Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland: Great Romances of the 20th Century – Season 3, Episode 10 (Aired April 24th, 2001)

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Bradley Crain

Happy Valentine’s Day, my friends! Today I celebrate my own valentine, my wife Sierra. I bought her a beautiful bouquet of roses, as well as a card, on which I wrote my true feelings of love and appreciation for her. It made me very happy to see the joy on her face as she received her roses and read her card.

I’m also celebrating my favorite film valentines, Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland. I’ve been blessed to have a few opportunities over the years to talk to people who were friends or family with Bronson and Ireland. They always say the same types of things… “they were so in love,” “Charlie would light up whenever she was around,” “she always softened him up.” That’s one of the reasons I enjoy watching them on screen together. There’s something about knowing how much they love each other that just makes me happy. Back in 2001, the TV series “Great Romances of the 20 Century” featured Bronson and Ireland. One of the most interesting parts of the episode showed Charlie and Jill being interviewed on the set of the film BREAKOUT (1975). Bronson was notoriously prickly in interviews, and he seemed to be heading that way on this particular day. But when Jill started talking about her husband to the person conducting the interview, you could just see the impact her words had on his mood and countenance. She made him smile and his entire mood changed, confirming everything I’ve been told. It’s quite beautiful to see.

If you’re interested, I’ve linked to the episode below.

https://therokuchannel.roku.com/details/bb5e43736ee3d63cc3370ae4495d977b/great-romances-of-the-20th-century-s3-e10-charles-bronson-and-jill-ireland

Baseball On Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Dazzling Erin

Are you still having trouble getting in the mood for Valentine’s Day? Allow me to help with a series of covers that combine my two favorite things, love and baseball! These baseball romances are guaranteed to touch even the outfield of your heart. Plus, if you’ve been confused about the difference between first base, third base, and all the way, these books are here to help, just in time for Valentine’s Day!

Captain America: Brave New World (dir. by Julius Onah)

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Leonard Wilson

Walk into a comic store, and you’ll sometimes find whole collections of comics in one large binder or book. The book that was The Infinity Saga ended with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and that really should have been the hard stop for Marvel Studios for a while. Still, the Marvel Engine continues to run. Sometimes, we get hits, like 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3. On occasion, we’ve had that rare film that knocks it out of the park in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Mostly, however, we’ve had “okay” stories, like that comic in a pile that you enjoyed reading, but wouldn’t really remember much about it after 15 minutes. These are the ones like Black Widow and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (the latter of which I personally hated, despite it being a Raimi film).

I enjoyed Captain America: Brave New World, but the story didn’t feel as expansive as I thought it could be. It still is grounded in the political intrigue of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, but I felt like it lacked the same kind of weight those previous films did. There are some good fight scenes and even better flight scene thoughout.

Brave New World finds Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) doing very well since taking on the mantle of Captain America. Despite not having any powers, he can still handle his own, somewhat. With a suit and new Vibranium wings, compliments of Wakanda, Wilson’s quite a force to be reckoned with, though he still tends to approach certain situations with de-escalation in mind instead of brute force. He also has some help in the form of Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), who has worked with Sam even before using the shield. Mackie carries this easily with the occassional joke or two. It’s also amazing to watch when you know the character isn’t enhanced and is really just one or two good punches away from a broken limb. I see in Sam Wilson a pre-super serum Steve Rogers, fending off enhanced bullies with nothing but a garbage can lid and lots of heart. That’s heroic and perhaps even Worthy, an underdog still fighting the fight (at least to me, anyway). Ramirez’ Torres is the plucky comic relief in all this. Serious when needed, but playful otherwise. His character reminded me a bit of Pablo Schreiber’s one in Michael Bay’s 13 Hours.

