Category: Movies

“The Mechanic” starring Charles Bronson & Jan-Michael Vincent / Z-View

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The Mechanic (1972)

Director: Michael Winner

Writers: Lewis John Carlino,Monte Hellman

Stars: Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Keenan Wynn, Jill Ireland andFrank DeKova.

The Plot…

Bronson is a hit man… perhaps the best in the business. If he takes a job, the target is as good as dead. Jan Michael Vincent is the son of a mafioso who becomes Bronson‘s protege… not knowing that Bronson has recently murdered his father…but he’s about to find out!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Charles Bronson had a long career staring in a bunch of great movies. The Dirty Dozen. The Magnificent Seven. Death Wish. Hard Times. The Mechanic is one of my favorite Bronson films.

The opening scene shows Bronson setting up a hit and goes on for 16 minutes without a word of dialogue!

Be prepared for a great “surprise” ending.

The Mechanic (1972) rates 5 of 5 stars.


Updated 5/8/23

Diesel’s Streak

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Vin Diesel has a great streak going… Pitch Black… The Fast and the Furious…

…and now XXX.

All of these films are/will be in my dvd library.

With talk of sequels for both Pitch Black and XXX, Vin could actually join Sean Connery, Sly Stallone, and Harrison Ford who all have had TWO movie franchises going at the same time!

XXX works. Diesel is believable as the extreme sports junkie recruited to become a government agent. The set-up and “training” sequences are really fun and include some of the best scenes in the movie. [And ya gotta love how they show a James Bond type trying to survive in this new world.] Samuel L. Jackson is always a plus and I hope we get to see more of him [in action] in the sequel.

Vin Diesel‘s next film could be the sequel to Pitch Black followed by the sequel to XXX. Both of these are fan favorites so it looks like the streak will continue to grow…

… and so will my movie collection!

“Signs” starring Mel Gibson / Z-View

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The signs were all there.

M. Night Shyamalan was back.  He had already written and directed the oh-so-cool “Sixth Sense” and the well done “Unbreakable.” Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix were to co-star. The trailers were suspenseful. They left you wanting more. Yeah, the signs were all there.

But you never know.

I saw Signs yesterday and it’s been on my mind. The story involves aliens.. but not in the way I was expecting. It’s as much about family, redemption, and faith as it is aliens. And it is scary. Very scary! It will also make you laugh, move you to the verge of tears, and more than likely leave you feeling happy.

Signs rates a solid 5 of 5 stars.

I think you’ll enjoy it.  The signs are all there.

Rating:

"Reign of Fire" Rocks

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I went to “Reign of Fire” hoping for an action-packed roller-coaster ride. 

“Reign of Fire” boasts a screenplay by three people [Gregg Chabot, Kevin Peterka, Matt Greenberg], that I’ve never heard of. Its stars are Christian Bale, and Matthew McConaughey [neither considered “A” list], and is directed by Rob Bowman [who didn’t impress me with the “X-Files” movie]. The odds were that the film would be entertaining at best… the odds were wrong. This film rocks.

Bale did an excellent job in his role but McConaughey OWNED every scene he was in. The direction, production values, special effects were all top notch.

“Reign of Fire” rates an  A

Hellboy Goes Green

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Ain’t It Cool News has reported that the Hellboy movie based on Mike Mignola‘s fan favorite character, Hellboy, has been greenlit. Guillermo Del Toro (“Blade II“) is set to direct. Despite earlier reports that Vin Diesel might play Hellboy, it appears that Ron Pearlman will get the role instead. This is cool for a number of reasons, the first two being that 1) Pearlman was the first choice of both Mignola and Del Toro and 2) Pearlman is so right for the role! Filming begins this winter in Prague! You can get full details here.

Hellboy is one of the few comics that I buy EVERY time it comes out. Mignola never disappoints. Here are a couple of trade paperbacks that could help you get up to speed if you’ve missed out…

Hellboy: Seeds of Destruction

Hellboy: Conqueror Worm

Hellboy: Odd Jobs

I’m really excited about the prospects for the movie Hellboy. Del Toro is a fan of the comic, Mignola is working closely with him and Pearlman completes the trio. This could be really cool. I’ll keep ya posted!

“Training Day” is a Winner!

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I finally got an opportunity to see “Training Day” — what a powerful movie. No doubt, if you’re a movie fan, you’ve heard the hype. This is one movie that lives up to it.

Denzel Washington turns in a truly Oscar-worthy performance (his best yet, in my humble opinion). Ethan Hawke is excellent as well. While this movie isn’t for everyone, it is for my money one of the best movies that I’ve seen in months.

If you’ve seen it, I’d love to hear your thoughts… if you haven’t, consider it on your next trip to the video store. As for me, this baby is gonna end up in my personal collection!

“Killer Inside Me” Coming But Who to Play Lou Ford?

