“The Court Jester” (1955) starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury and Cecil Parker / Z-View

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The Court Jester (1955)

Director: Norman Panama, Melvin Frank

Screenplay:  Norman Panama, Melvin Frank

Stars:  Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury, Cecil Parker,
Mildred Natwick, Robert Middleton, Michael Pate, Alan Napier and John Carradine.

Tagline: The Musical Romantic Adventure Of This Or Any Year!

The Plot…

King Roderick usurped the throne by killing the royal family.  Or so he thought.  A baby survived.  There is no doubt that the infant is of royal blood, as he possesses the inherited “purple pimpernel” birthmark on his bottom.  The baby is safely hidden away by The Black Fox and his rebel band.

Hubert Hawkins, a minstrel, joined the rebels.  He wanted to be a warrior fighting to overthrow King Roderick.  Unfortunately, Hubert is small, weak and not overly brave.

Roderick has barricaded himself in the King’s castle.  Unaware that a true heir to the throne survives, the king’s army provides support.  The Black Fox knows that their alliegence will change once they see the royal birthmark on the infant.  If they could only get a key to the king’s secret tunnel that would allow them access to the castle.

By chance, the rebels learn that Giacomo is on his way to the castle.  He will begin his new job as the King’s Jester!  A risky plan is quickly put together.  Hubert Hawkins will assume the role of Giacomo the Jester!  He will gain the king’s confidence, steal the key to the tunnel and The Black Fox and his rebels will take it from there.

Of course there are many things that can go wrong… all of them and more will.

Get it?  Got it?  Good!

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Court Jester is one of my all time favorite musical/comedies.  There are so many truly funny scenes.  It is well written, well directed and perfectly cast.

Basil Rathbone was a two-time British Army fencing champion.  He was considered by many to be Hollywood’s best sword fighter. As such Rathbone had many famous on-screen sword fights.  His most famous were against Errol Flynn in Captain Blood and The Adventures of Robin Hood;  versus John Barrymore in Romeo and Juliet;  against Richard Plantagenet in Tower of London; against Tyrone Power in The Mark of Zorro and in his last on-screen battle versus Danny Kaye in The Court Jester.

The Court Jester (1955) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Suspiria” (1977) directed by Dario Argento; starring Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini and Joan Bennett / Z-View

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Suspiria (1977)

Director: Dario Argento

Screenplay:  Dario Argento, Daria Nicolodi; based on Suspiria de Profundis by Thomas De Quincey

Stars:  Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé, Barbara Magnolfi, Susanna Javicoli, Eva Axén, Alida Valli and Joan Bennett.

Tagline: The Only Thing More Terrifying Than The Last 12 Minutes Of This Film. Are The First 80.

The Plot…

Suzy Bannion, a talented American dancer is excited.  She was accepted to study at the prestigious Tanz dance school in West Germany.  Just prior to Suzy’s arrival a student at the academy was murdered.  That was just the start.  As more students turn up dead, the truth of the school will be revealed.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Dario Argento’s (co-writer & director) original idea was the story would take place at a dance school for children.  The producers and studio rejected the idea.  They felt having children experience the violence in the film would result in a banned film.  Argento revised the screenplay to consist of young adults… BUT he didn’t rewrite the dialogue.  This explains why some of the dialogue seems childlike.

Most folks like Suspiria much more than me.  I thought it was slow, predictable and not very scary.  Of course, your mileage may vary.

Suspiria (1977) rates 2 of 5 stars.

The Whisper Man (2026) starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott and Michael Keaton / Z-View

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The Whisper Man (2026)

Director: James Ashcroft

Screenplay:  Ben Jacoby, Chase Palmer; based on THE WHISPER MAN by Alex North.

Stars:  Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott and Michael Keaton.

Tagline: If you leave a door half open, soon you’ll hear the whispers spoken.

