Category: Z-View

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

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Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

Director: John Sturges

Screenplay: Millard Kaufman

Stars: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin.

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s send a one-armed Spencer Tracey into a remote town that wants him dead!”

Tagline: Suddenly you realize murder is at your elbow! – and there’s no way out!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

World War II veteran shows up in the remote town of Black Rock for unknown purposes.  The people of the town want him to move on and when he refuses, he puts his life at risk.  What are the town folk hiding?

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Train to Busan (2016)

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Train to Busan (2016)

Director: Sang-ho Yeon

Screenplay: Joo-Suk Park and Sang-ho Yeon

Stars: Yoo Gong, Soo-an Kim, Yu-mi Jung and Dong-seok Ma

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s make a zombie movie!”

Tagline: None

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Passengers on a train to Buscan (including a father and his young daughter, a husband with his very pregnant wife and others) have to come to grips that a zombie apocalypse has begun and there are infected on the train!

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Them! (1954)

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Them! (1954)

Director: Gordon Douglas

Screenplay: Ted Sherdeman and Russell S. Hughes from a story by George Worthing Yates

Stars: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Fess Parker, Richard Deacon and Leonard Nimoy.

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s make a movie about giant ants!”

Tagline: FANTASTIC MONSTERS ATTACK EARTH!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Nuclear testing in the desert has turned ants into gigantic killing machines.  Before the nests are discovered some of the ants make their way to the LA sewer system.  If they’re not all destroyed it could be the end of mankind.

What could have been another silly movie about giant bugs is actually one of my favorite horror movies of all time.  It’s played straight with an excellent cast.  Fans of my age will love that you get Matt Dillon, Davy Crockett and Spock in the same movie!

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Where Eagles Dare (1968)

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Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Director: Brian G. Hutton

Screenplay: Alistair MacLean (from his novel)

Stars: Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s turn ‘Where Eagles Dare’ into a movie!”

Tagline: They dare to climb a terrifying new peak in suspense… all the way up to hell!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

During World War II an American General is held captive by the Nazis in a mountain top fortress.  An English Officer (Burton) and American Ranger (Eastwood) are dropped behind enemy lines to rescue the General.  Yet there may be more to this mission than either are aware…

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A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

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A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Director: Elia Kazan

Screenplay: Tennessee Williams (adapted from his play) and Oscar Saul

Stars: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s turn ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ into a movie!”

Tagline: …When she got there she met the brute Stan, and the side of New Orleans she hardly knew existed.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

When creditors take over the family estate Blanche Dubois (Leigh) is forced to move into her sister, Stella (Hunter) and Stanley (Brando) brother-in-law’s cramped New Orleans working class apartment.  Blanche considers herself a lady which doesn’t sit well with Stanley who believes that he and Stella are due money from the estate.  Stella and Stanley already have a antagonistic relationship which becomes even more strained with Stella there.  Things reach a brutal climax when…

I originally saw Streetcar Named Desire years ago and loved it.  Recently re-watching it, I still really liked it (especially Brando’s performance) but dropped the rating from an “A” to a “B”.

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Kong: Skull Island (2017)

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Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Screenplay: Dan Gilroy and Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly from a story by John Gatins based on the character created by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace

Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly and John Goodman

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s make a King Kong movie!”

Tagline: All hail the King!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A group of scientists led by a military team are brought together to chart a mysterious island. Immediately they encounter Kong and get the worst of it.  Trapped on the island they must fight their way to a pickup location.  To get there the survivors will have to deal with natives, the island’s giant monsters and Kong!

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White Heat (1949)

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White Heat (1949)

Director: Raoul Walsh

Screenplay: Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts from a story by Virginia Kellogg

Stars: James Cagney, Virginia Mayo and Edmond O’Brien

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s get Cagney back as a gangster!”

Tagline: James Cagney Is Red Hot In “White Heat”!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Psychotic and sadistic gang leader Cody Jarrett leads his gang on a crime frenzy.  When an undercover cop infiltrates the gang, it is just a matter of time until one of them is dead.

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Story of G.I. Joe (1945)

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Story of G.I. Joe (1945)

Director: William A. Wellman

Screenplay: Leopold Atlas & Guy Endore & Philip Stevenson

Stars: Burgess Meredith and Robert Mitchum,

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s turn Ernie Pyle’s reports from the front lines into a movie!”

Tagline: The mightiest action drama ever filmed!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Based on Ernie Pyle’s Pulitzer prize winning reports from the front lines, Story of GI Joe, made Robert Mitchum an international super star.  Pyle’s reports focused on the foot soldiers, putting a human face on their day-to-day lives.

Pyle and his typewriter went where the action was most intense.  Sadly Pyle was killed by enemy fire while covering the war in the Pacific.

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Witness (1985)

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Witness (1985)

Director: Peter Weir

Screenplay: Earl W. Wallace & William Kelley

Stars: Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas, Alexander Godunov, Danny Glover and Viggo Mortensen.

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s have an Amish boy be a fish out of water in the big city – he’ll be the sole witness to a murder.  We’ll then send the big city cop to Amish country to protect the kid and he’ll be the stranger in a strange land! Let’s do it!”

Tagline: Harrison Ford is John Book – A big city cop who knows too much. His only evidence: a small boy who’s seen too much…

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Samuel, a small Amish boy in the big city for the first time, is the sole witness to a murder.  Detective John Book comes to realize that the murder Samuel witnessed is the key to a much bigger corruption.

