Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) / Z-View

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Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Director: J.J. Abrams

Screenplay: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof based on characters created by Gene Roddenberry 

Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Peg, John Cho, Benedict Cumberpatch, Bruce Greenwood and Peter Weller.

The Pitch: “Isn’t about time for a new Star Trek movie?”

Tagline: “Beyond the darkness, lies greatness.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

After a super-powered genius leaves Star Fleet in shambles and Earth in crisis, Kirk and crew track him to Klingon territory.  Before it’s over Kirk and his Enterprise team will face off against the terrorist, Klingons and Star Fleet.

 

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“Sicario 2” is “Sicario” on “Steroids”

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Sicario was one of the best movies in recent memory.  Naturally, a sequel is planned with Taylor Sheridan returning to write the screenplay which will focus Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) and Matt Graver (Josh Brolin).

To read more about Sicario 2 and how Taylor Sheridan describes it check out Jack Giroux’s “Sicario” Screenwriter Says the Sequel Is The First Movie on “Steroids” at /Film.

The Legend of Tarzan (2016) / Z-View

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The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

Director: David Yates

Screenplay: Adam Cozad and Craig Brewer based on the Tarzan stories created by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie and Djimon Hounsou.

The Pitch: “Isn’t about time for a new Tarzan movie?”

Tagline: “Human. Nature.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

John Clayton aka Tarzan [Skarsgård] is living a wealthy life in England with his beautiful wife Jane [Robbie] when they are lured back to Africa under false pretenses. Jane is kidnapped and Tarzan goes to save her.  Soon Tarzan finds himself pitted against a native tribe [he did kill the chief’s son] and an army.  Of course Tarzan isn’t called the King of the Jungle for nothing.

 

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The Top Ten Toughest Heroines in Horror and SciFi

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ComingSoon.net recently posted their choices for The Top Ten Toughest Heroines in Horror and SciFi.

Using just their list I would say the top three are Ripley from Aliens, Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road and Sarah Conner from Terminator 2.

My question is how could they not include: Lornetta “Mace” Mason from Strange Days, Charly Baltimore from The Long Kiss Goodnight and Michonne from The Walking Dead??

Dark Was the Night (2014) / Z-View

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Dark Was the Night (2014)

Director: Jack Heller

Screenplay: Tyler Hisel

Stars:  Kevin Durand, Lukas Haas and Steve Agee.

The Pitch: “Hey, anybody remember the movie ‘Prophecy’?”

Tagline: “Evil’s Roots Run Deep”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Strange things are happening and the townspeople are on edge.  Giant cloven hoof prints going through town, pets and livestock turning up missing or mutilated, strange sounds at night have people jumpy.  Some think that a legendary creature is back.

They’re not far off.

Bonus points for the ending.  Minus points for the CGI.

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Dave Wachter and Jack Carter

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Dave Wachter is back and he brought his take on Sly from the Get Carter. I met Dave several years ago and became an instant fan. I wasn’t the only one to discover Dave’s fantastic sketches! How can you not like a great guy who is a terrific artist?

It has become a HeroesCon tradition that I get  Dave to draw his take on Sly.  Somehow this one was never posted until now.

You can see more of Dave’s art at his site. – Craig

The Courier (2012) / Z-View

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The Courier (2012)

Director: Hany Abu-Assad

Screenplay: Brannon Coombs, Pete Dris

Stars: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Josie Ho, Til Schweiger, Miguel Ferrer, Lili Taylor, Mark Margolis and Mickey Rourke.

The Pitch: “I’ve got an idea for a new ‘Transporter’ movie!”

Tagline: “He delivers”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A transporter courier is hired to deliver a briefcase containing who knows what.  He’ll be paid a million dollars if he meets the deadline.  If he is late his family will be killed.

I’m a Jeffrey Dean Morgan fan and The Courier starts out fun enough with a girl held at gunpoint on a plank from the top of a roller coaster.  The clock is clicking down — will the courier get the money there in time.

I won’t spoil it for you but after that intro we’re off and running (the clock is ticking again after all).  Great cast and a fun movie right up until the very end.  Things seem rushed and convoluted as the movie comes to a close.  Mickey Rourke has a glorified cameo.

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The Saviors by James Robinson and J. Bone

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I am happy to see that The Saviors by James Robinson and J. Bone is getting a trade paperback release.  I’m a huge fan of the series.

The Saviors is a comic for mature audiences due to drug references and language.  If you’re a fan of 1950’s alien invasion movies [“I Married a Monster from Outer Space,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,”etc.] or well written, well drawn comics, then The Saviors is for you.

