Category: Z-View

Doctor X (1932) / Z-View

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Doctor X (1932)

Director: Michael Curtiz

Screenplay: Robert Tasker & Earl Baldwin based on a play by  Howard Warren Comstock & Allen C. Miller

Stars: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray and Lee Tracy

The Pitch: “How about a horror-comedy set in a creepy mansion?”

Tagline: “Mightier than words can describe!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A sadistic cannibalistic murderer known as The Moon Killer has been busy earning his name.  When the trail leads to Dr. X [Atwill], the cops give him 48 hours to figure which of the scientists working at creepy mansion is the killer.  Wisecracking reporter Lee Taylor [Tracy] sneaks into the mansion and is soon part of the story.

Dr. X is one of the few films shot in two-strip Technicolor which registers colors in only shades of red and green. [Check out Nitrate Diva’s review to learn more about the process and Dr. X.]  This process along with the sets really give the film a unique feel and adds to the atmosphere.

If you like your horror with a bit of comedy, hidden rooms, panels that open to reveal eyes watching or hands reaching to strangle, then Dr. X is for you!

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Blood Ties (2013) / Z-View

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Blood Ties (2013)

Director: Guillaume Canet

Screenplay: Guillaume Canet & James Gray 

Stars: Clive Owen, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup,  Mila Kunis, Zoe Saldana, James Caan and Noah Emmerich.

The Pitch: “How about a gritty crime movie set in the 70’s — one brother’s a cop and the other is an ex-con?”

Tagline: “Crime runs in the family.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Chris (Owen) is a recently released ex-con who’d been in for murder.  Frank (Crudup), his brother is a New York City detective who places his job on the line to help Chris make a new start.

Chris gives it a go, but soon enough circumstances have him involved in crimes that will place him at odds with his brother (who has another man out to kill him).

An excellent cast in a gritty crime story set in the 1970’s.  What’s not to like?

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Cloverfield (2008) / Z-View

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Cloverfield (2008)

Director: Matt Reeves

Screenplay: Drew Goddard

Stars:  Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan and Theo Rossi.

The Pitch: “Blair Witch in the City with Monsters!”

Tagline: “Some Thing Has Found Us”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

An explosion in the city that isn’t too far away interrupts a going-away party.  When the guests go outside to investigate it becomes clear that there are monsters in the city.  Five friends from the party join together in an effort to survive.

I first saw Cloverfield in a theater in 2008.  As my review here shows I left the theater disappointed.  I hated the shaky camera work and the fact that you never got a clear view of the monster(s).

I recently watched Cloverfield at home.  I liked it much better.  The shaky camera work didn’t bother me as much and the smaller screen made the monster’s appearances clearer.  It also didn’t seem to take as long to get to the action.  I’m revising me rating to…

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The Lineup (1958) / Z-View

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The Lineup (1958)

Director: Don Siegal

Screenplay: Stirling Silliphant

Stars: Eli Wallach, Robert Keith and Richard Jaeckel.

The Pitch: “Hey, if it works on tv…?”

Tagline: “The Manhunt They Had To Put on the Giant-Sized Movie Theatre Screen!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A criminal organization gets heroin into the US by hiding it in tourists’ luggage (without the tourists’ knowlege).  A psycho hitman and his partner then retrieve the heroin (by whatever force needed).

Two police detectives investigating a murder discover what is going on.  As the bodies pile up they learn that a woman and her little daughter are next on the psycho’s list!

I was expecting a lot more than a by-the-numbers police procedural from director, Don [Dirty Harry] Siegal, writer and Sterling [Route 66] Silliphant.  There’s a lot of potential here but only Eli Wallach rises above the material given. 

Perhaps my rating is a bit tough because I was expecting so much more.

 

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Captive Wild Woman (1943) / Z-View

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Captive Wild Woman (1943)

Director: Edward Dmytryk

Screenplay: Griffin Jay and Henry Sucher

Stars: John Carradine, Evelyn Ankers, Milburn Stone, Martha Vickers and Paula Dupree.

The Pitch: “Hey, isn’t about time for another turn a gorilla into a pretty woman movie?”

