“Hollow Point” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Hollow Point – The Poster and Trailer are Here! The poster is pretty generic. I enjoyed the trailer and would watch this when it comes to one of my streaming services.
“Suspense” Short – Worth a Watch!
Suspense. is a six minute horror short. If you like old-school horror that depends on your imagination rather than gore, this one is for you. The brothers, Ben & Jacob Burghart, who made Suspense show a lot of talent. I look forward to seeing more from them.
“The Outside Story” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
The Outside Story. I know, I know. The poster and the synopsis do not look like something I’d normally like. I agree with you, but watch the trailer. It won me over.
“The Unholy” Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
The Unholy. The poster is interesting. I like Jeffrey Dean Morgan and the trailer isn’t bad. I’ll keep an eye out for The Unholy.
When God builds a church, ᛭he devil builds a chapel next door.
The Unholy follows Alice, a young hearing-impaired girl who, after a supposed visitation from the Virgin Mary, is inexplicably able to hear, speak and heal the sick. As word spreads and people from near and far flock to witness her miracles, a disgraced journalist (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) hoping to revive his career visits the small New England town to investigate. When terrifying events begin to happen all around, he starts to question if these phenomena are the works of the Virgin Mary or something much more sinister. The Unholy is produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Evan Spiliotopoulos, written for the screen and directed by Evan Spiliotopoulos, and is based upon James Herbert’s best-selling book Shrine.
RIP: Lou Ottens
It has just been announced that Lou Ottens has died at the age of 94. If Mr. Ottens name doesn’t ring a bell, don’t fell bad. Mr. Ottens wasn’t famous, but I promise if you’re a certain age, you’ll appreciate his invention because of the hours you spent with it and the enjoyment it brought you.
Mr. Ottens invited the first cassette tape!
Mr. Ottens wanted music to portable, assessable and affordable. He succeeded on all counts. I can remember how exited I was to get my first cassette player and blank tapes. If you’re of a certain age, I’m sure you remember making mix tapes for different occasions and friends. How cool was it to be able to take your music with you and play it anywhere? Very cool.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lou Ottens’ family, friends and fans.
“Vanquish” Starring Morgan Freeman and Ruby Rose – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Vanquish starring Morgan Freeman and Ruby Rose has a new poster and trailer. I like (not love) both and look forward to seeing Vanquish when it comes to one of my streaming services.
From the director of Double Take, Middle Men, and The Poison Rose comes this stylish, glossy action-thriller starring Morgan Freeman (Se7en) and Ruby Rose (“Orange Is the New Black“) that shows what desperation can drive a person to do. A mother, Victoria (Rose), is trying to put her dark past as a Russian drug courier behind her, but retired cop Damon (Freeman) forces Victoria to do his bidding by holding her daughter hostage. Now, Victoria must use guns, guts, and a motorcycle to take out a series of violent gangsters — or she may never see her child again.
Sly Stallone Directed Films, Ranked
Jake Dee at ScreenRant looked at the IMDb to come up with Every Movie Sylvester Stallone Has Directed, Ranked. I decided to compare the IMDb rankings with my own. After the chart are my thoughts…
|
Jake Dee (ScreenRant) |
Zablo |
|
1. Rocky II |
1. Rocky Balboa |
|
2. Rocky Balboa |
2. Rocky III |
|
3. Rambo |
3. Rambo |
|
4. Rocky IV |
4. Paradise Alley |
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5. Rocky III |
5. The Expendables |
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6. The Expendables |
6. Rocky II |
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7. Paradise Alley |
7. Rocky IV |
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8. Staying Alive |
8. Staying Alive |
Dee and I agreed on two rankings: #3 – Rambo and #8 – Staying Alive.
I placed Rocky Balboa in the #1 spot for a few reasons. Sly did a wonderful job of capturing the feel of the first movie, but making sure that it also captured how things had changed with the passing of time. I also have a special place for Rocky Balboa because it was such a longshot to be made and it gave the series a wonderful bookend closing.
Rocky III made the #2 spot because Sly was able to take the classic Rocky format (from 1 and 2) and modernize it. It was a dangerous move (Rocky loses, Mickey dies, new music, fast pace, add pro-wrestling) but it worked.
Rambo is #3. Sly placed Rambo with a team and made the battle scenes more graphic. Many thought an older Rambo wouldn’t work, but Sly showed that it would not only work but be one of the best films in the Rambo series.
Paradise Alley comes in at #4. Paradise Alley doesn’t get enough love. Sly’s directorial debut and he chooses a period piece that walks the fine line between drama and comedy. I’m a huge Paradise Alley fan.
#5 is The Expendables. Don’t call it a comeback. What a cool idea. Sly brings together fan favorite action stars and he makes it work not only for this film, but also a new movie series.
Rocky 2 is #6. Sly taking over the directing chores from the man who won the Oscar for directing Rocky. It was a big step, but Sly didn’t falter. Rocky II is a worthy follow-up.
