Category: Z-View

“Law of the Jungle” (1942) / Z-View

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Law of the Jungle (1942)

Director:  Jean Yarbrough

Screenplay:  George Bricker, Edmond Kelso (additional dialogue)

Stars:  Arline Judge, John ‘Dusty’ King, Mantan Moreland, Arthur O’Connell, Laurence Criner and Emil Van Horn

Tagline:  A Story to Thrill You and Chill You to the Rhythm of Jungle Tom-toms!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Enemy agents attempt to blackmail Nora Brooks (Judge) into transporting important papers out of Africa.  Brooks refuses instead running into the jungle.  There she meets explorer Larry Manson (King) and his assistant, Jeff Jones (Mantan).  With enemy agents leading hostile natives after them, Manson, Brooks and Jones have little chance for survival…

Not even Mantan Moreland’s comedy relief can save Law of the Jungle.

Law of the Jungle earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Harlem on the Prairie” (1937) Starring Herb Jeffries / Z-View

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Harlem on the Prairie (1937)

Director:  Sam Newfield, Jed Buell

Screenplay:  Fred Myton, F.E. Miller (additional dialogue)

Stars:  Herb Jeffries, F.E. Miller, Mantan Moreland, Consuelo Harris, Maceo Bruce Sheffield and Spencer Williams

Tagline:  KING OF THE JUKE BOX AND RADIO NOW SEEN IN FULL FEATURE!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Jeff Kincaid (Jeffries) is riding to the next town when he comes across Doc Clayburn’s (Williams) medicine show.  Kincaid joins them for dinner and a few songs.  Kincaid and Clayburn’s daughter, Connie (Harris) are obviously attracted to each other.  What no one knows is that outlaws have their eye on Clayburn.  Years ago, Clayburn ran with a group of bank robbers.  Clayburn was the only one who wasn’t killed and the outlaws want the gold he has hidden.  After some more songs and comedy from Crawfish (Miller) and Mistletoe (Moreland) things will come to gunplay when the outlaws attack.

Herb Jeffries was a popular singing radio star who decided to try acting.  Jeffries wanted to play a black singing cowboy leading man along the lines of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.  Harlem on the Prairie is played straight (with some comedic moments) just like a Rogers or Autry film.  Jeffries riding a beautiful white stallion makes a serviceable lead.  Spencer Williams has great facial expressions telling more of his story without a word.  Mantan Moreland and F.E. (Flournoy Eakin) Miller provide comedy relief.  If you’re a fan of singing cowboy films, then give Harlem on the Prairie a shot.

Harlem on the Prairie earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Black and Tan” Starring Duke Ellington and Fredi Washington / Z-View

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Black and Tan (1929)

Director:  Dudley Murphy

Screenplay:  Dudley Murphy

Stars: Duke Ellington and his Duke Ellington Orchestra, Fredi Washington, Edgar Connor, Alec Lovejoy and Arthur Whetsol

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Duke (Ellington) is an out of work jazz musician struggling to make ends meet.  When his girlfriend, Fredi (Washington) tells Duke that she’s scored them a job – her dancing and him with his orchestra, Duke reminds her that the doctor said she shouldn’t exert herself  because of her heart condition.  Despite the doctor’s warnings, Fredi is determined to perform since they need the money…

For a short, the film employs creative camera work.  We see many of the dances from the view of a mirrored floor.  As Fredi waits to perform and is feeling ill, we see the performers from her perspective.  Black and Tan was the film debut of both Duke Ellington and Fredi Washington.  Black and Tan was inducted to the National Film Registry in 2015.

Black and Tan earns 4 of 5 stars.

“The Ghost Talks” (1949) Starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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The Ghost Talks (1937)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay:  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard and Nancy Saunders

Tagline:  It’s Historical!  It’s Hysterical!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Larry, Shemp and Moe are movers hired to empty out a spooky old castle.  A suit of armor contains the ghost of Peeping Tom.  Tom tells the boys that 1,000 years ago he heard a commotion outside.  When he looked out the window he saw Lady Godiva making her famous ride.  Tom was hit in the face with a pie and his ghost trapped in the suit of armor.  Tom warns the Stooges that if they try to move the armor, bad luck with follow.  You guessed it, they try to move the armor and bad follows… they even are visited by Red Skeleton!

