Category: Z-View

“Werewolf by Night” (2022) Directed by  Michael Giacchino / Z-View

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Werewolf by Night (2022)

Directors:  Michael Giacchino

Screenplay:  Heather Quinn, Peter Cameron

Stars:  Gael García Bernal, Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris, Kirk R. Thatcher, Eugenie Bondurant, Leonardo Nam, Daniel J. Watts, Carey Jones and David Silverman

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Five of the best monster hunters alive will participate in a contest to determine the leader of all monster hunters now that Ulysses Bloodstone has died.  The winner will gain the “leader” title, and also the power of the Bloodstone gem.  Surprisingly,  Elsa Bloodstone (Donnelly), Ulysses estranged daughter,  shows up to take part in the contest.  Elsa’s stepmother, Verussa (Harris) warns Elsa against participating, but Elsa refuses to stand down.  It is obvious that there is bad blood between them.

The hunters will all enter a maze to fight each other and a monster that has been set loose in the labyrinth. The hunter that kills the creature wins the contest.  Only Verussa knows the kind of monster that lurks in the maze, but not even she knows which of the hunters is hiding a secret!

Werewolf by Night is a love letter to the classic Universal monsters.  Hats off to director, Michael Giacchino who is best known as a music composer for television and feature films (with over 150 credits on his resume).  After his efforts on Werewolf by Night music may go to the back burner.  Giacchino has great instincts and knows how to create a film that hits, pardon the expression, all the right notes.  Werewolf by Night is moody, full of atmosphere, interesting characters and tension relieved with just the right amount of comedy.

Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron, the screenwriters, were smart to write a modern film with an old school feel.  The film is in black and white which adds to the experience that we’re watching a classic horror film.  The werewolf looks, moves and acts like a man-beast and not a man in a werewolf costume.  I loved Werewolf by Night.  It seems like everyone does.  Werewolf by Night currently has a 7.6/10 rating on IMDb; Rotten Tomatoes shows a rating of 92% with reviewers and 94% with audiences.  As for me…

Werewolf by Night earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Things to Come” (1936) / Z-View

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Things to Come (1936)

Directors:  William Cameron Menzies

Screenplay:  H. G. Wells based on The Shape of Things to Come by H. G. Wells

Stars:  Raymond Massey, Edward Chapman, Ralph Richardson and Cedric Hardwicke 

Tagline:  A hundred years ahead of its time.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Things to Come is based on H.G. Wells’ novel The Shape of Things to Come.  Wells reportedly considered the book less a novel than his thoughts on what the next 100 years could hold for mankind.  That’s a big story for any movie, and maybe it’s too big.

The film starts in 1940.  We’re on the brink of another World War.  There are mixed opinions on if the war will happen, but of course it does and rages for over 20 years. Most cities around the world are destroyed.  Technology ceases to advance.  In the 1970s, a city known as Everytown is governed by “the Boss”.  His people live in bombed out buildings and wear tatters for clothes.  One day a modern airplane lands.  John Cabal (Massey), the pilot emerges.  He wears futuristic garb and says that he’s from a community known as Wings Over the World.  He offers “the Boss” a chance to join this community.

Instead “the Boss” takes Cabel prisoner.  When Wings Over the World realizes this, they send an air armada for rescue.  The advanced airplanes drop sleeping bombs.  Once the population is unconscious Paratroopers drop for the rescue.  “The Boss” dies from a reaction to the sleeping gas.  John Cabal announces that “The Boss” and the old world ways are dead.

The movie then has a montage showing the advancements made by the new world order.  Technology makes life better for all.  As plans are made to go to the moon and later the stars, there is a group who see more advancement as bad.  As the astronauts prepare for liftoff, rioters charge to destroy the rocket.  They’re too late to stop the launch.  The movie ends with two characters discussing mankind and progress…

Things to Come bites off perhaps more than it can chew.  Having a story that spans over 100 years with the focus on all of mankind is a tall order.  If this story were to be done today, it would be best served as a tv series. It was interesting to see how H.G. Wells and the filmmakers perceived the future.  The one thing that they got right, was that even when things are going well, there is always a group that finds fault.

Things to Come earns 3 of 5 stars.

THE GIRL WITH A CLOCK FOR A HEART by Peter Swanson / Z-View

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The Girl with a Clock for a Heart by Peter Swanson

First sentence…

It was dusk, but as he turned onto the rutted driveway he could make out the perimeter of yellow tape that still circled the property.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

George Foss is having a drink in his favorite tavern with his on-again off-again girlfriend when he sees a beautiful woman seated at the bar.  The woman looks like an older version of George’s first love from his freshman year in college twenty years ago. The first love who suddenly disappeared without a trace.  The first love who may have been a murderer.

