DEAD DOGS by Manny Torres!

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I want to pass along a crime novel I just learned about (and ordered).  Dead Dogs by Manny Torres sounds like a wild ride, I’d like to take.

Two Atlanta misfits in debt to notorious dog fighter and drug dealer Boots Tumbler are coerced into handling his dirty work. Phobos and Chuck, desperate to pay him back, go elbow deep in blood, dirt, and gristle, cleaning up dog fights, delivering drugs, and disposing of dead bodies. Regardless of the haul, they shovel it, bag it up, stuff it in the trunk of their 1982 Cadillac Deville and drive it off for disposal. The misfit pair fumble their way through dangerous circumstances and criminal adventures. Desperation eventually drives them out of the city, across lost highways, encountering a circus of outlaws and revolutionaries living on the margins of morality.

Dead Dogs currently has a near-perfect 4.9 star rating on Amazon from 22 reviewers!  As I said, I’ve ordered my copy.

If you’re interested you can get an autographed copy from Mr. Torres!

Or if you prefer Amazon, here’s a link!

RIP: Scott Hall

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Scott Hall, the professional wrestler also known as Razor Ramon, died today after being taken off life support.  Mr. Hall was placed on life support after having three heart attacks following hip replacement surgery.  He was 63 years old.

Scott Hall began his pro wrestling career in 1984 and wrestled for all the major professional wrestling organizations throughout his career.  During the WWE / WCW ratings war, Scott Hall was part of the NWO (a group of wrestlers which included Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan and others who played outsiders taking over the WCW).  The NWO were a ratings hit.  Scott Hall is a two-time inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Scott Hall was a charismatic personality who entertained millions over the course of his career.  His struggles outside the ring were sometimes made part of his wrestling storylines and impacted both his personal and professional life.  The fact that Scott Hall’s family, many friends and fans continued to support his efforts to get healthy are a testament to the impact he had.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Scott Hall’s family, friends and fans.

2021’s Best Horror Movie Posters – You Can Vote!

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IMPAwards has started voting for 2021’s Best Horror Movie Poster.  You can vote here. 

As you can see above, my five included: Spiral: From the Book of Saw; A Quiet Place: Part II; The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It; Malignant and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.  At this point in the voting only one of my top five (Malignant) made it into the top ten.  Maybe that will change once everyone gets their votes in.

“Tokyo Vice” Starring Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Tokyo Vice – the poster and trailer for the new series starring Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe are here.  Deal me in.

Based on Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat, starring Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe. The drama captures Adelstein’s daily descent into the neon-soaked underbelly of Tokyo, where nothing and no one is truly what or who they seem. Streaming April 7 on HBO Max.

The KING OF SPIES is Coming!

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The King of Spies trade paperback collects issues 1 – 4 of the King of Spies comic.  Written by Mark Millar with art by Matteo Scalera and colors by Ogur Yildrim, King of Spies tells the story of…

The world’s greatest secret agent (who) has six months to live. Does he die quietly in a hospital bed or make up for a lifetime of bad decisions? He’s been propping up an unfair system for over forty years. Now he knows where all the bodies are buried and has nothing to lose as he turns his guns on everyone who ever made a buck as they created the mess we’re in right now.

I’ve been reading King of Spies as the individual issues come out and highly recommend it!

RIP: William Hurt

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William Hurt’s son announced today that his father died of natural causes one week short of his 72 birthday.  William Hurt’s acting career spanned over 40 years.  He appeared on the stage, television and feature films.

Mr. Hurt began his career as a stage actor and won  an Obie Award (Off Broadway Theater Award) for his debut performance in Corinne Jacker’s My Life in 1977.  In 1977, he also made his first television appearance in Kojak.  William Hurt’s feature film debut came in 1980’s Altered States and his performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best New Actor in a motion picture.

For the rest of his career William Hurt continued to appear on stage, television and in feature films.  He won one Oscar for Best Actor (Kiss of the Spider Woman) and had four Best Actor Oscar nominations.  Three of the nominations came in three successive years!

Some of William Hurt’s most notable feature film appearances were in: Altered States; Body Heat; The Big Chill; Kiss of the Spider Woman; Children of a Lesser God; Broadcast News; The Accidental Tourist; Dark City;  A.I. Artificial Intelligence; The Village;  A History of Violence; Captain America: Civil War; Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: End Game.

Some of Mr. Hurt’s most notable television appearances were in: Kojak; Varian’s War; Damages; Endgame; Too Big to Fail and Bonnie & Clyde.

My favorite William Hurt performance was in Body Heat.  I had seen him prior to that but his performance as Ned Racine was the one that made me sit up and take notice.  It was interesting to see how William Hurt was able to adapt to different roles over the course of his long and memorable career.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to William Hurt’s family, friends and fans.

TRAIN 8 – Zombies on a Train is Coming!

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Train 8 is a graphic novel that will be in comic shops on May 4th.  Written by David Stephan, Marysol Levant, and Brian Phillipson with art by Philip Phillipson, Alex Cormack, Lureline Weatherly and David Stephan.  Here’s the synopsis…

Two college girls, traveling the famous Train 8 from Seattle to Chicago, find themselves at the center of an experimental GMO virus outbreak that causes passengers to turn into blood thirsty primordials. The surviving girls and a handful of passengers are faced with the moral dilemma of stopping the train to save themselves – and let the deadly virus infect the world – or keep the train running, buying more time until help comes but only if they can survive the killing horde of the Infected.

Let your local comic shop know if you’re interested.  As for me, I’m on board.

“Below Zero” (2021) / Z-View

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Below Zero (2021)

Director:  Lluís Quílez

Writers:  Fernando Navarro, Lluís Quílez

Starring:  Javier Gutiérrez, Karra Elejalde  and Luis Callejo.

Tagline: Escape is not the exit.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

When a prison transport on a deserted road comes under attack, one police officer survives by getting in the armored truck with the prisoners.  Outside the weather is freezing and a killer wants one of them dead.  But which one?  And why?

Below Zero has action, mystery and atmosphere.  The fact that it lacks American stars adds to the suspense of who may die. The foggy night and frozen lake scenes are memorable.  Below Zero rates 3 of 5 stars.

“JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I’m not one for crowds, but the New Orleans Jazz Fest just might be worth it.

JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY

Directed By: Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern

Featuring: Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Buffett, Katy Perry, Earth, Wind & Fire, and many others.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, aka “Jazz Fest,” is the signature annual music and cultural event of the city and has been called America’s greatest festival. Celebrating the music, food, and arts and crafts of all of Louisiana since 1970, Jazz Fest is an essential showcase of the rich heritage of the region, and hundreds of thousands attend the event each year. Local music heroes are joined on 14 stages by some of the most important figures in entertainment, highlighting the connections between Louisiana culture and the world.

JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY weaves together live performances and interviews from the 50th anniversary of the iconic festival, featuring some of the biggest names in the music industry, along with a wealth of archival documentary footage from the past half century. This film not only captures the Festival in all of its beauty and glory, but also delves deep into the rich culture of The Big Easy.

Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (2018) / Z-View

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Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (2018)

Director:  Robert S. Bader

Writers:  Robert S. Bader, Dick Cavett

Starring:  Muhammad Ali, Dick Cavett, Joe Frazier, Woody Allen, Jimmy Breslin, Jim Brown, Howard Cosell, Angelo Dundee, Louis Farrakhan, Martin Luther King, Jerry Lewis, Joe Louis, Thomas Hauser. Lester Maddox. Norman Mailer, Malcolm X, Michael Marley  and Larry Merchant.

Tagline: None.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes is a wonderful documentary chronicling the life and boxing career of Muhammad Ali using clips from the Dick Cavett Show as the glue holding it together.  Ali not only led an interesting life, but lived in interesting and turbulent times.  It is fascinating to see how social changes and outside influences impacted Ali’s career.  As Ali matured he became more of his own man, the only three-time heavyweight champion and the most famous athlete in the world.  It’s an interesting journey and rates 5 of 5 stars!

“Cold Skin” (2017) / Z-View

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Cold Skin (2017)

Director:  Xavier Gens

Screenplay:  Jesús Olmo, Eron Sheean (based on the novel by Albert Sánchez Piñol)

Starring:  Ray Stevenson, David Oakes and Aura Garrido.

Tagline: How much horror can the heart endure?

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

In 1914, a young man is dropped off on a small, remote island near the Antarctic Circle.  The island is not on regular shipping lanes and the ship won’t return for a year.  The only other person on the island is the lighthouse keeper, a strange recluse who might be crazy. 

During his first night on the island, the young man’s cabin comes under attack by strange creatures from the sea.  The young man barely gets into the cellar where he survives the night.  The next morning the young man makes his way to the lighthouse.  He’s shocked to see that it has been fortified with spikes and metal window coverings.  The lighthouse keeper explains that the creatures attack nightly and retreat to the ocean with the sunrise.  The young man barters food and ammunition in order to be let in the lighthouse.

Neither the young man nor the lighthouse keeper trust their alliance.  Tensions grow when the young man discovers a female creature is being held captive and abused by the lighthouse keeper.  

I was expecting Cold Skin to be a straight out horror film with a lot of action.  It is, but takes an unexpected turn which gives it more depth.  I continued to think about Cold Skin long after the movie ended.  Cold Skin leaves some unanswered questions, and won’t be for everyone.  I liked that it was more than just mindless monsters and left me with some food for thought.  Cold Skin rates 3 of 5 stars.

Rattlesnake Rodeo by Nick Kolakowski / Z-View

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Rattlesnake Rodeo by Nick Kolakowski

Trade Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Down & Out Books (October 26, 2020)

First sentence…

After we blew up a few of the richest and most powerful men in Idaho, my sister Frankie wanted to stop for fries.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

After surviving the horrors of the Boise Longpig Hunting Club, Jake Halligan, his fiancée and sister think they’re in the clear.

They’re not.

A powerful judge knows what Jake and his crew did to survive.  The judge offers them a deal: If they murder a child that has information the judge doesn’t want to get out, she’ll destroy all incriminating evidence linking Jake, his fiancée and sister to the crimes that they committed.

The clock is ticking as Jake, Janine and Frankie try to figure out a way to save the child and themselves.

Kolakowski picks up the action right where the Boise Longpig Hunting Club leaves off.  If you like action with heart and humor, then this one is for you.  Rattlesnake Rodeo rates 4 of 5 stars!

Rating:

“Alice” – Revenge is Long Overdue! – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I love the throwback 70s feel to the poster for Alice.  The trailer sets up an interesting mash-up of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village and most any Pam Grier movie from back in the day.

I love it.  Can you dig it?

Deal me in!

Alice (Keke Palmer) yearns for freedom as an enslaved person on a rural Georgia plantation under its brutal and disturbed owner Paul (Jonny Lee Miller). After a violent clash with Paul, she flees through the neighboring woods and stumbles onto the unfamiliar sight of a highway, soon discovering the year is actually 1973. Rescued on the roadside by a disillusioned political activist named Frank (Common), Alice quickly comprehends the lies that have kept her in bondage and the promise of Black liberation. Inspired by true accounts, Alice is a modern empowerment fable tracing Alice’s journey through the post-Civil Rights Era American South.