Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
In 2012, I went to MegaCon and my main purpose was to get a sketch from Wilfredo Torres. I was lucky enough to be first on his sketch list. Wilfredo opted to draw Stallone as Cobra.
Finally, in 2025, the stars aligned and I was able to get on Wilfredo’s advance sketch list for HeroesCon. I asked for Stallone from Tulsa King and Wilfredo came through royally.
Here’s the poster and trailer for Affinity starring Marko Zaror.
Deal me in for a fun-looking drive-in movie.
AFFINITY – Official Trailer | On Digital September 30
Official film page: https://wellgousa.com/films/affinity
Chilean martial-arts star Marko Zaror is Bruno, an ex-SEAL struggling with PTSD. He lives a life in fear of his demons until one day when he discovers a beautiful woman with no past of her own. Together they begin to build a life, but when she disappears, Bruno must return to his violent past if he’s going to save her from a shocking conspiracy in this riveting, fast-paced sci-fi action film from director Brandon Slagle.
Directed by: Brandon Slagle
Cast: Marko Zaror, Louis Mandylor, Brooke Ence, & Jane Mirro
The Wire: Season 3 (2004)
Created by: David Simon
Teleplay by:
Directed by: Ed Bianchi (ep. 1); Steve Shill (ep. 2); Rob Bailey (ep. 3); Ernest Dickerson (eps. 4, 12); Dan Attias (ep. 5); Leslie Libman (ep.6); Tim Van Patten (ep. 7); Agnieszka Holland (ep. 8); Alex Zakrzewski (ep. 9); Christine Moore (ep. 10); Joe Chappelle (ep. 11)
Stars: Dominic West, Idris Elba, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Robert Wisdom, Wood Harris, Clarke Peters, Seth Gilliam, Domenick Lombardozzi, J. D. Williams, John Doman, Frankie Faison, Deirdre Lovejoy, Andre Royo, Jim True-Frost, Wendell Pierce, Corey Parker Robinson, Robert F. Chew, Method Man, Michael Potts, Hassan Johnson, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Jamie Hector, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Felicia Pearson, Glynn Turman, Callie Thorne, Chad Coleman, Maria Broom and Michael K. Williams.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
The towers are razed for new development. This leaves the Barksdale drug organization without territory. Councilman Tommy Carcetti begins a run for Mayor of Baltimore. Since it is an election year, crime becomes a campaign issue. Pressure is put on the Baltimore PD to get crime statistics down… even if they have to massage them.
Police Major Covin comes up with an unauthorized and controversial plan to actually lower the crime stats by forcing drug dealer to move to low population areas of the city where they can freely sell drugs. Covin knows that higher ups and the mayor would never approve of his idea, but he moves forward anyway.
A new and ruthless drug dealer begins to encroach on Stansfield territory. Omar continues to steal cash and drugs from dealers. Omar is becoming a legend. Brother Mouzone, a ruthless killer, is brought in to find and eliminate Omar.
Meanwhile the major crimes unit deals with political demands and personal issues as they work to bring down the city’s drug traffickers.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Each season of The Wire builds upon the last. The series continues to be well written, well directed and well acted.
The series spends as much time with the criminals as the cops. This season we get political intrigue and the impact politics has on police work. Kudos to the writers for making each character and storyline important.
New recurring characters introduced in The Wire Season 3 that are amazing include Jamie Hector (Marlo Stanfield), Gbenga Akinnagbe (Chris Partlow), and Felicia Pearson (Snoop).
I cannot wait to start season 4.
The Wire: Season 3 (2004) earns 5 of 5 stars.
“It’s Not My War” alt First Blood poster by Rich Davies. You can see more of Davies’ art here.
HUNTER by James Byron Huggins is one of my all-time favorite novels. Now Huggins is back with a sequel titled HUNTER’S MOON. Here the lowdown…
It Lives to Kill. He Lives to Hunt.
International bestselling author James Byron Huggins returns with the sequel to his novel HUNTER, delivering a story of primal terror, relentless pursuit, and ultimate confrontation.
A brilliant but twisted Army scientist has done the unthinkable. He has become the beast, an ancient, prehistoric monster powerful enough to survive anything, even death itself. Buried beneath ice for ten thousand years, it was meant to stay forgotten. Now it walks again, leaving a trail of blood and destruction across the English countryside.
No conscience. No mercy. No weakness.
Only one man has faced the creature and survived. Hunter. Once again, he is called to do what no one else can: track and destroy the unstoppable before it consumes everything in its path.
Driven by duty, haunted by memory, and pursued by the past, Hunter must go beyond fear, beyond pain, and beyond human limits to end what began in a time before history.
The battle has begun. The world hangs in the balance.
