“Bang” starring Jack Kesy and Peter Weller – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Bang starring Jack Kesy and Peter Weller – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

If like me, you enjoy a fun drive-in movie (even if there are no more drive-ins), then Bang looks to fit the bill.

Deal me in.

Bang, one of the most feared hitmen, questions his violent life after a near-death experience. Seeing a future beyond bloodshed, he wants out—but his crime boss won’t let go without a fight.

The film will be released in select theaters, digital, and on demand on July 11th.

“The Accountant 2” (2025) starring Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal and Cynthia Addai-Robinson / Z-View

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The Accountant 2 (2025)

Director:  Gavin O’Connor

Screenplay: Bill Dubuque, based on characters created by Bill Dubuque

Stars: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Alison Wright, Daniella Pineda, Robert Morgan, Grant Harvey, Andrew Howard, Yael Ocasio, Lombardo Boyar, Michael Tourek, Fernando Chien, Talia Thiesfield and J.K. Simmons.

Tagline: He sees what others can’t. He does what others won’t.

The Plot…

Raymond King, the retired director of the Financial Crimes Division of the US Treasury is found murdered.  King was working a case.  Before he was killed, King was able to write on his arm, “Find the Accountant”.  Marybeth Medina, King’s former protégé, and current FCD director, knows the meaning.  She and King had worked with Christian Wolf aka The Accountant on a case eight years prior.

Marybeth reaches out to Wolf and informs Wolf of King’s murder.  King and Marybeth meet.  She has access to all of the data King was using, but can’t decipher it’s meaning.  In short order Wolf determines the links.  King was working on bringing down an international human trafficking cartel.

Realizing that he’s going to need help, Wolf contacts his estranged hitman brother, Braxton.  Things are about to heat up.

Let’s go!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Accountant was released in 2016.  This sequel was announced in 2017.  A third film is a possibility.  At one point a television series was also considered.

Affleck and Bernthal have real chemistry as brothers.  The scene at the cowboy bar is a highlight.

The Accountant 2 (2025) rates 4 of 5 stars

“Happy Face” (2025) starring Annaleigh Ashford & Dennis Quaid / Z-View

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Happy Face (2025)

Created by: Jennifer Cacicio; based on Happy Face by Melissa Moore and SHATTERED SILENCE by Moore and M. Bridget Cook

Director: Michael Showalter (Eps 1), Jennifer Getzinger (Ep. 2), Steven Piet (Ep. 3); Laurel Parmet (Ep. 4); Ramaa Mosley (Ep. 5); Darren Grant (Ep. 6); Samira Radsi (Ep. 7); Darren Grant (Ep. 8)

Teleplay by:  Jennifer Cacicio (Eps. 1, 8); Andrew Gettens & Lauren Mackenzie (Ep. 2); Adam Toltzis & Sal Calleros (Ep. 3); Sarah Beckett (Ep. 4); Erica Saleh & Inda Craig-Galván (Ep. 5); Bam Johnson, story by Andrew Gettens & Lauren Mackenzie (Ep. 6); Tiffany Ezuma & Brandi Nicole Payne (Ep. 7)

Starring: Annaleigh Ashford, James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne, Benjamin Mackey, David Harewood, Damon Gupton, Michael O’Neill, Charles Zuckermann, Marci T. House and Dennis Quaid.

Tagline: Melissa, You Can’t Hide Forever

The Plot… (beware of spoilers)

Melissa is happily married to Ben.  They have two children.  They also have a secret.  Melissa is the daughter of the infamous serial killer known as Happy Face.  Melissa and Rex have kept Melissa’s dad a secret. No one at their work knows.  Their friends are unaware.  Even Melissa and Max’s children are unaware that grandpa is a serial killer.  Melissa’s dad has written her dozens of letters from prison.  She never reads them.  She won’t accept his calls.

Melissa works as a make-up artist on The Dr. Greg Show.  One day she is called into the office.  The Happy Face Killer contacted Dr. Greg.  Happy Face informed Dr. Greg that Melissa is his daughter.  Further, he said that he is ready to confess to an additional murder, but will only make the confession to his daughter.

