Category: Z-View

The Jungle Captive (1945) / Z-View

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The Jungle Captive (1945)

Director: Harold Young

Screenplay: Dwight V. Babcock and M. Coates Webster

Stars: Otto Kruger, Vicky Lane, Amelita Ward and Rondo Hatton

The Pitch: “Isn’t it time to make another Ape Woman movie?”

No Tagline:

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

The third in the Paula DuPree, Ape Woman trilogy.  Seems there were a lot of mad scientist doctors back in the 40’s and their life goal was to turn a gorilla into a woman.  Pretty sick, huh?

In this outing Dr. Stendahl (Kruger) has his minion, Molach the Brute (Hatton) steal the Ape Woman’s body from the morgue.  Of course Molach isn’t called the Brute because of his brainpower and he kills the morgue attendant in the process.  This puts the cops on the trail of the murderer.

Once Stendahl has the body, he’s ready to perform his experiment to bring her back to life.  Of course he needs the blood of a woman.  Naturally he decides to kidnap and use the blood of his female lab assistant (Ward) rather than a woman with no connections to him.

As the cops close in on him, Stendahl must face off against Molach (who has fallen in love with the lab assistant), the lab assistant’s fiance, the cops and the Ape Woman.  It’s like the Mexican standoff at the end of Reservoir Dogs if the Reservoir Dogs standoff wasn’t suspenseful.

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King of the Underworld (1939) / Z-View

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King of the Underworld (1939)

Director: Lewis Seiler

Screenplay: George Bricker and Vincent Sherman from a story by W.R. Burnett

Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Kay Francis and James Stephenson.

The Pitch: “We could put Bogart in that crime story by WR Burnett…”

Tagline: “Ruthless Killer vs. Lady Doctor ! It’s red-blooded action all the way!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Carol Nelson (Francis) is a doctor as is her husband.  Things are going well until her husband accidentally gets involved with gangsters led by the notorious Joe Gurney (Bogart).  When her husband is killed in a police shootout, they believe that Carol is also involved with the gangsters.

In order to clear her name Carol comes up with a dangerous plan to take down the entire gang.

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Mean Business on North Ganson Street by S. Craig Zahler / Z-View

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Mean Business on North Ganson Street by S. Craig Zahler (2014)

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

First sentence…

The dead pigeon flew through the night, slapped Doggie in the face, and bounced to the ground, where its cold talons clicked across the pavement as it rolled east.

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Detective Jules Bettinger, after mishandling a case is given the choice: resign, be fired or accept a transfer to one of the most understaffed and highest crime ridden cities in the country.  Reluctantly Bettinger accepts that transfer and moves his wife and child to his new job.

Once there Bettinger finds things worse than he could imagine.  There’s no trust between Bettinger and his new partner who may be involved in illegal activities with other cops.  When Bettinger uncovers a conspiracy to kill police officers, he and his family become targets leading to a bloody ending.

Mean Business on North Ganson Street isn’t for the faint hearted.  The violence is brutal, and often hard to stomach.  Sometimes Zahler seemed to be showing how smart he was with his word choices, but getting into the book I began to think that instead it was to highlight what a fish out of water Bettinger was.   Mean Business on North Ganson Street wont’ be everyone’s cup o’ joe, but I liked it a lot.

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Omerta: A Novel (The Godfather Book 3) by Mario Puzo / Z-View

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Omerta: A Novel (The Godfather Book 3) by Mario Puzo (2000)

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Random House

First sentence…

In the stone-filled village of Castellammare del Golfo, facing the dark Sicilian Mediterranean, a great Mafia Don lay dying.

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Don Raymonde Aprile is the last of the mafia Dons.  A widower with three successful children and an adopted nephew, all in legitimate businesses and doing well, Aprile is ready to retire to a simpler life.  Yet he knows that once he steps down as Don, he puts his life and his children’s in danger.

Retiring will be seen as a sign of weakness and opportunity for those wishing to assume his position.  Aprile’s impending retirement is also forcing an FBI agent who has worked for years to bring down April to cut some corners.

An unexpected murder will set in motion the Aprile family, forces of the mafia and the FBI into one last battle.

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Angel in Black: A Nathan Heller Novel by Max Allan Collins / Z-View

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Angel in Black: A Nathan Heller Novel by Max Allan Collins  (2001)

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: NAL

First sentence…

The two pieces of her lay porcelain-white in the ankle-high grass and weeds of a vacant lot on South Norton Avenue, like the upper and lower sections of a discarded marionette.

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

I’m a sucker for the Nate Heller series by Max Allan Collins.  Heller is a detective who finds himself involved in famous murder cases.  Collins is a stickler for historical accuracy and has created a timeline and plausible setting that allows Heller to find himself (over the course of the series) mixed up in everything from the Lindbergh baby murder to the assassination of JFK!

