MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES by Jonathan Maberry!

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I’m a big fan of Jonathan Maberry’s novels.  My favorite is his JOE LEDGER series, but everything I’ve ever read by Maberry has been worthy.

MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES is on my “must-buy” list. (How about that cover by Lynne Hansen!)

MYSTIC: THE MONK ADDISON CASE FILES drops December 3rd, 2024.  Below is the synopsis…

Gerald “Monk” Addison used to be a soldier. Sometimes he’s a bounty hunter. Mostly, he’s a killer of killers.
His body is covered with the faces of victims of serial killers, human traffickers, and other monsters. Their blood is mixed with holy water and then inked onto his skin, allowing him to relive their deaths. To feel what they felt, and to see what they saw. The faces of the killers.

And then Monk goes hunting.

He is forever haunted by the ghosts who hire him. A madman mystic. A man driven to darkness and acts of shocking violence. Monk is a good man on a dark and dangerous road in search of personal redemption. In search of red justice.

MYSTIC collects the Monk Addison case files, pitting him against the most dangerous kinds of human monsters. These are stories of a complex and driven hunter of men. They are tales of a mystic hunting the nightmare streets and back alleys.

“Leon: The Professional” Alt Poster by Joshua Lane Johnson and the 30th Anniversary Trailer are Here!

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Leon: The Professional turns 30 this year.  A new Blu-Ray with extras is coming.  To celebrate with have the alt poster by Joshua Lane Johnson above and the 30th anniversary trailer below.

A film by Luc Besson

12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Leon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégé and learns the assassin’s trade.

“Black Dynamite” (2009) starring Michael Jai White / Z-View

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Black Dynamite (2009)

Director:  Scott Sanders

Screenplay: Michael Jai White, Scott Sanders, Byron Minns, story by Michael Jai White, Byron Minns

Stars: Michael Jai White, Arsenio Hall, Tommy Davidson, Phyllis Applegate, Obba Babatundé, William Bassett and Mykelti Williamson.

Tagline:  He’s super bad, he’s outta sight. He’s Black Dynamite.

The Plot…

Black Dynamite (White) is a Viet Nam vet, fung fu expert, ex-CIA, love machine.  He’s a mean muther —  I’m just talking about Black Dynamite.  When Black Dynamite’s brother is killed, evidence leads to an organization that is providing heroin to black orphanages, and poisoning malt liquor headed for the ghetto.  The CIA reinstate Black Dynamite so he can make those muthers pay.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Black Dynamite is a love letter to the low-budget blaxploitation movies of the early 1970s.  It definitely captured the look, sound and feel of those films.  We get split screen, slow-motion, boom mic errors, jump cuts, bad dialogue and music that take us back to those wonderful days of one cool cat willing and able to take down the man in between loving the ladies.

Kudos to Michael Jai White for not only playing the lead, but coming up with the idea and hitting the right mix of homage and parody.

Black Dynamite (2009) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Cross”: Season 1 starring Aldis Hodge, Isaiah Mustafa, Ryan Eggold and Johnny Ray Gill / Z-View

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Cross: Season 1 (2024)

Created by: Ben Watkins; based on the ALEX CROSS novels by James Patterson

Director: Nzingha Stewart (Eps. 1-2); Craig Siebels (Eps. 3-4); Stacey Muhammad  (Eps. 5-6); Director X (Ep. 7); Carl Seaton (Ep. 8)

Teleplay: Ben Watkins (Ep. 1); Aiyana White (Ep. 2); Ron McCants & Sam Ernst  (Ep. 3); Blaize Ali-Watkins & Jim Dunn  (Ep. 4); Gary Lundy (Ep. 5); Ali Salerno; story by Ali Salerno & Sonja Perryman (Ep. 6); Sam Ernst & Jim Dunn (Ep. 7);Ben Watkins & Aiyana White (Ep. 8)

Stars: Aldis Hodge, Isaiah Mustafa, Juanita Jennings, Alona Tal, Samantha Walkes, Caleb Elijah, Melody Hurd, Jennifer Wigmore, Eloise Mumford, Ryan Eggold, Stacie Greenwell, Sharon Taylor, Karen Robinson, Mercedes de la Zerda, Siobhan Murphy and Johnny Ray Gill.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

D.C. Detective Alex Cross (Hodge) and (his best friend since childhood) Detective John Sampson (Mustafa) are assigned the case of a well known Black Lives Matter activist, Emir Goodspeed, found dead in his car.  Initial reports indicate an accidental drug overdose.  Cross examines the evidence and believes it was murder.  The powers that be want the case quickly wrapped up.

