THE DONUT LEGION by Joe R. Lansdale is Coming!

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Joe Lansdale is on my must-read list for ANY novel that he writes.  I emphasize any because Lansdale writes in whatever genre strikes his fancy.  His upcoming novel is titled The Donut Legion.  Here’s the synopsis…

Edgar award-winning author Joe R. Lansdale beams a light on an East Texas town held in the grip of conspiracy.
Charlie Garner has a bad feeling. His ex-wife, Meg, has been missing for over a week and one quick peek into her home shows all her possessions packed up in boxes. Neighbors claim she’s running from bill collectors, but Charlie suspects something more sinister is afoot. Meg was last seen working at the local donut shop, a business run by a shadow group most refer to as ‘The Saucer People’; a space-age, evangelist cult who believe their compound to be the site of an extraterrestrial Second Coming.

Along with his brother, Felix, and beautiful, randy journalist Amelia “Scrappy” Moon, Charlie uncovers strange and frightening details about the compound (read: a massive, doomsday storehouse of weapons, a leashed chimpanzee!) When the body of their key informer is found dead with his arms ripped out of their sockets, Charlie knows he’s in danger but remains dogged in his quest to rescue Meg.

Brimming with colorful characters and Lansdale’s characteristic bounce, this rollicking crime novel examines the insidious rise of fringe groups and those under their sway with black comedy and glints of pathos.

Pre-orders are available now.  Deal me in.

“Frogs” (1972) Starring Ray Milland, Sam Elliott and Joan Van Ark / Z-View

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Frogs (1972)

Director:  George McCowan

Screenplay by:  Robert Hutchison, Robert Blees from a story by Robert Hutchison

Starring: Ray Milland, Sam Elliott, Joan Van Ark, Adam Roarke, Judy Pace  and Mae Mercer

Tagline:   It’s the day that NATURE strikes back!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Pickett Smith, a wildlife photographer, ends up on the Crockett estate where, grumpy, old Jason Crockett (Milland) has invited family to celebrate his birthday.  Unfortunately that same weekend all of the animals – frogs, lizards, birds, snakes have decided to start killing humans.  Yep.  Killer frogs and other animals with no means of hurting a human are killing them.  Yeesh.

Frogs earns 1 of 5 stars.

I’M STILL ALIVE by Roberto Saviano and Asaf Hanuka is Coming!

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I’m Still Alive by Roberto Saviano and Asaf Hanuka  just came onto my radar.  I’m a fan of crime stories and this is a true one.

For the first time since the publication of his internationally bestselling novel, Gomorrah, Roberto Saviano shares his early-life experience with the violence of the Neapolitan Mafia and how exposing them irrevocably changed his life.

Italian journalist Roberto Saviano was twenty-six years old when he published his first book, Gomorrah, to international acclaim. The book, which has gone on to sell 10 million copies worldwide, was a detailed exposé of the Neapolitan mafia, the Camorra, whose organized crime tactics have permeated all matters of industry in Naples: government, infrastructure, high fashion, and drugs. Over fifteen years after Gomorrah’s release, Saviano’s life has been under constant threat from would be assassins who forced him to leave his native Italy and to live under constant police protection. For the first time since then, Saviano shares his deepest thoughts and experiences of early life in Naples, witnessing the power and violence of Camorra firsthand, his current existence living under guard, all the while continuing to call attention to the deeply rooted crime and corruption that plagues his home. Collaborating with award-winning cartoonist Asaf Hanuka (The Realist, The Divine), both writer and artist examine a life behind armed guard whose best recourse against oppression is through old fashioned pen and paper.

I like the art style that Hanuka is using to tell the story.

I’m Still Alive drops on October 11, 2022.  Pre-orders are available now.

“A Friend of the Family” – The Trailer is Here!

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The A Friend of the Family trailer definitely hits the creepy vibe.  I like the looks of this one.

A Friend of the Family is based on the harrowing true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by a charismatic, obsessed family “friend.” The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family, and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them. This is the story of how their lives were permanently altered — and how they survived.

KILLADELPHIA Deluxe Edition, Book One by Rodney Barnes & Jason Shawn Alexander is Coming!

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Killadelphia took the comic world by storm.  If you know, you know.  If you don’t know, here’s a summary…

Finally, the acclaimed horror title which was nominated for an Eisner Award for “best new series” is collected in a stunning hardcover featuring the first 12 issues and more!

