“North By Northwest” Alt Poster by Paul Mann!
I love Paul Mann‘s alt poster for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic North By Northwest. (Note that Mann stuck Hitch on Mount Rushmore!)
ALL SINNERS BLEED by S.A. Cosby / Z-View
ALL SINNERS BLEED by S.A. Cosby
Hardback: 352 pages
Publisher: Flatiron Books (June 6, 2023)
First sentence…
Charon County was founded in bloodshed and darkness.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in Charon County, Virginia. Titus grew up there. He then served ten years as a F.B.I. agent. Now he’s come home. Hopefully to do some good. Although elected by a majority, there are still some who can’t get past Titus’ skin color.
When an active shooter call comes in, Titus and his deputies rush to the local high school. They arrive to find one of the community’s most beloved teachers murdered by a former student. As the young killer walks out, gun in hand, Titus attempts to take him in to custody without more bloodshed. Unfortunately, one of Titus’ deputies fatally shoots the kid.
Titus’ investigation into the teacher’s murder uncovers evidence of more crimes. The beloved teacher, a pillar of the community, was involved in sadistic crimes against children. As Titus digs deeper it becomes clear that three people were torturing and killing children. Two are dead. But one is still alive. Hiding in plain sight among the people of Charon County.
Things become even more complicated. Evidence surfaces that Titus’ Deputy may have had a secret reason to kill the kid.
Another person is murdered. The killer stages the body to let the world (and Sheriff Crown) know it is related to the murders of the children. The killer begins taunting Titus. Publicity about the gruesome murders puts the town on edge. It also gives those who oppose Titus as Sheriff a reason to remove him from office.
As Titus continues to dig into the evidence, he uncovers dark secrets hidden for decades. Of course Titus has a secret of his own. The real reason he left the F.B.I..
Thoughts…
S.A. Cosby is one of my must-buy authors. He won the Anthony Award for Best Novel two years in a row for BLACKTOP WASTELAND and RAZORBLADE TEARS. Both get my highest recommendation. As does Cosby’s MY DARKEST PRAYER.
ALL SINNER’S BLEED is another winner. Titus Crown is a great lead character. I was surprised by the ending, but it felt right. Especially Crown’s last act.
Each novel that Cosby has created made me hope for a sequel. Yet, each new book brought new lead characters that I come to love. Perhaps a crossover is due. Truth is, it doesn’t matter what Cosby writes. I, like many, many others will be in line to buy it.
Rating:
Jack Carter by Nate Niles!
Sly Stallone as Jack Carter by Nate Niles. He’s a young artist to watch for. Nate was “introduced” to me by Jarrod Alberich, The Yard Sale Artist. The two of them created Hamilton Vs. Burr: A Werewolf Tale!
“Scarface” Alt Poster by Matthew Essom!
Give it up for Matthew Essom and his cool alt Scarface poster.
“No One Will Save You” (2023) written & directed by Brian Duffield, starring Kaitlyn Dever / Z-View
No One Will Save You (2023)
Director: Brian Duffield
Screenplay: Brian Duffield
Stars: Kaitlyn Dever, Zack Duhame, Geraldine Singer, Dane Rhodes.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Brynn (Dever) is a young woman living on the outskirts of a small town. A tragic event turned many of those in town against Brynn. Now she suffers from anxiety and is a bit of a recluse. When Brynn wakes one night to discover that aliens are invading, she realizes that to survive, she will have to save herself.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)
Hats off to Brian Duffield who wrote and directed No One Will Save You. The film is engaging from the start. Duffield knows how to tell a story. He chooses interesting camera angles and shots. Duffield’s scares don’t rely on jump takes and he knows how to create tension.
No One Will Save You is basically a one woman show. Thankfully, Kaitlyn “Justified” Dever is up to the task. She was excellent. Dever’s performance is even more impressive taking into account there are less than ten words spoken in the entire movie.
Stephen King said this about “NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU: Brilliant, daring, involving, scary. You have to go back over 60 years, to a TWILIGHT ZONE episode called ‘The Invaders’ to find anything remotely like it. Truly unique.”
