Category: Trivia

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (2020)starring Viola Davis & Chadwick Boseman / Z-View

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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

Director:  George C. Wolfe

Screenplay: Ruben Santiago-Hudson; based on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom by August Wilson

Stars: Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, Colman Domingo, Jeremy Shamos, Jonny Coyne, Taylour Paige, Joshua Harto and Quinn VanAntwerp.

Tagline: Everything Comes Out in the Blues.

The Plot…

In 1927, Ma Rainey is a radio sensation.  Her blues renditions are in demand.  Ma Rainey is in demand and is going to make the best of it.  Ma suffers no fools.  Although black in an age of Jim Crow, Ma Rainey defers to no one.

Ma Rainey has contracted to make a record for white producers.  Her regular band members show up early and begin getting ready.  As they warm up, Levee Green, the band’s trumpeter arrives.  Mel Sturdyvant, the white record producer is getting nervous since Ma isn’t there.  Levee sees an opportunity and talks to Mr. Sturdyvant about recording Leeve’s songs.  The rest of the band sees that as in insult to Ma.  Ma will not be happy if she learns Leeve is trying to undercut her.  She’ll be even more upset if she learns Leeve is putting the moves on Ma’s girl, Dussie Mae.

Finally Ma arrives.  When Ma sees that some of her requests for performing weren’t honored, she becomes irritated.  Mr. Sturdyvant and Ma begin to butt heads.  Ma says she won’t perform until she is satisfied.  Tensions rise.

Who would have thought that a simple recording session would lead to murder.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two…

  • Nominee Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Chadwick Boseman
  • Nominee Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Viola Davis
  • Nominee Best Achievement in Production Design: Mark Ricker (production design), Karen O’Hara (set decoration), Diana Stoughton (set decoration)
  • Winner Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling: Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, Jamika Wilson
  • Winner Best Achievement in Costume Design: Ann Roth

Denzel Washington was one of the film’s producers and had mentored Chadwick Boseman since Boseman’s college days.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is Chadwick Boseman’s final film.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a rare film where it all comes together.  A great screenplay, adapted from a superb play, with an excellent director leading a wonderful cast.  I’m surprised Viola Davis didn’t win the Oscar for Best Actress.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Legend of the Lost” (1957) starring John Wayne & Sophia Loren / Z-View

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Legend of the Lost (1957)

Director:  Henry Hathaway

Screenplay: Ben Hecht, Robert Presnell

Stars: John Wayne, Sophia Loren, Rossano Brazzi and Kurt Kasznar.

Tagline: Wayne Tangles with Loren…In the Adventure that’s Hotter than 1000 Suns!

The Plot…

Paul Bonnard comes to Timbuktu looking for a guide.  Bonnard’s father left him a map to a lost city full of gold and jewels.  Bonnard hires Joe January, an experienced guide.  The day before they are to leave, Bonnard meets Dita.  She’s beautiful, but is willing to steal or use her looks to make money from men.  Bonnard and Dita talk through the night.  The next day she asks to go with Bonnard and Joe.  Both men refuse to take her. The trip is much too dangerous.

Dita finds a way to join Bonnard and Joe.  Once she is discovered they are too far into the desert to take her back.  There’s no denying the attraction between Joe and Dita.  This coupled with low rations and even less water will lead to dangers no one saw coming.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

When director Henry Hathaway was asked why John Wayne’s character dresses like a cowboy, Hathaway replied John Wayne’s characters always dress like cowboys.

Legend of the Lost (1957) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“The Testament of Dr. Mabuse” (1933) directed by Fritz Lang / Z-View

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The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)

Director:  Fritz Lang

Screenplay: Thea von Harbou, Fritz Lang

Stars: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Otto Wernicke, Oscar Beregi Sr., Gustav Diessl

Tagline: Fritz Lang’s masterpiece. The most tremendous film of the present.

The Plot…

Hofmeister, a disgraced ex-police detective, uncovers an underworld criminal organization.  Barely escaping with his life, Hofmeister calls police Inspector Karl Lohmann.  As Hofmesiter lays out what he’s discovered, the connection is cut.  When Hofmeister is found, he’s gone insane.

