“Becoming Hitchcock: The Legacy of Blackmail” (2024) written & directed by Laurent Bouzereau / Z-View

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Becoming Hitchcock: The Legacy of Blackmail (2024)

Director:  Laurent Bouzereau

Screenplay: Laurent Bouzereau

Stars: Elvis Mitchell (narrator), Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Balsam, Raymond Burr, Anthony Dawson, John Gavin, Cary Grant, Tippi Hedren, Grace Kelly, Martin Landau, Janet Leigh, Anthony Perkins, Curtiss Cook, Eva Marie Saint and James Stewart.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Laurent Bouzereau explores how Alfred Hitchcock’s 1929 film Blackmail foreshadows many of the themes and techniques that would make Hitchcock one of the world’s most famous directors.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Blackmail was made right as silent films were transitioning to “talkies”.  Hitchcock made Blackmail to be shown in either format.  To accomplish this some scenes were shot differently.  This documentary showcases the scenes side by side.

If you’re a die hard Hitchcock fan, this is for you.  If not, your mileage may vary.

Becoming Hitchcock: The Legacy of Blackmail (2024) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“1923” – The Season 2 Trailer is Here!

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Check out the trailer for 1923 Season 2.

1923‘s first season was excellent.  Bring on Season 2.

Season 2 of 1923 is streaming February 23 on Paramount+.

A cruel winter brings new challenges and unfinished business to Jacob and Cara back at Dutton ranch. With harsh conditions and adversaries threatening to end the Dutton legacy, Spencer embarks on an arduous journey home, racing against time to save his family in Montana. Meanwhile, Alexandra sets off on her own harrowing trans-Atlantic journey to find Spencer and reclaim their love.

EDENVILLE OWLS by Robert B. Parker / Z-View

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EDENVILLE OWLS by Robert B. Parker

First sentence…

The radio in our living room was about four feet tall.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

The year is 1945.  The war is over.  Bobby is in eighth grade.  No longer a kid, but not grown either.  His best friends are Russell, Nick, Billy and Manny.  Oh, and we can’t forget Joan.  She’s been a best friend forever, but that relationship may be changing.

The school doesn’t have a basketball team so Bobby and the boys decide to start one.  They hope to get into the state tournament.  That could be a problem.

A bigger problem is what is going on with their favorite teacher, Miss Delaney.  She’s the pretty new teacher that is a favorite of the gang.  Bobby saw a mean looking man arguing with her.  Then Miss Delaney showed up with bruises on her face.

Bobby and the gang decide to investigate.  What they discover keeps them from going to adults.  It’s dangerous but Bobby and the team decide to help Miss Delaney.

+++++

I’m a huge Robert B. Parker fan.  His Spencer series influenced a generation of writers.  His Cole and Everett westerns were fun.  So when Parker decided to write young adult fiction, I decided to go along for the ride.  Kids should enjoy it even more.

Rating:

“Back in Action” (2025) starring Jamie Foxx & Cameron Diaz / Z-View

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Back in Action (2025)

Director:  Seth Gordon

Screenplay: Seth Gordon, Brendan O’Brien

Stars: Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, McKenna Roberts, Rylan Jackson, Kyle Chandler, Jamie Demetriou, Andrew Scott, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Ben VanderMey, Tobi Bamtefa and Glenn Close.

Tagline: They’re living their best lies..

The Plot…

Fifteen years ago Matt and Emily were CIA operatives… and lovers.  That all changed when they discovered Emily was  pregnant. The left the organization without any goodbyes and changed their identities.  Since then Matt, Emily and their two teenage kids have been living a normal life.

That all changes when foreign factions and the CIA come after Matt and Emily.  On their last mission they kept a device that could change the world.

Now on the run with their children, they have to figure a way out.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I tapped out after 57 minutes.  Your mileage may vary.

Back in Action (2025) rates 1 of 5 stars.

Jack Carter and John Wick by Roy Chang!