Chief Anderson orders Cross to quit making waves.  Cross digs deeper. He finds evidence that Goodspeed was the victim of a serial killer. Chief Anderson, not convinced, orders Cross to stand down.  Only Cross’ partner, John Sampson and one other person believe Cross is right.  The other person is the serial killer.

Cross doesn’t know how connected and powerful the serial killer is.  He’s about to find out.

Cross also doesn’t realize the killer who murdered Cross’ wife (and was never caught) is coming back for more revenge.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I absolutely loved this season.  Alex Cross isn’t a perfect hero by any stretch.  He’s suffering from the unresolved murder of his wife.  Often deaths in movies/television shows have little ramifications for the heroes.  That isn’t the case here.

Cross is populated with  characters and a great cast.  Standouts are Aldis Hodge, Isaiah Mustafa (who plays my favorite character), Ryan Eggold and Johnny Ray Gill.

The story feels grounded in reality which makes us more willing to accept the connections of the serial killer.  I loved the twists and the secondary story that doesn’t immediately become clear that it’s not part of the main crime.

I am looking forward to season 2.

Cross: Season 1 (2024) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“High Wall” (1947) starring Robert Taylor, Audrey Trotter and Herbert Marshall / Z-View

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High Wall (1947)

Director:  Curtis Bernhardt

Screenplay: Sydney Boehm, Lester Cole, story by Alan R. Clark, Bradbury Foote based on HIGH WALL by Alan R. Clark and the play adapted by Bradbury Foote

Stars: Robert Taylor, Audrey Totter, Herbert Marshall, H.B. Warner, Warner Anderson, Moroni Olsen, John Ridgely, Morris Ankrum, Elisabeth Risdon and Vince Barnett.

Tagline:  So tense! So taut! It closes in on you like a high wall!

The Plot…

Steven Kenet (Taylor) needs an operation for a brain injury he suffered in the war.  Kenet is currently being held in the county psychiatric hospital.  Police believe Kenet murdered his wife.  Kenet needs psychiatric testing to see if he’s sane enough to stand trial.

Kenet initially doesn’t know if he killed his wife or not. As he regains bits of his memory, Kenet begins to believe he’s innocent.  But how can he prove his innocence if he’s locked up in the looney bin?  If he could only get Dr. Ann Lorrison (Trotter) to believe he’s not a killer…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The High Wall takes some daring angles for a film made in the 40s.  The hero starting to strangle his wife.  A war hero’s wife cheating on him and caring nothing for her child. The killer admitting it to Kenet to incite him. Kudos for being daring.

Contrast this with the easy way Kenet gets in and out of custody plus the killer’s “confession” and we end up with a mixed bag.  Still I liked High Wall.

High Wall (1947) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Gun Crazy” (1950) directed by Joseph H. Lewis, starring Peggy Cummins & John Dall / Z-View

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Gun Crazy (1950)

Director:  Joseph H. Lewis

Screenplay: Dalton Trumbo, MacKinlay Kantor based on Gun Crazy a 1940 story in The Saturday Evening Post by MacKinlay Kantor

Stars: John Dall, Peggy Cummins, Berry Kroeger, Morris Carnovsky, Harry Lewis, Nedrick Young, Trevor Bardette, Virginia Farmer, Robert Osterloh, Shimen Ruskin, Ray Teal and Russ Tamblyn.

Tagline:  SHE BELIEVES IN TWO THINGS… – love and violence!

The Plot…

Bart Tare (Dall) has always had a fascination with guns.  Bart is a crack shot and even taught marksmanship in the service.  One night at a traveling carnival with friends, Bart is encouraged to accept a challenge from sharpshooter Annie Laurie Starr (Cummins).  Even though she’s really good, Bart wins the contest.  But Laurie wins Bart’s heart.

