Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Lisa Marie’s Oscar Predictions For June

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Once again, even trying to predict the Oscars this year seems like a fool’s errand.

Our story so far:

  1. COVID-19 shut everything down, including both theaters and production on many of the films that were expected to be contenders for the 2020 Oscars.
  2. The Academy announced that, for this year only, VOD and streaming-only films would be considered eligible for the Oscars.  That’s good news for all of the films premiering on Netflix and Prime right now, right?
  3. It looked briefly as if theaters might start reopening in July.  Tenet awaits!
  4. Oh wait, there’s still a pandemic going on.  Keep those theaters closed.
  5. But what about Tenent!?  Tenet will open in July, no matter what!
  6. Tenet gets moved back to August.  Every other big production gets moved back to August and chances are they’ll get moved back again.
  7. The Academy, meanwhile, throws everything into even more disarray by announcing that they will be extending the eligibility window to the end of February of 2021.
  8. And now, we’re all waiting to see which films will be moved either back or forward to a January or February 2021 opening in order to qualify for the Oscars.

In other words, who knows what’s going to be eligible once the Academy finally gets around to selecting their nominees.  Personally, I wish they hadn’t moved the eligibility window.  It feels like a bunch of studios complained about the having to release all of their big movies via VOD so the Academy said, “Okay, we’ll give you an extra two months.”  With the way things are going, though, it’s totally possible that theaters could still be closed in January and February so joke’s on them.  ENJOY YOUR VOD OSCARS, YA BASTARDS!

Anyway, here are my monthly Oscar predictions.  I did the best I could with what little information is actually out there.  Normally, I would say that the Da 5 Bloods came out too early to be remembered at Oscar time but this is not a typical year.  Despite the best picture victories of 12 Years A Slave and Moonlight, no black director has ever won best director.  If there’s ever a year when the Academy is going to be motivated to rectify that, it will be this year.

Anyway, be sure to check out my equally useless predictions for January, February, March, April, and May!

Best Picture

Ammonite

Da 5 Bloods

The Father

Hillbilly Elegy

News of the World

Nomadland

On The Rocks

Respect

Soul

West Side Story

Best Director

Ron Howard for Hillbilly Elegy

Paul Greengrass for News of the World

Spike Lee for Da 5 Bloods

Steven Spielberg for West Side Story

Chloe Zhao for Nomadland

Best Actor

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Courier

Tom Hanks in News of the World

Sir Anthony Hopkins in The Father

Delroy Lindo in Da 5 Bloods

Bill Murray in On the Rocks

Best Actress

Amy Adams in Hillbilly Elegy

Jennifer Hudson in Respect

Angelina Jolie in Those Who Wish Me Dead

Frances McDormand in Nomadland

Kate Winslet in Ammonite

Best Supporting Actor

David Alvarez in West Side Story

Tom Burke in Mank

Richard E. Grant in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

Mark Rylance in The Trial of the Chicago 7

Forest Whitaker in Respect

Best Supporting Actress

Abigail Breslin in Stillwater

Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy

Ariana DeBose in West Side Story

Saoirse Ronan in Ammonite

Helena Zengel in News of the World

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 6/22/20 — 6/28/20

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oh, what a week.

Foolishly, I assumed that the world would be able to basically re-open in July but, as June comes to a close, it’s obvious that is not going to be the case.  All of the big theatrical releases for July — Tenet, Mulan, that Bill & Ted movie — have been pushed back to August and, to be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me if they got pushed back again.  A lot of people out there are saying that we should just all stay inside until there’s a vaccine for COVID-19 but who knows when that will be?  Whenever I hear anyone say that we’ll have a vaccine in 6 months, I want to point out to them that I thought the country would be able to reopen in July.  There’s a lot of wishful thinking out there right now.

Me?  I’m wearing a mask when I go out and I’m being careful.  I’m practicing social distancing.  I’m washing my hands.  I’m doing everything that I know can be done.  That’s really all I can do right now.

Oh well!  This upcoming week, I will be taking a little mini-vacation up at Lake Texoma.  I’m looking forward to meditating and recharging and getting some writing done.  I’ll probably listen to a lot of Bob Dylan.  And yes, I’m taking along a few DVDs because reviewing movies is something that keeps me focused and centered.  Mostly, though, I’m just looking forward to taking a break from all the noise of the world.