The Ghost Talks earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Dizzy Doctors” (1937) Starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Dizzy Doctors (1937)

Director:  Del Lord

Screenplay:  Al Ray from a story by Charlie Melson

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard and Bud Jamison

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Larry, Curly and Moe are told by their wives if they don’t get jobs, they will be getting divorces.  The boys find work as salesmen of a new potion called Brighto,  They mistakenly believe that Brighto is a polish.  In attempts to make sales they ruin customers, shoes, jackets and cars. When they learn that Brighto is actually a health aide, the Stooges go to a hospital.  Who needs a health aide more than folks in a hospital?  What could go wrong… other than Brighto is as good a health aide as it is a polish.  Wait, there’s more — the hospital Superintendent is one of the customers who had his car ruined by Brighto!

Dizzy Doctors earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Firestarter” (2022) / Z-View

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Firestarter (2022)

Director:  Keith Thomas

Screenplay:  Scott Teems based on Firestarter by Stephen King

Stars: Zac Efron, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Sydney Lemmon, Michael Greyeyes, Gloria Reuben, Kurtwood Smith and John Beasley

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Andy McGee (Efron), his wife Vicky (Lemmon) and their daughter Charlie (Armstrong) are living off the grid.  Andy and Vicky were part of an experimental drug test conducted by a secret government organization.  Andy gained telepathic powers, and Vicky developed telekinesis. Charlie was born with the ability to cause objects to burst into flame. Her ability is becoming more powerful and Charlie hasn’t yet learned to control it.  The organization is looking for them to take advantage of their powers.

When Charlie is bullied at school, she runs to the bathroom in an attempt to control the fire she feels coming.  Her rage at being picked on causes a flame burst that school officials think was a small explosion set off by Charlie.  This incident brings Charlie and her family to the attention of the secret government agency.  They send Rainbird (Greyeyes), to bring back the girl even if it means killing her parents.  Things are about to heat up…

Firestarter (2022) doesn’t hold a candle to the 1984 version.  Before Andy uses his telepathic powers he does an exaggerated neck crack which just comes off as silly.  Charlie is made less sympathetic when she accidentally unleashes her fire burst and roasts a cat.  We see the cat badly burned and then Charlie is told to put it out of it’s misery, so she lights the cat up again.  We hear a final cry from the cat.  Charlie accidentally sets her mom on fire and then later tells her dad, “I meant it to be you.”  The movie ends — big spoiler alert — with Charlie willingly going off with Rainbird, the man who brutally killed her mother, captured her father which lead to his death, and forced Charlie to kill many folks who worked for the organization.

Usually movies I watch all the way through earn at least a two star rating.  Sadly, Firestarter (2022) doesn’t.

Firestarter earns 1 of 5 stars.

“The Outfit” (2022) Starring Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Dylan O’Brien & Johnny Flynn / Z-View

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The Outfit (2022)

Director:  Graham Moore

Screenplay:  Graham Moore, Johnathan McClain

Stars:  Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Dylan O’Brien, Johnny Flynn, Simon Russell Beale, Alan Mehdizadeh, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Chiedu Agborh and Michael Addo. 

Tagline: Every Suspect Fits a Pattern

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

1956.  Chicago.  Leonard Burling (Rylance) is a gentleman cutter.  Some might call Burling a tailor, but they wouldn’t understand his craftmanship or the pride he takes in his work.  Burling’s shop is frequented by men who want tailored suits so they look their best.  What those customers don’t know is that in the back room is a drop box used by the Roy Boyle (Beale) gang to pass along dirty money and messages.

Burling keeps his nose out of who uses the drop box and what may go into it.  He just wants to make the finest suits possible.  All of that changes when Richie (O’Brien), Roy Boyle’s son and Francis (Flynn), Richie’s bodyguard, show up unexpectedly at the shop one evening.  Richie has a brief case and a bullet wound.  He was shot in a confrontation with members of the LaFontaine family. The brief case contains a tape recording that could bring down the Doyle family.

Richie is bleeding out.  Cops are everywhere.  The LaFontaines are still looking for them.  Richie will die unless something is done… and that tape needs to be hidden.  Burling is put in a position where helping or not helping could get him killed.  Richie’s dad and backup is on the way… but so are the cops and the LaFontaine gang.

