Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Chris Brunner created a team-up that action fans would love to see: Bruce Lee & the Bride with Hakim (played by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game of Death) in the background. Yeah, I’d love to see THAT movie or read THAT comic. Well done, Chris!
Regular readers know that I’m a huge fan of The Black Terror: Seduction of Deceit mini-series written by Beau Smith & Chuck Dixon with art by Dan Brereton. I’ve been calling for a nice trade reprint of the original series for years.
Consider this today’s reminder. ; )
The Twilight Zone New Year’s Eve Marathon has been one of our family traditions for decades. Sometimes we binge watch. Other times we just check in on favorite episodes. Shadow & Substance (an excellent Rod Serling fan site) has this year’s full schedule. Before you click over to check it out, let me suggest some favorite Twilight Zone episodes…
Friday, December 31, 2021
7:40pm – Time Enough At Last
8:55pm – The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
11:00pm – Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
11:25pm – The Shelter
Saturday, January 1, 2022
8:30am – Third From the Sun
8:45pm – The Howling Man
9:10pm – Eye of the Beholder
11:00pm – The Midnight Sun
Sunday, January 2, 2022
12:00am – To Serve Man
1:30am – Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
The Twilight Zone and quite a few other folks will be live-Tweeting during the marathon. If you watch, please join in!
Deathcathlon is already available for purchase and I just found out about it. How did that happen? I’m a Kyle Baker fan and am surprised I’m late to the party. Here’s the synopsis…
So what if nobody likes her and everyone wants her to fail? Detective Shakuntala Mahoney, the Last Honest Cop in the Most Corrupt Precinct is poised for a career-defining bust that will demolish the sports-rigging mafia in the city of Los Serafines. So what if her own team is sabotaging her and helping the bad guys? She’d rather be right than liked. Rules are rules and cheaters are cheaters. Only her obsession matters: Destroying the mafia.
She never counted on the brooding sinewy stranger with a haunted past who shatters the detective’s brilliant plans in an instant. An intriguing broad-muscled rogue who slaughters all of Mahoney’s suspects using sports equipment then vanishes into the night like a chiseled rugged ghost with a secret torment locked away in a hardened heart.
Someone’s wiping out the mafia, and it isn’t Mahoney. She’s finally found the only other person in this crooked town who shares her obsession, and he’s a damned serial killer. A damned hot serial killer doing the job she dreams the broken system would allow her to do. It definitely shouldn’t matter that he’s a world-famous athlete worth a fortune. The Last Honest cop will not tolerate vigilantism, especially if it screws up her promotion.
Rules are rules. Cheating is cheating. But the heart wants what the heart wants.
If Deathcathlon sounds like something you’d like, why deny yourself a little pleasure?
I like the looks of Borrego staring Lucy Hale and will keep an eye out for it.
Lucy Hale stars as Elly, a young botanist on a research mission gone awry. After witnessing a drug mule’s plane crash in the Borrego desert, she is kidnapped and forced on a dangerous journey to a remote drop off point. With limited essentials and alone in the desert with her captor, desperation for survival takes hold as Elly risks her life to escape from his clutches before the trip turns deadly.
Featuring: Lucy Hale, Leynar Gómez, Olivia Trujillo, Jorge A. Jimenez, Nicholas Gonzalez
Today we have a vintage Neal Adams’ Batman sketch. Back in the day con sketches were true sketches and not finished art. There’s something special about a well done sketch. Adams’ Batman above is a great example.
While I’m not a fan of the Clean poster, I do like Adrien Brody, crime movies and the trailer. Deal me in.
US Release Date: January 28, 2022
Starring: Adrien Brody, Glenn Fleshler, Richie Merritt
Directed By: Paul Solet
Synopsis: Tormented by his past, a garbage man named Clean attempts a quiet life of redemption. But, soon finds himself forced to reconcile with the violence of his past.
Meredith Danko at Mental Floss came up with an interesting list that she simply calls 23 Facts About the Witness Protection Program. Before you click over, here are three of my favorites with thoughts on each…
WITNESSES MAKE SOME UNUSUAL REQUESTS. (One guy wanted to take his girlfriend with him… and leave his wife behind! Ha! I’d love to see an article about more of the unusual requests. – Craig)
THE WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM USED TO PROVIDE PLASTIC SURGERY FOR WITNESSES. (This was stopped in the 1990s. Prior to that a mobster going into the program was able to get his wife a facelift and a boob job. One mobster, and I’m not kidding, requested penis surgery to give his self-esteem a boost. THAT was denied. – Craig)
SOME WITNESSES HAVE BROKEN WITSEC’S RULES. (Daniel LaPolla broke rules to return to his home city to attend a funeral. Sadly the next funeral he attended was his own — he was killed by a boobytrap set for him. – Craig)
It’s been announced that the next Reckless graphic novel by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips has been announced. It is titled Reckless: The Ghost in You. That’s the cover above. Here’s the synopsis…
The fourth book in the best-selling Reckless series is here!
Bestselling crime noir masters Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips bring us yet another original graphic novel starring troublemaker-for-hire Ethan Reckless.
Except this time it’s the winter of 1989 and Ethan is out of town, so Anna must tackle this job on her own. When a movie scream queen asks her to prove the mansion she’s renovating isn’t haunted, Anna will stumble into the decades-long mystery of one of Hollywood’s most-infamous murder houses… a place with many dark secrets, some of which might just kill her.
Another hit from the award-winning creators of RECKLESS, PULP, MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN JUNKIES, CRIMINAL, and KILL OR BE KILLED — and a must-have for all Brubaker and Phillips fans!
Reckless: The Ghost in You will be released on April 26, 2022. Preorders are available now.
