Monthly Archives: September 2025

10 Films For The Week (9/14/25)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome To The Dark Side Of Life

Ted K (2021) is a film about Ted Kaczynski, the overeducated loser who moved into a Montana cabin and who sent people bombs because of …. reasons, I guess?  I know that Ted had a big manifesto and that there are people who claim to have found some sort of genius in his ramblings but truth be told, Ted was a second-rate philosopher who has been embraced by third-rate people.  This film features Sharlto Copley at Ted and it takes an honest and unbiased look at him, his beliefs, and his crimes.  If you’re wondering how we got to where we are, this is one of the films to watch.  The film is on Tubi.

River’s Edge (1987) features Keanu Reeves, Crispin Glover, and Ione Skye as teenagers who learn that one of their friends (Daniel Roebuck) has murdered his girlfriend and who …. do nothing.  Eventually, one of them does go to the police and finds himself being targeted by his former friends.  Meanwhile, Roebuck hides out with a one-legged biker (Dennis Hopper).  This is a disturbing and well-acted true crime film.  We’ve all seen a lot of examples of bystander syndrome over the past few years.  This week, I’ve wondered why so many people, on that North Carolina bus, just walked away after Iryna was stabbed.  This is film examines an early example of that tendency.  It’s on Tubi.

Blue Caprice (2013) was a film made about the DC snipers.  It didn’t really get the attention that it deserved when it was initially released, largely due to the fact that 1) it starred Isaiah Washington and 2) it was such a disturbing movie that I imagine a lot of people had a hard time recommending it.  But if you want to see a film about how a madman can find ways to justify his amoral behavior, this film provides a lot of insight.  It’s on Tubi.

The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015) tells the true story of an infamous social experiment from the early 70s.  It examines just how quickly people will lose themselves in a situation.  While the students playing the prisoners feel as if they are literally fighting for their lives, the students playing the guards enjoy their power trip and never seem to consider that things are going too far.  This film features a great performance from Michael Angarano, as the most enthusiastic of the guards.  It’s on Tubi.

Finally, Christine (2016) tells the story of Christine Chubbuck, the Florida news anchor whose on-air suicide partially inspired the film, Network.  Christine is not a happy film but it does feature a great performance from Rebecca Hall.  It’s on Tubi.

Welcome To The Ligher Side Of The Life

Good news!  Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) exists!  This film, one of the funniest ever made and definitely one of my go-to comforts, is currently streaming on Tubi!

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) remains the ultimate teen fantasy.  Actually, it’s also probably the ultimate adult fantasy.  Everyone deserves a day off.  Ferris Bueller skips school and manages to fit a month’s worth of events into just 9 hours.  We should all be so lucky.  I love this film.  Alan Ruck deserved all the Oscars in the world.  The film is currently streaming on Netflix.

Burn After Reading (2008) never seems to get the respect that it deserves.  The Coen Brothers followed up the award-winning No Country For Old Men with an absurdist CIA comedy in which no one learned anything and nothing was accomplished.  It’s hilarious, as both a film and a concept.  John Malkovich, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, J.K. Simmons, David Rasche, and George Clooney are all wonderfully used.  Burn After Reading is currently on Prime.

Odds and Ends

12 Angry Men (1957) is a true rarity, a classic that everyone agrees is a classic.  Not only are all 12 of the angry men perfectly cast (Henry Fonda, Jack Warden, Ed Begley, Martin Balsam, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marhsall, Robert Webber, and all the rest …. I could go on for paragraphs about how brilliantly cast this film is) but it’s also still a thought-provoking look at the justice system.  Personally, I think the kid was guilty.  And I think that the men all deciding that the woman was too vain to admit that she wore glasses is a perfect example of why women should serve on juries.  Henry Fonda talked them into letting a murderer loose!  It’s still a great film though.  It’s streaming on Tubi.

The Philadelphia Story (1940) features James Stewart, Cary Grant, and Katharine Hepburn.  It also features a lot of great lines, a lot of funny moments, and — most importantly — Jimmy Stewart singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow!  What more could you ask for?  It’s streaming on Tubi.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special George Waggner Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

Any day is a good day to pay tribute to director George Waggner!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 George Waggener Films

Horror Island (1941, dir by George Waggner)

Man-Made Monster (1941, dir by George Waggner)

The Wolf Man (1941, dir by George Waggner)

Red Nightmare (1957, dir by George Waggner)

Music Video of the Day: Unchained by Van Halen (1981, directed by Bruce Gowers)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day is an early one from Van Halen.  Coming from 1981, this video was a product of the time when videos were usually performance clips that focused on showing off the skills of the musicians.

As with all of the early Van Halen videos, this one balances the technical skills and talent of Eddie Van Halen with David Lee Roth’s sense of showmanship.  David Lee Roth and Van Halen had their conflicts but they were always at their best when they were performing together.

Director Bruce Gowers, who died in 2023, started directing music videos in the 70s and worked with everyone from the Rolling Stones to Queen to Journey, Michael Jackson, Toto, and Rod Stewart.  He was one of those directors who worked every everyone who was anybody.  He also directed a lot of television, doing countless MTV Movie Awards ceremonies and also working as a director for American Idol.

