Category: Movies

“Lockout” (2012) starring Guy Pearce & Maggie Grace / Z-View

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Lockout (2012) 

Director: Stephen Saint Leger, James Mather

Screenplay: Stephen Saint Leger, James Mather, Luc Besson, story by Luc Besson, (influenced by Escape from New York by John Carpenter, Nick Castle and Escape from L.A. by John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Kurt Russell)

Stars: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Peter Stormare, Vincent Regan, Joe Gilgun, Tim Plester, Peter Hudson and Lennie James.

Tagline: Take no prisoners.

The Plot…

The year is 2079.  When a riot results in convicts taking over the Earth’s orbiting prison, it’s only a matter of time before they learn that the President’s daughter, Emilie (Grace) is there.  Emilie has disguised herself as part of the prison medical staff.

The President and his advisors know the prisoners will execute all captured staff if an assault team is sent up.  They decide that one capable man, working alone could infiltrate the prison and rescue the President’s daughter.

The man for the job is a former government agent named Snow (Pearce).  Snow was recently framed for the murder of Colonel Frank Armstrong.  Armstrong had discovered a double-agent was working at the upper levels of our government.  Snow reluctantly agrees to the suicide mission.

The clock is ticking…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

There’s no denying the parallels to John Carpenter’s Escape from New York.  So much so that John Carpenter sued the film’s makers for plagiarism and won.

I’m a huge fan of Lockout.  Pearce was the right choice to play Snow the buff, wise cracking bad ass.  (When Pearce auditioned for the role, the directors told him he was too skinny.  He promised to bulk up.  Obviously he kept his word.)

Joe Gilgun plays a psycho convict to perfection.

Lockout (2012)  rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Brian’s Song” (1971) starring James Caan & Billy Dee Williams / Z-View

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Brian’s Song (1971) 

Director: Buzz Kulik

Screenplay: William Blinn, based on I AM THIRD by Gale Sayers, Al Silverman

Stars: James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden, Bernie Casey, Shelley Fabares, David Huddleston, Judy Pace, Harold ‘Happy’ Hairston, Stephen Coit, Stu Nahan, Dick Butkus and Doreen Lang

Tagline: An inspiring true story of friendship and courage.

The Plot…

Brian Piccolo and Gayle Sayers are rookie running backs drafted to the Chicago Bears. Piccolo is white, outgoing and a jokester while Sayers is black and shy.  Despite their differences and competing for the same position, they become friends. When both make the team they become the NFL’s  first interracial roommates and best friends.

Their friendship deepens when Piccolo assists Sayers through a long arduous knee rehabilitation. Later Piccolo becomes sick and Sayers is ready to return the favor.  That’s when they learn Piccolo has an aggressive terminal cancer.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Brian’s Song was nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards and won five…

  • winner Outstanding Single Program – Drama or Comedy – Paul Junger Witt (producer)
  • nominee Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role – James Caan
  • nominee Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role – Billy Dee Williams
  • winner Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Drama – Jack Warden
  • nominee Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama – A Single Program – Buzz Kulik
  • winner Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama – Adaptation – William Blinn
  • nominee Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition – For a Special Program – Michel Legrand
  • winner Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Entertainment Programming – For a Special or Feature Length Program Made for Television – Joseph F. Biroc (cinematographer)
  • nominee Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Editing – Marvin I. Kosberg (sound editor), Harold E. Wooley (sound editor), Wayne Fury (sound editor), Ralph Hickey (sound editor), Paul Laune (sound editor), George C. Emick (sound editor), Monty Pearce (sound editor)
  • nominee Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Mixing – William J. Montague (sound mixer), Alfred E. Overton (sound mixer)
  • winner Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing for Entertainment Programming – For a Special or Feature Length Program Made for Television – Bud S. Isaacs (editor)

Louis Gossett Jr. was cast as Gayle Sayers.  Gossett tore his Achilles’ tendon before filming started and was replaced by Billy Dee Williams.

Brian’s Song was so popular in the US that it received a theatrical run in Europe.

Stu Nahan who plays a sportcaster in some of the Rocky movies plays a speaker at one of the awards ceremonies.

One of the best made-for-television movies ever.  It’s better than most feature films.

Brian’s Song (1971) rates 5 of 5 stars.

RIP: Shelley Duvall

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Shelley Duvall died peacefully at her home today.  Ms. Duvall’s cause of death was complications from diabetes.  Shelley Duvall was 75.

Ms. Duvall was a writer, actress and producer.  She was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards:

  • 1988 Outstanding Children’s Program for Tall Tales & Legends (shared with Bridget Terry, Fred Fuchs)
  • 1992 Outstanding Animated Program (Programming One Hour or Less) for Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories (shared with: Art Leonardi, Carol Davies)

After graduating high school in 1967, Shelley Duvall attended South Texas Junior College. Her major was  nutrition and diet therapy.  A chance meeting with Robert Altman at a party led to him casting her in Brewster McCloud, a film he was shooting on location in Texas.  Altman was so awed by Shelley Duvall’s acting that he cast her in his next three films.  Robert Altman wasn’t the only one impressed.  Ms. Duvall continued to act in feature films and television until she retired in 2002.  Then last year she was coaxed out retirement to appear in The Forest Hills.

