Category: Z-View

“Jeepers Creepers: Reborn” (2022) / Z-View

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Jeepers Creepers: Reborn (2022)

Director:  Timo Vuorensola

Writer:  Sean-Michael Argo

Stars: Sydney Craven, Imran Adams, Jarreau Benjamin, Georgia Goodman and Dee Wallace

Tagline: Death gives it life.

The Plot…

Laine (Craven) and her boyfriend Chase (Adams) are heading to the Horror Hound festival held outdoors in a remote wooded area.  The festival is for fans of famous monsters, killers and all things horror.  Chase is a believer in the paranormal.  What they don’t know is an urban legend known as The Creeper is about to return.  Every 23 years for 23 days, the creature comes alive.  It then hunts and eats people.   The Creeper has it’s sights set on the Horror Hound festival.  Especially Laine.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I liked the original Jeepers Creepers.  I thought Jeepers Creepers 2 was even better. Jeepers Creepers 3 was just okay. I went into Jeepers Creepers: Reborn hoping for some scary fun.  Sadly, Jeepers Creepers: Reborn was worse than JC3.

Jeepers Creepers: Reborn is set at a Horror festival and sadly the Creeper looks like a bad cosplay.  If you don’t get the Creeper right in a Jeepers Creepers film, it’s just not going to work.  I make it through most movies, but I gave up on this one.  I just didn’t care about the characters and the Creeper just wasn’t as frightening as it should have been.

Jeepers Creepers: Reborn earns 1 of 5 stars.

“Duel” (1971) directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Dennis Weaver / Z-View

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Duel (1971)

Director:  Steven Spielberg

Writer:  Richard Matheson

Stars: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Gene Dynarski, Lucille Benson, Tim Herbert, Charles Seel, Shirley O’Hara and Carey Loftin.

Tagline: A duel is about to begin between a man, a truck, and an open road. Where a simple battle of wits is now a matter of life and death.

The Plot…

David Mann (Weaver), a salesman, is having a bad day.  He had an argument with his wife and she’s still ticked.  He has another stop to make before heading home and it’s a long drive both ways.  Mann’s day is about to get a lot worse when on a remote section of road an old tanker truck is creeping along.  Mann finally gets a chance to pass and does.  Almost immediately the tanker takes the lead back and then quickly slows down.  As Mann tries to pass again, the trucker tries to force him off the road. The trucker makes it clear he plans to kill Mann.  Miles out on a deserted road, what chance does Mann have?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Duel was the tv movie that put Steven Spielberg on the map.  He had directed a some television episodes (Marcus Welby, Night Gallery, The Name of the Game, The Psychiatrist, Columbo and Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law) prior to helming Duel.  The response to Spielberg’s tv movie was so good that Spielberg was brought back to shoot additional scenes to bring the film to feature length.  Duel was given a release in Europe, Australia and even a limited US release.

Richard Matheson provides the screenplay based on his short story of the same name.  Matheson’s resume contains so many winners and Duel is on that list.

Dennis Weaver does an excellent job of acting especially since he’s often the only person on screen.  It’s interesting to note the number of other performers who actually appear in the film because it’s Weaver and the trucker from hell that we remember.

I watched Duel when it premiered.  I was spending the night at my grandparents.  My grandpa and I watched together. (We both liked it a lot.)

Duel earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Corny Casanovas” (1952) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Corny Casanovas (1952)

Director:  Jules White

Writer:  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard and Connie Cezon.

Tagline: None

The Plot…

The boys decide to clean up their house (with their usual brand of success) just hours before they are all to be married. Once their house is tidy, they will all head off to get hitched to their future brides.  Surprisingly none of our guys have seen the others’ fiancés.  What they don’t know, but will soon learn is they are all expecting to marry the same woman!  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Surprisingly, Shemp and Larry give Moe the business more than they get it from him in this one!

