Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
If you’re a fan of classic horror films and/or amazing art, then you’ll want to check out The Monster Art of Basil Gogos. This will be a beautiful compilation that will contain…
… page after page of unpublished sketches, illustrations and exquisite full color paintings by the monster master…
The Kickstarter has already met goal and now is on overdrive to create stretch goals. I’m on board. Check it out and you may be as well.
I really like Thomas Boatwright’s riff on Sly from F.I.S.T. Hopefully, you do as well.
Over the years I’ve gotten several Stallone pieces from Thomas. Click on the link to see what has been posted so far… there are more to come.
If you’d like to see more of Thomas Boatwright’s art check out his blog and his instagram. Send him some love.
If you get commissions, you should consider a piece from Thomas. He keeps you totally in the loop on his progress, finishes his commissions on or ahead of schedule, has very reasonable prices, is a fantastic artist and always gives you more than you’re expecting! – Craig
Here’s a gem from the Zablo vault. A few years ago, Burt Reynolds held an auction to thin out his personal collection. One of the items for bid was this personal letter from Sly Stallone to Burt. I think it’s cool that Sly and Burt were hanging out and that Burt thought enough of Sly to keep the note. Click on the photo to see a much bigger version.
PS – I agree with Sly’s assessment of Sharkey’s Machine. It’s a favorite!
Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 22 Things We Learned from Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: War Zone Commentary. Here are three of my favorites…
11. The mental hospital sequence was filmed partly in a facility that didn’t allow visitors with a criminal record. “Half of our crew couldn’t come in.”
14. She recalls walking into a market set during re-shoots in Vancouver and taking a couple candy bars for a snack, and the production assistant ran after her yelling that she wasn’t allowed to do that. “He really almost peed his pants when he found out he was yelling at the director.”
18.The skull visible behind the Punisher and Paul (Colin Salmon) at 54:26 was unintentional luck and a combination of lighting and an existing chandelier.
Over at Syfy.com, Tim Grierson and Will Leitch posted their choices for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 5 Best Non-Terminator Films. Let’s cut to the chase. Here’s their selections:
5. The Running Man
4. Kindergarten Cop
3. True Lies
2. Total Recall
1. Predator
Here’s mine.
5. Sabotage
4. True Lies
3. Conan
2. Commando
1. Predator
How could they leave off Conan and Commando?
I think this Overlord poster is pretty clever. Don’t know if it’ll sell the movie or not, but it is clever.
Meg Sheilds and Film School Rejects present The 50 Best Final Shots in Movie History. Using just their choices, here are my top three picks and two that didn’t make the list, but should have.
47. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Shot
Oh good. For a moment there, I thought we were in trouble. Wild West outlaws Butch Cassidy and his bromantic partner Harry “Sundance Kid” Longabaugh find themselves surrounded. In a pinch, musing about a trip to Australia they’ll never take, they charge out, and the shot freezes on our duo, guns blazing, surrounded by the lingering pops of gunfire. And, as the shot leeches into sepia, the plucky pair return to their place in history.
15. Casablanca
The Shot
Redeeming his soul, Rick makes a sacrifice and watches his beloved Ilsa walk off into the fog with her revolutionary husband, Victor. Riding the personal growth kick, Rick and Renault affirm their burgeoning beautiful friendship and trudge off together, in search of a better future. And probably some coffee.
11. Planet of the Apes (1968)
The Shot
A peaceful horse ride on the beach is spoiled when our two human heroes discover the alien world they’ve been trapped on was earth all along. The closing shot sees a curled up Charlton Heston (pooped out from chewing the scenery) doubled over in front of the Statue of Liberty, half-sunk in the sand, corroding in the tide. It’s a great gotcha moment and one that further complicates the line between civilization and savagery.
I know I’m biased but how could the final shot from Rocky not have made the list?
The picture above was recently sent to me by my buddy, Bill Black. That’s me and my lovely wife, Doralya at OrlandoCon 1980. What’s interesting is that until this week, I’d never seen the whole photo before.
“Wait, what? The whole photo?” you ask.
Let me explain. At the show Bill was taking photos. For this picture he said something to me like, “Look excited.” I guess I opted for look crazy. Anyway, Bill used a cropped version of my face on the inside front cover of Bill Black’s Fun Comics #1. It looked like this…
So I did see the cropped version that appeared in the comic (and so did you if you read this post from 2007) but never the whole version until recently. It’s weird seeing a photo of yourself from years ago that you’d never seen before.
Leon Hurley and GamesRadar present 21 Cancelled Shows Netflix Should Bring Back. Using just their choices, here are my top three picks and two that didn’t make the list, but should have.