That’s me (in blue) and Jim Ivey (in red). The photo was taken last Friday at our (now resumed) Jim Ivey Celebrations. Prior to COVID, about every six months I would invite friends to celebrate Jim Ivey (on either his birthday or Christmas).
Jim Ivey is one of our oldest and dearest friends. Jim was the owner of The Cartoon Museum in Orlando, Florida. At the same time, Jim also worked as a syndicated cartoonist [The Thoughts of Man], a political cartoonist [The Orlando Sentinel], a publisher [CartooNews], teacher [UCF cartooning class] and comic book convention organizer [OrlandoCon]. Jim made a lot of life-long friends through these activities and many of Jim’s friends became friends.
Getting back to today’s celebration… the line-up included Jim, his caretaker Joy, Rob Smith, Steve Martinez, me, Charlie Moffitt, Santa & Mrs. Claus (Joy Underwood and her husband Dennis).
In the second photo you can see (going left to right) Robert Smith, me, Charlie Moffitt, Mike Kott, Mike Sikes, Cliff Weikal and his wife, Steve Martinez, Joy Underwood and her husband Dennis (Santa & Mrs. Claus) and our Guest of Honor: Jim Ivey. Bill Black and John Beatty wanted to attend but family obligations kept them away.
Jim received many Christmas cards, lottery tickets (he loves ’em), homemade cookies (he loves ’em). Jim gave as good as he got, making sure each person in attendance got a Christmas Card and lottery ticket! There were so many great stories shared. It was a wonderful time.
Our next Jim Ivey Celebration will be for his 97th birthday in April!
Molly Turner at /Film came up with her list of The 15 Best Marlon Brando Movies Ranked. Considering that Brando has nearly 50 performances on his resume, ranking them is a tough job. Turner’s list is a good one and I am in total agreement with her top two choices. We differ on the third spot and my fourth and fifth Brando performances didn’t even make her list! So before you click over, here are my top five and thoughts on each…
1. The Godfather: is not only Brando’s greatest performance of all-time, but is also the role that put him back on top.
2. On the Waterfront: isn’t Brando’s flashiest role, but is undeniably one of his best.
3. Guys and Dolls: I’m usually not a big fan of musicals, but I do like Guys and Dolls and much of the credit is due to Brando as Sky Masterson.
4. One-Eyed Jacks: is the only film Marlon Brando directed, he also stars in it and it’s a western!
5. Mutiny on the Bounty: I prefer Brando over Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian!
Blake Hawkins at CBR.com came up with what he calls I Love Lucy: 7 Shocking Facts About the Classic Sitcom. While I wouldn’t call them shocking, Hawkins did come up with interesting trivia for one of America’s most beloved and groundbreaking sitcoms. Before you click over, here are my favorites from Hawkins’ list and some additional thoughts…
I Love Lucy Made Reruns Possible. (This fact alone should make I Love Lucy famous. Despite the additional cost using 35mm film allowed the episodes to be replayed making re-runs possible! – Craig)
Fred And Ethel Couldn’t Stand Each Other Offscreen. (I learned this years ago and was shocked. You’d never know this from just watching the show. I guess that’s why they call it acting. – Craig)
William Frawley Skipped Two Episodes For His Yankees. (This is new to me. It’s funny sometimes the things actors put into their contracts. It payed off for Frawley though. – Craig)
Desi-Lu Productions (Lucy and Desi’s company) were responsible for I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible and Star Trek!
My favorite I Love Lucy episode involves Lucy getting stuck on an upper story ledge in the rain dressed as tv’s Superman for Little Ricky’s birthday. George Reeves guest stars.
Nick Bartlett came up with his list of Our 15 Favorite Underrated Film Noirs. I’m a huge film noir fan and Bartlett’s list is a good one. Before you click over, using just his list, here are my top three and thoughts on each.
1. The Set-Up. While I wouldn’t classify this film as underrated, since it is on Bartlett’s list and is my favorite of the bunch. I place it in the top spot. If you haven’t seen The Set-Up, you should. It is a classic.
2. The Breaking Point. I didn’t see this film until the last year or so and wonder why I waited so long. Definitely underrated and definitely worth a watch!
3. Elevator to the Gallows is another film I just came to see in the last few years. What a cool concept. After killing his lover’s husband the killer becomes trapped in an elevator. His lover begins to have doubts when he doesn’t show up for their getaway… add in a cool Miles Davis score and you’ve got an underrated noir!
On November 26th we took a look at the first poster and trailer for The Silent Sea. I didn’t care for the poster but the trailer had me interested. Today’s poster is a bit of an improvement and I like the trailer even better!
During a perilous 24-hour mission on the moon, space explorers try to retrieve samples from an abandoned research facility steeped in classified secrets.
A deadly mission will uncover the darkest secrets of the moon
With a 10% survival rate, will the crew survive?
Let the mystery behind the abandoned lunar base unfold
Winter 2021, an intense sci-fi mystery thriller
The Silent Sea | December 24, only on Netflix
Michael Nesmith died today from heart failure at the age of 78. Nesmith was a singer, song writer, actor, producer and novelist! He was best known for his role as a member of The Monkees.
The Monkees [Mike, as he was called then, along with Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, and Peter Tork] took the world by storm in 1966. The group was hand-picked by Screen Gems in an effort to create a tv show about a group of young musicians. Lightning struck and the group not only had a hit tv series but became one of the biggest selling bands of the 60’s. In 1967, The Monkees sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined. The Monkees even appeared in a feature film called Head that was co-written by Jack Nicholson!
I was a huge Monkees fan like many kids my age [7]. I collected their albums, trading cards, comic books and magazines. I had a model of The Monkeemobile. I even followed The Monkees after Peter, then later Mike, quit the band. Sadly, I never got to see them perform live when they reunited for several reunion tours.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Michael Nesmith’s family, friends and fans.