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Every year the Cartoon Art Museum does a fundraiser.  Artists take on commissions with the funds raised going to support the Museum.  It’s a great cause by awesome artists who share their talents in an effort to support the Museum.

This year one of the two artists I commissioned was Roy Chang.  As you can see, I asked for Stallone from Get Carter and Keanu Reeves as John Wick.  Mr. Chang came through like a champ!

“Jade” starring Mickey Rourke, Mark Dacascos, Katherine McNamara and introducing Shaina West – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Today we have a poster and trailer for Jade.  This is one I’ll check out on streaming since we have drive-ins around here.

Deal me in.

JADE – Official Trailer | On Digital February 18

Official film page: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/jade

After her brother’s untimely and accidental death at her own hands, Jade swore she’d never pick up another gun. But when she unknowingly comes between powerful businessman “Tork” and her former gang leader in their urgent search for a valuable hard drive that could single-handedly take down Interpol, she may not have a choice. With the guidance of Reese, an old friend at Interpol, Jade must come to terms with all she’s faced in the past and present to safeguard her growing family’s future.

Directed by: James Bamford
Cast: Mickey Rourke, Katherine McNamara, Mark Dacascos, and Shaina West

“A Thousand Blows” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Today we have a poster and trailer for A Thousand Blows.

Deal me in.

From the creator of Peaky Blinders comes a series about Hezekiah (Malachi Kirby) and Alec (Francis Lovehall), two friends from Jamaica, who finds themselves thrust into the criminal underbelly of 1880’s London’s East End. Here they meet Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), Queen of an all-female criminal gang known as the Forty Elephants, and run afoul of Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham), criminal kingpin and notorious boxer.

All episodes of A Thousand Blows are streaming February 21 on Hulu.

“Shutter Island” (2010) directed by Martin Scorsese; starring Leonard DiCaprio / Z-View

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Shutter Island (2010)

Director:  Martin Scorsese

Screenplay: Laeta Kalogridis; based on SHUTTER ISLAND by Dennis Lehane

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Ted Levine, John Carroll Lynch, Elias Koteas, Robin Bartlett, Nellie Sciutto, Joseph Sikora, Curtiss Cook, Joseph McKenna and Jackie Earle Haley.

Tagline: Someone is missing.

The Plot…

1954.

US Marshall Edward “Teddy” Daniels (DiCaprio) is sent to the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane.  Only the most violent and mentally ill patients are housed there.  The Ashecliffe Hospital sits on Shutter Island, located just outside of Boston Harbor.  The island rests high above sea level, with sheer cliffs on all sides. The only way in or out is through a number of secured gates attached to the only pier.

Just before departing for Shutter Island Marshall Daniels meets his new partner Officer Chuck Aule (Ruffalo).  Daniels and Aule arrive on Shutter Island just ahead of a hurricane that is rapidly approaching.  Daniels brings Aule up to speed.  They are there to find a missing patient named Rachel Solando.  Solando was there because she drowned her three children.  How she could have gotten off the island is a mystery.  The fact that she cannot be found on the small island seems impossible.  Daniels and Aule are there to resolve the case.

Daniels tells Aule that he asked for the case.  Daniels goes on to say that another of the insane criminals housed on Shutter Island is arsonist Andrew Laeddis.  One of Laeddis’ victims was Daniels wife who died in one of Laeddis’ fires.

As Daniels and Aule speak with the doctors and police officers on staff, Daniels begins to feel that things are not as they seem.  The patient interviews add to Daniels’ concerns.  When Daniels speaks to patient George Noyce privately, Noce informs him that the doctors are lying to him.  Noyce goes on to say that patients are subjected to horrible experiments.  Some are even lobotomized before they can speak out.

With this new knowledge, Daniels plans to leave the island and come back with support.  The only problem is the hurricane keeping all boats away.  Daniels and Officer Aule had been separated.  When Daniels asks about Aule, he is told that he had no partner.