The Outfit is easily one of the best films of the year.  Screenwriters Graham Moore and Johnathan McClain have crafted a story where every scene intensifies the action and takes the characters in a different direction with the same destination — people are going to die.   First time director (and co-screenwriter) Graham Moore has faith in the story and actors to let scenes go on without quick cuts.  Every actor does an outstanding job and rises to the level of the material given.

I cannot give The Outfit or the folks behind it enough praise.  I was surprised at the revelations that just kept coming and the twists that kept ratcheting up the stakes.  The Outfit is a movie I look forward to sharing and watching again.

The Outfit earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Scotched in Scotland” (1954) Starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Scotched in Scotland (1954)

Director:  Jules White, Edward Bernds (stock footage)

Screenplay:  Jack White, Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Philip Van Zandt, Christine McIntyre and Theodore Lorch

Tagline:  A MAN CAN GET KILT DOING THIS!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Larry, Shemp and Moe are in Scotland where they are hired by a rich man to guard his valuables while he is away from his spooky castle.  Little does the man know, but it is his hired staff who plan to rip him off!  The would-be thieves decide to scare the Stooges into leaving and hilarity follows.

Scotched in Scotland is a remake of The Three Stooges’ earlier short, The Hot Scots and uses quite a bit of footage from the earlier film.

Scotched in Scotland earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Spook Louder” (1943) Starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Spook Louder (1943)

Director:  Dell Lord

Screenplay:  Clyde Bruckman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Lew Kelly, Stanley Blystone  Theodore Lorch, Charles Middleton and Shirley Patterson

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Professor J.O. Dunkfeather (Kelly) tells the story of how spies trying to steal a death ray from an inventor were thwarted and how a mysterious pie thrower was involved.  Larry, Curly and Moe are door-to-door salesmen who get hired to housesit for a scientist who is going to Washington, DC, to test his death ray.  The boys are on edge since the scientist lives in a spooky mansion and they’re jumping at every sound.  However when criminals dressed in Halloween costumes show up to steal the death ray, things are taken to a whole new level.  Will the criminals get what they’re looking for?  Will the Stooges survive?  And WHO is throwing those pies?

Curly gets a lot of mileage out of a balloon with a face painted on it that gets attached to his backside!

Spook Louder earns 4 of 5 stars.

“War of the Dead” aka “Stone’s War” (2011) / Z-View

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War of the Dead aka Stone’s War (2011)

Director:  Marko Mäkilaakso

Screenplay:  Marko Mäkilaakso, Barr B. Potter

Stars: Andrew Tiernan

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

In 1941, during World War II, US Captain Martin Stone (Tiernan) is leading a squad of American and Finnish soldiers when they are attacked by the living dead.

I love a good zombie movie.  World War II and Nazi zombies provides a lot of potential.  Unfortunately War of the Dead just wasn’t for me.  Little character development, bad/shaky camera-work and poor special effects wore me down.  I made it about 30 minutes before tapping out.

War of the Dead earns 1 of 5 stars.

“We Want Our Mummy” (1939) Starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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We Want Our Mummy (1939)

Director:  Dell Lord

Screenplay:  Searle Kramer, Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Theodore Lorch and Robert B. Williams

Tagline:  Found – in a storm of laughs!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Larry, Curly and Moe are hired to go to Egypt to find the mummy of the famous King Rootin-Tootin.  A quick cab ride to Cario and the boys end up alone in the desert.  While Curly is swimming in a mirage, he accidentally discovers a series of tunnels that may lead to Rootin-Tootin’s mummy.  Although they think they’re alone some criminals are also looking for the mummy and the riches he left behind.  Soon enough it’s the Stooges vs the criminals as mayhem takes center stage.

This was the first Stooges short to use Three Blind Mice as the theme song.  Curly has the best lines:  “I can’t be a mummy, I’m a daddy…” “I got an uncle in Cairo, he’s a chiropractor…” are just two.

We Want Our Mummy earns 4 of 5 stars.

