Category: Crime

Pike Takes the Lead

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Robert Crais is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read [and enjoyed] all of his novels… and I’m proud to say that I’ve been with his sigature characters Elvis Cole and Joe Pike since their first appearance in The Monkey’s Raincoat. In each previous novel, Cole was always center stage with Pike coming in to back-up his partner. Pike was the tough, no-nonsense hardened gunman. We knew little about him other than he had a strict code of honor, he was loyal and he never backed up.

With The Watchman, Crais turns the tables and gives Joe Pike center stage when he agrees to protect a young heiress who has become the target of a hit squad. Seems she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and now the US Government wants her as a witness and a terrorist wants her dead. Pike is more than up to the task of protecting her [especially with Elvis Cole backing him]. The book is fast paced and just as good as the previous novels featuring Cole and Pike. I just wonder if long time readers are going to like the way Crais has filled in some of the blanks about Pike’s life. As for me, I can’t wait for their next “case” — no matter who is at center stage.

Cool "Crime" Cover — 1st in a Series

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I’ve always thought this was one of the coolest covers.

Painted by Dan Brereton, it may have seen print elsewhere [Chris Mills would know!] before landing on the seventh issue of Draw! magazine. If it wasn’t painted for a specific story, it cries out for one to be written around it. It has all the right elements for a great crime saga… a tough dame, guns, money, and a rough thug [gotta wonder where that scar came from] on the run [note the hanging handcuff].

Mills Doubles Up

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I told you HERE just how excited I was about the release of “Payback – The Director’s Cut.”

Although I’ve got my copy, I won’t get a chance to view it until this weekend [at the earliest]. Still, thanks to Chris Mills’s review, I’m even more excited about the odds of me loving the new version.
Chris and I enjoy a lot of the same movies, authors, and comics. When Chris says, “This new edition does not replace the old one for me, but does improve upon it in most ways, and I’m grateful for it,” I feel that I will be as well. Of course, I’ll let you know for sure once I watch the new version. 

Time for a Little Payback

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I can’t wait to get my copy of “Payback – The Director’s Cut” when it goes on sale tomorrow. Although the theatrical version of “Payback” is one of my favorite Mel Gibson movies, I have a feeling that the Director’s Cut will be as well. I know what you’re thinking, how could it not be? It’s the same movie with just a few extra scenes that were cut out when the movie was originally released.

Not so, good buddy!

Paramount and star Mel Gibson originally felt that writer/director Brian [“LA Confidential”] Helgeland’s adaptation of Donald E. Westlake’s novel The Hunter was too dark. So they told Helgeland to do some reshoots. He refused. Surprisingly, he was fired and Mel Gibson took over the director’s chair. About a third of the movie was re-shot, new characters were added along with a happy ending.

There were always rumors that Helgeland’s version was better. Tomorrow we’ll be able to decide for ourselves. In the mean time, CHUD.com scored an exclusive interview with Brian Helgeland who talks about what happened to get him fired and why Mel Gibson helped to make it possible for the new version to be released. Click HERE for the interview.

As I said, “Payback” is one of my favorite Mel Gibson movies. My guess is that “Payback – The Director’s Cut” will be as well.

Guns in the Gutters

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Chris Mills has started a new blog called Guns in the Gutters. There you’ll find Chris’s reviews of crime comics. Chris has great taste [in other words we like a lot of the same movies, books, comics, etc.], not to mention he wrote one of my personal favorite crime comics, GraveDigger: The Scavengers! Okay, okay, so I mentioned it. Believe me, the comic is more than worth a look.
 

Crimes of the Century

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On the 75th anniversary of the Lindbergh kidnapping, TIME magazine decided to look back at The 25 Most Notorious Crimes of the Past Hundred Years. Using just their list, I decided to rank my top five… starting at the bottom…

5. The Black Dahlia, 1947. Ask most folks who Elizabeth Short was and few will know. Ask them about the Black Dahlia and it’s a different story. How can it be that a murder committed over 60 years ago still grabs our attention?

