Monthly Archives: July 2019

Music Video of the Day: (I Just) Died In Your Arms by Cutting Crew (1987, directed by Peter Kagan and Paula Greif)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day is for yet another song that I remember fondly from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.  I used to think that I inherited my love of music from my father, who played bass in several different bands back in the day.  Now, I realize that it’s probably all due to spending too much time playing Grand Theft Auto.  Never let it be said that outrageously violent video games don’t serve a purpose.

When Nick van Eede sings that he “died in your arms tonight,” he’s referring to the French phrase, Le petite mort, which is also slang for having an orgasm.  As van Eede later explained it, he wrote the song after a one night stand with an ex-girlfriend.  Every aspiring artist dreams of coming up with a hit while also getting laid at the same time but van Eede actually did it.  It took him only three days to write and record the song and it subsequently went on to become Cutting Crew’s biggest hit.  It was also, at the time, the most successful single to be released by Virgin Records in the States.

Enjoy!

All Star Exploitation: MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED (Australian 2010)

Posted on by gary loggins

gary loggins's avatarcracked rear viewer

Tonight we celebrate baseball with MLB’s 90th annual All-Star Game, and… what’s that you say, Dear Readers? You don’t LIKE baseball?!? (*sighs, shakes head, mutters “must be some kinda Commies”*) Luckily for you, I’ve got an alternative for your viewing pleasure this evening. It’s an All-Star salute to the halcyon days of low-budget Exploitation filmmaking in the Philippines that lasted roughly from 1959 (Gerry DeLeon’s TERROR IS A MAN, with Francis Lederer and Greta Thyssen) to the early 80’s and the advent both of VHS, which effectively ended the Drive-In/Grindhouse Era, and political upheaval caused in part by Fernando Marcos’s imposition of martial law on the island nation.

1971’s “Beast of the Yellow Night”

This Australian-made documentary by writer/director Mark Hartley covers the wild, wild world of making Exploitation movies in the jungle on a shoestring budget through judicious use of clips, trailers, and interviews with the people who made…

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Music Video Of The Day: We Are All Made of Stars by Moby (2002, by Joseph Kahn)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s music video of the day is dedicated to Marianne Williamson.  I don’t endorse political candidates.  I learned my lesson from all the angry messages that I got after I said I was planning on voting for Gary Johnson in 2016.  My outlook is more libertarian than liberal but who knows?  Marianne might get my primary vote.

Before anyone says anything, I know that Moby is now officially on the creepy list but I still like his music, especially from the 18 and Play eras.  So, you know, why not?

Enjoy!

Stranger Things, S3, Ep 3, The Case of The Missing Lifeguard, Review by Case Wright

Posted on by casewright

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This review will be fairly brief because the episode could’ve been condensed to about 10 minutes- I am being generous.  I’m not saying this was a filler episode, but Joanne’s called and wants their batting back! HIYO!!!! Craft Burn!

This show is starting to use the time sequences that were common in Saw; it’s hard to tell the order of events.

What Happened?

Robin figured out the Russian code and then Dustin, Robin, and Steve stakeout the mall and….accomplish nothing.

Hop is angry at Joyce and rants at her because she stood him up to do SCIENCE and figure out why everything is demagnetized and….it leads nowhere.

Hop and Joyce decide to search the old lab….and Hop gets his ass beaten by the Choking Russian Guy! HA! Some things did happen, but most weren’t that Strange and really didn’t move the plot forward. So…. Shrugs.

Max and El go searching for the lifeguard Mullet-Renfield kidnapped and they find her at …. home.  Well, this was kinda cool.  The monster made her all Stepford Wife and she proceeds to beat up her parents to serve them up for processing.  Mullet-Renfield also appears to be the eyes for the Vampire Monster….just like AHEM… Renfield was for Dracula! BOOM!

This particular episode was more than forgettable, it was unnecessary.  Hopefully, the next one will be better.

 

 

 

Music Video Of The Day: One Better Day by Madness (1984, directed by Nigel Dick)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

 “The idea of that song was when you’d hear people say, ‘Oh, he’s seen better days,’ like when you see a guy in a suit looking a bit tatty. I thought, ‘What was that one better day?’ Then I had the idea that he would meet this other homeless person that happened to be a woman – and they fell in love. Between them they could engender one better day as people who had, supposedly, seen better days.”

