“Fast Charlie” (2023) – “He’s a Pig” Clip – starring Pierce Brosnan & James Caan!

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Here’s another clip from Fast Charlie is based on Victor Gishler’s novel GUN MONKEYS. This one features Pierce Brosnan and James Caan. Fast Charlie is shaping up to be on par with the book.  If so, we’re in for a treat.

Deal me in.

ComingSoon is debuting an exclusive Fast Charlie clip from the Pierce Brosnan-led upcoming action thriller. The film is set to debut in select theaters and through video-on-demand platforms on Friday, December 8.

“Charlie Swift, aka ‘Fast Charlie,’ is a fixer with a problem: the target he’s whacked is missing his head,” read the synopsis. “And he must prove it’s the intended target to the man who paid for the hit — New Orleans’ most prominent and most ruthless mobster, Beggar Mercado. Charlie enlists Marcie Kramer, the victim’s ex-wife and a woman with the backbone and skillset Charlie needs. Dragging Marcie back into a past she was determined to escape sends the two of them on a wild and unpredictable odyssey that’s unexpectedly amusing, action propelled, and ultimately heartfelt. Along the way, Charlie and Marcie fight to protect the legacy of Charlie’s best friend and mentor, Stan Mullen, while bringing down Beggar and his entire operation.”

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin, James Caan
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Release Date: 12/8/23

RIP: Frances Sternhagen

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Frances Sternhagen died on November 27, 2023.  Ms. Sternhagen was 93.

Frances Sternhagen was an award-winning actress who appeared on stage, television and in movies in a career that spanned nearly 70 years.  During her career she was nominated for seven Tony awards (winning two) as well as three Primetime Emmy award nominations.

Some of Frances Sternhagen’s television appearances include:  Love of Life; The Secret Storm; Omnibus; Studio One (2 episodes); Play of the Week (2 episodes); The Defenders; Profiles in Courage; The Doctors (42 episodes); NET Playhouse (2 episodes); Great Performances (2 episodes); Spencer (1985 – 7 episodes); At Mother’s Request (2 episodes); Golden Years (7 episodes); Tales from the Crypt; Cheers (7 episodes); The Road Home (6 episodes); The Outer Limits (1985); Law & Order (2 episodes); The Simpsons; Sex & the City (10 episodes); ER (21 episodes) and The Closer (16 episodes).

Some of Frances Sternhagen’s feature films include: Up the Down Staircase; The Hospital; Starting Over; Outland; Bright Lights, Big City; Misery; Doc Hollywood; Raising Cain and The Mist.

My favorite Francis Sternhagen role was when she played Dr. Marian Lazarus in Outland.  She and Sean Connery had great chemistry.  Another favorite role is when she played Irene Reppler in The Mist.  Any time Francis Sternhagen appeared the production improved.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Frances Sternhagen’s family, friends and fans.

“Fast Charlie” starring Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin, & James Caan- Official Clip – “How Does That Sound?”

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Fast Charlie is based on Victor Gishler’s novel GUN MONKEYS.  I read the books years ago.  If the movie is as good, we’re in for a treat.  The trailer looks like it might be.

Deal me in.

Charlie Swift is a fixer with a problem: the target he’s whacked is missing his head and the only way Charlie will be paid is if the body can be identified. Enter Marcie Kramer, the victim’s ex-wife and a woman with all the skills Charlie needs.

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin, James Caan
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Release Date: 12/8/23

“The Ballad of Maddog Quinn” (2022) written & directed by Matt Inns / Z-View

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The Ballad of Maddog Quinn (2022)

Director: Matt Inns

Screenplay by: Matt Inns

Starring: Maggie Pirie, Jed Brophy, John Bach, Ben Stewart.

Tagline: None.

The Story:

Maddog Quinn is on the run.  Pursued by a posse across a desert wasteland, Maddog will complete the mission or die trying.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers) 

The Ballad of Maddog Quinn is an award-winning short.  Set in an alternate time-line, think Steampunk meets Mad Max.  Writer/director Matt Inns is someone to watch.  I’d love to see a feature length Maddog Quinn adventure.  You can check out the short here.

KRAJ THE ENFORCER: STORIES by Rusty Barnes / Z-View

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KRAJ THE ENFORCER: STORIES by Rusty Barnes

First sentence…

The cashier at the 7-11 on Water Street leaves to take a leak.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Kraj is an expatriate Croat.  He makes his living as a bouncer and occasional enforcer for his boss Tricky Ricky Gutierrez.  It’s a job Kraj was built for.  Tricky Ricky sees potential in Kraj.  That makes Mikael, nervous.  Mikael manages the strip club that serves as the front for Tricky Ricky’s various “businesses”.   Kraj continues to prove his worth and gain more trust from Ricky.  With the trust comes more responsibility.  Kraj is making the right moves.  Now that Kraj’s new girlfriend has been promoted to manager at the McDonald’s things are looking up.  Of course the higher up, the farther the fall.

