Monthly Archives: August 2024

The Films of 2024: Roadkill (dir by Warren Fast)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Below, you’ll find the trailer for a film called Roadkill.  Before watching, please be aware that the trailer pretty much spoils all of the film’s plot twists.

On a humid stretch of road that winds through the Florida bayous, a long-haired man with a beard (played by Ryan Knudson) hitchhikes and deals with traumatic flashbacks to his past.  He’s given a ride by a young woman (Caitlin Carmichael) who is driving a red Nova.  At first, most viewers will probably assume that the Driver is in danger from the Hitchhiker.  However, it soon turns out that the Driver has some issues of her own.

And yes, this is the type of film where the two main characters do not actually have names.

As far as violent, low-budget road movies are concerned, Roadkill is …. well, it’s okay.  It’s a film that wears its influences — films like Freeway, First Blood, and No Country For Old Men — on its sleeve and the plots twists are never quite as surprising as the film seems to think that they are.  At the same time, the film does a good job of capturing the atmosphere of the Florida backroads and both Ryan Knudson and Caitlin Carmichael do a good-enough job of bringing their characters to life.  There’s even a few shots of that red Nova driving down the highway at night that are downright good.  The film’s pace is occasionally a bit too deliberate and there’s a chase scene where it’s obvious that neither one of the cars involved are going above the speed limit.  But the final 30 minutes are nicely executed and the film’s ending does stick with you.  Roadkill is the epitome of the flawed film that doesn’t quite work but which still has enough effective moments to remain watchable.

Horror fans will be happy to see Danielle Harris, even if her role is a small one.  Harris plays Allison, a cheerful waitress at a diner.  (A few years ago, Harris probably would have been playing The Driver.)  Harris is likable, even if the role is a bit of a throw-away part.  At least she gets to wear a cute uniform.  Still, watching the film, you can’t help but wonder how a diner sitting in the most isolated spot of the Florida bayous manages to stay in business or why Allison is still working at the diner even after it becomes obvious that the diner’s owner is no longer going to be able to pay her salary.

I guess the main lesson of Roadkill is that you really shouldn’t hitchhike.  But, to be honest, that’s a lesson that everyone should already know.  You should not need a movie to know better than to accept rides from strangers.  I think the more important lesson is the one that becomes obvious during the final 30 minutes, which is that it’s better to wear shorts than jeans in the bayou.  The bayou can be a dangerous place, though we all know that they worst bayou is bayouself.  Thank you, I’ll be here all week and every week afterwards.

You can view Roadkill on Tubi and YouTube.  To quote the poet Bluto, it don’t cost nothing.

Music Video of the Day: Me Oh My by Kylie Minogue (2024, dir by Charlie Di Placido)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Watching this video reminded me of the time that I went to Florence and became totally overwhelmed by the shock of viewing so many great works of art in person.  I nearly fainted!  It’s an experience that I recommend to everyone.

Enjoy!

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us For Roadkill and Fargo!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in hosting a few weekly live tweets on twitter and occasionally Mastodon.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of Mastodon’s #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We snark our way through it.

Tonight, for #MondayActionMovie, the film will be 2024’s Roadkill! I picked it so you know it’ll be good.

Following #MondayActionMovie, Brad and Sierra will be hosting the #MondayMuggers live tweet.  We will be watching a classic, 1996’s Fargo!  This film is available on Prime!

It should make for a night of fun viewing and I invite all of you to join in.  If you want to join the live tweets, just hop onto Mastodon, pull up Roadkill on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!  Then, at 10 pm et, switch over to Twitter, start Fargo, and use the #MondayMuggers hashtag!  The live tweet community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.   

Music Video of the Day: Lifetimes by Katy Perry (2024, dir by Stillz)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hey, Stillz– nice video but get a real name, okay?  I’m tired of every video director being named Director Y or Crunch Time or whatever.

Remember the Taylor Swift/Katy Perry feud that happened like a hundred years ago? I was Team Katy all the way.  From what I understand, the feud was largely media-created and Taylor and Katy are now friends and that’s nice.  Katy also wrote this song for her daughter, which is also nice.

Enjoy!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/4/24 — 8/10/24

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For the first time in a long time, things settled down enough this week that I could find time to watch a little television.  Here are my thoughts!

Atomic TV (Night Flight Plus)

This bizarre show, from the 80s, was an entertaining mix of public domain educational films and excerpts from music videos.  It was enjoyably trippy.

Cobra Kai (Netflix)

I watched the first five episodes of the final season on Thursday and Friday.  I know that some people felt that the new episodes got Season 6 off to a bad start and I can kind of understand some of the criticism.  How many times can Kreese come back from the dead?  How many times can Tory be tempted to join the bad guys?  The show has pretty much taken its premise as far as it can go and it’s probably good that this is the final season.

But, you know what?  Cobra Kai is a fun show, one that works because of the combination of Ralph Macchio’s earnestness and William Zabka’s strong comedic timing.  Yes, the show is silly and over-the-top but that’s kind of the point.  The show’s blend of cringe comedy and melodrama still keeps me entertained and William Zabka’s performance as Johnny continues to make me smile.

Plus, there was this wonderful moment:

Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam (Netflix)

I watched all three episodes of this creepy docuseries on Sunday.  The series told the story of how Lou Pearlman created the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and O Town and how he ended up stealing over $500 million dollars from his investors.  Pearlman came across as being a bit of a monster and even creepier than he did during the first season of Making the Band.  The docuseries featured interviews with former boy banders (though not Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone or anyone else who currently has a career going), in which they shared their mixed feelings about their experiences with Lou.  My heart really broke for Michael Johnson, of Natural, who appeared to have been the most traumatized by his experiences with Lou Pearlman.

Dr. Phil (Pluto TV)

On Thursday night, I watched an episode in which Phil talked to a former Marine whose daughter was out-of-control.  Everyone agreed that it was the father’s fault but the teen was still sent to Turn About Ranch.  Did that ranch ever do anyone any good?

Miami Vice (Prime)

A gangster (played by legendary satirist Frank Zappa) thought Sonny had stolen some money from him.  I’ll be posting a review of this episode on September 2nd so keep an eye out for it!

Summer Olympics (NBC)

Usually, I’m a huge Olympics nerd but this year, I’ve been too busy taking care of my Dad to really pay attention to them.  I did occasionally tune in throughout this week.  Personally, I think I could win a gold medal for Beach Volleyball.  It doesn’t look that hard.

Steve Wilkos (Nosey)

I watched an episode of this talk show on Wednesday morning, when I couldn’t sleep.  A man denied that he was the father of his ex-girlfriend’s nine year-old child.  Steve yelled, “Get off my stage!” and threw a chair at the guy while the audience chanted, “STEVE!”  Lost in all of the chaos and chanting was whether or not the guy was actually the father.  I assume he was, just because of all the booing that went on.

On Saturday, I watched three episodes that featured Steve yelling at someone.  He threw another chair at a different guy.  The audience loved that.

TV 2000 (Night Flight TV)

I watched an episode of this 80s music video show on Saturday morning.  A youngish Gene Simmons was interviewed and come across as being as arrogant but oddly likable as he is today.