Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
José Villarrubia recently posted this cover saying that he wasn’t a fan of the subject matter, but the Neal Adams painting was one of his favorites. I’m on board with Villarrubia’s assessment of Adams’ art. I am/was the perfect demographic for the subject matter. Bruce Lee is a legend. Enter the Dragon remains one of my all-time favorite films.
Thanks José Villarrubia for a post that took me back to my childhood.
Chrome and Hot Leather (1971)
Director: Lee Frost
Screenplay by: Michael Haynes & David Neibel and Don Tait from a story by Michael Haynes & David Neibel
Starring: William Smith, Tony Young, Michael Haynes, Peter Brown, Michael Stearns, Larry Bishop, Kathrine Baumann, Wes Bishop, Herb Jeffries, Bobby Pickett, Cheryl Ladd (aka Cherie Moor), Robert Ridgely, Erik Estrada, Dan Haggerty and Marvin Gaye.
Tagline: A terrifying look at Motor Cycle Savagery – from the same studio that made “Born Losers”
The Story:
When a US Special Forces sergeant learns that his fiancé was killed by the member of a motorcycle gang, he recruits three of his service buddies to track down the murderer. Four Viet Nam vets against an entire motorcycle gang? Yeah, that sounds about right.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)
William Smith and Peter Brown co-starred in the television series Laredo before working on this film.
Chrome and Hot Leather features some interesting cast member trivia…
Chrome and Hot Leather (1971) was made to cash in on the biker craze of the era. It’s a low-budget drive-in film. William Smith was built for biker films. If he was a bit younger, he’d have been an action movie star of the 80s. Still playing Conan’s dad is quite a notch on your resume.
Check out this cool Rambo art by Dmitry Belov!
Day Zero (2022)
Director: Joey De Guzman
Screenplay by: Ays De Guzman
Starring: Brandon Vera, Pepe Herrera, Mary Jean Lastimosa.
Tagline: When the dead rise, humanity falls.
The Story:
As a zombie virus spreads like wildfire, Emon (Vera) fights to get home to his wife and child.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)
Brandon Vera is a former MMA fighter. He has the potential to become a better known action star.
Day Zero is low budget zombie film. It also had potential. Pepe Herrera was Vera’s comic relief sidekick. Thankfully, the comedy wasn’t over the top. As Vera and Herrera fought their way to save Vera’s family the action became to repetitive. I taped out after 43 minutes.
ALFRED HITCHCOCK STORYBOARDS by Tony Lee Moral will appeal to Hitchcock fans and movie lovers.
A one-of-a-kind historical document and celebration of the artwork behind several of the Master of Suspense’s greatest films.
This stunning coffee table book focuses on the storyboards for nine of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movies – Vertigo, The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest, The 39 Steps, Torn Curtain, Marnie, Shadow of a Doubt and Spellbound. It includes never before-published images and incisive text putting the material in context and examining the role the pieces played in some of the most unforgettable scenes in cinema. Hitchcock author and aficionado Tony Lee Moral takes you through the last 100 years of cinema, with the Master of Suspense as your guide.
ALFRED HITCHCOCK STORYBOARDS drops February 6, 2024.
CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN (A Novel) by Richard Chizmar
First sentence…
When I first started clipping newspaper articles and jotting down notes about the tragic events that transpired in my hometown of Edgewood, Maryland, during the summer and autumn of 1988, I had no thoughts of one day turning those scattered observations into a full-length book.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Richard Chizmar just graduated college. He’s making plans to marry his girlfriend. He dreams of being a writer. The only negative is that Richard will have to live with his parents for some months until he’s married. Still, going back to the house he grew up in will provide time to strengthen family bonds and rekindle old friendships. At least that’s how Richard thought things would be.
That all changes when mutilated bodies of dead girls begin showing up. When Richard arrives home, there’s a curfew in effect. Everyone in his small town is jumpy. The F.B.I. has assisted local police, but there have been no solid leads. Because of the way the murderer butchers and eludes detection, rumors are flying that the killer isn’t human. When Richard learns that he knew one of the victims, his writer’s curiosity causes him to dig into the case. The killer begins taunting the police, the FBI and Richard. That’s when Richard realizes he has put himself and his family in danger.
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Richard Chizmar has written a novel that reads like a true crime story. In addition to placing himself in the story, Chizmar provides maps, newspaper photos, and more in regard to the case. You may find yourself double checking to make sure it is fiction.
Often true crime tales read like procedurals. Not this baby. It reads like one of the best true crime stories you could ask for. But remember, it’s fiction.
