Cleaning Out the DVR, Again #22: Broken Promise (dir by Nadeem Soumah)

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Lisa is currently in the process of trying to clean out her DVR by watching and reviewing all 40 of the movies that she recorded from the start of March to the end of June. She’s trying to get it all done by July 11th! Will she make it!? Keep visiting the site to find out!)

The 22nd film on the DVR was Broken Promise, which I recorded off of Lifetime on May 22nd.

Before I get into the film itself, let me just say this about the title: Broken Promise is the perfect generic Lifetime title. I mean, it tells you absolutely nothing and yet it somehow tells you everything as well. If I hadn’t told you that I recorded this movie off of Lifetime, you would have guessed it just from the title, wouldn’t you? There’s an art to coming up with perfectly generic titles and Lifetime has mastered it.

Anyway, Broken Promise opens in 1992! Two high school seniors — Mina (Angeline Appel) and her boyfriend, Reese (Mickey River) — are driving around in Reese’s canary yellow car. If you watch that movie, pay attention to the car because you’ll be seeing it again. It’s like the canary yellow harbinger of death and doom. Anyway, Mina and Reese are young and in love so, naturally, they decide to break into a house for a romantic evening. However, the romance is interrupted when the owner of the house shows up with a shotgun. There’s a struggle. The homeowner is killed. Reese tells Mina that she needs to leave and that he’ll take the blame when the cops show up. Mina promises to wait for him to get out of prison.

However, promises were made to be broken…

Jump forward 25 years! Reese Sinclair (now played by Louis Mandylor) is finally being released from prison. However, no one is waiting to greet him on the outside. While he manages to get back his yellow car, his girlfriend is nowhere to be seen.

That’s right — Mina broke her promise! No only did she not wait for him but she also got married and now has a sullen teenage daughter, Hali (Lauren York). Making matters even worse, Mina not only got married but she married a cop! Ben Gardner (Nick Baillie) may be a nice guy and a good cop but that doesn’t stop Reese from fantasizing about murdering him.

Well, you can probably guess what happens. Reese tracks down Mina and her family. Reese tries to ingratiate himself with the family. Rebellious Hali starts to get too close to her mom’s ex-boyfriend. It’s really pretty much a typical Lifetime film, with all that implies. It’s well-made and well-acted and it won’t surprise you one bit.

In fact, to me, the most interesting thing about the film was looking at the cast and remembering all the other Lifetime films that they’ve appeared in. Ashley Scott was in 16 and Missing. Nick Baillie was in Full Out, which I will be reviewing soon. Lauren York was not only in The Perfect Daughter but also co-starred in Babysitter’s Black Book with Angelina Appel, who plays the younger version of her mom in this movie! According the imdb, York will also be appearing in the sequel to Lavalantula. They all do a pretty good job in this movie and so does Louis Madylor.

Let’s put it like this: if you like Lifetime movies, you’ll like this. If you don’t, you won’t.

Cleaning Out The DVR, Again #21: I Am Watching You (dir by Maureen Bharoocha)

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I was originally planning on reviewing the 21st film on my DVR yesterday evening but that was before my hometown of Dallas, Texas turned into a war zone after a sniper opened fire on a Black Lives Matter protest that was being held downtown. From 9 pm to 5 in the morning, I was watching the news and following the story on twitter. 10 police officers and 1 protester were shot by a gunman who later blown up in the parking garage of El Centro College. Sadly, as of this writing, five of the wounded officers have lost their lives. It was tragic and terrifying to watch this situation unfold, especially with the knowledge that it was all happening just a few miles away from me. Needless to say, at that moment, reviewing a Lifetime film was the last thing on my mind. I was just happy knowing that my family, friends, and loved ones were all safe.

As I sit here writing this, the city is still in shock and large portions of Dallas are currently shut down. (Fortunately, I was already off work for this week.) And, oddly enough, I’m suddenly finding myself very happy that I still have 19 films left to review. When the world gets too crazy and scary, movies can provide a needed escape and right now, I need that escape.