— Graham “Suggs” McPherson on One Better Day

In this song and music video, the lads from Madness prove that they were capable of doing serious songs, along with the comedic romps for which they were best known.

This video was filmed in front of Arlington House, which was a homeless shelter located in the band’s hometown of Camden Town, London.  Because this was their final single for Stiff Records, the label refused to put up any money for the video so what you’re seeing here was funded by the band themselves.

Enjoy!

Lisa’s Week In Review: 7/1/19 — 7/7/19

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Did everyone survive Independence Day?

It’s been quite a week here at the Shattered Lens Bunker.  First off, Jeff (a.k.a. Jedadiah Leland) started a personal blog on Monday and, two days later, he ended up breaking one of the biggest stories of the week!  Seriously, when I looked at the reaction to his post, I finally got to do my imitation of Edie Falco in The Comedian exclaiming, “YOU’RE GOING VIRAL!”

Meanwhile, our own Case Wright, had his Stranger Things theory proven correct!

Finally, Patrick celebrated his birthday on the 1st!  Happy birthday, Pat!

Compared to all that …. well, I pretty much did nothing.  I did manage to take out a wasp’s nest so yay me!  Here’s the rest of what I did this week:

Films I Watched:

  1. Born Yesterday (1950)
  2. The California Kid (1974)
  3. Casablanca (1943)
  4. Hometown Killer (2019)
  5. The House That Jack Built (2018)
  6. It Happened Last Night (1934)
  7. Ninotchka (1939)
  8. Trapped Model (2019)
  9. Us (2019)
  10. Wonder Park (2019)
  11. The Wrong Stepmother (2019)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. 20/20
  2. 60 Minutes
  3. The Bachelorette
  4. Big Brother 21
  5. Big Little Lies
  6. Cheerleader Generation
  7. Couples Court with the Cutlers
  8. Dance Moms
  9. Degrassi
  10. Doctor Phil
  11. Euphoria
  12. Face The Truth
  13. Grand Hotel
  14. King of The Hill
  15. Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court
  16. Love it or List It
  17. The Office
  18. Seinfeld
  19. Shipping Wars
  20. The Skyjacker Who Got Away
  21. Stranger Things
  22. So You Think You Can Dance

Books I Read:

  1. Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View (2019) by Ramin Setoodeh
  2. Mr. Know-It-All (2019) by John Waters

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Afrojack
  2. Bat for Lashes
  3. Big Data
  4. Britney Spears
  5. Cage the Elephant
  6. Cat Pierce
  7. Cedric Gervais
  8. Charli XCX
  9. The Chemical Brothers
  10. Ed Sheeran
  11. Fiona Apple
  12. Haim
  13. Jakalope
  14. Jonas Brothers
  15. Joy Division
  16. Meg Myers
  17. Miley Cyrus
  18. New Order
  19. P!nk
  20. The Regrettes
  21. Saint Motel
  22. Taylor Swift
  23. Tears for Fears
  24. The Ting Tings
  25. Tomoyasu Hotei
  26. Tove Lo
  27. UPSAHL

Links From Last Week:

  1. On Pop Politics, Jeff shared: My First Post (and it’s only four years late!), I’m Watching Metropolis on TCM, Lee Iacocca For President?, Mad Magazine Is Shutting Down (UPDATED), Happy 4th of July, Is Justin Amash Running For President?, Robert Blake on 20/20, Is Mike Gravel Ending His Presidential Campaign?, and One Of My Favorite Comic Book Moments: Alex Ross Brings Spider-Man To Life In Marvels
  2. On her photography site, Erin shared: White Rock Lake 3, Fireworks, More Fireworks, Happy 4th of July, No Swimming, Grove, and Bench!
  3. On my music site, I shared songs from The Ting Tings, Charli XCX, Fiona Apple, Team America: World Police, Bat For Lashes, Meg Myers, and Bat For Lashes again!
  4. I reviewed Big Brother for the Big Brother Blog!
  5. National media outlets told the story of David Briscoe surviving the Santa Fe shooting. He wasn’t there.
  6. Green Goblin & Doctor Octopus Might Not Make It Into Spider-Man 3
  7. Mad Magazine Is Basically Dead
  8. Thirty Years On, Seinfeld Still Can’t Be Beat
  9. Johnny Marr invites fan up on stage to play guitar on This Charming Man…and he absolutely smashes it

Links From The Site:

  1. Case reviewed Episode 1 and Episode 2 of the third season of Stranger Things!
  2. Erin highlighted the adventures of Secret Service Operator #5 and shared some vintage postcards, some American film posters, and vintage fireworks advertisements!  She also wished America a happy birthday with the help of John Wayne.  And she shared the following artwork: Canadian Crisis, Shark Island, Desert Town, Triggerman, Everybody Loves A Looker, Shotgun Gold, and True Crime!
  3. Doc wished everyone a Happy Canada Day!
  4. Gary wrote about the Cowsills, Wipeout, White Line Fever, and High-Ballin‘!
  5. Jeff reviewed Naked Obsession and wrote about Mad Magazine shutting down.  He shared music videos from Kim Wilde, The Hooters, AC/DC, and Huey Lewis and the News!
  6. Leonard shared the trailer for Knives Out!
  7. Ryan reviewed Galactic Friends, Zerosis Deathscape #1, and Teratoid Heights, along with sharing his weekly reading round-up!
  8. I shared music videos from Sarah McLachlan, P!nk, and Crud.  I also wished everyone a Happy 4th of July and I reviewed The House That Jack Built, The Wrong Stepmother, and Hometown Killer!  Finally, I shared 4 Shots From 4 Films and wrote about my experiences on National Bikini Day!

Want to see what I did last week?  Click here!

Stranger Things S3 Ep2, The Mall Rats, Review by Case Wright

Posted on by casewright

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I was right again!!! Stranger Things is a VAMPIRE show!!! No one else got that! Season 1- I proved that the show was a Vampire show. This season continues that theme with a Renfield! See my old review HERE!!!

Vampires especially Dracula uses a Renfield as a familiar.  These are people who are quasi-vampires who do the bidding of the Vampire and bring them victims and assist them in their lives.  This is seen in Dracula, Salem’s Lot, What We Do in The Shadows, and Stranger Things Season 3.

This episode is all about change and entropy.  In the previous episode, Mullet-Guy was pulled down into the steel mill.  In this episode, we learn that this was to make Mullet-guy into a familiar to the New Nosferatu!

If you’re not convinced that the new big bad is a Vampire:

  1. Lives in a dark crypt. ✔
  2. Kills small animals to live. ✔
  3. Takes a familiar. ✔
  4. Has familiar bring it a pretty victim. ✔
  5. Familiar is hypnotized. ✔
  6. Vampire moves from small animals to human victims. ✔

What we got here is a case of a Sci-Fi Nosferatu!!!

The big bad is feeding on rats and later has Mullet-Guy bring him a pretty victim to feed upon and likely enslave just like Lucy was enslaved by Dracula in Bram Stokers.  The vampire story also explains the Winona Ryder casting because she was in the Bram Stoker Dracula film. Also, Mullet-guy is now dizzy and sick when he’s exposed to sunlight! HEARD IT HERE FIRST!!!! *Spikes Ball* *Touchdown Dance*

Mike takes Hops lecture seriously and he starts lying to El.  Then, El and Mike break up.  Big Whoop.  Don’t Care.  Lucas and his girlfriend are much more interesting characters anyway.  They have wit and drama.  Mike and El’s relationship is basically a one-note in dullsville.

Steve, Robin, and Dustin have decoded the Russian message sort of.  I’m actually coming to the belief that neck breaking Russian guy is in the upside down and they are trying to get back to the real world.  Also, that the melted Russians from the first episode are actually the Big Bad from Season 2 and Season 3.  The experiment fused them and now they are a combined angry monster vampire.

The episode ends as said before with Mullet-Renfield bringing the Monster a pretty victim. Just like in Dracula!