Click the image above to purchase directly from Lionsgate Limited First, full disclosure: Roy Frumkes, owner of this publication, conceived the idea for THE SUBSTITUTE and co-wrote the screenplay for this 1990s action classic with Rocco Simonelli, who also contributes to Films in Review. When I got my class list the summer before starting freshman year at SVA, I remember reading off the names of my professors to my father: “…Roy Frumkes, Storytelling 101.” Then I read the cre

Warner Archive Blu-Ray Review CLICK TO PURCHASE at MovieZyng.com by Roy Frumkes Ever wonder what it would be like to see an unexpurgated Johnny Weissmuller/Maureen O’Sullivan Tarzan film from the golden days of Hollywood? Well, now’s your chance. There was such a gem, but it had barely snuck past the chomping jaws of the nascent censorship board when the alarms went off and TARZAN AND HIS MATE, the second of the MGM series, was disemboweled. Three cuts of this loose-loinclot

By John Larkin One of my favorite aspects of great filmmaking has always been the choice of music that closes out a film. The right song becomes the final statement of the story. It is the emotional conclusion and the last feeling an audience carries with them after the screen fades to black. When used well, a song that bridges the final scene into the end credits can leave a powerful and lasting impression. It shapes how the ending is remembered and gives the film a sense of

by Victoria Alexander MERCY stars Chris Pratt as a detective (Chris Raven) who has been accused of killing his wife. It’s 2029, and Chris wakes up locked in a chair after a brutal alcoholic blackout. He had destroyed a bar and fought with patrons and the police, who arrested him. Chris finds himself in the Mercy Chair. The judge (Rebecca Ferguson) is an AI-created entity. Once arrested and brought to the Mercy Chair, the accused — who is presumed guilty — has 90 minutes to pr