Neal Adams’ Rare “Billy Jack” Original Art!

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That’s the rarely seen Neal Adams original Billy Jack painting used for the cover of The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #11.  If you click over to The Bristol Board you will see the art and magazine cover.  It’s interesting to note that for the magazine they did a close-up of the painting to make a more dynamic cover.

If you like action films, consider checking out Billy Jack and its prequel, Born Losers.  Both are fun.  Two additional sequels, The Trial of Billy Jack and Billy Jack Goes to Washington aren’t as good.  In 1985, Tom Laughlin began production on The Return of Billy Jack.  Sadly, it was never completed.

“Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields” (2022) / Z-View

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Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields (2022)

Director:  Jessica Dimmock

Stars: Tim Miller

Tagline: None.

The Story…

There’s a 25 acre area of land a little over 25 miles south of Houston that runs along Interstate 45.  This area is known as The Texas Killing Fields.  Thirty-three bodies of brutally murdered young girls and women were found in this patch of land.  Even more young girls and women from this area are still missing.

Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields focuses on four of these victims.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I don’t know which is crazier: that so many girls and women disappeared with no trace and no murderer caught for years, or that there were TWO killers working independently using the same dumping ground.

I was surprised to learn that Tim Miller’s (founder of Texas EquuSearch) daughter was one of the victims.  Miller founded Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team.  They provide assistance to families of lost and missing persons.  I became aware of Miller and his organization when he participated in the search for Caley Anthony.  I had no idea Miller’s daughter was the victim of a serial killer.

Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields has a compelling story, but was a bit padded at three episodes.  I felt bad for the innocent men accused of being the killers.  I was glad to find that two killers (could there have been more) were arrested and convicted.

Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields earns 3 of 5 stars.

“A Ducking They Did Go” (1939) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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A Ducking They Did Go (1939)

Director:  Del Lord

Screenplay: Andrew Bennison

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard and Vernon Dent

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys (Larry, Curly and Moe) are tricked by conmen into selling tickets to a non-existent duck hunting club. Surprisingly the boys sell all of their tickets… to policemen and the mayor.  Now our guys have to find some ducks for hunting and fast.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

A Ducking They Did Go is solid from start to finish.  The highlight is Curly having it out with a duck who gets the best of him.

A Ducking They Did Go earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Bullet Train” (2022) directed by David Leitch, starring Brad Pitt / Z-View

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Bullet Train (2022)

Director:  David Leitch

Screenplay: Zak Olkewicz based on Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka (Sam Malissa – Translator)

Stars: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Sandra Bullock, Bad Bunny and Zazie Beetz

Tagline: The end of the line is just the beginning.

The Plot…

An operative with the code name Ladybug (Pitt) boards a bullet train with a simple job: Retrieve a briefcase full of cash.  Ladybug has had a string of bad luck. He hopes this easy assignment is just what he needs.  Little does Ladybug know that several assassins are on the train.  Each killer has his/her own agenda, but when paths cross people die…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

When Bullet Train was first announced, I was stoked.  I loved the idea of several assassins on a bullet train fighting it out.  David Leitch’s track record as a director: John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw made him the perfect choice to helm the production.  The novel by Kōtarō Isaka was a best-seller.  Everything was coming together to make a cool movie.

I bought Isaka’s book and could not get into it.  The assassins were high school students.  One of them droned on and on about Thomas the Train.  It’s rare that I don’t finish a book.  I quit this one.  Then the ads started to appear for the movie.  They made it look like a COMEDY with a little action.  Not what I was hoping for.  Still, I was willing to give Bullet Train a chance.

I’m glad I did.  Yes, Bullet Train is full of quirky characters.  Yes, it has comedy.  But there’s more than enough action to balance it out.  I liked the story.  Leitch keeps things moving.  His background in stunts and previous directing gigs serves him well.  The cast plays things straight so as an audience we buy in.  Brad Pitt was the perfect choice to star and he’s got a great supporting cast.  Channing Tatum and Ryan Reynolds have uncredited cameos that are the icing on the cake.

Bullet Train exists in it’s own universe.  It’s crazy, quirky and I’m glad I made a visit.

Bullet Train earns 4 of 5 stars.

Sly Stallone Interview & “Tulsa King” Midseason Trailer!

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There’s a cool profile/mini-interview with Sylvester Stallone at Slate.  It’s well worth a read.  Sly talks about his acting process, Tulsa King, movies vs television and more.  One question and answer stood out…

I know you’ve had an Edgar Allen Poe biopic that you’ve wanted to make for years, but are there any projects like that you’re still really hoping to make one day?

SLY: Yeah, there’s a couple there. There’s one I wanna do, it’s called Hunter, which I’d like to do as a streaming series. There’s another called Levon Cade. A lot of these are harkening back to when men were men [laughs] — when action films were basically men overcoming incredible odds, but terra firma and real, not something that’s CGI-driven. Almost like Rambo, Rocky, early Charles Bronson, Dirty Harry. That’s the kind of film I’m focusing on.

TULSA KING – Season 1 Midseason Trailer (2022) Paramount+ TULSA KING follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Okla. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet. CAST: Sylvester Stallone, Martin Starr, Andrea Savage

“Uncivil Warriors” (1935) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Uncivil Warriors (1935)

Director:  Del Lord

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Heinie Conklin and Bud Jamison

Tagline: Two Laughtereels with Moe Howard, Jerry Howard, Larry Fine.

The Plot…

The boys (Larry, Curly and Moe) are sent behind enemy lines to spy on the Confederate army.  They take on the identities of Lieutenant Duck, Captain Dodge and Major Hyde.  All is going well until Major “Bloodhound” Filbert arrives with news that there could be spies about.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Uncivil Warriors marks the first time that the Stooges use the “Everybody knows Charlie” gag to get past a guard.  It also contains the popular gag where something is coated with icing and the Stooges eat it.  This time it’s a feather potholder. (In later productions they use bubble gum or soap.)

Uncivil Warriors features as much wordplay humor as physical gags and it works.  Every scene has laughs.  It’s especially funny seeing the boys work together to try to fool “Bloodhound” Filbert.  Larry slipping out to pose as Moe’s father; Curly coming in as Moe’s wife!  The scene with the African-American baby was cut for many early television broadcasts!

Uncivil Warriors earns 5 of 5 stars.

Variety: The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time!

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Variety recently sought input from over 30 of their critics, writers and editors to come up with a list of The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time. The list isn’t thought to be definitive, but more to stir up discussion. So in that spirit, here are my thoughts on the list…

I’ve seen 59 of the 100 movies listed. Here’s the breakdown:

01 – 10: 10

11 – 20: 05

21 – 30: 08

31 – 40: 09

41 – 50: 06

51 – 60: 05

61 – 70: 03

71 – 80: 02

81 – 90: 06

91 – 100: 05

Using just Variety’s Top Ten, here’s a comparison to how I’d rank them.

Variety

Zablo
10. Saving Private Ryan (1998) 10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
09. All About Eve (1950) 09. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
08. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 08. All About Eve (1950)
07. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 07. Seven Samurai (1954)
06. Seven Samurai (1954) 06. Citizen Kane (1941)
05. Pulp Fiction (1994) 05. Psycho (1960)
04. Citizen Kane (1941) 04. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
03. The Godfather (1972) 03. Pulp Fiction (1994)
02. The Wizard of Oz (1939) 02. The Godfather (1972)
01. Psycho (1960) 01. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

“Beer Barrel Polecats” (1946) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Beer Barrel Polecats (1946)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Gilbert Pratt, Felix Adler, Clyde Bruckman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Robert B. Williams, Vernon Dent, Bruce Bennett, Al Thompson and Blackie Whiteford

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys (Larry, Curly and Moe) can’t find a beer anywhere.  Their solution?  Become bootleggers.  Making the beer shouldn’t be a problem.  But it is.  Selling the beer to a cop, an even bigger one.  Life in prison is never easy.  Especially if you’re a Stooge.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Beer Barrel Polecats was first short filmed after Curly had suffered a stroke.  Curly looks much thinner than usual.  In fact he’s not much larger than Moe or Larry.  The stroke also affected Curly’s endurance and performance.  Because of this, director Jules White used footage from In the Sweet Pie and Pie (1941) and So Long Mr. Chumps (1941) to pad the production.  In those scenes Curly is noticeably heavier with more expressions and body language.

Beer Barrel Polecats earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Knock at the Cabin” (2023) Directed by M. Night Shyamalan – The Second Trailer is Here!

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Here is the second trailer to M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin.  Deal me in.

Knock at the Cabin – Only in Theaters February 3, 2023
https://www.knockatthecabin.com/

While vacationing at a remote cabin, a young girl and her parents are taken hostage by four armed strangers who demand that the family make an unthinkable choice to avert the apocalypse. With limited access to the outside world, the family must decide what they believe before all is lost.

From visionary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, Knock at the Cabin stars Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Tony award and Emmy nominee Jonathan Groff (Hamilton, Mindhunter), Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth, Fleabag), BAFTA nominee Nikki Amuka-Bird (Persuasion, Old), newcomer Kristen Cui, Abby Quinn (Little Women, Landline) and Rupert Grint (Servant, Harry Potter franchise).

Universal Pictures presents a Blinding Edge Pictures production, in association with FilmNation Features and Wishmore Entertainment, an M. Night Shyamalan film. The screenplay is by M. Night Shyamalan and Steve Desmond & Michael Sherman based on the national bestseller The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. The film is directed by M. Night Shyamalan and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Marc Bienstock (Split, Glass) and Ashwin Rajan (Servant, Glass). The executive producers are Steven Schneider, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos and Ashley Fox.