Rating:
The Ballad of Maddog Quinn short is here. Think Steampunk Mad Max. I liked it. My full review is coming. Check it out.
Wanted and on the run, an infamous outlaw is pursued across the steam-powered dystopia of The State by a posse of relentless lawmen. In this desolate land of dust, rust and blood, there’s not many problems that a fast horse and a gun can’t solve, but things aren’t always what they seem on the wild wasteland frontier.
A selection of Short of the Week, the web’s leading curators of quality short films.
JFK: What the Doctors Saw (2023)
Director: Barbara Shearer
Tagline: None.
The Story:
Immediately after President Kennedy was assassinated conspiracy theories appeared. The official story is that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Despite witnesses who swore there was another gunman, the Warren Commission determined that Oswald was the sole gunman.
JFK: What the Doctors Saw documents what the doctors at Parkland Hospital dealt with when President Kennedy was brought in mortally wounded. By using archival news footage, copies of official reports, and most importantly video interviews with these doctors, we are given first hand accounts of what these medical professionals dealt with. What they saw does not line up with the official story,
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)
I was just five years old (by a month) when President Kennedy was assassinated. Since I was young I’ve followed the news reports and conspiracy theories. When I was in high school I read the Warren Commission Report.
Over the years there have been many documentaries and specials that “investigated” the assassination of President Kennedy. What this documentary does is focus on what the doctors at Parkland Hospital saw when President Kennedy was brought in. Despite there being no doubt that the President was mortally wounded, they did their best to save him. While the official story is that the President was shot from behind, all of the doctors believed that at least one shot came from the front. This would explain the small bullet wound to President Kennedy’s neck and the blown out portion at the back of his skull.
The doctors all agree that the official autopsy report is not consistent with the President’s injuries as they saw them. The doctor’s have said this from day one and have never changed their stories. You can see this from the written reports that had to submit. It’s very powerful to see video interviews with the doctors shown to the public for the first time in this documentary.
If you’re familiar with the Kennedy assassination, there isn’t much new ground covered. Still, hearing from the doctors about their personal experiences on that terrible day is powerful.
THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA by Ed Brisson (writer), C.P. Smith (artist) and Tim Bradstreet (cover artist) sounds like a winner. Here’s the synopsis…
“One last job” for washed-up demolitions expert Wyatt could mean the last days for all mankind in THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA, an apocalyptic crime thriller from AWA!
It’s supposed to be an easy score: An armored car traveling desert back roads with $50 million in dirty cash. But things go sideways, people end up dead, and there’s no money in the truck. What’s all this have to do with a cult called The Sons of the Salton Sea? And is mankind REALLY doomed to eternal damnation if the Sons don’t fulfill their deadly mission? It might just be the end of the world as we know it in this explosive crime thriller from Ed Brisson (Predator, Murder Book) and C.P. Smith (THE RESISTANCE: UPRISING, ARCHANGEL 8)!
Wyatt, a professional thief living off the grid, is recruited by his brother for one last job. Their target: an armored car traveling down a desolate stretch of California highway. But when it turns out that their target is carrying not gold bars but human cargo, Wyatt is plunged into a conflict between warring factions of a doomsday cult. The cult claims that it is their solemn duty to save the world by means of human sacrifice. Will Wyatt protect the boy who has come into his charge? Or will he be swayed by the cult’s increasingly convincing claims that the end of the world is fast approaching?
THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA drops February 20, 2024.
Joss Ackland, the English actor of stage and screen died yesterday. Mr. Ackland was 95.
Mr. Ackland began his professional career in a stage production of The Hasty Heart after graduating from London’s Central School of Speech and Drama. He was just 17. For the next 60 years Joss Ackland would act on stage, television and in feature films.
Some of the television shows Joss Ackland appeared in include: Destination Downing Street; ITV Play of the Week (2 episodes); First Night (2 episodes); The Indian Tales of Rudyard Kipling (25 episodes); David Copperfield (6 episodes); Lord Raingo (3 episodes); Theater 625 (3 episodes); Armchair Theater (2 episodes); The Further Adventures of the Musketeers (16 episodes); The Wednesday Play (2 episodes); Mogul (5 episodes); Mystery and Imagination (2 episodes); Z Cars (42 episodes); The Avengers; Canterbury Tales (7 episodes); BBC Play of the Month (2 episodes); Thirty Minute Theater (2 episodes); Six Faces (2 episodes); Play for Today (3 episodes); Aquarius (2 episodes); The Crezz (12 episodes); Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; A Question of Guilt (8 episodes); BBC2 Playhouse (2 episodes); Shroud for a Nightingale (5 episodes); A Killing on the Exchange (4 episodes); Queenie (2 episodes); Tales of the Unexpected (2 episodes); Codename Kyril (4 episodes); A Quiet Conspiracy (4 episodes); The Justice Game (2 episodes); A Woman Named Jackie (2 episodes); Ashenden (4 episodes); Jackanory (10 episodes); The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles; Screen Two (2 episodes); Testiment: The Bible in Animation (2 episodes); Above and Beyond (2 episodes); Pinocchio (2 episodes) and Crusoe (3 episodes).
