“Man on Fire” (2004) written by Brian Helgeland, directed by Tony Scott, starring Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning & Christopher Walken / Z-View

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Man on Fire (2004)

Director: Tony Scott

Screenplay: Brian Helgeland based on MAN ON FIRE by A. J. Quinnell

Stars: Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken, Dakota Fanning, Radha Mitchell, Marc Anthony, Giancarlo Giannini, Rachel Ticotin, Jesús Ochoa and Mickey Rourke.

Tagline:  You don’t need a saint… You need a savior.

The Plot…

Ex-CIA operative John Creasey (Washington) is in a bad way.  He’s burnt out, out of shape and drinks too much.  Creasey’s guilt over past missions makes him question living.  Then an old CIA buddy, Paul Rayburn (Walken) throws Creasey a lifeline.

Samuel Ramos (Anthony), a wealthy Mexican, needs protection for his young daughter Pita (Fanning). Kidnappings in Mexico are on the rise.  Ramos’ insurance policy requires a full time bodyguard.  Creasey is reluctant to take the job, but needs the work.  Initially cold and professional to Pita, she slowly wins him over.  Creasey stops drinking as much.  His attitude towards life improves.

Then the unthinkable happens.

As two crooked Mexican Federales block the street kidnappers come for Pita.  Creasey kills four but is shot repeatedly as Pita is kidnapped.  Negotiations for Pita’s return go on as Creasey recovers.  Ten million dollars is the demand for Pita’s return.  When the ransom drop goes sideways, the money is taken, but Pita isn’t returned.

The family gets a call from the kidnappers.  Because of the ambush, Pita will be lost forever.

Still not fully recovered, Creasey promises to kill everyone involved in Pita’s kidnapping.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Screenwriter Brian “LA Confidential” Helgeland was in a video store.  He asked the clerk to recommend a good movie. “Man on Fire” (1987) was suggested.  The clerk who suggested the film was Quentin Tarantino.

For filming in Mexico, bodyguards were provided for the stars.  Tony Scott had been warned his production had been targeted.  Several crew members ended up being robbed at gunpoint.  Mexico City’s Chief of Police served as a consultant.  It was his hope the movie would raise awareness about the rash of kidnappings.

The novel takes place in Italy, but when this version was being made, Mexico had become infamous for kidnappings.  So the location was changed.

If you enjoy noir, then Man on Fire is for you.

Dakota Fanning is amazing in this role.  Watching her and Denzel Washington in their scenes is like viewing a masterclass of acting.

Christopher Walken has a great line when he says about Denzel’s character: “A man can be an artist… in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasy’s art is death. He’s about to paint his masterpiece.”

Man on Fire (2004) rates 5 of 5 stars.

SANCTION by Ray Fawkes, Mark Irwin, Antonio Fuso, Emilio Lecce and Dave Sharpe!

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Dan Panosian’s cover for Sanction caught my eye.  So I took a closer look. Here’s the lowdown…

Sanction is by Ray Fawkes (Author, Creator), Mark Irwin (Creator), Antonio Fuso (Illustrator), Emilio Lecce (Colorist) and Dave Sharpe (Letterer).  

To catch a rampaging serial killer in Soviet era Leningrad, two detectives must match wits with the murderer while battling the oppressive rules of their own police force and a greater, hidden enemy.

Leningrad, 1987. When a woman’s corpse is discovered on New Year’s Day, a hungover Detective Pavel Smirnoff hands off the case to his partner, Detective Boris Dimitrovich, hoping he’ll close it without fuss. Instead, Dimitrovich uncovers a connection to an old, unsolved crime, dragging them both into an investigation that puts their careers – and possibly their lives – at risk.

“The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald” (1964) / Z-View

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The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1964)

Director: Larry Buchanan

Screenplay: Larry Buchanan

Stars: George R. Russell, George Edgley, Arthur Nations and Bill Thurman.

Tagline:  Not a Newsreel…A Full Length Motion Picture, Filmed Secretly in Dallas

The Plot…

This low budget film simulates/speculates how the trial of Lee Harvey Oswald would have went down had he not been murdered.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

With a running time of 98 minutes we get an abridgement of the “Cliff Notes” version of the trial.

It’s hard to believe that the trial for the murder of the century could be so boring.

The actors who appeared in this film didn’t go on to become big stars.  Bill Thurman appears as a witness.  The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald is the first credit on his resume.  Thurman would go on to appear in films such as The Last Picture Show; The Sugarland Express; Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Places in the Heart and Silverado.

The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1964) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“Love Lies Bleeding” (2024) directed by Rose Glass, starring Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian & Ed Harris / Z-View

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Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

Director: Rose Glass

Screenplay: Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska

Stars: Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Matthew Blood-Smyth, Tait Fletcher and Keith Jardine.

Tagline: Revenge gets ripped.

The Plot…

Lou’s (Stewart) life sucks.