Inspector Lohmann finds clues indicating that Dr. Mabuse is the mastermind behind the underworld criminals discovered by Hofmeister.  Lohmann is puzzled to learn that Dr. Mabuse went mad ten years prior.  He’s been housed at Professor Baum’s asylum.  Dr. Mabuse, locked in his cell with no outside contact, spends his days writing comprehensive plans for heists.  Mabuse’s cell is full of them.  Making things even stranger, since no one has access to these plans, is that they’re being used to commit crimes.

How can that be?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Nazis banned showing of The Testament of Dr. Mabuse because it might “incite people to anti-social behavior and terrorism against the State”.

Director Fritz Lang said that he was called to a meeting with Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda for the Nazi Party.  Goebbels said that he and Adolph Hitler were fans of Fritz’s earlier movies but his latest films (M and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse) could be interpreted as against the Nazi Party.  Goebbels then offered Lang the opportunity to direct films for the Nazis.  Lang said he would consider the offer.  He left Germany not long after this meeting.

Fritz is a master a direction, use of sound (talkies were still relatively new) and tension building scenes.

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“The Phantom Carriage” (1921) screenplay, directed by and starring Victor Sjöström / Z-View

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The Phantom Carriage (1921)

Director:  Victor Sjöström

Screenplay: Victor Sjöström; based on Körkarlen by Selma Lagerlöf

Stars: Victor Sjöström, Hilda Borgström, Tore Svennberg

Tagline: Do the Dead Come Back? Can Your Soul Leave Your Body – And Return Again? Is Spiritualism a Reality?

The Plot…

Three drunkards are in a graveyard on New Year’s Eve.  One of the boozers, David, explains the legend that the last sinner to die each year is doomed.  This unfortunate must spend the next year driving Death’s carriage to collect the souls of the dead.  As the clock nears midnight David gets hit on the head with a bottle.  He falls to the ground.  It appears that David’s soul is seen leaving his body.

A carriage approaches…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Charlie Chaplin said The Phantom Carriage was the best film ever made.

The special effects for this 1921 film were done mainly through double (or more) film exposures.  Filming took place from May to July 1920.  Post-production work took five months!

The Phantom Carriage (1921) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“5 Steps to Danger” (1957) starring Ruth Roman & Sterling Hayden / Z-View

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5 Steps to Danger (1957)

Director:  Henry S. Kesler

Screenplay: Henry S. Kesler; story by Donald Hamilton, Turnley Walker; based on The Steel Mirror by Donald Hamilton

Stars: Ruth Roman, Sterling Hayden, Werner Klemperer, Richard Gaines, Peter Hansen, John Mitchum, Leonard Bremen, Sidney Clute and Ken Curtis.

Tagline:  First she lured him into her car … then she let him taste her lips … and then … THE TERROR BEGAN !

The Plot…

John Emmett has just learned that his car is beyond repair.  John sells it to the mechanic and asks about the nearest bus station.  Ann Nicholson overheard John’s problem and offers him a ride.  She’s driving to Santa Fe.  Ann suggests John ride with her.  They can split the drive time and motor straight through the night.  John agrees.

When they stop for gas, a woman, claiming to be a nurse approaches John.  The woman says that Ann has mental issues. The woman claims Ann is a patient of Dr. Frederick Simmons.  John isn’t sure what to believe and says nothing to Ann.

Later, Ann and John are pulled over by two cops.  They begin to question Ann about a murder in Los Angeles.  She argues with a cop and in the struggle the policeman is knocked down the embankment.  The other cop handcuffs Ann to John.  The cop and John struggle and John knocks him down the hill.  Ann and John take off.

On the run from the police, Ann tells John that she accidentally discovered a foreign government’s plot against the US.  Ann says that she has important scientific information that she must get to trusted authorities.  John is unsure if Ann is mentally unstable, a murderess or a patriot on the run.

One thing John does know, is that he’s now a wanted man.  His life may depend on unraveling the mystery that is Ann Nicholson.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Wilder’s Garage in the opening scene was named that as a nod to Billy Wilder who opened Ace in the Hole with a similar scene.

Werner Klemperer went on to fame as Colonel Klink on Hogan’s Heroes.  FBI Agent Jim Anderson is played (uncredited) by Ken Curtis who became famous as Festus on Gunsmoke.