The political landscape has also changed since the days of Iron Man 3’s Matthew Ellis (played by William Sadler). General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross has risen through the ranks to become the President of the United States. Harrison Ford (Clear and Present Danger) takes over the role of Ross from William Hurt (Altered States), who passed away in 2022. At this stage in his career, Ford doesn’t have to do much to be effective in a scene. He’s played political characters in his Tom Clancy / Jack Ryan era, so this isn’t really new to him. His version of Ross still carries the gruff nature that Hurt had, though personally, I don’t feel either performance was as good as Sam Elliot’s in Ang Lee’s Hulk. Ford’s Ross is a man haunted by the disconnection from his family and a reputation he’d rather put behind him. The same can be said for Carl Lumbly’s Isaiah Bradley. As the forgotten Super Soldier, his character is still slowly integrating into public life after a past that left him cautious and weary.

After a successful mission, Wilson, Torres, and Bradley are invited to the White House for a special announcement. The announcement involves the discovery of the “Celestial Island”, the Continent sized remains of Tiamat from The Eternals. Even better, the entire island is made of a material that appears to be stronger than even Vibranium. The metal, dubbed “Adamantium”, causes a race between the Superpowers to acquire it. Thankfully, a treaty formed by Ross helps to keep conflict at bay.

As exciting as it sounds to hear that this particular Universe suddenly (finally!) has Adamantium in it, the announcement is as far as anyone will get to seeing it. Put away any thoughts of seeing Weapon-X plans in Canada. Japan won’t produce a Silver Samurai, and Russia won’t have Omega Red any time soon. That is not this story, and it’s an outright shame that none of that is even hinted to because the only Marvel solid references we have on Mutants to date are from Ms. Marvel at this point. At best, the Adamantium angle serves as a reason to finally include the aftermath of The Eternals into the story and possibly set up something for future films. Why is Marvel so hesitant on touching the X-Men? Ugh, that’s an argument for a different story.

An incident occurs that finds Sam and Joaquin having to exonerate Isaiah Bradley, while at the same time, trying to unravel the mystery involving a terrorist known only as Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito, Abigail) that puts both The President and possibly the entire nation in danger. Can Sam and Joaquin take down the Sidewinder and save the day? That is mostly the gist behind Captain America: Brave New World.

Outside of the performances, From a production standpoint, the film had 5 separate screenplay writers and a number of reshoots. It’s not terrible, but the film does feel a little like the writers were unsure of what they wanted to do from scene to scene. There was one shot involving a prison ward that made me wonder why more guards weren’t present. It’s more a nitpick than anything else. I compare it more to Nolan’s editing mistake with The Dark Knight, where the Joker crashes a party, but we never actually see him leave or learn the fates of the people there after Batman saves Rachel. There were also a number of cuts made to the film that removed scenes by actors such as Wrestling’s Seth Rollins and Alita Battle Angel’s Rosa Salazar. You won’t even notice those unless you’re actively expecting to see them in the film (I didn’t know either actor was involved, honestly).

The big showdown that all of the posters couldn’t seem to hide does happen, and the sequence itself is good, given the weaknesses of our heroes and strengths of our villains. It felt a little shorter to me than I expected it to be though it could be on par with the now classic Battle of Harlem in The Incredible Hulk. There was a time where Marvel was able to keep things like this under wraps, but given the state of the MCU and Hollywood in general, I can understand the marketing team’s fight to pull more people into cinemas.

Overall, Captain America: Brave New World is a good popcorn flick. Will you rave about it? Perhaps. Was it fun? Sure. Was it memorable? I’m not totally sure. I enjoyed where the story took me, but my expectations maybe veered to levels that the story couldn’t reach for me. That’s more a “me” problem than a movie problem. Also note that the film does have a Marvel Post-Credit moment. It doesn’t reveal much or anything specific of where the overall arc is reaching. It’s more of a “Captain America Will Return” than anything else, but of course, we all knew that.

Love On The Shattered Lens: The Red-Haired Alibi (dir by Christy Cabanne)

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

1932’s The Red-Haired Alibi tells the story of Lynn (Merna Kennedy).

