Drive Sequel Due in April 2012

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Just a little over five years ago I posted about two great crime noir novels I’d just read.  One was Drive by James Sallis.  [The other was The Wheelman by Duane Swierczynski.]  Drive was the story of a get-a-way driver brought in on a heist that was a set-up from the start.  It went on to become a major motion picture that fans and critics loved.  This coming April, James Sallis and the Driver return in the sequel, Driven. 

Six years later – Phoenix.  Out of nowhere someone wants Driver dead.
Who?  Why?  Big mistake.

I’m looking forward to the novel and would love to see the team that made the movie return for the sequel.

Dave Johnson’s Hi-Lo

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Dave Johnson is one of the most talented artists working today.  He is the go-to guy if you need a cool cover design.  Reverend Dave recently started a weekly blog, Johnson Cover Hi-Lo, in which he talks about the comic covers that just hit the stands.  Dave tells you what he likes and why as well as the same for those that don’t make the grade. 

Dave doesn’t talk about the artists who created the covers, but simply their choices, either good or bad.  I’m not an artist, but I enjoy learning about the process.  You might, too.

Oh, and by the way, Dave drew the above cover and snuck into the art a little personal commentary about his feelings for the editor’s design choice.  Well played, Dave.  Well played.

UFC 140 Results

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UFC 140 lived up to the hype.  Let’s go right to the results…

  • Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Tito Ortiz
    Prediction: Ortiz wins via a close decision.
    Result: Nogueira won via TKO at 3:15 of the 1st round making me 0-1 for the night.
  • Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Frank Mir
    Prediction: Mir wins with a via TKO.
    Result: Mir won by submission at 3:38 of the first round making me 1-1 for the night.
  • Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida
    Prediction: Jones wins via KO.
    Result: Jones won via choke out at 4:26 of round two making me 2-1 for the night.


Final Thoughts:

  • Chan Sung Jung earned a $75,000 Knockout of the Night bonus for his 7 second KO of Mark Hominick.  Jung tied the record for the fastest KO in UFC history.
  • Frank Mir picked up the Submission of the Night award and the $75,000 bonus that goes with it.  What makes this result even more impressive is that Mir had been tagged hard and looked to be on his way to a loss.  When Mir was knocked to the canvas, Nog went down to finish him.  Mir grabbed one of Nog’s arms and went into a kimura that either broke or dislocated Nog’s arm.
  • Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida earned Fight of the Night honors and $75K each.  Machida won the first round and in the second, Jones ended it.
  • After the fights, there were rumors that Alistair Overeem was going to have to pull out of his December 30th fight against Brock Lesnar.  Overeem has denied that his fight with Lesnar is off, although Overeem flew back to Holland to be with his mother who is battling cancer. Frank Mir has been listed as a possible replacement.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

UFC 140 Predictions

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UFC 140 is live tonight on pay-per-view with what should be very entertaining fights.  Let’s take a look at the card and my predictions…

  • Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Tito Ortiz – I’m a fan of both fighters.  Ortiz, who recently appeared to be on his way out of the UFC, has looked good in recent fights.  Although a slight underdog, I’m going with the former Huntington Beach Bad Boy.
    Prediction: Ortiz wins via a close decision.
  • Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Frank Mir – are two more fighters that I love to watch, although for the record, Mir is my favorite UFC fighter. The two fought before and Mir won by KO.  After the fight the news came out that Nog had been dealing with a staff infection and wasn’t at his best.
    Prediction: Mir wins with a via TKO.
  • Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida – Jones is the current champ and Machida is the former champ.  This is supposed to be a very close fight.  I don’t see it that way.
    Prediction: Jones wins via KO.


This will probably not surprise regular readers, but I be back in the morning with the results!

Steve Niles’ Photo Blog

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Steve Niles at one time had a photo blog where he shared photos from his collection.  Some were behind-the-scenes pictures like the one above of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, still in costume, on a break from filming the original Star Trek tv series to check out the latest issue of Mad magazine.

Here’s Frankenstein taking a little “me time” for a smoke and a cup of joe.

And here we have one of the flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz.  If you’ve read this far, my guess is you’ll dig Steve’s photos.