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Earlier this week Variety reported that Dominic Sena (“Gone in 60 Seconds”) will direct the 1952 pulp fiction classic “The Killer Inside Me” by Jim Thompson. While I didn’t care much for “Gone in 60 Seconds” because of the story, I am fairly excited about the prospects for “The Killer Inside Me.”

First of all, it’s an excellent book, considered by many to be Jim Thompson‘s best. Stanley Kubrick called it “the most chilling and believeable first-person story of a criminally warped mind that I have ever encountered.” I agree.

But who to play the main character, Lou Ford, a sheriff’s deputy with a psychopathic side? My vote would be for someone totally unexpected… someone like Sylvester Stallone! Fans have been wanting to see him play a bad guy… well, this could be the role. Whoever is chosen should be playing totally against character… someone that everyone would NEVER suspect is a psychopathic murderer… if not Sly then maybe Harrison Ford? At any rate… check out the book!

John Carpenter’s “Assault on Precinct 13”

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I’ve been going through some old files lately and came across the picture above. It’s from a movie, directed by John Carpenter, called “Assault on Precinct 13.” Although a real low-budget film, it is one of Carpenter‘s best. The story concerns a small group of cops, office workers and convicts fighting for their lives in an abandoned police station under siege by a street gang.

The picture above is of Darwin Johnston who played a real hard case named Napoleon Wilson. I was surprised that Johnston didn’t do more of these types of roles. Tony Burton from the “Rocky” movies co-starred. The movie is worth a look if you enjoy action/adventure.

Two “Matrix” Movies and a “Riddick” Trilogy

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The Matrix: Reloaded will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 15th which is the same day the film will be released worldwide. Man, I am so stoked for this movie. Still, I don’t see how there is any way that it can be as good as the first… and to think that before the end of the year we’ll also get to see The Matrix: Revolutions.

And while we’re on the topic of movies I am really looking forward to… did you hear that Karl Urban, [The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers] has joined the cast of the Chronicles of Riddick, which stars Vin Diesel? Thandie Newton [Mission Impossible 2, Shade] is also in negotiations to join the cast. Thandie and Vin could make for a very interesting pair!

Now let’s see… Two Matrix movies released before the year is over… and a Riddick trilogy which begins filming in June.  Ah… life is good!

“Hellboy” Next for Del Toro

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According to Countingdown.com, director Guillermo Del Toro said “I hope Hellboy is my next movie… It’s difficult for me to get a $60 million dollar movie financed with Ron Perlman as the star, but I’m not giving up, since Mike Mignola and I think he is perfect for the part. If you want to know what the movie will look like, just go get the comic book. I will be as faithful as I can…Abe Sapien is such a characteristic figure, that we will basically have to do him completely artificial through puppetry and CG, to make him *exactly* as Mignola drew him. But I think his voice could either go the Kevin Spacey way or the Steve Buscemi way. Two total opposites that would nevertheless make the character interesting”.

Although there was some speculation early on that Vin Diesel would get the role of Hellboy, I think that Pearlman is also an excellent choice. He won’t bring in the initial crowd that Diesel. would, but if the movie rocks, the audience will find it!
Updated 5/14/23

Del Toro Wants Perlman for “Hellboy”

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Countingdown posted an item from director Guillermo Del Toro who said…

“I hope Hellboy is my next movie… It’s difficult for me to get a $60 million dollar movie financed with Ron Perlman as the star, but I’m not giving up, since Mike Mignola and I think he is perfect for the part. If you want to know what the movie will look like, just go get the comic book. I will be as faithful as I can…Abe Sapien is such a characteristic figure, that we will basically have to do him completely artificial through puppetry and CG, to make him *exactly* as Mignola drew him. But I think his voice could either go the Kevin Spacey way or the Steve Buscemi way. Two total opposites that would nevertheless make the character interesting”.

Thanks also to Dark Horizons.

Although there was some speculation early on that Vin Diesel would get the role of Hellboy, I think that Pearlman is also an excellent choice. He won’t bring in the inital crowd that Diesel. would, but if the movie rocks, the audience will find it!

Sammy Terry: Indiana’s Horror Host!

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The scary looking guy to the left is Sammy Terry. If you grew up in the mid-west, there’s a good chance that you watched and enjoyed him as he hosted “Nightmare Theater” out of Indianapolis back in the mid 60’s through the 80’s.

I used to love staying up late to watch the monster movies that he presented. Thanks to Sammy and his “Nightmare Theater,” I discovered the classics (“Bride of Frankenstein,” “The Thing,” “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and many others]. Sammy would come on to introduce the movie and tell bad jokes… he would then be back after commercial breaks with more bad jokes… and of course, he would end each show wishing everyone “pleasant nightmares.”

I was happy to find a site dedicated to Sammy, the scariest guy that we all loved!