Happy Birthday, Jim Steranko!
Happy 82nd birthday to the legendary Jim Steranko! Wishing you a great birthday with many more to come!
“Smokey and the Bandit” – Trivia
The fine folks at Me-TV posted 8 Quick Facts about Smokey and the Bandit. Before you click over… Smokey and the Bandit holds a special place for me…
First, it’s a funny movie. You’ve got Burt Reynolds (the #1 box office star of the time), Jackie “the Great One” Gleason and Sally (ain’t she just too cute) Field in a silly car chase movie that works every time if you’re looking for a good time.
Second, it brings back tons of great memories. Here’s one – my now deceased brother-in-law, loved Smokey and the Bandit. Randy could do a hilarious impersonation of Jackie Gleason as Bufford T. Justice. If you could have been there the night he ordered a Diablo Sandwich and a Dr. Pepper and “make it fast cuz I’m in a gol-darn hurry” — we, along with the waitress couldn’t stop laughing… which of course just encouraged him to continue.
And here are my three favorite Smokey and the Bandit facts with my thoughts…
It was Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite movie. I find this hard to believe, but if true, I’d loved to have had the chance to watch and then discuss Smokey and the Bandit with him!
It was based on real life. I’d read before that Sherriff Buford T. Justice’s name was based on a real police officer’s name. Can you imagine?
It beat Star Wars at the box office. The caveat is that this was just for one week and Smokey and the Bandit was in over ten times as many theaters. But, still it did win for the week. (And I actually prefer Smokey and the Bandit to Star Wars!)
“Truth is the Only Client: the Official Investigation of the Murder of John F. Kennedy” – The Poster & Trailer!
I really like the poster for Truth is the Only Client: the Official Investigation of the Murder of John F. Kennedy. The trailer ain’t bad either.
I was five years old and on vacation with my grandparents in Miami when President Kennedy was assassinated. Like the rest of the nation, my grandparents (and therefore me) were glued to the television watching updates on the murder of our President. Then a few days later, the man accused of taking the President’s life was himself murdered while surrounded by police officers. Conspiracy theories abounded.
Growing up I was always intrigued by who actually killed President Kennedy. Was it a lone gunman or were other groups involved. I read the Warren Commission Report. I read books and articles. I tuned in to shows and documentaries. Ultimately I came to the conclusion that it was indeed, Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone, who killed President Kennedy.
But that doesn’t mean I won’t be looking forward to checking out Truth is the Only Client: the Official Investigation of the Murder of John F. Kennedy.
Trailer for the new documentary feature Truth is the Only Client: the Official Investigation of the Murder of John F. Kennedy, premiering November 17, 2020.
“Dreaming Grand Avenue” – The Poster and Trailer
Here are the poster and trailer for Dreaming Grand Avenue. I’m not a fan of the poster. The trailer has me interested in seeing the movie, but I’m not 100% sold on it yet.
Maggie and Jimmy have never met, but they keep showing up in each other’s dreams. As they navigate memories, traumas, hopes and desires in sleep and the waking world, they’ll discover the truth of their linked destiny with the help of a dream detective, a sleep scientist and the poet Walt Whitman himself.
Written & directed by Hugh Schulze.
Starring Jackson Rathbone, Andrea Londo, Wendy Robie and Tony Fitzpatrick
“First Blood” Poster by Chris “Brutal Posters” Barnes!
I’ll bet that many of you will like this First Blood poster by Chris Barnes aka Brutal Posters as much as me. This is a great alternate poster! If you’d like to see more of Barnes’ art, check out his portfolio!
Source: PosterSpy.
Relentless: A Joe Ledger Novel by Jonathan Maberry is Coming!
Any time Jonathan Maberry has a new book coming out there is reason to celebrate. When it is a Joe Ledger tale, then it is time to party like you made your inside straight draw. As you can see from the cover above, Maberry is back with a Joe Ledger yarn called Relentless.
Rogue Team International joins Joe Ledger in a new hunt that spans the globe and journeys deep into the terrifying landscape of the human heart.
JOE LEDGER’s world has been torn apart. The people closest to him have been savagely murdered and Ledger is on the hunt for the killers. His already fragile psyche has cracked apart, allowing a dangerous darkness to overwhelm him.
His hunt takes him deep into the world of the deadly black market weapons sales, and standing in his way are a new generation of private military contractors. These mercenaries have been enhanced with cutting-edge cybernetics and chemical enhancements, transforming them into real-world super soldiers. Stronger, faster, harder to hurt, and fitted with built-in weapons. They are beyond anything Joe has ever faced.
But he is not the Joe Ledger they expected to fight. He is defined by the Darkness now. The attempt to destroy him―to break him―has backfired. Instead his enemies have turned him into a far more fearsome weapon.
Relentless drops July 13, 2021, but is available for pre-order now! I’m in.
“What Lies Below” Trailer!
The trailer for What Lies Below is, uh, below. It looks to be one type of movie, then changes to be quite a different one… one that I think I might like!
US Release Date: December 4, 2020
Starring: Mena Suvari, Ema Horvath, Trey Tucker
Directed By: Braden R. Duemmler
Synopsis: Liberty, a socially awkward 16-year-old, returns from two months at camp to a blindsided introduction of her Mother’s fiancé, John Smith, whose charm, intelligence, and beauty paint the picture of a man too perfect to be human.
RIP: Sir Thomas Sean Connery
Sean Connery has died at the age of 90.
Best known for his portrayal of James Bond, Connery was the first actor to play the character in a major motion picture. Connery starred in seven Bond films and was widely considered the best actor to ever play 007. Connery was much more than James Bond. With over 100 acting credits on his resume, Connery made every movie he was in better by his presence.