So, with all that in mind, let’s take a look at I Am Watching You!

There’s a scene in Joe Swanberg’s 2014 holiday film, Happy Christmas, in which Anna Kendrick encourages novelist Melanie Lynesky to abandon her pretentious and stalled literary project and instead just try to make a quick buck by writing a “mom sex” book. “Mom sex” books (like 50 Shades of Grey, to cite the most obvious example) might not qualify as great literature but they’re full of sex and middle-aged women like to read them on the beach. I Am Watching You tells the story of Nora Nichols (Madline Zima), a writer who specializes in writing “mom sex” books.

Nora, however, is suffering from writer’s block! Could it be because, like all Lifetime heroines, she has recently broken up with her boyfriend and is no longer having sex? Of course, it is! Fortunately, Nora’s office window provides her with a perfect view of her neighbor, photographer Lucas Wheeler (Brian Ames). Nora spends her time watching Lucas dress and undress but what Nora doesn’t suspect is that Lucas might be watching her as well.

Anyway, eventually, Nora and Lucas actually run into each other in real life and soon, they’re exploring their own 50 Shades of Grey-style melodrama. It helps with Nora’s writing, too. For instance, when she has to write a bondage scene, she has Lucas tie her up.

And, at first, it looks like everything is perfect! He’s hot, he’s into bondage, he likes to watch — what could go wrong? Well, he’s also obsessed with her and Nora soon discovers that she’s being stalked by him. Will all of this help Nora to write a best seller? How couldn’t it!?

Anyway, I Am Watching You is pretty much your typical Lifetime sex film. All of the scenes are gauzy and Lucas looks good without a shirt on but otherwise, it’s pretty tame. Even the very brief bondage scene felt more like a Chanel commercial than anything else.

But I guess my main problem with I Am Watching You is that, from what we heard in the film, Nora didn’t appear to be a very good writer. If anything, her writing sounded like second-rate 50 Shades of Grey fanfic (which is pretty bad when you consider that 50 Shades itself is second-rate fanfic). Considering all that she goes through to get her book written, it would be nice if the book at least sounded like it was worth reading.

I Am Watching You originally aired on Lifetime on May 15th and I’m sure it’ll probably air again many times over the upcoming year. They usually do.

Artwork of the Day: Lust For Youth

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Dazzling Erin

by Robert Bonfils

Music Video of the Day: Renegades of Funk by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force (1983, dir. ???)

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

I have no idea what year this video was released. Obviously it was early on in the 1980s, but this was an era when MTV was still scared to have blacks on the network. I know the song was released in 1983.

I would imagine a lot of people were introduced to this song via the Rage Against the Machine cover version. I also imagine that a fair amount of people were made aware of Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force because of the inclusion of their song Looking for the Perfect Beat on the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack. I was in both cases. I do like the Rage Against the Machine version. They stripped it down to the bare bones political portion of the song, which in doing so, made it their own. It’s something to keep in mind watching this video since you’ll see pre-Public Enemy all over it. Unfortunately, there is something else that you can’t possibly avoid having in your head while watching this music video. I mention that at the end.

Rap started at least in what we would call a fully-formed version in the 1970s with artists like DJ Hollywood, but it was never recorded until Rapper’s Delight came along. Then for a short period of a few years in the early 1980s there was a rather experimental period in rap before groups like Salt-N-Pepa, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, and N.W.A. among others would standardize it to a certain extent. One of the groups that existed during that period was Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force. There’s a lot more to this story too. I know I am oversimplifying here. The group dates back to the 1970s themselves. I’m pretty sure that’s him at the very start before we see him in costume.

