Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
This cool Sinners tribute poster was created by Nuno Sarnadas. Sardanas is a professional artist and movie lover based in Switzerland.
Nuno Sarnadas has more art on display at his webpage.
“You keep dancing with the devil… one day he’s gonna follow you home.” – Jedidiah
LADY SNOWBLOOD by Nic Klein! That piece is money. I like it better than Kill Bill!
“Gentlemen, this meeting is adjourned.”
Caught Stealing (2025)
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Screenplay: Charlie Huston; based on CAUGHT STEALING by Charlie Huston
Stars: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Griffin Dunne, Shaun O’Hagan, Action Bronson, Matt Smith, Nikita Kukushkin, Yuri Kolokolnikov, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Oleg Prudius, Liev Schreiber, Benito Martinez Ocasio, Bad Bunny, Carol Kane and Vincent D’Onofrio.
Tagline: 2 Russians, 2 Jews and a Puerto Rican walk into a bar…
The Plot…
Henry “Hank” Thompson was a baseball phenom headed to the big leagues straight out of high school. Then a tragic auto accident left a friend dead and Hank with a career-ending injury. A career that never even had a chance to get started.
That was ten years ago. 1988. Now Hank is a New York City bartender. He drinks too much, lacks real ambition, and still loves The San Francisco Giants. Oh, Hank also loves Yvonne. She’s a positive influence and it looks like they may have a future. Life is good. Except for his nightmares about the car crash. What could have been and what was.
Still, with Yvonne, life is on the right track.
When Hank’s neighbor, Russ Miner has to leave for a few days to visit his hospitalized father, Hank is talked into taking care of Russ’ cat. It isn’t long after, that two Russian mobsters show up. They’re looking for Russ. When Hank cannot give the thugs the answers they want, they beat Hank nearly to death.
Detective Elise Roman questions Hank. She thinks he’s withholding information. He’s not. Detective Roman informs Hank that the Russians are dangerous. (No kidding.) Worse still, his neighbor Russ works for the infamous Drucker brothers. The Drucker brothers are known killers, but never leave anyone alive willing to testify against them. Detective Roman warns Hank that with the Russians and the Druckers after him, he won’t have long to live. Neither will anyone close to him. If the Russians don’t get them, the Druckers will.
Hank has no clue what everyone is looking for. Hank understands if he doesn’t figure it out, he’s dead… and so are his family and friends.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Charlie Huston’s Henry “Hank” Thompson trilogy (STEALING HOME / SIX BAD THINGS / A DANGEROUS MAN) earned the #1 spot in my favorite books of 2006. They get my highest recommendation. Although the movie makes changes from the novel, I still loved the adaptation.
Stealing Home is exceptionally well cast. It is my favorite Austin Butler film. It would be cool to see the rest of the Hank Thompson trilogy adapted and Butler make the transformation to A DANGEROUS MAN. Zoë Kravitz is perfect as Hank’s love interest. Kudos also to Regina King, Griffin Dunne, Shaun O’Hagan, Liev Schreiber, Bad Bunny, Carol Kane and Vincent D’Onofrio. They shine.
Stealing Home has a couple of shocking twists. It also has the right mix of suspense, humor and action. I loved it. Stealing Home gets my highest recommendation.
Stealing Home (2025) rates 5 of 5 stars.
A couple of months ago I was going through the Zablo vault, and I came across a watercolor of Cobra by Thomas Boatwright that I’d never posted.
At that time I said that Boatwright used to regularly livestream art and for a few years was a guest at HeroesCon. Getting art from Thomas Boatwright was always a joy. Sadly, that was years ago.
Well, just this week Boatwright posted in his newsletter that he was taking a limited number of watercolor digital commissions. I usually am not interested in digital art for my collection, but getting another from Thomas Boatwright was just too sweet to pass on. I asked for his take on Sly as Dwight Manfredi from “Tulsa King” and Boatwright came through royally.
Juan Saniose presents It Can’t Rain All the Time.
Steve De La Mare has created a wonderful alt poster to one of my all-time favorite movies, The Wizard of Oz!