“The 13th Warrior” (1999) directed by John McTiernan & Michael Crichton, starring Antonio Banderas / Z-View

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The 13th Warrior (1999)

Director:  John McTiernan, Michael Crichton (reshoots)

Screenplay:  William Wisher, Jr., Warren Lewis based on Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Stars: Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Dennis Storhøi, Vladimir Kulich, Omar Sharif, Tony Curran, Clive Russell and Erick Avari

Tagline: Fear reigns.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan is a poet accustomed to a luxurious lifestyle until his affair with a rich man’s wife brings him unfavorable attention from the sultan.  Sent as ambassador to the Northland, Fahdlan encounters a band of Vikings.  During the evening celebration, a message arrives requesting the Vikings’ aide at a Northern Kingdom.  Inhuman beings are attacking and killing even their best warriors.  The things come at night with the mist and appear to be bear-men.

The Vikings ask their shawman to read the bones.  She says the Vikings will be successful if they send 13 warriors… but one must not be a Norseman!  Fahdlan is reluctantly recruited.

When the 13 warriors arrive, they discover that there are truly bear-men creatures coming with the mist. They kill and eat the men and women of the Kingdom.  As the village prepares for an attack, Fahdlan says to one of the Vikings, “But I am not a warrior.”  The Viking’s response: “Very soon you will be.”

Thoughts…

Michael Crichton, the author of the source novel, was the uncredited director of film reshoots.

John McTiernan was the director when the movie was originally titled Eaters of the Dead. Graeme Revell composed a complete original score for the film. Test screenings reviews were terrible.  Michael Crichton was brought in to reshape and shoot additional scenes. Revell’s  score was discarded. Jerry Goldsmith was brought in to create a new score for the film now titled The 13th Warrior.

I absolutely love The 13th Warrior.  It has a great blend of action/horror with just the right amount of comedic moments.

Banderas is perfect as the lover/poet who finds himself among Viking barbarians.  His disgust for them matches their disdain for him.  Yet, as they get to know each other a mutual respect forms.

The bear-men are terrifying.  There are so many great scenes in this film.  The tension mounts as Vikings die and the bear-men seem unbeatable.  And don’t get me started on how creepy their Queen is.

I’ve watched The 13th Warrior many times and look forward to more viewings.

One of the Viking ships used in The 13th Warrior is now part of a playground in the Norwegian pavilion at the  EPCOT in Orlando, Florida.,

The 13th Warrior earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Ambulance” (2022) Starring Jake Gyllenhaal & Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Directed by Michael Bay / Z-View

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Ambulance (2022)

Director:  Michael Bay

Screenplay:  Chris Fedak based on Ambulancen by Laurits Munch-Petersen, Lars Andreas Pedersen

Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González, Garret Dillahunt, Keir O’Donnell, Jackson White, Cedric Sanders, A. Martinez and Devan Chandler Long

Tagline: It was supposed to be a simple heist.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Will Sharpe (Abdul-Mateen II), a former marine, is at his wit’s end.  Bills are piling up, his wife needs expensive surgery, they have a new baby and he cannot find a job.  The VA is no help.  With nowhere else to turn, Will meets with his adoptive brother, Danny (Gyllenhaal).  Danny is a smooth-talking criminal that Will distanced himself from when he got married.

Hoping that Danny can provide a loan, Will is instead offered a spot on a huge bank heist Danny has planned for that very day.  Although Will repeatedly resists, Danny talks him into the heist saying that no one is going to get hurt and his cut will more than pay for his wife’s surgery — they’ll be set for life.  Of course the robbery goes sideways and a massive shootout occurs between Danny’s crew and a Special Unit of the LAPD.  Danny and Will make their getaway in a stolen ambulance with a paramedic named Cam (González) and a wounded cop.  With every cop in the city after them and helicopters in the air, Danny and Will want to escape to freedom… but what about the cop and the paramedic that can identify them?

Ambulance starts out well enough.  Jake Gyllenhaal is great as the fast-talking, arrogant criminal.  Yahya Abdul-Mateen II evokes the right amount of sympathy (at least at first) as the former vet struggling to make it. Garret Dillahunt, who is always good, doesn’t have a lot to do, but makes each scene better.  I also enjoyed A. Martinez popping up! Michael Bay is back with his trademark quick cuts and over-the-top action.  And it works… for a while.