5 Steps to Danger (1957) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Brothers” (2024) starring Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei & Brendan Fraser / Z-View

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Brothers (2024)

Director:  Max Barbakow

Screenplay: Macon Blair; story by Etan Cohen

Stars: Josh Brolin, Peter Dinklage, Taylour Paige, Jen Landon, Brendan Fraser, Glenn Close, M. Emmet Walsh, Margo Moorer, Joshua Mikel, Nathan Hesse, Taylor St. Clair and Marisa Tomei.

Tagline:  Family is a life sentence.

The Plot…

Thirty years ago, Mike and Jady’s mother took off with the cops in hot pursuit.  Mom and her boyfriend had stolen emeralds worth millions.  Mom was not caught or heard from again.  After mom split, Mike and Jady began a life of small time crime.    Jady was eventually caught and sent to prison.  Mike married and hoped to turn his life around.

When Jady is released from prison, he visits Mike.  Jady has a plan for a road trip and one last score.  Desperate since he just lost his job, Mike agrees.  Had Mike known that it would involve an overly-friendly orangutan, a cop with a vendetta and their long lost mother, he might have reconsidered.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Brothers has a great cast with a story that has potential.  Sadly the film falls short.  I didn’t care for any of the characters.  The go-to for laughs was seeing people fall off roofs, get punched, run over or knocked down.  I made it to the end.  Barely.

Brothers is M. Emmet Walsh’s last feature film appearance.  He deserved better.  So did the other talents in this movie.  Brendan Fraser and Marisa Tomei are Academy Award winners.  Josh Brolin and Glenn Close are Academy Award nominees.  Peter Dinklage is a 4 time Emmy Award winner.

Although Marisa Tomei is listed on the movie poster, her name doesn’t appear in the film credits.

Brothers (2024) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Black Dynamite” (2009) starring Michael Jai White / Z-View

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Black Dynamite (2009)

Director:  Scott Sanders

Screenplay: Michael Jai White, Scott Sanders, Byron Minns, story by Michael Jai White, Byron Minns

Stars: Michael Jai White, Arsenio Hall, Tommy Davidson, Phyllis Applegate, Obba Babatundé, William Bassett and Mykelti Williamson.

Tagline:  He’s super bad, he’s outta sight. He’s Black Dynamite.

The Plot…

Black Dynamite (White) is a Viet Nam vet, fung fu expert, ex-CIA, love machine.  He’s a mean muther —  I’m just talking about Black Dynamite.  When Black Dynamite’s brother is killed, evidence leads to an organization that is providing heroin to black orphanages, and poisoning malt liquor headed for the ghetto.  The CIA reinstate Black Dynamite so he can make those muthers pay.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Black Dynamite is a love letter to the low-budget blaxploitation movies of the early 1970s.  It definitely captured the look, sound and feel of those films.  We get split screen, slow-motion, boom mic errors, jump cuts, bad dialogue and music that take us back to those wonderful days of one cool cat willing and able to take down the man in between loving the ladies.

Kudos to Michael Jai White for not only playing the lead, but coming up with the idea and hitting the right mix of homage and parody.

Black Dynamite (2009) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Gun Crazy” (1950) directed by Joseph H. Lewis, starring Peggy Cummins & John Dall / Z-View

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Gun Crazy (1950)

Director:  Joseph H. Lewis

Screenplay: Dalton Trumbo, MacKinlay Kantor based on Gun Crazy a 1940 story in The Saturday Evening Post by MacKinlay Kantor

Stars: John Dall, Peggy Cummins, Berry Kroeger, Morris Carnovsky, Harry Lewis, Nedrick Young, Trevor Bardette, Virginia Farmer, Robert Osterloh, Shimen Ruskin, Ray Teal and Russ Tamblyn.

Tagline:  SHE BELIEVES IN TWO THINGS… – love and violence!

The Plot…

Bart Tare (Dall) has always had a fascination with guns.  Bart is a crack shot and even taught marksmanship in the service.  One night at a traveling carnival with friends, Bart is encouraged to accept a challenge from sharpshooter Annie Laurie Starr (Cummins).  Even though she’s really good, Bart wins the contest.  But Laurie wins Bart’s heart.

