Category: Z-View

“Booty and the Beast” (1953) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Booty and the Beast (1953)

Director:  Jules White

Writer: Jack White,  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Kenneth MacDonald, Heinie Conklin, Vernon Dent, Dudley Dickerson, Sam Lufkin, Blackie Whiteford and Curly Howard.

Tagline:  Bellows! Boffos! And Belly-Laffs!

The Plot…

Our guys are suckered in to helping a crook break into a house and steal money from a safe.  When the crook makes a getaway, our boys follow him on to a train.  They plan to get the money back.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The first half of this short is new with the second part on the train using footage from 1947’s Stooges short, Hold That Lion.  While the recycled footage isn’t great news, the fact that Curly’s cameo is in it is.

Booty and the Beast (1953) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Risen” (2021) / Z-View

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Risen (2021)

Director:  Eddie Arya

Writer: Eddie Arya

Stars: Nicole Schalmo

Tagline:  “We’re at the edge of a mass extinction”

The Plot…

When a meteor strikes near a small town, toxic gas is released and people begin dropping dead.  A containment perimeter is set up.  The government calls in Lauren Stone, an astrobiologist to assist with the study of the meteor impact zone.  When some of the dead bodies reanimate it becomes clear we have a problem.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Risen starts off well enough.  A meteor impacts near a remote house, almost destroying it.  We are left to wonder if the family inside survives.  The movie then jumps about 20 years into the future.  One of the children who survived the meteor blast is now an astrobiologist.  She struggles with terrible memories of the meteor strike.

Then it happens again.  Another meteor strikes near a remote town.  The astrobiologist is called in to assist.  This isn’t a bad set-up.  The problem is Risen moves so slowly.  I kept thinking it would get better after the dead re-animated.  I was wrong.  I finally tapped out at 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Risen (2021) rates 1 of 5 stars.

“The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot” (2018) starring Sam Elliott / Z-View

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The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot (2018)

Director:  Robert D. Krzykowski

Writer: Robert D. Krzykowski

Stars: Sam Elliott, Rocco Gioffre, Aidan Turner and Larry Miller

Tagline: An American myth

The Plot…

The year is 1987.  Calvin Barr (Elliott), an old man who lives alone with his dog, spends a his days (and nights) thinking about the past.  The woman he loved and lost.  The war.  How one impacted the other.  During World War II Barr was recruited for a secret special ops mission.  He was sent behind enemy lines to kill Adolph Hitler.  Although the mission was a success, the truth was never revealed.  Now Barr is a bitter man haunted by the past.

One evening two government agents, one from Canada and the other from the US, come to Barr’s home.  A strange virus in Canada is killing people and animals.  The source of the virus is, believe it or not, Bigfoot.  Unless the virus can be eradicated the Earth’s entire population will be wiped out.  Barr is one of the few people who is immune to the virus.  That and he’s a seasoned tracker/killer make him perfect for the mission.  To kill Bigfoot.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

You might think that a movie about killing Hitler and Bigfoot would be an action fest.  It is more of a slow burn character study.  The good news is Sam Elliott is playing the character.

The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot (2018) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Crime on Their Hands” (1948) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Crime on Their Hands (1948)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer:  Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Kenneth MacDonald, Christine McIntyre, Heinie Conklin, Ray Corrigan, Cy Schindell and Blackie Whiteford

Tagline: The Stooges’ funniest monkey business!

The Plot…

Our guys are janitors at a newspaper.  They dream of being hotshot reporters.  When they get a tip the whereabouts of the stolen and priceless Punjab diamond, they decide to follow-up.  The lead takes them to a hotspot for tough-guy criminals and a pet gorilla.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Stooges trying to play it like they are tough guys is funny!

Any time you put a gorilla in a Stooges short, you have a winner.

When a woman says, “Any halfwit can see I’m telling the truth.”  Shemp responds, “Yeah, I can see you’re tellin’ the truth.”

Crime on Their Hands (1948) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“The Night Agent”: Season 1 (2023) starring Gabriel Basso & Luciane Buchanan / Z-View

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The Night Agent: Season 1 (2023)

Teleplay by: Shawn Ryan (ep. 1 & 2); Munis Rashid & Shawn Ryan (ep. 3); Seth Fisher (ep. 4 & 10); Corey Deshon (ep. 5); Imogen Browder (ep. 6); Tiffany Shaw Ho (ep. 7); Rachel Wolf (ep. 8); Munis Rashid (ep. 9)

Directed by: Seth Gordon (ep. 1 & 2); Guy Ferland (ep. 3 & 5); Ramaa Mosley (ep. 4 & 6); Adam Arkin (ep. 7 & 8); Millicent Shelton (ep. 9 & 10)

Stars: Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Sarah Desjardins, Eve Harlow, Phoenix Raei, Enrique Murciano, D.B. Woodside, Hong Chau, Christopher Shyer, Kari Matchett, Jessie Liang, Andres Collantes, Philip Prajoux, Greyston Holt, Robert Patrick, Tim Kelleher and Paolina van Kleef

Tagline:  Heroes Aren’t Born. They Answer the Call.

The Plot…

After FBI Agent Peter Sutherland (Basso) thwarts a terrorist bombing, he is offered a low-level position in the White House.  Sutherland is given the 8pm – 4am shift manning a phone that never rings.  The phone is a last-ditch safety line for agents in trouble.  The job is tedious and boring.  The phone never rings.

Until one night it does.

Rose Larkin (Buchanan) is a civilian who says she was given the number by her Aunt and Uncle after someone broke into their house.  She escaped to a neighbor’s place, but someone is coming after her.  She thinks her Aunt and Uncle may have been murdered.

With that call Peter Sutherland finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy.  Nothing is what it seems.  Someone in the White House could be planning the murder of the President.  In way over his head, Sutherland doesn’t know who to trust as the conspiracy grows and his superiors begin to distrust him.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I loved The Night Agent.  It’s fast moving, full of action, plays with the troupes of the genre, has twists, likeable leads, and unlikable (but interesting) villains.

Gabriel Basso and Luciane Buchanan are the leads.  They have chemistry but don’t (as you might expect) immediately fall for each other.  I liked that Buchanan wasn’t just a damsel in distress.  Both Basso and Buchanan get many opportunities to display their prowess with action scenes.

The Night Agent is well cast.  Supporting the leads are Robert Patrick, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Sarah Desjardins, Eve Harlow, Phoenix Raei and D.B. Woodside.  They’re all perfect for their roles. There are two additional actresses stole that deserve special mention.  Eve Harlow and Hong Chau owned every scene that they were in.

Part of the fun of The Night Agent is trying to figure out who is behind the conspiracy and why. If you’re a fan of 24, Reacher, Jack Ryan and the like, then this one is for you.

The Night Agent: Season 1 (2023) earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Baby Sitters Jitters” (1951) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Baby Sitters Jitters (1951)

Director:  Jules White

Writer:  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard

Tagline: Howl at the Stooges as Baby-Sitters!

The Plot…

When the Stooges get behind in their rent they agree to become babysitters.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Baby Sitters Jitters is one of the weakest of the Stooges outings.  It’s not terrible, just not one of their best.

Baby Sitters Jitters (1951) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Prospect” (2018) starring Sophie Thatcher & Pedro Pascal / Z-View

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Prospect (2018)

Director:  Zeek Earl, Chris Caldwell

Writer: Zeek Earl, Chris Caldwell

Stars: Sophie Thatcher, Jay Duplass, Pedro Pascal and Anwan Glover

Tagline: No One Survives Alone

The Plot…

Damon (Duplass) and his teenage daughter, Cree (Thatcher) are prospectors who’ve just landed on a remote planet full of danger. The atmosphere is toxic.  There are rival prospectors who will kill them for their goods.  They are on a strict timeline to return to the transport ship that will get them home.  To make matters worse, their pod was damaged during the landing.

On the way to their dig, Damon and Cree find an abandoned mine. Damon works an area and comes up with a fleshy substance.  He carefully dissects it to reveal a valuable gem worth more than enough to get Damon and Cree home.  Cree begs her father for them to take the gem and leave.  She’s worried that they will be delayed and miss the transport.  Damon refuses. They will continue to the main dig aka the “Queen’s Lair”.  He believes that it contains unimaginable riches.

As they head out, Damon takes the lead with Cree trailing behind.  Suddenly Damon is stopped by two men holding weapons.  They plan to rob him.  Cree is out of sight as her father suggests that the men join him in mining the Queen’s Lair.  One of the prospectors, Ezra (Pascal) agrees.  The other remains silent.  Damon sees Cree with her weapon drawn.  When she comes into full view, Damon grabs Ezra’s weapon.

With the tables turned, Damon decides to rob the two men.  Suddenly the silent one shoots Damon who in turn returns fire killing the man.  As her father lies dying, Ezra shoots and kills him.  Cree turns and runs back to the pod .  Unable to get the it ready to launch, Cree finds herself trapped inside when Ezra shows up.  He suggests that they work together to escape from the hostile planet  and other mercenaries who would kill them on sight.

With no option but to trust her father’s killer, she allows him into the pod.  The clock is ticking and the transport ship won’t wait.  Cree and Ezra head out into the wilderness…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I’d never seen Sophie Thatcher before.  She more than holds her own.  Pedro Pascal is excellent.  They are the heart and soul of the film.

Zeek Earl and  Chris Caldwell, the writers/directors of Prospect came up with very cool ideas.  The remote, toxic planet, the young girl and her father’s killer who must team up, the mercenaries and other strange characters that they meet along the way as well as the deadline to get back to the transport ship looms.  All of these things play out in the movie.  I just wish that each concept was better developed.

Prospect (2018) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“A Snitch in Time” (1950) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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A Snitch in Time (1950)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer:  Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Jean Willes, John Merton, Henry Kulky and Emil Sitka

Tagline: None

The Plot…

When wealthy Mr. Goodrich (Sitka) receives a note from a serial killer saying Goodrich will be his next victim, he hires our boys to guard him.  When our guys arrive they are greeted by Goodrich’s niece who says her uncle is missing.  Little do Larry, Moe and Shemp know, but the niece and her two accomplices are behind this!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Who Done It? is one of my favorite Shemp shorts.  It contains the mansion with hidden panels, a scary looking monster/creep and the hijinks that come when our boys are running for their lives from room to room.

Moe sprained his ankle crashing through a door and so in scenes where he’s limping, the limp is real!

Who Done It? (1949) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“The Belko Experiment” (2016) written by James Gunn / Z-View

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The Belko Experiment (2016)

Director:  Greg McLean

Writer: James Gunn

Stars: John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, John C. McGinley, Sean Gunn, David Dastmalchian, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker,   and Abraham Benrubi.

Tagline: This Is Not A Drill

The Plot…

Belko Industries is situated in a remote building on the outskirts of Bogotá, Colombia. It hires people from all over the world to work for them.  On for the first day of work an implant is placed in the base of a new employee’s neck in case something happens to them.

One day when Mike (Gallagher) arrives at work, he notices a new squad of security guards telling the Bogotá staff to go home.  Mike thinks little of it and checks in.  A short time later a voice comes over the intercom.  It instructs everyone to stop and listen.  They are told that unless two employees are killed within 30 minutes, more will die. Suddenly steel shutters come down on all windows and doors sealing everyone in the building.

Reactions vary, but most believe it to be a terrible prank.  When 30 minutes pass and no one is killed the voice returns to the intercom.  It announces since the group did not comply, instead of two people dying, four will.  Four employees are killed when the implants in their heads detonate.  The voice then says that unless thirty employees are dead within two hours sixty will die.

All hell breaks loose.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

James Gunn of The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker fame wrote the screenplay with the intention of directing it.  When the film was ready for production, Gunn was going through a divorce and passed on directing.  Still, several actors who regularly appear in Gunn’s films were cast including Sean Gunn (his brother), Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry and Stephen Blackehart.

I loved the concept, but felt that we didn’t get to know any of the characters.  I would have preferred to care/know more about who lived and died with less emphasis on gore.

The Belko Experiment (2016) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Who Done It?” (1949) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Who Done It? (1949)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer:  Edward Bernds

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

Tagline: None

The Plot…

When wealthy Mr. Goodrich (Sitka) receives a note from a serial killer saying Goodrich will be his next victim, he hires our boys to guard him.  When our guys arrive they are greeted by Goodrich’s niece who says her uncle is missing.  Little do Larry, Moe and Shemp know, but the niece and her two accomplices are behind this!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Who Done It? is one of my favorite Shemp shorts.  It contains the mansion with hidden panels, a scary looking monster/creep and the hijinks that come when our boys are running for their lives from room to room.

Moe sprained his ankle crashing through a door and so in scenes where he’s limping, the limp is real!

Who Done It? (1949) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Watcher” (2022) starring Maika Monroe / Z-View

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Watcher (2022)

Director:  Chloe Okuno

Writer: Chloe Okuno based on the screenplay by Zack Ford

Stars: Maika Monroe, Karl Glusman, Burn Gorman

Tagline:  Evil Wants to be Seen.

The Plot…

Julia (Monroe) and Francis (Glusman) are newlyweds. They’ve just moved to Bucharest, Romania for Francis’ job,  While Francis is at work, Julia is alone.  She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t able to speak the language.  When Julia sees a man in the apartment across the street constantly staring into her apartment, it begins to creep her out.  Then she notices a man following her.  Julia tells her husband but he thinks it’s just her nerves.

When Julia learns that a serial killer known as The Spider is torturing and beheading women in Bucharest, she is sure that the killer is planning for her to be his next victim.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Maika Monroe is very good in this role.  I look forward to seeing more of her in the future.

Chloe Okuno adapted Zack Ford’s screenplay.  Ford had originally set the story in Brooklyn.  It was a smart move to change the location to Bucharest.  It made Julia even more isolated and increased the probability that her nerves were playing tricks on her.

Burn Gorman was excellent as the creepy neighbor.

Watcher is a slow burn.  The ending plays with the viewer.  Overall there’s a Hitchcock feel to the film and that’s never a bad thing.

Watcher (2022) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Sock-a-Bye Baby” (1942) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Sock-a-Bye Baby (1942)

Director:  Jules White

Writer:  Clyde Bruckman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Vernon Dent, Bud Jamison and Dudley Dickerson

Tagline: None

The Plot…

A crying woman leaves a baby on the boys’ doorstep.  So our boys decide to raise the child.  Later Larry sees an article about a kidnapped infant.  When the woman returns with police to retrieve her baby, our guys mistakenly believe the cops think that they’re kidnappers.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The title, Sock-a-Bye Baby, was first used in a Popeye cartoon!

Pearl Harbor had recently been bombed by the Japanese when this short was made. Curly sings a tune where he says, “What am I sayin’? Poo on the Japanese.”

Sock-a-Bye Baby (1942) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Bill Russell: Legend” (2023) / Z-View

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Bill Russell: Legend (2023)

Director:  Sam Pollard

Stars: Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Satch Sanders, Bill Walton, Jeannine Russell, Jalen Rose, Karen Russell, Lawrence O’Donnell, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Stephen Curry, Bill Bradley, Shaquille O’Neal, Earl Monroe  and Chris Paul.

Tagline:  He Changed More Than the Game

The Plot…

Bill Russell: Legend explores Russell’s life on and off the basketball court. Archival news reports as well as interviews with Bill Russell, his contemporaries, current athletes and sportswriters round out this two part series.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Bill Russell is considered by many the greatest basketball player of all time.  He made every team he played on the best. Bill Russell led his high school team to two California State High School Championships.  In college his team won two back-to-back NCAA titles.  As an Olympian, the U.S. basketball team won a Gold Medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. When he went into the NBA his team, the Boston Celtics won 11 championships in his thirteen-year career. The last two were won with Bill Russell playing and serving as the coach!  “He has more NBA championship rings than he has fingers.”

Off the court Bill Russell was a man concerned with civil rights and world events.  He was a proud man that felt that the things he did off the court were more important.  I am not the biggest basketball fan in the world, but I give Bill Russell: Legend my highest recommendation.

Bill Russell: Legend (2023) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Three Missing Links” (1938) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Three Missing Links (1938)

Director:  Jules White

Writer:  Searle Kramer

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Ray Corrigan and Dudley Dickerson

Tagline: None

The Plot…

The boys are janitors at a movie studio when they are discovered!  Curly is perfect to star in the studio’s next feature.  He’ll play the missing link.  Larry and Moe will get parts.  They head to a jungle for location filming.  There they have run-ins with a cannibal/medicine man who sells “love candy”, a lion and a gorilla.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Three Missing Links (1938) is the first Stooges short to be directed by Jules White.  White would go on to produce and/or direct over 130 of the Stooges 190 shorts.

It’s a funny twist that Curly eats the “love candy” and becomes enamored with the gorilla to the point that the gorilla is frightened and runs away.

Three Missing Links (1938) rates 5 of 5 stars.

 “Spiral: From the Book of Saw” (2021) starring Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson & Max Minghella / Z-View

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 Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021)

Director:  Darren Lynn Bousman

Writer: Josh Stolberg, Peter Goldfinger

Stars: Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, Richard Zeppieri, Ali Johnson, Edie Inksetter, Nazneen Contractor and Chad Camilleri.

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

When an off-duty cop is found murdered in a subway, clues indicate the killer is a fan of Jigsaw, the deceased serial killer.  Jigsaw would trap, incapacitate his victims and then kill them using elaborate methods causing pain and disfigurement.  Detective Zeke Banks (Rock) and rookie Detective William Schenk (Minghella) are assigned to the case.

As Banks and Schenk follow leads, more cops are found murdered by Spiral.  Each murder strikes closer to Banks’ circle of fellow officers,,, and now Banks’ father is missing.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I was a fan of the original Saw.  The sequels that I watched (I haven’t seen them all) put more emphasis on gory, bizarre methods of murder.  I realize that is part of the appeal of these movies, but I prefer to see the set-up and let my imagination do the rest.  I was hoping that Spiral would be more of a serial killer mystery with less emphasis on gore.

There’s a twist at the end that for my money works.

Darren Lynn Bousman directed Saw sequels 2, 3 and 4.  I liked the choices he made in Spiral (well, except for some of the torture scenes),

Chris Rock impressed me in Fargo and I enjoyed him here.  Samuel L. Jackson elevates any movie.  I’d never seen anything with Max Minghella before.  He does an excellent job, especially in the film’s final set piece.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw (2021) rates 3 of 5 stars.