“Free Solo” / Z-View

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Free Solo (2018)

Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth, Chai Vasarhelyi

Stars: Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin and Sanni McCandless

The Pitch: “Alex Honnold plans to free solo climb Yosemite’s 3,000 ft high El Capitan and will let us film it!”

Tagline: Live Beyond Fear

The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…

Alex Honnold is one of the most skilled mountain climbers of all time.  His love of climbing has taken him to the best known and most dangerous peaks anywhere.  His ability to climb these  mountains has made him one of the very few professional climbers in the world.

Honnold often climbs “free solo” — without ropes or any safety gear.  Many of the best known free solo climbers have died, which isn’t surprising considering that any mistake that causes a fall is usually fatal.  Honnold plans to do what no one has ever done before – –  to free solo climb Yosemite’s 3,000 ft high El Capitan or die trying.

This documentary does an excellent job of introducing the audience to Honnold and his eccentricities.  Honnold’s personal quirks have cost him relationships but help with his focus and drive.  The film makers are tasked with presenting the climb and staying out of Honnold’s way.

Watching Honnold’s climb is scary, exhilerating and will leave you in awe at how close to the edge (literally and figuartively) free solo climbers live.  If you plan to watch I promise moments where you will push back away from the screen and find yourself wiping the sweat from your palms.

Rating:

Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola and “The Godfather”

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Francis Ford Coppola has written a new introduction for the 50th anniversary edition of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and Entertainment Weekly has posted it.

The new intro is worth a read for fans of the book or movie.  Here are a few tidbits:

  • Coppola didn’t want to direct The Godfather until his second reading of the novel.
  • Most of Don Corleone’s most memorable lines were really spoken by Puzo’s mother!
  • Puzo advised Coppola to never associate with real gangsters! (Which leads to an interesting “encounter” with John Gotti.)
  • Puzo didn’t like the idea of Michael having Fredo killed.
  • It was Talia Shire (Adrian in Rocky!) who came up with the idea of Michael’s wife having a secret abortion and then telling him.
  • Both Coppola and Puzo wanted the third film to be called The Death of Michael Corleone.

 Entertainment Weekly’s post is worth a read and so is Puzo’s novel!

Jan-Michael Vincent: RIP

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It was reported today that Jan-Michael Vincent died on February 10th of cardiac arrest in Asheville, North Carolina.  Vincent was 74 and hadn’t acted in nearly two decades due to battles with drugs and alcohol and the results of two car crashes (1996 and 2008) that left him with damaged vocal cords and an amputated leg.  It was a sad end to a career that started with such promise.

I first took notice of Jan-Michael Vincent when he appeared as Link in the Danger Island segments of The Banana Splits.  Vincent then had the starring role in the TV movie The Tribe.  A couple of years later Vincent co-starred with Charles Bronson in the theatrical release The Mechanic.  He followed that up with a starring role as The World’s Greatest Athlete from Disney.

With his good looks and easy manner, Vincent was on the verge of a long career starring in theatrical films.  Sadly, it just wasn’t to be.  Still Vincent had a strong presence and starred or co-starred in films such as Baby Blue Marine, White Line Fever, Big Wednesday and Hooper (with Burt Reynolds).  His best known television projects included The Winds of War mini-series and a starring role in the tv series Airwolfe.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jan-Michael Vincent’s family, friends and fans.

The Poster and Trailer for “Warrior” (Based on the Writings of Bruce Lee) is Here!

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Bruce Lee fans probably know that Lee tried to sell a tv series about a Chinese warrior in the old west.  Although the series never sold, the Kung Fu tv series was sure close… and sadly Bruce Lee didn’t get the lead, David Carradine did.

Thanks to Cinemax, Warrior, based on the writings of Bruce Lee is coming soon.  Today we have the poster and first trailer.  If I had Cinemax, I’d tune in.

 

Legends of the Dark Knight: Michael Golden

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Legends of the Dark Knight: Michael Golden is a book that quite a few readers are going to want. If “Michael Golden” in the title isn’t enough to get folks to reach for their wallets perhaps the fact that it will be a hard cover reprinting rarely seen stories featuring Batman drawn by, you guessed it, Michael Golden!

The 1970s stories starring Batman featuring the slick artwork of Michael Golden are collected for the first time, including appearances by the Demon and Man-Bat. Golden is renowned for his design skills and unique interpretation of Batman and other heroes, as seen in these early stories, written by well-known comics writers including Dennis O’Neil, Gerry Conway and Mike W. Barr.

Collects shis collects stories from Batman Family #15-20, Batman #295, #303, DC Special Series #15, Detective Comics #482, Batman Special #1, Batman: Gotham Knights #22. It also collects the covers from Detective Comics #625-626, 628-631, 633, 644-646, Batman #484-485, Showcase ’93, Nightwing#66-77 & #129-130 and the Man-Bat entry from Who’s Who in the DC Universe #12.

Legends of the Dark Knight: Michael Golden is available for pre-order now.