Category: Z-View

THE BIG BLOWDOWN by George P. Pelecanos / Z-View

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The Big Blowdown by George P. Pelecanos

Trade Paperback: ‎ 314 pages
Publisher: ‎ Minotaur Books; First Edition (first (September 24, 1999)

First sentence…

Pete Karras dreamed.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Peter Karras, Joe Recevo, Jimmy Boyle and Perry Angelos are four kids growing up together in Washington, D.C. in the 1930s.  Their lives will separate and then come back together in ways none of them could imagine.  Boyle will become a cop and Angelos an accountant.  Karras and Recevo will become collectors for a loan shark named Burke.

When Burke becomes upset with Karras’ disrespectful attitude and unwillingness to come down hard on some families struggling to repay their high interest loans, Burke orders Recevo to betray Karras.  Recevo sets up his childhood friend and lures him into an alley where another of Burke’s goons is waiting with a baseball bat.  Karras is badly beaten and left to survive or not.

Karras, Recevo and Burke along with Jimmy Boyle and Perry Angelos will cross paths again in bloody confrontation that will leave many of them dead.  Pelecanos creates a story that has layers and substance.  None of his characters are without flaws.  They come across as real people.  The “good” guys don’t always win or survive.  If you’ve read other of Pelecanos’ novels you may recognize some characters which adds to the realism of the universe he’s created.

The Big Blowdown is another winner from George P. Pelecanos.  It rates 4 of 5 stars.

The Big Blowdown Hardcover
The Big Blowdown Trade Paperback

Rating:

“Love and a .45” (1994) / Z-View

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Love and a .45 (1994)

Director:  C.M. Talkington

Writers: C.M. Talkington

Starring:  Gil Bellows, Renée Zellweger, Rory Cochrane, Peter Fonda and Michael Bowen.

Tagline:  In The End There Are Only Two Things That Matter…

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A convenience store thief (he’s got it down to a science) and his fiancé are on the run for Mexico.  Chasing them are cops, two loan sharks and the thief’s crazy ex-crime partner.  Love and a .45 tries hard to be outrageous, hip and cool.  Characters named Watty Watts, Starlene Cheatham, Billy Mack Black, Dinosaur Bob and Creepy Cody give you an idea of what we’re dealing with.  Tarantino Lite.

Renée Zellweger is so young here that she doesn’t look like the movie star she would become.  Rory Cochrane as Billy Mack Black is good.  I saw Love and a .45 years ago and liked it better than my recent viewing, so your mileage may differ.  Love and a .45 gets 2 of 5 stars.

“The Ghoul” (1933) / Z-View

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The Ghoul (1933)

Director:  T. Hayes Hunter

Writers:  Roland Pertwee & John Hastings Turner based on the novel by Frank King and the play by Frank King and Leonard J. HInes / Rupert Downing … adaptation

Starring:  Boris Karloff, Cedric Hardwicke, Ernest Thesiger and Ralph Richardson.

Tagline: An Ancient Curse Is About To Be Unleashed.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Prof. Henry Morlant (Karloff) is dying.  Morlant believes if he dies holding an ancient sacred jewel stolen from an Egyptian temple, he will be reborn.  Morlant has the jewel wrapped in his hand and warns of harm that will befall any who interfere,  When a thief steals the jewel, Morlant returns from the dead to take his revenge.  Part of the fun for the audience is trying to determine the identity of the thief, but I was just ready for Morlant to kill ’em all.

“The Alligator People” (1959) / Z-View

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The Alligator People (1959)

Director:  Roy Del Ruth

Writers:  Orville H. Hampton (screenplay), Charles O’Neal (story), Robert M. Fresco (uncredited)

Starring:  Beverly Garland, Bruce Bennett and Lon Chaney Jr..

Tagline: Her honeymoon turned into a nightmare of horror!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Joyce Webster (Garland) is on her honeymoon with her new husband (Bennett) when he suddenly runs away.  After years of searching the clues lead Joyce to her husband’s family estate on a secluded bayou. (Years of searching?  Wouldn’t her husband’s family be the first place she looked?)

There she meets the one-handed alcoholic Manon (Chaney) and her anti-social mother-in-law.  Manon takes Joyce around the swampy estate which is full of gators.  As Manon shoots gators, he explains years ago one took his hand and he’ll kill any alligator he can.  Joyce also learns that secret experiments are being performed on alligators.  As Joyce pries deeper she learns the horrific reason her husband ran away…

If only The Alligator People was as good as its poster.  As you can tell from the photo below, the special effects are lacking.  Sadly, at this point in his career Lon Chaney, Jr. playing an alcoholic didn’t require much acting.  If you like bad 1950s monster movies, you’ll like this.  Despite the less-than-stellar alligator make-up there are some fun scenes of Garland in peril surrounded by alligators.  There is also a fun fight between Manon with his hook hand and the alligator man.  Unfortunately, the title of the film is misleading, but I guess The Alligator Man doesn’t sound as exciting as The Alligator People.  With that said, The Alligator People earned 2 of 5 stars.