Lou and her dad, Lou Sr. (Harris) don’t talk. He’s a major drug dealer and a killer.  Lou Sr. appears to be a business man that owns a gun range and a warehouse gym.  They’re just fronts.  Lou manages the gym.  FBI agents have tried to get Lou to turn against her dad.  As much as she hates him, Lou refuses to cooperate. The only reason Lou sticks around is her sister Beth.  Beth’s in a terrible marriage.  Her husband is physically and mentally abusive.

So yeah, Lou’s life sucks.

Then one night Jackie (O’Brient) comes into the gym.  Jackie is a bodybuilder on her way to Vegas for a competition.  Lou and Jackie hit it off.  One thing leads to another and Lou invites Jackie to stay at her place.  In no time, Lou and Jackie fall in love… or at least a volatile relationship.

Who would guess it would lead to murder and reveal her father’s buried secrets?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Katy O’Brien used to be a competitive body builder and is a former three time champion.  She exudes charisma.

There are a couple of times where what we see on screen isn’t actually happening but is instead a metaphor for changes the character is feeling.  It’s a bold move.

Love Lies Bleeding (2024) rates 4 of 5 stars.

ONE SHOT by Lee Child / Z-View

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ONE SHOT: A JACK REACHER NOVEL by Lee Child

First sentences…

Friday.  Five o’clock in the afternoon.  Maybe the hardest time to move unobserved through a city.  Or maybe the easiest.  Because at five o’clock on a Friday, nobody pays attention to anything.  Except the road ahead.

The man with the rifle drove north.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

After a mass murderer kills five people with just six shots the police get lucky.  Evidence accidentally left behind leads to the killer’s capture before the day is done.

James Barr fits the profile.  He’s an ex-military sniper.  He’s had a difficult time adjusting to civilian life.  The police are giving high-fives all around.  This will be an open and shut case.  James Barr says two things: he’s innocent and he will only speak to Jack Reacher.

Reacher is a former military cop.  Now he’s a civilian.  Reacher sees a news report about the shooting.  He remembers James Barr well.  Reacher brought Barr up on charges for a killing spree in Kuwait.  Despite overwhelming evidence, Barr was never charged.  That never sat well with Reacher. Now he plans to inform prosecutors of Barr’s past.

Reacher is shocked Barr requested to see him.  They hate each other.  When Reacher asks to speak to Barr, he discovers that Barr was badly beaten while in custody.  Making things worse Barr cannot remember much about the day of the shooting.  Barr knows Reacher’s an exceptional investigator who won’t rest until the truth is revealed.  Reacher doubts Barr’s innocence, but decides to look at the evidence.

The shots came from just 35 yards out.  Yet, there were six shots and only five kills.  Barr wouldn’t have missed at that range.  Why was one shot a miss?  Then there’s the evidence that led to Barr.  He wouldn’t have left behind a shell casing with a fingerprint.  And what killer would take the time to put a quarter (with another fingerprint) in the parking meter where he was shooting from?  Things weren’t adding up.

As Reacher digs deeper, he becomes the next target.

+++++

Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels are always a fun ride.  ONE SHOT is no exception.

Rating:

Variety Picks the 100 Greatest (Best?) Horror Movies of All-Time!

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Variety came up with their list of The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time.  Before we get into that, how about the sweet cover by Franco Francavilla?  You know he loved that assignment.

I’ve seen 69 of the 100 films that they chose. 

The cover says Variety chose the 100 Greatest, while the article says the 100 Best.  To me there’s a difference.  The greatest, in my mind, refers to the film’s quality and the impact it had on the genre.  The best would take into account, just the film’s quality.  With that said, here in alphabetical order are my top ten choices for the greatest horror movies of all time.

  • 28 Days Later (2002) – reinvigorated zombie films (although many argue the monsters aren’t zombies) and let them run fast. 
  • Alien (1979) – a haunted house movie in space, but instead of a ghost we got a new kind of alien.  Spawned a franchise.
  • Dracula (1931) – one of Universal’s classic horror monsters. 
  • Exorcist (1973) – based on the best selling novel of the same name.  The Exorcist is a film that will stay with you and provide scares even when the film is over. 
  • Frankenstein (1931) – another of Universal’s classic horror monsters.
  • Halloween (1978) – John Carpenter’s low budget film spawned a new type of horror film.  Most focused not on the suspense but on the big, brainless killer that cannot be stopped.
  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – One of the best horror films from the 1950s and an all-time great.
  • Night of the Living Dead (1968) – If George Romero made a dime from every zombie movie, tv, comic book, or novel his film influenced, he’d have been a multi-millionaire.
  • Psycho (1960) – Groundbreaking.  I love how Hitchcock morphs a crime movie into a horror film.
  • Thing, The (1981) – Considered a box office failure on its release, it is now considered a classic.

Howard Chaykin’s BLACK KISS Omnibus!