Laurie gets Bart a job with the carnival.  They fall in love and marry.  Laurie wants more than the sideshow life can provide.  She convinces Bart they should use their gun skills to rob enough places to live the good life.  When Laurie threatens to leave Bart, he agrees as long as no one gets hurt.

That’s a promise she can’t keep.  She’s gun crazy.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The bank robbery scene was shot in one take.  Dall, Cummins, the actor playing the police officer and the people inside the bank knew the scene was being filmed.  At no time during the scene do we see the inside of the bank.  That was a bold move for the director to make.  It works!

Dalton Trumbo was listed in the credits since he was a blacklisted writer at the time.

Bart and Laurie are loosely based on Bonnie and Clyde.

I appreciate Gun Crazy more with each viewing.

Gun Crazy (1950) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Trap” (2024) written & directed by M. Night Shyamalan, starring Josh Hartnett / Z-View

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Trap (2024)

Director:  M. Night Shyamalan

Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan 

Stars: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Alison Pill, Marcia Bennett, M. Night Shyamalan, Lochlan Miller and Hayley Mills.

Tagline:  30,000 fans. 300 cops. 1 serial killer. No escape.

The Plot…

From all appearances Cooper (Harnett) is a great guy.  He’s a firefighter, outgoing and friendly.  Cooper is married with two kids.  A real family man.

Because his daughter, Riley (Donoghue) earned great grades on her last report card, Cooper takes her to a Lady Raven (S, Shyamalan) concert.  As they enter the arena, Cooper notices a huge police presence.  When they get inside, there are even more cops.  They seem to be everywhere.  Well, safety should be a priority for events this well attended.

Once the concert starts, Cooper notices men are being escorted out by the police.  Now curious and concerned, Cooper tells his daughter he’s going to the restroom.  Then using his charm, Cooper learns a secret.  The police are there because they got a lead that the serial killer known as The Butcher is in attendance.  Every exit is covered.  Police and FBI are there in force.  They have a description of The Butcher and anyone fitting it, will be questioned before he is allowed out.

Cooper is concerned.  Not because a serial killer is at the concert.  No.  Cooper is concerned because he is The Butcher.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Saleka Shyamalan makes her film debut.  She is M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter and a singer/songwriter.  Saleka wrote and performed all of the songs in the movie.  The official Trap movie soundtrack is titled Lady Raven and features all of the songs from the movie.

The concert feels real.  Kudos to M. Night, Saleka and all involved.

Some aspects come off as very contrived, but M. Night Shyamalan is adept at keeping things moving.  This way viewers go with the flow.  I was expecting Cooper to get caught or escape then fade to credits.  M. Night Shyamalan had a different idea.  There’s no big twist (as in some of his films) but there are some unexpected turns.  I enjoyed the ride.

Trap (2024) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“JFK” (1991) directed by Oliver Stone, starring Kevin Costner / Z-View

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JFK (1991)

Director: Oliver Stone

Screenplay: Oliver Stone, Zachary Sklar based on ON THE TRAIL OF ASSASSINS by Jim Garrison and CROSSFIRE: THE PLOT THAT KILLED KENNEDY by Jim Marrs

Stars: Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Sally Kirkland, Jay O. Sanders, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Rooker, Sissy Spacek, Joe Pesci, Donald Sutherland, Ed Asner, Brian Doyle-Murray, John Candy, Wayne Knight, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dale Dye, Lolita Davidovich, John Larroquette, Ron Rifkin  and Martin Sheen (narration).

Tagline:  He’s a District Attorney. He will risk his life, the lives of his family, everything he holds dear for the one thing he holds sacred… the truth.

The Plot…

New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Costner) has doubts about the Warren Commission’s findings that Lee Harvey Oswald (Oldman) acted alone in the assassination of President Kennedy.  Garrison puts together a team to investigate.  The team discovers new evidence, witnesses that were ignored, and more.