I agree with everything Stephen King wrote. If you feel a “but” coming, you’re right. No One Will Save You is all that Mr. King said…
…BUT, movies are sometimes like trips. It’s not about the destination, but the journey. Where No One Will Save You fell short is the ending. I didn’t hate how the film concluded, but for me, it was a step below everything that came before. The ending provides plenty to think about and discuss. I loved everything up to the end. I hope that doesn’t put potential viewers off watching No One Will Save You, because the journey is worth the trip.
No One Will Save You (2023) rates 3 of 5 stars.
“Blood and Snow” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
I like the concept, the poster and trailer for Blood and Snow. Yes, I get that it looks like a poor man’s version of John Carpenter’s The Thing. So call me a poor man and deal me in.
Two scientists uncover a meteorite impact site in the Arctic tundra, but it kills one scientist and infects the other. A nearby base takes in the lone survivor whilst trying to understand what happened. The lone survivor may not be the person they think she is.
Sin City Marv by Michael Batista!
Marv from Frank Miller’s Sin City is one of my all-time favorite characters. I love seeing artists do their “take” on the big lug. Today we have Marv by Michael Batista.
Batman by Ken Lashley!
One of the things I love about Instagram is finding a new (to me) artist to follow. Check out Ken Lashley’s riff on Batman. The look at the other art Lashley’s posted. My guess is, if you’re not already following, you’ll hit that “Follow” button. I sure did.
Nosferatu Takes a Victim by Frank Cho!
Can you imagine a full Nosferatu story with art by Frank Cho? I can and it is amazing. Too bad it’s not real. Ah, but you can see more of Frank Cho’s art if you’re so inclined.
“The Most Dangerous Game” (1932) starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks & Robert Armstrong / Z-View
The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack, Irving Pichel
Screenplay: James Ashmore Creelman based on “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell
Stars: Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks, Robert Armstrong, Noble Johnson, Steve Clemente and James Flavin.
Tagline: Arresting, strange and terrible in the story of the polished Russian sportsman who lured ships to their doom…then drove the male survivors into his inland jungle, to be hunted down like animals!
The Plot…
Bob Rainsford (McCrea) is a well known big game hunter on a ship traveling near an uncharted island. The ship hits something that causes it to quickly begin sinking and explode. Bob swims to the island only to discover he is the sole survivor.
Bob is surprised to find a huge house owned by Count Zaroff (Banks). Zaroff welcomes Bob into his home. The Count introduces Bob to Eve (Wray) and her brother Martin (Armstrong). Eve and Martin survived an earlier ship wreck and made it to the island.
Count Zaroff is pleased to have the pleasure of hosting Bob Rainsford, the famous big game hunter. Zaroff explains that he is also a hunter. Zaroff claims to have hunted every kind of animal and was getting bored until he discovered “the most dangerous” game.
When Bob and Eve are alone, she says that two sailors who survived their shipwreck have gone missing. Bob shares his belief that the ships were sunk on purpose. As Eve and Bob go through Zaroff’s mansion they stumble onto his trophy room. To their horror, they discover that Count Zaroff hunts humans. They will soon be his prey.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)
The Most Dangerous Game and King Kong share a lot in common. Both films were produced by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. Ernest B. Schoedsack co-directed both movies. Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, James Flavin and Noble Johnson appeared in both films. Both movies used the same sets!
“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell has been adapted and used as inspiration for countless movies.
A preview of “The Most Dangerous Game” contained a more detailed look at Count Zaroff’s trophy room. It featured mounted human heads, heads in bottles and stuffed full figures of men Zaroff had murdered. When several in the preview audience walked out, the scene was shortened.
Beware of bad copies. The Most Dangerous Game (1932). Iy fell into public domain and there are some shoddy prints out there.
The Most Dangerous Game (1932) rates 5 of 5 stars.
“Argylle” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!
Deal me in!