Melissa thinks her dad is just playing for attention.  She initially refuses to meet.  Then she learns that a man sits on death row for the murder her father is ready to admit he committed.  Reluctantly, Melissa agrees to meet with her dad.  Dr. Greg loves the story.  His ratings are going through the roof as The Happy Face Killer slowly doles out information about the murder.

As the clock ticks down and an innocent man’s execution date draws near, Melissa marriage, her relationship with her children suffer.  Melissa is compelled to try to save the man on death row… but what if her dad is truly playing everyone?

Expect twists.

Thoughts…

Happy Face is based on a true story.

Dennis Quaid is more creepy than menacing.  Which makes him even scarier as a serial killer.

Happy Face (2025) rates 4 of 5 stars.

10 Unsolved Presidential Mysteries!

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Selme Angulo at Listverse posted 10 Presidential Mysteries That Are Still Unsolved.  It’s a really interesting and fun article that looks at…

  • A President who was rumored to not be a  natural-born US citizen.  (And no it wasn’t Barack Obama!)
  • A President who many thought was our first gay President. His niece was our First Lady.  He also “had a longtime male “roommate” for much of his adult life”.
  • A President who many claim died because of his inauguration speech.  It remains the longest in US history.
  • A President who had a stroke so his wife took over the running of the country.
  • A President who took time to go “fishing” but instead had a dangerous surgery at sea.
  • A President who suddenly died in office.  Some believe he was poisoned… by his wife!
  • A President who died because of the treatment he received from his doctors.
  • A President who had almost 4,000 hours of recordings… except for one gap.  What could have been said that was so damaging?
  • A President whose brain went missing after his autopsy.
  • A President who may have ordered the cover-up of UFO evidence.

Click over and find the answers to these mysteries.  Kudos to Selme Angulo and Listverse for a fun read.

RIP: Sly Stone

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Sly Stone’s family announced that he died today.  The cause of death was said to be COPD and other underlying health issues. Mr. Stone was 82.

At the age of 19, Sly Stone (whose real name was Sylvester Stewart) was a popular LA disc jokey and record producer. Along with his brother, Sly started the band Sly and the Family Stone. At the time the group was unique because of its make-up (men and women, multiple races). Sly wrote and produced many of their songs.

Sly and the Family Stone’s popularity was on the rise.  They were selling out concerts.  They had multiple hit records. Then Sly became addicted to drugs. This led to him being late or even missing show dates. His output dwindled.  So did the band’s popularity. Multiple drug arrests, the breakup of the band and continued drug dependency followed.

Yet, Sly Stone’s music stood the test of time.  Sly and the Family Stone hits include: Dance to the Music, Everyday People, Stand!, I Want to Take You Higher, Hot Fun in the Summertime, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) and Everybody Is a Star.

Sly and the Family Stone influenced many other bands of the era. Then a younger generation of song writers discovered and sampled his music. It took years but Sly Stone finally got his life together.

The first song that I remember hearing from Sly and the Family Stone was Dance to the Music.  Of course that was the band’s first hit. If you’re the right age, it was probably the song that introduced you to the band too.

My sentimental favorite of Sly Stone’s songs is Family Affair.  I was riding in the car with my grandfather.  I was probably 13.  Family Affair came on the radio.  I was bopping to it and my grandpa started singing mimicking Sly Stone’s deep voice… “It’s a family affair!”  I busted out laughing.  So did he.  What a great memory.

It’s unfortunate that drugs shortened Sly Stone’s career.  But not even years of struggle could cancel out Sly Stone’s impact.  I’m glad that Sly Stone is remembered for the genius he was.

Out thoughts and prayers go out to Sly Stone’s family, friends and fans.

“The Vanishing” (1988) directed by George Sluizer, starring Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets  and Johanna ter Steege / Z-View

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The Vanishing (1988)

Director:  George Sluizer

Screenplay: George Sluizer, Tim Krabbé, based on The Golden Egg by Tim Krabbé

Stars: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets  and Johanna ter Steege.

