Things Have Been Coming Up “Kolchak” Lately!

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Things have been coming up Kolchak around here lately.  I recently saw the above Kolchak art on Facebook.  It brought back memories of the two Kolchak tv movies, The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler from when I was a kid in junior high.  Great memories.

I decided to find out more about the art.  Turns out it was the cover for KOLCHAK: The Night Strangler Files.  The tv movie was written by Richard Matheson. Chris Mills (writer) and Amin Amat (artist) adapted it into the graphic novel.  I’m not sure who the cover artist is, but I sure do like that art.

Then Svengoolie announced that he would be getting the two Kolchak movies in the near future.  THAT is awesome news.

And that’s your Kolchak update for the day.

A TROLL WALKS INTO A BAR: A Noir Urban Fantasy Novel (Alexander Southerland, P.I.) by Douglas Lumsden

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I usually like my crime fiction to be hardboiled and realistic.  Well, as realistic as hardboiled fiction usually is.  Still, sometimes it’s fun to venture off into some crazier territory. A TROLL WALKS INTO A BAR: A Noir Urban Fantasy Novel (Alexander Southerland, P.I.) by Douglas Lumsden looks to fit the bill.

When a troll speaks–listen up! Hardboiled P.I. Alexander Southerland just wants to enjoy a quiet drink when a 500-pound troll walks into the bar. Next thing he knows, Southerland is navigating his way through rogue cops, a gang war, beautiful nymphs from the ocean depths, a were-rat, the mayor’s corrupt fixer, the sleaziest (and cleverest) gnome in Yerba City, and creatures right out of legend. At the center of it all is a mysterious locked box. Can Southerland discover its explosive secret–and survive long enough to pay his rent on time?

I read the Amazon sample and liked what I saw.  Check it out.  You may as well.

JACK REACHER: THE SECRET by Lee Child & Andrew Child

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Next month we’re getting a new Jack Reacher novel!  As you can see, it’s THE SECRET written by the father and son team of Lee and Andrew Child.  Here’s the lowdown…

1992. All across the United States respectable, upstanding citizens are showing up dead. These deaths could be accidents, and they don’t appear to be connected—until a fatal fall from a high-floor window attracts some unexpected attention.

That attention comes from the secretary of defense. All of a sudden he wants an interagency task force to investigate. And he wants Jack Reacher as the army’s representative. If Reacher gets a result, great. If not, he’s a convenient fall guy.

But office politics isn’t Reacher’s thing. Three questions quickly emerge: Who’s with him, who’s against him, and will the justice he dispenses be the official kind . . . or his own kind?

RIP: Gary Wright

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Gary Wright, the singer/songwriter best known for his hits Dreamweaver and Love is Alive, died yesterday at the age of 80.  Mr. Wright had dealt with Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementia for several years.

Gary Wright was a child actor.  He was just seven when appeared on the tv show  Captain Video and His Video Rangers.  As a child he appeared in radio and television commercials.  He appeared in the Broadway production of the musical Fanny with Florence Henderson.  The two also appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show to promote the play.

Gary Wright also had a love of music and began playing with local rock bands while in high school.  He continued to play in bands while working on a medical degree in college.  Mr. Wright decided to quite college and focus on music.  He joined a band called Spooky Tooth which put out three albums.

In 1970, Gary Wright decided to quit the band and focus on a solo career.  When he was invited to play piano on former Beatle, George Harrison’s first album, Mr. Wright accepted.  Gary Wright would go on to play on all of George Harrison’s albums in the 1970s.  Mr. Wright also played on Ringo Starr’s hits  “It Don’t Come Easy” and “Back Off Boogaloo”.  As Gary Wright worked on his solo career he was often requested to play with other recording stars such as Harry Nilsson, BB King and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Gary Wright hit it big in 1978 with the one-two punch of Dream Weaver and Love is Alive.  Dream Weaver sold over 1 million copies, peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold.  Love is Alive from the same album also hit #2 helping to drive the album to double platinum status.

