Thomas Boatwright and Jack Carter

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Thomas Boatwright is back and Jack Carter is with him.  Over the years I’ve gotten several Stallone pieces from Thomas.

If you’d like to see more of Thomas Boatwright’s art check out his blog. Send him some love.

If you get commissions, you should consider a piece from Thomas. He keeps you totally in the loop on his progress, finishes his commissions on or ahead of schedule, has very reasonable prices, is a fantastic artist and always gives you more than you’re expecting!   – Craig

The 35 Best Heist Movies

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The Playlist recently posted their choices for The 35 Best Heist Movies.  There are a lot of great movies on this list.  In an effort to narrow it down, I decided to choose from movies where one heist was the focus of the film.

So using just their list here are three of my favorites…

“Rififi” (1955)
Yes, we know. This is the grandaddy of all heist films, the one that tops everyone’s list and is name dropped constantly. But if you haven’t seen the film (and by God, you should remedy that situation quickly) don’t get suckered into thinking this is just some cinematic touchstone that everyone talks about but no one really watches. If anything, Jules Dassin’s “Rififi” remains the template and the standard, with a centerpiece heist sequence that is still yet to be topped. The plot is standard stuff: four guys target a jewelry store, plan the perfect job and things don’t quite go as planned. But Dassin’s masterstroke is the 30-minute, nearly completely silent heist (no dialogue, no soundtrack) that brilliantly throws viewers right into the heart-pounding, tension filled robbery. A masterpiece in every sense of the word, “Rififi” remains the torchbearer for the genre with very good reason.

“The Getaway” (1972)
Based on a novel by the poet laureate of hard pulp Jim Thompson, directed by feminist favorite Sam Peckinpah, and starring a Steve McQueen firmly in the midst of a cocaine-soaked marriage breakdown, “The Getaway” rises out of a dense fog of testosterone: it doesn’t get any more boys-night-in than that. Ali McGraw (somewhat miscast, to occasionally charming effect) uses her wiles to free husband “Doc” McCoy (McQueen) from prison. After a botched bank robbery, the bickering pair go on the run with the loot, pursued by cannon-fodder cops and a variety of goons, led by the astonishingly repellent and malevolent Rudy (Al Letteria). Perhaps inevitably, it all culminates in a bloodbath in El Paso, and a tender reconciliation for the then real-life lovers. This is by no means top-tier Peckinpah; both he and McQueen were desperate for a no-nonsense hit after the commercial failure of “Junior Bonner” (1972). Nevertheless, all the staples are there — stunningly edited montages, patented slo-mo bullet ballet — and “The Getaway” is a solid, straight-ahead action flick that’s always fun to wander into the middle of on late night T.V. Possibly not Robert Evans’ favorite film though…

“The Asphalt Jungle” (1950)
John Huston’s 1950 noir may be better known now for the films it influenced (at least half the titles on this list, notably “Rififi”), and for an early luminous performance by Marilyn Monroe, but the film, creaky though it is in places and marred by some didactic, moralistic dialogue, is still a compelling piece in its own right. The narrative arc, (a man has a plan, gets a gang together, pulls off a heist, only to have chance and human nature foil the scheme) has become pretty much the heist film template, but details like the corruption of the police force and the careful characterizations of the gang members keep the proceedings fresh. And while censor-friendly debates on the nature of criminality abound, it’s clear where Huston’s sympathy actually lies; it is power, not lawbreaking, that corrupts here, so the only people with any sort of a code are those on the very bottom of the food chain: Sterling Hayden’s petty hood; the girl who loves him; the hunchbacked getaway driver and the safe-cracking family man. Disgust is reserved for those further up the hierarchy, whose degenerate desires eventually thwart them (both the mastermind and the front/fence character – a suave Louis Calhern – are undone by their interest in young nubile girls), while Hayden’s Dix is rewarded for his staunch, if misplaced loyalty, and perverse nobility, with the kind of tragic, theatrical, poetic death; the greatest honor a movie criminal in oppressive ‘50s America could hope for.

