Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
The John Wick: Chapter 2 trailer is here and the movie will hit theaters February 10, 2017.
Starring Keanu Reeves, Common, Riccardo Scamarcio, Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose, Bridget Moynahan, Lance Reddick, Franco Nero, with John Leguizamo, and Ian McShane
The Devil Doesn’t Want Me (A Lars and Shaine Novel Book 1) by Eric Beetner
Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: 280 Steps
First sentence…
Seventeen years is a long damn time.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
The Devil Doesn’t Want Me is the first in Eric Beetner’s Lars and Shaine series. Lars is a semi-retired hitman living on the west coast. His boss, Nikki Senior, is one of the old guard mobsters who finds himself being pushed out by his son, Nikki Junior.
In an effort to clear the books and show his pop he can run things, Nikki sends a young hitman out to find Mitch the Snitch — a job given to Lars seventeen years prior. Although Mitch was in government protection and killing him could cause more problems than it would solve, Nikki wants it done.
Enter Trent. A cocky young hitman who immediately rubs Lars the wrong way. Although Lars and Trent are at odds, they know they have to work together to find Mitch the Snitch. And they do. Without planning, Trent guns down Mitch and when the Snitch’s sixteen year old daughter stumbles in, Mitch turns to kill her as well. Lars steps up and saves her and finds himself on the run with a sixteen year old orphan in tow.
It takes all of Lars’ skills and then some to keep himself and Shaine alive now that Nickki Junior has called out a team to kill them both. And of course Trent killing a government protected witness has the feds on their trail as well.
Eric Beetner has never disappointed me. I really liked The Devil Doesn’t Want Me and have the sequel, When the Devil Comes to Call waiting in my to be read pile.
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Today we have this very cool Goodfellas poster by Stephen Sampson. You can see a lot more of Stephen’s art by click on the link.
Source: JoBlo.com.
The Prowler (1951)
Director: Joseph Losey
Screenplay: Hugo Butler and Dalton Trumbo from a story by Robert Thoeren and Hans Wilhelm
Stars: Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes and John Maxwell
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s make a cheating couple and a murdered husband…”
Tagline: She had to keep THE PROWLER from telling…
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Police officers Webb Garland [Heflin] and Bud Crocker [Maxwell] respond to a prowler call made by a woman [Keyes] waiting up for her husband to get home. Although no evidence of a prowler is found, Garland returns later alone under the pretense of checking on her. She invites him in and it becomes clear that he’s there for more than just a wellness visit. One thing leads to another and her husband ends up murdered… by Garland.
The Prowler is a low-budget noir that is under-rated. If you’re a fan of noir you owe it to yourself to check out The Prowler.
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Check out this very life-like custom of Sly Stallone as Ray Tango. You’ll also get to see Kurt Russell as Gabrial Cash, Sly in two customs as Rocky from Rocky IV along with Paulie’s robot. Thanks to SZoner, Gino for sharing! – Craig
Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 40 Things We Learned from Joe Dante’s Gremlins Commentary. Although the article is no longer available here are three of my favorites from it…
7. Galligan is the first to point out that the “don’t feed after midnight” rule is silly because it’s always after midnight somewhere. “Well we make fun of all that stuff in Gremlins 2 anyway,” says Dante.
10. The titles on the theater marquee are an in-joke for producer Steven Spielberg’s benefit. A Boys Life was the working title for E.T., and Watch the Skies was the one for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. “I think we did this mainly so that when Steven saw the dailies he’d be happy.”
15. Cartoonist legend Chuck Jones is the guy at the bar teaching Billy (Galligan) how to draw. There was originally more of a plot involving Billy’s hopeful career as an artist.
The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933)
Director: W.S. Van Dyke, Howard Hawks (uncredited)
Screenplay: John Lee Mahin and John Meehan from the story by Frances Marion
Stars: Myrna Loy, Max Baer, Primo Carnera, Jack Dempsey and Walter Huston
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s make a boxing movie with real life boxers and Myrna Loy!”
Tagline: Max Bear is the new “It” Man of the screen.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Steve Morgan [Baer] is discovered working as a bouncer in a bar. Soon enough he is fighting his way through the professional boxing ranks. Morgan should be on top of the world angling for a fight against the Heavyweight Champion of the World. The only things holding him back are that he’s in love with a mobster’s girl and his own womanzing ways.
Your mileage on this on may vary, but I really enjoyed seeing real-life boxers on the screen. Also the movie has some boxing cliches but also a couple of twists that more than make up for them.
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If you’re a fan of fanzines, then you’ve got to check out Ken Meyer, Jr.’s monthly column Ink Stains. Each month Ken (who is an amazing artist) posts… well, let’s let Ken explain…
I have a collection of over 200 fanzines from the 60’s-80’s that I plan to scan and talk about, one at a time. I hope to have some of the participants answer a few questions. Many of those participants are established comics professionals now, while some have gone on to other things. I will show a few snippets from each zine and give you a link to download a pdf of the whole thing, which I hope all of you will do!
For Ink Stains 14, Ken took a look at Nimbus 3 from the September 1977. Edited and published by Frank Lovece.
I actually owned Nimbus 3 and remember it fondly. It was so professional looking and of course the Gulacy art for Sabre burned a spot in my memory. But Gulacy was just the icing on the cake that featured the Mike Zeck Hulk back cover and a front cover by Pat Boyette, with spot illos by Steve Leialoha, Arvelle Jones, Kerry Gammil, P. Craig Russell, Willie Blyberg, Sam De La Rosa, Walt Simonson, Doug Hazelwood, Gene Colan, John Buscema, Mike Grell, Alex Toth, John Romita and more.