Television projects that feature Shelley Duvall include: Cannon; Love American Style; Baretta; Saturday Night Live; The Paul Simon Special; Twilight Theater; Faerie Tale Theater (3 episodes); The Twilight Zone; Tall Tales & Legends; Mother Goose Rock ‘n’ Rhyme; The Ray Bradbury Theater; L.A. Law; Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Frasier.

Feature films that feature Shelley Duvall include: Brewster McCloud; McCabe & Mrs. Miller; Thieves Like Us; Nashville; Buffalo Bill and the Indians or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson; Annie Hall; 3 Women; The Shinning; Popeye; Time Bandits; Roxanne; Suburban Commando; The Portrait of a Lady and The Forest Hills.

The first time I saw Shelley Duvall was in The Shinning.  As perfect as Ms. Duvall was for that role, I think there was another part that she was even better suited to play.  That was as Olive Oyl in Popeye which is my favorite Shelley Duvall performance.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Shelley Duvall’s family, friends and fans.

“Lifeboat” (1944) directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Tallulah Bankhead, John Hodiak, Walter Slezak & William Bendix / Z-View

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Lifeboat (1944) 

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay: Jo Swerling, story by John Steinbeck

Stars: Tallulah Bankhead, John Hodiak, Walter Slezak, William Bendix, Mary Anderson, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn, Canada Lee and William Yetter Jr.

Tagline: What happens when six men and three women are alone in an open boat ?

The Plot…

During a World War II a submarine sinks a passenger ship, but is also sunk.  There are only eight survivors. They end up in the same lifeboat.  Introductions show they’re from diverse backgrounds.  There are three ship workers, a famous columnist, a rich man, and three ship passengers (one a mother whose baby was killed in the attack).

When they see another man attempting to get in the lifeboat, they assist him.  The last survivor turns out to be a German soldier from the submarine.  The initial thought is to kill him.  Luckily for him, the vote is to spare his life.

Lost at sea, with little food or water, the odds of survival are slim.  What none know is one of them has secrets that could get them all killed.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Lifeboat was nominated for three Academy Awards…

  • nominee Best Director – Alfred Hitchcock
  • nominee Best Writing, Original Story – John Steinbeck
  • nominee Best Cinematography, Black-and-White – Glen MacWilliams

It was a rough shoot completed in a gigantic water tank.  The actors were in a free-floating boat constantly sprayed with water and a mist concoction of water/oil/dry ice.  Twice production had to be stopped due to actors’ illnesses and injury.

Lifeboat has no musical score which was unusual for the time.

Alfred Hitchcock originally wanted his cameo to be a dead body floating in the water.  It was changed and Hitch’s image appears in a newspaper ad.

William Bendix steals every scene he’s in.

Lifeboat (1944)  rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Life” (2017) starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson & Ryan Reynolds / Z-View

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Life (2017) 

Director: Daniel Espinosa

Screenplay: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare

Tagline: Fear life. Not death.

The Plot…

An unmanned probe returns to the International Space Station with soil samples from Mars.  The six astronauts aboard the station are surprised to find a single cell organism in the soil.  As they experiment with the sample it begins to grow exponentially.  It escapes it’s container and devours a lab rat. Then the creature turns its sights on the astronauts.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Director Daniel Espinosa said the twist ending is in the spirit of The Twilight Zone and Night of the Living Dead.

I hate it when movie characters repeatedly make stupid decisions.  Especially when they’re supposed to be intelligent.

Life (2017)  rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Gladiator II” – The Trailer is Here!

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Except for the music, I think that the Gladiator II trailer works.  I’m not expecting the sequel to be as good as the original, but so far I like what we’re seeing.

From director Ridley Scott, watch the new Official Trailer for #GladiatorII starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger – Only in theatres November 22.

“The Killing” (1956) directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Sterling Hayden / Z-View

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The Killing (1956) 

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Screenplay: Stanley Kubrick; dialogue by Jim Thompson; based on CLEAN BREAK by Lionel White

Stars: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Jay C. Flippen, Ted de Corsia, Marie Windsor, Elisha Cook Jr., Joe Sawyer, James Edwards, Timothy Carey, Kola Kwariani, Dorothy Adams, James Griffith, Joe Turkel, William ‘Billy’ Benedict, Charles Cane, Robert B. Williams and Vince Edwards

Tagline: These 5 Men Had a $2,000,000 Secret Until One of them told this Woman!

The Plot…

Johnny Clay (Hayden) has been a crook his whole life.  Now he’s ready to settle down and marry Fay (Gray). Johnny has planned one last score.  It will be big.  Two million dollars big. He’s going to knock over a race track.

