’s in.

Charley Varrick (1973) rates 5 of 5 stars

“NUREMBERG” starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Leo Woodall & Michael Shannon – The 2nd Teaser is Here!

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Deal me in.

The world will take a stand.

The official teaser #2 for NUREMBERG, only in theaters November 7.

The Allies, led by the unyielding chief prosecutor, Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), have the task of ensuring the Nazi regime answers for the unveiled horrors of the Holocaust while a US Army psychiatrist (Rami Malek) is locked in a dramatic psychological duel with former Reichsmarschall Herman Göring (Russell Crowe).

Written & Directed by: James Vanderbilt
Based on the Book: THE NAZI AND THE PSYCHIATRIST By Jack El-Hai

Starring: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Leo Woodall, and Michael Shannon

“Sisu: The Road to Revenge” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Sisu: The Road to Revenge – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

Sisu was a surprise hit.  The sequel written and directed by Jalmari Helander; starring Jorma Tommila, Richard Brake and Stephen Lang looks to be as good if not better.

Deal me in.

Vengeance has a name.

Watch the official trailer for #SISU: Road to Revenge – exclusively in movie theatres November 21.

SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE is a wall-to-wall cinematic action event, a sequel to the original sleeper hit SISU. Returning to the house where his family was brutally murdered during the war, “the man who refuses to die” (Jorma Tommila) dismantles it, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honor. When the Red Army commander who killed his family (Stephen Lang from Don’t Breathe) comes back hellbent on finishing the job, a relentless, eye-popping cross-country chase ensues – a fight to the death, full of clever, unbelievable action set pieces.

Directed by: Jalmari Helander

Written by: Jalmari Helander

Produced by: Mike Goodridge, Petri Jokiranta

Executive Producers: Gregory Ouanhon, Antonio Salas

Cast: Jorma Tommila, Richard Brake and Stephen Lang

“Play Dirty” written & directed by Shane Black; starring Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Play Dirty written & directed by Shane Black; starring Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

Shane Black has written some bangers in the past.  I hope Play Dirty joins the list.  It has a decent cast and is based on the Richard Stark Parker novels.

Deal me in.

It’s time to rob the robbers.

Play Dirty starring Mark Wahlberg and LaKeith Stanfield is streaming on Prime Video October 1.

An expert thief rolls out the biggest heist of his life in Play Dirty, an action-packed thriller from director Shane Black. Parker (Mark Wahlberg), along with Grofield (LaKeith Stanfield), Zen (Rosa Salazar) and a skilled crew, stumble onto a score that pits them against the New York mob in this gritty, clever caper.

Starring Mark Wahlberg, LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, Keegan-Michael Key, Chukwudi Iwuji, Nat Wolff with Thomas Jane and Tony Shalhoub

Directed by Shane Black
Written by Shane Black & Charles Mondry & Anthony Bagarozzi
Based on The “Parker” Book Series By Richard Stark

“The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear” (1991) starring Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley and George Kennedy / Z-View

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The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)

Director:  David Zucker

Screenplay: David Zucker, Pat Proft; based on Police Squad! by David Zucker,  Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker

Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, Robert Goulet, Richard Griffiths, Jacqueline Brookes, Anthony James, Tim O’Connor, Peter Mark Richman, Peter Van Norden, Gail Neely, Mel Tormé, Zsa Zsa Gabor, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic and Lloyd Bochner. 

Tagline: If you see only one movie this year…you ought to get out more often.

The Plot…

Dr. Albert Meinheimer is an advisor to the President.  Meinheimer supports renewable energy sources (solar, wind, etc.) and plans to get the President to move the country in that direction.  Quentin Hapsburg, of Hexagon Oil has other ideas.  Hapsburg kidnaps Meinheimer and replaces him with a lookalike.

And that’s where Frank Drebin and the police squad come in.

Annnnnnnd action!

 

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

If you enjoyed Airplane and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, then you should get a kick out of The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear.

Lloyd Bochner has a brief cameo.  He is seen in a crowd carrying a large book titled TO SERVE MAN, as he yells, “It’s a cookbook!  It’s a cookbook!”.  This of course refers to the classic Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man which he starred in.

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) rates 4 of 5 stars

Rocky at 50 by John Beatty!

