Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Today we have a poster and two trailers for Twist. I think the poster is okay. The US trailer is first with the UK following. I like both trailers but give the nod to the US version. I’m a fan of parkour, it’s good to see Michael Caine and Lena Headey. I’ll check out Twist at some point.
I was extremely happy to read that Shelton Drum, the man behind Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find and HeroesCon, announced that there would be a Giant-Size Charlotte Mini-Con on November 6th and 7th. Here’s the lowdown:
Coming to the Charlotte Convention Center:
Saturday, November 6: 10AM-6PM and Sunday, November 7: 10AM-4PM.
This show will feature 80,000 Sq Ft of the BEST COMIC BOOK DEALERS in the country, as well as a curated Artist Alley hosting some of the industry’s greatest!
This event will be a Comic-Book Collector’s DREAM!! A room FILLED with comic books from every generation of the medium!
This show is a “GIANT-SIZE” version of our long-running CHARLOTTE MINI-CON, and we will not be hosting panels or additional programming during this event. We will return with incredible panels and additional programming for the 40th Anniversary Heroes Convention, returning next June 2022.
The GIANT-SIZE CHARLOTTE MINI-CON is all about the COMIC-BOOKS! We hope you will join us for this GIANT-SIZE “old-school” Comic-Convention!
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TICKETS:
There are TWO TICKET OPTIONS for the Giant-Size Charlotte Mini-Con:$10.00* – SATURDAY (includes BONUS SUNDAY admission!)
$5.00* – SUNDAY ONLY
KIDS 18 & UNDER = FREE (must register for ticket)
*Tickets are non-refundable
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ATTENTION HEROESCON 2020 & 2021 TICKET HOLDERS!!
If you purchased a ticket for the 2020 or 2021 Heroes Convention before April of 2021, your HeroesCon ticket will automatically get you into both days of the GIANT-SIZE CHARLOTTE MINI-CON as an extra added bonus! You will NOT need to purchase an additional ticket for the Giant-Size Charlotte Mini-Con, this event is included with your existing HeroesCon 2022 ticket!We appreciate your continued support over the past year and hope that you will come out and enjoy this exciting bonus event!
It is awesome that Shelton is giving free admission to those of us who had purchased tickets to HeroesCon 2020 or 2021 since those shows had to be cancelled due to Covid.
I’m looking forward to the GIANT-SIZE CHARLOTTE MINI-CON. It will be great to see old friends and meet new ones.
Below we have the final trailer for The Tomorrow War. At the very least The Tomorrow War should be a fun couple of hours. I’m looking forward to it!
THE TOMORROW WAR premieres July 2, 2021 globally on Prime Video
In The TOMORROW WAR, the world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.
Directed by Chris McKay
Written by Zach Dean
Produced by David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Jules Daly, David Goyer, Adam Kolbrenner
Executive Produced by Rob Cowan, Chris Pratt, Brian Oliver, Bradley J. Fischer
Starring Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge, Jasmine Mathews, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Keith Powers
George Marston at GamesRadar posted his choices for 1970 – 1979: Each Year’s Best Marvel Character’s Debut. Comparing his choices to mine looks like this:
|
Year |
Marston |
Zablo |
Other Options |
1970 |
Valkyrie |
Conan the Barbarian: How could any of these characters be picked over Conan? He seemed the obvious choice to me and by a wide margin. | Agatha Harkness, Howard Stark, Red Wolf, Kull the Conqueror |
| 1971 |
Man-Thing |
Morbius the Living Vampire: was my choice but Man-Thing would be in my 2nd slot for 1971. | Mockingbird, Doc Samson, |
| 1972 |
Luke Cage |
Luke Cage: We agreed on this choice. That first issue blew me away. I’d have gone with Werewolf by Night in my 2nd slot. | Werewolf by Night, Adam Warlock, Dracula, Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), Night Nurse, Shuma-Gorath, Tigra, Shanna the She-Devil |