Tagline: “STRANGEST OF SIGHTS… The brain of an animal… the form of a woman!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

An insane scientist [Carradine] develops a transfusion that will turn a gorilla into a beautiful woman named Aquanetta [Dupree] but the process kills the human giving the transfusion.

While visiting the circus it is discovered that Aquanetta has a mysterious power over the animals.  Soon she is part of the act.  All goes well until Aquanetta becomes jealous and begins reverting back to gorilla form…

It was fun seeing the male lead, Fred Mason played by Milburn [Doc on Gunsmoke] Stone.

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Spectre (2015) / Z-View

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Spectre (2015)

Director: Sam Mendes

Screenplay: John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and Jez Butterworth based on character created by Ian Fleming

Stars: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Monica Bellucci, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris and Dave Bautista.

The Pitch: “Hey, I’ve got an idea on a new James Bond movie!”

Tagline: “The dead are alive”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Bond [Craig] discovers SPECTRE, a mysterious worldwide organization behind many terrorist activities. As Bond follows clues in the field, the new head of National Security in England has decided to shut down the MI6 division of National Security.  Bond is alone and without backup when SPECTRE turns their sights to Bond.

I really like Daniel Craig as Bond and much of Spectre was fun, but I found myself wanting more — more from the opening action sequence and more from the main fight between Craig and Batista.  Perhaps Casino Royale just set the bar too high…

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Invisible Agent (1942) /Z-View

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Invisible Agent (1942) 

Director: Edwin L. Marin

Screenplay: Curtis Siodmak based on a character created by HG Wells 

Stars: Ilona Massey, Jon Hall and Peter Lorre.

The Pitch: “Hey, I’ve got an idea on a new Invisible Man movie!”

Tagline: “Today’s most amazing sensation!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Frank Raymond [Hall], grandson of the man who created the invisibility formula is approached by Nazi and Japanese agents who want to buy the formula.  Raymond refuses and escapes.  Soon enough Raymond is an Invisible Agent for the US of A behind enemy lines!

Invisible Agent is more of a comedy than horror film and works well enough.  Who doesn’t love to see Nazi’s looking foolish?

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Takers (2010) / Z-View

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Takers (2010)

Director: John Luessenhop

Screenplay: Peter Allen & Gabriel Casseus and John Luessenhop & Avery Duff

Stars: Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Matt Dillon, Michael Ealy, Idris Elba, Paul Wakler and Zoe Saldana.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a movie about a pair of cops after a gang of thieves and will put in two twists at the end!”

Tagline: “Everyone’s after something.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A very successful group of thieves finds a huge score suddenly placed before them by a team member who just go out of prison.  The short time for prep before the score is going to be as much of an issue as the pair of cops that they don’t know are on their trail.

There are a couple of nice twists near the end of the film.

 

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Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) / Z-View

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Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Director: J.J. Abrams

Screenplay: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof based on characters created by Gene Roddenberry 

Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Peg, John Cho, Benedict Cumberpatch, Bruce Greenwood and Peter Weller.

The Pitch: “Isn’t about time for a new Star Trek movie?”

Tagline: “Beyond the darkness, lies greatness.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

After a super-powered genius leaves Star Fleet in shambles and Earth in crisis, Kirk and crew track him to Klingon territory.  Before it’s over Kirk and his Enterprise team will face off against the terrorist, Klingons and Star Fleet.

 

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The Legend of Tarzan (2016) / Z-View

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The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

Director: David Yates

Screenplay: Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer based on the Tarzan stories created by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie and Djimon Hounsou.

The Pitch: “Isn’t about time for a new Tarzan movie?”

Tagline: “Human. Nature.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

John Clayton aka Tarzan [Skarsgård] is living a wealthy life in England with his beautiful wife Jane [Robbie] when they are lured back to Africa under false pretenses. Jane is kidnapped and Tarzan goes to save her.  Soon Tarzan finds himself pitted against a native tribe [he did kill the chief’s son] and an army.  Of course Tarzan isn’t called the King of the Jungle for nothing.

