Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Sinners is a stunning film. It’s also a favorite of critics and audiences worldwide. I love that it’s inspired so many artists. Al Abbazia created this Sinners-worthy alt poster. You can see more of Al Abbazia’s art here.
City on Fire (1987)
Director: Ringo Lam
Screenplay: Tommy Sham; story by Ringo Lam
Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Yueh Sun, Danny Lee.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Ko Chow is an undercover cop who has infiltrated a group of jewel thieves. When a robbery goes sideways, people are killed. The crooks barely get away. The cops aren’t far behind. The thieves think someone ratted them out. The cops want them all dead or alive.
Ko Chow is in a tight spot… and it’s getting tighter.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
City on Fire provided the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.
Chow Yun-Fat and Danny Lee would re-team two years later in John Woo’s The Killer.
City on Fire (1987) rates 3 of 5 stars
Rating:
Kurt Brugel is a freelance artist. When I saw he was taking commissions for quick studies, I jumped on board for a few. Here we have his take on Sly Stallone as Dean “The Dean” Stevens from the underrated movie Shade. Brugel shows Stallone drawing a winning hand. Brugel drew a winner as well.
Marv from Frank Miller’s Sin City is one of my all-time favorite characters. I love seeing artists do their “take” on the big lug. Today we have a Marv by Wayne Nichols.
It was announced that Graham Greene died today after a long illness. Mr. Greene was 73.
Graham Greene was born in in Ohsweken, Ontario on the Six Nations Reserve. Before he began his career as an actor Mr. Greene worked as a draftsman, steelworker, welder and audio technician for rock bands.
In the 1970s, Graham Greene began appearing professionally in plays in both Canada and England. In 1979, Mr. Greene made his television debut appearing in the Canadian series The Great Detective. In 1983, Graham Greene appeared in the feature film Running Brave starring Robby Benson.
Graham Greene’s career included multiple awards for his work. Examples include awards for his work in…
Some of the television projects that feature Graham Greene include: The Great Detective; Read All About It!; Adderly; Street Legal; Captain Power and the Soldiers of Fortune; Spirit Bay (2 episodes); The Campbells (3 episodes); 9B (5 episodes); L.A. Law; Cooperstown; North of 60; The Wild West; Northern Exposure (5 episodes); Spirit Rider; Murder, She Wrote (2 episodes); Lonesome Dove: The Series (3 episodes); 500 Nations (3 episodes); Happily Ever After; Liberty Street; Jake and the Kid; Heritage Minutes; The Outer Limits; Poltergeist the Legacy; Dead Man’s Gun; The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon (17 episodes); PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal; Safe Harbor; First Wave; Trial by Fire; Big Wolf on Campus; Christmas in the Clouds; Cover Me: Based on the True Life of a F.B.I. Family (4 episodes); Canada: A People’s History (3 episodes); Wolf Lake (10 episodes); The New Beachcombers; Skinwalkers: The Navajo Mysteries (2 episodes); Mister Sterling; A Thief of Time; Coyote Waits; Freedom: A History of the U.S. (3 episodes); Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion (2 episodes); A Beachcombers Christmas; The Collector; Into the West; Numbers; The Red Green Show (27 episodes); The War that Made America; This is Wonderland; Tales of an Urban Indian; Living in Your Car; Being Erica (5 episodes); Caution: May Contain Nuts; Family Tree; Defiance (28 episodes); Longmire (12 episodes); Riverdale; Detour (3 episodes); Project Blue Book; Goliath (8 episodes); American Gods (2 episodes); 1883; The Last of Us; Reservation Dogs (3 episodes); Bones of the Crows: The Series; Echo (5 episodes) and Tulsa King.
Some of Graham Greene’s feature film appearances include: Running Brave; Powwow Highway; Where the Spirit Lives; Dances with Wolves; Clearcut; The Last of His Tribe; Thunderheart; Maverick; Die Hard with a Vengeance; The Education of Little Tree; Grey Owl; The Green Mile; Lost and Delirious; Skins; Punch and Judy; Transamerica; Breakfast with Scott; Seattle’s Loch Ness: The Lake Washington Sea Monster; Corner Gas: The Movie; Te Ata; Wind River; Molly’s Game; The Performance; The Great Salish Heist; The Birds Who Fear Death; Sweet Summer Powwow; The Protector; Protectors of the Land and Paige Darcy: Reluctant Detective.
