Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Scenes That I Love: “Bond. James Bond” from Dr. No (in honor of Ian Fleming’s birthday)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

117 years ago today, Ian Fleming was born in Mayfair, London.  A member of British Intelligence during World War II, Fleming is today best-remembered as the creator of James Bond.

Today’s scene that I love comes from 1962’s Dr. No.  Here is Sean Connery, in his first appearance as Fleming’s iconic secret agent.  Eunice Gray was cast as Sylvia Trench, who was originally envisioned as being Bond’s permanent “London” girlfriend.  She also appeared in From Russia With Love before the idea was abandoned.  We all know that Bond’s true love was Tracy di Vincenzo.

6 Shots From 6 Films: Special Gordon Willis Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More 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!

Today the Shattered Lens celebrates what would have been the 94th birthday of the great cinematographer, Gordon Willis.  Willis was the master of using shadow and underexposed film to create some of the most haunting movie images of the 70s and 80s.  He was also one of the first cinematographers to take advantage of the so-called “magic hour,” that moment when the sun is setting and everything is bathed in a golden glow.  Today, everyone does that but Willis was the first.

Willis has often been cited as one of the most influential cinematographers of all time but, amazingly, Willis would receive only two Academy Award nominations (for Zelig and The Godfather Part III) and he would never win a competitive Oscar.

In memory of Gordon Willis, here are….

6 Shots From 6 Gordon Willis Films

End of the Road (1970, dir by Aram Avakian, Cinematography by Gordon Willis)

The Godfather (1972, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, Cinematography by Gordon Willis)

The Parallax View (1974, dir by Alan J. Pakula, Cinematography by Gordon Willis)

The Godfather Part II (dir by Francis Ford Coppola, Cinematography by Gordon Willis)

All The President’s Men (1976, dir by Alan J. Pakula, Cinematography by Gordon Willis)

Manhattan (1979, dir by Woody Allen, Cinematography by Gordon Willis)

Song of the Day: My Way, performed by Christopher Lee

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

A lot of people have sung this song, from Paul Anka to Frank Sinatra to Sid Viscous and Jay-Z.

Christopher Lee’s version remains my favorite.

… And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

… Regrets, I’ve had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

… Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all, and I stood tall
And did it my way

… I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried
I’ve had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh, no, oh, no, not me
I did it my way

… For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way

… Yes, it was my way

Songwriters: Paul Anka / Gilles Thibaut / Claude Francois / Jacques Revaux

Scenes That I Love: Vincent Price In The Fly

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Fly (1958, D: Kurt Neumann)

One of the great things about the original, 1958 version of The Fly is that, even though it starred Vincent Price, Price didn’t play the Fly.  Instead, for once, Price was allowed to be the voice of reason, the guy who said, “Maybe don’t mess around with the laws of time and space.”

Today’s scene that I love is from the ending of the original Fly.  Supposedly, Price had a hard time filming this scene because whenever he heard the recording of David Hedison crying out, “Help me!,” he would start laughing.  Still, if you know what spiders actually do to the flies that they capture, you can’t help but sympathize with our misdirected scientist in the web.  Destroying him with a rock was probably the most merciful thing that anyone could do.

In honor of Vincent Price, on what would have been his birthday, here is a scene that I love.

6 Shots From 6 Christopher Lee Films

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More 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!

Today, we honor the legacy of a man who was not just a great horror star but also a great actor. period  Christopher Lee worked with everyone from Laurence Olivier to Steven Spielberg to Peter Jackson to Martin Scorsese.  Though he turned own the chance to play Dr. No, Lee later did go play a Bond villain in The Man with The Golden Gun.  He was one of those actors who was always great, even if the film wasn’t.

That said, it’s for his horror films that Lee is best known.  He was the scariest Dracula and the most imposing Frankenstein’s Monster.  He played mad scientists, decadent aristocrats, and even the occasional hero.  Christopher Lee was an actor who could do it all and today, on what would have been his birthday, we honor him with….

6 Shots From 6 Christopher Lee Films

The Horror of Dracula (1958, dir by Terence Fisher, DP: Jack Asher)

Count Dracula (1970, dir by Jess Franco, DP: Manuel Merino and Luciano Trasatti)

Horror Express (1972, dir by Eugenio Martin, DP: Alejandro Ulloa)

The Wicker Man (1973, dir by Robert Hardy. DP: Harry Waxman)

The Man With The Golden Gun (1974, dir by Guy Hamilton, DP: Ted Moore and Oswald Morris)

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001, dir by Peter Jackson, DP: Andrew Lesnie)

The Eric Roberts Collection: To Heal A Nation (dir by Michael Pressman)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In 1988’s To Heal A Nation, Eric Roberts stars as Jan Scruggs.