11. Almost Human
The TV show: While at times hit-n-miss, Almost Human braved the cold of Monday nights on Fox and sadly didn’t survive. A sci-fi police procedural about a belligerent cop (Karl Urban) and his android partner (Michael Ealy) the show struck out into some unique territory with its gritty genre storytelling.
Why Netflix needs to bring it back: For Karl Urban’s sanity. Between this and Dredd, the guy needs a break when it comes to steady work.
9. Deadwood
The TV show: As the drunken, bristling Al Swearengen, Ian McShane delivers his finest role to date in HBO’s uber-violent western. Being set shortly after the Civil War in a period of lawlessness allows for the series to fly off the rails. Interestingly enough, the crazy activities taking place in the small town of Deadwood, South Dakota are based on actual people who lived there.
Why Netflix needs to bring it back: Oh man, have you not seen the fan petitions for this one? Word is that HBO caved and agreed to wrap up the dangling plots with a movie – but this was arguably the cable network’s best genre show. Why not keep it serialised? Oh well, there’s always Westworld season 2…
2. Firefly
The TV show: You knew this was going to be at number one. Joss Whedon’s cowboys in space serial only squeezed out one season. And boy, is it a corker. Taking the typical Whedon tropes (ragtag bunch of misfits, genre setting, punchy dialogue) he spins a great blend of sci-fi and action following the crew of the Serenity across the universe. The cast’s at the top of their game and the storylines feel fresh.
Why Netflix needs to bring it back: Let’s pretend the wrap-up movie Serenity doesn’t exist. Netflix would score MAJOR points for reviving this series. Even if the amount of fans who’ve petitioned for its return aren’t in the millions, the word-of-mouth and social media activity would generate tons of free press for them. But really, they need to bring it back for this one reason: *spoiler alert*… to correct Wash’s fate.
I almost left Deadwood off the list since HBO is bringing it back as a movie, but then decided that it should be left on because I’d really love to see it return as a series.
Two that should have been included on the list but weren’t are: 1. Justified and 2. The Shield.
David “SOOP” Frison is a Hollywood stuntman and actor with the dream to create a documentary telling the story of The Original Muscle Beach. Check out the video below and if you’re interested support the project!
Thomas Boatwright created the piece above when I requested Sly from Paradise Alley. Boatwright is such a Tom Waits fan that he felt compelled to add him since Waits played Mumbles in the movie. How cool is that?
Over the years I’ve gotten several Stallone pieces from Thomas. Click on the link to see what has been posted so far… there are more to come.
If you’d like to see more of Thomas Boatwright’s art check out his blog and his instagram. Send him some love.
If you get commissions, you should consider a piece from Thomas. He keeps you totally in the loop on his progress, finishes his commissions on or ahead of schedule, has very reasonable prices, is a fantastic artist and always gives you more than you’re expecting! – Craig
I was sad to read that Burt Reynolds died yesterday at the age of 82 from cardiac arrest.
Like most of you reading this, I was a huge Burt Reynolds fan and have many fond memories watching him on television and at the movies. My favorite Burt Reynolds’ films include Sharkey’s Machine; The Longest Yard, The Last Movie Star and of course, Smokey and the Bandit. Keep in mind that’s just the tip of the Reynolds acting iceberg.
Part of Reynolds’ charm was his charm. His appearances on Carson and other talk shows of the era allowed us to see Reynolds as a self-deprecating celebrity who never took himself too seriously. He came off as a guy with a great sense of humor that would be fun to be with. And he was. At least he was every time he’d turn up in a movie or television role.
If you haven’t seen Reynolds in The Last Movie Star, give it a go. He’s really good in it and it serves as a nice capper to his career.
Rest in Peace Burt Reynolds.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Reynolds family, friends and fans.
I’m really looking forward to the Midnight Mystery mini-series by Bernie Gonzalez. It’s described as…
… a suspense/horror comic book series that follows the strange adventures of detective Ezekiel “Zeke” King. It’s a mix of Supernatural, X-Files, and film noir movies told in the style of Batman: The Animated Series and Darwyn Cooke’s New Frontier.
This puts it close to the middle of my Venn diagram of things that I enjoy. If a Stallone-looking character ever makes an appearance, it will move to dead-center. Ah, but I digress.
I heard that Bernie G. was going to do a long video interview and was looking for potential questions. So, I sent one in.
You can imagine my surprise when I heard my question asked and answered during the interview. I was even more surprised when Bernie sent me the art above as a “thank-you” for sending in my question!
So Bernie, if you’re reading this… Thank YOU!