Where it goes off the rails for me is that we’re supposed to sympathize with Will’s situation… and we do… at first.  He reluctantly goes along with the bank robbery for his wife and baby.  But when  he takes an active role as the driver of the ambulance and his reckless attempts to get away cause crash after crash, he becomes responsible for the many injuries and deaths he’s causing.  Also, the film runs over 2 hours and 15 minutes.  How many times do we see the ambulance boxed in, surrounded by police with police and television cameras following along… and they get away?  Too many for my taste.  I also thought the ending was a little too pat for my taste.

Ambulance earns 2 of 5 stars.

“The Last Victim” (2021) Starring Ali Larter, Ron Perlman & Ralph Ineson / Z-View

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The Last Victim (2021)

Director:  Naveen A. Chathapuram

Screenplay:  Ashley James Louis from a story by Doc Justin, Naveen A Chathapuram

Stars: Ron Perlman, Ali Larter, Tahmoh Penikett, Ralph Ineson, Kyle Schmid, Dakota Daulby and Camille Legg

Tagline: None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Jake (Ineson) taunts then kills a former member of his crew and a woman witness.  He loads the bodies in his truck.  Jake then hooks up with his two other crime partners to transport the bodies to a remote wilderness area.

Susan (Larter) and her husband are driving across country when they run into a closed road.  Rather than double back, they press on.  The pair decide to take a break in a beautiful area well off the beaten path.  Unfortunately they come across Jake and his crew burying bodies.  When Susan and her husband realize they’ve been seen, they take off running with the criminals in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile Sheriff Hickey (Perlman) is investigating the murder scene.  He’s puzzled by the lack of bodies, but does have a clue which was accidentally left behind.  As Jake and his crew continue their hunt, Sheriff Hickey continues his…

The Last Victim has one of the best opening scenes in recent memory.  It’s well written, well cast and well shot.  If the entire movie was made at that level The Last Victim would have rated an “A”.  The Last Victim’s opening scene sets the bar high and sadly the rest of the film doesn’t maintain that level.  Still, if you like crime films, then you should enjoy The Last Victim.  Ali Larter is believable as the woman who refuses to be a victim.  Ralph Ineson steals every scene he’s in.  He’s creepy, cocky and a great villain.  Ron Perlman is always good, even when he doesn’t get a lot to do.

The Last Victim earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Werewolf by Night” (2022) Directed by  Michael Giacchino / Z-View

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Werewolf by Night (2022)

Directors:  Michael Giacchino

Screenplay:  Heather Quinn, Peter Cameron

Stars:  Gael García Bernal, Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris, Kirk R. Thatcher, Eugenie Bondurant, Leonardo Nam, Daniel J. Watts, Carey Jones and David Silverman

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Five of the best monster hunters alive will participate in a contest to determine the leader of all monster hunters now that Ulysses Bloodstone has died.  The winner will gain the “leader” title, and also the power of the Bloodstone gem.  Surprisingly,  Elsa Bloodstone (Donnelly), Ulysses estranged daughter,  shows up to take part in the contest.  Elsa’s stepmother, Verussa (Harris) warns Elsa against participating, but Elsa refuses to stand down.  It is obvious that there is bad blood between them.

The hunters will all enter a maze to fight each other and a monster that has been set loose in the labyrinth. The hunter that kills the creature wins the contest.  Only Verussa knows the kind of monster that lurks in the maze, but not even she knows which of the hunters is hiding a secret!

Werewolf by Night is a love letter to the classic Universal monsters.  Hats off to director, Michael Giacchino who is best known as a music composer for television and feature films (with over 150 credits on his resume).  After his efforts on Werewolf by Night music may go to the back burner.  Giacchino has great instincts and knows how to create a film that hits, pardon the expression, all the right notes.  Werewolf by Night is moody, full of atmosphere, interesting characters and tension relieved with just the right amount of comedy.

Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron, the screenwriters, were smart to write a modern film with an old school feel.  The film is in black and white which adds to the experience that we’re watching a classic horror film.  The werewolf looks, moves and acts like a man-beast and not a man in a werewolf costume.  I loved Werewolf by Night.  It seems like everyone does.  Werewolf by Night currently has a 7.6/10 rating on IMDb; Rotten Tomatoes shows a rating of 92% with reviewers and 94% with audiences.  As for me…

Werewolf by Night earns 5 of 5 stars.