4. The Murder of Jonbenet Ramsey, 1996. Little Jonbenet was found murdered in her own house the day after Christmas. As the case first unfolded it appeared that her killer would be caught and evidence seemed to point to her own mother. The police botched the investigation, her parents left the state and no one was ever charged or convicted of the murder.

3. The Tate – LaBianca Murders, 1969. I was ten years old at the time of the killings and living half a continent away. Still, I remember the concern in the voices of the adults as they discussed the murders. Charlie Manson’s cult of followers brutally murdered six people and created a climate of fear that was felt across the country.

2. Columbine Massacre, 1999. There had been school shootings prior to Columbine, but none before had such a high casualty rate, nor did they receive as much media coverage. The fact that Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 12 of their classmates, one teacher and wounded 24 others, coupled with security video of them as they moved through the school brought the reality of the murders into our homes. We realized just how much damage two lonely, isolated kids could bring down on a school. It was frightening. And even more so when we contemplated how many lonely isolated kids could be in EACH school in America.

1. The OJ Simpson Case, 1994. Consider this: Time magazine didn’t list the double-murder of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman as the notorious crime, but instead labeled their choice The OJ Simpson Case! It’s funny that the OJ case even made the list since the trial itself wasn’t a crime, [perhaps a travesty, but not a crime]. It’s even a stranger choice when you consider that OJ was found not guilty! Despite all of that, The OJ Simpson Case is my #1 most notorious crime of the last 100 years. Not only did it involve the murder of two people, but it brought down a legend [OJ], brought into question the integrity of a city’s police force [LA], created doubt about the sanctity of our judicial system, and exposed just how differently two groups of people could view the same evidence. Here we are over a decade later and people still get heated talking about the case.

 

 

King Loves Huston

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One of the cool things about running the ZONE is getting to be one of the first to tell you about cool movies, comics, tv shows, artists and authors.

I’ve been talking up Charlie Huston since his first novel, Caught Stealing. I selected him as my favorite author of 2006 HERE. Guess who else is a Charlie Huston fan. Stephen King!
Stephen King said this about Charlie Huston in a recent interview: “When you came in we were talking about Charlie Huston, this guy who has written a trilogy. One’s called Caught Stealing and one’s called Six Bad Things and the last one, which I’m reading now, is called The Dangerous Man. I feel the same way…” …you don’t want the series to end.

Just another example of ZONErs being ahead of the pack!

Books – Best of 2006

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Last year I read a number of exceptionally well-written books. Of course there were old favorites such as Andrew Vachss, Barry Eisler, Robert Crais, David Morrell, Stephen Hunter and others. Surprisingly, the list this year is dominated by authors that I read for the first time. And when I say dominated I mean it! Literally all of the authors in this year’s top five made it on my first exposure to their work.

5. Already Dead by Charlie Huston. Modern day vampire clans are at war and Joe Pitt has a missing girl to find. Huston’s next Joe Pitt novel, No Dominion, is available now.

4. Persuader by Lee Child. I’m coming to this series late in the game, but that doesn’t make me like it any less. Child has a winner with his Jack Reacher novels. In this outing, Reacher is working undercover with the FBI to catch an international gun-runner.

3. The Road by Cormac McCarthy. A father and young son journey south through a bleak post-apocalyptic world. Food is scarce and only what they can scavenge. They must make the journey to escape the brutal winter that is almost upon them. If they don’t starve odds are one of the roaming bands of cannibals will find them. Still they press on.

2. World War Z by Max Brooks. A haunting book that Chad Hunt also recommends!

1. Stealing Home / Six Bad Things / A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston. Yeah, he’s the same Charlie Huston that wrote Already Dead. In this trilogy we meet Hank Thompson. When we first meet Hank he’s ten years out of high school and working as a bartender in New York City. Had it not been for a badly broken leg, he would have been a big league baseball player. Now he’s the nice guy who drinks too much and lacks real ambition. That is until the night two strangers yank him over the bar and beat him nearly to death. When he gets out of the hospital he gets more visitors and another beating. Soon he’s on the run from crooked cops, mobsters and hit men. If he lives maybe he’ll get a piece of the millions of dollars that they believe he has. Six Bad Things and A Dangerous Man complete Hank’s story. I loved every page and wish that it didn’t have to end.