It turns out that the woman is truly George’s first love, Liana Dector.  Liana says she’s back because she needs a favor. Liana stole money, a lot of money, from a rich man. The man hired some terrible people to get it back and to teach her a lesson.  Liana wants George to return the cash she has left and ask the man to call off the dogs.  Despite everything, including that Liana could be a cold blooded murderer, George feels compelled to help her.  Maybe he’ll learn why she left all those years ago, if she truly loved him… and if she still does.

George’s decision to help Liana, puts him in way over his head.  Some very bad people now have their sights on George and the police want him for questioning in a murder.  Did Liana set him up or are they both victims?

Peter Swanson has created a roller-coaster ride in the tradition of Double Indemnity or Body Heat.  Swanson has created a page-turner that should satisfy both the mystery lover and noir fan.  The Girl with a Clock for a Heart easily earns 4 of 5 stars.

The Girl with a Clock for a Heart Hardcover
The Girl with a Clock for a Heart Paperback
The Girl with a Clock for a Heart Kindle

“Last Seen Alive” (2022) Starring Gerard Butler / Z-View

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Last Seen Alive (2022)

Directors:  Brian Goodman

Screenplay:  Marc Frydman

Stars:  Gerard Butler, Jaimie Alexander, Russell Hornsby, Ethan Embry, Michael Irby, Bruce Altman, Dani Deetté, Brian Scannell, David Kallaway, Alphonso A’Qen-Aten Jackson, Brice Anthony Heller and Robert Walker Branchaud 

Tagline:  He’ll stop at nothing to get her back.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Will Spann (Butler) is driving his wife, Lisa (Alexander) to her parents’ house.  Will and Lisa are going through a rough patch.  Although Lisa cheated on Will, he still wants the marriage to work. She wants time to think things through.  When Will stops for gas, Lisa goes in to get some water.

When Lisa doesn’t return, Will looks in and around the gas station, but Lisa is no where to be found.  The man at the register doesn’t remember seeing her.  Will phones the police, but a woman missing for less than an hour isn’t a priority.  When Will discovers that the man at the register lied about security cameras not working, he discovers that Lisa was kidnapped!  But by who?  And why?  What’s worse is that she was last seen alive with Will!

Last Seen Alive has a few things going for it.  Gerald Butler can carry a film and is believable as a desperate husband willing to do whatever it takes to get his wife back.  Russell Hornsby is a welcome addition, as a cop who may not have Will’s best interests at heart. Jaimie Alexander doesn’t have much to do, but she’s good in her role.  The problem is her character’s not real likable.  It’s hard to see why Will is working so hard to keep the marriage together.

Last Seen Alive runs just 96 minutes, but seems longer.  Part 0f that comes from the scenes with Will driving to/from and at Lisa’s parents’ house.  Then there’s a repeat of a scene with Hornsby that plays at the start of the film and again near the end.  Plus the reason Lisa was kidnapped, and set up to be killed gets intermingled with knuckleheads running a meth lab out in the woods and seems overly complicated.

Last Seen Alive isn’t a bad film.  I liked it, but was expecting better.

Last Seen Alive earns 3 of 5 stars.

“The Lodger” (1927) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock / Z-View

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The Lodger (1927)

Directors:  Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay:  Eliot Stannard based on The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes

Stars:  Ivor Novello and Alfred Hitchcock

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

A serial killer who calls himself The Avenger has killed seven blonde haired women.  He strikes late at night and police have few clues.

When a tall handsome stranger rents a room from Mr. and Mrs. Bunting, they think nothing of it… until he begins to display some strange habits.  He asks that the pictures of blonde women in his room be removed.  He quietly leaves his room at night and returns before morning.  And what is in the satchel that he keeps locked in a cabinet?  Could their lodger be The Avenger?

Alfred Hitchcock wanted The Lodger to be his first full sound film, but it ended up being his last silent feature.  The Lodger is also the first film to contain one of Hitchcock’s famous cameos!  The Lodger features some animated title cards and inventive shots (the Lodger pacing the floor seen from below as if the floor became invisible; the Lodger descending a spiral staircase and the only thing we see of him is his hand on the banister as he goes down, etc.).  Hitchcock considers The Lodger his first suspense film.

The Lodger earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Stand by Me” (1986) / Z-View

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Stand by Me (1986)

Directors:  Rob Reiner

Screenplay:  Bruce A. Evans, Raynold Gideon based on The Body by Stephen King

Stars:  Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, Casey Siemaszko, Gary Riley, Bradley Gregg, Marshall Bell, Frances Lee McCain, Bruce Kirby, Richard Dreyfuss and John Cusack

Tagline:  For some, it’s the last real taste of innocence, and the first real taste of life. But for everyone, it’s the time that memories are made of.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

It’s Labor Day Weekend 1959 and four young friends learn the location of the dead body of a missing boy.  Telling their parents that they’re going to a sleepover, the boys plan to secretly walk the 20 or 30 miles to “find” the body and then notify the police.  They believe they’ll be seen as heroes.  What they don’t know is that a group of older thugish boys have the same plan…

Stand by Me is lighting in a bottle — a great adapted screenplay with the right director and a perfect cast.  There’s an old saying, “It’s not the destination, but the journey.”  Stand by Me is proof of that pearl of wisdom.  As the boys travel to see the body, we learn about their lives through emotional incidents of drama, comedy, fear and tension.  Stand by Me should resonate with the 12 year old in all of us.  It’s a classic.

Stand by Me earns 5 of 5 stars.

“Tales of the Walking Dead” Season 1 (2022) / Z-View

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Tales of the Walking Dead Season 1 (2022)

Directors:  Ron Underwood (Ep. 1);Michael E. Satrazemis (Eps. 2 – 5);Haifaa al-Mansour (Ep. 4); Deborah Kampmeier (Ep.6)

Writers:  Maya Goldsmith & Ben Sokolowski (Ep.1);Kari Drake (Ep.2); Channing Powell (Eps.3, 5); Ahmadu Garba (Ep. 4); Lindsey Villarreal (Ep.6)

Stars:  Anthony Edwards, Parker Posey, Terry Crews, Danny Ramirez, Olivia Munn, Poppy Liu, Lauren Glazier, Kevin L. Johnson  and Embeth Davidtz

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Tales of the Walking Dead is an anthology series that takes place in the world of The Walking Dead.  Each episode is a self-contained story with no continuing characters.  This series sometimes ventures into different horror subgenres (time-loop, a haunted house/witch, etc.) which is refreshing.  I enjoyed all the episodes, but even if you find one lacking, the next is something different.

My favorites were:

1. “Evie / Joe” starring Olivia Munn and Terry Crews

4 “Amy / Dr. Everett” starring Poppy Liu and Anthony Edwards

5 “Davon” starring Jessie T. Usher

I hope we get a season 2.

Tales of the Walking Dead, Season 1 earns 4 of 5 stars.

“King for a Day” (1934) Starring Bill Robinson / Z-View

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King for a Day (1934)

Director:  Roy Mack

Writer:  A. Dorian Otvos, Eddie Moran

Stars:  Bill Robinson, Ernest Whitman and Limehouse Brown

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Bill Green (Robinson) is a talented tap dancer, but Mr. Brown (Whitman) won’t give him an audition.  Green comes up with a plan when he learns that Brown loves to play craps.  It’s a gamble that could make him King for a Day.

King for a Day is a short that has comedy, dancing, and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.

King for a Day earns 4 of 5 stars.

“A Gasoline Wedding” (1918) Starring Harold Lloyd / Z-View

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A Gasoline Wedding (1918)

Director:  Alfred J. Goulding

Writer:  H.M. Walker

Stars:  Harold Lloyd, ‘Snub’ Pollard and Bebe Daniels

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Harold and a rich man’s daughter are in love and wish to be married, but her father wants her to marry Angus McCheapskate.  A plan is in place and it’s a race to the preacher where there will be two weddings!

A Gasoline Wedding is a Harold Lloyd short.

A Gasoline Wedding earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Spite Marriage” (1929) Starring Buster Keaton / Z-View

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Spite Marriage (1929)

Director:  Edward Sedgwick, Buster Keaton (uncredited)

Writers:  Robert Hopkins (titles), Story by Lew Lipton, Ernest Pagano

Stars:  Buster Keaton, Dorothy Sebastian and Leila Hyams

Tagline:  Try and Stop Laughing at Buster!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

When the man that actress Tribly Drew (Sebastian) loves becomes engaged to another, she agrees to marry Elmer Edgemont (Keaton) out of spite.  Tribley believes that Elmer is a millionaire because he attends every showing of her play and he’s always well dressed.  What she learns is that Elmer is a drycleaner who borrows the clothes and spends his pay on play tickets.  Will the rebound marriage work out or will Elmer be taken to the cleaners?

Spite Marriage contains excellent examples of Keaton’s physical prowess at stunts, especially those on a moving sailboat.  It also contains Keaton’s famous act of trying to get his drunk wife into bed.  Keaton had hoped that Spite Marriage would be his first talkie, but instead it became his last silent film.