When we first meet Lynn, she is working at a store in Manhattan. She has red hair. The film is in black-and-white but we have no doubt that her hair is red because every single character who meets her mentions that she has red hair and she continually reminds people that she has red hair. Everyone seems to be so stunned to meet a redhead! And I have to say that this is the most realistic part of this movie. I have red hair. I’ve had complete strangers tell me that they like my hair. I’ve also had complete strangers ask me if I’m a natural redhead (and I am!) and some other things that I’m not going to repeat here. Personally, I love having red hair. I’m a member of the proud 2%. I don’t care if some people claim that people with red hair don’t have souls. When you’ve got red hair, what else do you need?

As for the movie, Lynn meets a charming man named Trent Travers (Theodore van Enz). Trent offers to give Lynn a job, away from the drudgery of working in sales. Trent will pay Lynn to be his companion at night. And since this is a pre-code film, Red-Haired Alibi is pretty open about what that means. Lynn agrees. Trent is handsome and rich and who couldn’t use the money during the Great Depression? I imagine the film’s audience agreed. One thing that always comes through in these Depression-era pre-code films is that morals don’t really matter when you’re struggling to pay your rent and not starve to death.

The problem is that Trent is a gangster. Trent spends his nights committing crimes and then using Lynn as his alibi. Eventually, Lynn realizes that she’s gotten herself into a dangerous situation. The police suggest to her that she should get out of town before Trent takes things too far. (I guess they didn’t have witness protection in 1932.)

Lynn flees New York and builds a new life for herself in White Plains. She meets a charming widower named Bob Wilson (Grant Withers). They marry and settle into a life of domestic bliss. Lynn becomes the stepmother to Bob’s young daughter (played by Shirley Temple, in what is believed to have been her film debut). Everything seems to finally be perfect for Lynn. Or at least it does until Trent shows up….

The Red-Haired Alibi is a generally well-acted but somewhat slow 1930s melodrama. Comparing this film to some of the other films of the early 30s, it’s a relief to see a cast that knows how to deliver dialogue in the sound era but director Christy Carbanne sometimes struggles to maintain the sort of narrative momentum necessary to make a film like this compelling. The ending feels a bit silly but, at least during the pre-code era, there wasn’t a need to try to punish Lynn for having a less-than-perfect past.

Dancer and former silent actress Merna Kennedy was best-known for her work with Charlie Chaplin and she gives a likable performance as Lynn. Two years after making this film, she married Busby Berkley and retired from acting. Tragically, she died of a heart attack in 1944, when she was only 36 years old.

Get In The Mood … For Romance!

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Dazzling Erin

Are you having trouble getting in the mood for romance? It happens! Here are some great romance novel covers to help you out! After looking at this collection of shirtless man and woman in bodices, I defy anyone not to be in the Valentine spirit!

What have we learned today? Pirates are sexy.

Scenes That I Love: The Finale of Alan Parker’s Fame

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In honor of Alan Parker’s birthday, today’s scene of the day comes from his 1980 film, Fame. This is one of the best finales ever captured on film.

In this scene, the film’s characters performer for one last time before graduating and heading out into a world that, for all their talent, promises nothing. The film follows these students over the course of their four years at the High School for the Performing Arts and, as the finale plays out, we know that, no matter what happens, there years at the school will remain some of the most important of their lives.

Love On The Shattered Lens: Frank and Ava (dir by Michael Oblowitz)

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

2018’s Frank & Ava tells the story of the tempestuous love affair and marriage of Frank Sinatra (Rico Simonini) and Ava Gardner (Emily Elicia Low).