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I was diggin’ through the Zablo vault and came across this sketch of Sly Stalloneas Rocky at 50 that John Beatty gifted me waaay back in 1998.  John was just messing around with no reference. I love the looseness of the lower part of this sketch.  Contrast that with the upper piece that John tightened up.  It’s cool to see the foundation and thought process as an artist as he/she moves through a piece.

Who knew that eight years later Sly would make Rocky Balboa?  Maybe Beatty did!

“Chinatown” (1974) written by Robert Towne; directed by Roman Polanski; starring Jack Nicholson & Faye Dunaway / Z-View

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Chinatown (1974)

Director:  Roman Polanski

Screenplay: Robert Towne

Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez, John Hillerman, Darrell Zwerling, Diane Ladd, Roy Jenson, Richard Bakalyan, Joe Mantell, Bruce Glover, James Hong, Jerry Fujikawa, Rance Howard, Burt Young  and Roman Polanski. 

Tagline: You get tough. You get tender. You get close to each other. Maybe you even get close to the truth.

The Plot…

The year is 1937.  It’s been a hot summer and Los Angeles is going through a terrible drought.  The heat is putting folks on edge.  Especially farmers.

Jake Gittes is a private detective.  His bread and butter is getting the goods on cheating spouses. So when Evelyn Mulwray hires Jake to find out if her husband, Hollis, is cheating he does.  Hollis is.  Jake gives the photos to prove it to Mrs. Mulwray.

When the compromising photos of Hollis and a young woman (definitely not his wife) show up in the paper, the affair is made public.  Jake is surprised the pictures were made public, since it wasn’t by him.  Jake is even more surprised when the real Mrs. Mulwray shows up at his office threatening legal action.  Jake was duped.

But why?

When Hollis Mulwray is found dead in an L.A. reservoir.  Jake decides to investigate. That night he heads down to the reservoir.  Suddenly water begins rushing through the basin.  Jake makes it out only to be confronted by the Water Department Security Chief Claude Mulvihill and a short thug. Mulvihill warns Jake to stop asking questions.  The little gangster pulls a knife.  He asks Jake if he understands what happens to people who stick their nose where it doesn’t belong.  He then shows him.

Jake is even more determined to find answers.  Why was he set up?  Why was Hollis Mullwray killed?  Who killed him? Why are huge amounts of water being wasted nightly in the middle of a drought?  Jake wants answers.  In his search for the truth, Jake will uncover a sinister secret that had been hidden for years.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Chinatown was nominated for eleven 1975 Academy Awards and won one…

  • Nominee for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score – Jerry Goldsmith
  • Nominee for Best Film Editing – Sam O’Steen
  • Nominee for Best Sound – Charles Grenzbach, Larry Jost
  • Nominee for Best Costume Design – Anthea Sylbert
  • Nominee for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration – Richard Sylbert, W. Stewart Campbell, Ruby R. Levitt
  • Nominee for Best Cinematography – John A. Alonzo
  • Nominee for Best Director – Roman Polanski
  • Nominee for Best Actress in a Leading Role – Faye Dunaway
  • Nominee for Best Actor in a Leading Role – Jack Nicholson
  • Nominee for Best Picture – Robert Evans
  • Winner for Best Writing, Original Screenplay – Robert Towne

Jack Nicholson actually slaps Faye Dunaway in the movie.  They had tried several takes where they faked the slap and they didn’t look real.  So Dunaway told Nicholson to really slap her.  He did and that is the shot that was used.

Dunaway and director Roman Polanski clashed several times during filming.  At one point she asked what her character’s motivation was for a scene.  Polanski responded with, “Just say the f***ing words. Your salary is your motivation!”

Ali McGraw was originally scheduled to play Evelyn Mulwray.  She lost the role when she left her husband for Steve McQueen.  McGraw’s husband was Chinatown‘s producer, Robert Evans.

Phillip Lambro wrote the film’s music score.  After a test screening, Robert Evans decided a new score was needed. Jerry Goldsmith was hired with only 10 days to write and record a new score.  Goldsmith’s score was nominated for an Academy Award.

Chinatown is a classic.  Most reviewers and audiences rate it a 5 out of 5.  I liked it a lot, but not as much as most folks.  Your mileage may vary.

Chinatown (1974) rates 4 of 5 stars