“The Wizard of Oz” (1925) / Z-View

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The Wizard of Oz (1925)

Director: Larry Semon

Screenplay:  Larry Semon, L. Frank Baum Jr. based on The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Starring:  Larry Semon, Dorothy Dwan, Frank Alexander, Charles Murray, Josef Swickerd, Oliver Hardy, Mary Carr and Spencer Bell.

Tagline: The Thrilling Comedy Cyclone! The Wonderful Land of Oz! The Den of Man Eating Lions! The Famous Scarecrow and Tin Man! The Startling Airplane Rescue! The 100 Foot Leap for Life! All combined in the greatest screen novelty ever made.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

The movie begins with a toymaker reading The Wizard of Oz to his granddaughter…

Dorothy (Dwan) is a just-turned 18 year old who was left on Auntie Em’s (Carr) doorstep as a baby.  In reality, Dorothy is the rightful heir to the throne in the land of Oz.  When a tornado deposits Dorothy, and three farmhands in Oz, the evil Prime Minister Kruel (Swickerd) realizes that the true ruler has returned.

Kruel sends his soldiers to do away with Dorothy and crew.  To escape, one of the farmhands disguises himself as a scarecrow, another a tin woodsman and later the third ends up in a lion suit.  Will Dorothy survive and be crowned queen?  Will Prime Minister Kruel and Lady Vishuss be deposed?  (Psst!  It’s a kid’s book, so what do you think?)

Larry Semon was a popular comedian of the day.  Semon wrote, produced and starred in this version of The Wizard of Oz.  The Scarecrow gets most film time and he’s played by, you guessed it, Larry Semon.  Semon had a love for big budgets and tons sight gags. The Wizard of Oz has both.  We get a lot of visual gags, and the ending even features Semon climbing and swinging between towers while being shot at with a canon, a leap to a rope ladder from a passing plane and more.

A young pre-Laurel & Hardy, Oliver Hardy appears in the film playing the farmhand who becomes the Tin Man.  Spencer Bell (an African-American actor) is billed a G. Howe Black and appears in a few scenes that even at that time were thought as demeaning as his billing.

The Wizard of Oz (1925) earns a 3 of 5 star rating.

“The Wind and the Lion” (1975) / Z-View

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The Wind and the Lion (1975)

Director:  John Milius

Screenplay:   John Milius

Starring:  Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, John Huston, Geoffrey Lewis and Steve Kanaly.

Tagline: Between the wind and the lion is the woman. For her, half the world may go to war.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers

The year is 1904.  In Morroco, Germany, France and Britain are trying to gain influence with the Sultan Abdelaziz.  Mulai Ahmed el Raisuli (Connery) wants his country free of the influence of other countries and the corrupt Sultan.  In an effort to create an international incident and inspire an uprising against the Sultan, Raisuli kidnaps a visiting American citizen, Eden Pedecaris (Bergin) and her two young children.

Theodore Roosevelt (Keith) is running for re-election and plans to use the rescue of Eden and her children to help his campaign.  Despite the fears that sending in the marines will cause, Roosevelt does just that.  Eden and her children lives hang in the balance as German soldiers, US marines, Moroccans and Raisuli’s followers prepare for war.

John Milius has created a rousing story based on true incidents but fictionalized for the screen.  Sean Connery is charismatic as Raisuli,  Candice Bergin plays a smart woman and she’s never looked prettier.  Brian Keith was born to play Teddy Roosevelt.  If there are any nits to pick with The Wind and the Lion they take a back seat to Milius’ power as a director and storyteller.  The Wind and the Lion rates 4 of 5 stars.

“RRR” (2022) / Z-View

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RRR (2022)

Director:  S.S. Rajamouli

Screenplay:   S. S. Rajamouli from a story by Vijayendra Prasad

Starring:  Ram Charan, N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Alia Bhatt, Olivia Morris, Ray Stevenson and Alison Doody.

Tagline: None

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

RRR is a film that defies description.  If someone had described it to me prior to me seeing it, I would have said, “Pass” and missed out on a movie experience that I look forward to repeating.  So, I’ll do my best to review RRR, but, no matter what you think after my review, you should give it a look.