 

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Dark Was the Night (2014) / Z-View

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Dark Was the Night (2014)

Director: Jack Heller

Screenplay: Tyler Hisel

Stars:  Kevin Durand, Lukas Haas and Steve Agee.

The Pitch: “Hey, anybody remember the movie ‘Prophecy’?”

Tagline: “Evil’s Roots Run Deep”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Strange things are happening and the townspeople are on edge.  Giant cloven hoof prints going through town, pets and livestock turning up missing or mutilated, strange sounds at night have people jumpy.  Some think that a legendary creature is back.

They’re not far off.

Bonus points for the ending.  Minus points for the CGI.

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The Courier (2012) / Z-View

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The Courier (2012)

Director: Hany Abu-Assad

Screenplay: Brannon Coombs, Pete Dris

Stars: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Josie Ho, Til Schweiger, Miguel Ferrer, Lili Taylor, Mark Margolis and Mickey Rourke.

The Pitch: “I’ve got an idea for a new ‘Transporter’ movie!”

Tagline: “He delivers”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A transporter courier is hired to deliver a briefcase containing who knows what.  He’ll be paid a million dollars if he meets the deadline.  If he is late his family will be killed.

I’m a Jeffrey Dean Morgan fan and The Courier starts out fun enough with a girl held at gunpoint on a plank from the top of a roller coaster.  The clock is clicking down — will the courier get the money there in time.

I won’t spoil it for you but after that intro we’re off and running (the clock is ticking again after all).  Great cast and a fun movie right up until the very end.  Things seem rushed and convoluted as the movie comes to a close.  Mickey Rourke has a glorified cameo.

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Creed (2015) / Z-View

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Creed (2015)

Director: Ryan Coogler

Screenplay:  Ryan Coogler, Aaron Covington

Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Andre Ward, Tony Bellew, Ritchie Coster and Graham McTavish.

The Pitch: “I’ve got an idea for a new ‘Rocky’ movie!”

Tagline: “Your legacy is more than a name”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Adonis Johnson-Creed is the illegitimate and widely unknown grown son of Apollo Creed.  Fighting is in his blood.  When Adonis decides to give pro boxing a go, he seeks out Rocky Balboa to train him.  Rocky isn’t interested but before it is over Adonis and Rocky will both face the fights of their lives.

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Cabin in the Sky (1943) / Z-View

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Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Director: Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley (uncredited)

Screenplay: Joseph Schrank based on the musical by Lynn Root

Stars: Ethel Waters, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, Lena Horne, Butterfly McQueen, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Kenneth Spencer, and Duke Ellington.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a movie version of ‘Cabin in the Sky!’”

Tagline: “Broadway’s big, fun-jammed music show is on the screen at last–crowded with stars and songs and spectacle in the famed MGM manner!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Little Joe [Anderson] dies after being shot during a night of gambling and fast women. Before his soul can be claimed, Little Joe’s wife, Petunia [Waters] prays so hard for Little Joe that angels show up just as the Devil’s soldiers prepare to wisk him away.  A decision is made that Little Joe will be returned to the living and have six months to earn his way heaven or be claimed by the devils.  The catch is Little Joe will remember none of this.

The devils plot to place every obstacle possible in Little Joe’s path from fast women like Georgia Brown [Horne] to fast cash and no-account friends.  Will Joe make it to the Cabin in the Sky?

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O.J.: Made in America (2016) / Z-View

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O.J.: Made in America (2016)

Director: Ezra Edelman

The Pitch: “The make a documentary like ‘Making a Murderer’ but with the most famous murder trial in American history!”

No Tagline.

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

An amazing documentary that explores in detail the trial of OJ Simpson for the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman as well as the history of the years leading up to the murders. And not just the history of OJ and Nicole, but also the United States – the evolution of civil liberties, the reputation of the LA police, the rise of O.J. Simpson’s celebrity as a sports and movie star and how these different factors came together to create a climate that gave us the OJ Simpson murder trial.

The documentary takes us past the criminal trial to the civil trial, OJ’s life following it and the subsequent activities and trial that cost OJ Simpson his freedom.

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