Spite Marriage earns 3 of 5 stars.

“House of Dracula” (1945) – Starring Dracula, Wolf Man and Frankenstein! / Z-View

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House of Dracula (1945)

Director:  Erle C. Kenton

Screenplay:  Edward T. Lowe Jr. from a story by Dwight V. Babcock, George Bricker

Stars:  Lon Chaney Jr. , John Carradine, Onslow Stevens, Martha O’Driscoll, Lionel Atwill, Glenn Strange and
Skelton Knaggs

Tagline: Frankenstein’s Monster … Wolf Man … Dracula … Mad Doctor … Hunchback

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Dracula (Carradine) shows up at Dr. Franz Edelmann’s (Stevens) castle and asks Edelmann to cure him from being a vampire.  Edelmann agrees to try.  Soon after, Lawrence Talbot comes knocking.  Talbot wants the doctor to cure him from being a werewolf.  What are the odds?  As the commercials say, but wait, there’s more!  As the doctor works to cure both Dracula and Talbot, he discovers the Frankenstein monster in mud under his castle!

Doctor Edelmann is using his own blood for the transfusions with Dracula and this is causing the doctor to experience symptoms of vampirism.  Soon enough we have Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, the mad doctor and his hunchback assistant creating havoc!  Having the top three classic Universal monsters in the same film is every kid’s dream!

John Carradine isn’t my favorite choice for Dracula, but why nitpick when we also get Wolfman and Frankenstein?  Lon Chaney Jr. as Lawrence Talbot isn’t as whiney as normal and that’s a good thing.  Glenn Strange makes a fine Frankenstein.  While House of Dracula isn’t a classic, the kid in you will enjoy it!

House of Dracula earns 3 of 5 stars.

Stephen King’s Storm of the Century (1999) / Z-View

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Storm of the Century (1999)

Director:  Craig R. Baxley

Screenplay:  Stephen King

Stars:  Tim Daly, Debrah Farentino, Colm Feore, Jeffrey DeMunn, Casey Siemaszko and Stephen King

Tagline: Give him what he wants and he’ll go away.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

As the residents of the small remote Little Tall Island off the coast of Maine, prepare for a blizzard that is predicted to be the storm of the century, a murderer is discovered sitting in a chair, eating cookies next to the corpse of the old woman that he beat to death with a cane.  Mike Anderson (Daly), store owner and part-time constable and his deputy bring the stranger in to the jail cell located in the back of Anderson’s store.  Because of the storm, all transportation to the island is shut down.  They’ll have to hold him until the storm passes.

The man gives his name as André Linoge (Feore). He tells Anderson and those watching, “Give me what I want, and I’ll go away.”  Linoge has information about Anderson and others that no one could possibly know.  He also seems to have ability to make folks do things against their will.  When two people commit suicide and “Give me what I want and I’ll go away” is found written beside them, they start to believe that Linoge is a demon.  As the storm worsens, Linoge displays more powers, inflicting hallucinations and causing people to commit murder.  If they give Linoge what he wants, will he really go away?  And what could he possibly want?

Storm of the Century is a three part mini-series that creates a slow burn as we’re introduced to Linoge and come to realize that he may be more than an evil man.  Tim Daly was excellent as the level-headed, moral part time constable/store owner.  Jeffrey DeMunn was perfect as the unlikable town manager.  Equally as good was Colm Feore as the menacing  André Linoge.  As a viewer, you cannot help but think about what you would do in that situation.  Would you give him what he wants?

Storm of the Century earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Most Dangerous Game” (2020) Starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz / Z-View

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Most Dangerous Game (2020)

Director:  Phil Abraham

Screenplay:  Nick Santora

Stars:  Liam Hemsworth, Sarah Gadon, Christoph Waltz, Zach Cherry and Chris Webster

Tagline: None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

When Dodge Tynes (Hemsworth) learns that he has an inoperable brain tumor, his only worry is providing for his pregnant wife after he’s gone.  A nurse gives Dodge a card for the Tiro Fund, a foundation that helps people with terminal illnesses.  Trio CEO, Miles Sellars (Waltz), meets Dodge and tells him he’s a perfect candidate for assistance.  As a former athlete who still jogs daily, Dodge is in shape and this will help if he agrees to the deal.

The deal is Dodge agrees to be prey for five hunters.  Every hour that Dodge is alive, money will be wired into his account.  If he survives 24 hours, he wins the hunt and his family will have over 24 million dollars.  If he is killed before the game ends, his wife will keep all money in the account.  Once the game starts, there is no stopping it.  If Dodge tells anyone about the game, he will become prey forever.  He cannot leave the city and he must carry a phone that will give his location for 15 seconds every hour.