The film opens with Sinatra at his lowest point. His records are no longer selling. His marriage to Nancy is in trouble. The government is now investigating him for supposed communist sympathies (say it ain’t so, Frank!) and also his connections to the Mafia. Hedda Hopper (Joanne Baron), Louella Parsons (Joanna Sanchez), and Walter Winchell (Richard Portnow) all pop up throughout the film, breathlessly reading the latest gossip into radio microphones. Frank’s voice is weakening and it looks like he’s about to lose his fanbase to Eddie Fisher and Perry Como. As for his acting career, everyone knows that he can’t act. (At one point, even Frank’s friends laugh at the idea of Siantra ever winning an Oscar.) Frank knows that he would be perfect for the role of Maggio in From Here To Eternity but the film’s director wants to cast someone like Harvey Lembeck or Eli Wallach.

As for Ava Gardner, she’s just gotten out of a relationship with Howard Hughes. More famous for her then-scandalous personal life than her film roles, Gardner drinks too much, curses too much, and is too open about her affairs for the sensibilities of much of 1950 America.

When Frank and Ava meet, it’s love at first sight. They drive around while drinking champagne straight from the bottle. They crash cars. When they’re arrested, they charm a local sheriff (Harry Dean Stanton, in his final film role). They fight. They make love. They fight more. They make love more. Frank obsesses on the possibility of Ava being unfaithful to him while continually cheating on her with everyone from Lana Turner to Marilyn Maxwell.

The first thing that you notice about Frank & Ava is that it is full of references to real Hollywood gossip. Names are dropped. Real celebrities are depicted and the portrayals are not always positive. The second thing that you notice is that, with the exception of Emily Elicia Low, no one is particularly convincing. The actress who plays Marilyn Monroe not only looks nothing like Marilyn but her attempt to imitate Marilyn’s trademark voice made me laugh out loud. Actors appear as Lana Turner, Montgomery Clift, Howard Hughes, and a host of mafiosos and none of them are the least bit convincing. Much of the film is like attending a costume party where no one could spend more than five bucks on their costume. Rico Simonini, who was so charming in My Dinner With Eric, is not particularly convincing as Frank Sinatra. That said, Emily Elicia Low is well-cast as Ava Gardner and Eric Roberts shows up for two scenes as producer Harry Cohn. In real life, Cohn was a notorious bully. The old anecdote about everyone showing up at an unpopular man’s funeral to make sure that he’s actually dead is often said to have been inspired by Cohn. In the film, Roberts plays Cohn as being a surprisingly reasonable guy. If Fred Zinnemann wants Sinatra, he can have Sinatra. If he wants Eli Wallach, he can have Eli Wallach. Just make sure they aren’t communists!

Probably the most interesting thing about this film is its attempt to recreate the 50s without spending a good deal of money. This is a low-budget movie and there’s an obvious artificiality to many of the sets and costumes that gives the entire film an oddly dream-like feel. It’s less a recreation of the past and more a look at how the past might look in our fantasies. All the men wear suits. Ava dresses and talk as if she just stepped out of a parody of a film noir. Famous scenes from Goodfellas and La Dolce Vita are awkwardly recreated by Santini and the cast. The film, which was made by people who obviously loved the legend of Frank and Ava, ultimately transcends the conventional definition of good and bad and instead becomes a work of outsider art, a look into the hazier regions of the American cultural psyche.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

The Two Sides of Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Dazzling Erin

St. Valentine heals an epileptic.

No one knows when the first Valentine’s Day was celebrated. Saint Valentine lived in 3rd Century Rome and provided care to persecuted Christians before being martyred by Emperor Claudius II. Valentine is the patron saint of Terni, epilepsy, and beekeepers. How his feast day became associated with the celebration of courtly love, no one is sure. References to Valentine’s Day as a romantic holiday can be found in the works of both Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare.

No one knows when the first Valentine’s Day card was sent but, by the time of the Victorian era, they were a part of the tradition. Here is a beautiful Valentine’s Card from the 1890s, with a romantic scene of courtship and a paper lace design. Sold in London, this would have been an expensive card that would have been sent by a member of the upper classes.