In 1987, Connery won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jim Malone in The Untouchables. Connery was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in July, 2000. Connery was popular in Scotland and throughout the world. In 2004, he won a poll as The Greatest Living Scot. In 2011, another survey named him as Scotland’s Greatest Living National Treasure. People magazine named Connery the Sexiest Man Alive in 1989 when he was 59 years old. Then in 1999, People magazine named Connery the Sexiest Man of the Century. He received the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
When I think of Sean Connery, like most folks, my thoughts go to James Bond. For my money, Connery was the coolest of all Bonds and set the standards for all who followed. But even if Connery had never played Bond, look at all the movies that he made that entertained us. My personal favorite Connery movies include: The Wind and the Lion, Robin and Marian, Outland, Highlander, The Name of the Rose, The Untouchables, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Rock and (even) The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sir Thomas Sean Connery’s family, friends and fans.
“Parallel” – The Poster and Trailer
Ok, ignore the cliche poster and check out the trailer for Parallel. Despite the silly portal (and maybe the movie will explain it), but I like the trailer and look forward to checking out Parallel.
A group of friends stumble upon a mirror that serves as a portal to a “multiverse”, but soon discover that importing knowledge from the other side in order to better their lives brings increasingly dangerous consequences.
Starring Aml Ameen, Martin Wallström. Georgia King, Mark O’Brien, Alyssa Diaz with David Harewood and Kathleen Quinlan
Directed by Isaac Ezban
“Songbird” – The Poster, the Trailer and the Controversy
The poster and trailer for Songbird are here. There has been quite a bit of discussion that using COVID as the cause of the plague was a bad move, was done too soon and at the very least was in bad taste. I can see those points.
I also see a trailer that makes me want to watch the film. If the movie is a good one, I hope that the concerns above don’t keep it from getting an audience.
Four years into quarantine the virus has changed and so have we…
In the terrifying thriller SONGBIRD, the COVID-23 virus has mutated and the world is in its fourth year of lockdown. Infected Americans are ripped from their homes and forced into quarantine camps known as Q-Zones, from which there is no escape, as a few brave souls fight back against the forces of oppression. Amid this dystopian landscape, a fearless courier, Nico (KJ Apa), who’s immune to the deadly pathogen,
finds hope and love with Sara (Sofia Carson), though her lockdown prohibits them from physical contact. When Sara is believed to have become infected, Nico races desperately across the barren streets of Los Angeles in search of the only thing that can save her from imprisonment … or worse.The first feature film to be made during COVID-19 in Los Angeles, and about the pandemic itself, SONGBIRD also stars Bradley Whitford and Demi Moore as a wealthy couple who may hold the key to Nico’s mission; Alexandra Daddario as a singer enmeshed in a messy and forbidden affair; Paul Walter Hauser as a disabled veteran whose best friend – a drone named Max – is his eyes and ears to a world that has left him behind; Craig Robinson as Nico’s boss; and Peter Stormare as the corrupt head of the city’s “sanitation” department, which seizes those infected and transports them to the Q-Zone.
Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller
Cast: KJ Apa, Sofia Carson, Craig Robinson, Bradley Whitford, Peter Stormare, Alexandra Daddario, with Paul Walter Hauser and Demi Moore
Writers: Adam Mason & Simon Boyes
Director: Adam Mason
Producers: Michael Bay, Marcei A. Brown, Jason Clark, Jeanette Volturno, Adam Goodman, Andrew Sugerman, Eben Davidson
“Halloween Kills” – The Poster, the Trailer and a Few Thoughts
So the poster and trailer for Halloween Kills has premiered although we won’t see the movie until October 2021. That is a LOT of lead time.
I am a fan of the original Halloween movie. I watched the first couple of sequels but then lost interest. I do plan to see the last Halloween film that Jamie Lee Curtis starred in and am surprisingly looking forward to Halloween Kills. I wonder if that will change in the coming year.
“Face Mask” – An Awesome Short Horror Film that Works!
Face Mask is a really well done short horror film. I’d love to see these folks do a full length feature. Face Mask works because of the slow build of tension, without gore, monsters or jump scares. Bravo to all involved!
Universal Monster Prints from Mondo!
Today Mondo is releasing the five Universal Monsters prints (as well as variant editions). They are really nice and include…
- FRANKENSTEIN by Elvisdead.
- THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN by Francesco Francavilla
- THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON by Johnny Dombrowski
- THE INVISIBLE MAN by Jason Edmiston
- THE WOLF MAN by Jonathan Burton
It is worth a click over to see them in a larger size to enjoy their beauty!
“Curse of the Werewolf” – Rare Make-up Test Photo!
The Curse of the Werewolf wolfman played by Oliver Reed is my favorite of all the werewolf designs. Today we get to see a rare photo of Oliver Reed’s test makeup for Curse of the Werewolf thanks to a Tweet from Retro Horror!
Cool “Dreamland” Poster Turns Out to be Made by a Fan!
Last week I shared the poster and trailer for Dreamland. At that time I said,
The poster shows some imagination and the trailer ain’t bad either.
I just received the following text message:
Hi, I saw you posted about the new Dreamland trailer on your site. The Dreamland poster was actually made by me and it’s just a fan-made poster! It’s not the official one, just thought you should know 😂 – @Nicole
How cool is that? Regular readers here know how often we complain about the lack of originality of new movie posters. Then we get one that shows a cool sense of design and breaks from the pack… and it turns out to be made by a fan! I hope the company putting out the movie gets a look at what Nicole Baroudi has done and perhaps uses (and pays her for) her version!
If you’d like to see more from Nicole, here’s her website.
Thanks Nicole for letting us know. Hopefully we’ll see more awesome poster designs from you in the future.
