The Las Vegas Film Critics Society Names Roma The Best of 2018!


On Friday, the Las Vegas Film Critics named Roma the best film of 2018!

Best Picture
“Roma”

Best Actor
Ethan Hawke, “First Reformed”

Best Actress
Lady Gaga, “A Star is Born”

Best Supporting Actor
Sam Elliott, “A Star is Born”

Best Supporting Actress
Regina King – “If Beale Street Could Talk”

Best Director
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”

Best Original Screenplay
Bryan Woods, Scott Beck & John Kransinski, “A Quiet Place”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, “Leave No Trace”

Best Cinematography
Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”

Best Film Editing
Alfonso Cuarón and Adam Gough, “Roma”

Best Score
Thom Yorke, “Suspiria”

Best Song
“Shallow,” by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper, “A Star is Born”

Best Documentary
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor”

Best Animated Film
“Isle of Dogs”

Best Foreign Film
“Roma”

Best Costume Design
“The Favourite”

Best Art Direction
“Isle of Dogs”

Best Visual Effects
“Ready Player One”

Best Action Film
“Mission Impossible: Fallout”

Best Comedy
“Sorry to Bother You”

Best Horror/ Sci-Fi
A Quiet Place”

Best Family Film
“Mary Poppins Returns”

Best Ensemble
“Widows”

Breakout Filmmaker (Director)
Bradley Cooper, “A Star is Born”

Best Youth Male Performance
Ed Oxenbould, Wildlife”

Best Youth Female Performance
Elsie Fisher, “Eighth Grade”

The William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award
Sam Elliott

LVFCS Top 10 Films of 2018
1. Roma
2. A Star is Born
3. Green Book
4. First Reformed
5. BlackkKlansman
6. The Favourite
7. Vice
8. Eighth Grade
9. Wildlife
10. The Rider

Song of the Day: Décalcomanie (by Mamamoo)


Mamamoo Decalcomanie

The latest Song of the Day: K-Pop Edition comes from the 4-girl group Mamamoo. They first debut in June 19, 2014 with their official first single “Mr Ambiguous” from their debut EP Hello.

Mamamoo burst onto the K-Pop scene with a mature sound and style that even makes their more typical K-pop songs (happy, cheery and quirky) stand-out from the very crowded K-Pop releases. Their music videos showcases this group’s unique style which runs the gamut from playful to glam to femme fatale.

Their 2016 single “Décalcomanie,” from their EP Memory, is a blend of dance with early 90’s R&B pop. The song starts off at a slow simmer and the music video for the track showcases the song’s evershifting tempo and mood.

It’s a video that has the four members of Mamamoo (Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein and Hwasa) dressed to the nines like femme fatales out of a classic noir tale. Even the set location speaks to an era of detectives, glamorous damsels and fierce femme fatales.

When the song’s music video was first released, there was a controversy involving a sequence in the video that some in South Korea (and many fans worldwide) saw as being borderline sexual assault (some even calling it as one outright). the video was quickly taken down with the controversial sequence removed with some clever editing.

Either way, the controversy doesn’t change the fact that “Décalcomanie” is a great addition to the group’s growing work. It’s a very good showcase to the group’s strong vocal talent and visual appeal. The choreography I not as energized as most K-pop videos, but the tone and theme of the video itself doesn’t need for high-energy dancing and movements. The movements and mood of the video speaks more to themes of danger and sensuality. These are themes well-established with noir stories and art.

If there was a song and video to introduce a newcomer to Mamamoo, “Décalcomanie” is more than deserving to be an introduction to the group.

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree: “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses (ZE Records 1981)


cracked rear viewer

Tis the season for Christmas music, and today we have New Wave rockers The Waitresses with their peppy little classic “Christmas Wrapping”:

The song first appeared on a ZE Records compilation album called “A Christmas Album” featuring artists like Suicide and Was (Not Was).  Since it’s release, it’s become a Yuletide standard on Classic Rock Radio, featured in movies and ads, and covered by the likes of The Donnas, Kylie Minogue, Spice Girls, Bella Thorne, and the cast of GLEE. The Waitresses had another hit that still gets plenty of airplay, “I Know What Boys Like”:

The band was formed by Akron, Ohio’s Chris Butler, formerly of the punk group Tin Huey, and included the late Patty Donahue on lead vocals, Mars Williams (sax), Dan Klayman (keyboards), Dave Hofstra (bass), Ariel Warner (backup vocals), and ex-Television drummer Billy Ficca. The Waitresses also  recorded the theme to the ahead-of-it’s-time sitcom SQUARE…

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Music Video of The Day: What Child is This by Lindsey Stirling (2012, dir by ????)


For today’s music video of the day, we continue with the holiday theme that’s run through most of the recent music video posts.  We also continue with the Lindsey Stirling theme.  I wasn’t initially planning on making this Lindsey Stirling week on the Shattered Lens but, now that I think about it, why not?

This video finds Lindsey performing in the snow.  There’s a chance that it might snow in my home state of Texas this weekend.  I certainly hope so.  Of course, when we say “it might snow” in Texas, what we actually mean is that it might sleet.  And, if it does snow, we’ll probably get like an inch at most.  But still …. snow is snow!

Enjoy!