This video has just about everything in it. You’ve got the Public Enemy type political lyrics. Afrika Bambaataa himself looks like he is the funky rap child of George Clinton. It starts with kids off the street being drawn towards a 2001-like monolith to be pulled into another world. It is full of life, color, history, and a damn good time. However, I love how it never pretends reality doesn’t exist with it’s beginning and end. It’s in the middle that it takes you to another place that can be lost if you let your mind fill with nothing but what you see with your eyes. This music video takes your mind on an audio-visual tour before dropping you back into your life.

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s wonderful song The Message tosses you into cold-hard reality. Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force picks you up into the air, mesmerizes you with color and sound, delivers its message, and then asks you dance sucka, before letting you return back to reality.

Sadly, from what I’ve read just now on the night before this was scheduled to post, reality, or at least allegations, is exactly what has been coming out all over the place about Afrika Bambaataa. I actually wrote this post back on Tuesday of this week, and only came across it the night before it was scheduled to be posted. Oh, well. Just like anything else, you can’t avoid controversy and reality when talking about anything in the art and entertainment business. *Sigh*

First Shot Fired: THE DEADLY COMPANIONS (Pathe’-America 1961)

Posted on July 7, 2016 by gary loggins

cracked rear viewer

Maverick filmmaker Sam Peckinpah got his start in television, writing and directing for Westerns such as GUNSMOKE, THE RIFLEMAN, and HAVE GUN- WILL TRAVEL. In 1959, he created the series THE WESTERNER, starring Brian Keith as a drifter named Dave Blassingame, noted for its extreme (for the time) violence. When Keith was cast as the lead in THE DEADLY COMPANIONS, he suggested his friend Peckinpah as director. This was Peckinpah’s first feature film, and the result is a flawed but interesting film which has brief flourishes of the style he later perfected in THE WILD BUNCH and PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID.

Keith is again a drifter, this time an ex-Union soldier known only as Yellowleg. He hooks up with a pair of Southern outlaws and they ride to Hila City to rob the bank. They get sidetracked at the saloon when it converts into a church service. Next thing you know…

View original post 436 more words

Check Out Tom Holland and A Lot Of Snow in The Trailer For Edge of Winter

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

So, Tom Holland — who was definitely one of the high points of Captain America: Civil War — is destined to become a star next year when the new Spider-Man film is released. However, before Holland becomes forever associated with the role previously played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, you can catch him in Edge of Winter!

This thriller is due to be released on August 12th and, considering that it is apparently never going to snow in Texas again, I will definitely see it just for the chance to be reminded of what cold weather is like!

Check out the trailer below:

Frat Bros, Nick Jonas, and James Franco Go Crazy In The Trailer For Goat!

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s FRAT BROS GONE CRAZY! Check out the trailer for the new film, Goat. Not only does it feature Nick Jonas-inspired mayhem but it also has James Franco!

For the record, Goat is not meant to be a Neighbors-style comedy. According to most of the early reviews that I’ve read, it’s actually a pretty dark look at toxic masculinity. While I’m usually not that interested in films about Bros Gone Wild, I will definitely watch it just to see what strange spin James Franco brings to his latest role.

Artwork of the Day: Nympho’s Shame Pit

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

Music Video of the Day: Self Control by Laura Branigan (1984, dir. William Friedkin)

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Valerie Troutman

We already looked at a video directed by someone who would then go on to make feature films. Here we have one made by a director who was already well established. That being William Friedkin. He helmed this kinky music video for Laura Branigan’s song Self Control. To my knowledge, it isn’t out there who played the man behind the mask. The video was controversial at the time. Wikipedia says it even had to be have a minor alteration made to it in order to air on MTV, which Branigan was not happy about.

This is also one of those rare videos where we know more than just the director. According to Internet Music Video Database, this was choreographed by Russell Clark who has done a few films you might recognize. The one that jumps out at me is Rockula (1990). The reason is that I reviewed it last October. It’s that other rock based horror film that has Toni Basil in it. He also did some of the choreography for Teen Witch (1989). Sadly, it seems that according to IMDb, it was not the famous Top That scene.