Corny Casanovas earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Listen, Judge” (1952) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Listen, Judge (1952)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer:  Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Kitty McHugh, Vernon Dent, Emil Sitka, John Hamilton and Gil Perkins.

Tagline: They’re very long on laughs as very short-order cooks!

The Plot…

The boys are door-to-door repairmen hired to fix a doorbell.  When our guys cause such a commotion that the chef and his staff leave, the Stooges are hired to cook and serve at a high class dinner party.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Listen, Judge was the first Stooges short released after Curly’s death.  The film borrows from three previous Stooges outings: A Plumbing We Will Go (the courtroom chicken scene); They Stooge to Conga (the whole doorbell repair sequence) and An Ache in Every Stake (the food preparation scene).

Shemp having a chicken escape from his suit jacket immediately after a judge finds the boys not guilty of being chicken thieves due to a lack of evidence is hilarious.

Listen Judge earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Some More of Samoa” (1941) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Some More of Samoa (1941)

Director:  Del Lord

Writer:  Elwood Ullman, Harry Edwards

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Symona Boniface and Dudley Dickerson

Tagline: Gales of laughter in the South Seas!

The Plot…

The boys head to the remote tropical island of Rhum-Boogie in search of a rare tree.  On the island they are captured by cannibals.  Our guys are going to on the menu unless Curly agrees to marry the Chief’s ugly daughter.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

At one point Larry and Moe do a short Amos ‘n Andy bit.

Some More of Samoa earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Grips, Grunts and Groans” (1937) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Grips, Grunts and Groans (1937)

Director:  Jack White

Writer:  Clyde Bruckman from a story by Searle Kramer, Herman Boxer

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys become friends with Ivan Bustoff, a professional wrestling champion.  Bustoff has a match that evening, but spends the day drinking/carousing with our guys.  A local mobster has placed a big bet on Bustoff and if he’s unable to wrestle or loses, it’ll be the death of the Stooges. So when Bustoff is unable to compete, Larry and Moe disguise Curly as the champ.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

In Grips, Grunts and Groans when Curly smells Wild Hyacinth perfume, it makes him go crazy. (Much like in Horses’ Collars when the sight of a mouse sets him off.)  They could have made more shorts just of our guys going out drinking with Bustoff – think of the misadventures they could have had!

Grips, Grunts and Groans earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Men in Black” (1934) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Men in Black (1934)

Director:  Ray McCarey

Writer:  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Phyllis Crane, Charles Dorety, Billy Gilbert  and Bud Jamison

Tagline: A TONIC for the “BLUES”!

The Plot…

The boys are recent graduates (because they’d been there too long) from a medical school sent to work at a hospital.  There our guys respond to a variety of calls with the type of success/zaniness you’d expect.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Men in Black was the third Three Stooges short and the only one to ever be nominated for an Academy Award. (It was nominated for Best Short Subject – Comedy. If only it had won.  Can you imagine future ads proclaiming The Stooges as Academy Award Winners?)

Curly forgot a line and adlibbed his famous “Woo-woo-woo” which would go on to become one of his trademark phrases.  Men in Black also contains many bits that would often turn up in Stooges shorts – the boys going into a quick huddle; breaking a plate glass door window repeatedly as they run through/by; pulling objects (bicycles, a horse, a go-cart) out of a closet that are obviously too big to fit, etc.

Men in Black earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988) / Z-View

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Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

Director:  Stephen Chiodo

Writer:  Charles Chiodo, Stephen Chiodo

Stars: Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Vernon, Royal Dano and Christopher Titus

Tagline: Alien bozos with an appetite for close encounters

The Plot…

When a couple discover an ship of hostile aliens has landed on the outskirts of a small town, no one believes it. That’s because the ship looks like a big top and the aliens resemble clowns!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Killer Klowns from Outer Space has become a cult classic thanks to video, dvd and television showings.  It probably works best with a rowdy crowd in the mood for low-budget silliness.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space earns 2 of 5 stars.