Garrison will ultimately indict a New Orleans business man, Clay Shaw (Jones) for his role in the assassination of President Kennedy.  Was Garrison a hero or a conspiracy nut?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

JFK was nominated for eight 1992 Academy Awards and won two…

  • Nominee for Best Picture: A. Kitman Ho, Oliver Stone
  • Nominee for Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Tommy Lee Jones
  • Nominee Best Director: Oliver Stone
  • Nominee for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: Oliver Stone, Zachary Sklar
  • Nominee for Best Sound: Michael Minkler, Gregg Landaker, Tod A. Maitland
  • Nominee for Best Music, Original Score: John Williams
  • Winner for Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson
  • Winner for Best Film Editing: Joe Hutshing, Pietro Scalia

JFK is riveting cinema.  The story is compelling.  The direction, editing, use of various film stocks, vintage real footage mixed with recreations is movie-making at it’s best.  Director Oliver Stone was at the top of his game.  He was supported by an amazing cast.

The scene where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested in the theater was filmed in the actual theater where the real arrest took place. Money from the film was used to restore the theater.

The scene of Jack Ruby killing Lee Harvey Oswald was shot in the Dallas City Hall basement where the actual murder took place.

The scenes of Lee Harvey Oswald shooting from the sixth floor window of the Texas School Book Depository were filmed in the real building, but from the fifth floor window.  The sixth floor is now a museum.  Views as seen from the sixth floor window were actually taken from that window.  Only the cameraman, Stone and a couple of others were allowed at the window.

Woody Harrelson’s father, Charles Harrelson, was convicted of killing federal judge John H. Wood Jr. (and two others). Charles Harrelson claimed that he took part in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  Harrelson claimed he was one of the three “tramps” questioned the day of the murder.  Harrelson drew diagrams and claims he can be seen in photos taken that day.  The FBI has discounted his claims.

JFK is Oliver Stone’s favorite of all the films he directed.

In response to criticism that he made up much of the “facts” presented, Oliver Stone published an annotated version of his screenplay, in which he proved attribution for every claim made in the film.

JFK (1991) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Jungle Gents” (1954) starring Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and the Bowery Boys with Woody Stode & Clint Walker! / Z-View

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Jungle Gents (1954)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Screenplay: Edward Bernds, Elwood Ullman

Stars: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, Laurette Luez, Harry Cording, David Gorcey, Benny Bartlett, Murray Alper, Pat Flaherty, Joel Fluellen, Roy Glenn, Emory Parnell, Emil Sitka, Woody Strode and Clint Walker.

Tagline:  You’ll Go WILD with LAFFS!

The Plot…

Sach’s new medicine gives him the power to smell diamonds. Slip (L. Gorcey), Satch (Hall), Louie (B. Gorcey), and others are headed to the jungles of Africa to find a diamond mine.  Little do the boys know that a group of crooks are following.  Soon the guys are fighting the gangsters and natives.

Where is Anatta (Luez), the Jungle Girl when you need her?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Clint “Cheyenne” Walker makes his film debut.

Woody Stode appears uncredited as a native.

Jungle Gents (1954) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“The Big Combo” (1955) starring Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Jean Wallace, Brian Donlevy, Lee Van Cleef and Earl Holliman / Z-View

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The Big Combo (1955)

Director: Joseph H. Lewis

Screenplay: Philip Yordan

Stars: Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Jean Wallace, Brian Donlevy, Robert Middleton, Lee Van Cleef, Earl Holliman, Helen Walker, Jay Adler, John Hoyt, Ted de Corsia, Helene Stanton, Roy Gordon, James McCallion and Whit Bissell.

Tagline:  The Most Startling Story The Screen Has Ever Dared Reveal!

The Plot…

Detective Lt. Leonard Diamond (Wilde) has made it his personal mission to bring down a crime boss known as Mr. Brown (Conte).  Brown has his fingers in organized crime across the city.  Brown is feared because of his sadistic tendencies and willingness to destroy anyone who crosses him.  Brown is supported by Fante (Van Cleef) and Mingo (Holliman) thugs whose loyalty to is unquestioned.

Detective Diamond is infatuated with Mr. Brown’s girl, Susan (Wallace).  Susan wants out of the relationship, but Mr. Brown would see her dead rather than lose her.  Detective Diamond believes the key to taking down Mr. Brown is a mystery woman named Alicia.