Ah, the memories of the glory days of fanzines. Thanks to Ken Meyer, Jr. for making these available!
Weird Woman (1944)
Director: Reginald Le Borg
Screenplay: W. Scott Darling and Brenda Weisberg from the Fritz Leiber novel
Stars: Lon Chaney Jr., Anne Gwynne and Evelyn Ankers
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s adapt Fritz Leiber’s novel.”
Tagline: MURDER STRIKES WITH VELVET CLAWS!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
College professor Norman Reed [Changey] returns from a trip to the jungle married to a mysterious woman [Gwynne] who believes in voodoo. Soon enough Reed is a best-selling and popular author. But when Reed destroys some of his wife’s protective charms, things go south and people die. Could his wife be right and evil is out to get him?
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Today we have a rare ad for Sabre by Don McGregor and Paul Gulacy with art, of course, by Gulacy. Can you imagine how mind-blowing this was at the time? I couldn’t wait to get my mitts on a copy… and wasn’t in the least bit disappointed when I did.
The ad appeared in the back of Nimbus 3 which we’ll look at tomorrow!
Crashing Las Vegas (1956)
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Screenplay: Jack Townley
Stars: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall and Bernard Gorcey
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s have Sach gain psychic powers again!”
Tagline: FRANTIC FUN IN FABULOUS LAS VEGAS! Stacked and Packed with LAFFS!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
When Sach gains the ability to predict the future the boys head to Vegas to get rich. As they rake in the money at roulette, crooks decide to make Sach believe he killed a man in order to squeeze his secret system of winning out of him.
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The Killer Inside Me (2010)
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Screenplay: John Curran based on the Jim Thompson novel
Stars: Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Ned Beatty, Simon Baker and Bill Pullman.
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s turn Jim Thompson’s noir classic into a movie.”
No Tagline
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Lou Ford [Affleck] is a mild-mannered small town Texas Deputy in the 1950’s. Ford is also a psychopathic killer. One murder leads to another and although the local DA begins to suspect Ford, witness keep ending up dead.
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Best-selling author (and the creator of Rambo), David Morrell is the subject of this interview at Report from Santa Fe.
The Night Walker (1964)
Director: William Castle
Screenplay: Robert Bloch
Stars: Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Judi Meredith and Lloyd Bochner.
The Pitch: “Hey, we’ve got a screenplay by Robert Bloch and Barbara Stanwyck!”
Tagline: Will It Dare You To Dream of Things You’re Ashamed to Admit!
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Irene Trent’s blind husband, Howard is convinced she is cheating on him because of the things Irene says while sleeping. When Howard is killed in a mysterious explosion, Irene begins to have vivid dreams and is convinced that someone is trying to drive her mad or kill her.
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Mark Mancini and Mental_Floss present 11 Dashing Facts About Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
1. MEL BROOKS HAD PREVIOUSLY WORKED ON A COMEDIC ROBIN HOOD TV SERIES.
In 1974, Mel Brooks’ smash-hit genre parodies Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein became two of the highest grossing movies of the year—with Blazing Saddles beating out The Towering Inferno and The Godfather: Part II for the top spot. Having secured a lasting career for himself in Hollywood, Brooks took a break from cinema so he could pursue a new TV project. The comic joined forces with Norman Stiles and John Boni to co-create ABC’s When Things Were Rotten, a fast-paced, gag-driven sitcom that put a satirical spin on Robin Hood. Starring Get Smart alum Dick Gautier in the lead role, the show relied heavily on anachronistic pop culture references; in one episode, for example, a character named Lord McDonald of the Golden Archers dons a T-shirt reading “Over 1,000,000 Dispatched.”
When Things Were Rotten premiered on September 10, 1975. After three months of lackluster ratings and mixed reviews, the show was canceled just 13 episodes into its run. Brooks would, of course, take another stab at the legendary hero of Sherwood Forest when Robin Hood: Men in Tights was released 18 years later. Incidentally, that 1993 comedy starred a familiar face: Dick Van Patten, who plays an abbot in the film, had portrayed Friar Tuck in When Things Were Rotten.
4. SEAN CONNERY WANTED TO PORTRAY KING RICHARD—IN WOMEN’S CLOTHING.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves had an all-star cast that boasted Costner, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Rickman. Sean Connery also made a brief appearance as King Richard, a part he reportedly wanted to reprise in Men in Tights. According to James Robert Parish’s It’s Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks, Connery told the director “that he would repeat his role of the monarch—but this time in drag. However, intriguing as this comic prospect was, he wanted a $1 million salary, which he planned to donate to Scottish charities.” Unable to afford this king’s ransom, Brooks cast Patrick Stewart instead. For better or for worse, the cross-dressing angle was scrapped entirely.
6. WHEN BROOKS FIRST REACHED OUT TO CARY ELWES ABOUT PLAYING ROBIN HOOD, THE ACTOR ASSUMED HE WAS BEING PRANKED.
Early on in the Men in Tights casting process, Brooks called Elwes at his home to discuss the project. “He actually called me at home and I thought someone was pulling my leg so I hung up on him,” Elwes told Den of Geek in 2014. “He called back and he said ‘don’t hang up, it’s really me!’ I apologized, but I couldn’t believe he was calling me.” In short order, Elwes was cast as the film’s hero. Once he came aboard, Elwes helped Brooks choose an actor to play Ahchoo, Robin’s sidekick. In the end, the part went to an unknown 19-year-old comedian named Dave Chappelle. “We actually cast [him] together,” Elwes recalled. “We saw a lot of actors and when Dave came in, he was just so amazing and we knew right then and there [that] this guy was a star.”
