Category: Crime

Grave Digger Deserves A Long Life

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Mills and Burchett have come together to create a comic that truly entertains. I’m hoping that the book will do well enough for more Grave Digger tales.

If Grave Digger looks like something you’d enjoy, then by all means, have your local comic dealer order you a copy.

Or, if you want to get your copy quicker, you can order one on-line [at a discount] by clicking HERE.

And no, I don’t get a kickback on this — I just want to do my part to support a book that I really like!

Two Kinds of Hostage

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Finally another movie that I can get excited about!

Hostage starring Bruce Willis in a screenplay by Robert Crais [based on the novel of the same name by Crais] has the potential to be really, really good.

Blackfilm.com has posted the first pics from the movie and you can see them HERE.

Willis plays a former hostage negotiator who is now the police chief of a small community where nothing much ever happens. That is until a botched 7-11 robbery turns into a hostage situation when the three young crooks take a family hostage. To make matters even worse… the father of the family is an accountant for a mobster.

Trust me, Hostage is a movie to watch. And Hostage the novel is one to read. 🙂

New Sin City Posters

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Yeah, I want to see Sin City more than any other movie coming out in the next year or so.

Why wouldn’t I?

I love Frank Miller’s Sin City comics. And Frank‘s co-directing this baby.

I’m a huge fan of Robert Rodriguez‘s direction.

Bruce Willis is da man.

MIckey Rourke as Marv is inspired casting. And you know Marv is one of the coolest characters ever.

And let’s not forget that Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Josh Hartnett, Michael Madsen, Clive Owen, Nick Stahl and Elijah Wood are co-stars.

What’s that? You need just two more reasons to be convinced that Sin City is gonna rock?

OK. 1] Check out the poster above of Bruce Willis as Hartigan. and 2] Click HERE to see the new Rosario Dawson poster.

Now are you convinced?

Chicklis Gets Close

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The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Glenn Close will join “The Shield“ as a series regular for the upcoming fourth season.

Close, who won an Emmy for “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story,” will appear in all 13 episodes. Production is set to start in January with new epsiodes airing by May.

Close will play the new captain [What about Aceveda?] who will probably butt heads with Detective Vic Mackey (Emmy-winner Michael Chiklis).

Close will next appear on the big screen in the Merchant Ivory production “Heights” and Chicklis is currently playing the Thing in the big screen version of “The Fantastic Four.”

Man, I can’t wait for the new season of “The Shield” to start… and May is so far away!

Gravedigger

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One last entry before the Hurricane…

When I was a kid one of my favorite things about going to the movies was the Coming Attractions. For some reason I just loved [and still love] getting a preview of something really neat… and then the feeling of anticipation of just how cool it’s going to be.

Tonight as I was putting together my comic order, I came across this really cool-looking comic, Gravedigger.

The first thing that caught my eye was the cover by Rick Burchett. Rick‘s a very talented and under-rated artist whose work has appeared in Batman Adventures, Blackhawk, and many, many other comics.

Surprisingly, when you mention Rick‘s name the first thing that comes to my mind is the character Inigma that he created over twenty years ago for a fanzine. I’ve always liked Rick‘s art and I absolutely love what he’s doing with Gravedigger. The Lee Marvin-looking lead character and 60’s style design to the promo piece had me hooked.

Then I saw that the comic was created and written by Christopher Mills. I knew the name but couldn’t immediately place what Chris had written. A little web search and I quickly remembered that Chris had served as editor of Mickey Spillane’s Mike Danger for Techno Comics. Chris was also the creator and editor of the excellent crime fiction magazine, Noir. I was a fan of both of these series so I decided to dig a little deeper.

Then I found Chris’ webpage.

Surprisingly we have a lot in common. Chris also lives in Florida. He, too, is getting ready for a visit from another hurricane [I have to go in to open the shelter in seven hours — oh, what fun!], and he has a passion for old movies, crime fiction and comics.

I ended up spending a lot of time checking out his site. Not only are there cool previews of Gravedigger, and other comics that Chris has created, but he also has an interesting blog. [Any one who not only knows about Larry Cohen and Armand Assante‘s version of Mickey Spillane’s “I, the Jury” but wants it on dvd earns a spot on my Blogs to Read list!

As you can probably tell, I’m jazzed about Gravedigger. Check it out and if you feel the same way, then be sure and let your local comic shop know that you’ll want a copy. You might even want to drop Chris a line and let him know that you’re on board. If enough of us write, I’ll bet that Hurricane Jeanne won’t seem so bad!

New Sin City Collectibles

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You all know how much I love Frank Miller’s Sin City.

I have all of the Sin City Graphic Novels and comics. My bookcase proudly displays my Marv bust by Randy Bowen… my “Death Row Marv” and my Sin City Marv “Black and White.” But you just know I want more Sin City…

Well, more Sin City stuff is coming. Everyone knows about the movie, but you are going to be one of the first to hear about the new limited edition Marv statue. It’ll stand 12″ tall, over 13″ wide, 7″ deep and retail for $199.