From RODNEY BARNES, the breakout star comics scribe and television writer behind HBO’s Winning Time, and the show-stopping artist who redefined SPAWN for a new generation, JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER.

When a small-town beat cop comes home to bury his murdered father, revered Philadelphia detective James Sangster Sr., he stumbles into a mystery that will lead him down a path of horrors and shake his beliefs to their core. The city that was once the symbol of liberty and freedom has fallen prey to corruption, poverty, unemployment, brutality…and vampires.

Now, it’s up to Jimmy and an unexpected companion to stop long-thought-dead President of the United States John Adams from building an undead army and staging a bloody new American revolution.

There’s a reason they say you can’t go home again. Welcome to Killadelphia.

Collects KILLADELPHIA #1-12 and chapters 1-5 of the terrifying werewolf tie-in story ELYSIUM GARDENS

I’m glad that Killadelphia is getting the deluxe hardcover treatment.  I’m looking forward to mine.  Pre-orders are available now.

“Zone of the Dead” aka  “Apocalypse of the Dead” (2009) Starring Ken Foree / Z-View

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Zone of the Dead aka  Apocalypse of the Dead (2009)

Director:  Milan Konjevic, Milan Todorovic

Screenplay by:  Milan Konjevic from a story by Vukota Brajovic, Milan Todorovic

Starring: Ken Foree and Kristina Klebe

Tagline:  This City Is a Living Hell

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Agents Mortimer Reyes (Foree) and Mina Milius (Klebe) are transporting a dangerous criminal when a zombie apocalypse breaks out.  The agents and criminal join forces in an effort to fight their way to safety.  Think Assault on Precinct 13 meets Night of the Living Dead (but not nearly as good as either).

Zone of the Dead isn’t good by any stretch of the imagination, but if you’re in the right frame of mind and enjoy zombie films, you could do worse.

Zone of the Dead aka  Apocalypse of the Dead earns 2 of 5 stars.

“The Last Son” (2021) Starring Sam Worthington, Colson Baker, Thomas Jane & Heather Graham / Z-View

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The Last Son (2021)

Director:  Tim Sutton

Screenplay by:  Greg Johnson

Starring: Sam Worthington, Colson Baker, Thomas Jane and Heather Graham

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Isaac LeMay (Worthington) is a heartless, wicked outlaw.  When a curse is placed on him, that he will be killed by one of his off-spring, LeMay decides to track down and kill the many children he left behind.  So he travels from town to town, locating and killing each of his off spring.  Until…

I thought The Last Son had an interesting premise.  I’m also a Thomas Jane fan.  Neither could keep me watching.  The Last Son moved at a snail’s pace.  Worthington played LeMay as a man of few words and when he did speak the words were hard to understand and gruff.  Think of the, “I’m Batman” voice by Christian Bale but as if Bale had chain smoked for 50 years.  There’s a scene where LeMay finds one of his off spring (he’d already killed a few).  It’s a daughter.  He decides not to kill her and instead puts his gun in her hand.  I was thinking, “Pull the trigger and end this mess.”  She doesn’t.  I didn’t last much longer.

The Last Son earns 1 of 5 stars.

“Hunter Hunter” (2020) / Z-View

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Hunter Hunter (2020)

Director: Shawn Linden

Screenplay by: Shawn Linden

Starring: Camille Sullivan, Summer H. Howell, Devon Sawa and Nick Stahl

Tagline:

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Joseph Mersault (Sawa) lives in a remote wilderness log cabin with his wife Anne (Sullivan) and daughter Renée (Howell).  Joseph is a modern day mountain man, living off the land, hunting and trading animal skins for goods.  They’re just barely getting by.  Anne doesn’t enjoy the life, but tolerates it.  Renée loves hunting with her dad and living in the wilderness.

When a huge, rogue wolf returns to the area, Joseph decides he will hunt and kill it.  When Joseph doesn’t return after a couple of days, Anne fears the worst.  But the worst is yet to come…

I liked a lot of Hunter Hunter.  For me it went off the rails when characters started doing really dumb things.  I could accept Joseph going to hunt the wolf.  But when he finds something totally unexpected and doesn’t go back to get his family away to safety and he doesn’t go to the police… well, that’s just dumb.  When Joseph doesn’t return after a couple of days, and Anne and her daughter have had a run-in with a wolf and Anne still decides to wait it out in the cabin… that just dumb.  When… well, you get the idea.

