West of Zanzibar (1928) / Z-View

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West of Zanzibar (1928)

Director:  Todd Browning

Screenplay:  Elliott J. Clawson

Stars: Lon Chaney, Lionel Barrymore and Mary Nolan .

The Pitch: “Let’s make a movie with Lon Chaney directed by Todd Browning!”

Tagline: “A story of love and revenge in the African jungles!”

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A magician named Phroso [Chaney] discovers his wife has been having an affair with a man named Crane [Barrymore].  Phroso confronts Crane, and during their fight is thrown over a rail, breaking his back and leaving him paralyzed and alone.

Later his wife returns only to die a short time later.  Before she dies Phroso learns that she had a daughter and Crane is now an ivory dealer in Africa.  Phroso heads to Africa with the child and plots his revenge.  First his makes sure that his wife’s daughter is raised in a brothel so that she grows up to be a drug-addicted prostitute.  Then he  takes on the persona “Dead Legs” and over the course of nearly two decades builds his criminal empire.

Once the time is right, Phroso brings the grown daughter to him so that he can extract his final revenge on her and Crane.  Dark stuff, indeed and with a twist [although easily seen coming] worthy of the Twilight Zone.

Rating:

Badlands (1973) / Z-View

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Badlands (1973)

Director:  Terrence Malick

Screenplay: Terrence Malick

Stars: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates and Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen and Terrence Malick.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a movie based on the killing spree of Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate.”

Tagline: “In 1959 a lot of people were killing time. Kit and Holly were killing people.”

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Kit [Sheen] is a twenty-something garbage man with a lot of swagger.  Holly [Spacek] is a fifteen year old school girl who falls for Kit.  They see each other secretly until her father  [Oates] discovers the affair and forbids Holly to see Kit again.

Kit comes to take Holly away and ends up killing her father.  Holly decides to run away with Kit.  This begins their cross-country killing spree.

Rating:

The Franchize Has an Escape Plan for Sly!

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Jerry Gaylord aka The Franchize returns with his take on Sly from Escape Plan.  

Jerry is one of my favorite sketch artists.  He always gives collectors more than they’re expecting and he is just plain good!

I highly recommend Jerry to all sketch collectors. He quickly responds to e-mails, his turnaround time is fast and he packages the art to ensure it arrives safely.

To check out more of Jerry’s art, head here. – Craig

Tell (2014) / Z-View

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Tell (2014)

Director:  J.M.R. Luna

Screenplay: Timothy Williams

Stars: Milo Ventimiglia, Katee Sackhoff, Jason Lee and Robert Patrick.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a crime movie with supporting players!”

No Tagline.

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Ethan Tell [Ventimiglia] reluctantly joins in on a big heist and ends up in possession of a million dollars.  Now that he has the money, how will he keep his crime partner, his wife [Sackhoff], his parole officer and a couple of corrupt cops from killing him and taking the money.

I was expecting more.

Rating:

Tarzan of the Movies: Ranking the Lord of the Jungle’s Greatest Films

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Tarzan by Rafael Kayanan

Tarzan has appeared in more than sixty films played by over twenty actors since making his first appearance on the big screen.  When I think of Tarzan, the first actor that comes to my mind is Johnny Weissmuller.  Of course I grew up watching Weissmuller Tarzan movies.

Over the years, I’ve seen and enjoyed many other Tarzan portrayals including those by Lex Barker, Gordon Scott, Denny Miller, Jock Mahoney, Mike Henry, Ron Ely, Miles O’Keefe and Christopher Lambert.

When I think of Tarzan movies, again, it is the Weissmuller ones that come to mind. Other versions remind me of Hercules of the Jungle, Tarzan as James Bond, Tarzan has to be here so we can justify Bo Derek as Jane, etc.

Tarzan expert Ron Marz selects his favorite Tarzan flicks in Tarzan of the Movies: Ranking the Lord of the Jungle’s Greatest Films.

House of Horrors (1946) / Z-View

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House of Horrors (1946)

Director:  Jean Yarbrough

Screenplay: George Bricker from a story by Dwight V. Babcock

Stars: Rondo Hatton, Martin Kosleck, Robert Lowery, Virginia Grey and Alan Napier.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a crime movie!”

Tagline: “Meet…The CREEPER!”

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Martin [De Lange] is a near broke artist who saves and befriends the infamous serial killer, The Creeper [Hatton].  Martin then gets The Creeper to begin killing all those who have wronged him.

When artist, Steven Morrow [Lowery] becomes the number one suspect for the killings, his girlfriend Joan Medford [Grey] begins her own investigation and that puts her on the Creeper’s kill list.

This is the second of three Creeper films starring Rondo Hatton.

Rating:

American Heist (2014) / Z-View

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American Heist (2014)

Director:  Sarik Andreasyan

Screenplay: Raul Inglis

Stars: Hayden Christensen, Adrien Brody, Jordana Brewster and Akon.

The Pitch: “Let’s make a crime movie!”

No Tagline

 

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

James Kelly [Christensen]’s older brother, Frankie [Brody], just got out of prison for a crime they did together.  Now Frankie’s back in town just at the time James was making a real go of things with his business and girlfriend.

Despite his best efforts, James gets pulled into a bank heist that could cost him everything.

Rating:

Wild Card (2015) / Z-View

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Wild Card (2015)

Director:  Simon West

Screenplay: William Goldman

Stars: Jason Statham, Milo Ventimiglia, Stanley Tucci, Sofía Vergara, Jason Alexander and Anne Heche.

The Pitch: “Jason Statham and a bunch of star cameos in a William Goldman script about a Vegas bodyguard.”

Tagline: “Never bet against a man with a killer hand.”

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Nick Wild [Statham] is a Vegas bodyguard who helps a female friend out of a tough situation only to learn that he was messing with the son of a powerful mobster.  What’s a bodyguard to do but play the hand he was dealt.

I’m a Jason Statham fan, but Wild Card was a letdown.  I was disappointed that most of the all-star cast show for a scene or two and then are never to be seen again.  It also didn’t help that Wild is a gambler who does something very stupid towards the end of the movie. Stanley Tucci is great in his limited screen time.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars.