Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
The full trailer for Badland Hunters starring Don Lee is here.
Hunt or die.
Welcome to the badlands.Don Lee from《Train to Busan》《The Roundup》 and《Eternals》 is now a tough hunter in the dystopian world, who fights for survival and salvation.
Will hunters save us all?
or will villains take us all?2024 Netflix action blockbuster film
Badland Hunters | January 26, only on Netflix
BLUEBERRY & CHIHUAHUA PEARL by Enrico Marini.
The Creator (2023)
Director: Gareth Edwards
Screenplay: Gareth Edwards, Chris Weitz; story by Gareth Edwards
Stars: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Ralph Ineson and Ken Watanabe.
Tagline: Humanity evolves.
The Plot…
When a nuclear warhead is exploded over Los Angeles, Artificial Intelligence is blamed. In turn, most Western nations declare war and move to exterminate all A.I. “beings”. One of the end goals is to exterminate Nirmata, the genius behind recent A.I. advancements.
Former U.S. Army sergeant Joshua Taylor (Washington) is called back to duty. Taylor had worked undercover and was married to Nirmata’s daughter. She was thought to have been killed in a US military strike. Recent video has surfaced and she may be alive. Taylor is led to believe that if he participates in the mission, he may find his wife is still alive. The mission is to destroy the next generation of A.I. before it reaches full power.
Taylor agrees. The team is dispatched. Taylor discovers that there has been an advancement in AI. It is in the form of a young girl. Taylor also learns that he and the world have been lied to. Now, Taylor and the “girl” are on the run. The fate of the world could hang in the balance.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
For a film dealing with artificial intelligence, it has a lot of heart.
Allison Janney may surprise a lot of folks in her role as a hardened military commander. She’s excellent.
The Creator (2023) earns 4 of 5 stars.
Patrick Ganino created the huge Rocky mural on the back of the Sly Stallone Shop located at the Rocky Steps in Philly. But before that, he painted the art above and then got it autographed by Sly Stallone, Burt Young and Hulk Hogan. Click here to see it signed by all three!
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)
Director: Charles Lamont
Screenplay: Lee Loeb, John Grant; story by Sid Fields, Grant Garett;inspired by The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Helen Westcott, Reginald Denny, John Dierkes, Harry Cording and Craig Stevens.
Tagline: The Laughs Are Twice as MONSTER-OUS as Ever Before!
The Plot…
A maniacal serial killer stalks the streets of London. Slim (Abbott) and Tubby (Costello), American cops sent over to study England’s police methods, are pulled into the case.
Let the good times roll!
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
In this version, Dr. Jekyll isn’t such a nice guy. In most outings, it isn’t until he becomes Mr. Hyde that he becomes evil.
Boris Karloff appeared with Abbott and Costello four years earlier in Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer.
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953) earns 5 of 5 stars.
This looks interesting. I want to see more.
There’s someone behind everything. You just have to dig.
3 Body Problem premieres on Netflix March 21st, 2024.From multiple Emmy Award-winning creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (Game of Thrones), and Emmy-nominated Alexander Woo (The Terror: Infamy, True Blood) comes 3 Body Problem, a thrilling story that redefines sci-fi drama with its layered mysteries and genre-bending high stakes. Based on the acclaimed, international bestselling book trilogy, The Three-Body Problem.
A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time to a group of brilliant scientists in the present day. As the laws of nature unravel before their eyes five former colleagues reunite to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.
THE BIG BUNDLE by Max Allan Collins
Publisher: Hard Case Crime
First sentence…
A middle-aged man taking stock of his life is to be expected.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
When Nate Heller is called in to assist authorities, he has reason for concern. Six-year-old Bobby Greenlease was kidnapped nearly a week ago. The kidnappers demanded $600,000 (a record ransom at that time) for the little boy’s safe return. The ransom amount isn’t the concern. Bobby’s daddy is a millionaire. He can easily afford the demand. Further he’s more than willing to pay for his son’s safe return. Heller’s concern is the kidnappers are idiots. They’ve already bungled a drop-off. Stupid criminals make stupid mistakes. Heller fears that Bobby is already dead.
Bobby’s dad insists on no F.B.I. or police interference when the cash is dropped off.
I won’t give away the outcome of the case other than to say, when the ransom money is recovered, $300,000 is missing.
Five years later, Heller is called back to revisit the case. Who ended up with the missing $300,000? As Heller digs into the evidence he discovers that both Bobby Kennedy and Jimmy Hoffa are interested in his findings. And not for the same reasons. People are murdered as Heller get closer to the truth. He could be next.
+++++
I’m a huge fan of Max Allan Collins’ Nate Heller series. Heller is a fictional detective who finds himself in the middle of real crimes. Heller ages in real time as the series progresses. His tales are fiction based on extensive research and historical fact. Heller has been in the mix on everything from the Lindbergh baby kidnapping/murder to the suspicious death of Marilyn Monroe, to the Kennedy assassinations (both Jack and Bobby) and more. It’s fun watching Heller interact with famous (and infamous) folks right out of our history books. Equally enjoyable is Collins’ take on the crimes and what may have really happened.
I’m usually familiar with Nate Heller’s cases. I wasn’t with this one. Not knowing how the kidnapping would turn out (and Collins’ excellent writing) kept me turning pages. Then once the kidnapping is resolved, the mystery of the missing $300,000 comes into play. THE BIG BUNDLE is like two Nate Heller yarns in one. It doesn’t get any better.
