“Catch-22” (1970) directed by Mike Nichols, starring Alan Arkin / Z-View

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Catch-22 (1970)

Director:  Mike Nichols

Screenplay: Buck Henry based on CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller

Stars: Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel, Jack Gilford, Buck Henry, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Bob Balaban, Susanne Benton, Norman Fell, Charles Grodin, Austin Pendleton, Peter Bonerz, Philip Roth, Bruce Kirby, Richard Libertini and Orson Welles.

Tagline: The nice thing about war is that the person who kills you really has nothing against you. Personally.

The Plot…

Captain John Yossarian is a U.S. Army Air Force B-25 bombardier during World War II.  A bombardier’s job is dangerous enough, but Yossarian’s commanding officer, Colonel Cathcart, is making it worse.  Normally once a bombardier has flown 25 missions, he’s rotated out.  Colonel Cathcart keeps raising the required number of missions before rotation out.  It now stands at 80.  Which is basically a death sentence.

Yossarian decides if a doctor agrees he is no longer fit for duty, he will be taken from the flight rotations.  When Yossarian talks to the doctor, he learns of Catch-22.  Because bombing flights are so dangerous, you’d have to be crazy to do them.  But if you ask to be relieved of duty because of the danger, it shows you’re not crazy, just prudent.  If you’re not crazy, you have to fly.

Yossarian is haunted by the bloody death of a young turret gunner who was killed on a flight with Yossarian.  But that doesn’t make him crazy, just someone who cares.  As Yossarian looks around he sees the madness of war.  Their squadron commander, Major Major has never flown a single bombing mission. Further, Major Major refuses to see people while he’s in his office.  They must see him when he’s out. But they must make their appointments when he is in. Colonel Cathcart is more concerned with getting good press than the safety of his men.  And those are just tips of the iceberg.

But Yossarian has a plan.  He’ll prove he’s insane.  But how do you look crazy among all the madness?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Catch-22 features Art Garfunkle and Bruce Kirby film debuts.

Bob Newhart, Peter Bonerz, and Jack Riley all appear in the film.  Bonerz and Riley would go on to be regulars in The Bob Newhart Show.

Stacey Keach originally had the role of Colonel Cathcart.  Director Mike Nichols fired him over creative differences and brought in Martin Balsam to fill the role.

Paula Prentiss has a scene with full frontal nudity.  It was one of the first times a major Hollywood actress bared all in a Hollywood production.

John Jordan, the second unit director, refused to wear a harness during a bomber scene.  Jordan died when he slipped out of the open tail turret and fell 4,000 feet into the ocean.

Catch-22 (1970) rates 4 of 5 stars

RIP: James Foley

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It was announced today that James Foley died earlier this week after a long battle with brain cancer.  Mr. Foley was 71.

James Foley graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo.  Mr. Foley then earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree in film study and production from USC (the University of Southern California).  It was there Hal Ashby saw one of James Foley’s student films and asked him to submit something to Ashby’s production company.  Unfortunately the production company folded before anything came of the offer.  Still, word was out about James Foley, a young director to keep an eye on.

Because of the buzz created by Hal Ashby, James Foley secured his first feature film, Reckless starring Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah.  James Foley would continue to direct feature films, television projects and music videos for the rest of his career.

Some of James Foley’s television and video projects include: Madonna: Dress You Up (Opening Sequence); Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour (Opening Sequence); Madonna: Live to Tell; Madonna: Papa Don’t Preach; Madonna: True Blue; Madonna: Who’s That Girl;  Madonna: The Look of Love; Deep Purple: King of Dreams; Twin Peaks; Gun; Hannibal; Red Zone; House of Cards (12 episodes); Wayward Pines; Billions (2 episodes); Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Free.

Some of the feature films directed by James Foley include: Reckless; At Close Range; Who’s That Girl; After Dark, My Sweet; Glen Garry Glen Ross; Fear; The Chamber; The Corrupter and Confidence.

My favorite James Foley film is Glen Garry Glen Ross.  Foley’s direction made a film that lacked physical action, fights or gun battles and instead focused on dialogue exciting and tension filled.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to James Foley’s family, friends and fans.

“The Time Machine” (1960) directed by George Pal, starring Rod Taylor, Alan Young and Yvette Mimieux / Z-View

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The Time Machine (1960)

Director:  George Pal

Screenplay: David Duncan based on THE TIME MACHINE by H.G. Wells

Stars: Rod Taylor, Alan Young, Yvette Mimieux, Tom Helmore, Whit Bissell, Doris Lloyd, Paul Frees and Sebastian Cabot.

Tagline: You Will Orbit into the Fantastic Future!

The Plot…

New Year’s Eve 1899… George Wells (Taylor) has created a time machine that works!  Wells decides to go into the future.  He wants to see what kind of utopian society awaits.  Wells is disappointed to learn that instead of paradise, World Wars await.  Wells decides to go far into the future hoping for something better.

Wells lands in the year 802,701.  What at first seems like a perfect world turns out to be anything but.  Humans are treated like cattle by creatures called Morlocks.  Making things worse, Wells’ time machine is now in their possession.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Time Machine won one Academy Award for Best Effects, Special Effects – Gene Warren, Tim Baar

Alan Young (best known as Wilbur on the Mr. Ed television series) is the only actor to appear in this film and the 2002 remake.

The Time Machine features the first starring role in a feature film for both Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux.

The Time Machine (1960) rates 3 of 5 stars

“Cowboy Bebop” (2021) starring John Cho, Mustafa Shakir and Daniella Pineda / Z-View

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Cowboy Bebop (2021)

Created by: Christopher Yost

Based on: Cowboy Bebop by Sunrise; Cowboy Bebop: The Movie – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door by Sunrise, Bandai Namco Arts Bones

Directors:  Alex García López (Eps. 1-2, 5, 7-8); Michael Katleman (Eps. 3-4, 6, 9-10)

Screenplay: Christopher Yost (Ep.1 from story by Christopher Yost, 10); Sean Cummings (Ep. 2); Christopher Yost & Sean Cummings (Ep. 3, story by Christopher Yost); Vivian Lee (Ep. 4); Liz Sagal (Ep. 5); Karl Taro Greenfeld (Ep. 6); Alexandra E. Hartman (Ep. 7); Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Ep. 8); Jennifer Johnson (Ep. 9)

Stars: John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda, Elena Satine, Alex Hassell, Tamara Tunie, Geoff Stults, Mason Alexander Park, Molly Moriarty, Rachel House, Christine Dunford, Lucy Currey and John Noble.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

The year is 2071. Spike Spiegel, Jet Black and Faye Valentine are bounty hunters who travel the galaxy looking for the worst criminals to make the most money.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Cowboy Bebop is based on the 1998 Japanese neo-noir space Western anime television series. It is stylish and fun. I’d never seen the original series but I really enjoyed this one and was disappointed that there wouldn’t be a second season.

Cowboy Bebop (2021) rates 4 of 5 stars

“Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze” (1975) starring Ron Ely / Z-View

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Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975)

Director:  Michael Anderson

Screenplay: Joe Morhaim, George Pal based on THE MAN OF BRONZE by Kenneth Robeson

Stars: Ron Ely, Paul Gleason, William Lucking, Eldon Quick, Darrell Zwerling, Paul Wexler, Robyn Hilton, Pamela Hensley, Bob Corso, Alberto Morin, Victor Millan, Michael Berryman and Carlos Rivas.

Tagline: His body…a physical phenomenon. His mind…a mental marvel. His fight…to right all wrongs. His name…enough to strike terror into the hearts of the most hardened criminals!

The Plot…

Doc Savage returns from his Fortress of Solitude at the Artic Circle and learns that his father has died.  Doc believes his dad was murdered and decides to investigate.  He will be joined by his team, “The Amazing Five”, and it’s a good thing since they will be going up against Captain Seas and “the green death”.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Ron Ely directed some of the second unit scenes.

Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze was the last completed film for director/producer George Pal.

Although the film is pretty faithful to the Doc Savage tales, the feel of the movie is off.  It’s not played straight which is fine.  But it falls flat when it should shine.  Getting the balance of humor, camp and action isn’t an easy task.  At times I was reminded of The Great Race or the Batman television show of the 1960s.  They got it right.

The movie starts with Doc Savage alone at his Fortress of Solitude at the artic circle.  He gets up from sitting in the lotus position wearing just shorts (a towel?).  Doc heads to his New York City apartment high atop a skyscraper.  When Doc arrives, his five team members are there.  Doc said he picked up the feeling (from the Artic Circle!) that they were upset and so he rushed home.  They inform Doc his dad has died.  Doc is stunned.  Ok.  So Doc picked up on the team being upset but totally missed the feeling that his dear old dad had died?