I first saw Graham Greene is his Academy Award-nominated performance in Dances with Wolves. What an impact he made. From that point on whenever Mr. Greene appeared on screen, there was added gravitas. I loved Graham Greene in everything. Some of my favorite performances besides Dances with Wolves include those on Longmire; Die Hard with a Vengeance; Thunderheart; The Last of Us and of course Tulsa King.
Out thoughts and prayers go out to Graham Greene’s family, friends and fans.
Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
Director: Burt Kennedy
Screenplay: William Bowers
Stars: James Garner, Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan, Jack Elam, Henry Jones, Willis Bouchey, Gene Evans, Walter Burke, Kathleen Freeman, Dick Haynes and Bruce Dern.
Tagline: Our trouble-shooting sheriff always put his finger on it (or in it). No wonder they call him The Fastest Finger in the West.
The Plot…
When gold is discovered in the small settlement of Calendar, it becomes a lawless boom town overnight. Every sheriff the city council hires is either killed or leaves in a hurry. The townsfolk find themselves at the mercy of the Danby family who own the property surrounding Calendar.
When Joe Danby kills a man over a card game, only Jason McCullough is willing to testify that it was murder. McCullough is just passing through, but in need of money. So when he’s offered the sheriff’s job, he accepts.
McCullough is as quick with his wits as he is with a gun. He’ll need to use both since he’s sheriff of a town full of drunken miners, a jail with no bars, a cold blooded murder for a prisoner and the Danby family out for revenge. McCullough’s biggest problem may be the mayor’s daughter Purdy.
Giddy up!
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
I saw Support Your Local Sheriff when it was first released. I was ten. Seeing it again brings back great memories. Support Your Local Sheriff has the right mix of action and humor. James Garner was perfect as the gunslinger who’d rather use his wits than his gun.
Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) rates 5 of 5 stars
I hope you dig this clever alt poster for Midnight Mass by Rafał Rola as much as I do.
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenplay: John Logan, Dante Harper; story by Jack Paglen, Michael Green; based on characters by Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollett, Uli Latukefu, Tess Haubrich, Lorelei King, Javier Botet and Goran D. Kleut.
Tagline: Run
The Plot…
The year is 2104. The spaceship Covenant, carrying over 1,000 colonists in cryogenic stasis, is damaged in deep space. Several crew members are killed. Walter, the android overseeing the mission, wakes mission specialists to perform repairs. Suddenly the ship begins receiving transmissions from an uncharted planet.
Despite protests, the Covenant’s new Captain decides to send a scouting crew to investigate.
Run!
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Alien Covenant didn’t resonate with me. I’m a fan of the franchise. Alien, Aliens and Alien Resurrection are favorites. Sadly Alien Covenant fell far short of those films. Your mileage may vary.
Alien: Covenant (2017) rates 2 of 5 stars
Yvan Quinet created this alt poster for The 13th Warrior. If you’ve never seen The 13th Warrior, you should give it a go. It is one of the most under-rated action movies out there. It gets better with each repeat viewing.
You can see more of Yvan Quinet’s art at his website and/or his Instagram page.
In 2012, I went to MegaCon and my main purpose was to get a sketch from Wilfredo Torres. I was lucky enough to be first on his sketch list. Wilfredo opted to draw Stallone as Cobra.
Finally, in 2025, the stars aligned and I was able to get on Wilfredo’s advance sketch list for HeroesCon. I asked for Stallone from Tulsa King and Wilfredo came through royally.
Here’s the poster and trailer for Affinity starring Marko Zaror.
Deal me in for a fun-looking drive-in movie.
AFFINITY – Official Trailer | On Digital September 30
Official film page: https://wellgousa.com/films/affinity
Chilean martial-arts star Marko Zaror is Bruno, an ex-SEAL struggling with PTSD. He lives a life in fear of his demons until one day when he discovers a beautiful woman with no past of her own. Together they begin to build a life, but when she disappears, Bruno must return to his violent past if he’s going to save her from a shocking conspiracy in this riveting, fast-paced sci-fi action film from director Brandon Slagle.
Directed by: Brandon Slagle
Cast: Marko Zaror, Louis Mandylor, Brooke Ence, & Jane Mirro
The Wire: Season 3 (2004)
Created by: David Simon
Teleplay by:
Directed by: Ed Bianchi (ep. 1); Steve Shill (ep. 2); Rob Bailey (ep. 3); Ernest Dickerson (eps. 4, 12); Dan Attias (ep. 5); Leslie Libman (ep.6); Tim Van Patten (ep. 7); Agnieszka Holland (ep. 8); Alex Zakrzewski (ep. 9); Christine Moore (ep. 10); Joe Chappelle (ep. 11)
Stars: Dominic West, Idris Elba, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Robert Wisdom, Wood Harris, Clarke Peters, Seth Gilliam, Domenick Lombardozzi, J. D. Williams, John Doman, Frankie Faison, Deirdre Lovejoy, Andre Royo, Jim True-Frost, Wendell Pierce, Corey Parker Robinson, Robert F. Chew, Method Man, Michael Potts, Hassan Johnson, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Jamie Hector, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Felicia Pearson, Glynn Turman, Callie Thorne, Chad Coleman, Maria Broom and Michael K. Williams.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
The towers are razed for new development. This leaves the Barksdale drug organization without territory. Councilman Tommy Carcetti begins a run for Mayor of Baltimore. Since it is an election year, crime becomes a campaign issue. Pressure is put on the Baltimore PD to get crime statistics down… even if they have to massage them.
Police Major Covin comes up with an unauthorized and controversial plan to actually lower the crime stats by forcing drug dealer to move to low population areas of the city where they can freely sell drugs. Covin knows that higher ups and the mayor would never approve of his idea, but he moves forward anyway.
A new and ruthless drug dealer begins to encroach on Stansfield territory. Omar continues to steal cash and drugs from dealers. Omar is becoming a legend. Brother Mouzone, a ruthless killer, is brought in to find and eliminate Omar.
Meanwhile the major crimes unit deals with political demands and personal issues as they work to bring down the city’s drug traffickers.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Each season of The Wire builds upon the last. The series continues to be well written, well directed and well acted.
The series spends as much time with the criminals as the cops. This season we get political intrigue and the impact politics has on police work. Kudos to the writers for making each character and storyline important.
New recurring characters introduced in The Wire Season 3 that are amazing include Jamie Hector (Marlo Stanfield), Gbenga Akinnagbe (Chris Partlow), and Felicia Pearson (Snoop).
I cannot wait to start season 4.
The Wire: Season 3 (2004) earns 5 of 5 stars.
“It’s Not My War” alt First Blood poster by Rich Davies. You can see more of Davies’ art here.
HUNTER by James Byron Huggins is one of my all-time favorite novels. Now Huggins is back with a sequel titled HUNTER’S MOON. Here the lowdown…
It Lives to Kill. He Lives to Hunt.
International bestselling author James Byron Huggins returns with the sequel to his novel HUNTER, delivering a story of primal terror, relentless pursuit, and ultimate confrontation.
A brilliant but twisted Army scientist has done the unthinkable. He has become the beast, an ancient, prehistoric monster powerful enough to survive anything, even death itself. Buried beneath ice for ten thousand years, it was meant to stay forgotten. Now it walks again, leaving a trail of blood and destruction across the English countryside.
No conscience. No mercy. No weakness.
Only one man has faced the creature and survived. Hunter. Once again, he is called to do what no one else can: track and destroy the unstoppable before it consumes everything in its path.
Driven by duty, haunted by memory, and pursued by the past, Hunter must go beyond fear, beyond pain, and beyond human limits to end what began in a time before history.
The battle has begun. The world hangs in the balance.
This time, there may be no return.
HUNTER’S MOON drops August 31st. Get your order in now. I did.
Vlad Rodriguez is a Miami based illustrator. Rodriguez has a passion for film. Here’s his alt poster for American Me!
