Ranking the Films of Michael Bay

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Kieran Fisher at Film School Rejects ranked the films of Michael Bay.  I decided I’d play along.  I’ve ranked Bay’s films (that I’ve seen) with a comment on each.

09.  Transformers (2007) – I didn’t care for this at all but then again, I wasn’t in the target audience.

08. The Island (2005) – I saw it, but remember thinking it would be better.

07.  Bad Boys (1995) – I can remember sitting in the theater and thinking, ‘This should be better.’

06.  Pain & Gain (2013) – I wasn’t expecting a lot from this one and so the bar wasn’t that high.

05.  6 Underground (2019) – Put your mind in neutral and go along for the ride.

04.  Pearl Harbor (2001) – I liked this better than most folks.  In fact I almost put it in the third spot.

03.  Armageddon (1998) – A great cast and a fun story.

02.  Bad Boys II (2003) – I didn’t care for the first Bad Boys but really dug the second.

01.  The Rock (1996) – Absolutely loved this one!

Max Allan Collins on Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick and The Shining(s)

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Max Allan Collins posted an excellent piece on The Shining – the book, the movie and the differences that Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick had in regard to their versions.  As a bonus Collins looks at Doctor Sleep and the 1997 TV mini-series of Stephen King’s The Shining.

Max Allan Collins’ blog is always worth reading (as are his novels) and his “Shining” post is just an example of the fun to be had.

The Twilight Zone’s Most Shocking Twist Endings

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Phil Pirrello at Syfy Wire posted his choices for The Twilight Zone’s 10 Most Shocking Twist Endings.  His list is a good one.

I’ve posted how I’d rank his top ten below.  Click on the link above to get the entire Pirrello piece.  If you click on the links in my ratings, you’ll get my Z-View for the individual episodes.

Phil Pirrello / Syfy Wire

Craig
10. “The Silence” (Season 2) 10. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (Season 5)
09. “Five Characters In Search of an Exit” (Season 3) 09. “Five Characters In Search of an Exit” (Season 3)
08. “The Masks” (Season 5)  08. “The Masks” (Season 5) 
07. “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up” (Season 2) 07. “The Silence” (Season 2)
06. “The Invaders” (Season 2)  06. “I Shot an Arrow Into the Air” (Season 1)
05. “To Serve Man” (Season 1) 05. “Eye of the Beholder” (Season 2)
04. “I Shot an Arrow Into the Air” (Season 1) 04. “Time Enough At Last” (Season 1)
03. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (Season 5) 03. “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up” (Season 2)
02. “Time Enough At Last” (Season 1) 02. “The Invaders” (Season 2) 
01. “Eye of the Beholder” (Season 2) 01. “To Serve Man” (Season 1)

The Best Movie Posters of 2019

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ComingSoon posted their choices for The 25 Best Movie Posters of 2019.  My favorite of their picks was the Alex Ross poster for Glass shown above.

Although a John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum poster did make the ComingSoon Top 25, the version they selected wasn’t one of my favorite posters of the year (which probably surprises a lot of you).

I would have also included this poster, this poster, this poster and this poster all for Rambo: Last  Blood.  (Which probably surprises nobody.)

12 Surprising Facts about “The Godfather Part II”

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Scott Beggs and Mental Floss present 12 Surprising Facts about The Godfather Part II.  Here are four (I couldn’t pick just 3!) of my favorite facts presented.  Click on the link to read all of the facts and additional details!

3. MARLON BRANDO AND ROBERT DE NIRO ARE THE ONLY ACTORS TO WIN OSCARS FOR PLAYING THE SAME CHARACTER.

6. AN EXTRA HAD THE GUTS TO IMPROVISE AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN THE GODFATHER PART II.

11. JAMES CAGNEY TURNED DOWN A ROLE IN THE GODFATHER PART II.

12. FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA WANTED MARLON BRANDO TO REPRISE HIS ROLE AS THE YOUNGER VERSION OF HIMSELF IN THE GODFATHER PART II.

The Lady Killer Library Edition by Jamie Rich & Joelle Jones is Coming!

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I love recommending good books.  I especially love good books that are  bargains.  The Lady Killer Library Edition by Jamie Rich (Author), Joelle Jones (Author & Illustrator) qualifies on both counts.

Josie Schuller is a picture-perfect homemaker, wife, and mother–but she’s also a ruthless killer!

She balances cheerful domestic bliss with coldly efficient assassinations. From the World’s Fair in Seattle to the beaches of Florida, Josie tries to keep her perfect family alive in a bloodstained new vision of the American Dream.

Joelle Jones became an overnight sensation with this gory midcentury series, leading to successful runs on DC’s Catwoman and Batman titles. Now Lady Killer‘s complete story (so far) is together in one oversized hardcover, the perfect showcase for Jones’s phenomenal artwork.

This oversized hardcover collects the original series cowritten by Jones’s longtime collaborator Jamie S. Rich, as well as the followup, which she both wrote and drew solo. Also included are the sketchbooks from both series and previously unpublished art.

Collects Lady Killer TPB volumes 1 & 2.

The Lady Killer Library Edition will become available on May 12, 2020.  Pre-orders are being taken now.

“Cut Bank” / Z-View

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Cut Bank (2014)

Director: Matt Shakman

Screenplay: Roberto Patino

Stars:  Liam Hemsworth, Teresa Palmer, Billy Bob Thorton, Bruce Dern, John Malkovich and Michael Stuhlbarg.

The Pitch: “Do you like movies like Blood Simple and Fargo…”

Tagline: Good Folks. Bad Deeds.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Dwayne McLaren dreams of getting out of  Cut Bank, a small town with little promise.  When McLaren and his girlfriend accidentally video the murder of a postal worker, they may have stumbled on their ticket out.  The $100,000 reward money offered by the postal service would be life-changing money.

But all is not as it seems.

The postal worker was set to deliver a parcel that a man is willing to kill to get and perhaps the postal worker’s killing wasn’t a murder at all.  Who is scamming who?

Cut Bank features great cast and a story with plenty of twists.  I was surprised how good it is. Although I’ve posted the trailer below, I suggest you skip it and go straight to the movie.  (Some of the twists are given away in the trailer.  Go in cold and enjoy!)

Rating:

Mark Evanier’s Xmas Story (Starring Mel Torme)

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It’s become a tradition around this time of year for Mark Evanier to post what he calls My Xmas Story.

ME has been blogging for nearly 20 years, with over 25,000 posts and  My Xmas Story is his site’s most popular.  As you’ve probably guessed, it features the gent in the photo above.  For our younger readers, that gent is Mel Torme.  I invite each of  you (young and old) to click over to Evanier’s post and enjoy.

Little Green: An Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley / Z-View

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Little Green: An Easy Rawlins Mystery by Walter Mosley

Hardcover: 291 pages
Publisher: Doubleday

First sentence…

“I came half-awake, dead and dreaming.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Still recovering from a near-fatal car accident, Easy Rawlins agrees to find a missing teenager named Evander “Little Green” Noon.  Finding Little Green is tough enough, but the real mystery is how did he come into possession of two bags of money covered in blood?  There’s also the problem of what can be done about the men out to get the money back and kill those who possess it.


Arnold Schwarzenegger is “Dirty Harry” in this DeepFake Trailer!

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Check out Arnold Schwarzenegger in this DeepFake trailer to Dirty Harry! The technology is improving so quickly that soon we’ll see dead actors/actresses making a comeback.

Some folks are against putting deceased stars in ads or movies, but I like the idea if the heirs are okay with it.  Who’d have thought we may someday see new movies with Marlon Brando, Bruce Lee, Humphrey Bogart or Lon Chaney?