That is just one of the things that started to bug me.  Others include when everyone piles into the car and Doc jumps on the sideboard and points straight ahead as the car takes off.  Before the team gets on the plane Doc gives a motivational speech that doesn’t motivate.  I tapped out when it showed Doc’s nemesis in a giant cradle rocking back and forth.   Your mileage could vary, but Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze just didn’t work for me.

Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975) rates 1 of 5 stars

“Riffraff” (1947) starring Pat O’Brien, Walter Slezak and Anne Jeffreys / Z-View

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Riffraff (1947)

Director:  Ted Tetzlaff

Screenplay: Martin Rackin

Stars: Pat O’Brien, Walter Slezak, Anne Jeffreys, Jerome Cowan, George Givot, Marc Krah, William Alland, Bobby Barber and Percy Kilbride.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

A plane leaves Peru for Panama with just two passengers.  The plane lands with just one.  His name is Charles Hasso (Krah).

Hasso immediately hires Dan Hammer (O’Brien) to be his bodyguard for two days.  Before Hammer can start, he gets a call from Walter Gredson (Cowan), a big shot oil executive.  Gredson says that a man, with a map of wildcat oil wells was coming to meet him.  The man got on the plane in Peru but never made it to Panama.  Charles Hasso was the other passenger.  Gredson believes Hasso now has the map.  Gredson offers Hammer a lot of money to find Hasso and the map.

Dan Hammer is a tough guy who is known as a man who can get things done.  This time he may be in over his head.  Especially when Eric Molinar (Slezak) gets in the mix.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Riffraff opens with six and a half minutes of scenes without dialogue.  It is considered one of movies’ classic openings/sequences.

Pat O’Brien doesn’t look like a typical tough PI, but more than holds his own in that department.

Riffraff (1947) rates 4 of 5 stars

THE KNIVES: A CRIMINAL BOOK by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips is Coming!

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A new CRIMINAL book from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips has been a long time coming.  Thankfully, the wait is coming to an end in September when THE KNIVES is released.  Here’s the lowdown…

THE FIRST NEW CRIMINAL BOOK IN FIVE YEARS!

With the Prime Video adaptation premiering soon, crime comic grandmasters Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips return to their most acclaimed series with a new standalone graphic novel: THE KNIVES.

A sprawling CRIMINAL epic, THE KNIVES is the most ambitious tale Brubaker and Phillips have ever tackled. Three dark journeys wind around each other over a decade, like sharks hunting for a kill.

Cartoonist Jacob Kurtz goes to Hollywood in the era of peak TV to work on an adaptation of his comic strip, only to find himself caught up in the life of his aging aunt and the vultures circling her estate. Angie was raised at the Undertow, but now everything she loves has been taken from her. She’s on the streets with vengeance on her mind, her eyes set on the city’s kingpin. And finally, Tracy Lawless is home from the Special Forces, finally a civilian again, but he’s in bad shape and this city has always brought out the worst in him.

These three tales collide in THE KNIVES a breathtaking noir story about greed, ambition, heartbreak, and blood ties. A must-have for all Brubaker and Phillips fans!

Click on the preview art below for a biggie-sized version.

Pre-orders available now.

“Peninsula” (2020) Presented by “Train to Busan” / Z-View

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Peninsula (2020)

Director:  Yeon Sang-ho

Screenplay: Yeon Sang-ho, Ryu Yong-jae

Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Kwon Hae-hyo, Kim Min-jae, Koo Kyo-hwan, Kim Do-yoon, Lee Re and Lee Ye-won.

Tagline: Escape the Apocalypse

The Plot…

A zombie virus outbreak left South Korea a wasteland.  When the apocalypse started, Jung-seok, a Korean marine, brought his sister, her husband and their little boy to a military safe location.  While there a man infected with the zombie virus made it through.  When the man turned, Jung-seok’s sister and child were killed.  Both Jung-seok and his brother-in-law have carried the guilt of not being able to save them.

Four years later, Jung-seok (now a civilian), his brother-in-law and two others are offered a job that will make them rich.  Chinese gangsters say that a truck containing $20 million is located in the Busan peninsula.  If the four can make it to the truck and bring it back, they are promised $10 million to split.

Jung-seok and his three partners take the gig.  They know the area is overrun with zombies.  What they don’t know is that a rouge military and others have made the area home. And they don’t like strangers.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I’m a huge fan of Train to Busan. I consider it a classic zombie movie.  So you can imagine my anticipation to see Train to Busan‘s writer/director Yeon Sang-ho’s sequel, Peninsula.  Sang-ho cowrote and directed Peninsula.  Unfortunately it falls short of the original.  I’m reminded of how I felt after seeing Escape from LA since I loved Escape from New York.

Although Peninsula is a Train to Busan sequel, no characters from the original film appear.  It’s another story set in the same world as the first film.  I wouldn’t mind seeing more tales from Busan.

Peninsula (2020) rates 3 of 5 stars

“Three the Hard Way” (1974) starring Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly / Z-View

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Three the Hard Way (1974)

Director:  Gordon Parks Jr.

Screenplay: Eric Bercovici, Jerrold L. Ludwig

Stars: Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Jim Kelly, Sheila Frazier, Jay Robinson, Richard Angarola, Marian Collier,
Alex Rocco, Corbin Bernsen and Howard Platt.

Tagline: Action explodes all over the place when the big three join forces to save their race!

The Plot…

When Jimmy Lait’s (Brown) friend unexpectedly shows up with a gunshot wound, Lait gets him to a hospital.  Almost delirious and dying, Lait’s friend says “they’re going to kill us all… just us”.  Later that night, Lait’s friend is executed.

Lait does some digging and learns that a white supremist group plans to poison the water supply of Detroit, Washington, D.C. and LA.  The poison is fatal only to African Americans.  Lait recruits two of his friends, Jagger Daniels (Williamson) and Mister Keyes (Kelly) to help him take down the Neo-Nazis before they can wipe out thousands.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

When I was in ninth grade my girlfriend and I went to see Three the Hard Way.  It was playing as part of a double feature with Return of the Dragon.  When my girlfriend (now my wife) realized the plot of Three the Hard Way, she whispered, “We’re the only white people in here.”  I said, “We’ll be alright.”  And of course we were.  I liked Three the Hard Way a lot better seeing it in a theater in the ninth grade.

Three the Hard Way features Corbin Bernsen’s first credited feature film role.  Corbin’s father was co-producer of the film.

If you’re a fan of kung fu and blaxploitation movies, you should enjoy Three the Hard Way.

Three the Hard Way (1974) rates 2 of 5 stars

“1923”: Season 2 (2025) written by Taylor Sheridan, directed by Ben Richardson, starring Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Brandon Sklenar, Julia Schlaepfer, Jerome Flynn and Timothy Dalton / Z-View

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1923: Season 2 (2025)

Written by: Taylor Sheridan (Eps. 1-7)

Directed by: Ben Richardson (Eps. 1-7)

Stars: Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Brandon Sklenar, Julia Schlaepfer, Jerome Flynn, Darren Mann, Isabel May, Brian Geraghty, Aminah Nieves, Michelle Randolph, Timothy Dalton, Caleb Martin, Robert Patrick, Sebastian Roché, Michael Spears, Jamie McShane, Madison Elise Rogers, Brian Konowal, Jeremy Gauna, Jennifer Carpenter, James Healy Jr. and C. Thomas Howell.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Season 2 picks up where season 1 left off.

1923 follows three main storylines:

  • John Dutton is trying to hold the ranch together.  One of the most brutal winters in memory has set in.  Cattle prices are down. The bank won’t loan enough money to buy hay to feed the heard.  The sadistic and super rich landowner Donald Whitfield (Dalton) has moved forward with plans to steal the Dutton spread.  Since he couldn’t buy the land, Whitfield has recruited a motley group of gun thugs to kill everyone on Dutton land.  Whitfield will then get the land for the cost of back taxes.
  • Spencer Dutton (Sklenar), a decorated War hero and big game hunter meets multiple challenges (that’s an understatement) as he travels home.  Spencer became separated from his new bride Alexandra.  She’s also on a journey to meet Spencer at the Dutton ranch in Montana.  For all the setbacks hindering Spencer, Alexandra is running into even more.  If Spencer doesn’t make it home in time, all will be lost.
  • Teonna Rainwater (Nieves) is still on the run.  She killed in self-defense, but the Marshall and Priest chasing her just want her dead.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Kudos to series creator (and writer of each episode) Taylor Sheridan.  There is no sophomore slump with 1923.  Each storyline remains compelling with characters that you love or hate.  It’s so well written, acted and directed that when the storyline shifts from one to the next, you don’t mind.  In addition to the three main intertwined stories, there are additional characters with side stories.

1923 continues to be perfectly cast from the starring roles to the smallest guest appearances.  The direction, editing and music jell to create one of the best shows on television.  Although I’m sad to see it end, the story has been told and it’s epic.

1923: Season 2 (2025) earns 5 of 5 stars.