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

Rex and Saskia are young and in love.  While on vacation in France, they stop at a busy gas station.  They stretch their legs and take a break in a nearby grassy area.  As Rex waits at the car, Saskia heads in to get drinks for the road.

She never returns.

When Rex realizes Saskia should have been back, he searches the gas station and surrounding area.  Nobody saw anything.  Rex goes to the police.  Searches and appeals to the public turn up no clues.

Rex is obsessed with finding Saskia.  He makes sure posters with Saiska’s picture and information about her disappearance are always up.  He follows up on even the smallest possibility.  Rex realizes Saskia is probably not alive.  Still, it torments Rex to not know what happened to her.

Three years after her disappearance, Rex is contacted by Saiska’s kidnapper.  He wants to meet.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Stanley Kubrick reportedly considered The Vanishing the most terrifying film he’d ever seen.  Entertainment Weekly listed The Vanishing  as one of the all-time scariest films ever made.  The Vanishing is a movie that doesn’t have jump scares.  There is no unstoppable killer or traditional monsters.  And that makes it even more frightening.

The Vanishing will stay with you.  You’ll think about the movie long after you finish watching it. THAT ending.  The killer alone practicing his moves.  The fact that Rex gets his wish.

The success of The Vanishing, the Dutch film was optioned to be remade in the United States.  George Sluizer, who co-wrote and directed the original, was brought on to direct the American remake.  Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Travis and Sandra Bullock were brought on to star.  The budget was set at $20 million dollars (over ten times the budget of the original).  The ending was changed because “American audiences don’t like sad endings.”  Change the ending and you’re making a totally different film.  Why bother?  Audiences and critics overwhelmingly prefer the original.

The Vanishing (1988) rates 4 of 5 stars

“Strange New Worlds”: Season 3 – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Strange New Worlds: Season 3 – The poster and trailer are here.  Loved the first two seasons, bring on the third!

One series. Infinite Adventures.

The new season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premieres July 17 with two episodes. New episodes will be available to stream every week, exclusively on Paramount+.

In Season 3, when we reconnect with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, still under the command of Captain Pike, they face the conclusion of Season 2’s harrowing encounter with the Gorn. But new life and civilizations await, including a villain that will test our characters’ grit and resolve. An exciting twist on classic Star Trek, Season 3 takes characters both new and beloved to new heights, and dives into thrilling adventures of faith, duty, romance, comedy, and mystery, with varying genres never before seen on any other Star Trek.

Explore the Star Trek universe on StarTrek.com and relive all of your favorite moments at StarTrek.com/Where-to-Watch! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

JOE LEDGER: SECRET MISSIONS, VOLUME 2 by Jonathan Maberry / Z-View

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JOE LEDGER: SECRET MISSIONS VOLUME TWO by Jonathan Maberry

First sentence…

The card was tucked into the cleft of a crack in the vinyl of my old Ford Escape’s dashboard.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Joe Ledger is an ex-Army Ranger and ex-Baltimore police detective.  Ledger was recruited and is now an agent for the United States’ several-levels-above-top-secret Department of Military Sciences.  This organization deals with threats not only to the US, but the world.  Most of their missions involve stopping terrorists using advanced technology to create bio-weapons.  Some of Ledger’s assignments have ventured into the realm of the supernatural… and while Ledger might not believe in that “stuff” — his team has to deal with it.

JOE LEDGER: SECRET MISSIONS VOLUME  TWO features six tales.  Five by Maberry and one (Mr. Church’s Day Off) by Ray Porter.