Some of the feature films Joss Ackland appeared in include: Landfall; Ghost Ship; Rasputin The Mad Monk; The House That Dripped Blood; The Three Musketeers; S*P*Y*S; Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe; Watership Down; Saint Jack; Rough Cut; The Sicilian; Lethal Weapon 2; The Hunt for Red October; Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey; The Mighty Ducks; D3: The Mighty Ducks and K19: The WIdowmaker.
My favorite Joss Ackland role is Arjen Rudd in Lethal Weapon 2. He was perfect.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Joss Ackland’s family, friends and fans.
I hate that Rick was gone for years from The Walking Dead, but I am looking forward to The Ones Who Live.
Danai Gurira (Michonne Hawthorne) and Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) reveal what’s in store for the return of these two iconic characters. Don’t miss the series premiere of The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live February 25th on AMC and AMC+.
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 Alex Maleev. After you pick your jaw off the floor, you can check out more of Maleev’s art, if you’re so inclined.
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Born Losers (1967)
Director: T.C. Frank (Tom Laughlin)
Screenplay by: James Lloyd (Elizabeth James)
Starring: Tom Laughlin, Elizabeth James, Jeremy Slate, William Wellman Jr., Jack Starrett, Robert Tessier, Jeff Cooper, Stuart Lancaster, Delores Taylor and Jane Russell.
Tagline: KITTEN ON WHEELS WITH HER BIKE, HER BOOTS and HER BIKINI! Out for kicks… in for trouble! She’s going to Join the… BORN LOSERS
The Story:
The Born Losers motorcycle gang has begun to terrorize a small California town. Victims and witnesses alike are terrified to testify against them.
Billy Jack is a former Viet Nam vet who lives a quiet life in the mountains. On a trip to town, Billy Jack sees gang members savagely beating a man. Although no one else is willing to help, Billy Jack grabs his rifle. He orders the gang to stop. One gang member says he doesn’t have enough bullets to get them all and they begin to surround him. Billy Jack shoots one in the leg. The police arrive and arrest everyone including Billy Jack. Billy Jack later learns that his fine for firing the gun was more than the gang members got for assault.
News spreads that gang members have raped some young women. Only one is willing to testify. She is being kept in protective custody at a hotel. When gang members lure the cop guarding her away, others go to kidnap her. Billy Jack intervenes.
Billy Jack plans to keep her safe until the trial.
What chance does one man have against an outlaw biker gang?
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)
Tom Laughlin had the character Billy Jack in mind for years before he ever made it to the screen. Born Losers was written to cash in on the biker craze and be a springboard for Billy Jack. Elizabeth James, the movie’s co-star wrote the screenplay using the name James Lloyd. The thought was who would want to see a biker movie written by a chick?
Tom Laughlin, who played Billy Jack, directed Born Losers. He used the pseudonym T.C. Frank. His three children are named Teresa, Christina and Frank. His wife Delores Taylor has a quick cameo as a mother with two children (played by Teresa and Frank).
Movie tough guy, Robert Tessier, makes his film debut in Born Losers!
Born Losers was successful enough for Laughlin to get financing to make Billy Jack. When Billy Jack became a breakout hit, American International re-released Born Losers. They advertised it with a new poster that focused on Billy Jack. The box office of Born Losers ended up being American International’s highest grossing release until 1979.
Born Losers generated 3 more Billy Jack movies; Billy Jack (1971), The Trial of Billy Jack (1974) and Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977).
Jack Starrett plays a deputy much like the deputy character he played in First Blood.
Most folks may be surprised my rating for Born Losers is so high. The film resonates with me. I saw Born Losers on a double feature with Billy Jack when I was in 9th grade. (The perfect age for both those movies.) My “date” was my girlfriend and future wife. I love that Tom Laughlin had a vision and despite many, many obstacles (losing financing, losing distribution, etc.) was able to make his dream come true and create a legendary character. Your mileage may vary.
The difference in how men and women think.
Source: Saturday Night Live.
A group of women (Ego Nwodim, Punkie Johnson, Chloe Troast) wonder what their partners (Jason Momoa, Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day) are thinking about.