This time, there may be no return.
HUNTER’S MOON drops August 31st. Get your order in now. I did.
Vlad Rodriguez is a Miami based illustrator. Rodriguez has a passion for film. Here’s his alt poster for American Me!
Charley Varrick (1973)
Director: Don Siegel
Screenplay: Dean Riesner, Howard Rodman; based on THE LOOTERS by John H. Reese
Stars: Walter Matthau, Joe Don Baker, Felicia Farr, Andrew Robinson, Sheree North, Norman Fell, Benson Fong, Woodrow Parfrey, William Schallert, Jacqueline Scott, Marjorie Bennett, Rudy Diaz, Colby Chester, Hope Summers, Craig R. Baxley, Don Siegel, John Vernon, Bob Steele and Charles Matthau.
Tagline: It’s not easy to rob the Mob and stay alive.
The Plot…
Charley Varrick wasn’t always a criminal. At one time he was a stunt pilot. Then a crop duster. When his crop business went south, Charley became a bank robber. He was always careful to pick small banks in remote locations.
When Charlie and his three man crew knock off a bank in a no name town, things go sideways. Two of his crew are killed along with the bank’s security guard. Charlie and Harmon get away with the loot. They’re shocked to discover they have $750,000.00. There is no way that tiny bank should have that kind of cash. Radio reports are that the thieves made off with $2,000.00.
Charlie realizes that the bank was being used by the mob to launder money. He knows that if you steal from the mob, they will find and kill you no matter how long it takes. Charlie tells Harmon they’ll need to sit on the money for a few years. If they’re lucky, they’ll live to slowly spend it. Harmon just wants his cut now — he plans to live it up.
As if that isn’t bad enough, the cops are working the case. Worse still, the mob has hired a stone cold killer to track down the cash and kill the thieves.
It’s not easy to rob the Mob and stay alive.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Walter Matthau’s son, Charlie plays the role of the little boy in front of the bank that gets robbed.
Director Don Siegel plays a character named Murphy.
Surprisingly Walter Matthau wasn’t a fan of the finished film.
Joe Don Baker is perfect as the sadistic killer who dominates every scene he’s in.
Charley Varrick (1973) rates 5 of 5 stars
Deal me in.
The world will take a stand.
The official teaser #2 for NUREMBERG, only in theaters November 7.
The Allies, led by the unyielding chief prosecutor, Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), have the task of ensuring the Nazi regime answers for the unveiled horrors of the Holocaust while a US Army psychiatrist (Rami Malek) is locked in a dramatic psychological duel with former Reichsmarschall Herman Göring (Russell Crowe).
Written & Directed by: James Vanderbilt
Based on the Book: THE NAZI AND THE PSYCHIATRIST By Jack El-HaiStarring: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Leo Woodall, and Michael Shannon
WWE: Unreal – Season 1 (2025)
Director: (Eps. 1-5) Terrell Riley, Steve Trout
Stars: Demi Bennett (Rhea Ripley); Mark Calaway (The Undertaker); John Cena; Jacob Fatu; Dominik Gutiérrez (Dominik Mysterio); Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson; Paul Levesque (‘Triple H’); Darren Matthews (William Regal); Stephanie McMahon; Bruce Prichard; CM Punk; Cody Rhodes; Jesse “The Body” Ventura; Joshua Samuel Fatu (Jey Uso); Paul Heyman; Colby Lopez (Seth Rollins); Logan Paul; Dusty Rhodes; Michael Seitz (Michael Hayes); Jade Cargill; Ashley Fliehr (Charlotte Flair); Brian ‘Road Dogg’ James and Ric Flair.
Tagline: It’s More Real Than You Think
The Plot…
WWE Unreal gives fans unprecedented access behind-the-scenes at how professional wrestling works. Cameras are allowed into the writers’ room as the executives on the creative team prepare for the WWE Netflix premiere and events leading up to Wrestlemania 41.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
When I was a kid everyone involved in professional wrestling worked to make sure that it was thought of as “real”. Then in 1989, Vince McMahon announced professional wrestling wasn’t a legitimate sport, but instead was sports entertainment. The bumps and injuries are real, but the match outcomes are predetermined. Pro wrestling fans didn’t care.
I haven’t watched pro wrestling in years, but I was interested in the behind-the-scenes access. I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, WWE Unreal got me interested in watching again.
WWE: Unreal – Season 1 (2025) rates 5 of 5 stars
Nino Cammarata‘s First Blood Alt. Poster!
Sisu: The Road to Revenge – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Sisu was a surprise hit. The sequel written and directed by Jalmari Helander; starring Jorma Tommila, Richard Brake and Stephen Lang looks to be as good if not better.
