“Splinter” (2008) / Z-View

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Splinter (2008)

Director:  Toby Wilkins

Screenplay:  Ian Shorr, Kai Barry, Toby Wilkins (uncredited)

Starring: Shea Whigham, Jill Wagner, Paulo Costanzo, Charles Baker, Rachel Kerbs and Laurel Whitsett.

Tagline: It will get under your skin.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A young couple carjacked by an escaped prisoner and his girlfriend become trapped in a remote gas station by a parasitic lifeform that infects its victims turning them into deadly hosts.  Splinter is a low-budget film that works thanks to a well written script and excellent casting.  The story moves quickly and while there may be a few nits to pick with their ice-pack solution, why bother when the film is so much fun?

Splinter rates 4 of 5 stars.

“DMZ” – The Trailer is Here!

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Check out the trailer for DMZ and then tune in to the limited series premiering March 17th on HBOMax.

DMZ leaps off the pages of the acclaimed DC graphic novel into the visual landscape of a dangerous and distorted Manhattan as one woman navigates a demilitarized zone in a harrowing quest to find her lost son.

“F9: The Fast Saga” (2021) / Z-View

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F9: The Fast Saga (2021)

Director:  Justin Lin

Screenplay:  Daniel Casey,  Justin Lin  

Starring: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludicris, Charlize Theron, John Cena, Finn Cole, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren and Kurt Russell.

Tagline: Fast Family Forever

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

I was a big fan of the first several Fast and Furious movies. Not so much with the last few.  The problem is that in each new film the stakes get bigger and the stunts more outrageous.  We are now at the point where the Road Runner cartoons have more logical storylines and respect for physics.

With F9: The Fast Saga, whatever you need to happen will happen:

  • Drive a car over a suspension bridge that has one end cut loose? No problem, just shift gears and keep driving.
  • Drive a car over a chasm where a suspension bridge was just cut loose?  No problem, hit the nitrous and a bridge cable will wrap around your axel and swing you to the other side.
  • Need an electromagnet that will pull cars through a building to wreck a truck chasing you?  No problem, flip the switch.  Need a gag where the electromagnet pulls of necklaces, rings and watches from pedestrians?  No problem, flip the switch – the necklaces, rings and watches will come off and leave necks, fingers and wrists intact.
  • Attacked by truckloads of machinegun armed soldiers who fire hundreds of rounds?  No problem, you won’t even get winged!  And you’re able to use a pistol to take out soldiers with each shot.
  • Chase a gun repelling across the city?  No problem, drive the car crazy through traffic, stop and run to the roof of a building and jump out into space.  No worries, you’ll crash into him knocking you both through a window where you can fight!  He’ll miss a punch a knock out part of wall!  Then he’ll pick you up and run with you through the house destroying doorways.
  • Your girlfriend in the midst of a motorcycle jump has her bike knocked from under her?  No worry, you can drive your car so she lands on it!  Much softer hitting the metal car at 100 miles an hour than the ground!
  • Need to go to outer space with virtually no training or a space ship?  No problem, strap a jet engine onto a small car and put on scuba gear.

Needless to say, these are just a few of the insane things that happen.  I can suspend disbelief for a few items, but when a logical storyline goes out the window and there is no real concern that a character will be hurt, let alone killed, you’re going to lose me.  I’ll watch, but with less interest than I have in a Road Runner cartoon,  F9: The Fast Saga rates 2 of 5 stars.

“21 Bridges” (2019) / Z-View

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21 Bridges (2019)

Director: Brian Kirk

Screenplay:  Adam Mervis, Matthew Michael Carnahan

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Sienna Miller, J.K. Simmons, Taylor Kitsch and Keith David.

Tagline:  The Only Way Out is Through Him

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

A couple of small time thieves get a tip on a cocaine stash of 30 kilos.  When they go to rip it off, they discover 300 kilos!  Cops show up and the thieves kill them all.  Detective Andre Davis (Boseman) is assigned to bring in the cop killers.  As the bodies pile up, Davis begins to realize that there is more at play than a simple robbery gone wrong.  The conspiracy runs deep and Davis doesn’t know who he can trust.

21 Bridges is a fast paced action thriller that is well cast and directed.  Sienna Miller is believable as a tough female detective.  Boseman and J.K. Simmons are always good.  Keith David doesn’t have a lot to do, but is also a welcome addition to the cast.  21 Bridges rates 4 of 5 stars.

RIP: Johnny Brown

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Johnny Brown, actor and singer, died on March 3, 2022, at the age of 84.  No cause of death was reported.

Mr. Brown began his career as singer.  He toured with Sam “the man” Taylor.  In 1961, Johnny Brown released an album of his own.  Sammy Davis Jr. became a mentor to Johnny Brown and this led to Brown’s role in Golden Boy on Broadway.  His first movie role was in Sammy Davis’ film, A Man Named Adam.

Johnny Brown was a regular on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.  His contract on Laugh-In prevented him from accepting the role of Redd Fox’s son on Sanford & Son.  After Laugh-In, Mr. Brown was a regular on Good Times,  Other major appearances include the shows: Love American Style, Night Gallery, Maude, Chico and the Man, Gimme a Break, Archie Bunker’s Place, The Jeffersons, Fantasy Island and Family Matters.

Johnny Brown always made me smile.  I’ll miss seeing him pop-up in surprising places.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Johnny Brown’s family, friends and fans.

RIP: Mitchell Ryan

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Mitchell Ryan, the actor of stage and screen, died yesterday from heart failure at the age of 88.  Mr. Ryan’s career spanned over 60 years, so depending on your age you may know him best from his work on Dark Shadows, Lethal Weapon, Dharma & Greg or any of his well over 130 credits.

Mitchell Ryan began his career in a theater production of Thunder Road.  His Broadway credits include Wait Until Dark, Medea and The Price.  In 1958, he earned his first screen credit in the Robert Mitchum film, Thunder Road.  For the rest of his career, Mitchell Ryan alternated between television and feature films.

A few of his major television roles included the shows: Naked City, Dark Shadows, The High Chaparral, Cannon, Chase, Having Babies, The Chisholms, Hardcastle & McCormick, Dallas, Renegade, Murder She Wrote and Dharma & Greg.

Some of his more memorable film roles were in: High Plains Drifter, Electra Glide in Blue, Lethal Weapon, and Judge Dredd.

Mitchell Ryan was always a welcome addition to any movie or tv show.  He played a great bad guy – one who came off as smart, tough and just a bit arrogant.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ryan Mitchell’s family, friends and fans.

“All the Old Knives” Starring Chris Pine & Thandiwe Newton – The Trailer is Here!

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All the Old Knives starring Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton looks interesting.  Since it is on Prime, it’s an easy choice to check it out.

A modern-day espionage thriller that follows Henry (Chris Pine) as he investigates Celia (Thandiwe Newton), a past flame from their days as CIA intelligence officers in Vienna, who is now under suspicion of having been a double agent. Using flashbacks to weave together multiple timelines, All the Old Knives peels back the layers of their past romance and exposes the truth behind a devastating terrorist attack they were unable to stop.

“A Calculated Man” – New Crime Series from Paul Tobin & Alberto Alburquerque is Coming!

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A Calculated Man is a new crime series coming this June from Aftershock Comics and creaters Paul Tobin (writer), Alberto Alburquerque (artist), Mark Englert (colorist) and Taylor Esposito (letterer).  Here’s how Aftershock Comics describes the series…

A verifiable math genius, Jack Beans used to run the numbers for the Pinafore crime family, until one day he ran them too well and concluded that the only way out of this life was in a casket or Witness Protection. So, he turned state’s evidence and ran.

Now, the Pinafores are out to end their favorite accountant. Little do they know that Jack’s skills with math and his perfect memory have made him a better killer than they ever could have realized. What follows is a journey full of murder, mayhem and mathematics.

Here’s writer Paul Tobin’s synopsis…

“It’s John Wick mixed with A Beautiful Mind when ex-mobster / math genius Jack Beans decides three years in the witness protection program is more than enough, and that all he needs to do to safely return to his old life is…kill every last member of the Pinafore crime family. It’s a tall order, but Jack Beans is no ordinary man. First, he’s GOOD at math. Not just “What’s the square root of nine?” good, but “prove the existence of three differently-sized infinites by use of the Continuum Hypothesis” good. He literally sees the world as a math problem, and was born with synesthesia: he sees numbers as colors, and his memory is absolute. It’s these skills Jack will have to use to make his hopes of staying alive add up to anything other than zero!”

Deal me in.

“Lockdown” Starring Michael Paré & Bai Ling – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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From time to time you hear read me lamenting about the loss of drive-in theaters and the types of movies often shown there.  While drive-ins have gone the way of flip phones, the genre of movies they featured still thrive.  Lockdown starring Michael Paré and Bai Ling is a prime example. For many drive-in movies, the poster is often as good or better than the film.   That may be the case with Lockdown.  At any rate, deal me in.

In this action thriller staring Michael Paré (Gone) and Bai Ling (The Crow), hell on earth erupts as three savage criminals take over a prescinct and hold the police force hostage.

“Master” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster is pretty bland, but the trailer to Master creates a subtle, creepy atmosphere.  Deal me in.

In writer-director Mariama Diallo’s debut feature, Master, three women strive to find their place at a prestigious New England university whose frosty elitism may disguise something more sinister. Professor Gail Bishop (Regina Hall) has recently been promoted to “Master” of a residence hall, the first time at storied Ancaster College that a Black woman has held the post. Determined to breathe new life into a centuries-old tradition, Gail soon finds herself wrapped up in the trials and tribulations of Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee), an energetic and optimistic Black freshman. Jasmine’s time at Ancaster hits a snag early on when she’s assigned a dorm room that is rumored to be haunted. Things get worse when Jasmine clashes in the classroom with Liv Beckman (Amber Gray), a professor in the middle of her own racially charged tenure review. As Gail tries to maintain order and fulfill the duties of a Master, the cracks begin to show in Ancaster’s once-immaculate facade. After a career spent fighting to make it into Ancaster’s inner circle, Gail is confronted with the horrifying prospect of what lies beneath, her question ultimately becoming not whether the school is haunted, but by whom.

“Bullet Train” Starring Brad Pitt & Directed by David Leitch – The Trailer is Here!

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While I didn’t care for the book, I am looking for Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt and directed by David Leitch.  Check out the trailer and see if you agree.

Getting back on the job is never as easy as you think… especially with the world’s deadliest assassins on board. Take a ride with Brad Pitt in #BulletTrainMovie, exclusively in movie theaters July 15. Visit our site: https://www.bullettrainmovie.com

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Subscribe to the Sony Pictures YouTube Channel for more exclusive content: http://bit.ly/SonyPicsSubscribe

An original movie event, Bullet Train is a fun, delirious action-thriller from the director of Deadpool 2, David Leitch. Brad Pitt headlines an ensemble cast of eclectic, diverse assassins – all with connected yet conflicting objectives – set against the backdrop of a non-stop ride through modern-day Japan.

Directed by: David Leitch
Screenplay by: Zak Olkewicz
Based upon the book Maria Beetle by: Kotaro Isaka
Produced by: Kelly McCormick David Leitch Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martínez Ocasio.

61 HOURS by Lee Child / Z-View

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61 Hours by Lee Child

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press; 1st edition (May 18, 2010)

First sentences…

Five minutes to three in the afternoon.  Exactly sixty-one hours before it happened.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Reacher finds himself stranded in the small town of Bolton, South Dakota.  The roads are snowed in and the temperature is well below freezing.  The weather is scheduled to turn even worse with a savage snowstorm bearing down.   The small Bolton police force is on edge and the Chief is in over his head.  They’ve received word a deadly assassin is coming to Bolton to kill a witness (70 year old Janet Salter) they’re protecting.

The clock is ticking and with no help coming, Reacher offers his assistance.  Unknown to Reacher or the police, a vicious drug cartel kingpin and his handpicked hit squad is on the way to Bolton as well.

61 Hours is Jack Reacher’s 14th outing and perhaps his best yet.  Reacher is alone, out of his element dealing with an unknown assassin, a drug cartel hit squad and a handful of police officers unsure of who he can trust.  The tension ratchets up as the clock clicks down.  I loved 61 Hours and rate it 5 of 5 stars.

Rating: