“Booty and the Beast” (1953) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Booty and the Beast (1953)

Director:  Jules White

Writer: Jack White,  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Kenneth MacDonald, Heinie Conklin, Vernon Dent, Dudley Dickerson, Sam Lufkin, Blackie Whiteford and Curly Howard.

Tagline:  Bellows! Boffos! And Belly-Laffs!

The Plot…

Our guys are suckered in to helping a crook break into a house and steal money from a safe.  When the crook makes a getaway, our boys follow him on to a train.  They plan to get the money back.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The first half of this short is new with the second part on the train using footage from 1947’s Stooges short, Hold That Lion.  While the recycled footage isn’t great news, the fact that Curly’s cameo is in it is.

Booty and the Beast (1953) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Love the poster and trailer.  Deal me in.

The legend of Dracula is born. Watch the trailer for The Last Voyage of the Demeter now.

Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, The Last Voyage of the Demeter tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo—fifty unmarked wooden crates—from Carpathia to London.

Strange events befall the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a merciless presence onboard the ship. When the Demeter finally arrives off the shores of England, it is a charred, derelict wreck. There is no trace of the crew.

The film stars Corey Hawkins (In the Heights, Straight Outta Compton) as Clemens, a doctor who joins the Demeter crew, Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Nightingale) as an unwitting stowaway, Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones, Clash of the Titans) as the ship’s captain and David Dastmalchian (Dune, the Ant-Man franchise) as the Demeter’s first mate.

The film also features Jon Jon Briones (Ratched, American Horror Story), Stefan Kapicic (Deadpool films, Better Call Saul), Nikolai Nikolaeff (Stranger Things, Bruised) and Javier Botet (It films, Mama).

From DreamWorks Pictures and the producers of Zodiac and Black Swan, The Last Voyage of the Demeter is directed by Norwegian horror virtuoso André Øvredal (Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark, Trollhunter), from a script by Bragi F. Schut (Escape Room), Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters) and Zak Olkewicz (the upcoming Bullet Train), based on the chapter “The Captain’s Log” of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

The film is produced by Brad Fischer and by Oscar®-nominated producer Mike Medavoy and Arnold Messer for Phoenix Pictures and is executive produced by Matthew Hirsch.

“Risen” (2021) / Z-View

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Risen (2021)

Director:  Eddie Arya

Writer: Eddie Arya

Stars: Nicole Schalmo

Tagline:  “We’re at the edge of a mass extinction”

The Plot…

When a meteor strikes near a small town, toxic gas is released and people begin dropping dead.  A containment perimeter is set up.  The government calls in Lauren Stone, an astrobiologist to assist with the study of the meteor impact zone.  When some of the dead bodies reanimate it becomes clear we have a problem.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Risen starts off well enough.  A meteor impacts near a remote house, almost destroying it.  We are left to wonder if the family inside survives.  The movie then jumps about 20 years into the future.  One of the children who survived the meteor blast is now an astrobiologist.  She struggles with terrible memories of the meteor strike.

Then it happens again.  Another meteor strikes near a remote town.  The astrobiologist is called in to assist.  This isn’t a bad set-up.  The problem is Risen moves so slowly.  I kept thinking it would get better after the dead re-animated.  I was wrong.  I finally tapped out at 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Risen (2021) rates 1 of 5 stars.

“Studio Stoops” (1950) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Studio Stoops (1950)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer:  Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Kenneth MacDonald, Christine McIntyre and Vernon Dent

Tagline: None

The Plot…

Our guys are pest exterminators given a chance to create publicity for a new female star.  The boys come up with the idea to fake her kidnapping.  But when she is really held for ransom, it is up to Larry, Shemp and Moe to get her back.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I love this exchange between Larry and Moe.  Larry is about to leave the room and he wants Moe to lock the door behind him.

Larry: “Say, when I come back, I’ll give you the password.”

Moe: “Brilliant! What’ll it be?”

Larry whispers: “Open the door.”

Studio Stoops (1950) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“The Continental: From the World of John Wick” – The Teaser Trailer is Here!

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Deal me in.

