“The Vampire Lestat” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

Although I’m a huge fan of Interview with the Vampire (both the Tom Cruise movie and the AMC series), I was a bit concerned when I heard that the next season would be titled The Vampire Lestat.   A rock-and-roll vampire?  Not sure how that could work. (And no, I’ve never read the novels.)

After seeing this trailer, I think my concerns were misguided.  Time will tell.

Deal me in.

It’s time to set the record straight.

#TheVampireLestat debuts June 7 exclusively on AMC and AMC+.

“Primitive War” (2025) / Z-View


Primitive War
 (2025)

Director: Luke Sparke

Screenplay: Ethan Pettus, Luke Sparke; based on PRIMITIVE WAR by Ethan Pettus

Stars: Ryan Kwanten, Tricia Helfer, Nick Wechsler, Anthony Ingruber and Jeremy Piven.

Tagline:  This ain’t no walk in the park.

The Plot…

1968.  Viet Nam.  A squad of Green Berets has gone missing while on a mission deep in the jungle.  The Vulture Squad led by Sergeant Ryan Baker, second-in-command Sergeant Xavier Wise, snipers Keyes and Stovall as well as soldiers Verne, Taylor and Miller are sent in to find the missing Berets.

What they find instead seems impossible.  Dinosaurs.  Living, breathing and very hungry dinosaurs.

This mission won’t be a walk in the park.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Primitive War is based on a self-published book by Ethan Pettus.

Soldiers vs dinosaurs, cowboys vs dinosaurs, heck anyone vs dinosaurs should be fun.  Primitive War is good, but I was hoping for better.  Still, it’s not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.

Primitive War (2025) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Primate” (2025) / Z-View


Primate
(2025)

Director: Johannes Roberts

Screenplay: Johannes Roberts, Ernest Riera

Stars: Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, Victoria Wyant, Gia Hunter, Benjamin Cheng, Troy Kotsur, Stuart Whelan  and Ben Pronsky.

Tagline:  Something’s wrong with Ben.

The Plot…

Lucy Pinborough is heading home with some girlfriends from college.  Home is a remote Hawaiian house owned by her father.  Her dad is a famous novelist who is going to be away for the weekend on a book tour.  Lucy plans to have a party at her house with her girlfriends and some guys they met on the plane.  Oh, and Ben will be there as well.

Ben is a chimp that Lucy’s family adopted when he was just a baby.

What nobody knows is that Ben has contracted rabies.  And is about to become murderous.

Party on!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Here’s a little known fact: Hawaii is the only state in the US that maintains rabies-free status due to its strict rabies vaccination and quarantine requirements.

I had never seen Johnny Sequoyah before this.  She was excellent.

Primate (2025) rates 3 of 5 stars.

“Greystoke, The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes” by Leo Leibelman!

Leo Leibelman is a freelance artist who has provided art for comics, trading cards, novels, instructional materials, film storyboards and more.  Leo Leibelman takes commissions.

How cool is that that Leibelman chose to paint Greystoke, The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes?  Such a cool, underated movie, that deserves more recognition!

“Listen to me John. How many other white apes have you seen? You’re like me, not them. You have another family, far away, one you have never seen.”Capitaine Phillippe D’Arnot

“Paradise” Season 2 starring Sterling K. Brown / Z-View

Paradise: Season 2 (2026)

Created by: Dan Fogelman 

Director:

  • Glenn Ficarra & John Requa (Eps. 9-10)
  • Ken Olin (Eps. 11-12)
  • Liza Johnson (Eps. 13-14)
  • Hanelle M. Culpepper (Eps. 15-16)

Teleplay:

  • Dan Fogelman & Eric Wen (Ep. 9)
  • Jason Wilborn (Ep. 10)
  • Scott Weinger (Ep. 11)
  • Stephen Markley (Ep. 12)
  • Katie French (Ep. 13)
  • Nadra Widatalla (Ep. 14)
  • Melissa Glenn (Ep. 15)
  • John Hoberg & Seena Haddad (Ep. 16)

Stars: Sterling K. Brown, Julianne Nicholson, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Aliyah Mastin, Percy Daggs IV, Krys Marshall, Enuka Okuma, Charlie Evans and James Marsden.

Tagline:  The truth lies outside.

The Plot…

As Xavier searches for his wife outside the bunker, he is met with several challenges, dangers and takes responsibility for the life  of an innocent.

Inside the bunker, efforts continue to bring down the current administration.  Sinatra fights for her life as an assassin proves she is willing to kill anyone who gets in her effort to gain more power.