In the early 1980s, Gary Wright also began making music for feature films. Some of the films featuring Gary Wright’s music include: Endangered Species; Staying Alive; Cobra; Wayne’s World; The People vs Larry Flynt; Coyote Ugly; Daddy Day Care; Toy Story 3; Safehouse and The Great Gatsby.

Gary Wright would continue to write, play, record and tour for the rest of his career.

I was surprised that Dream Weaver wasn’t a number one hit.  It played all the time and everyone loved it.  Dream Weaver was the song that made Gary Wright a world wide celebrity even though professional musicians knew who he was and often requested his services.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gary Wright’s family, friends and fans.

“The Poseidon Adventure” (1972) starring Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine & Shelley Winters / Z-View

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The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

Director: Ronald Neame

Screenplay: Stirling Silliphant, Wendell Mayes based on The Poseidon Adventure by Paul Gallico

Stars: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall, Stella Stevens, Jack Albertson, Pamela Sue Martin, Eric Shea, Arthur O’Connell, Sheila Allen, Byron Webster, John Crawford, Bob Hastings and Leslie Nielsen.

Tagline:  Who will survive-in one of the greatest escape adventures ever!

The Plot…

On New Year’s Eve with a full ship, the S.S. Poseidon is hit by a 90-foot tidal wave and capsizes.  Now the ship is floating upside down.  Dozens of survivors are in the dinning room.  There is confusion on the best course of action.  Some believe that everyone should make their way up to the hull.  They reason rescuers will be able to cut them out where the ship’s metal is the thinnest.  Another group, argues that a distress call was sent.  Everyone should just stay in the dinning room.  Attempting to move through the upside down damaged ship would be dangerous.  Most agree that staying put is the best course of action.

Reverend Scott (Hackman), who is not your typical Reverend, leads a group up to the next level.  Joining Scott are:

  • Rogo (Borgnine): a tough NY City cop
  • Rogo’s wife, Linda (Stevens): a former prostitute Rogo met (and arrested several times) while working the streets
  • Susan (Martin) and her younger brother Robin (Shea)
  • Grandparents Manny (Albertson) and his wife, Belle (Winters)
  • Acres (McDowell): one of the dinning room waiters
  • Nonnie (Lynley): one of the ship’s singers
  • Martin (Buttons): a retired business man

Just as they make it up to the next level a series of underwater explosions occur.  The ship begins taking on more water and sinking.  It’s too late for those below.  As Scott leads his group up, the dangers mount. Not everyone will survive!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972) did well at the Academy Awards:

Academy Award Wins:

  • Best Music, Original Song: Al Kasha, Joel Hirschhorn – for the song “The Morning After”
  • Best Music, Original Dramatic Score: John Williams
  • Special Achievement Award: L.B. Abbott, A.D. Flowers – for visual effects.

Academy Award Nominations:

  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Shelly Winters
  • Best Cinematography: Harold E. Stine
  • Best Art Direction-Set Decoration: William J. Creber, Raphael Bretton
  • Best Costume Design: Paul Zastupnevich
  • Best Sound: Theodore Soderberg, Herman Lewis
  • Best Film Editing: Harold F. Kress

The Poseidon Adventure features five Academy Award winning actors – Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Jack Albertson and Red Buttons; and one Oscar nominee: Arthur O’Connell.

Shelly Winters was 51 when she played Belle, a much older character.  Ms. Winters gained 35 pounds for the role.  I was 14 at the time.  I remembered a younger Shelly Winters in older movies playing a “hottie”.  It was hard to wrap my head around seeing Ms. Winters older and heavier.  Stars do age.

Reverend Scott is my favorite Gene Hackman role.

Ernest Borgnine is always great.  His wife in the movie Stella Stevens made quite an impact on this 14 year old  ; )

I have many great memories of seeing The Poseidon Adventure. A few of my friends and I took the city bus down town to see it.  We felt like big shots.

It’s funny (ironic?) now seeing Leslie Nielsen playing it straight.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Justified: City Primeval” – Does the Twist Ending Set Up Another Season with Raylan vs Boyd?