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Good Morning, Miss Bliss 1.9 “Let’s Get Together”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Saturdays, I will be reviewing Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which ran on the Disney Channel from 1988 to 1989 before then moving to NBC and being renamed Saved By The Bell.  The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!

This week, the kids learn yet another lesson about conflict resolution.

Episode 1.9 “Let’s Get Together”

(Dir by Burt Brinckerhoff, originally aired on February 18th, 1989)

After Ms. Palladino (Joan Ryan) is kicked out of her apartment by her boyfriend, she temporarily moves in with Miss Bliss.  It doesn’t go well.  Ms. Palladino is messy and quirky and accident-prone.  Miss Bliss is British.  Can these two friends figure out how to live together?

Meanwhile, Nikki and Zach have been assigned to work on a class project but they’re suddenly not getting along.  They have to convince Miss Bliss that the telephone is a worthwhile invention.  (Miss Bliss plays the role of a skeptical pilgrim.)  Nikki wants to use a bunch of charts to make her point.  Zach pretends to call Nikki on the phone and apologizes to her for not being a good friend.  It’s extremely awkward to watch, despite the fact that Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Heather Hopper both pour their hearts into the scene.  Actually, maybe that’s why it’s so awkward to watch.  Imagine being a student, trapped in that classroom and forced to listen to Zach and Nikki work out their differences.  Miss Bliss give them an A and decides to stop being such a bitch to Ms. Palladino.  Good for her!

This episode probably would have been more effective if we hadn’t already been subjected to an episode where Mickey and Zach get into a disagreement and then talk about their friendship while the entire school watches.  This episode felt like a do-over.  I also found it curious that all the students apparently knew that Miss Bliss and Ms. Palladino were living together and not getting along.  First off, why would the students know this and secondly, why would the students cares?

I’m starting to think that Good Morning Miss Bliss was not a realistic portrayal of the Indiana middle school experience.

Retro Television Review: The American Short Story #15: The Sky Is Gray

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Saturdays, Lisa will be reviewing The American Short Story, which ran semi-regularly on PBS in 1974 to 1981.  The entire show can be purchased on Prime and found on YouTube and Tubi.

This week, we have an adaptation of a 1963 short story.

Episode #15: The Sky Is Gray

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired in 1980)

This adaptation of an Ernest Gaines short story takes place in Louisiana during the 1940s.  James (James Bond III) is a young black child who lives on a farm.  His father is overseas, serving in the Army during World War II.  His mother (Olivia Cole) is a stern but loving woman who is trying to raise the sensitive James in a world where one often has to depend on their inner strength to survive.  When James comes down with a toothache, he and his mother travel to a nearby town so he can see the dentist.  From having to stand in the back of the bus to listening to a debate between a priest and a militant in the dentist’s office, it’s an eye-opening journey for James.  When the white receptionist at the dentist’s office arbitrarily cancels James’s appointment and tells him and his mother to come back tomorrow, the two of them seek shelter.  James discovers how strong his mother is when they’re harassed by a pimp (Reuben Collins).  He also learns that there is unexpected kindness in the world when a white store owner invites him and his mother inside to give them shelter from the cold and windy day.  During one trip to the dentist, James learns that the world is far more complicated than he originally knew.

This was an okay adaptation of Gaines’s acclaimed short story.  Young James Bond III gave a good performance as James and the episode was full of scenes that visually captured the feel of being an outsider.  That said, as was often the case with this series, the adaptation was so straight-forward that it didn’t really capture the nuance of Gaines’s writing.  In the short story, Gaines put the reader right into James’s head.  The adaptation doesn’t really do that.  A heavy-handed musical score doesn’t help matters but, with all that in mind, this was still an effective coming-of-age tale.

Scenes I Love: Carrie Blows Up A Car

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

When it comes to the 1976 film, Carrie, we tend to focus so much on what Carrie does at prom that we forget about what she does while she’s walking home.

The prom scene, to me, is disturbing because Carrie not only kills her bullies but also a lot of people who probably weren’t actually laughing at her.  The floppy-haired photographer wearing the dorky fake tuxedo?  That dude did not deserve to die in a fiery inferno!

However, the scene in which Carrie blows up Chris and Billy is extremely satisfying because there’s no doubt they deserved it.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Telekinesis Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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

For today’s edition of 4 Shots From 4 Films, we celebrate films that demonstrate what the human mind can do when it’s angry and there’s stuff around that can explode.  These are….

4 Shots From 4 Telekinetic Films

Carrie (1976, dir by Brian DePalma)

The Fury (1979, dir by Brian DePalma)

Patrick Lives Again (1980, dir by Mario Landi)

Scanners (1981, dir by David Cronenberg)

Live Tweet Alert: Watch Ozark Sharks With #ScarySocial!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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

Tonight, for #ScarySocial, I will be hosting 2016’s Ozark Sharks!

If you want to join us on Saturday night, just hop onto twitter, start the film at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag!  The film is available on Prime and Tubi!  I’ll be there co-hosting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy!