Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Sanctioning Evil looks like my kind of ride. Deal me in.
After being dishonorably discharged from the military, a Staff Sergeant finds his way back into society through a charismatic politician with a covert military operation to eliminate an underground criminal entity on U.S soil.
Starring: Tobias Truvillion, Zach McGowan, and Taryn Manning
Directed by: Ante Novakovic
Release Date: 10/7/22
Too Dead to Die: A Simon Cross Thriller by Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin will be released on December 20, 2022. Here’s the lowdown…
Writer/artist team Guggenheim/Chaykin (BLADE, WOLVERINE) reunites for an all-new original that brings classic spy novels to the modern world.
In the 1980s, Simon Cross was America’s top super-spy. Today, his past has come back to haunt him, forcing him out of retirement for one final adventure.
I’ve been a Chaykin fan since the mid-70s. Anything he writes, or in this case draws, is worth a look. Pre-orders are available now. Deal me in.
Cold in July (2014)
Director: Jim Mickle
Screenplay by: Nick Damici, Jim Mickle based on the novel, Cold in July by Joe R. Lansdale
Starring: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson, Vinessa Shaw, Lanny Flaherty and Wyatt Russell
Tagline: How many men can one bullet kill?
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
When Richard Dane (Hall) accidentally shoots and kills Freddy Russell, an intruder in his home, the Chief of Police assures Dane that he did nothing wrong. The intruder is a known thief who comes from a family of criminals. In fact, the intruder’s father, Ben Russell (Shepard) will be released from prison later in the week.
Ben Russell ins a real hard case. He confronts Richard about killing his son and makes a veiled threat to get retribution. When Richard goes to the police, the Chief says that until Ben does something to break the law, nothing can be done. Richard starts to storm out of the police station when he sees a wanted poster for Freddy Russell… and the photo on it is NOT the man that Richard killed!
Richard discovers that the Police Chief is lying to him and Ben Russell… but why? If he can convince Ben that they’re both being played, perhaps they can solve the mystery… if they’re not killed first.
A Cold Day in July is a great adaptation of Joe Lansdale’s novel. Hall and Shepard are excellent. Wyatt Russell has a small, but important role and nails it. Don Johnson was born to play Jim Bob Luke. I could see a movie or series based on his character. A Cold Day in July starts as one thing, morphs into a mystery of why the cops are lying and ends as a rescue mission by three men who would have never been friends.
Cold in July earns 4 of 5 stars.
Joe Lansdale is on my must-read list for ANY novel that he writes. I emphasize any because Lansdale writes in whatever genre strikes his fancy. His upcoming novel is titled The Donut Legion. Here’s the synopsis…
Edgar award-winning author Joe R. Lansdale beams a light on an East Texas town held in the grip of conspiracy.
Charlie Garner has a bad feeling. His ex-wife, Meg, has been missing for over a week and one quick peek into her home shows all her possessions packed up in boxes. Neighbors claim she’s running from bill collectors, but Charlie suspects something more sinister is afoot. Meg was last seen working at the local donut shop, a business run by a shadow group most refer to as ‘The Saucer People’; a space-age, evangelist cult who believe their compound to be the site of an extraterrestrial Second Coming.Along with his brother, Felix, and beautiful, randy journalist Amelia “Scrappy” Moon, Charlie uncovers strange and frightening details about the compound (read: a massive, doomsday storehouse of weapons, a leashed chimpanzee!) When the body of their key informer is found dead with his arms ripped out of their sockets, Charlie knows he’s in danger but remains dogged in his quest to rescue Meg.
Brimming with colorful characters and Lansdale’s characteristic bounce, this rollicking crime novel examines the insidious rise of fringe groups and those under their sway with black comedy and glints of pathos.
Pre-orders are available now. Deal me in.
Frogs (1972)
Director: George McCowan
Screenplay by: Robert Hutchison, Robert Blees from a story by Robert Hutchison
Starring: Ray Milland, Sam Elliott, Joan Van Ark, Adam Roarke, Judy Pace and Mae Mercer
Tagline: It’s the day that NATURE strikes back!
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
Pickett Smith, a wildlife photographer, ends up on the Crockett estate where, grumpy, old Jason Crockett (Milland) has invited family to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately that same weekend all of the animals – frogs, lizards, birds, snakes have decided to start killing humans. Yep. Killer frogs and other animals with no means of hurting a human are killing them. Yeesh.
Frogs earns 1 of 5 stars.
I’m Still Alive by Roberto Saviano and Asaf Hanuka just came onto my radar. I’m a fan of crime stories and this is a true one.
For the first time since the publication of his internationally bestselling novel, Gomorrah, Roberto Saviano shares his early-life experience with the violence of the Neapolitan Mafia and how exposing them irrevocably changed his life.
Italian journalist Roberto Saviano was twenty-six years old when he published his first book, Gomorrah, to international acclaim. The book, which has gone on to sell 10 million copies worldwide, was a detailed exposé of the Neapolitan mafia, the Camorra, whose organized crime tactics have permeated all matters of industry in Naples: government, infrastructure, high fashion, and drugs. Over fifteen years after Gomorrah’s release, Saviano’s life has been under constant threat from would be assassins who forced him to leave his native Italy and to live under constant police protection. For the first time since then, Saviano shares his deepest thoughts and experiences of early life in Naples, witnessing the power and violence of Camorra firsthand, his current existence living under guard, all the while continuing to call attention to the deeply rooted crime and corruption that plagues his home. Collaborating with award-winning cartoonist Asaf Hanuka (The Realist, The Divine), both writer and artist examine a life behind armed guard whose best recourse against oppression is through old fashioned pen and paper.
I like the art style that Hanuka is using to tell the story.
I’m Still Alive drops on October 11, 2022. Pre-orders are available now.
The A Friend of the Family trailer definitely hits the creepy vibe. I like the looks of this one.
A Friend of the Family is based on the harrowing true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by a charismatic, obsessed family “friend.” The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family, and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them. This is the story of how their lives were permanently altered — and how they survived.
Killadelphia took the comic world by storm. If you know, you know. If you don’t know, here’s a summary…
Finally, the acclaimed horror title which was nominated for an Eisner Award for “best new series” is collected in a stunning hardcover featuring the first 12 issues and more!
From RODNEY BARNES, the breakout star comics scribe and television writer behind HBO’s Winning Time, and the show-stopping artist who redefined SPAWN for a new generation, JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER.
When a small-town beat cop comes home to bury his murdered father, revered Philadelphia detective James Sangster Sr., he stumbles into a mystery that will lead him down a path of horrors and shake his beliefs to their core. The city that was once the symbol of liberty and freedom has fallen prey to corruption, poverty, unemployment, brutality…and vampires.
Now, it’s up to Jimmy and an unexpected companion to stop long-thought-dead President of the United States John Adams from building an undead army and staging a bloody new American revolution.
There’s a reason they say you can’t go home again. Welcome to Killadelphia.
Collects KILLADELPHIA #1-12 and chapters 1-5 of the terrifying werewolf tie-in story ELYSIUM GARDENS
I’m glad that Killadelphia is getting the deluxe hardcover treatment. I’m looking forward to mine. Pre-orders are available now.
Zone of the Dead aka Apocalypse of the Dead (2009)
Director: Milan Konjevic, Milan Todorovic
Screenplay by: Milan Konjevic from a story by Vukota Brajovic, Milan Todorovic
Starring: Ken Foree and Kristina Klebe
Tagline: This City Is a Living Hell
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
Agents Mortimer Reyes (Foree) and Mina Milius (Klebe) are transporting a dangerous criminal when a zombie apocalypse breaks out. The agents and criminal join forces in an effort to fight their way to safety. Think Assault on Precinct 13 meets Night of the Living Dead (but not nearly as good as either).
Zone of the Dead isn’t good by any stretch of the imagination, but if you’re in the right frame of mind and enjoy zombie films, you could do worse.
Zone of the Dead aka Apocalypse of the Dead earns 2 of 5 stars.
The Last Son (2021)
Director: Tim Sutton
Screenplay by: Greg Johnson
Starring: Sam Worthington, Colson Baker, Thomas Jane and Heather Graham
Tagline: None.