2006 – My Top 5 Movies

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Last year I watched over 200 films and less than a dozen were seen in a theater. I used to go to the movies on a weekly basis, but I’ve found that as I’ve gotten older and dvds hit the market sooner, I will quite often wait to watch a movie in the comfort of my home. This has both advantages and disadvantages, but instead of discussing them, I thought we’d instead look at five of my favorite movies from last year.

5.  Running Scared  has more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. The movie starts in the middle of a drug deal that suddenly goes bad. An insane shootout takes place and we’re off an running. Along the way we’re going to meet drug dealers, pimps, crooked cops, child molesters, Russian mobsters, and other upright citizens. The movie constantly maintains a forward momentum as Joey Gazelle [Paul Walker] first attempts to retrieve a stolen gun used in a mob killing and then finds himself on a mission to save a kid. The supporting cast is first rate and writer/director Wayne Kramer is a talent to keep an eye on. This movie is not for kids.
Running Scared  rates an A

4.  The Salton Sea  was actually released in 2002 but qualifies for my list since I saw it for the first time last year. Like Running Scared,   The Salton Sea  is full of crazy characters and plot twists abound. I hesitate to say anything about the movie, because the journey and discovery of who everyone is and what is going on is so much fun. Of course when I say “fun” I don’t mean as in comedy fun.  The Salton Sea  is not for kids. The people in the movie are the kind that you’d want to avoid in real life [drug dealers, thieves, crooked cops and killers] but adults who don’t mind gritty dramas won’t mind spending some reel life with them.
The Salton Sea  rates an A+


3.  A History of Violence  was first released in 2005, but again because I didn’t see it until 2006, qualifies for my “Best of” list. Here’s what I had to say after seeing it.
A History of Violence rates an A+.
2. I absolutely loved Casino Royale. In fact I saw it twice during it’s initial release and can’t wait to put the dvd in my movie collection. Tom Richmond, best known for his art, perfectly summarized my thoughts on Casino Royale so if you want to know what I thought about it, click HERE and see what Tom had to say. Casino Royale rates an A+

1. I’ve been a Stallone fan since before the original Rocky, but it was Rocky that sealed the deal and made me the Stallone mega-fan[atic] that I am today. When I heard that Rocky II  was going to be made, I can remember thinking, “there’s no way it can be as good.” I was right, but Rocky II  was a worthy continuation of the story. Rocky III  was even better, but still not on the level of the original. Then came Rocky IV  which was fun, and in turn was followed by Sly’s misstep with the character in Rocky V  and with each of these sequels we moved a bit farther from the original.

Rocky Balboa  is a return to the spirit, the feel, and the essence of Rocky.  Sly’s acting is some of his best work ever. The screenplay has the wit and charm of the original. Rocky Balboa was the perfect way to end the Rocky series.

Rocky Balboa rates an A+

Drive… Wheelman

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There’s not much better than a good crime novel… unless it’s two good crime novels. Today I’m going to recommend two excellent ones which interestingly enough both feature a getaway driver as their main character!

Drive written by James Sallis opens with Driver [the main character] wounded and slouched against a cheap hotel room wall. Three dead bodies lay around him. From there the story takes us back showing us glimpses of how a violent childhood led to his current double-life where his talents behind the wheel have brought him to a potentially bloody end. Before his betrayal on a heist doomed from the start, Driver simply drove. He didn’t even carry weapons. Now, wounded and with a price on head, things are about to change…

The Wheelman by Duane Swierczynski opens in the middle of a bank robbery which has gone south. Still, with a little bit of luck Lennon [the driver] and the two robbers get away… briefly. What follows is a fast paced, violent, and at times humorous story of what happens when crooked cops, the Italian mob, the Russian mob, and other quirky characters take an interest in getting their hands on Lennon and the money. Swierczynski takes the story [which moves at a breakneck pace] and fills it with double-crosses, surprises and great prose.