  • Three Guys Walk into a Bar – A serial killer (killers?) has come to Pine Deep.  Police Chief Malcolm Crow and Deputy Mike Sweeney might be a bit put out when a PI named Sam Hunter and Joe Ledger show up.  But before long, they’ll be glad the two have arrived.  A serial killer is a terrible thing.  What’s come to Pine Deep is much, much worse.
  • Alter Boy – Toys was damned.  Things he had done in the past assured it.  Even the name everyone called him, Toys, was a moniker he hated.  But he lived with it.  Just like he lived with memories of acts for which he could never atone.  No matter how much good he did Toys knew his soul would never be saved.  Then Toys met a woman.  And over time as their relationship deepened Toys began to have hope.
  • Dog Days – New recruits to the  Department of Military Sciences (and other US agencies) hear stories about Joe Ledger and his dog partner Ghost.  Their exploits are legendary.  How a warrior and his canine became partners (family?) was born from tragedy.  Dog Days is that tale.
  • Twilight Falls – Over the Sahara desert a jet leaves chemtrails.  Shortly after whatever life below falls over dead.  Men, women, children… even camels.  This has happened several times.  Whoever is behind the jet may be testing efficiency for a mass event.  Ledger, Top and Bunny perform a HALO drop.  Easy in.  Getting out not so much.
  • All the Devils are Here – In 1971 a natural gas field in the desert of Turkmenistan collapsed.  It created a huge crater which filled with methane gas.  Geologists thought it would quickly burn off.  The fire has been raging since.  The locals call it the Gates of Hell.  An insane man with access to The Unlearnable Truths believes the fiery crater is a true door to hell.  And the psycho plans to open it.
  • Mr. Church’s Day Off – When you’re a hands-on leader of an international organization responsible for keeping the world safe, do you ever get time off?

If you’ve never read any of the Joe Ledger novels, this is a good jumping on point.  Don’t let the Volume Two in the title scare you.  You’ll get a nice taste of the kind of tales that feature Ledger along with some crossovers from other characters/situations in the Maberry universe.

Jonathan Maberry has another winner!  Joe Ledger tales are the best!

Rating:

“Psycho II” (1983) starring Anthony Perkins and Meg Tilly / Z-View

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Psycho II (1983)

Director:  Richard Franklin

Screenplay: Tom Holland, based on characters created by Robert Bloch

Stars: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Meg Tilly, Robert Loggia, Hugh Gillin, Claudia Bryar, Robert Alan Browne, Lee Garlington, Jill Carroll, Chris Hendrie, Tom Holland, Osgood Perkins  and Dennis Franz.

Tagline: It’s 22 years later, and Norman Bates is coming home.

The Plot…

Twenty-two years have passed since the murders that made Norman Bates infamous have passed.  Norman has spent that time in a mental institution.  His therapist believes that Norman is now sane.  Therefore a judge rules that Norman be set free.

Norman returns home with plans to re-open the Bates Motel.  In the meantime, he takes a job at a local diner.  When Mary, a waitress at the diner, suddenly becomes homeless, Norman offers her a place to stay.  She reluctantly accepts.  Not long after, Norman begins to get messages from his dead mother.

Norman begins to fear for his sanity and Mary’s safety.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Making a sequel to an Alfred Hitchcock classic is a tale, dangerous order.  Psycho II fills the bill better than you might expect.

The actor playing a young Norman Bates is Anthony Perkins’ son Osgood.

The original Bates house was able to be used for this sequel, but the hotel had to be rebuilt.

The scene where Norman plays the piano is actually Anthony Perkins playing.  He was an accomplished pianist.

Robert Bloch’s novel PSYCHO II and the movie sequel tell different stories.

Critics praised Anthony Perkins and Meg Tilly’s on-screen chemistry.  In reality, they didn’t get along.  Perkins actually wanted her fired after filming was underway.  Tilly called making the film the worst experience of her career.  She didn’t attend the movie’s premiere.

Dennis Franz steals every scene he’s in.  Franz could play a sleazy character with the best of them.

Psycho II (1983) rates 4 of 5 stars

“Solomon Kane” (2009) starring James Purefoy / Z-View

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Solomon Kane (2009)

Director:  M. J. Bassett

Screenplay: M. J. Bassett; based on characters created by Robert E. Howard

Stars: James Purefoy, Max von Sydow, Mark O’Neal, Christian Dunkley-Clark, James Babson, Marek Vasut and Pete Postlethwaite.

Tagline: Fight evil… With evil.

The Plot…

In the year 1600, Solomon Kane is a ruthless mercenary.  Kane and his raiders steal and plunder.  During an attack on a fortress, demons appear. Kane’s crew are killed.  A Devil’s Reaper says that Kane has led a life of sin.  The Reaper has been sent to claim Kane’s soul.  Kane barely escapes.

