Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
June Vigants created the Sly as James Bonomo aka Jimmy Bobo from Bullet to the Head piece above. June was doing sketch commissions through the mail and although I’d never met her, I liked June’s art and decided to commission a few pieces. I wasn’t disappointed. This is the first with more to be posted!
You can see more of June’s art here and here.
Hollywood.com posted their choices for The 12 Deadliest Hit Men [and Women] in Film and TV.
There are some good choices in the list…
Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction
Jean Reno as Leon in The Professional
Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men
Uma Thurman as The Bride in Kill Bill: Volume 1 & 2
Chow Yun Fat as Ah Jong in The Killer
…for example.
But how do you create a list of the best hit men and leave off…
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in John Wick
Charles Bronson as Arthur Bishop in The Mechanic
Clint Eastwood aka William Munny in Unforgiven
Sly Stallone as Jimmy Bonomo in Bullet to the Head
Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 15 Painless Facts About Road House. Here are three of my favorites…
12. SAM ELLIOTT SAID HE GETS RECOGNIZED MOST FROM ROAD HOUSE.
Though he has nearly 90 credits to his name, in 2007 Elliott told Collider that he’s most recognized from Road House. Earlier this year, he admitted to Vulture that he “wasn’t so good” in the film. Joel Silver cast him due to his “baggage.”
8. THE DIRECTOR TRIED TO MAKE THE FIGHTS A LITTLE FUNNY.
The movie’s humor is somewhat intentional; director Rowdy Herrington said he wanted to make the fights “like a Keystone Cops melee.”
15. THERE WAS A DIRECT-TO-DVD SEQUEL.
2006’s Road House 2: Last Call killed off Dalton, who was finally stopped by a bullet to the head. It starred Johnathon Schaech as Dalton’s son, D.E.A. agent Shane Tanner, who runs his uncle Nate’s bar the Black Pelican while trying to solve his father’s murder. In 2013, it was reported that a remake of Road House was in the works, directed by original Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen.
[Did anyone know about the Road House 2: Last Call movie? Kill off Dalton? Really? – Craig]
The Pitch: ”Hey, let’s do a movie adaptation of one of Lee Child’s best selling Jack Reacher novels and get Tom Cruise to star.”
“But Jack Reacher is described in the novels as being 6′ 5″ — a modern day giant. Tom Cruise is pretty short and fans of the novels will hate the casting.”
“Tom Cruise is in so who cares about the miscasting. What do you say?”
“Let’s do it!”
The Tagline: “The law has limits. He does not.”
The Overview: James Barr, a former military sniper, kills five random people. He’s quickly caught in what appears to be an open-and-shut case. The evidence is overwhelming. Barr claims he didn’t do it and tells his defense attorney to get Jack Reacher.
Reacher shows up on his own. Reacher is a former Army Criminal Investigator who is now living off the grid. Reacher is there to prove that Barr committed the crime since Reacher knows Barr got away with a similar killing when deployed overseas.
Reacher looks at the evidence and fairly quickly determines that Barr was used as a patsy and didn’t kill those murdered. As he digs into the case, Reacher becomes the target of those behind the killings and a bigger conspiracy.
*** Beware – minor spoilers are found below ***
The Good
The Bad:
The Ugly:
Rating:
Dave Wachter is back and he brought his take on Sly from the Bullet to the Head. I met Dave a few years ago and became an instant fan. I wasn’t the only one to discover Dave’s fantastic sketches! How can you not like a great guy who is a terrific artist?
At HeroesCon this year I asked Dave to draw Sly from his first major movie, the Lords of Flatbush and another piece of Sly from his latest film, Bullet to the Head. Last week, you saw Dave’s take on Sly as Stanley Kowalski, so this week we have Sly as Jimmy Bobo.
You can see more of Dave’s art at his site. – Craig
Dave Wachter returns with his take on Sly from the Lords of Flatbush. I met Dave a few years ago and became an instant fan. I wasn’t the only one to discover Dave’s fantastic sketches! How can you not like a great guy who is a terrific artist?
