Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Below is the trailer for Outside the Wire starring Anthony Mackie. Deal me in.
Set in the future, Harp (Damson Idris), a drone pilot, is sent into a deadly militarized zone where he finds himself working for Leo (Anthony Mackie), an android officer, tasked to locate a doomsday device before the insurgents do. Outside the Wire is directed by Mikael Håfström.
Below is a rare performance by The Beatles on Shindig (in stereo and color)! Unless you were alive when the Beatles hit big, you cannot imagine their impact.
Rob Hunter at Film School Rejects presents 32 Things We Learned from the ‘Blade‘ Commentary. As always, before you click over, here are my three favorites and thoughts on each…
“I’ve found that American action films rely more on spectacle,” says Snipes, “but action films from other countries don’t do it that way.” He adds that international action is often embedded into “the emotional state and intent of the character.” (Snipes is right. Too many of our movies these days rely on big special effects. I prefer a movie that focuses on, as Snipes said, “the emotional state and intent of the character.” – Craig)
A deleted conversation from the script explained how Blade’s sword originally belonged to Whistler (Kris Kristofferson) who himself was part of a long line of vampire hunters. (It was smart to drop that. The “long line of vampire hunters” bit is just too cliche. – Craig)
Norrington wanted Kristofferson for the role as he was “the cool grandfather, grungy type of fighting, jolly type of a guy.” Goyer actually wrote the character, though, with Samuel Fuller in mind. (I’m not a big fan of Blade but loved Blade II. With that said, Kristofferson was a great addition to the movie and one of the things I liked best about it. – Craig)
The Zodiac Killer’s most unbreakable code has been broken by an international 3 man team consisting of David Oranchak (American computer programmer), Belgian computer programmer Jarl Van Eycke (Belgian computer programmer) and Sam Blake (Australian mathematician). After countless hours and hundreds of thousands of computer simulations the team discovered an error in the Zodiac Killer’s transcription which led to them breaking the code. The FBI has agreed with their solution and confirmed the code’s message.
The video below explains the process used to crack the code and is well worth watching.
On December 3rd, 2020, an international three-person team of codebreakers made a breakthrough with the Zodiac Killer’s unsolved 340-character cipher.
By December 5th, the team finished cracking the cipher and sent the solution to the FBI.
This is the full message from the Zodiac Killer that was hidden in the 340-character cipher for 51 years:
I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING LOTS OF FUN IN TRYING TO CATCH ME
THAT WASNT ME ON THE TV SHOW
WHICH BRINGS UP A POINT ABOUT ME
I AM NOT AFRAID OF THE GAS CHAMBER
BECAUSE IT WILL SEND ME TO PARADICE ALL THE SOONER
BECAUSE I NOW HAVE ENOUGH SLAVES TO WORK FOR ME
WHERE EVERYONE ELSE HAS NOTHING WHEN THEY REACH PARADICE
SO THEY ARE AFRAID OF DEATH
I AM NOT AFRAID BECAUSE I KNOW THAT MY NEW LIFE IS
LIFE WILL BE AN EASY ONE IN PARADICE DEATHThe members of the team that cracked the code are:
* Sam Blake (Australia)
* Jarl Van Eycke (Belgium)
* David Oranchak (USA)This video is my attempt to tell the story of this long overdue breakthrough. More details are reported in Michael Butterfield’s article here: http://zodiackillerfacts.com/news-and…
Credits: Music: Dave Miles: Movement (ZapSplat: https://www.zapsplat.com/author/dave-…)
“Thanks” animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1whg… melissariveradesign.com Jim Dunbar show archival footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTJI4…Mentioned in the video:
AZDecrypt code breaking software by Jarl Van Eycke: http://zodiackillersite.com/viewtopic…
Peek-a-boo cryptanalysis software by Heiko Kalista: http://www.zodiackillersite.com/viewt…
Zkdecrypto by Brax Cisco et. al.: https://code.google.com/archive/p/zkd…
Mike Morford’s Zodiac site: http://zodiackillersite.com
Michael Butterfield’s Zodiac site: http://zodiackillerfacts.com
Tom Voigt’s Zodiac site: http://zodiackiller.com http://zodiackillerciphers.comWe dedicate these efforts to the victims of the Zodiac Killer, their families and descendants. We hope that one day justice will prevail.