The Plot…

Tom Kennedy is a widower raising his young son, Jake, by himself.  When Jake disappears, Tom turns to his estranged father, Peter, for help.  Peter is a retired police detective. Tom hopes his dad will have some influence and insight.

Things take a turn for the worse when it becomes clear that Jake was taken by a Whisper Man copycat.  The Whisper Man was a serial killer now in prison serving a life sentence.   If Jake is with the copycat, he will be killed in soon.  The killer’s ritual was to keep his victims alive for a few days before killing them.

The clock is ticking.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Michael Keaton has a small but important role.  

Strange things happen in their house before Jake disappears.  The fact that his father didn’t take certain precautions just didn’t ring true to me.  Also the reveal of the Whisper Man copycat killer seemed a stretch.  As did the ending. 

The Whisper Man (2026) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“The Last House” (2026) starring Greta Lee and Wagner Moura / Z-View

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The Last House (2026)

Director: Louis Leterrier

Screenplay:  Matthew Robinson

Stars:  Greta Lee, Wagner Moura.

Tagline: How long can you survive?

The Plot…

Jason, Ann and their two kids, Graham and Ruth are inside when a powerful storm hits.  After the rain, they discover that their doors and windows are sealed shut.  Worse still, the rain did the same to everyone’s house.  When Jason attempts to break windows, knock down the door or bust through walls, he discovers the rain somehow placed an unbreakable barrier around their house.

At first, they are sure help will come.  But it doesn’t.  They have electricity and water but no phone service or internet.  Inventory is taken.  They begin rationing food.  As a family they prepare for longterm survival — an indoor garden, a water reclamation system, and more.

They’ve done all they can.  But will it be enough?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

The Last House has an interesting concept: trapped in your house and you have to figure a plan for survival.   For me, it was an interesting ride until the end.  I didn’t care for the ending.  It reminded me of the old saying, “It’s not the destination, but the journey that matters.”

The Last House (2026) rates 3 of 5 stars.

Sly Stallone is Rocky Balboa by David Lapham!

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David Lapham is an Eisner Award-winning​ comic book creator best known for his independent crime series Stray Bullets.  When Lapham offered a headsketch special, I jumped on board for two.

Lampham again quickly responded that he was up for both.  I immediately sent a paypal for the amount requested and a few bucks more.  He emailed a “thank you” and that was the last I heard from him for four years.

Every so often, for the first couple of years, I sent an e-mail to see if he was okay or going to do the sketches.  No response ever came back.  Then in February of this year, I was surprised to get an e-mail from Mr. Lapham apologizing for his lack of communication.  He said that he wanted to get the art to me.  This week (six months later) the sketches arrived.  The first sketch was Sly Stallone as Jack Carter.  This is the second, Sly as Rocky.

I don’t know what the hold-up was.  I’m just happy to have the sketches and hope Mr. Lapham is doing well.

“November 1963” starring John Travolta, Robert Carlyle, Dermot Mulroney, Jefferson White & Mandy Patinkin – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster and trailer for November 1963 is here.  I’ve followed the different Kennedy Assassination theories since I was a child.  Why not one more?

Deal me in.

The JFK assassination, as told by the men who say they were in the room.

Watch the official trailer for NOVEMBER 1963, only in theaters November 20.

From two-time Oscar-nominated director Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields, The Mission), NOVEMBER 1963 unfolds in real time across the 48 hours surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, seen from inside the Chicago Outfit rather than from the official record.

Starring John Travolta as Johnny Roselli, Robert Carlyle as Jack Ruby, Dermot Mulroney as Chuckie Nicoletti, Mandy Patinkin as Anthony Accardo, Jefferson White as Lee Harvey Oswald and Thomas Fiscella as Sam Giancana.

The screenplay comes from Nicholas Celozzi, nephew of Chicago Outfit boss Sam Giancana, who heard the account first-hand as a child from Giancana’s brother Joseph “Pepe” Giancana, one of the men who rode with Sam through those two days. Bonnie Giancana, Sam’s daughter, serves as executive producer.