The three-part event series will explore the origin behind the iconic hotel-for-assassins centerpiece of the John Wick universe through the eyes and actions of a young Winston Scott, as he’s dragged into the Hell-scape of 1970’s New York City to face a past he thought he’d left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the hotel’s mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the hotel where he will eventually take his future throne.

“The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot” (2018) starring Sam Elliott / Z-View

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The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot (2018)

Director:  Robert D. Krzykowski

Writer: Robert D. Krzykowski

Stars: Sam Elliott, Rocco Gioffre, Aidan Turner and Larry Miller

Tagline: An American myth

The Plot…

The year is 1987.  Calvin Barr (Elliott), an old man who lives alone with his dog, spends a his days (and nights) thinking about the past.  The woman he loved and lost.  The war.  How one impacted the other.  During World War II Barr was recruited for a secret special ops mission.  He was sent behind enemy lines to kill Adolph Hitler.  Although the mission was a success, the truth was never revealed.  Now Barr is a bitter man haunted by the past.

One evening two government agents, one from Canada and the other from the US, come to Barr’s home.  A strange virus in Canada is killing people and animals.  The source of the virus is, believe it or not, Bigfoot.  Unless the virus can be eradicated the Earth’s entire population will be wiped out.  Barr is one of the few people who is immune to the virus.  That and he’s a seasoned tracker/killer make him perfect for the mission.  To kill Bigfoot.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

You might think that a movie about killing Hitler and Bigfoot would be an action fest.  It is more of a slow burn character study.  The good news is Sam Elliott is playing the character.

The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot (2018) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Crime on Their Hands” (1948) starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Crime on Their Hands (1948)

Director:  Edward Bernds

Writer:  Elwood Ullman

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard, Kenneth MacDonald, Christine McIntyre, Heinie Conklin, Ray Corrigan, Cy Schindell and Blackie Whiteford

Tagline: The Stooges’ funniest monkey business!

The Plot…

Our guys are janitors at a newspaper.  They dream of being hotshot reporters.  When they get a tip the whereabouts of the stolen and priceless Punjab diamond, they decide to follow-up.  The lead takes them to a hotspot for tough-guy criminals and a pet gorilla.  What could go wrong?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Stooges trying to play it like they are tough guys is funny!

Any time you put a gorilla in a Stooges short, you have a winner.

When a woman says, “Any halfwit can see I’m telling the truth.”  Shemp responds, “Yeah, I can see you’re tellin’ the truth.”

Crime on Their Hands (1948) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“The Family Stallone” – The Trailer is Here!

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You don’t even have to ask.  Just deal me in.

After playing some of the most legendary characters in cinematic history, three-time Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone is ready to give cameras access to what he would consider the greatest role of his lifetime: dad. This new series starring Stallone’s three daughters, wife and himself offers a seat at the table of one of Hollywood’s most famous families. Stream on Paramount+ 18th May.

RIP: Al Jaffee

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Al Jaffee, the award-winning cartoonist best known for his work with MAD magazine died yesterday from organ failure.  He was 102.

Al Jaffee attended the High School of Music & Art in New York City.  There he met Will Elder, Harvey Kurtzman, John Severin, and Al Feldstein all of whom would go on to work for MAD magazine and become noted cartoonists.

Mr. Jaffee’s career began in 1942 when he began getting work from Joker Comics, Timely Comics, Atlas Comics and other publishers.  During World War II, Al Jaffee worked as an artist in the military.  After his service, Mr. Jaffee became editor for Timely Comics humor and teenage comics.  In 1957, Mr. Jaffee created the Tall Tales syndicated strip.  It ran for six years.

Al Jaffee’s art first appeared in MAD Magazine in 1955.  In 1964 Al Jaffee created MAD Magazine’s longest-running feature, the fold-in. Jaffee would create a full page illustration with text that when folded vertically in half would present a new illustration with text that served as a punchline to the original drawing.  The fold-in appeared in every issue of the magazine from 1964–2020 except for two.  One issue in 1977 lacked a fold-in although Mr. Jaffee provided a back cover illustration.  One issue in 1980 had a unique Jaffee presentation: the inside back cover and back cover illustrations when held up to a light source merged to create a third image.  Al Jaffee also created MAD’s popular and long-running series “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions.”

