Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
I was going through the Zablo vault and discovered I had never shared this art. It’s Sly Stallone as Cosmo Carbooni from Paradise Alley by John Beatty. It is one of my many favorite pieces that John has done for me over the years.
John nailed the likeness. His use of white highlights makes the piece pop. I absolutely love it.
Public Enemies (2009)
Director: Michael Mann
Screenplay: Ronan Bennett, Ann Biderman, Michael Mann; based on PUBLIC ENEMIES: AMERICA’S GREATEST CRIME WAVE AND THE BIRTH OF THE FBI, 1933–34 by Bryan Burrough
Stars: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Christian Stolte, Jason Clarke, Stephen Graham, David Wenham, John Judd, Stephen Dorff, James Russo, Giovanni Ribisi, Wesley Walker, Channing Tatum, Casey Siemaszko, Billy Crudup, Domenick Lombardozzi, Don Frye and Stephen Lang.
Tagline: America’s Most Wanted
The Plot…
1933. The Great Depression is raging. Gangsters such as John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and others have been robbing banks with impunity. Despite killing cops and the occassional bystander, these criminals are becoming folk heroes. J. Edgar Hoover, the Director of the FBI has ordered Agent Melvin Purvis to put together a task force. Purvis’ orders are to bring in these gangsters dead or alive.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Although Public Enemies isn’t a documentary, it is very close to the real life stories.
Michael Mann filmed John Dillinger’s famous escape from Crown Point Jail at the real jail. Although it had been turned into a historical museum, it was redressed along with the store fronts on the square to how they would’ve appeared in 1933. Mann also filmed the Little Bohemia shoot-out at the real lodge and in the same room Dillinger stayed in.
During a getaway scene Johnny Depp drives a 1932 Studebaker that was actually used by Dillinger as a getaway car following a bank robbery in Greencastle, Indiana. The car was on loan from an auto museum.
Public Enemies (2009) rates 4 of 5 stars.
I just ordered a copy of RIGHTEOUS TRASH by Nick Kolakowski. Here’s the lowdown…
Jake Halligan tried living the quiet life.
After years of war and crime, Jake has settled down with his wife and daughter in rural Idaho. But in a country that pushes people to the brink, Jake soon makes a bet to get ahead that will have disastrous consequences.
Spurred by his sister Frankie, the West’s most dangerous arms dealer, Jake is pulled into a chaotic conspiracy that involves a pregnant teenager, gangs of gun-toting thugs, a wetwork specialist from New Orleans, high-powered politicos, and a backwoods shooting competition just begging to be robbed.
Jake Halligan tried living the quiet life, but when the bullets start flying and everything he knows is at risk, he’ll have to decide who he really is and what he really wants. The wrong choice might kill him and everyone he cares about.
Kolakowski’s tales always entertain and I expect RIGHTEOUS TRASH to be no different. If it sounds like something you’d enjoy, you know what to do.
RIGHTEOUS TRASH paperback
RIGHTEOUS TRASH Kindle
“Dark Winds” Season 4 starring Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten and Deanna Allison – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Just when Leaphorn thought he’d seen it all.
#DarkWinds Season 4 premieres February 15 on AMC and AMC+.
“Landman” Season 2 starring Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, Demi Moore, Andy Garcia and Sam Elliott – The Final Poster and Trailer are Here!
“You think you understand how this business works, but you don’t.”
Things are heating up in the final Landman trailer. Season 2 premieres November 16, 2025, only on Paramount+.
#Landman #ParamountPlus
Set in the boomtowns of Texas, Landman (starring Billy Bob Thornton) is a modern tale of fortune seeking amongst roughnecks and billionaires in the world of oil.
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter, Demi Moore, Andy Garcia and Sam Elliott
Crime 101 starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, and Halle Berry – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
He’s about to break every rule he’s ever lived by.
Watch the trailer for #Crime101 now, starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, and Halle Berry. See the movie only in theaters February 13.