Directed by Roland Joffé. Produced by Kevin DeWalt of Minds Eye Entertainment and Nicholas Celozzi of Le Monde Productions. The production rebuilt Dealey Plaza from the ground up, with 1,500 extras and more than 75 period vehicles recreating November 22, 1963.

Sixty-three years on, the story comes from the people who say they were there.

NOVEMBER 1963. Only in theaters November 20.

KILLING TOWN: THE LOST FIRST MIKE HAMMER THRILLER by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins / Z-View

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KILLING TOWN by Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins

First sentence…

The blonde dame in the sleeper car window was damn near naked in front of the mirror on the back of her closed door, and ready to finish the job.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

World War II is over.  Mike Hammer made it back.  Many of his fellow soldiers didn’t.  Now a civilian, Hammer has a promise to keep.

Which is why he sneaks under a train and rides into Killington on the sly.  As Hammer exits from under the train, through a window in a car across the tracks, he spies a woman undressing.   She’s a looker, but Hammer isn’t a Peeping Tom and wants to get out of there before the railyard cops catch him.

So Hammer scoots.

But it isn’t long before Hammer is picked up for murder.  The murder of the woman he saw in the railyard.  The cops get rough trying to get Hammer to confess.  Things look bad.  He was in the railyard.  He saw the woman.  He has no alibi.

And then the cops turn Hammer loose.  Melba Charles, Senator Charles’ beautiful daughter says that Hammer was with her at the time of the murder.  In fact, she says she and Hammer are soon to be married!

Hammer is happy to be free.  He came to Killington to keep a promise.  That’ll get done after.  Now he needs to find the mystery woman’s killer.  But first he needs to meet his future bride and find out why she provided an alibi for a man she’d never met.

+++

KILLING TOWN takes place before Mike Hammer became a private eye.  It was actually an unfinished novel that Mickey Spillane started but never finished.  Max Allan Collins, Spillane’s friend was selected by Spillane to complete the tale.

KILLING TOWN is my one of my favorite Mike Hammer tales… on par with I, THE JURY.  (And I don’t say that lightly.)

Rating:

“I Will Find You” (2026) starring Sam Worthington and Britt Lower / Z-View

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I Will Find You (2026)

Created by: Robert Hull; based on I WILL FIND YOU by Harlan Coben

Director:

  • Brad Anderson  (eps. 1-2)
  • Maja Vrvilo (eps. 3-4)
  • Adam Davidson (eps. 5-6)
  • Maggie Kiley (eps. 7-8)

Teleplay:

  • Robert Hull (eps. 1-2; 8)
  • Robert Hull, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt (ep. 3, 6-7)
  • Heather Mitchell, Robert Hull, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt (ep. 4)
  • Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt (ep. 5)

Stars: Sam Worthington, Britt Lower, Milo Ventimiglia, Erin Richards, Jonathan Tucker, Peter Outerbridge, Madeleine Stowe, Hugh Thompson, Logan Browning and Chi McBride.

Tagline: Find the boy.  Find the truth.

The Plot…

David Burroughs, a Boston law professor, has spent the last five years in prison for the brutal murder of his three year-old-son. Matthew.  The child was beaten with a baseball bat so badly that the body could only be identified through DNA.  From day one, David proclaimed his innocence.

Out of the blue, David’s ex-sister-in-law visits David in prison. She has a recent photo of a boy who would be Matthew’s age if he had lived.  The kid looks like Matthew if he had lived.  The kicker is the boy in the picture has the EXACT same facial birthmark as Matthew.  David is convinced it IS Matthew.

So David tells the Warden about the photo.  The Warden happens to be a friend of David’s family.  So the Warden gets David’s case file and gives it to him.  After two failed attempts on David’s life, the Warden decides to help David escape.  The Warden, brings in his son, a police sergeant (and David’s best friend) to help with the breakout.