ICE STATION by Matthew J. Reilly / Z-View

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Ice Station by Matthew Reilly

Hardcover: ‎ 390 pages
Publisher: St. Martins Press (September 1, 1999)

First sentence…

It had been three hours since they had lost radio contact with the two divers.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

When a team of American scientists at a remote Antarctic ice station send a radio message that they have discovered a metal ship buried deep in the ice, the race is on.  Military units from several countries are quickly dispatched to claim the discovery.  Lieutenant Shane Schofield and his small team of marines are the US’ closest squad so they are sent to secure the discovery at all costs until reinforcements arrive.

When they arrive at the ice station they discover the three divers who went down to the ship are missing. To make matters worse, a hostile military force is quickly approaching.  Soon Schofield and his team are fighting against military units from two countries, unknown creatures from below and the possibility of a traitor on their team!

If you’re a fan of non-stop action that would tire Indiana Jones, then Ice Station is for you.  Once Reilly gets the ball rolling (and he does quickly), the action never lets up.  Reilly puts in his characters in crazy situations and they survive by skill, wit or luck… that is, if they survive.

I kid you not when I say after reading a Matthew Reilly book, you’ll feel like you’ve been put through the ringer.  But if you’re a fan of non-stop over-the-top action (and from time to time I am), then you cannot go wrong with Ice Station.  It earns 5 of 5 stars.

Ice Station Hardcover

Ice Station Paperback

Ice Station Kindle

Ice Station Mass Market Paperback

Rating:

Reservoir Dogs (1992) / Z-View

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Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Director:  Quentin Tarantino

Writers:  Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary

Starring:  Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Kirk Baltz, Edward Bunker and Quentin Tarantino.

Tagline:  Seven Killers, Six Colors and One Perfect Crime.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Six thieves, unknown to each other, are brought together by a crime boss for a jewel heist.  The robbery goes sideways from the start. Both cops, civilians and crooks are killed.  The surviving thieves meet at the rendezvous warehouse and attempt to discover the rat.

Reservoir Dogs is arguably Quentin Tarantino’s finest film.  Well written and directed with a cast up to the task.  Reservoir Dogs earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Highlander” (1986) / Z-View

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Highlander (1986)

Director:  Russell Mulcahy

Writers:  Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson (screenplay) from a story by Gregory Widen

Starring:  Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, Roxanne Hart, Beatie Edney  and Jon Polito.

Tagline: There can be only one.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Highlander is an example of catching lightning in a bottle.  Everything, the director, the cast, the editing, the locations and music came together to create a fun ride.  In the wrong hands, Highlander could have crashed and burned, but the original (avoid the sequels!) takes flight.

The opening scene finds Russell Nash (Lambert) in the audience at a professional wrestling match.  While Nash could have been at any other event, picking pro wrestling sends a signal to the audience.  Professional wrestling is about bigger than life personalities who represent good and evil.  While the bad guy often seems to be bigger and stronger, good usually prevails!  Highlander follows that formula.

From the beginning of time they have walked among us.  Immortals who can only be killed by beheading. When two immortals meet they fight to the death for when there is only one left alive in the world, that immortal will receive the prize.  That time is upon us!

This is Russell Mulcahy’s finest film.  Sean Connery may have been born to play James Bond, but I cannot think of anyone who could have done a better job as Ramirez (and the two characters are vastly different).  This was Clancy Brown’s breakout role – he’s big, terrifying and perfect as Kurgan.  Christopher Lambert is the star and this is his finest role.  Queen was hired to provide one song for the film, but after seeing a rough cut wrote two more.  Honestly, I had my doubts how well Queen would work with the story, but I was wrong. The music helps make the movie so good.

If you’ve never seen Highlander, give it a go.  It’s definitely a film of the 80s, but still holds up.  Avoid the sequels.  As for the original Highlander, with me it rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Cop Land” (1997) / Z-View

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Cop Land alt poster created by Andi Ewington

Cop Land (1997)

Director:  James Mangold

Writer: James Mangold

Starring:  Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Patrick,  Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Noah Emmerich, Cathy Moriarty, John Spencer, Frank Vincent, Malik Yoba, Arthur J. Nascarella  and Edie Falco.

Tagline:  No One Is Above The Law.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

James Mangold brought together an all-star cast to create a modern day western.  Freddy Heflin (Stallone) is the Sherriff of Garrison, New Jersey.  Garrison is a small town where a high percentage of the folks who live there are New York City police officers.  They work in the city and then drive over the bridge to their nice safe little town.  Most residents don’t know that a small group of the cops living in Garrison have mob connections.

