Monthly Archives: December 2025

Christopher Nolan takes us to Ancient Greece in The Odyssey Trailer!

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

I grew up on stuff like Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans and Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. Part of me looks at Christopher Nolan’s new Trailer for The Odyssey and is hopeful for crazy Harryhausen-like CGI and what his take may be on the Greek Gods. I’m also wondering if it’ll just focus on the humans and will give us something practical like Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy. Either way, The Odyssey will look amazing on the IMAX, I’m sure. The trailer keeps things simple, which is good.

This film hasn’t been on my radar much, but looking at the cast list, the line up is pretty nice. Nolan’s called a few friends back with Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises & The Devil Wears Prada 2), Elliot Page (Inception & Close to You) and Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer & The Smashing Machine). They are joined by Robert Pattinson (The Batman), Jon Bernthal (The Accountant 2), Lupita Nyong’o (A Quiet Place: Day One), Charlize Theron (Atomic Blonde), Mia Goth (Frankenstein) and Zendaya & Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home).

The Odyssey releases in theatres next Summer.

Holidays On The Lens: Christmas Twister (dir by Peter Sullivan)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2012 film Christmas Twister tells the story of what happens when several twisters hit North Texas on Christmas Day.  For a film taking place in the DFW area (a region that is called the flatlands for a reason), there’s a surprisingly large amount of mountains around.

I mean check out the road leading to Fort Worth:

Check out the town of Gransbury!

Guess which movie was definitely not filmed in Texas!

That said, Casper Van Dien manfully drives across the city, saving his children from the tornado and encouraging folks to stay inside. Plus, the film features a perfect shot that shows that the filmmakers did understand at least one thing about Texas:

Hell yeah!  The flag of Texas and some other country!

Enjoy Christmas Twister:

Join #MondayMania For A Wife’s Nightmare!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, everyone!  Tonight, on twitter, I will be hosting one of my favorite films for #MondayMania!  Join us for 2014’s A Wife’s Nightmare!

You can find the movie on Prime and then you can join us on twitter at 9 pm central time!  (That’s 10 pm for you folks on the East Coast.)  See you then!

Song of the Day: Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Apparently, when Norman Greenbaum wrote today’s song of the day, he wasn’t quite writing a parody but, at the same time, he wasn’t being totally serious either.  Greenbaum wrote the song after watching a gospel performance on television and thinking, “Yeah, I could do that.”  By his own recollection, it took him 15 minutes to come up with the lyrics for Spirit In The Sky.

Originally, he was going to perform the song with a jug band.  (Yikes!)  He also tried to do a folk version.  (Double yikes!)  Fortunately, he ultimately went for the hard rock sound that made the song a legend.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Freddie Francis 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.

On this date, 108 years ago, Freddie Francis was born.  Though Francis may be best remembered as a cinematographer (who worked on three David Lynch films), he was also a director who did memorable work for both Hammer and Amicus in the 60s and 70s.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Freddie Francis Films

The Evil of Frankenstein (1963, dir by Freddie Francis, DP: John Wilcox)

The Skull (1965, dir by Freddie Francis, DP: John Wilcox)

Dracula Has Risen The Grave (1968, dir by Freddie Francis, DP: Arthur Grant)

The Creeping Flesh (1973, dir by Freddie Francis, DP: Norman Warwick)

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us For 12 Disasters of Christmas!

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 2012’s 12 Disasters of Christmas!

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, find the movie on YouTube and hit play at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!  The  watch party community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.   

See you soon!

Music Video of the Day: It’s Not Christmas Till Somebody Cries by Carly Rae Jepsen (2020, dir by Josh Forbes)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Usually, I’m the one who cries on Christmas.  This is the month that I allow myself to get sentimental and everything.  Seeing my presents.  Getting my presents.  Unwrapping my presents.  Trying my presents on.  Showing my presents off.  Seriously, it touches my heart every time.

Enjoy!