However, during the Victoria era, there were also what was known as the Vinegar Valentine Cards. These were cards that were sent to let someone know that they were either not loved or that the person they thought they love was not worthy of them. These cards were often sent and left anonymously. Can you imagine the feeling on Valentine’s Day of not knowing whether you’re going to get a card like the one above or a card like the one below?

That’s one Valentine’s tradition that I’m glad we no longer have to deal with!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Alan Parker Edition

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.

81 years ago, on this date, the late director Alan Parker was born in London. One of the many British directors, like the Scott brothers and Adrian Lyne, who began by directing advertisements, Parker went on to become a director known for both his intense visual style and his revolutionary use of music as a storytelling device. It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Alan Parker Films

Midnight Express (1978, dir by Alan Parker, DP: Michael Seresin)

Fame (1980, dir by Alan Parker, DP: Michael Seresin)

Pink Floyd — The Wall (1982, dir by Alan Parker, DP: Peter Bizou)

Angel Heart (1987, dir by Alan Parker, DP: Michael Seresin)

Love On The Shattered Lens: The Bitch (dir by Gerry O’Hara)

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

“Joan Collins is THE BITCH” announced the opening credits of the 1979 film, The Bitch. Seriously, how can you not love a film that opens that way?

Joan Collins returns of Fonatine Khaled, the character that she previously played in The Stud. Once again based on a novel by Jackie Collins, The Bitch follow Fontaine as she adjusts to life as a freshly divorced woman. Though she received a good deal of money in the divorce and she has her own personal fortune as well, Fontaine is struggling to maintain her extravagant lifestyle. A new disco has opened and is taking away the crowds that used to populate her club. She’s running out of cash and soon, she might not even be able to fly first class!

It’s on an airplane that she meets Nico (Michael Colby, who is not particularly charismatic but still isn’t quite as dull as Oliver Tobias was in The Stud). In an amusing in-joke, the movie that they watch on the plane is The Stud. Nico says that he can’t decide if the movie is funnier with the sound or without. “It’s not meant to by funny,” Fontaine replies. Nico claims to be a wealthy Italian businessman, which immediately gets Fontaine’s attention. Of course, Nico’s lying. He’s actually a con artist and a jewel thief. Fontaine figures that out when Nico tries to use her to smuggle a diamond through customs. Fontaine is angered but she’s intrigued.

Nico is in debt to the Mafia. The head of the British mob is a man named … and I’m not making this up …. Thrush Feathers (Ian Hendry). Thrush Feathers demands that Nico cause a horse to lose an upcoming race. The horse belongs to Fontaine’s friends from the first film, Vanessa (Sue Lloyd) and Mark Grant (Mark Burns). Thrush Feathers also offers to help Fontaine keep her club open but his help comes with a price. Whatever the price is, could it possibly be worse than being named Thrush Feathers? Seriously, in what world is someone with that name going to take over a London crime syndicate? How do you go from the Kray Brothers to Thrush Feathers?

Anyway, the plot really isn’t that important. There’s a lot of double crosses and manipulation as Fontaine lives up to the title of the film. The plot is really just an excuse to tease the viewer with visions of the decadent rich. The clothes are expensive. The mansions are ornate. The conversations are always arch and full of double entendres. This film is less about how the rich live and more about how middle class like to imagine the rich live. It’s also about sex, though none of it quite reaches the lunatic abandon of The Stud’s swimming pool orgy scene. The important thing is that whole thing is scored to a disco beat.

As with The Stud, it’s Joan Collins who holds the film together, giving a fierce and uninhibited performance in which she gleefully embraces the melodrama and delivers her lines with just enough attitude to let the viewer know that she’s in on the joke. “Bitch” may have been meant as an insult but, as played by Joan Collins, Fontaine wears the title as a badge of honor. She understands what had to be done to survive in a male-dominated world and she makes no apologies for it. Even more importantly, she knows that once you fly first class, you can never go back.

The Bitch is not necessarily good but it is definitely fun in its sordid way.