Set in 1920, India is under British rule.  The British Governor, Scott Buxton (Stevenson) thinks the people he governs are heathens.  Buxton’s wife, Catherine (Doody) is a sadistic wretch.  While visiting a village, Catherine tells her husband she wants to take one of the children home with her.  Governor Buxton orders his soldiers to get the child. Despite the pleas of the mother and villagers, they leave with the little girl.

Bheem (Rao, Jr.), a warrior who lives in the forest vows to bring her back.  Bheem will find himself up against the might of the British army and Ram (Charan) an Indian soldier fighting for the British!

Before that happens we will get back story of both warriors.  We see how Bheem and Ram meet while saving a boy from a raging fire.  Bheem and Ram become best friends and then mortal enemies, only to learn that both possess a secret that will change everything!

RRR is at times an action movie, a drama, a love story, a war movie and a musical.  RRR seamlessly changes genres and keeps the story flowing.  The action is over the top crazy (in a great way)!  The director pulls out all the stops — we get slow-motion entrances, heroes doing the impossible (but we believe it while watching — at least most of the time).  When the action becomes too outrageous, we watch with a smile.

The love story (between Bheem and an English woman) is sweet and innocent. It provides opportunities for humor, an insight to how most of the British view the population.  It also leads to one of my many favorite scenes in RRR (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) — a dance off.  Yep.  A dance off.  But it works!

The heroes are heroic and the villains are despicable. RRR is a movie that wears its heart on its sleeve.  It shamelessly has fun as it presents the story of a legend.  I absolutely loved RRR and it earns my highest rating 5 of 5 stars.

“Mind Over Murder” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Here we have the poster and trailer for Mind Over Murder.  I don’t know this case, but plan to tune in.

From acclaimed filmmaker Nanfu Wang, the HBO Original six-part documentary series #MindOverMurder chronicles the bizarre and psychologically complex story of six individuals who were convicted for the 1985 murder of a beloved 68- year-old grandmother, Helen Wilson, in Beatrice, Nebraska. Despite five of the individuals originally confessing to the crime, the “Beatrice Six” as they became known, were exonerated by DNA evidence in 2009, a turn of events that divided the rural town and incensed the family of Helen Wilson. As the filmmakers track the case from the murder, through investigation, trial, exoneration and two civil suits, shifting perspectives cloud the truth; a stranger-than-fiction tale emerges that raises salient questions about the reliability of confessions and memory in criminal cases.

“The Old Guard” (2020) / Z-View

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The Old Guard (2020)

Director:  Gina Prince-Bythewood

Screenplay:   Greg Rucka based on The Old Guard comic series by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez

Starring:  Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Harry Melling.

Tagline: Forever is Harder Than It Looks

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Andy (Theron) leads a team of centuries-old near-immortals who take on missions to improve the world.  When Steven Merrick (Melling), a drug company executive learns of the near-immortals, he puts together a group of mercenaries to capture Andy’s team.  Merrick plans to experiment on the near-immortals to discover their secrets to longevity.

I was expecting more from The Old Guard.  I’m a long time fan of Greg Rucka’s writing (both novels and comics).  For some reason the story/dialogue just didn’t resonate with me.  The action scenes were good.  There’s one horrifying thing that happens to one of the near-immortals that will stay with you.  Other than that The Old Guard played out like a good, but not great action flick.  The Old Guard rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Nope” – The Final Trailer is Here!

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The final trailer for NOPE is here.

“What’s a bad miracle?”

Oscar® winner Jordan Peele disrupted and redefined modern horror with Get Out and then Us. Now, he reimagines the summer movie with a new pop nightmare: the expansive horror epic, Nope.

The film reunites Peele with Oscar® winner Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah), who is joined by Keke Palmer (Hustlers, Alice) and Oscar® nominee Steven Yeun (Minari, Okja) as residents in a lonely gulch of inland California who bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.

