Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Music Video of the Day: Star Guitar by The Chemical Brothers (2001, dir by Michel Gondry and Olivier Gondry)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I love trains.

Well, to be honest, I love trains in Europe.  One of my fondest memories of Italy was riding the train to Venice.  And, when Jeff and I were in the UK last year, I discovered that I absolutely loved the London underground.  Everyone told me that I wouldn’t but I did.  Of course, I also usually took a Dramamine or two before boarding so I was often kind of out of it.

Outside of the DART train in Dallas, I’ve never really spent any time on any trains in the United States.  To be honest, I’m always a little bit shocked to discover that Amtrak is actually a thing.  A few years ago, I read an article where someone was complaining that people in the South and the Midwest don’t ever use Amtrak and, as a result, we don’t ever elect politicians who understand the importance of funding the trains.  To be honest, down here, we really don’t care about Amtrak.  We all own cars and we know where the highways are so we don’t need the trains.

As for this video, Michel Gondry put it together from footage that he shot while riding ten different trains across France.  Gondry carefully edited the footage so that, while appearing like a seamless journey, the landscape changes in time to the music.  It creates a wonderfully dream-lie and surreal atmosphere, one that reminds me of Gondry’s later work on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Enjoy!

Lisa’s Week In Review: 4/1/19 — 4/7/19

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week really made me appreciate my friends, my family, and my boyfriend.  I spent most of the week feeling sick and kinda down but, when I admitted that I needed help on Friday, so many people rallied to my side that it brought tears to my mismatched eyes.

I’m feeling better now and looking forward to the rest of 2019!

Movies I Watched:

  1. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
  2. Billy Madison (1995)
  3. Bring it On (2000)
  4. The Dirt (2019)
  5. Evelyn (2002)
  6. Flash Gordon (1980)
  7. For the Love of George (2018)
  8. Happy Gilmore (1996)
  9. The Highwaymen (2019)
  10. I Nearly Married A Serial Killer (2019)
  11. Lady In The Lake (1946)
  12. The Lawnmower Man (1992)
  13. The Mummy’s Hand (1940)
  14. My Killer Client (2019)
  15. Strangers on a Train (1951)
  16. Team Foxcatcher (2016)
  17. The Terminal Man (1974)
  18. Top Gun (1986)
  19. Triple Frontier (2019)
  20. Winter’s Bone (2010)
  21. Young Adult (2011)

Televison Shows I Watched:

  1. 9-1-1
  2. American Idol
  3. Antique Roadshow
  4. A.P. Bio
  5. Bar Rescue
  6. Barry
  7. Behind the Gates
  8. Broad City
  9. Doctor Phil
  10. Face the Truth
  11. Ghost Whisperer
  12. House Hunters
  13. House Hunters International
  14. In the Dark
  15. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
  16. King of the Hill
  17. Our Planet
  18. Ozark
  19. Project Runway
  20. Selling Mega Mansions
  21. Selling Yachts
  22. South Park
  23. Superstore
  24. Survivor 38
  25. The Twilight Zone
  26. Veep
  27. What We Do In The Shadows
  28. World of Dance
  29. Young Sheldon

Books I Read:

  1. All His Jazz: The Life and Death of Bob Fosse (1990) by Martin Gottfried
  2. Fosse (2013) by Sam Wasson

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Adi Ulmansky
  2. Avril Lavigne
  3. Big Data
  4. Britney Spears
  5. Calvin Harris
  6. The Chemical Brothers
  7. CUT_
  8. DJ Judaa
  9. DJ Snake
  10. Emma Bunton
  11. Falco
  12. Flight of the Conchords
  13. Goblin
  14. Jakalope
  15. Justin Timberlake
  16. Kazaky
  17. Lindsey Stirling
  18. Loren B
  19. MARINA
  20. Master Blaster
  21. Saint Motel
  22. Swedish House Mafia
  23. Taylor Swift
  24. The White Stripes

Links From Last Week:

  1. On her photography site, Erin shared: April Is Here, In My Office, In The Front Hallway, Weeds, Trees, Chair and Table, and Call Before You Dig!
  2. Over at Horror Critic, I reviewed The Lawnmower Man!
  3. On my online dream journal, I wrote about a clown dream and a leopard dream!
  4. I reviewed the latest episode of Survivor!
  5. On my music site, I shared music from CUT_, MARINA, The White Stripes, Justin Timberlake, Emma Bunton, Britney Spears, and Master Blaster!
  6. Britney Spears says she’s taking a little ‘me time’
  7. Britney Spears enter mental health facility
  8. The Beyond (1981) to be released with four different prologues
  9. The Cats Movie Will Shrink Actors to Feline Size and Add Performance Capture Fur
  10. Sam Mendes’ WWI Drama ‘1917’ Is Reportedly Comprised Of One Long Shot
  11. Francis Ford Coppola Ready To Make ‘Megalopolis’ And Is Eyeing Cast
  12. Justice Department Warns Academy Over Potential Oscar Rule Changes Threatening Netflix
  13. DOJ Lawyers Now Want To Be Involved In The Oscar Nominations
  14. You Won’t Believe What’s Holding Up Martin Scorsese’s New Mob Flick, The Irishman
  15. You Can’t Make Up How Absurd Lori Loughlin’s First Court Appearance Was
  16. Boom!  An Autopsy of the media after the Mueller bombshell
  17. Mexican musician appears to kill himself after MeToo claim
  18. What Was The Washington Post Afraid Of?
  19. The Company Behind Fearless Girl Has Voted Against Several Gender Pay Equity Resolutions, New Study Reveals
  20. Prince Harry Calls for Fortnite Ban in th UK
  21. Fortnite: Is Prince Harry right to want game banned?
  22. The streaming age is making it easier than ever to discover great movies
  23. Fifty shades of white: the long fight against racism in romance novels

Links From The Site:

  1. I reviewed First Blood and paid tribute to Roger Corman.  I also shared music videos from Frank Stallone, Calvin Harris, Kazaky, Lindsey Stirling, Flight of the Conchords, Lindsey Stirling (again), and David Douglas!
  2. Case reviewed the 1st episode of the second season of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina!
  3. Erin shared the following artwork: Puck, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Psycho Circus, Shock Illustrated, Contact, Georgia Boy, and Little Al of the FBI.
  4. Doc wished everyone a weary April Fools Day!
  5. Gary reviewed Black Dragon’s Revenge, Burt Reynolds’s autobiography, and The Letter.
  6. Leonard shared the trailer for The Joker!
  7. Ryan reviewed Episode Seven of Doom Patrol, Coyote Doggirl, Father, Soft Fascinations, A Different Sky, Nick’s Rainow Pepsi Blood, Plaguers Itnl, and Jesus Freak!

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

Music Video of the Day: Higher by David Douglas featuring Lenka (2015, dir by David Douglas and Gijs Wilbers)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is another music video that suggests to me that the world is about to end so we should enjoy it while we can.  Swim.  Look at the trees.  Run down the road.  Do it all, while you can.  I know that may sound like a somewhat morbid interpretation of this video but, in my defense, I’m currently running a fever and I’m also currently doing some research on films about the end of the world for a future review series.

(Interestingly enough, people have always been obsessed with the idea of the world ending.  Since the start of time, people have been saying, “The world will end in 10 or 12 years.”  For whatever reason, everyone always seems to assume that we’ve only got a decade left.  I think that’s because 10 years sounds close enough to cause a panic but, at the same time, it’s also distant enough that people will have forgotten about the prediction by the time that it doesn’t come true.)

Anyway, this video really isn’t about the end of the world, despite what my overactive imagination might claim.  Instead, the video is more about joy and living life to its fullest.  This is good music to drive to, as long as you can afford to pay for any speeding tickets that you may get.  You honestly can’t drive slowly while listening to good music.  Good music encourages you to make use of the accelerator.

The sight of the passing trees reminds me of when I was growing up and we’d drive through Oklahoma and Arkansas and North Texas to visit family or, as was often the case, to move to a new town.  Because I tend to get car sick, I would always end up resting my head against the window and watching the trees past by.

Enjoy!

4 Shots From 4 Roger Corman Films: X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes, The Masque of the Red Death, St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, The Trip

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.

Let us all wish a happy 93rd birthday to the one and only Roger Corman!

As a director and a producer, Roger Corman is one of the towering figures in the history of American cinema.  At a time when the major studios dominated the industry, Roger Corman set off on his own fiercely independent path.  At a time when most filmmakers were either apolitical or predictably middle-of-the-road in their liberalism, Corman was an outspoken progressive.  At a time when mainstream Hollywood refused to give opportunities to new talent, Corman was giving work to people like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, and Jack Nicholson.

Here are….

4 Shots From 4 Roger Corman Films

X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes (1963, dir by Roger Corman)

The Masque of the Red Death (1964, dir by Roger Corman)

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967, dir by Roger Corman)

The Trip (1967, dir by Roger Corman)

Music Video of the Day: Hurt Feelings by Flight of the Conchords (2009, dir by James Bobin)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Way back in 2009, this music video premiered during my favorite episode of Flight of the Conchords, The Tough Brets.  That’s the episode where Bret performs a controversial rap, in which he attacks several other rappers.  (“Snoop Dogg is not very good.  Ice Cube in not very good….”)  When Murray suggests that Bret may have hurt the feelings of the rappers that he called out, Bret forms a gang for protection.

Or, at very least, Bret tries to form a gang.  It doesn’t go particularly well, though character actor Seymour Cassel does join up at the one point.)

However, before forming the gang, Bret and Jermaine perform an entire song about hurt feelings.  This song is also known as Tears of a Rapper and there’s actually several different versions of it floating around.  For instance, in a more recent version, the Maid in Manhattan reference is replaced with a joke about how much Bret loves Zac Efron.  One thing that always remains the same is that Jermaine’s family forgot to wish him a happy birthday.  Poor Jermaine!

Anyway, I like this music video.  I like the fact that when Bret sees that his friends have gone to see Maid in Manhattan without him, Jermaine just happens to be there, trying to hide his face.  For the record, Maid in Manhattan is actually a perfect reference because it’s the type of bland film that you would be embarrassed to discover someone had specifically gone out of their way not to see with you.  It’s the one where Jennifer Lopez plays a maid and Ralph Fiennes plays a politician.  At one point, Jennifer Lopez nearly sits down on a magazine that’s got a picture of Ralph Fiennes on the cover and she tells him, “Whoops, I nearly sat on your face.”

Add to that, everyone’s had hurt feelings at some point in their life and therefore, everyone can relate to this song.  For instance, I’ve recently been making an effort to obey all posted traffic laws.  Would it kill someone to say, “Wow, Lisa, you actually stopped for that red light!  We’re proud of you!?”

I’ve got hurt feelings …. I’ve got hurt feelings….

For the record, I also love Murray’s comment at the end of this clip.  “All good examples.”

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: I Need Your Love by Calvin Harris, featuring Ellie Goulding (2013, dir by Emil Nava)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

There’s a lot of good things to say about this video.  Beyond the fact that I like the song, I also enjoy seeing all of the different people who run off with the camera.  This video has a lot of energy and it’s just a lot of fun to watch.  Visually, it’s a perfect fit for the music.

But, honestly, the main reason that I love this video is that Calvin and Ellie are just amazingly, incredibly adorable together!  Usually, whenever I see a video about a couple in love, I always assume that one of them has died and the survivor is now remembering all of the good times.  But, in this case, I chose to believe that Calvin and Ellie’s characters not only survived the video but that they stayed together.

(Of course, in real life, Calvin Harris was dating Rita Ora when this video came out.)

Enjoy!