Laurie gets Bart a job with the carnival.  They fall in love and marry.  Laurie wants more than the sideshow life can provide.  She convinces Bart they should use their gun skills to rob enough places to live the good life.  When Laurie threatens to leave Bart, he agrees as long as no one gets hurt.

That’s a promise she can’t keep.  She’s gun crazy.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The bank robbery scene was shot in one take.  Dall, Cummins, the actor playing the police officer and the people inside the bank knew the scene was being filmed.  At no time during the scene do we see the inside of the bank.  That was a bold move for the director to make.  It works!

Dalton Trumbo was listed in the credits since he was a blacklisted writer at the time.

Bart and Laurie are loosely based on Bonnie and Clyde.

I appreciate Gun Crazy more with each viewing.

Gun Crazy (1950) rates 4 of 5 stars.

KING OF ASHES by S.A. Cosby!

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S.A. Cosby’s next novel KING OF ASHES has been announced.  It sounds like another winner…

Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby returns with KING OF ASHES, a Godfather-inspired Southern crime epic and dazzling family drama.

When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father’s car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family―and the family business―together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante’s recklessness has placed them all in real danger.

Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble. But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he’s forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up in smoke, Roman realizes that he has only one thing left to offer to save his brother: himself, and his own particular set of skills.

Roman begins his work for the criminals while Neveah tries to uncover the long-ago mystery of what happened to their mother, who disappeared when they were teenagers. But Roman is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. He is willing to do anything to save his family. Anything.

Because everything burns.

KING OF ASHES drops on June 10, 2025.  This is a must-get for me.  Pre-orders are available now.

“Salem’s Lot” (1979) directed by Tobe Hooper, starring David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia and Lew Ayres / Z-View

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Salem’s Lot (1979)

Director:  Tobe Hooper

Screenplay: Paul Monash based on ‘SALEM’S LOT by Stephen King

Stars: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Lew Ayres, Julie Cobb, Elisha Cook Jr., George Dzundza, Ed Flanders, Kenneth McMillan, Fred Willard, Marie Windsor, Barbara Babcock, Bonnie Bartlett, Joshua Bryant, Reggie Nalder  and Geoffrey Lewis.

Tagline:  Salem’s Lot… where no one rests in peace…

The Plot…

A vampire has come to the small remote town of Salem’s Lot, Maine.

One vampire bites a human and you have two blood suckers. Two turn others and now there are four.  As the number of vampires grow, only a few people realize (believe) what is happening.  Ben Mears (Soul), his new girlfriend Susan (Bedelia), aging school teacher Jason Bruke (Ayers) and young Mark Petrie (Kerwin).

What chance do they have against the living dead?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Salem’s Lot was nominated for three 1980 Primetime Emmy Awards…

  • Nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences: Gene Kraft
  • Nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup: Ben Lane, Jack H. Young
  • Nominee for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Limited Series or a Special (Dramatic Underscore): Harry Sukman

Salem’s Lot was originally developed as a feature film with George “Night of the Living Dead” Romero set to direct.  When Dracula (1979) and Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) were announced, Warner Bros. decided to make Salem’s Lot as a two episode mini-series.  Romero then dropped out.

Tobe Hooper came on board as a director.  He realized as a tv project, he would be severely limited to the amount of blood/gore.  He therefore focused on creating atmosphere and tension.  Salem’s Lot is better for it. (As it turned out Salem’s Lot was released theatrically in Europe with a slightly different cut.)

On of the eeriest scenes is Ralphie Glick floating outside a second story window.  Ralphie scratches the glass to awaken his sleeping brother.  Part of the scene was filmed in reverse making it even more surreal.

Reggie Nalder played the main vampire Barlow.  It’s hard to believe that he has less than 90 seconds of screen time!  Believe it or not, this works as it makes each appearance more frightening.  Nalder expressed disappointment that additional filmed scenes didn’t make the final cut.  He also said that the contact lenses and heavy make-up he had to wear was very uncomfortable.

Bonnie Bedelia and Julie Cobb really shine.

I remember the anticipation leading up to the original television showing.  It was an event.  This was in the days when you had to be in front of the tv to see the show.  My date (and later my wife) and I made a point to be home both nights.  We weren’t disappointed.

Salem’s Lot (1979) rates 4 of 5 stars.