Shaken to his core, Kane joins a monastery and renounces violence.   After a year Kane is forced to leave.  As Kane walks, unsure of where his path will lead, he is attacked by highwaymen.  Kane refuses to fight back.  Badly beaten, Kane is left for dead.

The Crowthorns, a Puritan family finds and nurses Kane back to health.  The Crowthorns are on a journey to the New World.  Kane accepts an invitation to join them.

Without warning, they are attacked.  Kane is able to fight off his attackers. Meredith Crowthorn, the young daughter is kidnapped.  The rest of the family is killed.   Kane learns that a cult making raids to collect slaves.

Kane is determined to rescue Meredith.  He believes that if successful, he will redeem his soul.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Solomon Kane was originally planned as a trilogy.  The two sequels were never made.

Solomon Kane (2009) rates 2 of 5 stars

“Plane” (2023) starring Gerard Butler & Mike Colter / Z-View

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The Plane (2023)

Director:  Jean-François Richet

Screenplay: Charles Cumming, J. P. Davis; story by Charles Cumming

Stars: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Evan Dane Taylor, Paul Ben-Victor, Daniella Pineda, Otis Winston, Joey Slotnick, Jessica Nam and Tony Goldwyn.

Tagline: The crash was only the beginning.

The Plot…

Due to a sudden violent storm a flight bound for Honolulu loses power. Turbulence violently tosses the airliner.  A crew member and police officer are killed during the sudden shake-up.  The cop was bringing in Louis Gaspare, a suspect for murder.

When the plane loses power, the pilot, Brodie Torrance has just minutes to make an emergency landing.  With no other options, Torrance sits down on a small island.

Brodie tells the to passengers grab available food and water.  He gets them off the plane. Brodie then takes the still handcuffed Gaspare with him. The two set out to find if other people live on the island.

The others on the island are a rebel militia that specializes in kidnappings for ransom.  If the ransom isn’t paid, they think nothing of beheading their victims.  The militia have learned of the plane’s arrival.  They’re armed and heading to capture a planeload of hostages.

It will be up to Brodie and Gaspare to protect the passengers until help arrives.  What chance does a pilot and suspected murderer have against a small army?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Plane reminded me of a throwback action film of the 1980s.  That’s a good thing.

A sequel for Mike Colter’s character, Louis Gaspare, is in pre-production.  Tentatively titled Ship, it picks up after Louis disappeared into the jungle.  His participation in the showdown with the militia, leads to an international manhunt. Gaspare sneaks aboard a cargo ship and discovers it’s transport for a human trafficking ring.  Deal me in!

The Plane (2023) rates 4 of 5 stars

Luc Besson’s “Dracula: A Love Tale” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Luc Besson’s Dracula: A Love Tale – The trailer is here.

Although the poster and trailer leave out “A Love Tale” that is reportedly the official title of the film.  Besson wrote the screenplay which he adapted from Bram Stoker’s novel.  Dracula: A Love Tale stars Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz and Zoë Bleu.

DRACULA Trailer International (2025) Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz, Matilda De Angelis, Luc Besson

“The Man in My Basement” – The Trailer is Here!

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The Man in My Basement trailer is here.

It’s based on a novel by Walter Mosley.  Mosley also co-wrote the screenplay.  That alone is enough to get me on board.  I’ve had Mosley’s novel on my to-be-read-bookcase for far too long.  I need to change that.

Down on his luck, Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins) agrees to rent his basement to a mysterious stranger (Willem Dafoe), unaware he may be letting in a force much darker than he imagined.

“Alien: Earth” – The Trailer is Here!

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The Alien: Earth trailer is here.

And I like it!  Deal me in.

We were safer in space.

Alien: Earth. OFFICIAL TRAILER.   #AlienEarthFX premieres August 12 on ‪@FXNetworks‬ | ‪@hulu‬ and with #HuluOnDisneyPlus.

When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, “Wendy” (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.

FX’s Alien: Earth is created for television and executive produced by Noah Hawley.