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Justified: City Primeval ended on a cliffhanger or maybe it didn’t.

Check out Justified: City Primeval Closes Out With Epic Twist: “It Was a Dangerous Idea” by Josh Wigler at The Hollywood Reporter.  Wigler talks to Justified: City Primeval creators Michael Dinner and Dave Andron about the “twist” ending.  We also learn what Timothy Olyphant and Walter Goggins had to say about it.

I thought the ending to Justified: City Primeval was perfect.  Dinner and Andron were right in not having Boyd Crowder show up sooner.  I agree having Raylan visit Boyd in prison to help get a read on Mansell would have felt a little too Silence of the Lambish.  It would have also taken a bit of the luster off of Mansell (who was a great character in his own right).

If we get another season of Justified, it should involve the final confrontation between Raylan and Boyd Crowder.  But if that happens, how do you top it?  Would that mean the series ends? (Say it wouldn’t be so.)

I would love Justified go on for several more years.  Each new season would be Justified: __________.  That’s Justified with a subtitle.  ; )

I wrote earlier that I thought the ending to Justified: City Primeval was perfect.  Fans of the series were hit with a surprise that we didn’t see coming.  Kudos to all that kept Walter Goggins’ appearance a secret.  The ending flawlessly set up a potential next season.  But if we don’t get another round of Justified, fans are left with the ability to imagine their own ending.  I think Elmore Leonard would have liked that.

“D.O.A.” starring Edmund O’Brien / Z-View

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D.O.A. (1949)

Director: Rudolph Maté

Screenplay: Russell Rouse, Clarence Greene

Stars: Edmond O’Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler, Beverly Garland, William Ching, Neville Brand, Frank Cady, Hugh O’Brian, Jerry Paris and Bill Baldwin.

Tagline:  A picture as excitingly different as its title!

The Plot…

Frank Bigelow (O’Brien) learns that he was poisoned with a a “luminous toxin” that will kill him in a few days.  The toxin has no antidote.  Bigelow is determined to discover who and why he was marked for death,  The clock is ticking.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

What starts out as a fun weekend in San Francisco turns into one of the noirest noirs.

Sadly the copyright on D.O.A. wasn’t renewed so there are many poor copies out there.  Beware!

This is Neville Brand’s first credited role.  Look for future tv stars in small roles: Beverly (My Three Sons) Garland, Frank (Petticoat Junction / Green Acres) Grady and Jerry (Dick Van Dyke) Paris.  Hugh O’Brien, who would go on to star in feature films and more than one tv series, has an uncredited role.  Bill Baldwin, perhaps best known for his role as a fight commentator in Rocky, Rocky II and Rocky III, also has an uncredited role!

There’s a scene where Edmund O’Brien is running down a crowded city street.  O’Brien bumps into pedestrians as others look around confused by the man running past them at full speed.  That scene is an example of Gorilla Filming.  The filmmakers made the shot without any permits or permission.

I’m a D.O.A. fan and like to revisit it every so often.

D.O.A. (1949) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“65” (2023) starring Adam Driver & Ariana Greenblatt / Z-View

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65 (2023)

Directors: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods

Screenplay: Scott Beck, Bryan Woods

Stars: Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman and Nika King.

Tagline:  65 million years ago prehistoric earth had a visitor.

The Plot…

Mills (Driver) accepts a job to pilot a deep space ship for three times his normal pay.  He needs the money to pay for treatment for a potentially fatal illness his daughter has.  When Mills’ ship is knocked off course by meteors, it crash lands on Earth 65 million years ago.

Mills and a nine year old girl, Kona (Greenblatt) are the sole survivors.  The have a small shot at getting home.  One of the ship’s escape pods is located 15 kilometers away.  To get to it they will have to cross an unforgiving environment full of carnivorous dinosaurs, poisonous plants and bugs, quicksand, landslides and more.  The Earth 65 million years ago is a dangerous place.  Oh, and Mills just learned that the main meteor in the ring his ship went through is due to hit earth in 12 hours… and that meteor is a planet-killer.  The clock is ticking.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Reviewers haven’t been kind to 65.  I was pleasantly surprised that it resonated with me much more than most.  It caused me to jump more than a couple of times.