Source: SFGate.
I don’t care for the Haymaker poster above, but the trailer below was interesting. I wouldn’t run out to see it, but wouldn’t (at least right away) turn the channel if it was on tv.
Pulp Fiction is arguably Quentin Tarantino’s best film. I’ve been thinking it’s about time for another viewing of it. Paul Schrodt’s 12 Things to Look for While Watching Pulp Fiction makes me want to watch it even more. Before you click over to Schrodt’s piece, here are three of my favorites and my thoughts on each.
SAMUEL L. JACKSON’S FAVORITE BIBLE VERSE DOESN’T EXIST. (I was surprised when I first learned that Tarantino basically made up Jackson’s biblical quote. Jackson really sold it for that scene and I wonder how many people believe the quote is right from the bible. – Craig)
JACK RABBIT SLIM’S IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS. (I remember when there was talk of Jack Rabbit Slim’s being turned into a real chain of joints. I was excited about the idea and thought it would work. I know I would have patronized them. Sadly the venture never became reality. – Craig)
NO ONE FULLY UNDERSTANDS PULP FICTION’S “GIMP” SEQUENCE. (I vividly remember seeing this scene for the first time and just being blown away. What the – ? Did we cross over into another film? Another dimension? I’ve come to like the unexpected, unexplainable aspect of it. Sometimes things happen that don’t make sense, that we couldn’t have predicted and that can have terrible consequences. – Craig)
Source: Mental Floss.
Ok, this is more like it. Here’s a new poster and the full trailer for Shadow in the Cloud starring Chloe Grace Moretz. I like this poster and the trailer is much better than the previous. I now am sure I’d like to see this movie. It’s going to be pure drive-in fun.
In the throes of World War II, Captain Maude Garrett (CHLOË GRACE MORETZ) joins the all-male crew of a B-17 bomber with a top-secret package. Caught off guard by the presence of a woman on a military flight, the crew tests Maude’s every move. Just as her quick wit is winning them over, strange happenings and holes in her backstory incite paranoia surrounding her true mission. But this crew has more to fear…lurking in the shadows, something sinister is tearing at the heart of the plane. Trapped between an oncoming air ambush and an evil lurking within, Maude must push beyond her limits to save the hapless crew and protect her mysterious cargo.
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Beulah Koale, Taylor John Smith
Directed by: Roseanne Liang
The trailer for Nobody are starring Bob Odenkirk is here and looks awesome. Nobody just moved up to my must-see list.
Sometimes the man you don’t notice is the most dangerous of all. Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad) stars as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life’s indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody.
When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe, The Shack), is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen, Wonder Woman), seems to pull only further away.
The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire, and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary (famed Russian actor Aleksey Serebryakov, Amazon’s McMafia)-and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.
Nobody is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry), from a script by Derek Kolstad, the narrative architect of the John Wick franchise, and co-stars legendary Emmy winner Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s father and multi-hyphenate musician-actor RZA as Hutch’s brother, whose own hidden talents aid Hutch in his quest for vengeance.
The film is produced by Kelly McCormick and David Leitch, the filmmakers of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde, for their company 87North, by Braden Aftergood (Hell or High Water, Wind River) for his Eighty Two Films, and by Bob Odenkirk and Marc Provissiero (Hulu’s PEN15) for Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment. The film is executive produced by Derek Kolstad, Marc S. Fischer, and Tobey Maguire.
I was digging through the Zablo Vault this morning and came across this vintage Zeck/Beatty Punisher piece. Look at that beauty. This is just one reason Zeck/Beatty are one of the finest teams to ever work in comics.