This time out Heller ends up at the scene of the Black Dahlia murder and discovers that he had dated her in Chicago just months before her murder.  She had told him she was pregnant and he was the father… then disappeared.  Since Heller had since married her murder could ruin his marriage, his career and makes him the number one suspect in her death.  Heller must stay a step ahead of the reporters and the law and find out who killed the Black Dahlia before he ends up taking the fall.

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Bad Boy Brawly Brown: An Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley / Z-View

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Bad Boy Brawly Brown: An Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley (2002)

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Little Brown

First sentence…

Mouse is dead.

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Easy Rawlins used to be the man that could fix problems.  Now it is 1964 and those days are behind him.  Easy is raising a family and trying to stay clear of anything that would bring danger to his home.  When an old friend asks Easy to just check on young Brawly Brown the job seems easy enough.  Brawly is running with a Black militant group and his mother just needs to know he’s okay.

Soon enough Easy finds himself a suspect in a murder case that has the militants on one side and the cops on the other.

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The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson / Z-View

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The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson (2011)

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; Reprint edition (March 15, 2011)

First sentence…

Repaiman Jack awoke with light in his eyes, white noise in his ears and an ache in his back.

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

The Tomb is the first in the Repairman Jack series and an excellent introduction to his world.  Jack lives off the grid and makes his living solving other people’s problems.  Often the solutions aren’t legal but Jack is no hitman. Still, once Jack’s girlfriend Gia discovered the nature of his work, she distanced herself and small daughter from Jack.

When Jack is offered a job to find a stolen necklace that is a matter of life and death, he takes on the task despite long odds.  Jack recovers and returns the necklace to learn, only too late, that it holds an ancient power over monster-like creatures that are now being guided to kill his ex-girlfriend, her daughter and Jack.

F. Paul Wilson has created a believable world by seamlessly meshing the detective and horror novel through the creation of Repairman Jack.  I loved The Tomb and look forward to reading all of the Repairman Jack novels.

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The Making of The Lords of Flatbush by Stephen Verona (2008) / Z-View

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The Making of The Lords of Flatbush by Stephen Verona (2008)

Paperback: 155 pages
Publisher: Creative Book Publishing International; First Edition ~1st Printing edition (June 15, 2008)

First sentence…

When I was single and dating I would regale girls with these stories of my childhood and the guys I hung with.

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Stephen Verona, the writer and director of Lords of Flatbush, takes us on the amazing trip to get Lords of Flatbush, one of the first truly independent films made.  Along the way, we’ll learn how Verona got started (becoming friends with John Lennon and working with Lennon to animate the Beatles song I Feel Fine) and the long process to get Lords of Flatbush made.

Verona worked with many big names [Lee Strasberg, Janet Leigh, The Beatles, Chicago, Barbara Steisand, etc.] prior to writing and directing Lords of Flatbush and those stories are fun but the heart of the book is of course getting LoF made.  Verona provides many anecdotes and behind the scenes photos and trivia.  (Did you know that Richard Gere was originally to play Perry King’s role? Stallone and Gere had a falling out and one had to go!]

Verona writes in a conversation style that’s easy to read.  Fans of LoF will love the behind-the-scenes peek and prospective film makers will learn from the mistakes Verona as a first time film-maker made.

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Diablerie by Walter Mosley (2007) / Z-View

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Diablerie by Walter Mosley (2008)

Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

First sentence…

The apartment reeked from the acrid odor of roaches – a whole colony, tens of thousands of them, seething and unseen in the walls and under the dull, splintery floorboards of the vacant apartment.

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Ben Dibbuk is a middle aged computer programmer with a successful wife and a daughter headed to college.  Life should be great… but it’s not.  His wife has become distant and may have a lover which would only be fair since Ben has a young mistress.  Ben knows that he’s at a crossroads and needs to sort things out.

That becomes more complicated when a woman from his past approaches him with the knowledge that years ago he killed a man in a drunken stupor.  Ben is a recovering alcoholic and remembers much of what the woman tells him but not the murder.  Did he kill a man?  Why is the woman approaching him now?  And why is his wife having him investigated?

Craig says: While Mosley is probably incapable of writing a bad book, Diablerie isn’t in the same league as his Easy Rawlins novels.  I enjoyed the story but didn’t hate to see it end.  Be aware that this is one of Mosley’s “erotic” novels.

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The Demented (2013) / Z-View

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The Demented (2013)

Director: Christopher Roosevelt

Screenplay: Christopher Roosevelt

Stars: Kayla Ewell, Richard Kohnke and Ashlee Brian.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a cheap zombie movie with some good looking kids.”

No Tagline:

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Three college aged couples decide to spend the weekend at their rich friend’s parents’ getaway house.  A terrorist attack turns the locals into zombies.