Rusty Barnes presents 14 Kraj The Enforcer short stories.  Each story is a complete tale.  Read together they form a bigger yarn.  Kraj isn’t your typical anti-hero.  While he has some of the characteristics you’d expect, his supporting characters ground him in a reality you’d get visiting most small Appalachian towns. Plus his origin is unique and makes him standout in his new adopted country.  I enjoyed KRAJ THE ENFORCER: STORIES.  I hope we see more.

Rating:

“Strange Bargain” (1949) starring Jeffrey Lynn, Martha Scott & Henry Morgan / Z-View

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Strange Bargain (1949)

Director: Will Price

Screenplay by: Lillie Hayward from a story by J.H. Wallis

Starring: Martha Scott, Jeffrey Lynn, Harry Morgan, Richard Gaines and Walter Sande.

Tagline: “$10,000 If You Make My Suicide Look Like MURDER!”

The Story:

On the day that Sam Wilson (Lynn) asks his boss, Malcolm Jarvis (Gaines) for a raise, Jarvis offers him a deal. Jarvis will give Sam $10,000.00 if Sam will make Jarvis’ suicide look like a murder!  Jarvis explains that the company is probably going to go out of business in a matter of weeks.  Jarvis is himself broke despite the fact that he lives in a big house and looks rich.  Jarvis plans to shoot himself that very evening while his wife and son are out.  Before he kills himself, he will mess up his home office to look like a robbery.  All Sam has to do is get rid of the gun.  Sam refuses and tries to talk Mr. Jarvis out of killing himself.  Jarvis says there is no other way to leave money for his family and he’s ready to die.

That evening Sam receives the call.  He heads over to talk sense into Mr. Jarvis.  When he arrives, Mr. Jarvis is lying dead from a gunshot.  There is an envelope with $10,000 in it addressed to Sam.  Realizing that he will soon be out of a job and Jarvis is beyond help, Sam takes the money.

The next day police begin to investigate.  Things aren’t adding up.  It doesn’t look like suicide.  Any guesses on who the main suspect is?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers) 

Strange Bargain runs a quick 68 minutes.  It’s got a likable cast. There’s a nice twist on the suicide.  If I were to pick any nits is that it all wraps up a bit too nicely.  But in this day and age, why complain about things that end up that way?

RIP: Elliot Silverstein

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Elliot Silverstein died on November 24, 2023.  Mr. Silverstein was 96.

Mr. Silverstein’s career began in 1955 when he directed eleven episodes of the tv series Omnibus.  For the next forty years Elliott Silverstein directed television projects and feature films. When Mr. Silverstein retired from directing he taught film at the University of Southern California.

Mr. Silverstein was nominated for a Directors Guild Award in 1965 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for Cat Ballou. In 1985, he won the Robert B. Aldrich Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America.  In 1990, the Directors Guild named him a DGA Honorary Life Member Award.

Some of Elliot Silverstein’s television projects include:  Omnibus (11 episodes); The United States Steel Hour (2 episodes); Suspicion (2 episodes); Alcoa Theater (2 episodes); The Westerner; Route 66 (5 episodes); Have Gun – Will Travel; Naked City (8 episodes); Dr. Kildare (14 episodes); Channing (2 episodes); Breaking Point (2 episodes); The Twilight Zone (4 episodes); The Doctors and The Nurses (4 episodes); The Defenders (4 episodes); Kraft Suspense Theater (3 episodes) and Tales from the Crypt (4 episodes).

Some of Elliot Silverstein’s feature films include: Cat Ballou; The Happening; A Man Called Horse and The Car.

I’m not sure the first time I saw something directed by Elliot Silverstein since he directed several shows I watched when I was young.  My favorite project directed by Mr. Silverstein is The Obsolete Man episode of The Twilight Zone.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Elliot Silverstein’s family, friends and fans.

RIP: Jean Knight

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Jean Knight, born Jean Caliste, November 22, 2023, of natural causes.  Ms. Knight was 80.

Jean Caliste began singing professionally after she graduated high school.  In 1965, Ms. Caliste was signed to Jet Star/Tribe records.  At that point she changed her professional name to Jean Knight.  With Jet Star./Tribe she released four singles.  Although she attracted local attention, the records never took off nationally.  Jean Knight began working as a baker to make ends meet.

In 1970, songwriter Ralph Williams and record producer Wardell Quezergue heard some of Jean Knight’s songs.  They brought her in to Malaco Studios for a recording session where she recorded Mr. Big Stuff.  The song was shopped to several record companies.  It was rejected by everyone.  Then in 1971, King Floyd’s hit Groove Me went to #1 on the R&B charts. It was recorded at Malaco Studios.  At that point the producer at Stax records remembered another song recorded at Malaco Studios.  That song was Mr. Big Stuff,

When Mr. Big Stuff was released it shot to the top of the charts.  It went to #2 on the pop charts and #1 on the R&B charts.  It sold over two-million copies and was awarded gold and platinum status.  The song was also nominated for a Grammy award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female.  Although Ms. Knight never had another major hit, she continued touring for years.

