Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Here’s something you don’t see everyday. Wolverine in one of his most famous scenes penciled by John Byrne and inked by George Perez!
The piece was originally published in 1993 as a pencil drawing for the John Byrne X-Men Portfolio as Plate 7 (Editions Deesse, 1993). Then in 2003, the owner of the original art commissioned George Perez to ink it!
Click over to the George Perez Website on X to see a larger version.
Background to Danger (1943)
Director: Raoul Walsh
Screenplay: W.R. Burnett; based on UNCOMMON DANGER by Eric Ambler
Stars: George Raft, Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Osa Massen, Willard Robertson,
Kurt Katch and Turhan Bey.
Tagline: GEORGE RAFT Rougher and tougher than ever! FIGHTS THE FAT MAN SYDNEY GREENSTREET You can trust him as far as you can throw him!
The Plot…
1942. World War II rages. Because Turkey is neutral, the United States, Russia and Germany have embassies trying to sway the country. Spies are everywhere.
Joe Barton (Raft) is traveling by train in Turkey when he meets a pretty woman. Barton sees a man staring at the woman. He asks if she needs help. She asks Barton to hold some papers for her. They will meet at her hotel once they arrive at their destination. Barton agrees.
Barton is followed to his hotel. In his room he is searched but the papers aren’t found. Later, after he’s made sure he wasn’t tailed, Barton heads to the hotel where the woman is staying. When he goes to her room, he discovers she’s been murdered. Barton hides when another man enters the room. As the man goes through the woman’s things, Barton escapes. He’s followed by the man who entered behind him.
Barton realizes the papers are valuable. But to which country? Barton has been set-up as the woman’s murderer. The authorities, Russian and German spies want the information in Barton’s possession.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
In the source novel, the character George Raft plays was a salesman. Raft demanded that his character be changed to an undercover FBI agent using the salesman job as a cover.
The last scene in this film shows an airplane taking off. The scene was taken from Casablanca. Interestingly enough, George Raft was offered the starring role in Casablanca, but turned it down. It became one of Humphrey Bogart’s most popular roles and the film is considered a classic.
Background to Danger (1943) rates 3 of 5 stars.
The poster is so-so, but the trailer for Rounding has me on board.
Deal me in.
ROUNDING opens in select theaters and on digital February 14.
After a traumatic incident, a driven young medical resident transfers to a rural hospital for a fresh start, but the demons of his past start to catch up to him when he becomes consumed by the case of a patient with mysterious symptoms.
Cast: Namir Smallwood, Sidney Flanigan, Michael Potts, Rebecca Spence
Director: Alex Thompson
Today we have the poster and trailer for A Working Man written by Sylvester Stallone, based on a character created by Chuck Dixon. The film stars Jason Statham, David Harbour and Michael Peña. The working title for the film was Levon Cade.
Deal me in.
Human Traffickers Beware.
Watch the trailer for #AWorkingMan, starring Jason Statham and from ‘The Beekeeper’ director David Ayer.
See the movie only in theaters March 28.
Nightmare (1956)
Director: Maxwell Shane
Screenplay: Maxwell Shane; based on And So to Death by Cornell Woolrich
Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy, Connie Russell, Virginia Christine, Gage Clarke, Marian Carr,
Barry Atwater, John Mitchum, Cosmo Sardo and Rhys Williams.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Stan Grayson (McCarthy) wakes from a restless night. Stan dreamed he had a fought and killed a man. When Stan notices strangle marks on his neck, blood on his wrist and a key that he’s never seen before, he begins to believe it wasn’t a dream.
Wracked with guilt and confusion, Stan tells his brother-in-law, New Orleans Detective Rene Bressard (Robinson) about the situation. Bressard assures Stan it was just a dream. Stan probably scratched himself as he was tossing and turning. Stan isn’t so sure.
Things take a turn for the worse when it is discovered that a man was killed where Stan’s “dream” took place. Only the man wasn’t the only one murdered! Is Stan a killer? Has he been set up?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Nightmare features a creative opening and a great mystery set-up. Along the way we get a couple of unexpected turns.
If you’re a fan of mystery movies of this era, you should enjoy Nightmare.
Nightmare (1956) rates 3 of 5 stars.
The poster and trailer for In the Lost Lands starring Dave Bautista and Milla Jovovich are here. It looks to be more fantasy than I usually like, but so far I do like what I see.
A Queen sends the powerful and feared sorceress Gray Alys to the ghostly wilderness of the Lost Lands in search of a magical power, where the sorceress and her guide, the drifter Boyce, must outwit and outfight man and demon.
Starring: Dave Bautista, Milla Jovovich
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Release Date: March 7, 2025
Reacher: Season 3 – The Official Trailer is Here!
Deal me in.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
The new season of #REACHER hits February 20.
Broken Darkness (2017)
Director: Christopher-Lee dos Santos
Screenplay: Christopher-Lee dos Santos
Stars: Sean Cameron Michael, Suraya Rose Santos, Brandon Auret, Ryan Kruger and Jonathan Pienaar.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Years ago massive world-wide meteor showers forced survivors into an underground existence. Tunnels now connect “stations” where groups survive. Although each station is self-sufficient, there is little power for lights, heat, or any modern convenience. Survivors have been reduced to living in the dark and existing on little.
