The “Hobbs & Shaw” Trailer is Here!
The Hobbs & Shaw Trailer is Here! (And it rocks!)
The Killer Collective by Barry Eisler / Z-View
The Killer Collective by Barry Eisler
Hardcover: 401 pages
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
First sentence…
That was the dirty little secret of 9/11, he thought.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
When sex crimes detective, Livia Lone uncovers a child pornography ring with ties to government officials and a cover-up by the FBI, she becomes a target. Barely avoiding assassination by a two person hit team, Lone reaches out to Dox, a mercenary and former Marine sniper. When a second attack on Livia is thwarted, Dox contacts his former team: John Rain, Rain’s ex-lover Delilah, black ops soldiers Ben Treven, Daniel Larison, and Colonel Scot “Hort” Horton.
Eisler is not only an excellent writer but his experience in a covert position for the CIA and black belt in judo provide authenticity to the action scenes. He’s especially good at bringing out the underlying tension when a group of mercenaries are brought together under circumstances where any one (or more of them) may be secretly part of the group they are working to bring down.
The Killer Collective is an intelligent action novel that entertains.
Rating:
The Vampire State Building Preview is Available Now
Charlie Adlard, artist best known for his work on The Walking Dead has a new horror project coming out. The Vampire State Building written by Ange, Patrick Renault and Sébastien Gérard. Here’s the synopsis…
A young soldier about to be sent to war, Terry Fisher meets his friends at the top of the Empire State Building for a farewell party. Only for a legion of vampires to attack the skyscraper and massacre its occupants. Hounded in the 102 floors that have become a deadly trap, before the army of abominations spills into the city, they will face U’tluntla, the terrible Vampire God, walled in the building since its construction.
If The Vampire State Building sounds like something you’d like, check out the preview at Bleeding Cool.
The Neo-Western Flair Of “Justified”
M.G McIntyre’s Next One’s Coming Faster: The Neo-Western Flair Of Justified at Film School Rejects presents a great overview of one of my all-time favorite tv series.
Abraham Lincoln’s Last Possessions
Being a history buff, this interests me. I wonder why President Lincoln was carrying two pair of glasses. Also there are a few items I can’t identify. Any of you folks know what all of the items are?
Source: Michael Beschloss.
“Black Summer” / Z-View
Black Summer (2019)
Creators: John Hyams, Karl Schaefer
Stars: Jaime King, Justin Chu Cary, Christine Lee, Sal Velez Jr., Kelsey Flower and Erika Hau.
The Pitch: “Let’s make a prequel to Z-Nation.”
The Overview:
Black Summer is a new Netflix series that serves as a prequel to Z-Nation. Since it’s a prequel it’s not necessary to have watched Z-Nation. (Truth be told, I like Black Summer better than Z-Nation).
The series starts off following what appears to be random folks working to survive a zombie outbreak. The cool thing is that as the episodes progress people that we see in the background might become the focus of the next installment. Ultimately a band of survivors forms with the goal of getting to a stadium where they hope the military is waiting to transport them to safety. Because Black Summer is (at this point) a limited series, there is no “star” that you just know is going to survive. This raises the stakes and adds to the tension.
You’d think by now we’d have seen it all when it comes to zombie stories. Black Summer is proof that just ain’t so. I really liked this first season and hope that it returns for a second. Guess who else likes Black Summer? Stephen King said this today…
“BLACK SUMMER (Netflix): Just when you think there’s no more scare left in zombies, THIS comes along. Existential hell in the suburbs, stripped to the bone.”
So don’t just take my word for it, take Stephen King’s.
Rating:
Quentin Tarantino Takes a Second Look at “Escape from Alcatraz”
Quentin Tarantino’s first line had me hooked…
Escape from Alcatraz, a film I didn’t like when it came out…
Why was Tarantino writing about a film he didn’t like? Sure, it starred Clint Eastwood and was directed by Don Siegel, but Tarantino didn’t like it and it wasn’t one of my favorite Eastwood films either.
Ah, but when Tarantino revisited it a few years ago, he gained a greater appreciation for it.
Ok Quentin, tell me more.
And he does in his overview of Escape from Alcatraz. If you click over and read it, you’ll not only get the backstory of Escape from Alcatraz, you’ll also learn about the connection to Charles Bronson, Burt Reynolds and more. It’s an interesting read and has made me want to re-visit Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. Maybe I’ll like it as much on review as Quentin Tarantino.
“John Wick 3: Parabellum” Overseas Poster
Here’s an overseas poster for John Wick 3: Parabellum. You can see a larger version at IMPAwards.
Dick Tracy Forever Preview is Here!