When Tomas Ramirez stumbles upon an extraterrestrial conspiracy to take over the world, his life is forever altered. Now he’s banding together with those other few souls who share the knowledge that we are under attack as they attempt to defeat a shadowy alien cabal that is both indestructible and eager to kill anyone who threatens it.

Eisner Award winner JAMES ROBINSON (Starman, Earth 2) and artist J. BONE (The Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror, The Spirit) present an adventure story of monstrous proportions.

Creed (2015) / Z-View

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Creed (2015)

Director: Ryan Coogler

Screenplay:  Ryan Coogler, Aaron Covington

Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Andre Ward, Tony Bellew, Ritchie Coster and Graham McTavish.

The Pitch: “I’ve got an idea for a new ‘Rocky’ movie!”

Tagline: “Your legacy is more than a name”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Adonis Johnson-Creed is the illegitimate and widely unknown grown son of Apollo Creed.  Fighting is in his blood.  When Adonis decides to give pro boxing a go, he seeks out Rocky Balboa to train him.  Rocky isn’t interested but before it is over Adonis and Rocky will both face the fights of their lives.

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Carver: A Paris Story by Chris Hunt

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Carver: A Paris Story by Chris Hunt looks like a fun ride.

After an absence of five years, globe trotting and notorious gentleman of fortune Francis Carver returns to Paris in 1923. He has come back to aid Catherine Ayers, the wife of a wealthy Parisian socialite and the only woman he has ever loved. Her daughter has been kidnapped by the leader of a crazed anarchist gang, a man named Stacker Lee. In order to bring the girl home, Francis will have to crawl through the underbelly of the city while confronting the demons of his past, before being faced with a final choice: succumb to the man he has become, or take that mask off and be the hero he always wanted to be.

“CARVER is my homage to CORTO MALTESE,” said Chris Hunt, “I’m bringing a modern edge and sensibility to classic, serialized adventure storytelling, starting with the first storyline CARVER: A PARIS STORY.”

Like an American Corto Maltese Carver combines the best elements of European and American Comics into a wonderful synthesis

Featuring a back up story and essay by Paul Pope.

Court Rules “Lockout” Copies Too Much from “Escape from New York”

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Escape from New York and Lockout are two of my favorite movies.  That should be no surprise since a Paris appeal court ruled that they’re basically the same story. 

…Luc Besson must pay more than $500,000 (450,000 euros) in damages to John Carpenter and rights holder StudioCanal for plagiarizing Carpenter’s 1981 classic Escape From New York when he made the 2012 film Lockout.

Although there are similarities are there enough to justify the penalty?  Not sure I agree, but since Luc Besson’s people aren’t complaining, who am I to?

Source: Deadline.

Cabin in the Sky (1943) / Z-View

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Cabin in the Sky (1943)

Director: Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley (uncredited)

Screenplay: Joseph Schrank based on the musical by Lynn Root

Stars: Ethel Waters, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, Lena Horne, Butterfly McQueen, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Kenneth Spencer, and Duke Ellington.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a movie version of ‘Cabin in the Sky!’”

Tagline: “Broadway’s big, fun-jammed music show is on the screen at last–crowded with stars and songs and spectacle in the famed MGM manner!”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Little Joe [Anderson] dies after being shot during a night of gambling and fast women. Before his soul can be claimed, Little Joe’s wife, Petunia [Waters] prays so hard for Little Joe that angels show up just as the Devil’s soldiers prepare to wisk him away.  A decision is made that Little Joe will be returned to the living and have six months to earn his way heaven or be claimed by the devils.  The catch is Little Joe will remember none of this.

The devils plot to place every obstacle possible in Little Joe’s path from fast women like Georgia Brown [Horne] to fast cash and no-account friends.  Will Joe make it to the Cabin in the Sky?

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Is This a Photo of the Alcatraz Prison Escapees?

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The photo above is purported to be Clarence Anglin and John Anglin, two of the three convicts who escaped from Alcatraz prison in 1962.  This picture was reportedly taken in 1975 on a farm where they allegedly lived in Brazil.

The Alcatraz prison break is probably the most famous prison escape ever since it was thought to be impossible and the three convicts were never caught.  Of course the Clint Eastwood movie, Escape from Alcatraz, probably helped with public awareness a bit.

At any rate, if you’re interested you can see vintage photos of the convicts, their cells, escape route and more at  Could the Alcatraz Escapees Still Be Alive? Here Are Some of Historical Photos of The Great Escape from Alcatraz in 1962 at Vintage Everyday.