Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
There’s a new show premiering on Tuesday at 10PM on FX. It’s called “Lucky” and looks like it might be a winner.
Michael “Lucky” Linkletter is a professional poker gambler. He’s cool, supremely smart, but tragically flawed. He’s a compulsive gambler with a conscience. He’s been on top and also bottomed out. He wants to quit gambling but living in Vegas and with a debt to the mob…
I’ll be watching on Tuesday… and if I’m “Lucky” the show will be a winner.
I didn’t post anything up yesterday. I could use April Fool’s Day as an excuse. But I won’t. I’m not much for April Fool’s jokes… especially people and websites that post up something which seems like exciting news and then ends with APRIL FOOLS!
Sharon Osbourne is cancer-free. That’s great news. I don’t think that Ozzy could get along without her. Jennifer Garner [Alias] is also free, but this news isn’t happy. She and her husband, Scott Foley [“Below”] have separated.
Vin Diesel‘s “A Man Apart” had its world premiere in Hollywood yesterday and opens everywhere on Friday. Although it’s getting mixed reviews, I’ll probably see it before it leaves theaters. I’m not overly excited about this one. I say bring on “The Riddick Chronicles!”
See you tomorrow. No fooling.
I was ready to write a ZONE piece about Andrew Vachss, or a cool series of sketchbooks that I found on the web, but then I read this article.
If you’re a ZONE regular then you know that I’m a huge fan of The Shield. I was intrigued by the ads for the premiere and it’s ending hooked me. The writing and acting is first rate. ALL of the characters come off as real people. The Shield racked up numerous positive reviews and awards during it’s first season. The question was could they do it again?
As the second season comes to a close, I find myself enjoying The Shield more than ever. In case you haven’t checked it out, FX is going to run a Shield marathon of all of this season’s episodes.
That’s it until tomorrow, when I’ll probably tell you about Andrew Vachss or this cool series of sketchbooks.
FRANK MILLER is a genius. Although he’s worked in both movies and comics, it is in the latter that he has really made his mark. In the early ’80s, MILLER re-invented Daredevil taking him from a thrid rate hero to one of the most popular comics hitting the stands. After Daredevil came Ronin, and then Dark Knight Returns, the series that woke up mainstream America to the fact that comics were still around. MILLER went on to create Batman: Year One, Sin City and the groundbreaking 300. But it is MILLER’s SIN CITY series that remains my favorite. All of the stories are set in the same corrupt big city and quite often feature overlapping characters. Every tale is well worth the price of admission and now MILLER even has released a book dedicated to The Art of Sin City. My copy hasn’t made it to the bookshelf yet, as I keep looking through and admiring the genius that is FRANK MILLER.
JOHN RIDLEY is best known for his “noir” novels. He wrote Stray Dogs which was turned into the cult classic movie “U-Turn” which starred SEAN PENN, JENNIFER LOPEZ [before she hit it big], and BILLY BOB THORTON. His other books have for the most part been in the same vein…The Drift is unlike anything that RIDLEY has written before. Well, that’s not exactly true. You see, RIDLEY‘s other book s have all been very good and The Drift is no exception. In fact The Drift may be RIDLEY‘s best book yet.
The Drift is the story of a man[Charles Hanson] who seems to have it all… a good job, a loving wife and a child on the way. Charles sees it differently. He sees his life becoming more and more repetitive. He feels confined… until he decides to leave it all behind for a life on the rails. That’s right, he decides to become a modern day hobo. He meets many strange characters [most who wish to do him harm] and has many adventures in his effort to save a young girl from the life he has chosen for himself. The problem is, he has to find her before she is murdered. To say more would be to say too much.
VIN DIESEL‘s next film, A Man Apart, has Diesel playing a narcotics cop whose wife is murdered when when drug dealers attempt to kill him. Man, if they think he was after them before…Although the advance word has been mixed, the trailer looks pretty good and with Diesel in the lead, ya gotta imagine that it’ll do well.
Personally, I can’t wait until DIESEL returns in “Pitch Black II: The Riddick Chronicles” but this will help get me through the wait.
It’s been a while since there’s been a movie that I’ve really looked forward to as much as Narc. The positive buzz has been building, the trailer looks like the real deal and the web site made me want to see it even more.
“Narc” stars RAY LIOTTA, JASON PATRIC, and CHI McBRIDE. It’s written/directed by JOE CARNAHAN [who may be a guy to watch], produced by RAY LIOTTA and TOM CRUISE. I’m plan to catch Narc opening weekend.
First sentence…
Late on Tuesday afternoon, Joe Kurtz rapped on Eddie Falco’s apartment door.
Simmons’ first published story, “The River Styx Runs Upstream,” won the Rod Serling Memorial Award. His first novel, SONG OF KALI, won the World Fantasy Award. His first horror novel, CARRION COMFORT, won the Bram Stoker Award. His first science fiction novel, HYPERION, won the Hugo Award.
Even with all the awards, I was only vaguely familiar with his work. I don’t read fantasy, and very little science fiction or horror. I do love a hardboiled thriller though! You know, the kind written by Andrew Vachss, or Eugene Izzi, Stephen Hunter, or Richard Stark… or now, Dan Simmons. That’s right! With Hardcase, Simmons has jumped to the top shelf!
Joe Kurtz was a PI… before he was an ex-con. See he killed a man, a couple of men actually. They’d murdered his girl and unborn child. While it’s pretty reasonable to me that he threw one of ’em off a six story building, the jury didn’t see it that way.
Now, out of prison after eleven-and-a-half years…
…you’d think things would be looking up for Kurtz. You’d be wrong. Too many people want him dead…
Hardcase is the best novel that I’ve read this year [tied with Jack Kelly‘s Line of Sight]. For more about Hardcase, click here.
Hardcase rates 5 of 5 stars.
Rating:
Updated 5/8/23
The Mechanic (1972)
Director: Michael Winner
Writers: Lewis John Carlino,Monte Hellman
Stars: Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Keenan Wynn, Jill Ireland andFrank DeKova.
The Plot…
Bronson is a hit man… perhaps the best in the business. If he takes a job, the target is as good as dead. Jan Michael Vincent is the son of a mafioso who becomes Bronson‘s protege… not knowing that Bronson has recently murdered his father…but he’s about to find out!
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Charles Bronson had a long career staring in a bunch of great movies. The Dirty Dozen. The Magnificent Seven. Death Wish. Hard Times. The Mechanic is one of my favorite Bronson films.
The opening scene shows Bronson setting up a hit and goes on for 16 minutes without a word of dialogue!
Be prepared for a great “surprise” ending.
The Mechanic (1972) rates 5 of 5 stars.
Updated 5/8/23
I was lucky enough to discover Robert Crais with his second novel, Stalking the Angel [his first was The Monkey’s Raincoat which introduced detectives Elvis Cole and Joe Pike]. The series is modern, well written and reminds me of an updated version of Robert B. Parker‘s Spenser and Hawk [well actually, an updated Spenser and Sylvester Stallone‘s Cobra].
Crais is one of the few authors whose work I buy in hardcover as soon as it’s published. With my time being what it is, I just got around to reading Hostage, Crais‘ latest. Although not an Elvis Cole novel, it is without a doubt my favorite work by Crais [who as I’ve said is always very good].
The cool thing about this novel is that the suspense starts on page one and continues to build and build and build. The book has received outstanding reviews from critics and fans alike. Bruce Willis has optioned the book for a movie [which would be an excellent vehicle for him]!
So what are you waiting for? Click here to order the paperback… and watch for Elvis and Joe Pike to return soon in Crais‘ The Last Detective!
We had just finished watching “Survivor” and I was heading in to check my e-mail when I got a call. “Turn on CNN. They’re getting ready to arrest Robert Blake for the murder of his wife.”
I can’t say that I’m shocked or surprised. Although I wouldn’t be willing to say that he’s guilty, it doesn’t look good. I read quite a bit about the murder (how could you avoid it at the time?) and none of his explanations ever seemed to really make sense.
I’ve always liked Robert Blake‘s acting. “Baretta” was an enjoyable series and he’s been in several very good movies. It’s too bad that this doesn’t look to have a happy ending.
I was barely five years old and yet the memory of that day is burned in my mind. I remember everyone being glued to their television sets for the latest news. The nation seemed to breathe a sigh of releif when the lone gunman was captured… but did he act alone?
I’ve always been intrigued by the various conspiracy theories. In high school I read the Warren Commission report and followed the latest findings. There have been hundreds of books written on the subject, several movies, and many documentaries. “The Men Who Killed Kennedy” is one of the best summaries of the different theories that abound. Chock full of interviews, photos, film and speculation, even if you don’t buy into any of it, you’ll still be impressed by the sincerity of those that do.
I read today that it is unlikely that UC: Undercover will be brought back next season and that’s really too bad. If you never happened to catch the show, then you really missed a good and potentially great series.
UC: Undercover was created by Shane Salerno. Oded Fehr, Jon Seda, Vera Farmiga, Bruklin Harris, and Jarrad Paul made up the cast. Guest stars such as William Forsythe, Ving Rhames and Steven Bauer were regularly featured!
If the series isn’t renewed, I hope that we’ll get an occasional tv movie.
I finally got an opportunity to see “Training Day” — what a powerful movie. No doubt, if you’re a movie fan, you’ve heard the hype. This is one movie that lives up to it.
Denzel Washington turns in a truly Oscar-worthy performance (his best yet, in my humble opinion). Ethan Hawke is excellent as well. While this movie isn’t for everyone, it is for my money one of the best movies that I’ve seen in months.
If you’ve seen it, I’d love to hear your thoughts… if you haven’t, consider it on your next trip to the video store. As for me, this baby is gonna end up in my personal collection!