I had the feeling at the start of the film that we may be dealing with a werewolf.  The lingering shots of the full moon also added to that feeling.  Was the director just setting us up?  The thing that really brought down my rating of this film was the final act.  It seemed out of character for Anne, and the gore was over-the-top.  Then for the police to allow her to simply walk away?  C’mon, man.

Hunter Hunter earns 2 of 5 stars.

“The Day” (2011) / Z-View

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The Day (2011)

Director: Douglas Aarniokoski

Screenplay by: Luke Passmore

Starring: Shawn Ashmore, Brianna Barnes and Dominic Monaghan

Tagline:  Fight. Or die.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

The Day has an interesting premise that is perfect for a low-budget film.  A group of five weary survivors living in a post-apocalypse, come upon a remote farm house.  In addition to shelter they find a basement stocked with canned goods.  Or so they think.  What they’ve really stumbled into is a trap set by a cannibalistic tribe!

I wish that The Day lived up to its premise.  I like the idea of cannibals, but once the fighting starts it’s just kill after kill. There was no real suspense and truthfully, I didn’t care one way or the other about which characters lived or died.

The Day earns 2 of 5 stars.

RIP: Gary Nelson

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It was just announced today that Gary Nelson died of natural causes on May 25, 2022, at the age of 87.  Mr. Nelson was a television and feature film director who had a career that spanned 65 years!  Gary Nelson began his career as a second assistant director in 1955.

Gary Nelson directed many episodes of popular television shows including: Have Gun Will Travel; The Andy Griffith Show; Gunsmoke; It’s About Time; F Troup; Gilligan’s Island; Gomer Pyle; Get Smart; The Ghost and Mrs. Muir; Love American Style; Kojak; Police Story and The Magical World of Disney.

Television movies directed by Mr. Nelson include: To Kill a Cop; Murder Me, Murder You; More Than Murder; Get Smart, Again!; Revolver; The Return of Ironside and Fugitive Nights: Danger in the Desert, to name a few.

Gary Nelson also directed five feature films:  Molly and Lawless John; Santee; The Black Hole; Jimmy the Kid and Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold.

What a long and distinguished career!  Gary Nelson is probably best known as the director of The Black Hole.  I love the range that he displayed as director, moving from situation comedies to one hour dramas and films of both genres with ease.  Gary Nelson was also the original director of Sly Stallone’s Nighthawks.  The IMDb lists him as an uncredited director, so I wonder if any scenes he shot made the final film.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gary Nelson’s family, friends and fans.

“A League of Their Own” Season 1 (2022) / Z-View

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A League of Their Own, Season 1 (2022)

Directors:  Jamie Babbit (Eps. 1-3); Ayoka Chenzira (Ep. 4); Katrelle Kindred (Ep.5); Will Graham (Ep. 6); Silas Howard (Ep. 7); Anya Adams (Ep. 8)

Teleplay by: Will Graham & Abbi Jacobson (Eps. 1 & 8); Abbi Jacobson (Ep.2); Desta Tedros Reff (Ep. 3); Michelle Badillo (Ep. 4); Mfoniso Udofia (Ep.5); Will Graham (Ep. 6); Sanaz Toossi (Ep.7)

Starring:  Abbi Jacobson, Chanté Adams, D’Arcy Carden, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Roberta Colindrez, Kelly McCormack, Priscilla Delgado, Molly Ephraim, Melanie Field, Kate Berlant, Dale Dickey, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Lea Robinson and Rosie O’Donnell

Tagline: None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

A League of Their Own is an loose adaptation of the 1992, A League of Their Own hit movie.  The update introduces new characters and storylines.