At HeroesCon this year I asked Dave to do Sly from his first major movie, the Lords of Flatbush and another piece of Sly from his latest film, Bullet to the Head. Next week, you’ll see Dave’s take on Sly as Jimmy Bobo.
Until then, you can see more of Dave’s art at his site. – Craig
Sly Stallone as Jimmy Bobo from Bullet to the Head by Ron Salas. Obviously I’m a huge fan of Ron’s art. If you’re a sketch collector, you should be too!
Check out more of Ron’s art here.
That’s the self-titled Corduroy Mafia at Heroes Con 2013. From left to right we have Brian Jones, me, Gene Gonzales, John Nacinovich and Royce Thrower. How we gave ourselves the name Corduroy Mafia is a tale for another time. Instead I present my HeroesCon 2013 summary.
The Drive Up:
Doralya and I left Friday morning. We planned to leave earlier, but a late start got us on the road at about 5am. Traffic was terrible, two different wrecks slowed us down and it rained almost the entire way. From now on, we plan to drive up the night before the con starts.
The hotel:
We usually stay at the Weston, but this year it was the Hampton Inn Charlotte – Uptown. What a great hotel! It’s super-clean with the friendliest staff I’ve ever seen. Free shuttle service and free breakfast made the stay even better. I’d definitely stay here again!
Main Goal of the Show:
My main goal was to meet (for the first time) and get a sketch from Rick Burchett. I’m happy to report that Rick is as nice as he is talented — yeah, he’s really that friendly! I hoped to get Rick to draw Jack Carter (Stallone) with Chris Mills/Rick Burchett’s character, Grave Digger (Lee Marvin). Rick said he could make that happen!
I then got Greg Rucka to autograph two of my Atticus Kodiac novels. I’ve been a Rucka fan since before he started working in comics — and was pleased when he teamed with Rick Burchett on Lady Sabre. Eric Newsome was at the table as well. Eric assists with the Lady Sabre website and more. Since I am a backer of their Lady Sabre Kickstarter, I knew the password to get an advance look at a Lady Sabre script! Eric also reminded me that he had done a Stallone sketch for the SZ! It was great talking to Rick, Greg and Eric.
Books signed:
All books autographed — mission accomplished.
Sketches:
Panels:
It’s only been in the last several years that I’ve made a real effort to attend panels. Without a doubt, they have made the con experience even more fun.
Drink and Draw:
Because of weather it was held in the lobby of the Hilton. Jack the Radio provided live music — they’re good! The place was packed, but the Hilton staff was very accommodating and brought out more seats. Patricia, Doralya and I enjoyed watching and messing with LittleJohn312 as he attempted to win some art — and he did!
HeroesCon Auction:
As always the auction was a fun night. LittleJohn312 won a Wizard of Oz piece (as well as the companion piece that was in next day’s auction). The move to have professional auctioneers is helpful, but Alison’s presence as the Mistress of Ceremonies was missed.
Kickstarter:
Some HeroesCon guests had Kickstarter projects that I had backed. I made sure to swing by and congratulate each on their Kickstarter success:
Meals:
The biggest surprise is that we only ate at Fuel once. It was good to keep that tradition alive, but not over do it. The best meal we had was at Fujo Bistro — we will definitely hit that place again next year! Bojangles and Einstein’s Bagels also got our business. Sadly we did not make it to Mert’s.
The Drive Home:
We left about 5:30 and arrived home at about 12:30am. Traffic and rain were both light and we were exhausted, but in a good way.
In closing:
HeroesCon this year was huge with twice the floor space as previous years. The wider aisles made movement easier. There were also additional sections this year with chairs and tables for con guests to sit, eat and visit. The bigger painting area was also a plus.
I’ve had to rewrite this sentence several times, because I come off like a real fanboy trying to say how “cool” it was to meet Rick Burchett and Steranko. Let’s just say it was great and leave it at that.
Seeing old friends and meeting new ones is always a fun part of the show. I won’t try to list them all because invariably I would leave some out.
Thanks to Shelton and his crew for another great HeroesCon — see everyone next year!
Mike Torrance aka The Krayola Kidd is back! Mike returns with Sly as Jimmy Bobo from Bullet to the Head.
You can see more of Mike’s art at The Daily Sketch with The Krayola Kidd (and if you’ve never checked out Mike’s site, you ought to if only to see his Walking Dead cards!) and his Deviant Art site. Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable.
Kevin Sullivan of MTV caught up with Sly at the red carpet premiere for Bullet to the Head and asked him about new blood for The Expendables 3.
Jackie Chan. Check.
Wesley Snipes. Check.
Nicholas Cage. Check.
“Check” meaning Sly is going to reach out to all of them.
When pressed if there was anyone that Sly could name for sure, he responded with…
“Maybe President Clinton wants to be in it,” Stallone said before walking away. “You think I’m joking, right?”
End of the Road (2022)
Directors: Millicent Shelton
Screenplay: Christopher J. Moore, David Loughery
Starring: Queen Latifah, Ludacris, Mychala Lee, Shaun Dixon, Beau Bridges, Frances Lee McCain and Keith Jardine
Tagline: There’s No Turning Back..
The Overview: Beware of spoilers…
Brenda (Latifah), her two children, Kelly (Lee) and Cam (Dixon) along with Brenda’s brother, Reggie (Ludacris) are on a cross-country road trip. Late at night in their hotel they hear a commotion and gunshot in the next room. They go over to find a man dying from a bullet wound. Brenda gives first aide until help arrives.
The next morning, Brenda provides what little information she has to the police. Sheriff Hammers (Bridges) wants her to stick around, but Brenda says she’s available by phone. The family leaves. Before too long Brenda receives a call from someone saying he knows who she is and he wants his money back! Brenda hangs up, only to learn that Reggie took a satchel of cash from the hotel room while Brenda was giving first aide. Now a brutal killer is on their trail… he wants his money and will kill everyone to get it!
End of the Road starts off well enough. A family on the road in peril is a idea. The problem is there’s never any mystery to who the killer is and while the family is placed in dangerous situations, the way the movie unfolds we know that there’s no real danger. There is a tense situation at the start of the movie between two rednecks in a truck blocking the path of Brenda’s car. Reggie is ready to fight, but Brenda is able to calm him and get the thugs to move on. Later Brenda is trapped by a group of white supremacists and she turns into some sort of fighting machine, beating up some and shooting another! In the final act of the film (get ready for a big spoiler!), we learn Sheriff Hammers is the killer! We’re supposed to believe that 81 year old Beau Bridges is a physical threat to a woman who handed a butt-whoopin’ to Mace’s (UFC fighter Keith Jardine) skinheads?
What could have made this film work is to change the look and feel to a 1970s blaxploitation movie. Since every major white character the family interacts with is racist or bad, it wouldn’t have been too difficult. Throw in a soundtrack that echos Lalo Schifrin or Isacc Hayes and we’d have something. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen and we’re left with an OK movie that should have been better.
End of the Road earns 2 of 5 stars.
Nick Kolakowski’s Hell of a Mess is dropping soon and the fact that it’s a Love & Bullets Hookup makes my smile even bigger. Here’s the synopsis…
The heist should have been a simple one: infiltrate the top floor of a luxury New York City penthouse, steal a server with compromising data from under the noses of the unsuspecting guards, and slip back out. Fiona, master thief and occasional assassin, has pulled off similar jobs dozens of times. But with a massive hurricane bearing down on the East Coast, the timing is tight and the escape routes are limited-and that’s before she discovers something horrific in the penthouse’s master bedroom.
Now Fiona’s on the run, trying to stay one step ahead of rising floodwaters and an army of hired assassins. Her husband Bill, the finest hustler between Florida and Maine, can’t help her: he’s been kidnapped by a group of dirty cops who want the secret millions left by his former employer. The night will take the two of them from the heights of money and power in Lower Manhattan to a haunted island in the East River where no secrets stay buried forever.
It’s going to be one hell of a night… and one hell of a mess.
If this sounds like something you’d like, pre-orders are available now. I’m in.
Hell of a Mess Trade Paperback
Hell of a Mess Kindle
I like the trailer for One Way starring Travis Fimmel, Kevin Bacon, Drea de Matteo and Colson Baker. Deal me in.
FREDDY, a petty criminal , is on the run with a bag full of cash and coke. He’s way over his head and hurt bad. With a bullet in his guts he’s running out of time. FAST.
After over 100 years most folks still know the story of the murder of Rasputin, the Mad Monk! That he was fed enough poison to kill an elephant and showed no signs of sickness. That he was shot through the heart and still struggled with his assassins. That he was shot several more times, tied up and tossed in a river… and when his body was found his hands were free!
History books tell us that Prince Felix Yusupov and four co-conspirators planned and executed Rasputin. Yisupov took credit from the start…
… But Yusupov’s confession didn’t fit a single one of the facts. Every single detail in his story contradicted the autopsy and the evidence…
Mark Oliver and Listverse present 10 Strange Facts About The Mysterious Death Of Rasputin. Here are three of my favorites…
7. The Autopsy That Contradicts Everything Yusupov Said
Yusupov’s story certainly is exciting—but it doesn’t fit the facts. The autopsy report on Rasputin’s body, conducted by Professor Dmitry Kosorotov, contradicts every single word.In his memoirs, Yusupov claims that he shot Rasputin in the heart and even says that he had Dr. Lazovert check the body and confirm that was where the bullet had hit its mark. Kosorotov’s autopsy, though, found only three bullet wounds, and not a single one had even come close to the heart. Instead, the bullets went through his stomach, liver, kidney, and skull, with wounds that no physician could possibly mistake for a gunshot to the heart.[4]Likewise, Yusupov claimed that Rasputin was taken down by a long-range shot from Purishkevich that took him in the back of the head. The bullet in Rasputin’s skull, however, had entered from the front at point-blank range, while Rasputin was lying on the ground.It’s hard to reconcile Yusupov’s story with the facts. Some have suggested that he blew the murder up to make Rasputin more of a threat—but his account is nowhere near the truth. It’s almost as though Yusupov had no idea how Rasputin died.
3. The British Spy Who Might Have Killed Him
Every bullet in Rasputin’s body, according to the autopsy, came out of a different caliber gun. At least three people—or at least three guns—had to have been involved in his death.The bullet holes in his stomach and kidney could have been made by Yusupov and Purishkevich’s guns, but the one in his skull didn’t fit. It was made with a revolver, specifically, according to the most popular theory, a .455 Webley—a gun none of the conspirators carried.A British friend of Yusupov’s named Oswald Rayner, though, carried a .455 Webley on him at almost all times. And though Yusupov denies that he was ever there, a lot of people think that Rayner fired the shot that finished Rasputin off, all under the orders of British Intelligence.The British had a vested interest in seeing Rasputin dead. He was trying to broker peace between Russia and Germany, and his treaty would have turned the tide of World War I against the Allies. In Rasputin hadn’t died, it’s possible that the Germans would have won the war. And there’s a letter that seems to completely give it away. A man named Stephen Alley, stationed in Petrograd, sent a missive to England on January 7, 1917, that read: Our objective has clearly been achieved. Reaction to the demise of ‘Dark Forces’ has been well received by all, although a few awkward questions have already been asked about wider involvement. Rayner is attending to loose ends and will no doubt brief you on your return.
