Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
I wasn’t expecting to see Andrew Charipar at this year’s Heroes Con. In fact, he almost didn’t make it due to car problems. Thankfully, he did and worked up a couple of new Stallone sketches for me. This is, Sly as one of the many characters he played in Spy Kids 3D. More of Andrew’s art can be seen at his blog and DA site.
Andrew Vachss has a couple of new books coming out later this year. The Weight is a crime novel which is what most Vachss fans would expect. Heart Transplant is something totally different. It’s not a novel. According to the product description it’s…
Neither a graphic novel nor a self-help book, it uses elements of both to reach parents and children alike… Heart Transplant is aimed at actually changing the way we deal with perhaps the most critical issue for children and parents alike today. To accomplish this mission, an entirely new genre was created.
As John Travolta said in Pulp Fiction, “That’s a bold statement.” Of course Andrew Vachss has always been a bold author. If Heart Transplant sounds like something you’d like [and it definitely has a lot of experts endorsing it], then you can check out this preview to learn more. Of course you can also go here to learn more and/or order it.
Growing up, I was never much into expensive, brand name tennis shoes. It’s a good thing too, because we didn’t have a ton of money. So I’d wear whatever was on sale. I have to admit, that if the shoes above were available when I was a little kid, I’d be asking for a pair for my birthday or Christmas.
Quint over at AICN has a nice little interview with Eric Powell, creator of the cult classic comic (and hopefully soon to be in full production animated film) The Goon. With David “Se7en” Fincher, Paul Giamonti and Clancy Brown already on board, this project should kill. And with The Goon, that exactly what I mean (especially if you’re a zombie).
I was going to post up my predictions for UFC 118, but I read Ryan Cody’s predictions and discovered that we agree on every fight. I don’t think that’s ever happened before. At any rate, if you want to know who I think will win, then check out Ryan’s picks because they’re mine too!
IMPAwards.com scored the first look at several Machete posters. The first is the classic take above. Then we have Machete [Danny Trejo] with the ladies of the film [Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez]. It is followed by a character poster for Michelle Rodriguez. And finally the all cast poster.
The official trailer for The Walking Dead hit today. Man, it looks as good as I hoped. I can not wait until the series premiere on Halloween night!
When I was a kid I used to love the Thursday news paper. That’s because on Thursday there would always be a ton of movie ads for the films that were playing or opening on Friday. Of course this was in the pre-historic days before the internet and even entertainment shows that take us on location and behind-the-scenes. Quite often the first time you’d learn anything about a film was from the movie ad — usually a shot of the poster and tag line. Many times the posters were better than the films they advertised… but we’ll save that for another post.
Today I want to point you in the direction of artist Sean Hartter. Hartter is the mastermind behind vintage looking posters such as Bruce Lee playing Neo in The Matrix; Clint Eastwood as Wolverine; Gary Busey as Bizarro Superman; in a Nightmare on Elm Street and many, many more. You can see them here and my guess is, you’ll wish some of them were for real movies.
Jesus Antonio is an artist who lives in Mexico. Jesus posts on quite a few sites and is always positive and complimentary of the artwork of others and humble about his own. When I had the opportunity to get a few Stallone sketches and a sketchbook from Jesus, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. You can see more of Jesus’ art here!
This trailer for The Vanishing on 7th Avenue feels like a version of something that could have appeared on the original Twilight Zone. That alone is reason enough to check it out.
I’ve always enjoyed magic. There for a while I thought Harry Houdini was the coolest guy who ever escaped from a straight-jacket. [That honor goes to John Beatty since… but I digress]. Now my favorite magicians merge magic and comedy. Chipper Lowell does just that.
I’ve never read any Dylan Dog comics, but after seeing this trailer, I’m thinking I should.
I think that this may be my favorite poster for The Expendables. If you like it, you might want to check out the King-of-the-Box-Office size version over at IMPAwards.
Because The Expendables is doing so well at the box office and continues to track above expectations, talk of a sequel is a quickly moving forward. So it got me thinking…
“Who would I want to see in The Expendables 2?”
Without a doubt I’d like to see roles [even cameos] for…
Those are my top choices… others I considered included: Kurt Russell, William Smith, Clancy Brown, William Forsythe…
The Expendables opened in the number 1 spot at the box office this weekend easily earning more viewers and box office dollars than Eat Pray Love and Scott Pilgrim. Here’s the breakdown according Hollywood.com…
1. “The Expendables,” $35 million.
2. “Eat Pray Love,” $23.7 million.
3. “The Other Guys,” $18 million.
4. “Inception,” $11.4 million.
5. “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” $10.5 million.
Last night UFC 117 was held and for the first time in months, I didn’t get a chance to post my pre-fight predictions. Of course as luck would have it, I went 5-0 on the night but since I didn’t get up my picks pre-fight, you’ll just have to trust me. You do trust me, right?
Roy “Big Country” Nelson Vs. Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos
Prefight Prediction: I thought that Dos Santos would win via TKO in the first or second. Everyone else watching with me picked Big Country.
Result: Junior Dos Santos won by unanimous decision. Big Country pressed the fight and had some great moments, but Dos Santos earned the victory. As far as everyone watching with me was concerned, it was a moral victory for Big Country… and I agree!
Matt Hughes Vs. Ricardo “Cacharrao” Almeida
Prefight Prediction: Hughes via a hard fought and potentially close decision.
Result: Hughes won by chokeout at 3:15 in the 1st round. Hughes landed a solid punch that rocked Almeda then jumped on him and applied the choke. After that it was lights-out.
Clay “The Carpenter” Guida Vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
Prefight Prediction: Guida by TKO.
Result: Guida won by tapout at 1:51 in the 3rd round. Post fight reports say that Dos Anjos fought with a broken jaw from round one.
Jon Fitch Vs. Thiago “Pitbull” Alves
Prefight Prediction: Fitch by decision.
Postfight Result: Fitch won by unanimous decision. Alves had trouble making weight which I thought would add to Fitch’s advantage. At the post fight press conference Dana White said he believed Alves should move up a weight class for his future fights. I agree.
Anderson “The Spider” Silva Vs. Chael Sonnen
Prefight Prediction: Had I posted my fights on Friday, I would have went with Sonnen. When we made our picks right before the fights, I went with Silva. I wanted Sonnen to win, but I thought that Silva would find a way to victory. My thought was that Sonnen would press the fight and possibly score a takedown, but that Silva would get back to his feet and his superior stand-up would end an exciting fight fairly early.
Result: Silva won by tapout to an arm bar at 3:10 in the 5th round. Up to that point Sonnen had owned Silva. He took Silva down at will. He pounded him relentlessly for 4 and 3/5 rounds. And while it’s true that Silva landed a few good shots and elbows along the way, it was Sonnen’s fight throughout. Credit has to be given to Silva who never looked frustrated and, like a champion found a way to win.
Final thoughts:
