Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Here’s the poster and trailer for Black Ops. This looks like my kind of “drive-in” movie!
Follow a black ops team who find themselves trapped in a terrifying, never-ending stairwell. Forced to climb or die, the group soon come face to face with their past sins in a desperate fight for survival.
Here’s the poster and trailer for Sword of God. I like the looks of this one.
In the early Middle Ages, a contingent of knights embarks on a dangerous journey to spread Christianity and baptize the pagan inhabitants of an isolated village hidden deep in the mountains of a faraway island. After being shipwrecked, the two survivors set out to complete their mission, but as they attempt to convert the tribe, their diverging beliefs put them at odds with one another. Soon, love is confronted with hate, peace with violence, sanity with madness, and redemption with damnation.
Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Bartosz Konopka, this genre-bending historical epic has been hailed as a “stunning showcase of experiential horror” (Bloody Disgusting) that “strikes with brutal clarity” (ScreenAnarchy).
Dan Panosian is one of those rare artists that never disappoints. This Wolverine art by Dan is just one example. You can see a larger version here.
Matt Stevens is a talented designer and illustrator who came up with the fun (and cool) idea of turning good movies into “old books”. Above is a taste. You can see them all at Matt’s site.
Today we turn our spotlight on Torpedo: U-235 with the poster and trailer.
World War II: Resistance fighters accept a suicide mission to deliver a stolen Nazi submarine carrying atomic uranium. Hunted by Hitler’s army, the crew must outwit the German Navy to bring the cargo safely to America.
Sarah Bea Milner at ScreenRant posted The Original Universal Dark Universe Ranked, Worst To Best. You know I can’t resist a great list so here are Milner’s rankings and mine…
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Milner |
Zablo |
9. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1923) |
9. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1923) |
8. Dracula (1931) |
8. The Mummy (1932) |
7. Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) |
7. The Phantom Of The Opera (1925) |
6. The Phantom Of The Opera (1925) |
6. The Wolfman (1941) |
5. The Mummy (1932) |
5. Frankenstein (1931) |
4. The Wolfman (1941) |
4. The Invisible Man (1933) |
3. Frankenstein (1931) |
3. The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935) |
2. The Invisible Man (1933) |
2. Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) |
1. The Bride Of Frankenstein (1935) |
1. Dracula (1931) |
When I was a little kid for most of the country The Jackie Gleason Show was must-see tv. As I got a little older I discovered, in reruns, The Honeymooners. Then in high school Jackie hit big again with his classic role as Sheriff Buford T. Justice in Smokey and the Bandit.
Gleason was also great dramatic actor (see The Hustler and Requiem for a Heavyweight if you don’t believe me) but comedy was where Gleason spent the majority of his career. Gleason was a true talent making it big on stage, television, radio and movies.
If you don’t know much about the man known as The Great One, check out 18 Fascinating Facts about Jackie Gleason presented by the fine folks at MeTV. Here are three of my favorite facts and my thoughts on each…
When you see him pat his stomach on The Honeymooners, it’s because he forgot a line. Well, perhaps it wasn’t 100% photographic. The sitcom was filmed live, so there were no do-overs.
(If you’ve never seen The Honeymooners you owe it to yourself to check it out. Classic comedy! – Craig)
His debut album still holds the record for most consecutive weeks in the Billboard top ten — a whopping 153. Gleason was a massive music star. In a way, he was a forerunner of ambient pioneer Brian Eno, in that he wished to craft records of what he called “musical wallpaper.” His easy listening instruments, especially Lonesome Echo, remain cult favorites. His first album, 1952’s Music for Lovers Only, spent a mind-boggling three years near the top ten. To put that in perspective, Thriller only managed 78.
(Who’d a thunk it? – Craig)
He believed in aliens. Gleason studied the paranormal and UFOs. It is rumored that President Nixon shared secret information about UFOs with the Hollywood star.
(Gleason told people that then President Nixon actually showed him a captured alien ship and alien corpse! – Craig)
Burt Reynolds is James Bond in Dr. No [Deep Fake]. Wow! This technology continues to get better and better. I hope it gets to the point where voices can be matched as well.
I wonder how long it will be before fans will have the ability to “change” the stars in movies.
Marv from Frank Miller’s Sin City is perhaps my favorite comic book character. Danny Earls’ rendition of the big mug is spot on.