Deal me in.
Vengeance has a name.
Watch the official trailer for #SISU: Road to Revenge – exclusively in movie theatres November 21.
SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE is a wall-to-wall cinematic action event, a sequel to the original sleeper hit SISU. Returning to the house where his family was brutally murdered during the war, “the man who refuses to die” (Jorma Tommila) dismantles it, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honor. When the Red Army commander who killed his family (Stephen Lang from Don’t Breathe) comes back hellbent on finishing the job, a relentless, eye-popping cross-country chase ensues – a fight to the death, full of clever, unbelievable action set pieces.
Directed by: Jalmari Helander
Written by: Jalmari Helander
Produced by: Mike Goodridge, Petri Jokiranta
Executive Producers: Gregory Ouanhon, Antonio Salas
Cast: Jorma Tommila, Richard Brake and Stephen Lang
North by Northwest is a Hitchcock masterpiece worthy of this alt poster by Dakota Randall.
Any time a new Walter Mosley tale premieres, it’s cause for a party. When it’s a new Mosley Easy Rawlins yarn, get ready for a festival.
On September 16th get your party pants on, because that’s the day GRAY DAWN: AN EASY RAWLINS Mystery drops. Here’s what to expect…
In this thrilling mystery from “master of craft and narrative” Walter Mosley (National Book Foundation), Detective Easy Rawlins has settled into the happy rhythm of his new life when a dark siren from his past returns and threatens to destroy the peace he’s fought for.
The name Easy Rawlins stirs excitement in the hearts of readers and fear in the hearts of his foes. His success has bought him a thriving detective agency, with its first female detective; a remote home, shared with children and pets and lovers, high atop the hills overlooking gritty Los Angeles; and more trouble, more problems, and more threat to those whom he loves. In other words, he’s still beset on all sides.
A number of below-the-law powerbrokers plead with Easy to locate a mysterious, dangerous woman—Lutisha James, though she’s gone by another name that Easy will immediately recognize. 1970s Los Angeles is a transient city of delicate, violent balances, and Lutisha has disturbed that. She also has a secret that will upend Easy’s own life, painfully closer to home.
Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins tales are the best. Pre-orders are available now.
Ace Atkins has a new novel coming out! It’s called EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD. Here’s the scoop…
Elmore Leonard meets Robert Ludlum in a rollicking comedic thriller set in 1985 from acclaimed author Ace Atkins, in which a suburban teen suspects his mom’s new boyfriend is the ultimate bad guy—a KGB agent.
It’s 1985, what will soon become known as “The Year of the Spy,” and fourteen-year-old Peter Bennett is convinced his mom’s new boyfriend is a Russian agent. “Gary” isn’t in the phone book, has an unidentifiable European accent, and keeps a gun in the glove box of his convertible Porsche. Peter thinks Gary only wants to get close to his mom because she works at Scientific Atlanta, a lab with big government contracts. But who is going to believe him? He’s just a kid into BMX and MTV.
But after another woman who works at the lab is killed, Peter recruits an unlikely pair of allies—a has-been pulp writer and muckraker named Dennis Hotchner and his drag performer buddy and heavy, Jackie Demure. Both soon become the target of an unhinged Russian hitman (Is it Gary? Maybe!) with a serious Phil Collins obsession.
Meanwhile, Sylvia Weaver, a young, Black FBI agent, investigates Scientific Atlanta in the wake of the employee’s murder and discovers a nest of Russian spies in the Southern “city too busy to hate.” Little does she know her investigation is being thwarted by a seriously compromised colleague in Washington, D.C., who is in league with a lovesick, hypochondriac KGB defector who is playing both sides of the Cold War to his benefit.
As Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev prepare for a historic nuclear summit in Geneva, what happens in Atlanta might change the course of the Cold War, the twentieth century, and Peter Bennett’s freshman year of high school.
Ace Atkins tales always entertain. EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD drops on December 2, 2025. Pre-orders are available now.
I’m diggin’ the look and feel for the poster and trailer for The Lowdown.
Deal me in.
Ethan Hawke stars in FX’s The Lowdown.
Premieres 9.23 on FX. Stream on Hulu
#TheLowdown #FX
FX’s The Lowdown from Creator Sterlin Harjo and starring Executive Producer Ethan Hawke, follows the gritty exploits of citizen journalist “Lee Raybon” (Hawke), a self-proclaimed Tulsa “truthstorian” whose obsession with the truth is always getting him into trouble. When the publication of Lee’s latest exposé – a deep dive into the powerful Washberg family – is immediately followed by the suspicious suicide of “Dale Washberg” (Tim Blake Nelson), Lee knows he’s stumbled onto something big.