Steve Foxe and the Paste Staff recently posted their choices for The 50 Best Horror Novels of All Time. Here are three of my favorites…
22. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (1988)
It’s a little odd getting around The Silence of the Lambs’ third-person present tense: “Starling looks down the corridor,” etc., but once you get used to it, it’s a device that ends up perfectly suiting the novel. The narrator’s impartial voice floats above the proceedings, never siding with one character or settling exclusively onto their perspective—at times, the third-person narration gives us glimpses into the minds of Clarice Starling, Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill. What the novel also does particularly well is make us probe into the motivations and ambition of Starling, going beyond her desire to simply help people and catch a killer. Opposed at nearly every turn by the institutional roadblocks erected in the path of female FBI trainees, the reader can sense the desperation of Starling and her borderline selfish desire to stand out and prove herself to her entirely male superiors. You can also sense this is part of the reason that Lecter takes an interest in her, finding her ambitions an interesting character trait that he can use to wrap Starling around his finger. This is actually one of the cases where it’s helpful to have seen the film in advance, because you can read Lecter’s dialogue and imagine it being delivered by Sir Anthony Hopkins. That’s a damn good combination to make for a compelling reading experience. —Jim Vorel
19. The Stand by Stephen King (1978)
Stephen King’s magnum opus nearly didn’t make this countdown, fitting, as it does, more neatly into post-apocalyptic fiction or fantasy. At over 800 pages (more, if you’re reading the uncut edition), The Stand includes as much horror as any of King’s other novels, spurred by a viral outbreak that kills off 99.4% of the population. World-ending scenarios were on everyone’s minds in the ‘70s and ‘80s, as global tensions escalated and means of mass destruction proliferated. King isn’t content to simply explore a post-pandemic wasteland, though; The Stand is his most epic standoff between good and evil, the latter concept embodied by Randall Flagg, a recurring antagonist of King’s who becomes essential to the sprawling Dark Tower saga. Knowledge of that series isn’t necessary to undertake The Stand—just a month or so of dedicated reading time, and a hearty resistance to nightmares. —Steve Foxe
8. The Shining by Stephen King (1977)
For most modern readers, legendary director Stanley Kubrick’s stay at the Overlook Hotel looms large over Stephen King’s original novel. Nearly all of the moments lodged in the public consciousness—everything you’ve seen parodied on The Simpsons—are only in the film: the elevator of blood, the ghoulish twin girls, the typewriter, “Here’s Johnny!” Pushing past these iconic bits of pop culture reveals one of King’s greatest accomplishments, a hauntingly compelling look at a troubled man’s descent into madness. King’s novel is more sympathetic toward Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic writer (sound familiar?) trying to improve his family’s life by taking a job as caretaker of a remote off-season resort with a barely concealed violent history. The house wants Danny, Jack’s gifted young son, and puts the Torrance family through hell to get to him. King infamously hates Kubrick’s adaptation, and while it’s hard to debate the film’s quality or place in the horror movie pantheon, the novel is the more nuanced and, arguably, scarier version of the story, topiary monsters and all. —Steve Foxe
Paul Schrodt and Mental Floss present 15 Things to Look For the Next Time You Watch The Warriors. Here are three of my favorites…
8. THIS IS ONE LONG CHASE FROM A CHASE MASTER.
The Warriors is one of the more exceptional works from director Walter Hill, who earned a deserved reputation for his hard-boiled tough-guy movies made with elegance. While he’ll always be most famous for 48 Hrs., the hit starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte, his other features like The Driver and The Long Riders are worth seeking out. In particular, The Driver, featuring Ryan O’Neal and Bruce Dern, perfected the car-chase move long before Ryan Gosling’s Drive liberally took inspiration from it.
9. YOU’RE WATCHING REAL GANG MEMBERS.
The real action in The Warriors kicks off with an impressively epic meeting of various gangs in the Bronx’s Van Cortlandt Park (though it was actually filmed in Riverside Park). Cyrus, the leader of the city’s most powerful gang, invites everyone in an attempt to forge an alliance and increase the gangs’ leverage over police, before being abruptly shot and killed. Hill refers to it as “our big production number.” In order to pull off the sequence, the filmmakers asked real gangs to be extras. So The Warriors feels legit for good reason.
2. IT’S NOT A VERY FAITHFUL ADAPTATION, THOUGH.
After being handed Yurick’s novel, director Walter Hill immediately had an idea for a fun movie. “I felt very strongly that it certainly was not a very realistic book, and I wanted to make it even less so,” he told Esquire. “I wanted to take it into a fantasy element, but at the same time add some contemporary flash.” The Warriors in the novel are actually the Coney Island Dominators, a black and Hispanic gang. In Hill’s cinematic rendering, the main crew is a diverse group of white and nonwhite misfits.