Once free and on the run, it will be up to David to prove his innocence by finding his son.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

If after reading that plot and your eyes aren’t still rolling, we can continue.

The prison used for filming is the same used for the series The Mayor of Kingstown.

If you’re willing to suspend a lot of disbelief you might enjoy I Will Find You.  I watched it with my wife.  She really liked it.  I thought it was okay.  As always, your mileage may vary.

It was great seeing Chi McBride.  Logan Browning was excellent as his FBI agent daughter.

I Will Find You (2026) rates 2 of 5 stars.

“The Man Who Laughs” (1928) starring Conrad Veidt & Mary Philbin / Z-View

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The Man Who Laughs (1928)

Director: Paul Leni

Screenplay:  J. Grubb Alexander, Walter Anthony, Mary McLean, Charles E. Whittaker; based on THE MAN WHO LAUGHS by Victor Hugo.

Stars:  Mary Philbin, Conrad Veidt, Olga Baclanova, Brandon Hurst, Cesare Gravina, Stuart Holmes, Samuel de Grasse, George Siegmann, Josephine Crowell.

Tagline: The Man Who laughs With Conrad Veidt as the clown on whose face was carved a horrible, leering grin.

The Plot…

Lord Clancharlie is executed when refuses to kiss the hand of King James.  Vengeance is also taken on Lord Clancharlie’s young son, Gwynplaine. His face is cut so that it appears he always sports a horrific impossibly wide smile.

Exilled young Gwynplaine struggles to find shelter in a winter storm.  He discovers a baby girl still in the arms of her dead mother who froze to death.  Gwynplaine picks up the infant and continues his search for shelter.  Ursus, a traveling showman takes them in.

Years pass. Ursus raises both Gwynplaine and the baby he named Dea. Dea loves Gwynplaine.  Even though he loves her, he feels unworthy due to his disfigurement.  Ironically, Gwynplaine’s disfigurement has made him famous as “The Laughing Man”.   Ursus, Gwynplaine and Dea travel from village to village to perform plays Ursus has written for them.  People come to see the show.  What they really want to see is the freak… the Laughing Man.

Word of The Laughing Man reaches the royal court.  Could this laughing freak be the heir to Lord Clancharlie?   If so, can he be allowed to live?

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

To get Gwynplaine’s horrific smile, Conrad Veidt had to wear dentures with metal hooks that pulled back the corners of his mouth.

Conrad Veidt’s appearance in The Man Who Laughs inspired writer Bill Finger and artists Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson to create The Joker, who is the most famous of all Batman villains.

The Man Who Laughs (1928) rates 4 of 5 stars.

“Violent Ends” (2025) written & directed by John-Michael Powell; starring Billy Magnussen, James Badge Dale, Kate Burton, Ray McKinnon, Nick Stahl and Alexandra Shipp / Z-View

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Violent Ends (2025)

Director:  John-Michael Powell

Screenplay:  John-Michael Powell

Stars: Billy Magnussen, James Badge Dale, Kate Burton, Ray McKinnon, Nick Stahl and Alexandra Shipp.

Tagline: This Isn’t Revenge. It’s a Reckoning.

The Plot…

The Frost family are infamous in Arkansas.  For generations they have been involved in all types of crime.  Years ago, infighting nearly destroyed the family.  A truce was made.  One branch of the family controlled the cocaine trade; the other dealt meth.  It’s been an uneasy truce.

Lucas Frost stayed out of the family business.  He wanted a better life and was on the verge of getting it.  Emma loved him.  He loved her.  They planned to be married, move far away and start a family.

That all changed when Emma was accidentally killed during a robbery.  A robbery pulled off by a family member.

Lucas wants vengeance… even if it breaks the truce and causes all out war.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

I like the concept of a crime family in an uneasy truce followed by an incident that could blow up the peace and destroy the family in the process.  How far would you go for revenge if it meant others in your family would be hurt/killed? How much would you forgive to keep family peace?

Violent Ends (2025) rates 4 of 5 stars.