I’ve never been more than a passing fan of Dick Tracy, but I’m really looking forward to Dick Tracy Forever. Michael Avon Oeming is the writer and artist for the four issue mini-series from IDW. Thanks to Syfy.com we can check out a preview.
“Cop Land” Gets the Cinephilia Treatment!
Cop Land features one of Sylvester Stallone’s finest performances. Written and directed by James Mangold, Cop Land is a modern day western and Mangold knew that it’s success hinged on the actor cast as Freddy Heflin.
Stallone wanted the role despite the fact that Mangold had zero interest in him. Mangold explained to Stallone all of the reasons he was wrong for the role. Stallone persisted and promised that none of Mangold’s concerns would become reality.
Stallone earned the role and Mangold got his Freddy Heflin. Cop Land surprised critics who’d forgotten or doubted Stallone’s acting chops.
You’re Gonna Be Redeemed: The Jersey Noir and Western Fable of James Mangold’s Cop Land by Travis Woods at Cinephilia and Beyond provides
- Travis Woods’ back story of Cop Land
- Cop Land screenplay
- Cop Land: The Making of an Urban Western
- Rare behind-the-scenes photos
- and much more!
Englehart & Rogers’ Unpublished Dark Detective III
Pete Doree scored a major coup for comic fans. At his The Bronze Age of Blogs, Pete has posted the story behind as well as pages from (and a link to the completed pencils for the first issue of) Steve Englehart & Marshall Rogers’ Unpublished Dark Detective III!
For many, the Batman stories by Englehart, Rogers and Austin were their absolute favorite Batman stories. To not only learn that another was in the works and to get to see the penciled pages? Man, that is priceless.
Thanks to Steve Englehart for making it happen and for Pete Doree for helping to spread the word.
The “Anna” Poster and Trailer are Here!
The Anna Poster and Trailer are Here! The poster is just ok but the trailer delivers.
The Art of Eric Powell is Coming!
Eric Powell, best known as creator of The Goon has an art book coming out on October 23rd.
Eric Powell is perhaps best known for his critically acclaimed series THE GOON. The premise of this art book is quite hilarious and has a definite tongue in cheek vibe. This is what Powell said about his new art book: “Ten years ago I thought to myself, ‘I’m a multiple award-winning artist who has been at this for a while. It’s probably time to put out an art book.’ … And here we are. On the verge of the publication of a biography about a backwoods idiot who taught himself how to draw pictures for money.”
THE ART (AND MANY OTHER MISTAKES) OF ERIC POWELL will definitely have a spot in my library!
“The Silence” / Z-View
The Silence (2019)
Director: John R. Leonetti
Screenplay: Carey Van Dyke & Shane Van Dyke based on the novel by Tim Lebbon.
Stars: Stanley Tucci, Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, Kate Trotter, John Corbett, Kyle Breitkopf, Dempsey Bryk and Billy MacLellan.
The Pitch: “Let’s turn Tim Lebbon’s novel into a movie.”
Tagline: They’re listening.
The Overview:
The Silence can be summarized as Pitch Black meets A Quiet Place but unfortunately The Silence is not on the same level as either.
The creatures in The Silence are like smaller versions of those in Pitch Black. And like the monsters in Vin Diesel’s best movie, they are accidentally released from underground.
The similarities to A Quiet Place include: monsters that are blind and hunt by sound, a young girl who is deaf and a family struggling to survive. I’m sure many folks will think The Silence was made to cash in on the success of A Quiet Place but the truth is Tim Lebbon’s novel and filming on The Silence came first.
The Silence follows a family (father, mother, son, daughter and grandma) as they work to survive in a world where prehistoric flying creatures who hunt by sound are wiping out cities. In addition, sometimes the other people hoping to survive are as dangerous as the monsters.
The Silence works best when things are first starting to go sideways. What is happening? How do we survive? What is the best course of action? Things should be off and running but it’s more like off and walking.
I enjoyed The Silence but not to the degree I had hoped.
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CZ Suggests: Frank Miller Presents Tales from Sin City
Check out Bill Sienkiewicz‘s Sin City art! I sure wish Frank Miller would create more Sin City yarns.
If he doesn’t have time to write and draw ’em, he could write and turn the art chores over to another artist. Or, maybe have guest artists and writers. How cool would that be?
I get that Sin City is Miller’s baby but, man, the thought of a Frank Miller Presents Tales from Sin City featuring Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips, Dan Panosian, Brian Azzarello & Eduardo Risso, Mike Zeck & John Beatty, Phill Hester… well, you get the idea.
C’mon, Mr. Miller! What do you think?