“Three Loan Wolves” (1946) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Three Loan Wolves (1946)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard and Harold “Tiny” Brauer

Tagline: Here Today – Pawn Tomorrow

The Plot…

The boys (Larry, Curly and Moe) own a pawn shop and have a young son named Eggbert.  Eggbert wants to know which of the Stooges is his real father.  So the boys explain that years ago a woman left Eggbert there. She never returned.  The story is told in flashback.  There’s a subplot with gangsters trying to shake down our guys.  This is the first Stooges short where Larry gets center-stage!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Three Loan Wolves was filmed near the end of Curly’s career.  He’d had several small strokes and lost a lot of weight prior to filming.  His timing was off and he didn’t have much stamina.  By all reports his performances were becoming unpredictable.  Director Jules White decided to make Larry the central character for this one.  Most of Curly’s lines were then given to Larry.  Larry does a, pardon the expression, fine job.  It’s bittersweet knowing that the change was due to Curly’s illness.

Harold “Tiny” Brauer is one of two people (the other being Emil Sitka) to work with all six Stooges.

Three Loan Wolves earns 4 of 5 stars.

RIP: Stephan Bonnar

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Stephan Bonnar, the UFC Hall of Fame mixed martial artist, died on December 22, 2022.  He was 45.  No official cause of death was given, but it was believed to be the result of heat complications.

Mr. Bonnar was the first runner-up on Season One of The Ultimate Fighter.  His bout against Forrest Griffin is considered a classic.  As the fight progressed the ratings for the finale continued to climb as viewers called friends to tune in.  The winner of the bout was to get a six-figure contract with the UFC.  Because the fight was so entertaining and competitive, both Griffin and Bonnar received contracts.  Dana White, the President of the UFC said that the Griffin/Bonnar fight saved the promotion (which is now a multi-billion dollar business).

Stephan Bonnar ended his professional MMA career with a 15 -9 record.

I watched the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.  I was also one of the people that called friends during the finale. The Bonnar/Griffin fight truly saved the UFC.  It was because of that fight that the UFC television contract was extended.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Stephan Bonnar’s family, friends and fans.

“The Raven” (1935) starring Boris Karloff & Bela Lugosi / Z-View

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The Raven (1935)

Director:  Lew Landers aka Louis Friedlander

Screenplay: David Boehm based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe

Stars: Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lester Matthews, Irene Ware, Samuel S. Hinds, Spencer Charters and Ian Wolfe

Tagline: While this mad surgical genius chanted “The Raven,” horrible screams rose up from his torture chamber below!

The Plot…

Dr. Richard Vollin (Lugosi), who is obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe, is called out of retirement to perform a life-saving operation on Jean Thatcher (Ware).  The operation is a success.  Jean and Dr. Vollin become friends.  As the friendship grows, Vollin becomes obsessed with Jean.

When escaped killer Edmond Bateman (Karloff) shows up at Dr. Vollin’s mansion asking for a facelift, Vollin comes up with a sick plan.  He performs the operation, but turns Bateman into a hideous looking monster.  Vollin says he will fix Bateman’s face if Bateman will help him kill Jean’s fiance and father.  Vollin plans to murder them using methods based on Edgar Allan Poe stories.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Although Bela Lugosi had the leading role in The Raven, Boris Karloff got top billing.  In addition Karloff earned $10,000 to Lugosi’s $5,000.  Lugosi was reportedly unhappy to learn this news.

The idea of disfiguring an escaped murderer to make him do your bidding is an interesting take.  Credit to the writers to wrap that idea around an obsession with Edgar Allan Poe.   I wish the end result was as good as the ideas.

The Raven earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Three Smart Saps” (1942) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Three Smart Saps (1942)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay: Clyde Bruckman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Vernon Dent and Bud Jamison

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The boys (Larry, Curly and Moe) are about to be married to three sisters.  That’s when they learn that their future father-in-law, the warden at a local jail has been locked up.  Gangsters have turned the jail into a club for crooks to gamble, dance and booze it up.  It’s up to Larry, Curly and Moe to break into the jail, get incriminating photos and save their father-in-law.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Three Smart Saps is a rare Stooges short where the humor is less dependent on Moe hitting Larry and Curly.  The laughs come (mostly) from the situations the boys put themselves in.  There’s an extended dance scene where Curly takes center stage and really performs.  He was light on his feet and able to move for a big man.

Three Smart Saps earns 5 of 5 stars.

Merry Christmas and “Yes, Timmy, There is a Santa Claus!”

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Merry Christmas!

Several years ago John Beatty and I teamed up to create “Yes, Timmy, There is a Santa Claus!”  John pencilled, inked and colored what I wrote.  The story was published in a charity Christmas comic by Tim Gordon.  

Every couple of years I like to repost the story.  What you see below is the result of our efforts.  I hope that you enjoy them.