Nope, which co-stars Michael Wincott (Hitchcock, Westworld) and Brandon Perea (The OA, American Insurrection), is written and directed by Jordan Peele and is produced by Ian Cooper (Us, Candyman) and Jordan Peele for Monkeypaw Productions. The film will be released by Universal Pictures worldwide.

“The Unforgivable” (2021) / Z-View

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The Unforgivable (2021)

Director:  Nora Fingscheidt

Screenplay:   Peter Craig, Hillary Seitz, Courtenay Miles based on Unforgiven, a British limited series by Sally Wainwright

Starring:  Sandra Bullock, Viola Davis, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jon Bernthal, Aisling Franciosi, Richard Thomas, Tom Guiry, Emma Nelson and Will Pullen.

Tagline: No one walks free of their past.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Ruth Slater (Bullock) has just been released from prison after serving twenty years for the murder of a sheriff. She has two goals.  The first is to make sure that her younger sister, Katie (Franciosi) is doing alright and the second is to get on with her life.  Neither goal is going to be easy.

After Ruth’s imprisonment, Katie was adopted.  Katie has splotchy memories of a traumatic incident, but no idea of her life before adoption.  Katie’s adoptive parents do not want Ruth to have any contact with Katie.

When Keith (Guiry), one of the sons of the murdered sheriff, sees that Ruth Slater has been released from prison he is enraged.  He blames Ruth for all of the crappy things in his life that began with the murder of his dad.  Keith plans to kill Ruth.

Ruth’s refusal to back down from meeting with Katie, and Keith’s plans to kill Ruth are going to play out in unpredictable ways.

I was impressed with how good The Unforgivable is since it could have easily gone the Lifetime Movie route.  The Unforgivable is a dark story that is well written, well directed featuring an excellent cast.  Kudos to Sandra Bullock for starring in a movie where she doesn’t look like a movie star and is believable as an ex-con.

Viola Davis has a small, but pivotal role.  Vincent D’Onofrio plays an attorney married to Davis’ character.  I loved the interactions between these two amazing actors.

Jon Bernthal is one of my favorite actors.  He has a small role as a potential love interest for Ruth.  Their scene in the diner is heartbreaking… especially later when we learn more.

Richard Thomas is excellent as Katie’s adoptive dad.  It’s good to see Thomas in more roles.

I figured out The Unforgivable early on, and had most of it right.  The ending did surprise me though.  I really liked The Unforgivable so of course it rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Black Bird” – The Trailer is Here!

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Wow!  Black Bird.  Deal me in.

When serving time, you’ll do anything for a chance at freedom—even if that means facing a suspected killer. Inspired by true events, Dennis Lehane’s newest Apple Original Series stars Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser. Black Bird arrives July 8 on Apple TV+ https://apple.co/_BlackBird

Inspired by actual events, when high school football hero and decorated policeman’s son Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison, he is given the choice of a lifetime — enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser), or stay where he is and serve his full sentence with no possibility of parole. Keene quickly realizes his only way out is to elicit a confession and find out where the bodies of several young girls are buried before Hall’s appeal goes through. But is this suspected killer telling the truth? Or is it just another tale from a serial liar? This dramatic and captivating story subverts the crime genre by enlisting the help of the very people put behind bars to solve its mysteries.

Ensemble cast includes Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser, Sepideh Moafi, Greg Kinnear and Ray Liotta.

Black Bird is developed and executive produced by Lehane. The first three episodes are directed by Academy Award nominee Michaël R. Roskam (“Bullhead,” “The Drop”), who also serves as executive producer. Lehane, Egerton and Roskam executive produce alongside Richard Plepler through his EDEN Productions; Bradley Thomas, Dan Friedkin and Ryan Friedkin executive produce through Imperative Entertainment; Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert executive produce through EMJAG Productions; and Kary Antholis also executive produces, along with the book’s author James Keene. Jim McKay and Joe Chappelle also direct. The limited series is produced for Apple TV+ by Apple Studios.

Song: “Cuckoo! (Songs From “Friday Afternoons”, Op.7)” by Benjamin Britten https://apple.co/Cuckoo_BenjaminBritten