 

10 Remakes That Are Better Than the Original

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Here’s an article that looks at 10 Movie Remakes That Are Better Than The Originals. Let’s look at the list…

  • Cape Fear (1991) – I’m a fan of the noir classic starring Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck, but in the remake DeNiro took Max Cady to a level unavailable to movie audiences in 1962.  Both versions are excellent, but the nod goes to the remake.
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – I totally disagree.  The 1956 original is a classic that still holds up.  The remake doesn’t come close.
  • Little Shop of Horrors (1986) – Didn’t care for either version.
  • The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) – I know I’m in the minority, but I never was a big Steve McQueen fan.  The original film is definitely a product of the 60’s.  The remake was okay, and good enough to get the nod as the better film.
  • The Fly (1986) – The remake benefited from advanced special effects and Jeff Goldblum as the off-center scientist.  Having Geena Davis was also a plus!  The remake was much scarier although who can forget the little voice in the original crying, “Help me! Help me!” as the spider advanced across his web?  Nod to the remake.
  • The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) – Neither are Hichcock’s best but the second is better.
  • 3:10 to Yuma (2007) – Three things really help the sequel: 1] Russell Crowe 2] Christian Bale and 3] fans hungry for a good western.  Both the original with Glenn Ford and the remake are good, but I’ll give the nod to the remake.
  • A Star is Born (1954) – I’ve never seen the Judy Garland version, or the 1937 original.  Sorry.
  • The Ten Commandments (1956) – Since I’ve only seen the remake…
  • My Fair Lady (1964) – I’m quite content to say that I’ve never seen either version.


This will probably not surprise regular readers, but I think Stallone’s “Get Carter” [although not a perfect film] is better than the Michael Caine original.


Jeff Johnson Knows the Cure

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The piece above was drawn by Jeff Johnson at last year’s Heroes Con. Jeff is one of the founding fathers of Drink and Draw [along with Rev. Dave Johnson and Dan Panosian]. When I asked him to autograph my hardcover Drink and Draw, Volume 2, I also asked Jeff about doing a Stallone piece for my collection. Jeff was up for it and chose Cobra. He then proceeded to kill it with this sketch.

Hopefully, Jeff will be up for another Stallone piece in the future.

TUF 14 Results

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Last night the Ultimate Fighter Season 14 finale aired live on SPIKE. The fight I was really looking forward to was Bisping vs Miller.  I figured Bisping would win in a fairly close, hard fought match.  Boy, was I wrong.  Bisping dominated Miller before earning a third round TKO.  It was such a lopsided win that Dana White said we may not see Miller back in the UFC.

Dennis Bermudez vs. Diego Brandao. A lot of people were surprised when Bermudez took it to Brandao in a standup battle.  There were a lot of powerful exchanges and Bermudez appeared to be in control and on his way to a victory when Brandao grabbed Bermudez’s arm and spun into an armbar forcing the tap at 4:51 in round one.


John Dodson vs. T.J. Dillashaw.  This was shaping up to be an interesting fight until Dillashaw got cracked across the face and went down.  He quickly tried to stand up but was wobbly and when he went down again, Dodson jumped on him with hammerfists.  The fight was stopped although Dillashaw wasn’t out and was attempting to get a single leg.  Dodson proceeded to run around the cage doing flips, gyrating and screeching his “laugh”.  Pretty classless.

Yves Edwards vs. Tony Ferguson.  Ferguson won via a unanimous decision.

Johnny Bedford vs. Louis Gaudinot.  Bedford won via 3rd round TKO.

 

TUF Finale & Preview of Lesnar vs Overeem

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Tonight the Ultimate Fighter Season 14 finale airs live on SPIKE at 8PM.  It’ll be the first time in years that the coaches actually fight on the same card… and that’s the way it should be.  Here are the bouts we have to look forward to…

Michael Bisping vs. Jason “Mayhem” Miller
Dennis Bermudez vs. Diego Brandao
John Dodson vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Yves Edwards vs. Tony Ferguson
Johnny Bedford vs. Louis Gaudinot

Although I think we’re in for an entertaining evening of fights, it’s the main event that I’m really looking to see.  Bisping goes in as the favorite, but Miller shouldn’t be a pushover.  I think the fight is going to go to a decision and I’m taking Bisping. 

While we’re on the subject of MMA, have you see this preview for the Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem fight.  THAT fight is going to be entertaining.  I can’t wait to see those two giants enter the octagon.

Max Allan Collins, Chris Mills & Nolan

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Don’t you love the look of the new editions of Max Allan Collins’ Nolan crime novels coming for Perfect Crime Books?  For those not in the know, Nolan is an aging thief and Max Allan Collins is the author of the Nate Heller series, the Quarry series, and many, many other books.  I’ve never read anything that wasn’t excellent that was written by Max Allan Collins.   

Oh, by the way, our buddy, Chris Mills designed the Nolan covers and did a fantastic job.  Take a bow, Chris!