The poster and trailer for Shadow in the Cloud are here. The poster doesn’t do much for me. The trailer looks pretty dumb. The question is will it be dumb FUN? If so, I’d give it a go. Who doesn’t like a good drive-in movie?
Write It In Blood by Rory McConville (writer), Joe Palmer (artist) and Chris O’Halloran (artist) along with Declan Shalvey (cover artist) is set to premiere on March 2, 2021. After seeing the preview pages, I’ve already placed my pre-order. Click on the preview pages below to biggie-size them. Then if you’re so inclined, you can too by using the link above.
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The poster and trailer for The Minimalists are here.
This documentary really interests me. I have a collector’s mentality. I collect movies (VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, Laser Disc), comic books, novels, Stallone-related items, original art and stuff. It’s sometimes hard to let things go.
I have trimmed my comic collection waaay down. These days I keep very few and trade the others in. I do have 6 book shelves of graphic novels (some of which I still haven’t read).
A few years ago my wife and I began to trade in novels that we didn’t think we’d want to re-read. With that said, thanks to the COVID pandemic, we currently have 8 packing boxes of novels to trade in. I have 7 book cases of novels that I am keeping (including dozens of books still to be read) and my wife has another 2 book cases.
I got rid of all my laser disc movies. In the garage I have storage bins of VHS movies that I haven’t watched in years. I have a bin of record albums. I got rid of my album cassettes. I have quite a few music cds and dvds / Blu-ray movies.
I have many photo albums of Stallone articles, press kits and boxes of memorabilia including movie scripts, books, sculptures and other collector’s items.
Yeah, I think I better watch The Minimalists.
They’ve built a movement out of minimalism. Longtime friends Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus share how our lives can be better with less. Directed by Matt D’Avella.
Cobra poster by Salvador Anguiano
Would you like to see the original cut of Sly Stallone’s Cobra? J.D. Harlock would and he’s started a petition to get it.
Many Stallone fans know that there was initially a much longer and more violent version of Cobra than the one that ended up being released. Click over to J.D. Harlock’s RELEASE THE X CUT OF STALLONE’S COBRA to get the full details and if you’re so inclined, sign the petition.
I’m not usually one for petitions, but if we can get another version of Cobra, then deal me in.
Lee Weeks created the iconic Batman art above. It was just too cool not to share. You can see more of Lee Week’s art on his Instagram!
Mike Kunda is a super Rocky fan, the #1 Rocky impersonator in the world and the owner of the Yo Philly! Rocky Film Tour. Recently Mike posted several seldom seen LeRoy Neiman sketches from behind the scenes filming of Rocky movies. They were too good not to share.
LeRoy Neiman is considered the most famous sports artist in the world. His painting of Rocky used in Rocky III is without a doubt his most famous Rocky art, but it isn’t the only Rocky art Neiman created. In addition, to finished paintings, Neiman created preliminary sketches like the ones above of Drago slugging Rocky and Rocky in a defensive stance.
I love this sketch that Neiman labeled, Face Hit Two, Rocky II, c. 1980. It was created using felt pen, acrylic, ink and pencil.
Neiman titled this Round XV, Rocky IV created in Vancouver, BC. May 1, 1985.
As you can see above, even the movie call sheet was material for a quick sketch of Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed!
LeRoy Neiman was always a dashing figure (and seldom seen without a cigar). Here he is seen creating more prelim sketches for Rocky IV art.
The photo above was turned into a Neiman Rocky IV painting that is rarely seen!
I love the amount of details that appear in this loose LeRoy Neiman prelim that he labeled: Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV, May 1, 1985. felt, pen and acrylic on paper. 20 1/4 x 26 in. 51.4 x 66 cm.
Above is a Neiman sketch he titled, Sly, Rocky II, March 13, 1990.
Thanks again to Mike Kunda for sharing these finds. If you’d like to see more of LeRoy Neiman’s amazing artwork, please check out his official site.