Daniels realizes he’s trapped on the island and nothing is as it seemed. Daniels is outnumbered and outgunned. He’s got to find a way to survive and escape… from a place where escape is impossible.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Shutter Island is based on Dennis Lehane’s book of the same name.  Both the novel and the movie get my highest recommendation.

Shutter Island is an anagram for Truths and Lies.  As Daniels gets deeper and deeper into the mystery, the weather gets worse and the skies darker.  The storm passes and the skies clear, once the mystery is solved.  Unfortunately sunny skies may not mean a happy ending.

There are subtle clues throughout the movie as to what is actually going on.  I won’t give them away, because discovering them as you watch the film is part of the fun.  There’s even more enjoyment watching the film again and seeing how everything is right before our eyes.

Shutter Island (2010) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“American Primeval” (2025) written by Mark L. Smith; directed by Peter Berg; starring Taylor Kitsch & Betty Gilpin / Z-View

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American Primeval (2025)

Created by: Mark L. Smith

Director: Peter Berg

Teleplay: Mark L. Smith

Stars: Taylor Kitsch, Betty Gilpin, Dane DeHaan, Saura Lightfoot-Leon, Derek Hinkey, Joe Tippett, Jai Courtney, Preston Mota, Shawnee Pourier, Kyle Davis, Tokala Black Elk, Mustafa Speaks, Nick Hargrove, Alex Fine, Andrew P. Loga, Irene Bedard, Kim Coates and Shea Whigham.

Tagline:  No one survives alone.

The Plot…

1857.

A wagon train heading into the west is attacked. Isaac Reed, a frontiersman who had been trailing the group manages to get Sara Rowell and her son Devin away to safety.  Abish, a newlywed Morman bride shows courage as the surviving women are killed.  Abish’s life is spared, but she taken captive by one of the Paiutes.  Everyone else is left for dead.

Although badly wounded and partially scalped, Jacob Pratt survives.  Jacob is determined to find his bride Abish.

The attack on the wagon train appeared to be by Native Americans.  Although there were some Paiutes that participated, the massacre was led by a Morman militia.  The Mormans, led by Brigham Young, are determined to make this area of the west, their stronghold.  When it is learned that Abish survived and could identify that Mormans were involved in the raid, a squad is sent to find and kill her.

Bounty hunters are on the trail of Sara Rowell and her son.  Sara is wanted for the murder of a man back east.

As the US calvary prepares for revenge against the Shoshone (thought to have massacred the wagon train), bounty hunters are closing in on Isaac Reed, Sara, Devin, and Two Moon, a young Native American girl who joined their group.  At the same time the Morman soldiers are hunting Abish.

Each group will face more battles with the other groups, wolves, and the elements.  Most will not survive living in American Primeval.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

American Primeval writer Mark L. Smith also wrote The Revenant (2015).

Shea Whigham always raises the bar when he appears in a scene.

Arrows have never appeared so fast and dangerous as they do in this one.

American Primeval (2025) rates 4 of 5 stars.

RIP: David Lynch

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It was announced that David Lynch died today, at the age of 78.  Mr. Lynch had announced last year that he had been diagnosed with emphysema.

After graduating high school, David Lynch decided to study painting.  He studied at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington, D.C., the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.  It was at the Pennsylvania Academy where Mr. Lynch made his first short film.  The film was well received and led Mr. Lynch to create other shorts.

A grant from the American Film Institute financed Mr. Lynch’s short, The Grandmother.  David Lynch then moved to LA to begin studying filmmaking at the AFI Conservatory.  While there Mr. Lynch received a $10,000 grant from the AFI to create Eraserhead.  David Lynch raised the additional money required to complete filming through a loan from his father and money he saved by delivering The Wall Street Journal.  After the success of Eraserhead, Mr. Lynch went on to direct Elephant Man.  At that point, Mr. Lynch was well on his way to a long career as a director, writer and producer.  In addition to his television and feature film directing, Mr. Lynch as continued to create shorts, music videos, write and occasionally act.