Don’t let the cat out of the bag. #ArgylleMovie, in theaters February 2, 2024.
Argylle Only In Theaters February 2 https://www.argyllemovie.com/
— The greater the spy, the bigger the lie.
From the twisted mind of Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman franchise, Kick-Ass) comes Argylle, a razor-witted, reality-bending, globe-encircling spy thriller.
Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World franchise) is Elly Conway, the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books—which center on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate—begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past.
Accompanied by Aiden (Oscar® winner Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly’s fictional world and her real one begins to blur.
The top-flight ensemble cast features Henry Cavill (The Witcher), John Cena (Fast X), Oscar® winner Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Grammy winning pop superstar Dua Lipa (Barbie), Emmy winner and Oscar® nominee Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Emmy winner and comedy icon Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service), and the legendary Samuel L. Jackson. Alfie is played by Chip, the real-life cat of supermodel Claudia Vaughn (née Schiffer).
Argylle is directed and produced by Matthew Vaughn, from a screenplay by Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman). The film is produced by Matthew Vaughn, Adam Bohling (Kingsman franchise), Jason Fuchs, and David Reid (Kingsman franchise). The executive producers are Adam Fishbach, Zygi Kamasa, Carlos Peres and Claudia Vaughn.
Apple Original Films presents, in association with MARV, a Cloudy production. Argylle is distributed by Universal Pictures.
John Woo’s “The Killer” Alt Poster by Tony Stella!
Tony Stella created this amazing alt poster for John Woo’s The Killer. You can see more of Stella’s art here.
“Memory” starring Liam Neeson & Guy Pearce / Z-View
Memory (2022)
Director: Martin Campbell
Screenplay: Dario Scardapane based on De Zaak Alzheimer by Jef Geeraerts, Carl Joos, Erik Van Looy
Stars: Liam Neeson, Guy Pearce, Taj Atwal, Monica Bellucci and Ray Stevenson.
Tagline: His mind is fading. His conscience is clear.
The Plot…
Alex Lewis (Neeson) is a hitman. Lewis has early stage Alzheimer’s. Lewis has been forgetting things. His memory is getting worse. Vincent Serra (Pearce) is an FBI agent on the Child Exploitation Task Force. While Lewis and Serra should be at odds, they find themselves working together to bring down a protected child trafficker.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)
I was expecting a lot more from Memory. Martin Campbell directed Casino, one of my favorite James Bond movies. Campbell’s two lead actors, Liam Neeson and Guy Pearce elevate any production they’re in. Taj Atwal, who I hadn’t seen before, was also a welcome addition. With that said, Memory wasn’t the action-thriller I was hoping for. It was what you’d get if you were expecting a by the numbers hitman/cop movie. Memory won’t leave most of the viewing audience with many good ones.
Memory (2022) rates 2 of 5 stars.
“True Detective: Night Country” starring Jodie Foster – The 2nd Official Teaser is Here!
Deal me in!
HBO Original #TrueDetective: Night Country, starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, premieres January 14 on @StreamOnMax.
BLUE BOOK Volume 1: 1961 by James Tynion IV & Michael Avon Oeming
BLUE BOOK Volume 1: 1961 by by James Tynion IV (writer) & Michael Avon Oeming (artist) is out now. Here’s the lowdown…
An ambitious, non-fiction comic book experience depicting true stories of UFO abductions with an eye to capturing the strange essence of those encounters.
From the New York Times bestselling and multi-Eisner award-winning co-creator of Something is Killing the Children, The Nice House on the Lake, The Department of Truth.
In BLUE BOOK, teaming with artist Michael Avon Oeming and letterer Aditya Bidikar, James Tynion IV presents what he calls his “True Weird” stories. Tales of ordinary people encountering the strange and the impossible.
Volume 1 retells the infamous case of the abduction of Betty and Barney Hill of New Hampshire in 1961 — the very first widely-publicized UFO abduction that went on to shape and influence all future encounter stories.
Collects the Dark Horse Comics series Blue Book #1—#5, originally published on Substack.