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Howard Chaykin’s BLACK KISS is getting an omnibus.  It will be a 7.25″ X 10.875″ hard cover that clocks in at 400 pages.  BLACK KISS was a groundbreaking hardboiled crime/horror series featuring vampires, violence and graphic sexual content.   Here’s the synopsis…

“Poisonous and bitter, an absurdly funny sucker punch demanding to be spat out.” — Matt Fraction (Sex Criminals)

The infamous, hardboiled-erotica series is collected for the first time in a deluxe hardcover omnibus featuring new material.

It’s been a long, long time…one last time.

Collecting for the first time every stop along the way on Howard Chaykin’s transgressively groundbreaking trail, the BLACK KISS OMNIBUS collects the legendary 1988 series, its 2012 sequel BLACK KISS 2, plus the BLACK KISS XXXMAS SPECIAL and, created just for this volume, the all-new 28-page BLACK KISS HALLOWEEN, which will mark Chaykin’s final excursion into this world’s hardboiled erotic noir.

Throw in a look back at the project’s long history of sensationalism and censorship, plus a large assortment of extras from across nearly four decades, and this 400-page collection will be the definitive shelf-filler that once again makes readers ask that vital question…does it have to be so dirty?

Collects Black Kiss #1-12, Black Kiss 2 #1-6, and the Black Kiss XXXMas in July Special

Deal me in.

“‘Salem’s Lot” (2024) written & directed by Gary Dauberman / Z-View

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‘Salem’s Lot (2024)

Director: Gary Dauberman

Screenplay: Gary Dauberman; based on ‘SALEM’S LOT by Stephen King

Stars: Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Jordan Preston Carter, Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp, John Benjamin Hickey, Nicholas Crovetti, Spencer Treat Clark, Alexander Ward, Danielle Perry, Debra Christofferson, William Sadler, Timothy John Smith, Cade Woodward, Joseph Marrella and Pilou Asbæk.

Tagline: Be careful what you invite inside.

The Plot…

R.T. Straker (Asbæk), a mysterious foreign man, recently moved to Jerusalem’s Lot.  Straker bought the infamous, old Marston house. No one lived there for years because of the murders. Since Straker arrived strange things have been set in motion.

On the way home from school Ralphie Glick (Woodward) disappears.  Search parties find no clues.  Soon others will disappear or die with no logical explanation.  But how could one logically explain a vampire is preying on those in ‘Salem’s Lot?

A writer named Ben (Pullman), his girlfriend Susan (Leigh), Dr. Cody (Woodward) and eleven year old Mark Petrie (Carter) come to realize they are facing a vampire.  The infestation is spreading.  What chance do they have?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

This is the fourth adaptation of Stephen King’s novel.  Tobe Hooper directed the 1979 Salem’s Lot mini-series.  Larry Cohen helmed the 1987 theatrical release A Return to Salem’s Lot.  A new Salem’s Lot mini-series aired in 2004 and starred Rob Lowe.

I liked this version, but feel that it might have been better served as a mini-series.  Writer/director Gary Dauberman has a great feel for the material.  There were several interesting/iconic scenes and shots but overall the story felt rushed.  We needed a slow burn/discovery of exactly what was going on in ‘Salem’s Lot.  I wanted to see more.

Kudos for coming up with the tree house scene.

If there is ever an extended cut for ‘Salem’s Lot, I’m there.

‘Salem’s Lot (2024) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Invaders from Mars” (1953) starring Helena Carter, Arthur Franz and Jimmy Hunt / Z-View

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Invaders from Mars (1953)

Director: William Cameron Menzies

Screenplay: Richard Blake; story by John Tucker Battle

Stars: Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt, Leif Erickson, Hillary Brooke, Morris Ankrum, William Phipps, Milburn Stone, Fay Baker, Barbara Billingsley, Peter Brocco, Charles Cane, John Eldredge, Luce Potter and Richard Deacon.

Tagline: Murderous Martian creatures from out of space!

The Plot…

Late one night a thunderstorm wakes young David MacLean (Hunt).  Looking out his bedroom window David sees a flying saucer land just beyond a hill out back.  David runs to wake his parents, but they brush it off thinking David had a bad dream.

The next morning in order to appease his son, David’s dad agrees to go check things out.  When dad returns, he is cold and emotionless towards David.  Before too long David sees his mother and neighbors behaving the same way.  So he goes to the police.  They don’t believe him either… but a county health care physician, Dr. Pat Blake (Carter) does.

Dr. Carter takes Jimmy and contacts the military.  Will they be too late to stop an alien invasion… even if they do believe her?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Richard Deacon appears uncredited as an Military Police officer.  It was his feature film debut.  Deacon would become most famous for his role as Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Invaders from Mars is famous for it’s ending… was it just a dream?

The film starts off pretty good.  It has a nightmare quality and rightly so, but is hurt by too much stock footage and cheap looking “invaders”.

Invaders from Mars (1953) rates 2 of 5 stars.