Category: Movies

15 Real Life Tough Guys

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Yahoo Movies recently posted their list of 15 Real Life Tough Guys.  Here’s their list and my thoughts…

  • Dennis Farina: was a former cop and came off as a legitimate tough guy.
  • Mel Brooks: served as a demolitions man in the war.  Lacked the size to be considered a classic tough guy and probably had a better chance of killing someone with laughter.
  • Steve Buscemi: a former fire fighter who returned to help out in that role after 9/11 makes Buscemi tough guy in anyone’s book.  However, not a classic tough guy in the movie tradition.
  • Bryan Cranston: He is the one who knocks.  Of course he was also the dad in a sitcom I never watched.  Then again, he was questioned in a real life murder.  Not a traditional movie tough guy, but I ain’t tellin’ him that.
  • James Doohan: a WWII hero.  In his day, I’ll bet Doohan could kick some buttocks.  Never made it big as a movie tough guy, but that’s not what this list is about.
  • Clint Eastwood: would make anyone’s top five movie tough guys.  Glad to see him on a real life tough guy list as well.
  • R. Lee Ermey: Movie tough guy? Check.  Real-life tough guy? Check.
  • Samuel L. Jackson: Cool in the movies and real life.  Tough in the movies, I’ll buy.  Real life — not one of the actors whose name rushes to mind.
  • Dolph Lundgren: Yes, a movie and real life tough guy.  Heck, any man who dated Grace Jones had to be tough.
  • Lee Marvin would be my first or second choice for movie and real life tough guy.
  • Steve McQueen: I was never a big Steve McQueen fan.  I liked him in The Getaway though.  He wouldn’t have made either list for me.
  • Robert Mitchum: is a genuine tough guy — movie or real life.
  • Jack Palance: is another that should easily make both lists.
  • Mickey Rourke: later day Mickey Rourke makes both lists.  Mickey Rourke that started out as the pretty boy actor, was a real life tough guy, but not a traditional movie tough guy.
  • Danny Trejo: has made his career being a tough guy.

I have just one question.  How could Charles Bronson not have made this list?

“New” Theory on Who Killed JFK – “JFK: The Smoking Gun”

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I was just five when President Kennedy was assassinated.  I was on vacation with my grandparents in Florida.  My grandfather had taken me with him on a quick trip to a supermarket.  A man came running into the store yelling that the president had been shot.  All of the adults seemed scared.  We hustled back to the hotel and my grandparents stayed glued to the tv to get the latest updates.

As the years passed, there was always a lot of talk about “who was really behind” the assassination.  Was it the mob?  LBK?  Castro?  With each passing year it seemed another theory rose up to explain how the most powerful man in the world was killed.  I read each theory and filed it away.  None seemed more plausible than it was a lone nut with a high powered rife.

Still, I was always willing to give the next theory a listen.

Now there’s a new documentary that is …

based on the work of Colin McLaren, a veteran Australian police detective who has undertaken a four-year investigation into the killing.

His theories are based on the work of Howard Donahue, who spent two decades probing the assassination and whose work was presented in the book Mortal Error: The Shot That Killed JFK, by Bonar Menninger.

This theory postulates that Oswald fired the first shot that hit President Kennedy.  Then as Secret Service Agent George Hickey drew his weapon and jumped on the back of the President’s Limo, his gun accidentally discharged shooting President Kennedy in the back of the head.  This theory also explains the…

…the different ballistic profiles of the two bullets that struck Kennedy… Mr Menninger insisted that they do not believe that Agent Hickey intentionally fired at Kennedy. Rather, the Huffington Post reported him as saying, ‘this was a tragic accident in the heat of the moment.’

But the pair do allege that the government moved swiftly, with the help of Kennedy’s brother Robert, to cover up the Secret Service’s involvement and save the agency from embarrassment.

While I don’t think that this new theory is more likely than a lone gunman with a high-powered rifle, I am willing to give it a listen.  JFK: The Smoking Gun will be broadcast on the Reelz Channel on November 3.

Thanks to Joey and the Huffington Post for the link.