Ultimately Dodge agrees to play the game… and the race is on.  But can Sellars truly be trusted?  What information is he hiding from Dodge… and how will that impact the game?

Most Dangerous Game is based on the short story The Most Dangerous Game written by Richard Connell in 1924.  It has been adapted many, many times and when done right, never gets old.  Most Dangerous Game gets it right.  Originally seen on the Roku channel as 7 or 8 minute episodes, it has now been compiled into a 2 hour and 7 minute film.  Since each episode had to get the viewer to want to see the next, there are a ton of great action scenes, cliffhangers and twists.

Liam Hemsworth is believable as the former athlete trying to stay alive.  Christoph Waltz brings the right amount of cocky arrogance to his part.  Sure, the hunters are cliches (the Englishman who plays by the rules, the martial arts chick, the cowboy, the priest, and an aging hippie), but that’s part of the fun.  I had a blast watching Most Dangerous Game and wish more movies followed the format.

Most Dangerous Game earns 4 of 5 stars.

Rob Zombie’s “The Munsters” (2022) / Z-View

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The Munsters (2022)

Director:  Rob Zombie

Screenplay:  Rob Zombie based on the television show The Munsters by Allan Burns, Chris Hayward

Stars:  Cassandra Peterson, Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Richard Brake, Daniel Roebuck, Dee Wallace, Sylvester McCoy, Pat Priest, Jorge Garcia, Catherine Schell and Butch Patrick

Tagline: None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

The Munsters was a television comedy that ran for two seasons from September 1964 to May 1966.  The show featured a family of monsters living in the suburbs.  The family consisted of Herman Munster, based on Frankenstein’s monster; his vampire wife, Lilly; their son Eddie (a werewolf); Lilly’s father, Grandpa who was a vampire and their niece, Marilyn who was pretty by conventional standards (but the family thought of her as unattractive).  The comedy came from neighbors’ reactions to the Munsters and the family’s interactions with each other and normal folks.

Rob Zombie’s reboot explores how Herman and Lilly first fell in love.  I wanted to like The Munsters.  While I wasn’t a huge fan of the original series, I did watch it as a child.  My wife who is just a few months younger than me was a huge fan.  She had high hopes for the reboot.  We started watching and she was ready to bail after the first few scenes.  Ultimately we stuck with it for about 30 minutes before tapping out.

Part of the problem is the movie starts with several scenes and no Munster in sight.  Instead we have a mad scientist and his halfwit hunchback, Floop (I kid you not.  His name is Floop.  Is that supposed to get a cheap laugh?) robbing graves.  When Floop is sent to retrieve the brain of one of the world’s smartest men, he instead brings back the man’s brother’s brain.  The world’s smartest man and his brother, who happens to be one of the world’s dumbest men both conveniently (for the joke to work) died within hours of each other.

Meanwhile Grandpa is trying to hook Lilly up with a Nosferatu-looking vampire.  We get to see them on a date.  Lilly’s brother (a werewolf) is trying to get Grandpa to sell the house.  Meanwhile the mad scientist is creating Herman.  Oh, and there’s scenes of Grandpa watching Transylvania tv talk shows.

Does this sound like fun or anything even remotely funny?  If you think so, then give The Munsters a go.  It wasn’t for me… or my wife who is a Munster‘s fan.  Of course your mileage may differ.

The Munsters earns 1 of 5 stars.

“Corrective Measures” (2022) Starring Bruce Willis and Michael Rooker / Z-View

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Director:  Sean Patrick O’Reilly

Screenplay:  Sean Patrick O’Reilly based on Corrective Measures by Grant Chastain and Fran Moyano

Stars:  Bruce Willis, Michael Rooker and Tom Cavanagh

Tagline: None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Overseer Devlin (Rooker) is Warden of a maximum security prison for super powered villains.  When Payback, a vigilante is sent there, things heat up.  Payback sees himself as an avenger who kills super powered villains and the prison is full of them.  In addition as Devlin works out his plan for an early retirement, Lobe (Willis), an evil genius with secret powers is working on his own plan for an early release.

Corrective Measures is a low budget film.  And the amount and type of effects used throughout the film are evidence of it.  Willis and Rooker aren’t given much to do and the film would probably benefited from having their salaries go to unknown actors and a bigger effects budget.  Then again, having Willis and Rooker’s names on the poster probably got more eyes on the film.

State of Emergency earns 2 of 5 stars.