Craig says: If you’re a die hard zombie fan then this might be for you.  Of course you’d have to enjoy zombies that for no reason will freeze in strange positions and sleep until awakened by a noise.  You’d also have to like characters that make really stupid decisions, are loud when they should be quiet, bad special effects and an ending that will really tick you off (at least it did me).

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Night Monster (1942) / Z-View

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Night Monster (1942)

Director: Ford Beebe

Screenplay: Clarence Upson Young

Stars: Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Leif Erickson and Irene Hervey.

The Pitch: “How can we go wrong with people stranded in an old, creepy house with mysterious murders?”

Tagline: “NIGHT MONSTER with Mystery’s Greatest Thrill Team: Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Dr. King [Atwill] gets three doctors out to his secluded, remote mansion under false pretenses.  King has been left paralyzed and blames the doctors he invited.  Dr. Lynn Harper  [Hervey] is also there but for another reason.  When one-by-one doctors begin turning up strangled, Harper and her new friend, Don, must figure out who is doing the killing and how they’re able to do it before they become the next victims.

Craig says: This one just didn’t work well for me.  Low on humor, suspense and when all is said and done, not that convincing of a killer aka Night Monster.  It was fun seeing Leif Erickson at such a young age.  It seemed to me that Bela was there just to throw suspicion his way.  I may be in the minority on this one…

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Step Brothers (2008) / Z-View

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Step Brothers (2008)

Director: Adam McKay

Screenplay: Will Ferrell & Adam McKay from a story created by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay & John C. Reilly.

Stars: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, Adam Scott, and Kathryn Hahn.

The Pitch: “What if Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton, Jr. were middle-aged losers who didn’t race and were forced to become stepbrothers?”

Tagline: “They grow up so fast.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

When Brennan Huff’s [Farrell] mom [Steenburgen] marries Dale Doback’s [Reilly] dad [Jenkins] the two boys become stepbrothers and are forced to share a room.  Of course the “boys” are actually middle-aged men who have never been forced to grow up.  That all is about to change…

Craig says:  Ferrell and Reilly are spot on.  If you go with the set-up and you don’t mind that it is Rated R for crude and sexual content, and pervasive language then you’re in for a fun ride.

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Heist (2015) / Z-View

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Heist (2015)

Director: Scott Mann

Screenplay: Stephen C. Sepher

Stars: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Robert De Niro, Gina Carano, Dave Bautista, Kate Bosworth, Morris Chestnut and D.B. Sweeney. 

The Pitch: “Oceans 11 meets Speed.”
Tagline: “Never make a bet you can’t afford to lose.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Vaughn [Morgan] is a dealer in his old crime partner’s casino.  They separated ways when Vaughn went straight.  Now his old buddy [Deniro] is an infamous gangster known as The Pope.

When The Pope refuses to loan Vaughn enough money for a life-saving treatment for Vaughn’s daughter, Vaughn risks it all by joining in on a robbery of The Pope’s casino.  Things go from bad to worse when Vaughn and crew find themselves trapped on a bus with The Pope’s crew and the cops hot on their trail.

Craig says:  Excellent cast in a throwback action movie with a couple of nice twists.

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Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) / Z-View

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Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)

Director: Michael Curtiz

Screenplay: Don Mullaly & Carl Erickson from a story by Charles Belden

Stars: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray and Glenda Farrell

The Pitch: “If you liked Dr. X…”

Tagline: “Another Lovely Woman Vanished from the Earth!…Another Beauty Molded to His Desire!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Sculptor Ivan Igor [Atwill] was nearly burned to death when an arsonist destroyed his London wax museum years earlier.  Now living in New York, Igor is ready to open a new wax museum.  Although badly burned and confined to a wheelchair Igor has trained his apprentices to create masterpieces close to his abilities before the fire.

When a spunky reporter notices how much one of Igor’s wax statues looks like a missing model, she decides to sneak back into the museum and see what gives.

If you liked Dr. X, then you should enjoy Mystery at the Museum since it is almost the same movie made with the same director and stars.

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Star Trek Beyond (2016) / Z-View

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Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Director: Justin Lin

Screenplay: Simon Pegg & Doug Jung based on the Star Trek television series created by Gene Roddenberry 

Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba and Sofia Boutella.

The Pitch: “It’s time for a new Star Trek movie!”

No Tagline

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

The Enterprise crew is ready for a little well-earned R& R when they are chosen to respond to an SOS.  The SOS turns out to be a terrible trap.  The Enterprise is destroyed.  Kirk and crew (those that are left alive) find themselves separated and stranded the planet of those that attacked them.

Their mission now becomes a way to get back to Federation territory to warn of the coming invasion, to stop the coming invasion or both… but first they will have to survive.

Of the new Star Trek films I rate this the second best.  I loved the new Jaylah character, was extremely happen with the expansion of McCoy’s [Urban’s] role and was impressed with the new and unique way the attacking aliens boarded the Enterprise.

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