Unlike many films of this nature, when the lead character is injured, he just shakes it off.  In 65, Mills’ injuries appear painful and take their toll.

While 65 features a happy ending, it’s as Rocky Balboa might say, “Not all sunshine and roses.”  If it had been, maybe reviewers would have enjoyed it more.

65 (2023) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Justified: City Primeval” (2023) starring Timothy Olyphant & Boyd Holbrook / Z-View

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Justified: City Primeval (2023)

Written by: Dave Andron & Michael Dinner (eps. 1 – 2, 7 – 8); Eisa Davis & Chris Provenzano (eps. 3, 5); Taylor Elmore (ep. 4); Taylor Elmore & V.J. Boyd (ep. 6)

Directed by: Michael Dinner (eps. 1 -2, 8); Jon Avnet (ep. 3); Gwyneth Horder-Payton (ep. 4); Kevin Rodney Sullivan (ep. 5); Sylvain White (ep. 6); Katrelle Kindred (ep. 7)

Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Boyd Holbrook, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Adelaide Clemens, Marin Ireland, Victor Williams, Norbert Leo Butz, Alexander Pobutsky, Terry Kinney, Regina Taylor, Yosef Kasnetzkov, Paul Calderon, Amin Joseph, Walton Goggins, Keith David, Natalie Zea, Luis Guzmán  and Vivian Olyphant.

Tagline:  None.

The Plot…

Raylan Givens (T. Olyphant) is a US Marshall and part time father to his 15 year old daughter, Willa (V. Olyphant). Raylan is sent to Detroit to testify in a court case.  While testifying, Raylan tests Judge Alvin Guy’s patience.  That evening the judge is murdered by a sociopath named Clement Mansell.. Raylan is assigned to the team tracking down the killer.

Mansell is known as The Oklahoma Wildman.  He has no fear and kills without remorse. Before it is over, Raylan will find himself dealing not only with Mansell, but an attorney willing to cross the line in her efforts to become a judge, a dirty cop, and the Armenian mob.

“You want a shootin’ match?  Let’s go.”

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Elmore Leonard novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit doesn’t feature Raylan Givens.  It was adapted to bring back Justified.  The novel’s protagonist is Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz.  The Cruz character also appeared in Leonard’s Out of Sight novel.  When Out of Sight was transformed into a feature film starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, Paul Calderón played Detective Cruz.  Calderón also appears as Cruz in Justified: City Primeval.

A hero is only as good as the villain he’s facing.  Clement Mansell is a great one.  Boyd Holbrook is perfect.  Other standouts include:

  • Aunjanue Ellis as Carolyn Wilder.  Wilder is Mansell’s defense attorney who ends up in a complicated relationship with Raylan.  She’s strong, vulnerable and willing to cross lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
  • Vondie Curtis-Hall as Marcus “Sweety” Sweeton.  Sweety was once a talented musician, crook and friend to Mansell Clement.  Now Sweety owns a bar.  Sweety is drawn back into the life with the return of Mansell and his plan to get rich.
  • Adelaide Clemens as Sandy Stanton.  Sandy is Mansell’s woman girl. She’s in way over her head and sees no way out.
  • Victor Williams as Detective Wendell Robinson.  Williams is best known for his comedic role on The King of Queens.  Here he shows his dramatic chops.
  • Keith David as Judge Alvin Guy.  Keith is only in one episode, but he shines.

Some actors/actresses are born to play a character.  Timothy Olyphant is a perfect example.  He IS US Marshall Raylan Givens.  Everyone remembers the great lines and Olyphant’s delivery.  I also love the quiet moments when Olyphant uses his body language, eyes and facial expressions to sell a scene.

It’s not often a series returns and is as great as the original.  Justified: City Primeval is a great example that it can be done.  There’s an excellent set-up for another season at the end of Justified: City Primeval.  I hope it happens.

Justified: City Primeval (2023) earns 5 of 5 stars.