Detective Diamond is getting close to the truth.  Now he is in the crosshairs of Mr. Brown, Fante and Mingo.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Jack Palance was set to play Mr. Brown, but reportedly became upset when they producers refused to hire his wife.  He left shortly before filming was to start, but recommended Richard Conte to replace him.  (Interestingly enough Jean Wallace was Cornell Wilde’s wife at the time.)

The Big Combo pushed the boundaries of what was allowed in movies at the time.  Detective Diamond has a casual sexual relationship with a stripper.  Mr. Brown isn’t married to Susan, but they’re also in a sexual relationship.  Thugs Fante and Mingo are clearly lovers.  The torture scene is much more brutal than usually seen in movies of this era.

The Big Combo (1955) rates 4 of 5 stars.

The Collected Will Eisner’s John Law by Will Eisner and Gary Chaloner is coming! 

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The Collected Will Eisner’s John Law by Will Eisner and Gary Chaloner is coming!  It will drop on March 4, 2025. Preorders are available now. Here is the lowdown…

Wherever men live, be they nomads or city dwellers, there they must have law and a man to enforce it.

Meet Detective John Law of Crossroads City. Strong, decent, hardworking and hard-nosed. He’s a man who believes in the law and order. He’s the last of a dying breed.

In 1948, Will Eisner produced the first issue of “John Law Detective”, which he intended to add to a line of self-published comics. However, after Eisner’s “Baseball Comics”, “Kewpies”, and “Pirate Comics” failed to find an audience, John Law never made it to the newsstand and was quietly dropped, with much of the original artwork reworked in 1950 for his most famous creation, The Spirit.

Featuring original stories by Will Eisner, Gary Chaloner’s award-winning reboot from 2004, including a previously unpublished John Law Story, and a foreword by long-time Eisner publisher Denis Kitchen, this is a must-have for not just Eisner fans but comic collectors of all ages.

“Tulsa King”: Season 2 (2024) starring Sylvester Stallone / Z-View

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Tulsa King: Season 2 (2024)

Created by: Taylor Sheridan

Director: Craig Zisk (Eps. 1-2; 9-10); Joshua Marston (Eps. 3-4); David Semel  (Eps. 5-6); Kevin Dowling (Eps. 7-8)

Teleplay: Taylor Elmore and Terence Winter & Sylvester Stallone (Ep. 1); Stephen Scaia and Terence Winter (Ep. 2); Terence Winter & Joseph Riccobene (Ep. 3); Terence Winter & Dave Flebotte (Ep. 4); William Schmidt (Ep. 5); Terence Winter (Ep. 6); Dave Flebotte (Ep. 7); William Schmidt & Terence Winter (Ep. 8); Joseph Riccobene (Ep. 9); Terence Winter & Sylvester Stallone (Ep. 10)

Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Martin Starr, Jay Will, Max Casella, Vincent Piazza, Tatiana Zappardino, Annabella Sciorra, Neal McDonough, Frank Grillo, Domenick Lombardozzi, Andrea Savage, Garrett Hedlund, Dana Delany, Chris Caldovino, Dashiell Connery, McKenna Quigley Harrington, Justin Garcia-Pruneda, Michael Beach, Scarlet Rose Stallone, Steve Witting, Rich Ting, Glen Gould, J.D. Walsh, Jelly Roll, Graham Greene and Cash Flo.

Tagline: The Boss Is Back.

The Plot…

Dwight’s see an opportunity to get a wind farm on the cheap.  He’ll use it to power a marijuana farm.  This puts him at odds with Cal Thresher, the biggest medical marijuana supplier in Tulsa (and business partner of Bill Bevilaqua, the organized crime don of the territory).

Dwight learns that a Chinese triad is also involved with marijuana farming in the area and could be a problem.  Chickie reaches out to one of Dwight’s team to set up a doublecross.  Meanwhile Thresher has gets the hook in another on Dwight’s team.  An attempt is made on Dwight’s life.

Tensions mount as Dwight refuses to give Bevilaqua the percentage he wants and offers nothing to Chickie.  People will die and there will be collateral damage.

The season ends with a cliffhanger.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Tulsa King was nominated for one 2023 PrimeTime Emmy Award – Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or a Variety Program: Freddie Poole

As you might have guessed, Tulsa King continues to be my current favorite television show.  Bring on season three!

Tulsa King: Season 2 (2024) rates 5 of 5 stars.