Set against the sun-bleached grit of Los Angeles, Crime 101 weaves the tale of an elusive thief (Chris Hemsworth) whose high-stakes heists unfolding along the iconic 101 freeway have mystified police.
When he eyes the score of a lifetime with hopes of this being his final job, his path collides with a disillusioned insurance broker (Halle Berry) who is facing her own crossroads, forcing the two to collaborate.
Determined to crack the case, a relentless detective (Mark Ruffalo) closes in on the operation, raising the stakes even higher. As the multimillion-dollar heist approaches, the line between hunter and hunted begins to blur, and all three are forced to confront the cost of their choices–and the realization that there’s no turning back.
Adapted from Don Winslow’s acclaimed novella of the same name, the film is written and directed by Bart Layton (American Animals, The Imposter). Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte round out the cast.
Frankenstein by Frederick Cooper!
No Way Up (2024)
Director: Claudio Fäh
Screenplay: Andy Mason
Stars: Colm Meaney, Will Attenborough, Phyllis Logan, James Carroll Jordan and Manuel Pacific.
Tagline: The plane crash was just the beginning.
The Plot…
A plane crashes into the ocean killing most of the passengers. As the plane settles on an undersea ledge an air pocket forms in the back of the split fuselage. Ava (the daughter of a rich man), Brandon (Ava’s bodyguard), Jed (Ava’s boyfriend), Kyle (Jed’s buddy), Rosa (a child) traveling with her grandparents and Danilo (a flight attendant) make their way to the slowly shrinking area of air.
If the air pocket lasts long enough the survivors hope a rescue team will get to them. But as the air pocket slowly shrinks, the plane begins to move towards the edge of the ledge… and sharks find their way into the wreckage.
It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
No Way Up (2024) is what would be a classic drive-in movie, if we still had drive-ins. Low budget. A “B” star in the lead (who dies early on). A monster (the sharks). Young people in danger. Enough in the group that you’re not sure who will live.
No Way Up (2024) rates 2 of 5 stars.
Yvan Quinet created this alt poster for Conan the Barbarian. Crom!
You can see more of Yvan Quinet’s art at his website and/or his Instagram page.
Source: AMP Posters.
The Naked Gun (2025)
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Screenplay: Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, Akiva Schaffer; based on Police Squad! by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
Stars: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Eddie Yu, Moses Jones, Busta Rhymes, Carl Gilliard, Elliott Grey, Wilbur Fitzgerald and Cody Rhodes & Dave “Batista” Bautista.
Tagline: Look out crime he’s fully armed.
The Plot…
“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for a funny movie, I can tell you The Naked Gun (2025) might fit the bill. Frank Drebin has passed on. But Frank Drebin, Jr. has taken his place and what Frank Jr. does have are a very particular set of skills, skills he acquired over a very long career. Skills that make him a nightmare for audiences like you. If you watch his movie now, that’ll be the end of it. But if you don’t,at some point you will. And it won’t will kill you.”
Naked Gun (2025) might have easily been called Sons of the Police Squad. Each of the lead characters from The Naked Gun movies have passed on and their sons have taken their spots.
Book ’em.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
If you enjoyed Police Squad! and The Naked Gun movies, you should enjoy this outing.
Naked Gun (2025) rates 3 of 5 stars.
Trouble in Mind (1985)
Director: Alan Rudolph
Screenplay: Alan Rudolph
Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine, Lori Singer, Geneviève Bujold, Joe Morton, Divine, George Kirby, John Considine, Dirk Blocker, Gailard Sartain, Allan F. Nicholls and Albert Hall.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
As Walter Hill said about Streets of Fire… it takes place in another time and another place. Trouble in Mind is set in Rain City.
John Hawkins, Hawk to his friends, has just been released from prison. Hawk did a stretch for murder. He was a cop who killed a gangster. It cost Hawk his job and eight years of his life. But he’d do it again to protect the ones he loves. These days he hangs out at Wanda’s Cafe as he decides what’s next.