In 1971 and again in 1975, Mr. Jaffee won the National Cartoonists Society Special Features Award.
In 1973, Al Jaffee won the National Cartoonists Society Advertising and Illustration Award.
In 1979, Mr. Jaffee won the National Cartoonists Humor Comic Book Award.
In 2008, Jaffee was honored by the Reuben Awards as the Cartoonist of the Year.
In October 2011, Al Jaffee won the Comic Art Professional Society’s Sergio Award.
In July 2013, Mr. Jaffee was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.
In April 2014, Al Jaffee was elected to the Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame.
On March 30, 2016, Mr. Jaffee was awarded the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a comic artist.
In June 2020, Al Jaffee announced his retirement. MAD Magazine published a tribute issue that same month.

Al Jaffee’s sense of humor and artistic talent translated into decades of smiles for countless children and adults.  What better legacy could one hope for?

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Al Jaffee’s family, friends and fans.

“The Night Agent”: Season 1 (2023) starring Gabriel Basso & Luciane Buchanan / Z-View

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The Night Agent: Season 1 (2023)

Teleplay by: Shawn Ryan (ep. 1 & 2); Munis Rashid & Shawn Ryan (ep. 3); Seth Fisher (ep. 4 & 10); Corey Deshon (ep. 5); Imogen Browder (ep. 6); Tiffany Shaw Ho (ep. 7); Rachel Wolf (ep. 8); Munis Rashid (ep. 9)

Directed by: Seth Gordon (ep. 1 & 2); Guy Ferland (ep. 3 & 5); Ramaa Mosley (ep. 4 & 6); Adam Arkin (ep. 7 & 8); Millicent Shelton (ep. 9 & 10)

Stars: Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Sarah Desjardins, Eve Harlow, Phoenix Raei, Enrique Murciano, D.B. Woodside, Hong Chau, Christopher Shyer, Kari Matchett, Jessie Liang, Andres Collantes, Philip Prajoux, Greyston Holt, Robert Patrick, Tim Kelleher and Paolina van Kleef

Tagline:  Heroes Aren’t Born. They Answer the Call.

The Plot…

After FBI Agent Peter Sutherland (Basso) thwarts a terrorist bombing, he is offered a low-level position in the White House.  Sutherland is given the 8pm – 4am shift manning a phone that never rings.  The phone is a last-ditch safety line for agents in trouble.  The job is tedious and boring.  The phone never rings.

Until one night it does.

Rose Larkin (Buchanan) is a civilian who says she was given the number by her Aunt and Uncle after someone broke into their house.  She escaped to a neighbor’s place, but someone is coming after her.  She thinks her Aunt and Uncle may have been murdered.

With that call Peter Sutherland finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy.  Nothing is what it seems.  Someone in the White House could be planning the murder of the President.  In way over his head, Sutherland doesn’t know who to trust as the conspiracy grows and his superiors begin to distrust him.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I loved The Night Agent.  It’s fast moving, full of action, plays with the troupes of the genre, has twists, likeable leads, and unlikable (but interesting) villains.

Gabriel Basso and Luciane Buchanan are the leads.  They have chemistry but don’t (as you might expect) immediately fall for each other.  I liked that Buchanan wasn’t just a damsel in distress.  Both Basso and Buchanan get many opportunities to display their prowess with action scenes.

The Night Agent is well cast.  Supporting the leads are Robert Patrick, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Sarah Desjardins, Eve Harlow, Phoenix Raei and D.B. Woodside.  They’re all perfect for their roles. There are two additional actresses stole that deserve special mention.  Eve Harlow and Hong Chau owned every scene that they were in.

Part of the fun of The Night Agent is trying to figure out who is behind the conspiracy and why. If you’re a fan of 24, Reacher, Jack Ryan and the like, then this one is for you.

The Night Agent: Season 1 (2023) earns 5 of 5 stars.