When the Kentucky station’s water supply is cut due to a leak, Sam, Troy and Rose are sent to find and repair the problem. This will take them far from the station and into dangerous areas where mutants and cannibals roam.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Broken Darkness has an interesting set-up and the plot sounds exciting. Sadly the end result doesn’t live up to expectations. I found Broken Darkness to be slow and when the action did start, not exciting enough to keep me interested. I tapped out at 59 minutes.
Broken Darkness (2017) rates 1 of 5 stars.
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
Director: Werner Herzog
Screenplay: Werner Herzog; based on Nosferatu by F. W. Murnau; and DRACULA by Bram Stoker
Stars: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz.
Tagline: Nosferatu…he who is doomed to wander alone in darkness. Nosferatu…he who is condemned to destroy even those whom he loves. Nosferatu…a tale of seduction in the dark night of the soul.
The Plot…
Jonathan Harker (Ganz) is sent to Transylvania to finalize an estate purchase with Count Dracula (Kinski). Harker is unaware that Dracula is a vampire that will soon become infatuated with his wife, Lucy (Adjani).
Dracula intends to leave Transylvania for his new manor in Wismar, Germany. In this new metropolis Dracula will be able to feed without fear of discovery. Dracula will also take possession of Lucy.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Nosferatu the Vampyre is a melding of Dracula (1931) and the 1922 film Nosferatu. For my money, Dracula (1931) is by far the better of the three. (And of the four if we include 2024’s Nosferatu.)
Much of Nosferatu the Vampyre is filmed during the day which isn’t the best time for a vampire movie. The character design of Nosferatu and his portrayal wasn’t frightening or intimidating. The still photos from the film were creepy, but lost something on screen.
I did like the idea that much of what happens to Harker and what he sees in Dracula’s castle might just be in his mind. Is the castle a ruin or fully intact? Is the boy who plays the violin real? I also liked the ending’s twist. Still, the movie overall fell short for me. I was expecting much more.
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) rates 2 of 5 stars.
Marv from Frank Miller’s Sin City is one of my all-time favorite characters. I love seeing artists do their “take” on the big lug. Today we have Marv by Flavio Fernando Girón.
THE DRUMMER by Anthony Neil Smith
First sentence…
The bleach-blonde fancy boy stood in the doorway of this small bar at the edge of the French Quarter hoping to be recognized, but those days were long gone.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Fourteen years ago Cal Christopher disappeared. Cal was the drummer of Savage Nights. The popular heavy metal band wasn’t top tier. It was just below. But outside the group’s inner circle, no one knew the in- fighting. Or that the band was facing bankruptcy. Cal saw the writing on the wall. He moved enough of his assets to live comfortably for life, burned down his mansion and vanished.
Cal moved to New Orleans. He became Merle Johnson.
Merle is happy. New Orleans is home. All is good. Then one day Merle is confronted by Todd Delacroix, the formed lead singer of Savage Nights. Todd threatens to expose Cal if he doesn’t out himself. Delacroix wants the group back together for a reunion tour. A last chance to cash in on the group’s fame.
Merle has many reasons not to come back as Cal. The IRS and the fact that he burned down his mansion are two. Merle says he’ll consider and agrees to meet Delacroix later. When Merle shows up at Delacroix’s hotel room he finds him unconscious, surrounded by empty booze bottles. A suicide note outing Merle as Cal rests beside Delacroix. Merle panics and makes two bad decisions. One is taking the note…
Now the police, reporters, his former band mates and others are on Merle’s trail.
Rating:
Operation: Rainfall (2020)
Director: Luke Sparke
Screenplay: Luke Sparke; additional dialogue by Dale Dye, Felix Williamson
Stars: Dan Ewing, Temuera Morrison, Lawrence Makoare, Jet Tranter and Ken Jeong.
Tagline: Invasion was just the beginning.
The Plot…
Two years into an alien invasion, the resistance learns of an alien plan called “Rainfall”. A battle-scarred vet, a young idealistic kid who wants to be a warrior and an alien sympathetic to the human fight, set out on a mission to take down the alien operation before it is too late.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Operation: Rainfall is a sequel to the 2018 film Occupation.
If you’re a fan of low-budget sci-fi, then Operation: Rainfall is for you. It reminded me of something you’d see on Saturday mornings in the early 80s when there were attempts to cash in on the Star Wars craze.
Operation: Rainfall (2020) rates 2 of 5 stars.
No One Lives (2012)
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Screenplay: David Cohen
Stars: Luke Evans, Gary Grubbs, Lee Tergesen, America Olivo, Beau Knapp, Rob Steinberg, Laura Ramsey, Michael ‘Mick’ Harrity and Tyrus.
Tagline: Everyone Runs. Everyone Hides. No One Lives.
The Plot…
While driving in a remote area on a cross-country moving trip, a couple is kidnapped by a gang of thieves. The thugs plan to rob the couple and steal their trailer. Everything changes when they discover something unexpected in the couple’s car trunk.
The thieves learn the meaning of “sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you.”
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The discovery in the trunk is a great plot twist. Unfortunately the movie then becomes very predictable.
No One Lives (2012) rates 2 of 5 stars.
The Dark Winds Season 3 teaser is here. I enjoyed the first two seasons, so bring on the third.
Deal me in.
The new season of #DarkWinds premieres March 9, exclusively on AMC and AMC+.
Snake Plissken by Tony Stella.