16 Fascinating Facts About Peter Falk and “Columbo”

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Me-TV presents 16 Fascinating Facts About Peter Falk and Columbo.  Here are three of my favorites (and it was tough to just choose three):

HE WAS THE FIRST ACTOR NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR AND EMMY THE SAME YEAR.
In 1961, Falk earned the distinction of becoming the first actor to be nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy in the same year. He received nominations for his supporting roles in Murder, Inc. and television program The Law and Mr. Jones. Incredibly, Falk repeated this double nomination in 1962, being nominated again for a supporting actor role in Pocketful of Miracles and best actor in “The Price of Tomatoes,” an episode of The Dick Powell Theatre, for which he took home the award.

HE WASN’T THE FIRST ACTOR TO PLAY COLUMBO.
Though the character Columbo first appeared on television in 1960, it would be nearly a decade before Falk would become synonymous with the rumpled detective. First, Bert Freed played the LAPD flatfoot in a 1960 episode of anthology series The Chevy Mystery Show. A couple years later, Thomas Mitchell (pictured to the left) played the sleuth onstage in a production called Prescription: Murder in San Francisco. When it was decided that the play would be turned into a television movie in 1968, the lead was offered to Lee J. Cobb and Bing Crosby, but Falk landed the part.

HE SUPPLIED COLUMBO’S WARDROBE AND OFTEN AD LIBBED.
Perhaps to add further authenticity to the LAPD detective, Falk personally supplied his character’s shabby clothes. One anecdote purports that when asked whether Columbo’s trademark raincoat was in the Smithsonian, the actor retorted that the garment was in his upstairs closet. Falk also ad libbed extensively as the character, throwing adversaries (and fellow actors) off balance with improvised misdirection.

Stephen Franck’s Silver Volume 3 Kickstarter is Live!

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Stephen Franck, the creative genius behind Silver is back with Volume 3 and his Kickstarter for the project is live.  Franck is the writer and artist for Silver which can be summed up as…

…a high-concept, super fun genre-blender, featuring pulp-era conmen and a troubled female vampire-hunter as they try to steal a mystical treasure from a castle full of vampires — what could go wrong with that plan?!

Silver is great fun.  Franck is a talented writer/artist who has created a tale that meshes a horror story with a heist yarn pitting an unlikely team consisting of a rouge thief, his two partners, a con man, a old forger, a ten year old who can catch glimpses of the future and young woman who hunts vampires against Dracula and a castle full of the undead.

If you like what you see, you can jump on board with Franck’s Kickstarter for Silver Volume 3.  Volume 1 and 2 are also available through the Kickstarter, if needed.

Man, I can’t wait to get my mitts on Volume 3!

Meet Karl Slominski

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The Mister Monster piece above was created as a commission for some lucky person at HeroesCon 2017 by Karl Slominski.  I met Karl for the first time at the same convention because I had requested Karl’s take on Jack Carter and John Wick (which will be posted in the near future).

When I picked up the sketch, my buddies LittleJohn and Mike Cross were with me.  They both liked my sketch so much they commissioned sketches of their own.  LittleJohn got John Wick and John McClane, while Mike asked for Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) and Maggie (Adrienne Barbeau).

This encouraged me to go back for another “Jack Carter and…” sketch, this time getting Carter and Raylan Givens from Justified.  I post that in the near future as well.

At any rate, you can see more of Karl’s art at his Instagram.  Check it out!

15 Movie Twists EVERYONE Missed The First Time Around!

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Padraig Cotter and ScreenRant present 15 Movie Twists EVERYONE Missed The First Time Around!  The article is well worth a read.  It was hard choosing but here are three of my favorites…

11. BUTCH IS THE ONE WHO KEYED VINCENT’S CAR – PULP FICTION
For some reason that’s never really explained in Pulp Fiction, Vincent Vega has a big problem with Butch, with the two briefly squaring off while standing at the bar together. Even Butch seems confused by this, and the encounter does Vincent no favors when he later comes out of the bathroom in Butch’s apartment to find the boxer pointing a machine gun at him; it doesn’t end well John Travolta’s character.

It turns out that Butch got some revenge earlier in the story when Vincent complains that someone keyed his car while he was in the club. The movie doesn’t reveal who did this, but it’s not hard to conclude that it was Butch himself. This was just a fun fan theory for many years, with Quentin Tarantino later confirming during an interview that it was absolutely correct, and that he wanted viewers to make this connection for themselves instead of spelling it out for them.

1. VERBAL ACCIDENTALLY CONFESSED DURING THE INTERROGATION – THE USUAL SUSPECTS
The Usual Suspects is one of the most cleverly constructed thrillers ever, with a script that’s layered with clues and secrets. Watching it again always seems to reveal some little detail fans missed, like Verbal not being able to use a lighter during his interrogation because his hand isn’t steady, yet in flashback, he uses it to fire a gun.

There are lots of clues to Verbal’s real identity when you know what to look for, but the movie flat-out gives away the major twist halfway through; it’s just that no one ever catches it. During the interrogation, Kujan becomes angry with Verbal’s constant stalling, yelling and screaming at him.

Verbal starts stammering nervously under this barrage, accidentally sprouting “I did, I did kill Keaton!” before correcting himself. Since Kujan is shouting over him, the line is hard to catch, and it just sounds like gibberish.

14. CYPHER ALLOWS THE CALL TO BE TRACED IN THE OPENING SCENE – THE MATRIX
It’s no secret that the sequels to The Matrix weren’t well received back in 2003, but if anything, they made the iconic original look even better. The first film was the perfect combination of high concept sci-fi, pitch-perfect casting, stylish action, and quotable dialogue, and it reminded everyone that Keanu Reeves is a national treasure.

While Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith is the villain everyone remembers, Joe Pantoliano’s Cypher also made an impression. He’s a rebel who grows disillusioned with the fight against the machines and makes a deal so he can return to The Matrix, leading him to murder part of the crew before they can put an end to his plan.

What some viewers probably don’t notice is his slippery nature right from the opening scene, where he talks with Trinity over the phone. Although it seems like an accident, Cypher’s allowing their call to be traced and leading the Agent’s straight to her door. It’s subtle nod for sure, but it’s one many fans may not have noticed.

10 LITTLE MISTAKES YOU NEVER NOTICED IN ‘THE BRADY BUNCH’

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MeTV  presents 10 LITTLE MISTAKES YOU NEVER NOTICED IN THE BRADY BUNCH! Here are three of my favorites…

What’s in a Name?  “What Goes Up…”
It can be tough to keep actors’ and characters’ names straight in the heat of the moment. In “What Goes Up…,” when Peter hops up on the trampoline, Florence Henderson cheers, “Go get ’em, Chris!” A bit later, Greg lets an “Eve” slip intead of “Jan.” This also happens in “Amateur Night,” when the kids practice for a talent show, as Marcia says, “C’mon, Chris!”

HOME SECURITY IS A REAL PANE IN THE GLASS.   “The Big Bet”
This is a little goof you can spot in a few episodes, but this example comes from “The Big Bet.” When Bobby comes in through the sliding glass door, the curtain breezes through the frame — there is no glass in the sliding glass door! In another episode, Sam the Butcher puts his hand through the non-existant pane.

WAS SPIDER-MAN TO BLAME?   “The Hero”
Peter rescues a little girl from a collapsing shelving unit at the toy store. When the case falls over, you can clearly see a thin, white rope yanking the red shelves from the wall.

Which “Twilight Zone” is Your Personal Nightmare?

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MeTV  presents Which Twilight Zone is Your Personal Nightmare?