Coop and Georgia are a young couple with a baby named Spike. They hoped Rain City would provide them a fresh start. Money is tight despite Georgia getting a job as a waitress at Wanda’s Cafe. So Coop starts taking jobs for a crook named Solo. As the money starts coming in Coop begins to believe he’s cut out to be a gangster.
Hawk is attracted to Georgia. He knows where the path Coop is taking leads. He wants to save Georgia from the heartache. Georgia is torn. She loved the man her husband used to be. She’s got to do what’s best for her and her child.
Coop and Solo’s crimes have put them at odds with another gangster. Hawk and Coop are also headed for a showdown.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Roger Ebert wrote Trouble in Mind “is a movie that takes place within our memories of the movies.” After seeing the film, you’ll understand what he meant. It has all the tropes you’d expect in a neo-noir but with flourishes that work in “another time, another place” or dream settings.
Trouble in Mind (1985) rates 3 of 5 stars.
Here we have the poster and trailer for Troll 2.
Despite it being on the surface a silly concept, Troll was a fun movie. So ignore the somewhat goofy looking poster for Troll 2 and check out the trailer. Then get in the mood for a fun drive-in movie when Troll 2 premieres on December 1st.
A new troll has awakened!
Join Nora, Andreas, and Captain Kris as they embark on their most dangerous adventure yet. With the clock ticking and chaos spreading, they’ll need new allies and ancient secrets to stop the rampage. Can they save Norway before it’s too late?
Watch Troll 2, Dec 1 on Netflix.
Frank Miller’s Sin City is one of my all-time favorite comic series. I love seeing artists do their “take” on Miller’s characters. Today we have Hartigan and the Yellow Bastard by Howie Noel.
“Duster” (2025)
Created by: J. J. Abrams, LaToya Morgan
Teleplay by:
Directed by:
Stars: Josh Holloway, Rachel Hilson, Asivak Koostachin, Sydney Elisabeth Smith, Benjamin Charles Watson, Camille Guaty, Adriana Aluna Martinez, Greg Grunberg, Evan Jones, Sofia Vassilieva, Jonathan Dixon, Corbin Bernsen, Kevin Chamberlin, Matt Lauria, Gail O’Grady and Keith David.
Tagline: Everyone needs an inside man.
The Plot…
The year is 1972. Nina Hayes, the F.B.I.’s first Black female agent is assigned to the Phoenix, Arizona office. There she is expected to keep a low profile and not rock the boat as she works on the Ezra Saxton case. Saxton is a Black crime kingpin for the area. Nina thinks she may have an “in” by turning Jim Ellis, Saxton’s getaway driver.
Jim is a trusted family friend of Saxon’s. In fact Jim’s older brother worked for Saxon as well. Saxon loved his brother like a son. When Jim’s brother was murdered, Jim took his spot in the organization. There’s no way Jim would betray Saxton.
When Nina shares evidence with Jim that Saxton may have been behind his brother’s murder, all bets are off.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Duster is a fun ride. Josh Holloway is perfect as Jim Ellis. I’m surprised we don’t see Holloway more often in big productions. Duster was a great, uh, vehicle for his talents.
I’d never seen Rachel Hilson before. She’s wonderful as the young, outsider set to solve a case. Hilson and Holloway had great on-screen chemistry.
Keith David is always good. He’s perfectly cast as Saxon.
Duster features one of the coolest openings before each episode. Watch for slight changes as the season progresses. Very clever. Very fun.
It’s unfortuante that Duster wasn’t renewed for Season 2. It currently has a 7.2 rating on IMDb. At Rotten Tomatoes it currently sits with 93% from reviewers and 85% from users of the site. So people did enjoy Duster. Sadly, not enough tuned in when it premiered for the greenlight for a second season.
If you haven’t seen Duster, you should give it a try.
“Duster” (2025) earns 4 of 5 stars.