Dynamic Forces is also going to put out a limited edition lithograph of Marv drawn by Sin City creator Frank Miller. It’ll retail for $19.99.

Hopefully these will just be the first of many new Sin City collectibles.

Well, what’d ya expect me to say… you know how much I love Sin City!

Sin City Photos

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I can’t wait to see Frank Miller’s Sin City on the big screen.

It’s still hard for me to believe that it’s being made. Especially when you add Robert Rodriguez [one of my favorite directors] to the mix.

When the topic of comic adaptations to movies would come up, my first choice was always Sin City.

But the fly in the ointment was that Sin City creator, Frank Miller, had said that Sin City would never be made into a movie. Frank didn’t want to turn over his creation to a studio that would Hollywoodize it and turn it into something else.

But that was before Robert Rodriguez showed Frank exactly how he would adapt Sin City to make it faithful to the comics. Robert even brought Frank on board to serve as co-director!

When it was announced that Rodriguez and Miller were teaming to create Sin City, I thought, “How can it get any better?”

Then the cast began to form… Mickey Rourke… Bruce Willis… Jessica Alba… Rosario Dawson… Benicio Del Toro… Michael Clarke Duncan… Josh Hartnett… Michael Madsen… Clive Owen… Nick Stahl… Elijah Wood.

Ain’t It Cool News just posted some screencaps from Sin City. You can see them by clicking HERE. Cool aren’t they?

Now if we could just get a release date for the movie!

Carlito’s Way

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One of my favorite Al Pacino movies is Carlito’s Way.

If you haven’t seen it, you should give it a look, especially if you’re a fan of Pacino, Sean Penn, or gangster movies. It’s directed by Brian DePalma and is really, good. [I’d place a link to the dvd, but they’re coming out with a Special Edition in the near future so you should wait if you’d like a copy for your collection.]

At any rate, Carlito’s Way is one of my favorite movies. So you think I’d be excited to hear that a prequel may be in the works, right?

Well, unfortunately what JoBlow is reporting, is that if there is a sequel it doesn’t look like Pacino, Penn or DePalma will be involved!

The cool thing is that no matter what happens with the prequel we’ll always have the original.

“Carlito’s Way” rates an A

I Want "Sin City" Now

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I can’t wait to see Sin City on the big screen.

Frank Miller.

Robert Rodriguez.

Mickey Rourke.

Bruce Willis.

Jessica Alba.

Rosario Dawson.

Benicio Del Toro.

Michael Clarke Duncan.

Josh Hartnett.

Michael Madsen.

Clive Owen.

Nick Stahl.

Elijah Wood.

Whew! This baby is gonna rock.

Don’t believe me? Read this interview with Robert Rodriguez [brought to us by Quint at AICN] and you’ll be a believer! Man, I can’t wait…

Knowing Too Much…

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As most of you know, Michael Mann and Tom Cruise are teaming on Collateral.

It’s the story of a hitman [Cruise] who hires a cab driver [Jamie Fox] to drive him to five locations in one night.

What the driver doesn’t know [at least at first] is that a hit is taking place at each stop.

The initial teaser trailer was released a few weeks ago, and while it looked interesting, I wasn’t completely sold.

The full trailer is now available, along with some more stills from the film. I’ve got to admit that NOW the movie is starting to look better. The producers have to walk a thin line in how much they show though… they need to show enough to get interest up, but if they give away too much, then no one will want to see the movie.

Knowing too much can be a bad thing. If you don’t believe me, just ask the taxi driver.

Miller & Rodriguez Talk Sin City

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Comics Continuim has coverage of MTV’s Total Request Live behind-the-scenes look at Sin City.

Brittany Murphy, who plays Shelly, hosted and was joined by Sin City creator and film co-director Frank Miller, director Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. For full details click HERE.

I am so stoked for this movie. Frank Miller used to say that a movie would never happen, but Robert Rodriguez won him over by bringing in stars and filming a sample reel of what he would do if given the chance to direct Sin City on the big screen.

What makes this story even cooler is that Miller came on board as co-director! And the cast they’ve assembled is unreal. Bruce Willis is Hartigan. Jessica Alba is Nancy Callahan. Michael Clarke Duncan is Manute. Josh Harnett is Dwight. Mickey Rourke is Marv. Bennico Del Torro, Michael Madsen, Clive Owen, and Nick Stahl also appear.

Shield Back for 4th Season

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FX has picked up The Shield for a fourth season. This is the first time FX has ever brought back any of its original series for a fourth season. Fifteen new episodes are scheduled to begin airing in early 2005. This is great news — especially since we have another month to go before this season ends.

As most of you know I’ve been talking up The Shield since the very first episode. The series started strong and unlike many shows just keeps getting stronger. The cool thing is that The Shield is a hit with viewers and critics alike.

In tonight’s episode Michael Chiklis, who won the best-actor Emmy winner in 2002 for his role as Vic Mackey, makes his directing debut. David Mamet [Glengarry Glen Ross] directed the episode which premieres on May 18th!