Dave Wachter & Stanley Kowalski from “Lords of Flatbush”

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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

Raymond Chandler’s Little Known Cameo in “Double Indemnity”

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Double Indemnity is one of my favorite noir movies.  I’ve seen it a bunch of times.

Raymond Chandler, who wrote just seven novels, is one of the founding fathers of modern detective fiction.  I’ve read a lot of Chandler and knew he co-wrote the screenplay [along with director Billy Wilder] adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel of the same name.

Until recently I didn’t know that Chandler had a cameo in Double Indemnity.  What makes this an even greater find is that there are no known film or television interviews with Chandler!

 

Thanks and a tip of my fedora to Adrian Wootten and The Guardian.

Chris Schweizer Presents Charles Bronson as Wolverine

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This piece was originally posted at  iFanboy as one of their choices for Sketches of the Week.

Cool idea.  Cool exection.

Franchesco Francavilla was listed as the artist.  No surprise there.  Franchesco does neat pieces like this all the time.

Funny thing is, Franchesco wrote in to say he didn’t draw it.  Chris Schweizer did.

 iFanboy corrected their post.  The one thing that didn’t need to be changed is that Bronson as Wolverine is worthy of Sketch of the Week honors.

Chris Flick asks, “Why isn’t Stallone in The Avengers”

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Chris Flick of Capes and Babes makes his second appearance in my Stallone Theme Sketch Collection.  I had the good fortune to sit with Chris, LittleJohn312 and Patricia at last year’s Heroes Con Drink and Draw event.  What a great evening!  Ah, but I digress…

Chris Flick worked up this cool sketch of Sly wondering why he was invited to be an Avenger.  You can learn more about Chris as well as check out his popular Cape and Babes webcomic.



Steven Grant and the Making of “Two Guns”

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Steven Grant is a writer than I’ve written about many times.

Grant is the co-creator of Damned with Mike Zeck.  Grant is also the writer of the first Punisher mini-series [which took the character from a second-tier guest star to one of the most popular Marvel characters of all-time] as well as the best Punisher stories ever told.

Grant is also the creator [along with artist Mataes Santolouco] of the comic mini-series Two Guns.  As, you’re probably aware, Two Guns is now also a movie starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.  Grant has written an interesting article that he calls Temporary Madness: Lessons Learned from Watching “Two Guns” Get Made.  You can read part one here and part two here.

Thanks and a front row seat to Two Guns for CBR.com.

 

J. O’Barr and “The Crow” Reboot

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Many of you are going to let out a groan or even stop reading when you move to my next sentence; but please read on.

The cult classic film that was Brandon Lee’s last starring role, The Crow, is gearing up for a remake.

I know.  I know.

I agree.  There is no need to remake or reboot The Crow.  Heck, even James O’Barr felt the same way…

I  was 110% against it.  There was no point or need for a reboot.  In my mind, you could throw a $100 million at it, put Johnny Depp in it and had Ridley Scott direct and it wouldn’t top what Alex Proyas and Brandon Lee did.

But after talking with director, Javier Gutierrez O’Barr’s feelings changed and he came on board.  Principal photography starts in October.

The original Crow mini-series was published by Caliber Comics in 1989.  I loved it.  The Crow movie was released in 1994 and I liked it a lot.

Since the release of the first Crow mini-series by O’Barr there have been many attempts to bring back the character or to pass the Crow mantle on to others.  I’ve given each a chance but none has the power of the original.  I have to wonder can lightning in a bottle be caught once again?

Thanks and a wave of a crow’s wing to Shock Till You Drop.

The 25 Greatest Westerns of All Time

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Recently Hollywood.com posted Christian Blauvelt’s choices for The 25 Greatest Westerns of All Time.

Blauvelt’s list has an interesting mix of classic (“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” – “The Wild Bunch” – etc.), obscure (“The Ruthless Four” – “The Great Silence”), and guilty pleasures (“The Quick and the Dead”). 

My only question is how can ANY list of the 25 Greatest Westerns of All Time not have a spot for “The Outlaw Josey Wales”?