THE BIG BUNDLE is another great addition to the Nate Heller legacy. It gets my highest recommendation.
Rating:
Here we have the first poster and teaser for Lawson. I don’t know much about this film but it has me interested.
This is the first official movie teaser for LAWSON, a covert operative for a race of living vampires, as he battles a sinister conspiracy to resurrect an ancient god and an old enemy who resurfaces from his shadowy past in this supernatural espionage film based on the bestselling novel Lawson Vampire series by Jon F. Merz.
Starring Brandon S. Stumpf as Lawson, Shahjehan Khan as Wagner, Liz Eng as Atara, Steven Triebes as Niles, Jose Gonsalves as Arthur, Jam Murphy as Lilith, Jay Street as Newby, Morgan Barnsley as Quinn, Pamela Jayne Morgan as Sari, Logan Raposo as Grom, Christian Carrigan as Welch, Thomas Goze as Stefan, Brian McDonald as the Assassin, and Jon F. Merz as Crawford.
Proteus Entertainment presents: LAWSON, coming in 2024.
This looks like a winner.
Deal me in.
Premiering January 29th, the untold story of how the global hit “We are the World” almost didn’t happen! 46 of the biggest pop music stars had only one night to turn chaos into magic. As told by stars who were there, this film reveals the rollercoaster ride to write and record the groundbreaking song that would go on to raise millions for famine relief in Africa, win 2 Grammys and become a global sensation.
The start of a beautiful love story. Rocky & Adrian by Denis Medri.
Ace Atkins has a new book coming out June 25th. Here’s the lowdown…
Addison McKellar isn’t clueless—she knows she and her husband Dean don’t have the perfect marriage—but she’s still shocked when he completely vanishes from her life. At first Addison is annoyed, but as days stretch into a week and she’s repeatedly stonewalled by Dean’s friends and associates, her frustration turns into genuine alarm. When even the police seem dismissive of her concerns, Addison turns to her father’s old friend, legendary Memphis PI Porter Hayes.
Porter and Addison begin to dig deeper into Dean’s affairs and quickly discover that he was never the hardworking business owner and family man he pretended to be. As they piece together the connections between a hook-handed mercenary, one of Elvis’s former leading ladies, and a man posing as an FBI agent, it becomes clear that Dean was deeply enmeshed in a high-stakes web of international intrigue, and Porter and Addison aren’t the only ones looking for him.
Dean angered some very dangerous people before he disappeared—people who have already killed to get what they want—and they won’t hesitate to come after his family to even the score.
Don’t Let the Devil Ride is a thrilling adventure about what can happen when you pull back the curtain on your life. Ace Atkins, long known for gritty Southern noir with a witty edge, has crafted an ambitious, globe-hopping story that comes home to Memphis in explosive fashion.
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 Denis Medri.
Son of Frankenstein (1939)
Director: Rowland V. Lee
Screenplay: Wyllis Cooper based on characters created by Mary Shelley
Stars: Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill and Josephine Hutchinson.
Tagline: AFTER 20 YEARS Driven by the same crazy ambition that made his father create the terrifying monster that stalks in the night! See his juggernaut of destruction loosed upon the world!
The Plot…
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Rathbone), son of Henry Frankenstein, has brought his wife and young son back to live in Castle Frankenstein. Baron hopes to rebuild the family reputation, but is surprised to find that the villagers still harbor deep resentment. The haven’t forgotten the murders and destruction brought about by his father’s creation.
Wolf meets Ygor (Lugosi), a strange, deformed man who survived being hung for robbing graves. When Ygor shows Wolf that his father’s creation lies in a coma below the castle, Wolf decides to revive the creature. The operation is a success. Sadly the creature will on follow the commands of Ygor. Unknown to Wolf, Ygor has scores that he plans to settle using the monster.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Director Rowland V. Lee felt that producers had low-balled Bela Lugosi’s salary. Since the script wasn’t complete as filming started, Lee continued to pad Lugosi’s part. This increased Lugosi’s pay and created one of his best non-Dracula roles.
Surprisingly, this is the first Frankenstein film that shows the electrodes in the monster’s neck being hit with electricity to bring him to life.
Son of Frankenstein (1939) earns 5 of 5 stars.
It has been reported that Cindy Morgan, born born Cynthia Ann Cichorski, was found dead of natural causes at her home in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, on December 30, 2023. Ms. Morgan was 69.
While in college Cindy Cichorski was invited by a local station to report news for them. At that point she took adopted the professional name Cindy Morgan. After graduation she worked as a weather reporter before deciding to move to LA. She became the Irish Spring girl in advertisements and soon landed her first feature film role as Lacey Underall in Caddyshack. Ms. Morgan would continue to work in feature films and television roles for the remainder of her career. When she retired from acting, Ms. Morgan could be found making personal appearances at conventions across the country.
Some of Cindy Morgan’s television appearances include: The Love Boat; Vega$; CHiPs (3 episodes); Bring ‘Em Back Alive (13 episodes); The Fall Guy; Amazing Stories; The Magical World of Disney; Falcon Crest (16 episodes); Matlock (3 episodes); Hunter (2 episodes); Harry and the Hendersons and The Larry Sanders Show.
Some of Cindy Morgan’s feature film appearances include: Caddyshack and Tron.
My favorite Cindy Morgan role was as Lacey Underall in Caddyshack. I met Cindy Morgan at a Tampa Comic Convention back in 2005. As I said then, Ms. Morgan was humble and polite. Fans loved her.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Cindy Morgan’s family, friends and fans.
