Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Is That Black Enough for You? – The poster and trailer are here. Netflix continues to kill it with documentaries. I’m looking forward to this one.
How did one decade change American cinema – and culture – forever? Elvis Mitchell explores the history of Black representation and the cultural impact of witnessing unapologetic Blackness. #IsThatBlackEnoughForYou
Stand by Me (1986)
Directors: Rob Reiner
Screenplay: Bruce A. Evans, Raynold Gideon based on The Body by Stephen King
Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko, Gary Riley, Bradley Gregg, Marshall Bell, Frances Lee McCain, Bruce Kirby, Richard Dreyfuss and John Cusack
Tagline: For some, it’s the last real taste of innocence, and the first real taste of life. But for everyone, it’s the time that memories are made of.
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
It’s Labor Day Weekend 1959 and four young friends learn the location of the dead body of a missing boy. Telling their parents that they’re going to a sleepover, the boys plan to secretly walk the 20 or 30 miles to “find” the body and then notify the police. They believe they’ll be seen as heroes. What they don’t know is that a group of older thugish boys have the same plan…
Stand by Me is lighting in a bottle — a great adapted screenplay with the right director and a perfect cast. There’s an old saying, “It’s not the destination, but the journey.” Stand by Me is proof of that pearl of wisdom. As the boys travel to see the body, we learn about their lives through emotional incidents of drama, comedy, fear and tension. Stand by Me should resonate with the 12 year old in all of us. It’s a classic.
Stand by Me earns 5 of 5 stars.
The Lair, based on the the trailer below just jumped on my must-see list! Deal me in!
THE LAIR In Theaters, On Demand, and Digital October 28th, 2022
Starring Charlotte Kirk, Jonathan Howard, Jamie Bamber
Directed by Neil Marshall
When Royal Air Force pilot Lt. Kate Sinclair is shot down over Afghanistan, she finds refuge in an abandoned underground bunker where deadly man-made biological weapons – half human, half alien – are awakened.
Run Sweetheart Run is a twist on The Most Dangerous Game (and most regular readers know I love that story!). I like the poster and trailer. Deal me in!
Run Sweetheart Run arrives on Prime Video October 28, 2022.
Eric Beetner’s new book, There and Back, has been announced for a November 1, 2022 release. Here’s the lowdown…
A WILDERNESS RETREAT GONE WRONG.
When a junior executive retreat at a tech company ends in horror, only five of the eight who went out come back. As the survivors try to adjust to life back home, they also grapple with a powerful secret. What really happened out there can never see the light of day.
Told in alternating timelines, the harrowing events of those weeks in the woods come to life. And while it’s clear that returning to life as they knew it will be impossible, these survivors of tragedy begin to suspect that they might not make it much longer.
Is it true what they say… Does the truth really set you free?
Eric Beetner is required reading. Pre-orders are available now.
There and Back Paperback
There and Back Kindle
Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 (2022)
Directors: Ron Underwood (Ep. 1);Michael E. Satrazemis (Eps. 2 – 5);Haifaa al-Mansour (Ep. 4); Deborah Kampmeier (Ep.6)
Writers: Maya Goldsmith & Ben Sokolowski (Ep.1);Kari Drake (Ep.2); Channing Powell (Eps.3, 5); Ahmadu Garba (Ep. 4); Lindsey Villarreal (Ep.6)
Stars: Anthony Edwards, Parker Posey, Terry Crews, Danny Ramirez, Olivia Munn, Poppy Liu, Lauren Glazier, Kevin L. Johnson and Embeth Davidtz
Tagline: None.
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
Tales of the Walking Dead is an anthology series that takes place in the world of The Walking Dead. Each episode is a self-contained story with no continuing characters. This series sometimes ventures into different horror subgenres (time-loop, a haunted house/witch, etc.) which is refreshing. I enjoyed all the episodes, but even if you find one lacking, the next is something different.
My favorites were:
1. “Evie / Joe” starring Olivia Munn and Terry Crews
4 “Amy / Dr. Everett” starring Poppy Liu and Anthony Edwards
5 “Davon” starring Jessie T. Usher
I hope we get a season 2.
Tales of the Walking Dead, Season 1 earns 4 of 5 stars.
King for a Day (1934)
Director: Roy Mack
Writer: A. Dorian Otvos, Eddie Moran
Stars: Bill Robinson, Ernest Whitman and Limehouse Brown
Tagline: None.
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
Bill Green (Robinson) is a talented tap dancer, but Mr. Brown (Whitman) won’t give him an audition. Green comes up with a plan when he learns that Brown loves to play craps. It’s a gamble that could make him King for a Day.
King for a Day is a short that has comedy, dancing, and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.
King for a Day earns 4 of 5 stars.
I like the poster and trailer for The System starring Tyrese Gibson, the always good Terrence Howard, Jeremy Piven and Lil Yachty.
When a young soldier (Tyrese Gibson), newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison to investigate what is really going on behind the scenes. When he discovers an underground prisoner fighting ring, the warden forces him to compete. In order to win his freedom, he must fight to stay alive as well as take down the warden’s corrupt system.
CAST: Tyrese Gibson, Terrence Howard, Jeremy Piven, Lil Yachty
DIRECTOR: Dallas Jackson
WRITER: Dallas Jackson
RUNTIME: 97 Minutes
RATING: R for violence, language throughout and some drug material.
A Gasoline Wedding (1918)
Director: Alfred J. Goulding
Writer: H.M. Walker
Stars: Harold Lloyd, ‘Snub’ Pollard and Bebe Daniels
Tagline: None
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
Harold and a rich man’s daughter are in love and wish to be married, but her father wants her to marry Angus McCheapskate. A plan is in place and it’s a race to the preacher where there will be two weddings!
A Gasoline Wedding is a Harold Lloyd short.
A Gasoline Wedding earns 2 of 5 stars.
The Emancipation trailer is here. If Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith can catch lightning in a bottle again, we’re in for a great movie.
An enslaved man embarks on a perilous journey to reunite with his family in this powerful film inspired by a true story. https://apple.co/_Emancipation
Emancipation, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Will Smith, premieres in theaters December 2, streaming on Apple TV+ December 9.
Spite Marriage (1929)
Director: Edward Sedgwick, Buster Keaton (uncredited)
Writers: Robert Hopkins (titles), Story by Lew Lipton, Ernest Pagano
Stars: Buster Keaton, Dorothy Sebastian and Leila Hyams
Tagline: Try and Stop Laughing at Buster!
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
When the man that actress Tribly Drew (Sebastian) loves becomes engaged to another, she agrees to marry Elmer Edgemont (Keaton) out of spite. Tribley believes that Elmer is a millionaire because he attends every showing of her play and he’s always well dressed. What she learns is that Elmer is a drycleaner who borrows the clothes and spends his pay on play tickets. Will the rebound marriage work out or will Elmer be taken to the cleaners?
Spite Marriage contains excellent examples of Keaton’s physical prowess at stunts, especially those on a moving sailboat. It also contains Keaton’s famous act of trying to get his drunk wife into bed. Keaton had hoped that Spite Marriage would be his first talkie, but instead it became his last silent film.
Spite Marriage earns 3 of 5 stars.
House of Dracula (1945)
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Screenplay: Edward T. Lowe Jr. from a story by Dwight V. Babcock, George Bricker
Stars: Lon Chaney Jr. , John Carradine, Onslow Stevens, Martha O’Driscoll, Lionel Atwill, Glenn Strange and
Skelton Knaggs
Tagline: Frankenstein’s Monster … Wolf Man … Dracula … Mad Doctor … Hunchback
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
Dracula (Carradine) shows up at Dr. Franz Edelmann’s (Stevens) castle and asks Edelmann to cure him from being a vampire. Edelmann agrees to try. Soon after, Lawrence Talbot comes knocking. Talbot wants the doctor to cure him from being a werewolf. What are the odds? As the commercials say, but wait, there’s more! As the doctor works to cure both Dracula and Talbot, he discovers the Frankenstein monster in mud under his castle!
Doctor Edelmann is using his own blood for the transfusions with Dracula and this is causing the doctor to experience symptoms of vampirism. Soon enough we have Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, the mad doctor and his hunchback assistant creating havoc! Having the top three classic Universal monsters in the same film is every kid’s dream!
John Carradine isn’t my favorite choice for Dracula, but why nitpick when we also get Wolfman and Frankenstein? Lon Chaney Jr. as Lawrence Talbot isn’t as whiney as normal and that’s a good thing. Glenn Strange makes a fine Frankenstein. While House of Dracula isn’t a classic, the kid in you will enjoy it!
House of Dracula earns 3 of 5 stars.
I’m a sucker for a good zombie movie. Among the Living looks like it could fit the bill. Deal me in.
Stranded in the countryside in the aftermath of a deadly outbreak, older brother Harry fights to protect his younger sister, Lily, while he desperately searches to find refuge with their father. Harry and Lily are determined to survive their journey as they strive to avoid an infected population with a thirst for blood as well as the greater threat of other survivors.
Here we have the final trailer for Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. I’m looking forward to this!
Guillermo del Toro – the master of horror – presents a collection of unprecedented and genre-defining stories that will challenge our traditional notions of horror.
Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities is an anthology of sinister stories, told by some of today’s most revered horror creators – including the directors of The Babadook, Splice, Mandy, and many more.
Unlock Your Fears with Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities
Stars at Noon is another nice looking trailer based on a book. I want to see this one!
From acclaimed filmmaker Claire Denis and starring Margaret Qualley and Joe Alyn. Based on the novel ’The Stars at Noon’ by Denis Johnson. STARS AT NOON – In Theaters October 14. #StarsAtNoon
RELEASE DATE: In Theaters October 14 & on Hulu October 28
DIRECTOR: Claire Denis
CAST: Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, Danny Ramirez, Benny Safdie, and John C. Reilly