1. The Burning Body That Sat Up
The most popular explanation for Yusupov’s outrageous story is that he was trying to erase a guilty conscience. He’d killed a defenseless man in cold blood, but he still wanted the people to believe that he was a hero. And so he changed the truth, making himself look better by selling Rasputin as a demonic monster who couldn’t be killed.But one strange moment in March 1917 almost makes it tempting to believe that Yusupov was telling the truth: that Rasputin really a supernatural being.A group of soldiers exhumed Rasputin’s body, threw it onto a pile of logs, doused it in gasoline, and set it on fire. They destroyed his body, afraid his tomb would become a monument to the Tsarist regime.A whole crowd of villagers came out to watch Rasputin’s body burn—and almost every one of them insists that they saw his decomposing corpse rise up in the fire.[10]There are scientific explanations, of course. It’s been speculated that Rasputin’s tendons shrank in the fire, causing his body to bend at the waist. Or else the whole thing has been written off as a great mass delusion.But Rasputin, they say, predicted every bit of it. In a letter that Rasputin (supposedly) wrote to Tsarina Alexandra shortly before his death, he said: “I feel that I shall leave life before January 1. ”Even dead, the sorcerer predicted, he would not be left in peace. His body would be burned, his ashes scattered into the winds.
Evan Andrews and History.com present 10 Things You May Not Know About John Dillinger. Here are three of the most interesting things and my thoughts on each…
Dillinger helped bust his fellow gang members of out of jail.
Dillinger committed a string of high profile heists during the summer of 1933, but he was desperate to reunite with some of his old prison buddies to form an ace bank robbing gang. That September, he began plotting to break his would-be accomplices out of the Indiana State Prison at Michigan City. Dillinger conspired to have three .38 pistols hidden in a crate of thread bound for the jail’s shirt making factory, allowing 10 convicts—including experienced stickup men “Handsome” Harry Pierpont, Charles Makley and John Hamilton—to get the drop on their guards and escape. The timing couldn’t have been better. Dillinger had been arrested at a girlfriend’s house only a few days before, and was languishing in jail in Lima, Ohio. On October 12, the newly liberated Pierpont and two other men waltzed in the front door and busted him out, gunning down the county sheriff in the process.
Craig: The fact that Dillinger was able to bust his crime partners out of prison and they in turn able to free him from a jail started the legacy of John Dillinger.
He robbed police stations.
While most criminals stayed as far away from lawmen as possible, Dillinger was willing to march right into their headquarters with gun in hand. Shortly after being sprung from jail in October 1933, Dillinger and his band carried out a pair of audacious heists on the police stations at Auburn and Peru, Indiana. As bewildered deputies looked on, the gangsters emptied their gun cabinets of Thompson submachine guns, shotguns, rifles, tear gas guns, bullet proof vests and more than a dozen pistols. The crooks immediately put the arsenal to use committing a wave of bank heists that left two police officers dead.Craig: Dillinger did have guts and a tendency for flash. How many other criminals have you heard of who would dare rob a police station?
He escaped from jail using a wooden gun.
Dillinger was arrested in Tucson, Arizona in January 1934, after locals recognized a few of his heavily wanted accomplices. Following a flurry of media coverage, he was extradited to Indiana and confined to the jail in Crown Point to await trial. Authorities boasted that the jail was escape proof, but Dillinger would only remain a resident for a little over a month. On March 3, 1934, he forced his way out of the main cellblock by brandishing a phony gun. Dillinger claimed he had fashioned it from a block of wood, a razor handle and a coat of black shoe polish, but reports would later suggest it was smuggled into the prison by one of his attorneys. In any case, Dillinger used the wooden pistol to round up several guards and get his hands on a Thompson submachine gun. Once armed with real firepower, he made his way to the prison garage, stole the sheriff’s personal police car and motored to Chicago. Amazingly, Dillinger was back in action only three days later, teaming with gangster Baby Face Nelson and others to knock over a bank in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.Craig: One of the things Dillinger is most famous for is his breakout from the “escape proof” jail using a fake wooden gun to round up several guards and get his hands on real fire-power. Dillinger’s escapes and escapades made him a celebrity, but folks lose sight of the good people who ended up dead because of Dillinger before he met the same fate.