Also according to IMDb, famous Producer and Production Manager Fred C. Caruso produced this music video. He did movies like The Godfather (1972), Blow Out (1981), and Blue Velvet (1986) to name a few.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I was introduced to this song via the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack.

Cleaning Out The DVR, Again #20: I Didn’t Kill My Sister (dir by Jason Bourque)

Posted on July 6, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

(Lisa is currently in the process of trying to clean out her DVR by watching and reviewing all 40 of the movies that she recorded from the start of March to the end of June. She’s trying to get it all done by July 10th! Will she make it!? Keep visiting the site to find out!)

“And now, for tonight’s top story, we go to Lois Summer, on assignment in Richardson, Texas.”

“Thank you, Mason. For the past week and a half, one red-haired film critic has been attempting what some people would call the impossible. Lisa Marie Bowman is trying to clean out her DVR by watching the 40 movies that she recorded between March and June. She just finished rewatching the 20th film on her DVR, I Didn’t Kill My Sister.”

“Now, Lois, for our viewers who may not know, what exactly is a DVR?”

“Get with the times, Mason. According to Ms. Bowman, she watched I Didn’t Kill My Sister when it originally premiered on Lifetime. The date was May 14th and she says that she specifically watched the film with her sister, Erin. Ms. Bowman says that both she and her sister enjoyed the film the first that they watched it.”

“Did she say how she felt about the film the second time she saw it…?”

“Dammit, I’m getting there, Mason. Ms. Bowman says that I Didn’t Kill My Sister was just as enjoyable the second time that she watched it. In fact, she said that it is a very entertaining murder mystery, one that almost feels like an old-fashioned whodunit. She described the film as being stylish without being gaudy and melodramatic in the best possible way.”

“Is there really a good way to be melodramatic?”

“According to Ms. Bowman, there is. For the rest of her review, we now go directly to Lisa Marie Bowman…”

Hi, everyone! Lisa here. Anyway, as Lois was just saying, I enjoyed I Didn’t Kill My Sister both times that I watched it. It’s a fun Lifetime murder mystery, one of those things that works best when you just relax, sit back, and let yourself be entertained. If you like Lifetime movies, you’ll like this one!

The film tells the story of two sisters. Carmen Pearson (Gina Holden) is a publicly beloved and privately loathed local celebrity. She co-anchors City View with her husband, Mason (Chris William Martin). She has a beautiful house, a nice pool, and great hair. She also has a rebellious teenage daughter (Sarah Desjardins) and a sister named Heather (Nicholle Tom). Heather would love to have Carmen’s life but, instead, she’s stuck working as her sister’s private assistant.

(One of the best things about the film is the way that it contrasts Carmen’s mansion — complete with luxurious pool — with Heather’s cluttered, one-story house.)

However, Carmen’s life is not perfect. She’s in the middle of a nasty divorce and Mason even seems to be flirting with her sister. When her daughter screams, “I HATE YOU!!!,” she sounds like she actually means it. And, of course, there’s the ambitious reporter (Dominika Jullet) who wants her job and the lawyer (Ona Grauer) who may have an agenda of her own. When Carmen is discovered floating face down in her pool, everyone’s a suspect!

Including Heather!

Heather knows she’s innocent but the detective (Sharon Taylor) in charge of the case seems to feel otherwise. Can Heather solve her sister’s murder before she ends up getting arrested!?

I Didn’t Kill My Sister is a fun, little whodunit. Gina Holden has a lot of fun being bitchy during the first 15 minutes of the film and Chris William Martin is brilliantly sleazy in the role of Mason. Watch it the next time that it’s on and see if you can solve the mystery before Heather does!

Back to you, Lois.

“Back to you, Mason.”

“Thank you, Lois. How much fun is a barrel of monkeys? That’s what a truck driver discovered today while making a delivery to the San Diego Zoo. That story and Newy Scruggs with sports, next…”