PHOENIXVILLE PUNK ROCK FLEA MARKET: HOLDAY SHOPPING SHOWDOWN 2025, ROOT DOWN BREWERY (11/30)

I SAW TULSA KING: SEASON 3 (CONCLUDING COMMENTS)

Taylor Sheridan/Paramount+'s Tulsa King: Season 3 didn't let me down. In fact, once it got rolling (and yes, it did take a couple episodes to do so), it exceeded my expectations, thanks to its colliding engagements. 

Among James Russo's sanctioning Quiet Ray and Robert Patrick's wine-wrangling Jeremiah Dunmire and his beleaguered son, Beau Knapp's Cole, not to mention Kevin Pollak's nudging FBI Agent Musso, I had no idea how Sly Stallone's Captain Dwight Manfredi would survive the onslaught, but survive he did (not that I had any doubt he would, mind you). 

In the series (no matter the season), one gets a good sense of who will rise and fall (this isn't The Walking Dead, after all), but it's the way it's constructed that gives it girth. Tulsa King, perhaps more than any current series, does a supreme job weaving pulpy toughness, Faustian pacts and down-to-earth amusement into one big ball of wax. (It's a swell throwback to the good ol' Sopranos days.)

On the other hand, I'd have liked more of Frank Grillo's Bill Bevilaqua this season, but he sure did shine while he was out in the open (before, that is, Agent Musso, pulled him from the fray). In the same vein, I'd have liked more of Neal McDonough's Cal Thresher, with further insight into how Dana Delany's Margaret Devereaux was streamlining his gubernatorial campaign. More on Anna Sciorra's Joanne Manfredi would have been nice, too, with broadened visits into her entrepreneurial process. Then again, I suppose there was enough of these components installed throughout the ten episodes, but they were just so interesting, I wanted more. 

The best marginal elements dealt with Jay Will's Tyson, Matthew Starr's Bodhi and McKenna Quigley Harrington's Grace, especially when it came to their electric cars. (What a hoot!) Chris Caldovino's Goodie and Scarlet Rose Stallone's Spencer (whoa! what a beauty) did a terrific job buffering the trio whenever they could. The results added the right amount of levity, while never going overboard. 

The one part I thought might not work, since it seemed geared from left field, was Samuel L. Jackson's late-in-the-game Russell Lee Washington Jr., but by golly, he blended well. I mean, I thought he would be a standard, cameoing assassin, but there was much more at play due to his long-term relationship with Manfredi: a splendid touch, and reputedly, there's a Washington spinoff in the works. Hmmm...

Anyhow, I could go on and on here, breaking down this and that, but I think one gets the gist. I like Tulsa King. I like this third season. I'm glad there's a fourth coming. We need more shows like this: those that aren't afraid to push the envelope but still distinguish good from bad. In Tulsa King's case, regardless of its criminal twists, one knows who to root for, and on that basis, the makers of The Boys and Gen V would be wise to take note. Even if the show's variables are ambivalent on occasion, one can still denote who's the hero and who's the villain. That goes a long way. 

PINUP TIME: DARYL HANNAH IS ROXANNE

 

I SAW SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE (SI2U)

I'm a Johnny-come-lately when it comes to the 2022 Sisu, having discovered the Finnish flick when stuck in an auto-repair waiting room, where I was compelled to switch channels to avert another heap of Chris Meloni's one-trick-pony baloney.  

Sisu (the term more-or-less means "guts") was directed by Jalmari (Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale) Helander and details a WWII, gold-prospector and former Soviet-soldier slayer, Jorma Tommila's Commander Aatami Korpi (aka "The Man Who Refuses to Die," "The Immortal One"), who combats the intersecting Nazis when they force their scorched-earth tactics across Finland. When Korpi is confronted by the haughty, social nationalists, who wish to confiscate his gold and kill him and his dog, the bastards face the seasoned warrior's wrath, as he takes them down in a manner that would make John Rambo and Max Rockatansky goddamn proud. 

For Sisu's 2025, Cold War sequel, aka SI2u and subtitled Road to Revenge, Korpi returns to the house where his family was slaughtered and decides to disassemble it, so as to haul and reconstruct it in a more suitable local. On his truck-bound trek, he faces a barrage of Commies who engage him in a harrowing, burning-at-both-ends, Fury Road chase (highlighted by heart-hammering, aerial and biker assaults, as well as a jarring, train escapade), intending to squash him for daring to fight back in their annexed terrain.  

Stephen Lang (one of the best and most underrated, character actors to come down the potent pike) plays the story's upfront antagonist, Commander Igor Draganov, who just by chance is the one who murdered Korpi's wife and sons. Lang gives Draganov an Ahab quality, which in turn designates Korpi as Moby Dick: a nice, metaphoric touch for those who wish to apply it. (BTW: Richard Brake, another great, underrated, character actor, portrays a KGB honcho who presses Draganov to annihilate Korpi, adding to our hero's massive quandary.)

As with the initial, Sisu, Road to Revenge overflows with survivalist tension, explosions and well, guts galore (strengthened every notch of the way by Juri Seppa and Tuomas Wainola's Morricone-esque score and Mike Orasmaa's scenic cinematography), as we see through Korpi's tired but ever watchful eyes. Tommila's performance makes his resolute character live and breathe, wherein the actor relays an overlap of saturating pain, sorrow and courage. Sure, in real life, he wouldn't last, but he's sure convincing doing his thing on the big screen (and for the record, Korpi is based on an historic, Lapland counterpart, Simu Hayha, aka "The White Death," who's renowned for killing Russkies.) 

For its uncluttered plot and taut, streamlined direction, which smacks of old-school George Miller, Ted Kotcheff and Sam Raimi, Road to Revenge ranks as one of the year's most invigorating. I also believe it would work as an ideal team-up with Nobody 2 and Predator: Badlands, as both hold comparable, vengeful punch and kick. Road to Revenge, however, might ruffle a few feathers in the dumbass days of Mamscrawny, but good! Let it! This sequel isn't a guaranteed antidote to encouraged weakness and "entitled" villainy, but its message can at least shed a revealing, grindhouse light on it. 

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: ALIENS VS PREDATOR

 

FOR THE FUN OF IT:

 

LARRY JOHNSON'S TALES OF THE BROKEN B #7: A MATERNAL MEETING

Artist/writer Larry Johnson continues one of his finest sagas in Tales of the Broken B #7. 

For this chapter, the focus falls on Ernie Malone, who tells his partner, Clyde Brittle, that his hellraising father has passed away, and how he must now visit his Aunt May, the woman who raised him, to learn the truth about his dad and the mother he never knew. 

What's revealed leads Ernie to an Indian woman, who contrary to Ernie's experience, found his father kind and protective. More importantly, her identity demonstrates how misconceptions can often cause unjust isolation and how opening one's mind and one's heart are the best means to curb one's pain. 

Though prior Tales of the Broken B have held a mystical slant, Issue #7 is anchored in reality. Its story (aptly titled "Mother") plays like a sentimental episode of Gunsmoke or Bonanza. In other words, it's a credible, character study that flaunts Johnson's ability to spotlight the human spirit. 

Give Tales of Broken B #7 a try. Its content is guaranteed to grip and move you. 

To obtain a copy, please submit the Paypal sum of $7.00 to Mr. Johnson at Lewbrown1@verizon.net.