Rocky IV comes in at #7. I like the idea for Rocky IV but it falters just a bit with the Miami Vice quick-cut editing to music. I have grown to enjoy Rocky IV more over time and especially with the way it sets up Creed.
The final spot goes to Stayin’ Alive. I enjoyed this film, but one of Sly’s movies has to come in at #8. Taking on this movie was a huge challenge and props to Sly for stepping up.
“Night of the Sicario” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Alright. Let’s break this down.
The poster says the movie is titled Blindsided, but the movie is now called Night of the Sicario. I do not care for the poster at all. I do like the new movie title better than the original.
The trailer is better than I thought it would be. I think that the obvious music callback to Sicario to open the trailer doesn’t help it. Night of the Sicario isn’t a sequel to Sicario and the music nod just seems like a cheap way to get some goodwill. With that said, I do like the trailer and wouldn’t mind seeing more of the movie.
Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Manny Perez, Costas Mandylor
Directed By: Joth Riggs
Synopsis: Natasha Henstridge (Species) and Costas Mandylor (Saw franchise) star in this action-packed, suspenseful thriller that will shock you at every turn. While transporting the family of a key witness in a federal trial against the cartel, DEA agents are ambushed in a fatal shootout. Now the survivors, including the witness’ young daughter, must take refuge in a nearby home as the ruthless sicarios hunt them down. With danger at every corner and a violent hurricane wiping out any chance of outside help, they must play a deadly game of cat and mouse with the cartel to live through the night.
“City of Lies” Starring Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Johnny Depp and Forest Whitaker star in City of Lies. The poster is okay and the trailer looks good. I”ll wait for streaming to see this.
Behind-the-Scenes on “Creature from the Black Lagoon”!
One of my favorite horror movies is The Creature from the Black Lagoon. I always love seeing behind the scenes photos and Cameron Junge has 4 posted. If you’d like to see ’em, click over!
Source: Vic’s Movie Den.
“Mike Mignola: Drawing Monsters” – The Teaser Trailer is Here!
Even if you don’t recognize the name, Mike Mignola, you know his creation, Hellboy. Perhaps the most popular comic character created in the last 40 years, Hellboy has been adapted into several movies, games, comic series and more. A documentary about Hellboy’s creator, Mike Mignola, is in the works. The first teaser trailer is here!
“Rocky IV” by Carles Ganya
Carles Ganya is the artist of the wonderful Rocky 4 poster above. Ganya creates all of his pieces traditionally, using graphite pencils on wood! He’s a big movie fan (especially the 70s and 80s), so if you click over to his Instagram you’ll see Ganya’s art for Terminator, Indiana Jones, Superman and many other classic film heroes. Ganya’s art can also be found at his PosterSpy page.
When Actors Return to Play Their Most Popular Characters
MeTV posted an interesting piece called 9 Times Actors Revived Their Beloved TV Characters Long After the Show was Over. Sadly the article is no longer available.
It’s always interesting when actors return to play beloved characters. The problem is it is like trying to capture lighting in a bottle. It is hard to recreate the magic. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Here are my three favorites from their list and my thoughts to go with each…
- Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden. (I’m a huge fan of the original Honeymooners series from the 50s. I fondly remember watching reruns of the show with my grandparents. I have the original 39 episodes on dvd and still watch ’em. I haven’t seen any of the Honeymooners reunion specials, but would love to… even if they don’t live up to the high bar set by the original series. – Craig)
- Leonard Nimoy as Spock. (I’m a fan of the original Star Trek series, I’ve seen the movies with the original crew as well as the rebooted Star Trek featuring Kirk, Spock and McCoy. I’ve not watched any of the Star Trek spin offs. I loved seeing Leonard Nimoy return to play Spock in the J.J. Abrams’ reboot! This was a revisit that worked! – Craig)
- Peter Falk as Columbo. (I’m not sure this should really count as a revisit since Falk continued to play Columbo in movies over the years. I’ve seen all of the Falk Columbo‘s and what a joy it is to see the same actor play the same character over a span of 30+ years. Revisit or not, it doesn’t get better. – Craig)
Although it didn’t make the list, The Wild, Wild West is perhaps my all-time favorite tv show, It ran for 104 episodes over four seasons starting in 1965 and ending in 1969. There were two tv movie revisits: The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979) and More Wild Wild West (1980). I remember being disappointed in them, but plan to, uh, revisit them someday. – Craig)
1st Grade Wisdom!
I don’t know if a first grader actually came up with that last one, but I can believe they did for the others. From the mouths of babes…
RIP: Frank Lupo
It has been announced that Frank Lupo, the creator, writer and producer of many popular television series, died on February 17, 2021, at the age of 66. No cause of death was given. Lupo started as a writer on Battlestar Galactica and BJ and the Bear. Lupo then teamed with Stephen Cannell to create The Greatest American Hero, Hunter, Riptide and my personal favorite, Wiseguy. Other productions that Lupo was involved in as a writer or producer include The A-Team, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Magnum, PI and those are just the highlights. What a career!
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Frank Lupo’s family, friends and fans.