Stephan Franck is back with a new Kickstarter called PALOMINO. Franc describes it as a Neo Noir Graphic Novel Set In LA’s Country Music Clubs.
The year is 1981. The American Century is running on fumes, but the end isn’t anywhere in sight.
At the center of PALOMINO is a unique father-daughter relationship. Eddie Lang’s an ex-cop turned working musician with big dreams, but dreams don’t pay the rent. So Eddie reluctantly works as a private investigator to provide for his teenage daughter, Lisette.
Eddie and Lisette share an unbreakable bond and a dry sense of humor. But they’re stuck.
They’re haunted by a terrible loss and an unsolved crime that looms large over their lives. They’re running out of time to fix their family.
And just as things seem at a stalemate, a new murder case upends their lives.
If this sounds like something you’d like check out Stephen Franc’s Palomino Kickstarter. I’m in.
Bruce Lee is getting the Criterion Collection treatment and his fans are going to love it. The seven-disc Blu-ray box set will contain Lee’s greatest hits (The Big Boss / Fist of Fury / The Way of the Dragon / Enter the Dragon / Game of Death) and will be chock full of special features, including alternate versions of the films, interviews, documentaries and much more!
Here’s some of what the seven disc Special Edition will feature…
Bruce Lee’s Greatest Hits: The Criterion Collection will be available July 14, 2020.
Christopher Dale at Listverse presented his list of the Top 10 Funniest Movies Of All Time. While Dale picked some good comedies, my list would have looked a lot different. First, here’s Dale’s top ten and my rankings of his choices.
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Dale |
Zablo |
10. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) |
10. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
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9. Airplane! (1980) |
9. Superbad (2007)
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8. Caddyshack (1980) |
8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
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7. The Naked Gun (1988) |
7. Borat (2006)
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6. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) |
6. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
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5. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) |
5. Caddyshack (1980)
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4. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) |
4. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
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3. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) |
3. The Naked Gun (1988)
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2. Borat (2006) |
2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
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1. Superbad (2007) |
1. Airplane! (1980)
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Movies I would have included but didn’t make the cut… Stepbrothers; Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, The Great Race, Arsenic and Old Lace; Dr. Strangelove; The Princess Bride; Richard Pryor Live....
I’m a fan of Con Air so you know I just had to comment on Joey Paur’s Collection of Fun Facts For Nicolas Cage’s CON AIR and a “Making Of” Video at GeekTyrant. Here are three of my favorites and my thoughts…
Stephen Baldwin, William Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Dolph Lundgren, Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Kurt Russell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Seagal, Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis were considered for the part of Cameron Poe.
(I thought Nicholas Cage was great in the role and it’s probably my favorite character he’s played. My top three from the actors listed who didn’t get the part would be: 1) Sly Stallone (No surprise there); 2. Jean-Claude Van Damme and 3) Kurt Russell. – Craig)
Gary Oldman was the first choice to play Cyrus. Kevin Bacon, Alec Baldwin, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, James Gandolfini, Ed Harris, Rutger Hauer, William Hurt, Michael Keaton, Michael Madsen, Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, Ron Perlman, Tim Robbins, Tom Sizemore, John Travolta, Peter Weller, and Bruce Willis were also considered… Willem Dafoe and Mickey Rourke also auditioned for the part of Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom.
(My top three of the actors not selected to play Cyrus the Virus would be 1) Mickey Rourke; 2) Ron Perlman and 3) Michael Madsen. – Craig)
The song “How Do I Live” was nominated for both an Oscar as Best Original Song and a Razzie as Worst Original Song. It did not win either award. it was originally performed by 14-year-old LeAnn Rimes.
(I like the song and find it interesting that it was nominated for both the highest honor (Oscar) and worst (Razzie). – Craig)
Jim Vorel and the Paste staff came up with their list of The 50 Best Monster Movies of All Time. The rules were the monsters have to be something inhuman; they kill by physically attacking you with tooth and claw and shouldn’t be supernatural in origin.
I saw 42 of the movies on their list and 9 of the top 10. Using just their list here is how my top five compares to theirs. Would yours be different?
Paste |
Zablo |
5. The Fly (1986) |
5. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) |
4. Jaws (1975) |
4. Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) |
3. Alien (1979) |
3. Jaws (1975) |
2. King Kong (1933) |
2 The Thing (1986) |
1. The Thing (1986) |
1. Aliens (1986) |