Root for the Bad Guy… Again

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“Payback” is one of my favorite Mel Gibson films. Based on the novel by Richard Stark, it’s a worthy adaptation of a crime classic. The story behind the making of the movie is almost as interesting.

Screenwriter, Brian Helgeland, hot of the success of “LA Confidential” wanted to direct. Pairing him with Mel Gibson on “Payback” seemed a natural. Things went well until late into filming when either Gibson, the studio or both decided that Gibson’s character needed to be more likeable and the film needed more action.

Helgeland disagreed. Guess who won out?

Yep, Gibson and the studio. So Mel went behind the camera and filmed some additional scenes and the tone of the movie changed.

As I said, “Payback” is one of my favorite Mel Gibson movies… but I always thought it would be cool to see Brian Helgeland’s vision. Perhaps, it too, would be one of my favorites.

According to Harry at Ain’t It Cool News, we’ll soon find out! “Payback: Straight Up – The Director’s Cut” is comming out in a few months. And unlike some “director’s cuts” where a few minutes of footage [that wasn’t good enough to make the original release!] is added, this is going to be a complete overhaul. It will be Helgeland’s vision .

And I can’t wait to see it!

“A History of Violence” / Z-View

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I finally got around to seeing “A History of Violence” and it totally lived up to my high expectations. If you haven’t seen it yet, and plan to, then by all means avoid the rest of today’s post since it will contain spoilers.I was impressed with all aspects of the film. In fact, “A History of Violence” now ties “The Dead Zone” as my all time favorite David Cronenberg film. The cast was equally impressive [Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bella and the always excellent Ed Harris].

I’d also like to give special mention to William Hurt. Hurt is not one of my favorite actors, and since “Body Heat” I can’t think of any of his roles that I’ve really liked… that is until now. He was perfect as Richie Cusack. Absolutely perfect! [And if you happened to catch Hurt‘s role as the hitman in TNT‘s recent adaptation of Stephen King’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes, he was just as good, if not better!]

The thing that kept staying on my mind after watching “A History of Violence” was the dual nature in all of us. All of the major characters in the film displayed a duality that was interesting, but it was Viggo’s character that set everything in motion. So… was Viggo really Tom Stall or Joey Cusak? The things that Joey did made him a crazy killer, but the same actions made Tom Stall a hero.

Tom’s wife thought he was the greatest man in the world until she saw what he was capable of. Then she was repulsed and attracted to him. How does that work? And why?

“A History of Violence” works on so many levels. I guess even movies have a dual nature.

If you saw the movie, I’d love to hear your thoughts. “A History of Violence” rates an A+

Atomic Pulp and Other Meltdowns [2006]

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Tonight I want to tell you about a blog run by Chris Mills. It’s called “Atomic Pulp and Other Meltdowns” and it’s definitely worth bookmarking. Chris writes about pop culture as well as occasional glimpses into his life as a struggling writer.

The fact that Chris is “struggling” speaks volumes about how hard it is to make it as a writer. You see, in 2004, Chris wrote a universally well-received one shot, Gravedigger: The Scavengers [which remains my favorite single issue comic of the last 2 years].

Chris was also the editorial director on Mickey Spillane’s Mike Danger [where he worked with Spillane and Max Allan Collins]. Chris was also the editorial director on Neil Gaiman’s Lady Justice. Chris wrote a year-long run on Leonard Nimoy’s Primortals comic series.

Chris was also the creator and editor of Noir, an illustrated crime fiction magazine that featured art and stories from some of the biggest names in both the comic and mystery fields. I could continue to list Chris‘ credits, but you’d probably prefer me to shut up so you can check out his blog.

But one more thing before I close… if you ever get the opportunity to pick up a copy of Gravedigger: The Scavengers [with art by Rick Burchett], please do. I first wrote about the one shot here and then again here.

I love this comic and would love to see more Gravedigger stories by Mills and Burchett. If after reading it, you feel the same way, please let your local comic dealer know… and it wouldn’t hurt to drop Chris a line as well!