Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
The Covenant looks like a winner.
A bond. A pledge. A commitment. Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim star in Guy Ritchie’s #TheCovenant. Watch the official trailer now and see the film only in theaters April.
Directed By: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim
Written By: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies
Bill Sienkiewicz gives us a riff on Marv and Nancy from Frank Miller’s Sin City.
Source: Simply Sienkiewicz.
Jack Hawkins at /Film ranked his favorite John Wayne films. It got me thinking about how I’d rate the Duke’s best. So without further jibber-jabber, here’s how thinks shook out.
|
Hawkins |
Zablo |
| 10. The Cowboys | 10. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance |
| 9. Stagecoach | 9. The Shootist |
| 8. Fort Apache | 8. Red River |
| 7. The Longest Day | 7. 3 Godfathers |
| 6. El Dorado | 6. Rio Bravo |
| 5. Baby Face | 5. Hondo |
| 4. Hatari! | 4. True Grit |
| 3. True Grit | 3. The Cowboys |
| 2. The Shootist | 2. Stagecoach |
| 1. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | 1. The Searchers |
Last Looks (2021)
Director: Tim Kirkby
Screenplay: Howard Michael Gould based on this novel Last Looks
Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Mel Gibson, Lucy Fry, Clancy Brown, Robin Givens, CC Castillo, Method Man, Dominic Monaghan, Paul Ben-Victor and Josh McDermitt
Tagline: This city is a bad place to be a good guy.
The Plot…
Charlie Waldo (Hunnam) is an ex-cop who has withdrawn from society. He lives a quiet life in a trailer outside the city. All of that changes when he is convinced to look into the murder of a Alastair Pinch’s wife. Pinch (Gibson) is a an arrogant, alcoholic, but extremely popular tv star. Pinch is also the prime suspect in his wife’s murder. He claims he was blackout drunk when she was killed.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Last Looks has a great cast with Gibson and Hunnam leading the way. Although Hunnam gets top billing, Gibson steals the show with his take on Alastair Pinch. It’s fun to see see Clancy Brown, Dominic Monagham and Josh McDermitt show up as well.
Last Looks has the feel of a quirky detective show from the 1970s or 80s. You know the shows where the “guest star” gets the flashy part and there’s plenty of interesting characters along the way. I enjoyed Last Looks and could see it producing a sequel if the box office would support it.
Last Looks earns 4 of 5 stars.
Merry Mavericks (1951)
Director: Edward Bernds
Screenplay: Edward Bernds
Stars: Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Emil Sitka, Al Thompson and Blackie Whiteford
Tagline: Meet The Three Stooges as up-and-coming… always leave-’em-laughing con-men in the wild and woolly west!
The Plot…
The boys are kicked out of a frontier town as vagrants. When they arrive at the next town, our guys are mistaken for gunfighters who’ve come to clean up the place. What could go wrong?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Merry Mavericks finds the Stooges in the old west PLUS we get a haunted house!
Merry Mavericks earns 5 of 5 stars.
A new Mike Hammer yarn, Dig Two Graves is coming from Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins! Here’s the lowdown…
Mike Hammer, the iconic PI created by the master of noir Mickey Spillane, takes on the mob in the first of two gripping final novels for the deadly private eye.
Winter 1969. After a hit-and-run accident nearly kills her mother, Velda learns her father is not who she thought he is. Seeking to uncover her true heritage, Velda and Mike Hammer travel to sunny Dreamland Park, where retired law enforcement officers keep an eye on notorious criminals held under the Witness Protection Act.
Just as Velda and Mike’s search leads to a dead end, a brutal attempt on their lives and a missing fortune in mob money leads them to a deadly midnight confrontation in a cemetery where secrets are buried and open graves await.