Here’s what I watched this week:

Films I Watched:

  1. 7500 (2020)
  2. American Wisper (2020)
  3. Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)
  4. The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)
  5. Bugsy Malone (1976)
  6. Carlito’s Way (1993)
  7. Carlito’s Way: Rise To Power (2005)
  8. A Field in England (2013)
  9. Go Ask Alice (1973)
  10. How To Stuff A Wild Bikni (1965)
  11. Love Me Or Leave Me (1955)
  12. Murder, Inc. (1960)
  13. Only One Way (2014)
  14. Penance (2018)
  15. Rust (2010)
  16. Scarface (1983)
  17. St. Valentine Day Massacre (1967)
  18. The Untouchables (1987)
  19. The Way Back (2020)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. The Bold and the Beautiful
  2. Community
  3. Days of Our Lives
  4. Doctor Phil
  5. General Hospital
  6. Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours To Hell And Back
  7. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
  8. The Murder of Laci Peterson
  9. Saved By The Bell: The College Years
  10. Seinfeld
  11. Shipping Wars
  12. South Park
  13. The Young and the Restless

Books I Read:

  1. Death of an Expert Witness (1977) by P.D. James

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Adi Ulmansky
  2. Black Pumas
  3. Blanck Mass
  4. Bob Dylan
  5. Britney Spears
  6. Garbage
  7. Jim WIlliams
  8. The Killers
  9. Muse
  10. Muzz
  11. The Pretenders
  12. Saint Motel
  13. Selena Gomez
  14. ZOON

Links From The Site:

  1. Erin shared Senor Saint, The Long Memory, Film Fun, Big Eli, True Gang Life, Westering, and Cancel All Our Vows!  She also shared The Covers of Famous Detective Cases!
  2. Jeff reviewed Falling Down, The Gumball Rally, Quiet Killer, The Last Hour, and The Onion Movie!
  3. I shared music videos from ZOON, Seal, The Pretenders, Muzz, Garbage, Saint Motel, and Muse!  I reviewed American Wisper and paid tribute to Mel Brooks!
  4. Ryan reviewed Violent Delights, Crime at Babel, Egle and Snake, and Banal Complications!

More From Us:

  1. At her photography site, Erin shared: Dallas, Founders Plaza, Blue, Red, Do Not Enter, Play Now, and Moon!
  2. Ryan has a patreon and you should consider subscribing!
  3. At my music site, I shared songs from Black Pumas, Selena Gomez, Jim Williams, The Killers, Garbage, Jim Williams again, and Muse!

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

Anyway, have a good week, everyone!  As for me …. well, a few days up at the lake?  What could possibly go wrong?

Scenes That I Love: Putting On The Ritz From Young Frankenstein (Happy Birthday, Mel Brooks!)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, Mel Brooks is 94 years old!

Mel Brooks.  What can you say Mel Brooks?  Not only did he help to redefine American comedy but he was also responsible for bringing David Lynch to Hollywood.  Brooks was the one who hired Lynch to direct The Elephant Man.  It can probably be argued that, if not for Brooks, Lynch’s feature film career would have begun and ended with Eraserhead.  Brooks not only hired Lynch but also protected him for studio interference.  When the execs tried to make Lynch remove two surrealistic sequences from The Elephant Man, Brooks stood up to them.  When they requested a more conventional biopic, Brooks defended Lynch’s vision and the result was one of the best films ever made.

Of course, Brooks isn’t listed in the credits of The Elephant Man.  Though he produced the film, he went uncredited because he didn’t want people to assume that the movie was a comedy.  By doing so, Brooks missed out on an Oscar nomination but he also ensured that the film was taken seriously.  It’s hard not to respect someone who was willing to go uncredited to help make the film a success.

Though Brooks, as a producers, was responsible for a number of serious films, there’s a reason why Brooks is associated with comedy.  He’s a very funny man and he directed some very funny films.  In honor of Mel Brooks, here’s a scene that I love from 1974’s Young Frankenstein.

Happy birthday, Mel Brooks!

Music Video of the Day: Save Me by Saint Motel (2020, cinematography by Mario Contini)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Along with their “official” videos, Saint Motel also frequently releases videos for alternate versions of their songs.  This is for the acoustic version of Save Me, which can be found on The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album.