Johnny has put together his team: two race track workers in need of cash, a cop on the take, a sniper and a pro wrestler.  Johnny has planned for every contingency… except one.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Killing is arguably Stanley Kubrick’s best film.  Kirk Douglas loved it so much, he got Kubrick to direct Douglas’ next film, Paths of Glory.  Two years later, when Douglas fired Anthony Mann early in the filming of Spartacus, Douglas turned to Kubrick to finish the film.

The studio didn’t like the non-linear structure of The Killing.  Re-editing only made things more confusing. So it was released in the non-linear form Kubrick wanted.  Quentin Tarantino claims The Killing is a huge influence on the format of  Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

Kola Kwariani (the chess playing pro wrestler) and Stanley Kubrick would often play chess in a chess/checker lounge as shown in the film.

In a film full of memorable co-star performances, Timothy Carey stands out for his uniquely strange acting.

The Killing (1956)  rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” (2024) starring Eddie Murphy / Z-View

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Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024) 

Director: Mark Molloy

Screenplay: Will Beall, Tom Gormican, Kevin Etten; story by Will Beal; based on characters created by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr.

Stars: Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, Kevin Bacon, Luis Guzmán, Christopher McDonald and Steven Berkoff

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

When Detroit police detective Axel Foley (Murphy) receives a call from his old pal P.I. Billy Rosewood (Reinhold), Foley learns that his grown estranged daughter’s life is in danger.  Foley arrives in Beverly Hills. He discovers that an attempt on his daughter’s life was made and Billy is missing.

As Axel digs into the case, he uncovers a conspiracy going to the highest levels.  Now both Axel and his daughter are targets.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Will Beal, who came up with the story and co-wrote the screenplay, is a former L.A. cop turned writer.  Beal’s L.A. REX is excellent.

Steven Berkoff, who played the villain in the original film, has a brief uncredited cameo as a motorist.

This is director Mark Molloy’s first feature film.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F hits all the right beats for fans of the series.  It has a plausible reason for Foley to return to Beverly Hills.  It brings back characters in a way that works.  It gives Foley a daughter (that wasn’t mentioned in Beverly Hills Cop III, although she would have been born).  It references the past films, even going so far as to say that Foley’s third case in Beverly Hills wasn’t his “finest hour”.  Beverly Hills III was easily the least favorite of the series.  It uses the famous Axel F theme from the original Beverly Hills Cop by composer Harold Faltermeyer.

For some reason Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F works when it shouldn’t.  When we see Axel driving a snow plow through the city, destroying dozens of vehicles, we ignore the fact that this would probably injure or kill pedestrians as well.  We accept the fact that he is able to keep his job.

When he gets his “partner” to steal a helicopter and fly down Beverly Hills Streets the only damage is to vehicles.  People are never hurt. That’s why Axel and Bobby walk away from a helicopter crash without even a limp or bruise.

The same is true when there is a shoot-out on a crowded Beverly Hills Street.  Only the bad guys die.  I guess it is because in a Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F shootout, the bad guys fire dozens of shots and always miss.  Later when Axel is hit, the bad guy was shooting at his daughter and Axel jumps in front of her.

The fact that we are able to ignore these things is evidence that Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F works.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)  rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Daylight” (1998) starring Sylvester Stallone and Amy Brenneman / Z-View

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Daylight (1998) 

Director: Rob Cohen

Screenplay: Leslie Bohem

Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, Jay O. Sanders, Karen Young, Claire Bloom, Barry Newman, Stan Shaw, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Renoly Santiago, Renoly Santiago, Danielle Harris, Trina McGee, Marcello Thedford, Jo Anderson, Mark Rolston, Rosemary Forsyth, Luoyong Wang, Tony Munafo, Nestor Serrano, Rob Cohen  and Sage Stallone

Tagline: HOLD YOUR BREATH

The Plot…

When an explosion seals a tunnel beneath the Hudson River, time is running out for the few survivors.  Despite it being a suicide mission, ex-NYC Medical Services Chief Kit Latura (Stallone) goes in.  As the air dwindles, the water levels rise and tempers flare, Latura and the survivors search for a way out.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Daylight was nominated for one Academy Award

  • nominee Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing – Richard L. Anderson, David A. Whittaker

Daylight is the second time that Sly and his son Sage appeared together in a movie.

Cameos include: director Rob Cohen as a businessman and Associate Producer Tony Munafo as a waste truck driver.

Stan Shaw, who plays a Transit cop trapped in the tunnel also played the boxer named Dipper who gets Rocky’s locker in Rocky.

Daylight is a throwback to the disaster movies like The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake and The Towering Inferno.

Daylight (1998)  rates 4 of 5 stars.

“The Last Front” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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1992 looks like a winner.  Has Tyrese Gibson ever come across so thuggish?  Plus one of Ray Liotta’s last performances.

From writer/director Julien Hayet-Kerknawi, starring Iain Glen, Sasha Luss, Julian Kostov and James Downie.

THE LAST FRONT – In Theatres August 9

RELEASE DATE: August 9
DIRECTOR: Julien Hayet-Kerknawi
CAST: Iain Glen, Sasha Luss, James Downie, Julian Kostov