Outside the bunker, a group of heavily armed survivors march toward a showdown with those in the bunker.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

If you thought that Paradise: Season 1 had a surprising plot twist, Season 2 says, “Hold my beer.”

Paradise continues to be one of the best written, best directed and best acted shows on television.

Bring on Season 3.

Paradise: Season 2 (2026) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“The Mist” Tribute Poster to Frank Flanagan’s Version!

Creepy Duck Design is a fan of The Mist and is also looking forward to Frank Flanagan’s version.  Here’s a cool tribute poster to the reboot.

“Now listen people. We are experiencing some kind of disaster. I don’t know whether it’s man-made or natural, but I do know that it’s definitely not supernatural. Or biblical. And no offense Mrs. Carmody, but the only way we’re going to help ourselves is to seek rescue. We’re going out.” – Brent Norton

“Sisu: Road to Revenge” (2025) written & directed by Jalmari Helander, starring Jorma Tommila and Stephen Lang / Z-View


Sisu: Road to Revenge
(2025)

Director: Jalmari Helander

Screenplay: Jalmari Helander

Stars: Jorma Tommila, Richard Brake, Stephen Lang.

Tagline:  When they took his family, he took revenge.

The Plot…

After the events in Sisu, Aatami Korpi returns to his homeland to retrieve the lumber he used to build the home where Russians murdered his wife and children.  Korpi plans to rebuild the house in a new land.

After his family was murdered Korpi became obsessed with revenge.  His exploits as  “the commando who refuses to die” were spoken in hushed whispers by Russians and Nazis alike.  Korpi killed untold numbers of enemy soldiers and became a legend.

Now as Korpi makes his way home with his truckload of lumber, it has become known he has returned.  The KGB wants Korpi dead as revenge for the many Red Army soldiers he killed.  Yeagor Draganov, the man who killed Korpi’s family, is released from prison with the promise of his freedom and riches if he can kill Korpi.  Draganov is given as many soldiers and weapons as he needs to get the job done.

Let the fun begin!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Sisu: Road to Revenge reminds me of the Road Runner cartoons I loved as a kid.  And that’s a good thing.

Sisu: Road to Revenge (2025) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Primal”: Season 3 created by Genndy Tartakovsky / Z-View

Primal: Season 3 (2026)

Written and storyboarded by:

  • Genndy Tartakovsky (episodes 21; 24; 28-30)
  • David Krentz (episodes 22; 25; 27)
  • Mark Andrews & Genndy Tartakovsky (episodes 23; 26)

Story:

  • Darrick Bachman & Genndy Tartakovsky (episodes 21-30)

Stars: Aaron LaPlante, Laëtitia Eïdo

Tagline: None.

The Plot…

After a devastating attack on Mira’s village, a shaman uses mystical powers to reanimate Spear.  Now a zombie, Spear wanders the jungle having adventures.

Will Spear ever find peace?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Genndy Tartakovsky is the creative force behind Primal.  Season 3 surprisingly brings back Spear as a zombie.  I wasn’t a fan of this.  While I did like the final episode’s resolution,  this season, for me, fell far short of the previous two.

Primal: Season 3 (2026) earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Rocky” Getting 50th Anniversary Limited Theatrical Release Plus Sneak Peak of “I Play Rocky”

Rocky, the Academy-award winning best picture, will be returning to theaters this November to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film’s release.

This limited release will feature a 4K version of the original film plus an exclusive look at the upcoming Sylvester Stallone biographical feature, I Play Rocky directed by Peter (Green Book) Farrelly, with an introduction from the I Play Rocky cast.

Finally a film to get me back into a theater!  For more details check out…

Rocky Will Receive 50th Anniversary 4K Run In Theaters at Bleeding Cool.

Talk About a Stranger (1952) starring George Murphy, Nancy Davis, Bill Gray, Lewis Stone and Kurt Kasnar / Z-View


Talk About a Stranger
(1952)

Director: David Bradley

Screenplay: Margaret Fitts; story by Charlotte Armstrong

Stars: George Murphy, Nancy Davis, Billy Gray, Lewis Stone, Kurt Kasznar, Kathleen Freeman and Stanley Andrews.

Tagline:  It Sends Chills Down Your Spine!

The Plot…

A mysterious man who has moved into a remote house that had sat abandoned gets on the wrong side of a twelve year old boy.  The child decides to make the man’s life hell.

And does.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The boy’s parents sure give him a lot of freedom!  Of course it was a different time.

Talk About a Stranger (1952) rates 3 of 5 stars.