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“12 Angry Men” (1957)

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12 Angry Men (1957)

Director: Sidney Lumet

Screenplay: Reginald Rose

Stars: Martin Balsam, Lee J. Cobb Lee, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, George Voskovec and Robert Webber.

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s turn ’12 Angry Men’ into a movie!”

Tagline: Life Is In Their Hands — Death Is On Their Minds!

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A jury moves into the deliberation room to decide the fate of a young man accused of first degree murder.  It appears open and shut until one of the jurors demands that they discuss the case and introduces a small reason for doubt.  Tensions mount as the jurors decide the fate of a man’s life.

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Extraction (2015)

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Extraction (2015)

Director: Steven C. Miller

Screenplay: Max Adams and Umair Aleem

Stars: Bruce Willis, Kellan Lutz, Gina Carano and D.B. Sweeney

The Pitch: “Hey, I can get Bruce Willis for a day, let’s make a movie!”

Tagline: Vengeance runs in the family..

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Bruce Willis plays a veteran CIA field agent. Lutz is his son who desperately wants to follow in dad’s footsteps, but is instead kept in an office.  When Willis goes missing while on a mission, Lutz leaves the office to rescue him.

I was hoping for a lot more from Extraction.  Miller is a good director.  Lutz has star potential.  Carano has proven she can carry a film (Haywire).  Yet Extraction falls short of the potential that they bring.

I didn’t include Willis in the equation, because Extraction is just another film that he appears in.  Although getting top billing, Willis reportedly filmed all of his scenes in one day and other than name recognition, doesn’t bring anything special to the role.  I’m a Bruce Willis fan and look forward to the next project that really excites him.  Extraction wasn’t it.

 

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Close Range (2015)

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Close Range (2015)

Director: Isaac Florentine

Screenplay: Chad Law and Shane Dax Taylor

Stars:Scott Adkins, Nick Chinlund, Caitlin Keats and Jake La Botz

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s make a Scott Adkins action movie!”

Tagline: Colton MacReady…is coming home.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

 

When Colton MacReady (Adkins) learns that his shady brother-in-law has endangered MacReady’s sister and niece, it’s up to him to save them.

If you’re after an action-packed movie starring Scott Adkins, you’re going to be happy with Close Range.

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Child 44 (The Child 44 Trilogy) by Tom Rob Smith

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Child 44 (The Child 44 Trilogy) by Tom Rob Smith

First sentence…

Since Maria had decided to die her cat would have to fend for itself.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

1953.  Soviet Russia. Leo Demidov, a young decorated war hero, now an idealistic security officer, is beginning to see the hypocrisy of the Soviet government.  Because all are equal there will be no crime.  Murder, especially is a symptom of Western corruption.  Soviet murderers like all criminals must be mentally ill.

When Leo looks into the case of a boy supposedly killed when struck by a train, he discovers the boy may have been murdered by a serial killer of children.  Told to back off, Leo refuses and finds himself at odds with not only his fellow officers but higher ranking Soviet officials.  Soon enough Leo and his wife are under investigation and from there the book really takes off.

To say more would deprive the reader of a great ride.  Child 44 has more twists and turns than any book in recent memory.  Tom Rob Smith has created a page turner that shocks, surprises and thrills.  I loved every page of it and look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

 

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Better Dead: A Nathan Heller Thriller by Max Allan Collins

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Better Dead: A Nathan Heller Thriller by Max Allan Collins

Publisher: Mysterious Press

First sentence…

I was there when the Commies took over.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Better Dead is actually two interconnected novellas.

In the first Nathan Heller is hired to find evidence to exonerate Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple sentenced to die for providing Russia with secret information on how to build nuclear bombs.  Senator Joe McCarthy, who is leading the hunt for American Commies, wants Heller to serve as a double agent and provide him with whatever information Heller learns about the Rosenbergs.  Before long Heller is on the wrong side of government agents and gangsters and a possible death sentence of his own.

In the second story, Heller learns about government-funded mind control experiments on unknowing subjects from a scientist who has a change of heart.  When the scientist turns up missing, Heller knows that he’s next up unless he can figure a way out.

I’m a huge fan of Max Allan Collins’ Nate Heller series.  Heller is a fictional detective who finds himself in the middle of real crimes.  Heller ages as the series progresses and fiction is mixed with extensive research and historical fact.  It’s fun watching Heller interact with famous (and infamous) folks right out of our history books.  Equally enjoyable is Collins’ take on the crimes and what may have really happened (if it is not as we’ve been taught).

In Better Dead Heller interacts with Joe McCarthy, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Roy Cohen, Bettie Page, Bobby Kennedy and others.  I also like that Heller in these outings is a bit more hardboiled.  Perhaps it’s the decade.

Better Dead is another great addition to the Nate Heller legacy.  I’m hoping for more!

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Rabid (1977)

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Rabid (1977)

Director: David Cronenberg

Screenplay: David Cronenberg

Stars: Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore and Joe Silver

The Pitch: “Hey, let’s make a low-budget horror movie!”

Tagline: You can’t trust your mother…your best friend…your neighbor next door…

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

 

In an effort to save Rose [Chambers], the victim of a motorcycle crash, a doctor performs experimental plastic surgery. Rose recovers with a taste for blood and her victims become zombies.

If you can survive the micro budget, bad acting and silly story then you might enjoy Rabid.

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