“The Woman King” (2022) starring Viola Davis / Z-View

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The Woman King (2022)

Director:  Gina Prince-Bythewood

Writer:  Dana Stevens from a story by Maria Bello, Dana Stevens

Stars:  Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, John Boyega and Angélique Kidjo

Tagline: Inspired by true events.

The Plot…

Nanisca (Davis), leads an army of women warriors.  She also has the ear of Dahomey’s King Ghezo (Boyega) as he prepares for a potential war with the Oyo.  As Nanisca trains a new group of warriors, she also encourages King Ghezo to get out of the lucrative slave trade business with the Porteguese.

When Nanisca and a group of her warriors free women abducted by the Oyo, it is the spark needed to set the war in motion.  The Oyo outnumber the Dahomey and as the tension escalates, the new warriors will have to be ready for the battles to come.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Woman King is extremely well done.  It was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards (Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role – Viola Davis); won the American Film Institutes Movie of the Year award; was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture: Drama – Viola Davis; nominated for 5 Hollywood Critics Association awards: Best Action Film, Best Director, Best Cast Ensemble, Best Actress (Viola Davis), Best Picture to name just a few of the honors The Woman King has earned.

Viola Davis is convincing as a woman who could lead woman and battle men.  Her women warriors went through rigorous training to get in shape for months prior to filming and it paid off on screen.

The Woman King earns 4 of 5 stars.

“The Scarlet Clue” (1945) starring Sidney Toler & Mantan Moreland / Z-View

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The Scarlet Clue (1945)

Director:  Phil Rosen

Writer:  George Callahan based on the character by Earl Derr Biggers

Stars:  Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Ben Carter, Benson Fong, Virginia Brissac, Robert Homans and Leonard Mudie

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Charlie Chan (Toler), aided by his valet Birmingham (Moreland) and his son Tommy (Fong) are working for the US Government tracking down spies trying to steal radar secrets.  The trail leads to a radio station where one of the many suspects is murdered… with no visible cause for the death!  As Charlie gets closer to solving the murder, the more at risk he, his son and Birmingham become!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Scarlet Clue features a murder that’s pretty shocking for a Charlie Chan film made in 1945.

Mantan Moreland and Ben Carter recreate two of their nightclub acts for the film. The more screen time a movie gives Mantan, the better the film will be.

At one point Charlie, his son and Birmingham are learning about the dangers of some of the radio station equipment.  In the scene it appears that Sidney Toler was actually shocked!

The Scarlet Clue earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Stone Age Romeos” (1955) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Stone Age Romeos (1955)

Director:  Jules White

Writer:  Felix Adler, Zion Myers

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard and Emil Sitka 

Tagline:  Sanity takes to the hills, as The Three Stooges achieve new heights of buffoonery!

The Plot…

The boys have a plan to collect a $50,000 prize by proving that cavemen still live in the deepest unexplored jungles.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Stone Age Romeos is an adaptation of the Stooges short I’m a Monkey’s Uncle from 1948.  A new opening and closing was filmed with the middle using ample footage from the earlier film.

Stone Age Romeos earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Gypped in the Penthouse” (1955) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Gypped in the Penthouse (1955)

Director:  Jules White

Writer:  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Jean Wiles, Emil Sitka and Al Thompson

Tagline: Goofs vs. gold-digger!

The Plot…

The boys are all in love with the same gold-digger.  She’s playing each of them, and they are unaware of her other suitors.  But they’re about to find out.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Although Larry and Shemp are members of The Woman Hater’s Club, this 1955 short is not a remake of the Stooges 1934 outing Woman Haters.

In the scene where Moe is thrown out of bed he can clearly be seen hitting his head on the nightstand.  This wasn’t in the script.

Loco Boy Makes Good earns 4 of 5 stars.