Freddy Heflin always wanted to be a New York City cop, but hearing loss in one ear made him un-hirable. Hefflin owes his job as Sherriff of Garrison to Ray Donlan (Keitel). Heflin admires Donlan and the New York cops that live in Garrison.  They have a  camaraderie that he wants to be part of.

An Internal Affairs investigation involving Ray Donlan and several other police officers leads to Garrison, Although Heflin doubts the legitimacy of the complaints, he later discovers the concerns are legit and the corruption goes much deeper than anyone knew.   Heflin wants to do the right thing but finds himself alone and outgunned.

When you look at the cast that Mangold brought together for this relatively low budget film, you know it goes back to the screenplay.  Mangold created a rich story with multiple characters, all having an integral part in the tale.  Many folks who thought Rocky was Stallone and doubted his acting ability were surprised to see him hold his own against heavyweights like De Niro and Keitel.  Ray Liotta also shines in his role as Freddy’s lone cop friend who is intent on getting out of Garrison.

Cop Land is a film that gets better with every viewing.  I loved it and rate it 5 of 5 stars.

“One Night in Bangkok” (2020) / Z-View

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One Night in Bangkok (2020)

Directors:  Wych Kaosayananda

Writer: Wych Kaosayananda

Starring:  Mark Dacascos  and Vanida Golten.

Tagline:  Six Hours. Five Hits. Who will survive?

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

One Night in Bangkok is a reworking of the 2004 film, Collateral.  This time the city is Bangkok, Tom Cruise has been replaced by Mark Dacascos and Jamie Foxx by Vanida Golten.  The story is basically the same, a hitman hires a driver for the night.  The driver comes to understand that at each stop her passenger is killing people.  The reason for the hits has changed from Collateral to ONiB, but that’s just details.

The easiest way to describe One Night in Bangkok is to call it Collateral Lite.  Dacascos and Golten are so likeable, that it’s an easy ride. If you enjoy low budget action films where you don’t have too think to hard, then you should enjoy One Night in Bangkok.  I did and for that reason I rate it 3 of 5 stars.

“Project Power” (2020) / Z-View

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Project Power (2020)

Directors:  Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman

Writer:  Mattson Tomlin

Starring:  Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback, Rodrigo Santoro  and Courtney B. Vance.

Tagline:  What would you risk for 5 minutes of pure power?

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A dangerous new drug has hit the streets of New Orleans.  Those who risk taking it either suddenly die or gain five minutes of a superpower.  The power varies from person to person.  Because of this new drug, deaths and violent crime in New Orleans is escalating.

Frank (Gordon-Levitt) is street cop working with Robin (Fishback), a small-time high school-aged dealer in an effort to follow the drug’s pipeline to it’s source.  This brings them into contact with Art (Foxx) an ex-special forces commando with the same mission.  Frank and Robin find themselves working with Art, unaware that he has an ulterior motive.

I didn’t watch Project Power sooner, because of the terrible title and the synopsis sounded silly.  My mistake.  Project Power has a dumb title, but if you accept the premise, you’ll find a story that takes itself seriously.  That combined with good acting, great action and the right amount of humor makes for an awesome movie experience.  I absolutely loved Project Power and rate it 5 of 5 stars.

“The Night House” (2020) / Z-View

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The Night House (2020)

Director:  David Bruckner

Writer:  Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski

Starring:  Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Evan Jonigkeit.

Tagline: The truth will surface.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Beth (Hall) is a grieving widow, with no idea why her husband, Owen (Jonigkeit) killed himself.  Alone in the house that they built on a remote lake, Beth begins to have strange dreams.  Going through Owen’s possessions she comes across books about demons, pictures of other women, and more.  Then Beth begins to hear strange sounds in the house and a voice claiming to be Owen.  Is Beth losing her mind or is Owen reaching out to her from beyond?  Or could it be something even worse?

The Night House is held together by the acting of Rebecca Hall.  She’s really good.  The problem I had with the movie is it didn’t seem to know what it wanted to be.  Is it the story of a grieving widow trying to hold on to her sanity?  Is it the tale of a widow who discovers her husband was a serial killer?  Is it a haunted house movie?  When all is said and done, more is said than done.  And for that reason I give The Night House 2 of 5 stars.    

“All the Old Knives” (2022) / Z-View

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All the Old Knives (2022)

Director:  Janus Metz

Writer:  Olen Steinhauer based on his book

Starring:  Chris Pine, Thandiwe Newton, Laurence Fishburne and  Jonathan Pryce.

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Eight years ago terrorists hijacked an airplane with over 200 men, women and children aboard.  A C.I.A. team came together to create a plan to save the passengers.  As negotiations with the terrorists continued it appeared that they were getting information from a mole within the C.I.A. team.  The terrorists ended up killing everyone on board the plane including themselves.