“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Sean Combs: The Reckoning (2025)
Executive Producer: Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
Director: Alexandria Stapleton
Cast: Sean Combs, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Janice Combs, Mark Curry, Kirk Burrowes, Aubrey O’Day, Suge Knight, Andre Harrell, Kalenna Harper, Al B. Sure!, Kim Porter, Cassie Ventura and Snoop Dogg.
Tagline: None.
The Plot…
Sean Combs: The Reckoning uses archival footage/interviews from the early 1990s to present day to cover the rise of Sean Combs from a college student intern to hip hop mogul to industry powerhouse able to put his name on a variety of products and make them best-sellers to a convicted felon doing several years in prison.
The four part documentary, through the use of archival news reports, court verdicts and interviews with accusers and those who claim to witnessed the events, details Sean Combs’ proven and or/alleged…
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
If only some of the allegations are true (and we know many are), Sean Combs is perfect example of how power can corrupt.
I am not a huge hip-hop fan, but I found the documentary compelling.
Sean Combs: The Reckoning (2025) rates 5 of 5 stars.
I’m a huge fan of the Universal Horror Movie Monsters. When I was a kid, the wolfman was my favorite. Truth be told, I love this Wolfman alt poster by Chris Koehler more than the movie!
THE DREADFUL LEMON SKY by John D. MacDonald
First sentences…
I was in deep sleep, alone aboard my houseboat, alone in a half acre of bed, alone in a sweaty dream of chase, fear, and monstrous predators.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
At 4am, Travis McGee is awakened from dark dreams by someone climbing aboard his boat, The Busted Flush. The intruder is Carrie Milligan, a former lover. She’s scared, but won’t say why. The only thing she brought with her is a suitcase. A suitcase full of cash.
Carrie asks Travis to hold the suitcase. If she doesn’t return in two weeks, Travis is to give the cash to Carrie’s sister. Travis can keep ten grand for his troubles. Travis agrees.
Two weeks pass. Carrie doesn’t return. Then Travis learns she was killed in an auto accident in the small coastal town of Bayside. Travis decides to look into Carrie’s death. It’s too coincidental that she was killed during a time she was worried she might not return to claim the suitcase.
Travis goes to Bayside and starts digging into Carrie’s last hours. Clues lead him to an apartment complex managed by a wanna-be tough guy everyone calls Big Daddy. Travis also meets a lawyer and judge who warn Travis about sticking his nose in unwanted places.
Travis keeps digging. The people behind Carrie’s murder have too much at stake to let a beach bum like Travis McGee screw things up. They plan to fix that.
+++
THE DREADFUL LEMON SKY is the sixteenth of 21 Travis McGee novels.
In 1972, John D. MacDonald was named a grandmaster of the Mystery Writers of America. MacDonald is best known for his Travis McGee novels as well as a standalone thriller (THE EXECUTIONERS) that was retitled Cape Fear when adapted into a movie (twice).
THE DREADFUL LEMON SKY by John D. MacDonald
Rating:
I hope you had a Merry Christmas! I hope the day was a great one for you and yours.
If for some reason Ole Saint Nick left you coal or other unexpected, unwanted gifts, maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t Santa who visited your house last night!
Source: Bernie Wrightson.
“You’re Dead and Out of this World” by Mike Fitzgerald is available as a limited edition print. What a great tribute to What We Do In the Shadows!
Wishing you and yours the best Christmas and holiday season ever!
Merry Christmas!
Several years ago John Beatty and I teamed up to create “Yes, Timmy, There is a Santa Claus!” John pencilled, inked and colored what I wrote. The story was published in a charity Christmas comic by Tim Gordon.
Every couple of years I like to repost the story. What you see below is the result of our efforts. I hope that you enjoy them.
Tonight is Christmas Eve, so let me get an early start to wish those of you who celebrate, MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The art above was created by Rick Burchett. Rick and Chris Mills (RIP) created one of my all-time favorite comic characters, Digger McCrae aka Gravedigger. If you like great crime comics, you’d love Gravedigger!