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
Isaac LeMay (Worthington) is a heartless, wicked outlaw. When a curse is placed on him, that he will be killed by one of his off-spring, LeMay decides to track down and kill the many children he left behind. So he travels from town to town, locating and killing each of his off spring. Until…
I thought The Last Son had an interesting premise. I’m also a Thomas Jane fan. Neither could keep me watching. The Last Son moved at a snail’s pace. Worthington played LeMay as a man of few words and when he did speak the words were hard to understand and gruff. Think of the, “I’m Batman” voice by Christian Bale but as if Bale had chain smoked for 50 years. There’s a scene where LeMay finds one of his off spring (he’d already killed a few). It’s a daughter. He decides not to kill her and instead puts his gun in her hand. I was thinking, “Pull the trigger and end this mess.” She doesn’t. I didn’t last much longer.
The Last Son earns 1 of 5 stars.
Hunter Hunter (2020)
Director: Shawn Linden
Screenplay by: Shawn Linden
Starring: Camille Sullivan, Summer H. Howell, Devon Sawa and Nick Stahl
Tagline:
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
Joseph Mersault (Sawa) lives in a remote wilderness log cabin with his wife Anne (Sullivan) and daughter Renée (Howell). Joseph is a modern day mountain man, living off the land, hunting and trading animal skins for goods. They’re just barely getting by. Anne doesn’t enjoy the life, but tolerates it. Renée loves hunting with her dad and living in the wilderness.
When a huge, rogue wolf returns to the area, Joseph decides he will hunt and kill it. When Joseph doesn’t return after a couple of days, Anne fears the worst. But the worst is yet to come…
I liked a lot of Hunter Hunter. For me it went off the rails when characters started doing really dumb things. I could accept Joseph going to hunt the wolf. But when he finds something totally unexpected and doesn’t go back to get his family away to safety and he doesn’t go to the police… well, that’s just dumb. When Joseph doesn’t return after a couple of days, and Anne and her daughter have had a run-in with a wolf and Anne still decides to wait it out in the cabin… that just dumb. When… well, you get the idea.
I had the feeling at the start of the film that we may be dealing with a werewolf. The lingering shots of the full moon also added to that feeling. Was the director just setting us up? The thing that really brought down my rating of this film was the final act. It seemed out of character for Anne, and the gore was over-the-top. Then for the police to allow her to simply walk away? C’mon, man.
Hunter Hunter earns 2 of 5 stars.
The Day (2011)
Director: Douglas Aarniokoski
Screenplay by: Luke Passmore
Starring: Shawn Ashmore, Brianna Barnes and Dominic Monaghan
Tagline: Fight. Or die.
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
The Day has an interesting premise that is perfect for a low-budget film. A group of five weary survivors living in a post-apocalypse, come upon a remote farm house. In addition to shelter they find a basement stocked with canned goods. Or so they think. What they’ve really stumbled into is a trap set by a cannibalistic tribe!
I wish that The Day lived up to its premise. I like the idea of cannibals, but once the fighting starts it’s just kill after kill. There was no real suspense and truthfully, I didn’t care one way or the other about which characters lived or died.
The Day earns 2 of 5 stars.
It was just announced today that Gary Nelson died of natural causes on May 25, 2022, at the age of 87. Mr. Nelson was a television and feature film director who had a career that spanned 65 years! Gary Nelson began his career as a second assistant director in 1955.
Gary Nelson directed many episodes of popular television shows including: Have Gun Will Travel; The Andy Griffith Show; Gunsmoke; It’s About Time; F Troup; Gilligan’s Island; Gomer Pyle; Get Smart; The Ghost and Mrs. Muir; Love American Style; Kojak; Police Story and The Magical World of Disney.
Television movies directed by Mr. Nelson include: To Kill a Cop; Murder Me, Murder You; More Than Murder; Get Smart, Again!; Revolver; The Return of Ironside and Fugitive Nights: Danger in the Desert, to name a few.
Gary Nelson also directed five feature films: Molly and Lawless John; Santee; The Black Hole; Jimmy the Kid and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold.
What a long and distinguished career! Gary Nelson is probably best known as the director of The Black Hole. I love the range that he displayed as director, moving from situation comedies to one hour dramas and films of both genres with ease. Gary Nelson was also the original director of Sly Stallone’s Nighthawks. The IMDb lists him as an uncredited director, so I wonder if any scenes he shot made the final film.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gary Nelson’s family, friends and fans.
I cannot believe how much I am diggin’ the poster and trailer for Werewolf by Night. The cool old school poster and trailer feel is spot on. Making the trailer in black and white is a smooth move. Werewolf by Night has moved to my must-see list.
There’s no escaping the night.