Tulsa King: Season 1 (2022 – 2023)
Teleplay by: Taylor Sheridan and Terence Winter (episode 1); Terence Winter & Joseph Riccobene (episodes 2, 7); Regina Corrado (episode 3); Dave Flebotte (episodes 4, 6); Joseph Riccobene (episode 5), Terence Winter & Tom Sierchio (episode 8), Terence Winter (9)
Directed by: Allen Coulter (episodes 1, 2); Ben Richardson (episode 3); Ben Semanoff (episodes 4,5); Guy Ferland (episodes 6,7); Lodge Kerrigan (episodes 8,9)
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Andrea Savage, Martin Starr, Jay Will, Max Casella, Domenick Lombardozzi, Vincent Piazza, A.C. Peterson, Garrett Hedlund, Dana Delany, Chris Caldovino, Ritchie Coster, Tatiana Zappardino, McKenna Quigley Harrington, Scarlet Rose Stallone, John Cenatiempo and Joseph Riccobene
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
After serving a 25 year prison sentence, Dwight “The General” Manfredi (Stallone) believes he will be rewarded by the Invernizzi crime family. Manfredi could have talked to the Feds for a lighter sentence, but he stood the full load. When Manfredi meets with Pete Invernizzi, the Don of their family, Manfredi learns that he’s being exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Manfredi will be expected to earn money for the Invernizzis, but will be far enough away, he won’t have the influence he once held. Although Pete and Dwight were once good friends, Pete’s son, Chickie, has always been jealous of their relationship. Dwight knows that Chickie now makes most of the family decisions due to Pete’s illness. What Dwight doesn’t know is that Chickie wants him dead.
After 25 years in the joint, it’s a new world for Dwight. And Tulsa isn’t New York City. Still, Dwight begins to build a crew and put deals together. Soon enough Dwight finds himself in a relationship with an ATF agent (Savage), at odds with a deadly motorcycle gang, brought to the attention of the FBI and in the crosshairs of Chickie Invernizzi.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Sylvester Stallone is perfectly cast as Dwight Manfredi. That should be no surprise since Tulsa King series creator, Tyler Sheridan, built it around Stallone. Plus Stallone has been welcomed to tweak dialogue and Manfredi’s character to better suit his personality.
The writing is first rate. Tulsa King is populated by memorable characters. We learn more about them as the series continues but it never feels like exposition. They writers create scenes that feel natural with twists that are surprising.
The casting is superb. Without a doubt, Stallone is the perfect star for this series. Stallone is supported by an amazing cast. Every single actor/actress no matter how small their role is spot on. Standouts include Andrea Savage, Jay Will; Dominic Lombardozzi, Garrett Hedlund, Ritchie Coster and Tatiana Zappardino.
I cannot wait for Tulsa King: Season 2.
Tulsa King: Season 1 (2022 – 2023) earns 5 of 5 stars.
Shot in the Frontier (1954)
Director: Jules White
Screenplay: Felix Adler
Stars: Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Diana Darrin, Kenneth MacDonald, Mort Mills and Emil Sitka
Tagline: Hey! Here’s hilarious horseplay!
The Plot…
Our guys are cowboys in the wild west. Immediately after getting hitched, they guys learn that the dastardly Noonan brothers are coming to kill them and steal their wives. The boys can run or fight. They decide to run, but they’re too late! Now Shemp, Larry and Moe was go gun to gun and toe to toe with the Noonan brothers. What could go wrong?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Shot in the Frontier uses sets from the classic western High Noon!
Shot in the Frontier earns 4 of 5 stars.
What would you call a book with stories by Lawrence Block, S.A. Cosby, Joe R. Lansdale, David Morrell and 13 others? Must Buy? It is actually called Playing Games. Here’s the lowdown…
WIN, LOSE, OR DIE.
Whether it’s child’s play or for the highest stakes, whether we stick to the rules or cheat, we all play games — for fun, for thrills, for love or money, to prove we’re the best or make an opponent knuckle under. And the games we play, with cards or dice or nothing but our wits, reveal something deeply personal about the players.
In this powerful new anthology, Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Lawrence Block has assembled an all-star team for the ultimate game night. Sit down at the checkerboard with S.A. Cosby, assemble jigsaw puzzles with David Morrell, or play marbles for the fate of the world with Joe R. Lansdale. In Jeffery Deaver’s hands, an innocent game of Candyland takes twists the Parker Brothers could never have imagined. Science-fiction grandmaster Robert Silverberg uncovers painful truths about destiny while betting on the turtle races in a Caribbean resort. And Lawrence Block himself out-Hitchcocks Hitchcock with his classic story of murder victims swapped by strangers on a handball court.
From hide-and-seek to Russian roulette, from mahjong to Mouse Trap, it’s a game lover’s dream — but beware: your turn is coming, and while winning isn’t everything, sometimes losing can be deadly…
And here’s the starred review from Publishers Weekly:
One of the most impressive of the 17 crime stories involving games in this stellar anthology from MWA Grand Master Block (In Sunlight or in Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper) is Block’s own “Strangers on a Handball Court.” It riffs on Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, as the title suggests, and provides a wholly fair plot with a gut-wrenching surprise. Even knowing that multiple twists are coming doesn’t negate their impact in Jeffery Deaver’s devious “The Babysitter,” which opens with a classic trope: the innocent everyperson who stumbles on a deadly secret. When the charges of 17-year-old Kelli Lambert get bored playing Candy Land, Kelli’s search for another board game leads her into peril after the parents of the kids she’s watching suspect she’s spotted their secret plans to torch a casino so they can establish their own casino. David Morrell shines with the subtle and creepy “The Puzzle Master,” in which a couple become addicted to jigsaw puzzles by a particular artist, only to find potentially ominous clues linking disparate bucolic scenes. The wide range of stories and games in them begs for a sequel.
I like the concept of The Company You Keep. The poster and trailer ain’t bad either. I’ll give it a shot.
A night of passion leads to love between con man Charlie and undercover CIA officer Emma, who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the “family business” so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in hand – forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences. The series is based on the Korean Broadcasting System series entitled “My Fellow Citizens.”
“The Company You Keep” stars Milo Ventimiglia as Charlie, Catherine Haena Kim as Emma, William Fichtner as Leo, Tim Chiou as David, Freda Foh Shen as Grace, James Saito as Joseph, Sarah Wayne Callies as Birdie, Felisha Terrell as Daphne and Polly Draper as Fran.
Jurassic World: Dominion (2022)
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Screenplay by: Emily Carmichael, Colin Trevorrow from a story by Derek Connolly, Colin Trevorrow based on characters created by Michael Crichton
Stars: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, DeWanda Wise, Mamoudou Athie, Isabella Sermon, Campbell Scott, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Daniella Pineda and Scott Haze
Tagline: The epic conclusion of the Jurassic era.
The Plot…
It’s four years after the events of the last Jurassic Park sequel. Dr. Ellie Sattler (Dern) is trying to determine a way to stop genetically enhanced locusts from destroying crops around the world. Alan Grant (Neil) is studying dinosaur fossils. Owen Grady (Pratt) and Claire Deering (Howard) are raising Maisie Lockwood (Sermon) and their “pet” raptor. Meanwhile Ian Malcolm (Goldblum) is the guest on a billionaire’s dinosaur island that — you know what, let me cut to the chase. All the stars are going to end up together battling dinosaurs as they attempt to thwart a billionaire’s evil plans.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Dinosaurs are cool. Dinosaurs in a modern world are even cooler. It’s great that all the past stars of the Jurassic Park films return for this one. There are some excellent scenes with dinosaurs chasing / attacking people, but we know that our stars are going to survive.
Part of the problem with Jurassic World: Dominion is the writing. Any time a dinosaur is about to attack (and it doesn’t matter if it’s a raptor or a t-rex), raise your right hand in front of you and your left hand away from your side. This stops them in their tracks.