David Lynch was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Director, once for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and won an Honorary Academy Award

  • 1981 Nominee – Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for The Elephant Man, Shared with: Christopher De Vore · Eric Bergren
  • 1981 Nominee – Best Director for The Elephant Man
  • 1987 Nominee – Best Director for Blue Velvet
  • 2002 Nominee – Best Director for Mulholland Drive

Television projects that feature David Lynch include: Twin Peaks (6 episodes); On the Air; Hotel Room (2 episodes) and Muholland Drive (2001).

Feature films that David Lynch directed in include: Eraserhead; The Elephant Man; Dune; Blue Velvet; Twin Peaks; Wild at Heart; Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me; Lost Highway; The Straight Story; Mulholland Drive (1999) and Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces.

I first heard of David Lynch with his movie Eraserhead.  My favorite David Lynch film is The Elephant Man.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to David Lynch’s family, friends and fans.

“Paradise” starring Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson & James Marsden – The Second Trailer is Here!

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We have a new trailer for Paradise starring Sterling K. Brown,  Julianne Nicholson and James Marsden.  This looks great.

Deal me in.

Starring Sterling K. Brown, James Marsden, and Julianne Nicholson.

Paradise is set in a serene, wealthy community inhabited by some of the world’s most prominent individuals. But this tranquility explodes when a shocking murder occurs and a high stakes investigation unfolds. Stream #ParadiseHulu on January 28.

“Tarzan Triumphs” (1943) starring Johnny Weissmuller / Z-View

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Tarzan Triumphs (1943)

Director:  Wilhelm Thiele

Screenplay: Carroll Young, Roy Chanslor ; story by Carroll Young; based on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Stars: Johnny Weissmuller, Frances Gifford, Johnny Sheffield, Stanley Ridges, Sig Ruman, Philip Van Zandt,
Pedro de Cordoba, George Lynn and Cheetah.

Tagline: A new exciting beauty arouses Tarzan’s fighting heart…as ruthless killers from the sky invade his jungle kingdom on a rampage of murder and worse! You’ll see…NEW TARZAN THRILLS by the thousand!

The Plot…

World War II rages, but until now has not reached the jungles of Tarzan.

Until now.

A squad of Nazi paratroopers has taken over the the lost city of Palandrya.  The Nazis are using the citizens as slave labor to mine rare minerals.  When the Nazis kidnap Tarzan’s adopted son, Boy, Tarzan is drawn into the war.

“Ungawa!”

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Tarzan Triumphs was Johnny Weissmuller’s seventh outing as Tarzan.  Those films were made at MGM.  This movie came from RKO.  Along with Weissmuller, the studio got Johnny Sheffield (as Boy) and Cheetah.  Maureen O’Sullivan (who played Jane in the previous films) was under contract with MGM.  That’s why Jane is in England during this film.

World War II was still being fought when Tarzan Triumphs was made.  Sol Lesser, the executive producer of Tarzan Triumphs said it was suggested by the US State Department that having Tarzan fight Nazis would be a great morale builder.

If the fort where Tarzan and Boy are held captive looks familiar, it could be because it was the same set used in Gunga Din.

When it comes to killing Nazis even Boy, Cheeta and Boy’s pet elephant take part.

The final scene with Cheetah “talking” on the radio and Nazis in Germany thinking it is Hitler speaking is classic.

If you like Tarzan films of this era, Tarzan Triumphs is one of the better ones.

Tarzan Triumphs (1943) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Daredevil: Born Again” – The Trailer is Here!

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Daredevil: Born Again looks good.  This is coming from a guy who pretty much stopped watching mainstream superhero movies.  Of course the Daredevil comic (especially under Frank Miller) always leaned heavily into crime stories.

Deal me in.

Marvel Television’s all-new series #DaredevilBornAgain premieres March 4 at 6pm PT/9pm ET. Only on @DisneyPlus.