The year is 1943.  World War II is raging.  In an effort to increase morale at home the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League is formed.  A League of Their Own follows a group of women from try-outs through the first season on the Rockford Peaches.  The focus is on…

  • Carson Shaw (Jacobson), a married woman from the midwest who’s life has been somewhat sheltered.  Her husband is in the service.  Carson develops feelings for Greta.
  • Maxine “Max” Chapman (Adams) is an African-American woman with a fastball that rivals those thrown by most men.  Maxine won’t even get a chance to tryout for the team because she’s black, but when one door closes…
  • Greta Gill (Carden) is a wild woman, who lives life and encourages Carson in more ways than one.
  • Clance Morgan (Ikumelo) is Maxine’s best friend, a newlywed who wants to be a comic book artist (and not a baseball player)
  • Jo DeLuca (Field) is Greta’s best friend and a power hitter
  • Toni Chapman (Ekulona) is Maxine’s mother who doesn’t support her baseball ambitions

While the above characters get most of the screen time, A League of Their Own does an excellent job of showcasing each of the players on the Rockford Peaches.  It’s interesting that women’s baseball is used as the backdrop for a time in America when women couldn’t open a checking account without their husband’s permission, African-Americans were still segregated from whites and being gay was thought of as a disease or even contagious.

The writing on A League of Their Own is really sharp and it doesn’t hurt that the series is well cast.  All of the actresses that play major characters are excellent.  Kudos also to Lea Robinson as Uncle Bertie,  Nick Offerman who plays the former pro who is brought in to coach the Peaches and Rosie O’Donnell who plays the owner of an underground gay bar.  Maxine “Max” Chapman (Adams) and her best friend Clance Morgan (Ikumelo) have a chemistry as best friends that could sustain a half hour comedy on their own.

A League of Their Own surprised me in how good it was.  I hope we get a second season.

A League of Their Own, Season 1 earns 4 of 5 stars.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD: The Deluxe Hardcover by Quentin Tarantino / Z-View

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: The Deluxe Hardcover by Quentin Tarantino

Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Harper

First sentence…

The buzzer on Marvin Schwarz’s desk makes a noise.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the fictionalized account of Hollywood actor and tv star, Rick Dalton, his stuntman and best friend, Cliff Booth and the famous/infamous folks they run into in Hollywood in the late 60s.  If you’ve seen Tarantino’s movie of the same name, then you know the story… or at least most of it.  The novel goes into greater detail especially in regard to Cliff Booth.  If you liked the movie, you should enjoy the book.  If you think, I’ve seen the movie, I don’t need a rehash in a novelization, you might be surprised.  There’s a different story structure in the novel than the film and time to dig a deeper into the characters.

If you haven’t seen the movie, let me get you up to speed.  Rick Dalton was a rising movie star.  He had a western tv series called Bounty Law.  It was popular and ran for a few years.  Dalton then went into feature films, but that was then.  Now Dalton appears to be on his way down.  He’s been regulated to guest starring in television shows and usually ends up beaten and beaten up by the star of the show.  Dalton hopes he’ll get another run at feature films.  Cliff Booth is a World War II decorated vet, a stuntman and Rick’s best friend.  Booth may or may not have killed his wife (we find out for sure in the novel).  He also went toe-to-toe with Bruce Lee in a challenge that pretty much ended Booth getting stunt work.  Rick and Cliff will also have run-ins with the Charlie Manson family, Sharon Tate and others.  To say more would be to say too much,

Tarantino is more of a story-teller than a writer.  Someone said if the novel was better written, it wouldn’t be as good.  That may sound strange, but I get the sentiment.  As you read Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, there’s the feeling that we’re hearing the tale from an insider and not a writer somewhere trying to polish his prose.  I loved the inside stories/legends of real life actors/actresses in Hollywood.

The Deluxe Edition also features a Rick Dalton Bounty Law episode script; Photos of lobby cards from two of Rick Dalton’s feature films, two Bounty Law stills, two Bounty Law TV Guide covers, two Bounty Law comic book covers, a Bounty Law lunchbox, Bounty Law production art, a Bounty Law board game, 8 movie posters featuring Rick Dalton and other real-life stars, and a MAD magazine Bounty Law parody featuring the cover and story by Andrew Secunda and Tom Richmond.

I enjoyed Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and hope that Tarantino writes more novels.  I’m a sucker for a good story.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood rates 4 of 5 stars.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: The Deluxe Hardcover
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Paperback
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Kindle

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” Starring Daniel Craig, Ed Norton, Janelle Monáe and Dave Bautista – The Trailer is Here!

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I liked the first Knives Out mystery and Glass Onion looks to be at least as good.  Oh, and how about that cast!

You’re invited to put the pieces together. In the follow-up to Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, Detective Benoit Blanc travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colorful suspects.

Starring Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline with Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista.