Attraction Shadow Group – Bravo!
I’d had never seen the Attraction Shadow Group until this amazing performance that will make you smile and leave you misty-eyed.
Smokey, Daryl and “Sara Smile”
How do you take Sara Smile, which is one of my favorite Hall & Oates songs, and update it so that it still sounds great?
Simple.
Get Smokey Robinson to join Daryl Hall on the vocals.
I give you Sara Smile by Smokey Robinson and Daryl Hall.
A big smile to Bits and Pieces for the post.
“Fast & Furious 6” Featurette
I’m a fan of the original Fast & Furious. I thought Fast 5 was even better.
So I was pretty excited to hear that they were bringing back the whole team for Fast & Furious 6. Yep, they even brought back The Rock and Michelle Rodriguez. I guess the only thing that I’d have liked better is if Fast & Furious 6 had a Stallone cameo and room for Rosario Dawson.
Below is the just released featurette for Fast & Furious 6. Be advised that there are minor spoilers.
Z-View: “Sharkey’s Machine”
The Movie: Sharkey’s Machine
The Pitch: “Dirty Harry goes to Atlanta.”
The Tagline: “Burt is Sharky. Nobody leans on Sharky’s Machine!”
The Story: Tom Sharky is a narcotics cop demoted to vice after a botched drug bust results in a citizen being shot. Sharkey discovers a plot involving murders and a high level politician being manipulated by a crime boss. Sharkey pulls together a team of quirky cops, but as the bodies pile up find they are in over their heads.
The Screenplay: Gerald DiPego from the novel by William Diehl
The Director: Burt Reynolds
The Cast: Burt Reynolds, Vittorio Gassman, Brian Keith, Charles Durning, Earl Holliman, Bernie Casey, Henry Silva, Richard Libertini, Rachael Ward,Suzee Pai, Dan Inosanto .
The Good: The cast. The action. The soundtrack is awesome. Rachael Ward in her breakout role. Reynolds has the right balance of action/violence/humor. The shootout at the start and end of the movie.
The Bad: Henry Silva is a coked-up psycho hitman and that’s good. What happens to Reynolds when he crosses some Yakuza.
The Ugly: The torture scene on the boat.
The Rating: B
Honey West & T.H.E. Cat Team for the 1st Time
As I was going through the latest issue of Previews, I came across this solicitation:
- Honey West & T.H.E. CAT #1 (of 2)
- story: Trina Robbins
- art: Silvestre Szilagyi
- colors: Patrick J. Williams
- cover: Valarie Jones
- 32pgs, color, $3.99
- Two cult TV icons heat it up together for the first time!
- Ex-cat burglar and aerialist Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat is back for the first time in 45 years!
- He puts his skills to good use as a professional bodyguard…primitive…and in love with danger!
- Now he teams up with TV’s first lead-female private eye.
- In “Death in the Desert”, 1960’s mob infested Las Vegas, they investigate a series of accidents…but will the attraction between the two cause the case to overheat?
Honey West was a female private eye that first appeared in a series of novels in the 1950’s. In 1965, Anne Francis played Honey West in an ABC tv series that lasted just one season. Although the show only lasted 30 episodes it became a cult classic.
Created by Harry Julian Fink (who also created Dirty Harry), T.H.E. Cat appeared in a 1966 tv series that ran for just one season on NBC. Although T.H.E. Cat only lasted for 26 episodes, it also became a cult classic.
Now nearly 50 years later they are teamed for a 2 issue comic mini-series? How cool is that? The eight year old kid in me says, “Pretty dang-gone cool.”
I’ll be pre-ordering the series. If it appeals to the kid (or adult) in you, then you know what to do.
Mike Torrance C’s Rocky
Mike Torrance aka The Krayola Kidd returns with his next Rocky card.
You can “C” more of Mike’s art at The Daily Sketch with The Krayola Kidd (and if you’ve never checked out Mike’s site, you ought to if only to see his Walking Dead cards!) and his Deviant Art site. Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable.
Sly Stallone Tweets: New Director for Expendables 3
Last night Sly sent out a series of tweets (seen above) that puts to rest the speculation on Mel Gibson (or John Woo) as the director of Expendables 3.
According to Sly, he found an EXCITING director… a young lion who Sly believes can help make Expendables 3 top Rambo as a pure action film.
Awesome. Can’t wait to hear who it is.
UFC on FOX Results
Last night the UFC along with FX and FOX put on a great night of fights. Let’s look at my predictions and the results.
- Nate Diaz vs. Josh Thomson
Prediction: Thompson with a decision win.
Result: Thompson won by TKO at 3:44 of the 2nd, making me 1-0 for the night.
- Matt Brown vs. Jordan Mein
Prediction: Brown with a decision win.
Result: Brown won by TKO at 1:00 of the 2nd, making me 2-0 for the night.
- Frank Mir vs. Daniel Cormier
Prediction: Mir wins via stoppage.
Result: Cormier won by unanimous decision, making me 2-1 for the night.
- Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez
Prediction: Henderson wins via decision.
Result: Henderson won by split decision at 3:44, making me 3-1 for the night.
Final thoughts:
- Josh Thompson stuck to his game plan and it paid off. Diaz tried to lure him into a brawl, but Thompson was content to get in, score and get out. When they did stand and mix it up Thompson was getting the best of it. Well played, Josh Thompson.
- Matt Brown looked amazing and made what should have been a tougher fight look fairly easy. Brown took some shots, but would not be denied. Can’t wait to see who Matt “The Immortal” Brown fights next.
- Mir vs Cormier should have been a better fight. Cormier was content to push Mir against the cage and do little. Mir had no answer. In the third round Mir began to light up Cormier’s midsection with kicks, but by then it was too little, too late.
- Henderson and Melendez put on a fight! It was five grueling rounds of back and forth action. There were a lot of boos when the decision was announced. I had it 3-2 for Henderson, but except for two of the judges (who split 2-1 for Henderson), it sounded like everyone else saw it 3-2 for Melendez. Rematch, anyone?
UFC on FOX (and FX) Tonight – My Predictions
If you’re a MMA fan, then you’re probably looking forward to a full night of fights.
Starting at 5pm EST we have the UFC Prelims on FX. This portion of the card includes:
- T.J. Dillashaw vs. Hugo Viani
- Tim Means vs. Jorge Masvidal
- Joseph Benavidez vs. Darren Uyenoyama
- Ramsey Nijem vs. Myles Jury
- Francis Carmont vs. Lorenz Larkin
- Chad Mendes vs. Darren Elkins
Then at 8pm EST we switch over to FOX for the main event fights:
- Nate Diaz vs. Josh Thomson
- Matt Brown vs. Jordan Mein
- Frank Mir vs. Daniel Cormier
- Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez
While I’ll be watching the prelims, my interest is in the main event. So, let’s take a look at my predictions:
- Nate Diaz vs. Josh Thomson
Thoughts: I’m not a fan of the Diaz brothers, but they almost always get the job done. Still, I like to root against them. Thomson is a big underdog in this won. I like pulling for the ‘dog. So since I’m not betting..
My Prediction: Thompson with a decision win.
- Matt Brown vs. Jordan Mein
Thoughts: Brown is tough as they come and on a four fight win streak… yet he is the underdog in this fight. Well, you know I like pulling for the ‘dog.
My Prediction: Brown with a decision win.
- Frank Mir vs. Daniel Cormier
Thoughts: Frank Mir is one of my all-time favorite fighters. Mir is a HUGE underdog tonight. Cormier is an Olympic class wrestler with knockout power. Mir has struggled with big punchers, so he’ll want to take the fight to the ground. Once there, he’ll find himself waging war with an Olympic class wrestler. It looks like a tough night for Mir. Of course he is one of my favorite fighters so…
My Prediction: Mir wins via stoppage.
- Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez
- Thoughts: Henderson is slightly favored in what should be the fight of the night. Both men are warriors and I expect this one to go the distance.
My Prediction: Henderson wins via decision.
Francesco Francavilla & The Black Beetle
I’ve been talking about Francesco Francavilla and his art for years. Francesco is a great guy and a talented artist who has been getting a lot of (well-deserved) praise and press for his creation The Black Beetle.
If you’re not reading The Black Beetle, you should be. If you want to learn more about Francesco or his creation, you can here thanks to CBR.com.
“300: Rise of an Empire” Gets a Poster
This is the first poster for 300 Rise of an Empire. As you probably guessed (if you didn’t already know), 300 Rise of an Empire is a sequel of sorts to 300.
The jury is out on this one, but I’m hoping for a thumbs-up verdict.
All Roads Lead to the Rock in Fast & Furious 6
This is the first poster for Fast & Furious 6 that I’ve liked. It looks even better bigger thanks to IMPAwards.
Mike Torrance and Rocky, Too
Mike Torrance aka The Krayola Kidd returns with his Rocky 2 card.
You can see more of Mike’s art at The Daily Sketch with The Krayola Kidd (and if you’ve never checked out Mike’s site, you ought to if only to see his Walking Dead cards!) and his Deviant Art site. Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable.
100 Favorite Films
MSN Entertainment recently listed their 100 Favorite Films. I’d seen 72 of them.
Of the 72, I could give a “thumbs-up” to all but 4. So it’s not a bad list, as lists go.
Of course, any list of favorite movies that doesn’t have Rocky in there somewhere has to be called into question.