This video description on YouTube offers up only one credit — which is “cinematography by Mario Contini.”  I know that A/J Jackson is usually credited for directing the group’s videos (and, of course, he’s the band’s lead singer as well) but since I don’t have any official listing for a director, I’m just going to leave that credit blank.

Mario Contini, according the imdb, has worked on several music videos, including ones by Lady Gaga, Post Malone, and Muse.  I like the look of this video.  The band certainly has a talent for finding good locations in which to be filmed performing.

Enjoy!

Film Review: American Wisper (dir by Russ Emanuel)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Josiah Wisper (Christian Barber) is a young and successful businessman.  He owns a few bars in Harlem.  He owns a few New York apartment building and, to his tenants, he’s a familiar site, walking up and down the hallways and making sure that everyone has paid their rent.  He and his family have a nice, big house in New Jersey where, not insignificantly, they’re the only black family living in the neighborhood.  Josiah is brash and confident and so sure of his future that he’s even hired a videographer to record every aspect of his life.  Everywhere he goes, she follows and films.

She films him when he’s at his bar, kicking out a drug dealer.  She films him while he’s collecting rent.  She films when he’s talking to his parents.  She films him when he’s flirting with his mistress.  She even films him the night that he returns to New Jersey and discovers that his entire family has been shot to death.  She continues to film as Wisper is interrogated by the police, shunned by his neighbors, and finally forced to investigate the murder on his own.

Usually, found footage films get on my last nerve and I have to admit that I was a little bit concerned when American Wisper began with Wisper talking to the camera.  However, American Wisper actually makes fairly good use of the gimmick.  There’s no shortage of people in the film who are willing to point out how strange it is that Wisper is allowing all of this to be filmed.  In fact, once people start to suspect that Wisper committed the murder, many of them specifically claim that his obsession with being filmed proves that there’s something off about him.  It’s held up as evidence that Wisper is a narcissist who only cares about himself.  To the film’s credit, it doesn’t necessarily dismiss that possibility.  As played by Christian Barber, Wisper does come across as a man who is happy to be living in a movie.  When we first see him, he’s presiding over his bar and you can tell that he’s a man who loves being the center of attention.  Even after the murders, Wisper still often seems to be playing up to the camera, leaving you wondering if maybe it’s possible that there is something that he’s not being honest about.  It creates a genuine feel of suspense, which is more than can be said for most found footage films.

I liked American Wisper.  It’s a low-budget film, made for under $500,000, but it makes good use of that low budget.  When Wisper drives through New York or into New Jersey, he’s not visiting an elaborate Hollywood sound stage.  Instead, he’s actually walking down those streets and driving down those roads and it brings an authenticity to the film that it might have lacked with a bigger budget or a more elaborate production.  Some of the actors are a bit more convincing than others but Christian Barber does an excellent job in the lead role, making Wisper into a character with whom you sympathize despite his flaws.  American Wisper is a murder mystery that’s about more than just a crime.  It’s also an examination of race, upward mobility, and fame in America.

American Wisper can currently be viewed on Prime.

Music Video Of The Day: Kiss From A Rose (1994, dir by Joel Schumacher)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Rest in Peace, Joel Schumacher.

Despite what some sites on the internet would have you believe, this song was not written for a Batman film.  It was featured in 1995’s Batman Forever but it was not actually written for the movie.  Instead, the song was first written in 1987 and then it was first recorded and released in 1994.  When it was first released as a single, it didn’t get much attention and it quickly fell out of the charts.  Then it was featured during the end credits of Batman Forever and it was re-released and promoted with this Joel Schumacher-directed video and it became a huge hit.  This is one of those songs that will never die.  As long as there are weddings and funerals, this song will live.  As long as there are comedy shows that want to do over-the-top falling-in-love montages, this song will live forever.

I used to know a guy who would sing this song every Saturday night for karaoke and, every single time, he would start crying about halfway through the song.  When I asked him why the song always made him cry, he replied, “Showmanship.”  I’m not really sure what happened to him, as it’s been more than a while since I last went to any sort of karaoke night.  I hope he’s okay, wherever he is.  The world of karaoke can be very competitive and ruthless.  Someone should make a movie about it.  It would probably have a really good soundtrack.

Enjoy!