Now, new information has surfaced that there was indeed a mole feeding the terrorists intel.  Henry Pelham (Pine), a CIA operative and member of the original team is sent to interview the others to determine the mole.  He is then to terminate the traitor.  Complicating matters is that one of the main suspects is the woman (Newton) he loved and who suddenly left him after the plane tragedy.

All the Old Knives introduces the suspects while taking us through their roles in attempting to thwart the terrorists.  This allows us to try to determine the mole along with Pelham.  I’m proud to say I figured out the mole’s identity but then there was a twist which made the movie even better.   All the Old Knives rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Babylon A.D.” (2008) / Z-View

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Babylon A.D. (2008)

Director:  Mathieu Kassovitz

Writers:  Mathieu Kassovitz & Joseph Simas (screenplay) with Éric Besnard (scenario and dialogue) based on the novel by Maurice G. Dantec.

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Mélanie Thierry, Gérard Depardieu and Charlotte Rampling.

Tagline:   Save the World One Child at a Time.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

In the near future, Toorop (Diesel), is an exiled American mercenary living in a dangerous gang-ridden Russian slum.  Toorop is hired to safely transport Aurora (Thierry) and her guardian (Yeoh) across the war torn continent and sneak them into the United States.  Under the best circumstances this would be a tough gig, but the fact that two different organizations have sent armed teams to kidnap Aurora for vastly different reasons makes survival unlikely.

Babylon A.D. is an under-rated and flawed film that I absolutely love.  Bad weather, budget over-runs, problems  between the director and 20th Century Fox all contributed to the end result.  20th Century Fox released a drastically cut (reports range from 15 to 93 minutes shorter than the director’s cut) theatrical version with almost zero publicity.  In 2011, Mathieu Kassovitz released a behind the scenes documentary of the troubled production called Fucking Kassovitz.  I’ve seen the documentary.  It is clear that problems with the production team meeting the director’s vision were enormous.

With that said, I still love Babylon A.D.  It has scope, vision and attempts to rise above the action genre film.  There’s so much to love.  The opening with Toorop in the Russian slum.  Gorsky (Depardieu), the Russian crime lord’s method of getting Toorop on board.  How Gorsky gets Toorop to the convent to pick-up Aurora.  Slowly seeing that there is more to Aurora than meets the eye.  The gradual development of respect and then friendship between Toorop and Sister Rebeka (Yeoh).  The parkour fighters.  Toorop “rescuing” Aurora from the monster cage fighter.  The submarine scene.  Escaping the drones.  The New York showdown and more.

Babylon A.D. is not a great movie.  As I said at the start, it is flawed.  But I love what they did get on film.  I’ve watched Babylon A.D. several times over the years and like it better with each viewing.  This is one where I expect the mileage will differ from mine with many viewers.  Why not give it a shot and see?  As for me, I rate Babylon A.D. five of five stars.

“Glass” (2019) / Z-View

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Glass (2019)

Director:  M. Night Shyamalan

Writers: M. Night Shyamalan

Starring:  James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson and M. Night Shyamalan.

Tagline:  Real villains are among us. Real heroes are within us..

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

David Dunn (Willis), the hero with super-strength and the brilliant but evil Elijah Price (Jackson), both from Unbreakable along with Kevin Wendell Crumb (McAvoy), the serial killer with multiple personalities from Split find themselves locked up together in a mental ward.  Dr. Ellie Staple (Paulson) is providing therapy to convince the three that they don’t have super powers, even though she knows that they do.  So what is her end game?

McAvoy is fun to watch as he moves from personality to personality.  He’s the star of the show.  Willis and Jackson don’t have a lot to do until the end, but their presence is essential (and felt) through0ut the movie.  Paulson is always good and a great addition to this world.  Shyamalan’s twist works well and sets up more movies in this universe.

Glass was fun.  It rates 3 of 5 stars.

Night Teeth (2021) / Z-View

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Night Teeth (2021)

Director:  Adam Randall

Writers: Brent Dillon

Starring:  Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Debby Ryan, Lucy Fry, Raúl Castillo and Alfie Allen.

Tagline:  Paint the Town Red.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A college student (Lendeborg Jr.) takes his brother’s shift as a chauffer for the evening.  His fare is two young women (Blair & Fry) who say that they plan to party-hop throughout the night.  The reality is that they are two vampires with something far more sinister in mind.

Night Teeth works thanks to a fast-paced story, interesting direction, a likeable lead character (Lendeborg), a couple of sexy vampires (Ryan & Fry) and an unlikeable one (Allen).  If you’re looking for high art or a movie with deep meaning, then this isn’t the one for you.  However, if you’re after a night of partying with a cool chauffer and a couple of bad girls who happen to be vampires, then this ride is for you.  Night Teeth rates 3 of 5 stars.