Mr. Big Stuff is one of those songs that everyone knows the words to.  Years after it was popular, I gave my best friend the nickname Big Stuff.  It gradually morphed into Big Time.  He’s sometimes still called that today when friends from our group get together.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jean Knight’s family, friends and fans.

“The Accountant” (2016) starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal & John Lithgow / Z-View

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The Accountant (2016)

Director: Gavin O’Connor

Screenplay by: Bill Dubuque

Starring: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, John Lithgow, Alison Wright, Jason Davis, Robert C. Treveiler, Seth Lee, Ron Prather and Jean Smart.

Tagline: Calculate your choices.

The Story:

Christian Wolff (Affleck), a mathematics savant, was diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum as a child.  His father, a military vet, forced Christian to deal with the things that triggered him.  Dad also provided martial arts and weapons training for Christian and his brother.

Now an adult, Wolff uses his math talents as an accountant to criminal enterprises.  He operates out of a small office that is a front.  Wolff also owns several businesses used to launder money.  Wolff is hired by Lamar Blackburn (Lithgow), the billionaire owner of Living Robotics, to check his books.  What Wolff discovers puts in motion a chain of events that result in several murders.  At the same time Wolff is dealing with this, he learns that the Treasury Department has been investigating him and are about to close in.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers) 

Ben Affleck is excellent as Christian Wolff.  He is supported by an amazing cast.  Standouts include Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow.  Kudos to the always excellent Jon Bernthal, who owns every scene he’s in.

The Accountant features a cool twist that I didn’t see coming.

I’d love for Affleck and Bernthal to return in a sequel.

RIP: Marty Krofft

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Marty Krofft died yesterday at the age of 86, the result of kidney failure.

Marty Krofft was born on April 9, 1937 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.  Marty’s older brother, Sid, was a famous puppeteer.  Sid worked in vaudeville, as a featured player in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and toured with a one-man puppet show.  In the mid-1950s, Marty joined Sid.  They began touring as well as making television appearances with their puppets.  

Marty and Sid became even more famous when they designed characters and sets for the Saturday morning television series H.R. Pufnstuf.  For the remainder of their careers, Marty and Sid would produce series, specials and movies for television.  

Some of the projects produced by Marty and Sid Krofft include: H.R. Pufnstuf (17 episodes); Pufnstuf (feature film); The Bugaloos (17 epsides); Lidsville (17 episodes); The Brady Bunch Meets ABC’s Saturday Superstars; The World of Sid & Marty Krofft at the Hollywood Bowl; The NBC Saturday Morning Review; Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (29 episodes); Far Out Space Nuts (15 episodes); The Lost Saucer (16 episodes); ABC’s Saturday Sneak Peak; Land of the Lost (43 episodes); Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (16 episodes); Dr. Shrinker (16 episodes); Donny & Marie (37 episodes); The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (9 episodes); Wonderbug (22 episodes); Magic Mongo (16 episodes); The Krofft Supershow (32 episodes); The Bay City Rollers Meet the Saturday Superstars; Bobby Vinton’s Rock ‘n Rollers; The Bay City Rollers Show (13 episodes); Bigfoot and Wildboy (20 episodes); Pink Lady (6 episodes); Middle Age Crazy (feature film); Oral Roberts Celebration; Harry Tracy: The Last of the Wild Bunch (feature film); Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters (35 episodes); The CBS Saturday Morning Preview Special; Saturday’s the Place; Pryor’s Place (13 episodes); All Star Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Saturday Spectacular; The Patti LaBelle Show; D.C. Follies (45 episodes); Krofft Late Night; Land of the Lost (9 episodes); Toby Terrier and His Video Pals (8 episodes); Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (2001); Family Affair (2002 – 16 episodes); Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (2016 – 8 episodes); Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (2016 – 7 episodes); Mutt & Stuff (74 episodes); The Bugaloos (2017) and Mondays with Marty (7 episodes).

Marty Krofft’s award nominations and wins include:

  • 1985: Nominee – Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Series for Pryor’s Place
  • 2003: Winner – Lifetime Achievement Award from Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA
  • 2016: Nominee – Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Pre-School Children’s Series for Mutt & Stuff
  • 2017: Nominee – Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Pre-School Children’s Series for Mutt & Stuff
  • 2018: Winner – Daytime Emmy for Lifetime Achievement
  • 2020 Winner – Star on the Walk of Fame (Television)

I was at the top end of the right age for H.R. Pufnstuf.  I can remember my youngest sister getting my mom to tell me to stop calling her Witcheepoo.  Looking at Marty Krofft’s resume shows an impressive body of work.  Marty and Sid Krofft were called the Kings of Saturday Morning Television, but as you can see they were much more than that. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Marty Krofft’s family, friends and fans.