| 1973 | Howard the Duck | Shang-Chi: started good and got better when Moench and Gulacy arrived. (And don’t discount the Moench & Mike Zeck run!) | Moondragon, Drax the Destroyer, Thanos, Mantis, Blade, Brother Voodoo (Doctor Voodoo), Daimon Hellstrom, Killmonger |
| 1974 | Wolverine | Wolverine: The obvious choice and we both agree. I’d put the Punisher in my 2nd slot. | Jackal, Punisher, Iron Fist, Deathlok, Colleen Wing |
| 1975 | Storm | Misty Knight: This was a tough choice for me. I like the Misty Knight character just a tad more and feel she has even greater potential to become a major player. | Korvac, Jamie Madrox (Multiple Man), Colossus, Krakoa, Nightcrawler, Gamora, Moon Knight, Moira MacTaggert |
| 1976 | Rocket Raccoon | Star-Lord: would be my pick in a tough year without any real standouts. I almost went with Nova so he’d get my 2nd slot. | Hellcat, Bullseye, Jack of Hearts, Black Tom Cassidy, Union Jack, Nova (Richard Rider), Captain Britain, Eternals |
| 1977 |
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) |
Sabretooth: gets my vote. | Arnim Zola, Corsair, Machine Man, Godzilla King of the Monsters, Deathbird, Gladiator (Kallark), Henry Peter Gyrich |
| 1978 |
Mystique |
Ben Urich: A non-superpowered character gets my top slot for 1978. | Arcade, Paladin, Quasar (Wendell Vaughn), Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur, H.E.R.B.I.E. |
| 1979 |
Northstar |
Ant-Man (Scott Lang): easily gets my top spot for 1979. My 2nd slot would go to James Rhodes. | Shadow King, Justin Hammer, Cassandra Lang, Black Cat, Rom the Spaceknight, James Rhodes |
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If you’re old enough to remember Burger Chef restaurants, you probably miss them. I used to be surprised at how much love the fast food joints had built up with those that ate there. The first Burger Chef opened in 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana. By their peak year in 1973, there were over 1,000 locations throughout the US and Canada. Less than 15 years later the last Burger Chef closed.
The fine folks at MeTV posted 10 Reasons We Really Miss Burger Chef Restaurants. Before you click over, here are thoughts on three of my favorites…
The Works Bar. Burger Chef was the first to come up with the idea of a works bar. It contained all the items you could want for your sandwich – lettuce, pickles, onion, tomato, as well as condiments. This allowed customers to customize to perfection. We had customers who would come in, order a sandwich and drink then would go to the works bar and make a salad using the items for sandwiches.
Star Wars Posters. Burger Chef was ahead of the other fast food joints when they began including Star Wars posters with the purchase of a meal. If you don’t know my Mike Kott/Burger Chef/Star Wars posters story, it’s worth a click over.
The Big Shef (and Fun Meals). The Big Shef was Burger Chef’s signature sandwich. It was basically a Big Mac without sesame seeds, pickles, onions or special sauce (Thousand Island dressing). What was their true claim to fame were Fun Meals. geared towards kids. Each Funmeal came with a sandwich, small fries, small drink and a toy! Five years later McDonalds started serving Happy Meals using the same concept.
I worked at Burger Chef for a couple of years while in college. Those were fun times. Yeah, I miss Burger Chef restaurants.
Ned Beatty, 83, passed away in sleep this morning from natural causes. Mr. Beatty who was equally adept in both comedic and dramatic roles, alternated between feature films and television roles making whatever production he was in better.
Ned Beatty began his career in John Boorman’s highly regarded adaptation of James Dickey’s novel Deliverance starring Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight and Ronny Cox. Mr. Beatty then went on to have a career in feature films and television that lasted over 40 years and packed his resume with 166 acting credits. He was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his role in Network.