As you can see I came out with Eye of the Beholder.  EotB is an excellent episode but if I was to pick my own personal nightmare it would have been…

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet – Not much could be worse than seing a creature on the wing of the plane you’re flying on…DURING A STORM… AT NIGHT… TEARING UP THE ENGINES… AND NO ONE ELSE SEES IT!

Ok.  Maybe there is something worse…

To Serve Man – Trapped on a spaceship piloted by giants who are taking you to their planet to EAT YOU!

The Best Cult Movies You Should be Obsessed With

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Zoe Delahunty-Light and Gamesradar.com present The Best Cult Movies You Should be Obsessed With.  Here are three of my favorites…

22. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)
The film: Plan 9 dips well below “so bad it’s good” and into “I can’t believe someone has made this on purpose”. The someone in this case being trash king and Burton muse Ed Wood. Plans one to eight having all failed, the alien invaders apparently skip straight to the one where they use plates on string to overcome the Earth.

Join the cult: Plan 9 was redeemed from oblivion when it was sold to TV stations and shown in the late movie slot to audiences who understood its special qualities. Now, it lives forever on the internet where you can download it free.

29. They Live (1988)
The film: Rowdy Roddy Piper finds a pair of sunglasses that show the world how it really is. That is, teeming with skull-face aliens and controlled by a hypnotising television broadcast. You could do a Marxist analysis on the consumer culture stuff, but really you’re in for the “chew bubblegum and kick ass” moment, right?

Join the cult: Everything you need to become an enlightened alien hunter is right there in your petrol station 24-hour market. Bubble gum, shades… actually, you’ll need to cast around a bit for the firearms.

19. The Warriors (1979)
The film: Gritty thriller about the leather-clad, face-painted gangs of New York. When street visionary Cyrus is gunned down The Warriors are blamed, and must escape from the Bronx to their Coney Island home, chased by hundreds of rival urchins.

Join the cult: Recreate every step of The Warriors’ midnight journey with a guide from a New York gang nostalgia site…

+++++

Just wondering… no Escape from New York?  The Thing?  Highlander?

11 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT REALIZE ANDY GRIFFITH DID BEYOND ‘THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW’!

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MeTV  presents 11 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT REALIZE ANDY GRIFFITH DID BEYOND ‘THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW’!  Here are three of my favorites…

HE TAUGHT HIGH SCHOOL.
After graduating from the University of North Carolina, Griffith hopped from Chapel Hill to Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he taught drama at Goldsboro High School for a few years. Go Mighty Cougars!

HE PLAYED SHERIFF ANDY TAYLOR ON FOUR DIFFERENT TV SERIES.
Okay, we are going to spend a little time talking about Andy Taylor. The Sheriff pulled off the rare feat of appearing on four different shows — The Danny Thomas Show, The Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry R.F.D. and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

HE WAS NOMINATED FOR TWO TONY AWARDS FOR HIS WORK ON BROADWAY.
Griffith took to Broadway in 1955, starring in Ira Levin’s comedic drama No Time for Sergeants. Roddy McDowell, seen here hanging from his leg, played Griffith’s buddy. The Tony Awards honored Griffith with a nomination for Distinguished Supporting or Featured Dramatic Actor at the 1956 ceremony. He lost to Ed Begley. Four years later, he earned a nomination for Distinguished Musical Actor for his lead role in Destry Rides Again.

 

How Much Did McDonald’s Cost in 1972?

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Me-TV did a quiz about the cost of McDonald’s food in 1972.  Sadly, the quiz isn’t available any longer, so you can’t test your knowledge of Mickey-D’s way back when.

As you can see above, I got six out of ten correct.  Not great, but not too bad.  We didn’t eat out much when I was a kid.  A McDonald’s hamburger and shake was a real treat.  The cost seems pretty cheap by today’s prices but you have to remember minimum wage was $1.60 an hour in 1972.