Characters who should know better, do stupid things. You’re walking across thin ice and it begins to crack. Instead of flattening out, moving away from the person next to you and sliding across the ice, you look at the other person next to you and both begin to run. When the group is moving through the jungle, you have the ones with weapons talking to each other behind the group and the weakest leading. I could go on, but why? We get plenty of dinosaur action and that’s the selling point.
Jurassic World: Dominion earns 3 of 5 stars.
Rockin’ Thru The Rockies (1940)
Director: Jules White
Screenplay: Clyde Buckman
Stars: Curly Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Dorothy Comingore, Dick Curtis and Cy Schindell
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
The boys are frontier guides taking a female acting troupe through Indian territory. The chief of a local tribe has given them a deadline to be out of the area (with an emphasis on DEAD). Time is running out. What could go wrong?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Rockin’ Thru The Rockies gives Curly a lot of solo screen time! There’s also an fun gag with Curly and Moe ice fishing in different holes. They both catch a big fish at the same time. You can guess the rest!
Rockin’ Thru The Rockies earns 4 of 5 stars.
Cindy Williams, best known as Shirley Feeney who first appeared on Happy Days, and then in the popular television series Laverne & Shirley, died on January 25, 2023. Today her family announced Ms. Williams passing after a short illness. She was 75.
Cindy Williams wrote and acted in high school. She attended Los Angles Community College as a theater major. After graduation Ms. Williams began getting roles in commercials. In 1970, Cindy Williams won roles in both a feature film and two television series. She would continue to get work in both television and feature films for the rest of her career.
Some of Cindy Williams’ television appearances include: My World and Welcome to It; Nanny and the Professor; Room 222 (3 episodes); Love American Style (2 episodes); Hawaii 5-0; Cannon; Police Story; Laugh-In (2 episodes); Happy Days (5 episodes); Laverne & Shirley (158 episodes); CHiPs (2 episodes); Laverne & Shirley in the Army (13 episodes); Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour; The Magical World of Disney (2 episodes); Just Like Family (5 episodes); Perry Mason: The Case of the Poison Pen; Normal Life (13 episodes); Getting By (31 episodes); Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; Touched by an Angel; Strip Mall (6 episodes); For Your Love (4 episodes); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; Girlfriends (2 episodes) and Drive (3 episodes).
Some of Cindy Williams’ feature film appearances include: Drive, He Said; Beware! The Blob; American Graffiti; The Conversation; The First Nudie Musical and More American Graffiti.
Although Cindy Williams played Shirley Feeney on Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley (and other places), her career encompassed so much more. She appeared in so many popular television series before and after getting that role. Jack Nicholson directed her in Drive, He Said. She had a featured role in the classic American Graffiti. The same could be said for Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation. While I wasn’t a Laverne & Shirley fan, Cindy Williams always seemed the anchor of it when I watched.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Cindy Williams’ family, friends and fans.
I like the poster and trailer for Viking Wolf. Since it will be on Netflix, watching will be a no-brainer. Deal me in.
17-year-old Thale must move with her parents to a small town when her mother gets a job at the local police department. After a student is brutally murdered at a party that Thale attends, she suddenly becomes a key witness. Who, or rather what, was the killer?
Lisa Loring, best known as Wednesday on The Addams Family, died on January 28, 2023. Ms. Loring suffered a massive stroke four days earlier and had been on life support.
Lisa Loring began her career as a child model at the age of three. She appeared on an episode of Dr. Kildare in 1964. This was the same year that The Addams Family premiered. The series ran for two years. Following that Lisa Loring occasionally worked on television and in feature films.
Some of Lisa Loring’s television appearances include: Dr. Kildare; The Addams Family (64 episodes); The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.; Halloween with the New Addams Family; Fantasy Island; Barnaby Jones (2 episodes) and As the World Turns (7 episodes).
Some of Lisa Loring’s feature film appearances include: Blood Frenzy; Savage Harbor and Doctor Spine.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lisa Loring’s family, friends and fans.