Ned Beatty was one of this character actors who was good in any role he took on and that kept him in demand. Mr. Beatty’s feature film highlights include six films with Burt Reynolds, Superman and Superman II with Christopher Reeve, as well as Nashville, Network, 1941 and Back to School. His television credits include: Gunsmoke. The Execution of Private Slovik, MASH, Hawaii 5-0, The Rockford Files and so many more.
Ned Beatty was always a welcome addition whenever he appeared on screen. The enormity of his resume would make any actor proud. What a career!
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ned Beatty’s family, friends and fans.
I’m always on the look out for a great crime story whether it is a novel, movie, graphic novel or comic book. Originally written as a novel by William Christopher Baer, Kiss Me, Judas came to my attention thanks to a Kickstarter for the graphic novel adaptation by Baer and artist Jefferson Costa.
Check out the synopsis and a couple of pages of art from the book below. Who knows, maybe you’ll want to jump on board the Kiss Me, Judas Kickstarter. I did.
Matthew Jackson, at Mental Floss, posted his list of The 30 Greatest Action Movies of All-Time. I took Jackson’s list and compiled my top ten (using just choices from his 30 greatest). Here are how things shook out. (Jackson’s list is by year and mine is alphabetical — they’re all great action movies.)
|
Jackson |
Zablo |
1. THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953) |
1. DIE HARD (1988) |
2. SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) |
2. ENTER THE DRAGON (1973) |
3. GOLDFINGER (1964) |
3. FIRST BLOOD (1982) |
4. SHAFT (1971) |
4. JOHN WICK (2014) |
5. ENTER THE DRAGON (1973) |
5. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015) |
6. THE DRIVER (1978) |
6. THE MATRIX (1999) |
7. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) |
7. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT (2018)
|
8. FIRST BLOOD (1982) |
8. POINT BREAK (1991) |
9. ROBOCOP (1987) |
9. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) |
10. DIE HARD (1988) |
10.TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY(1991) |
There are 4 in his top 30 that I haven’t seen: THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953); DRUNKEN MASTER II (1994), BATTLE ROYALE (2000) and THE VILLAINESS (2017).
There are two on his list that I saw and didn’t like much at all: CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000) and ONG-BAK: THE THAI WARRIOR (2003).
Here are some movies that didn’t make Jackson’s list but would have made mine: Predator; Casino Royale, Atomic Blonde; Aliens; and Army of the Dead. (And those are just off the top of my head!)
An artist called 12sketches created the faux Columbo comic book cover. He/she even created the distressed look, the logo and the comic box with the price and Comics Code Authority approval. Well done, 12sketches!
If you’d like to see faux covers for Matlock and X-Files plus more 12sketches art, you can by clicking here.
If you think that Chris Barnes’ Rocky cast painting is impressive, wait until you click on it and see it biggie-sized. As Mickey Goldmill would say, “It’s a ‘ting of beauty.”
You can see more of Chris Barnes’ art if you follow his Twitter or go to his website.
Today we have two posters and a trailer for Vampir. I like both posters quite a bit. It’s not often we get art on a film poster. Both have an old school horror feel to them.
The Vampir trailer also has an old school horror feel to it. I have a feeling that this will be a love or hate it type film. I’ll give it a shot.
I like the simplicity of this No Sudden Move poster.
I love these Snyder Film School insights. More directors should do this.
In ‘Snyder School,’ Zack Snyder takes us on a four episode journey into his creative process as a filmmaker. In Episode 3, Zack explains his philosophy on color, how he finds the final cut with his editor, and how music and sound design complete the emotional experience of watching his films.
Blood Red Sky – The Trailer is Here! Free on Netflix? Yeah, deal me in.
A woman with a mysterious illness is forced into action when a group of terrorists attempt to hijack a transatlantic overnight flight. In order to protect her son she will have to reveal a dark secret, and unleash the inner monster she has fought to hide.
Watch Blood Red Sky, only on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/BloodRedSky