“No Holds Barred” (1952) starring The Bowery Boys / Z-View

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No Holds Barred (1952)

Director:  William Beaudine

Writer:  Tim Ryan, Bert Lawrence, Jack Crutcher

Stars: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Marjorie Reynolds, Bernard Gorcey, Henry Kulky, David Gorcey, Benny Bartlett, Sandra Gould, Tim Ryan, Murray Alper and Ray Walker

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

When Slip (Gorcey) discovers that Sach (Hall) has different body parts that feel no pain and give him super-strength, he turns Sach into a professional wrestler.  Although the super-strength body part changes from time to time, they are able to take advantage of this.  Sach is winning all his matches and this draws the attention of a crooked manager and the former champ.  Soon Sach will have to face manager’s wrestler in the ring… what could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

No Holds Barred is a fun Bowery Boys outing.  The outfit Sach wears in his final match is actually Klaatu’s  (Michael Rennie) spacesuit from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).

Each time the power would move to a different body part (head, elbow, toes, etc.) Slip would change Sach’s wrestling moniker.  When the power moved to the last body part Slip started to give Sach a new wrestling name, but Sach breaks the fourth wall and says, “You say it and we’re out of pictures!”

No Holds Barred earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954) starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams & Richard Denning / Z-View

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Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

Director:  Jack Arnold

Writer:  Harry Essex, Arthur Ross from a story by Maurice Zimm

Stars: Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, Whit Bissell, Ricou Browning, Ben Chapman, Perry Lopez and Rodd Redwing

Tagline: Not since the beginning of time has the world beheld terror like this!

The Plot…

When a huge fossilized hand containing webbed fingers/claws is found on the banks of the Amazon, an expedition is formed to look for the rest of the skeleton.  The mission consists of Dr. Carl Maia (Moreno), Dr. David Reed (Carlson), David’s girlfriend Kay Lawrence (Adams) and Dr. Edwin Thompson (Bissell).  They are piloted by Captain Lucas on his small steamer into the depths of the Amazon.

Far out of contact with civilization, in an area known as the Black Lagoon, the group discovers a living gill-man. When they attempt to capture the creature, they learn it is strong, smart and now hunting them.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Creature from the Black Lagoon is one of Universal’s Classic Monsters.  I’ve watched this film as many times as any other horror movie.  It never loses its effectiveness.

Jack (The Incredible Shrinking Man) Arnold helms another horror classic.  He’s smart to allow the audience to see the creature’s huge webbed claw a couple of times before we see the full gill-man.  Richard Carlson and Richard Denning are at home in science fiction/horror films.  Has there ever been a prettier female lead in a horror film than Julie Adams?  Kudos to  Henry Mancini (!), Hans J. Salter and Herman Stein for the music.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Kiss the Blood Off My Hands” (1948) starring Burt Lancaster & Joan Fontaine / Z-View

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Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)

Director:  Norman Foster

Writer:  Leonardo Bercovici (screenplay),Walter Bernstein, Ben Maddow (adaptation), Hugh Gray (dialogue), Philip MacDonald (uncredited) based on the novel Kiss the Blood Off My Hands by Gerald Butler

Stars: Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, Robert Newton, Jay Novello and Reginald Sheffield

Tagline: “A Hunted Man! A Love-Haunted Woman! Caught! With Every Kiss More Reckless, More Dangerous Than the Last”

The Plot…

Bill Saunders (Lancaster) is a former POW suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. He’s on the run for accidentally killing a man.  In order to escape the police, Bill enters a window. Jane Wharton (Fontaine) wakes to find a stranger in her room.  Jane believes Bill that the man’s death was an accident.

Bill and Jane slowly develop a relationship.  All is going well until, Harry Carter (Newton) a local hood, recognizes Bill from the fight that killed a man.  Carter says he will go to the police unless Bill helps him with a planned robbery.  Bill wants no part of the deal, but knows if he goes to jail he’ll lose Jane.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands was ahead of it’s time in the portrayal of PTSD.  Yet, the love affair and ending of the film is right out of the 40s.

Kiss the Blood Off My Hands earns 3 of 5 stars.