When we first meet Scruggs, the year is 1971 and he’s taking his seat on a commercial airliner.  When the blonde woman sitting beside him starts to flirt with him, Scruggs mentions that he’s happy because he’s finished up his tour of duty in Vietnam.  Upon hearing that Scruggs is a Vietnam vet, the woman immediately requests to be moved to a different seat.

Eight years later, things haven’t gotten much better.  Scruggs works for the Department of Labor in Washington D.C.  He’s married to Becky (Glynnis O’Connor) but he’s struggling to deal with the past.  He drinks too much.  He has trouble sleeping.  He doesn’t feel like he can open up about the things that he saw in Vietnam because nobody wants to talk about it.  He was one of the thousands of people who served in Vietnam who now feel as if they’ve been abandoned by their country.  However, after attending a showing of The Deer Hunter, Scruggs has a vision of  a monument that that features the name of every American who was killed in the Vietnam Conflict.

Scruggs devotes the next several years of his life to getting the monument built, appealing to both the government and private citizens for funding.  At first, everyone treats Scruggs and his efforts like a joke.  Even some fellow veterans feel that Scruggs is pushing too hard and that he’s just going to end up embarrassing himself.  But Scruggs refuses to give up and finally, with the support of a senator (Laurence Luckinbill) and a Texas millionaire named H. Ross Perot (Conrad Bachmann), Scruggs is able to make his dream a reality.

Based on the true story of the struggle to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., To Heal A Nation features a young Eric Roberts giving a nervy but likable performance as Jan Scruggs, a man who becomes so obsessed with building a monument to those who lost their lives in Vietnam that he occasionally seems like he’s close to going over the edge himself.  It’s a good film for Memorial Day and one that still feels relevant today.  The way that Scruggs was treated after returning from Vietnam is the way a lot of our veterans were treated and continue to be treated after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.  We love our soldiers when they fight in popular wars that result in a definite victory.  When they serve in an unpopular war, they’re often deserted by people who don’t want to be reminded of recent history.  One can certainly see that in the attempts by the national media to gloss over what happened during our final days in Afghanistan.  This film is a reminder that no one should be forgotten.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

  1. Star 80 (1983)
  2. Runaway Train (1985)
  3. Best of the Best (1989)
  4. Blood Red (1989)
  5. The Ambulance (1990)
  6. The Lost Capone (1990)
  7. Best of the Best II (1993)
  8. Love, Cheat, & Steal (1993)
  9. Voyage (1993)
  10. Love Is A Gun (1994)
  11. Sensation (1994)
  12. Dark Angel (1996)
  13. Doctor Who (1996)
  14. Most Wanted (1997)
  15. Mercy Streets (2000)
  16. Raptor (2001)
  17. Rough Air: Danger on Flight 534 (2001)
  18. Strange Frequency (2001)
  19. Wolves of Wall Street (2002)
  20. Border Blues (2004)
  21. Mr. Brightside (2004)
  22. Six: The Mark Unleased (2004)
  23. We Belong Together (2005)
  24. Hey You (2006)
  25. Depth Charge (2008)
  26. Amazing Racer (2009)
  27. The Chaos Experiment (2009)
  28. In The Blink of an Eye (2009)
  29. Bed & Breakfast (2010)
  30. Enemies Among Us (2010)
  31. The Expendables (2010) 
  32. Sharktopus (2010)
  33. Beyond The Trophy (2012)
  34. The Dead Want Women (2012)
  35. Deadline (2012)
  36. The Mark (2012)
  37. Miss Atomic Bomb (2012)
  38. Assault on Wall Street (2013)
  39. Bonnie And Clyde: Justified (2013)
  40. Lovelace (2013)
  41. The Mark: Redemption (2013)
  42. The Perfect Summer (2013)
  43. Self-Storage (2013)
  44. Sink Hole (2013)
  45. A Talking Cat!?! (2013)
  46. This Is Our Time (2013)
  47. Bigfoot vs DB Cooper (2014)
  48. Doc Holliday’s Revenge (2014)
  49. Inherent Vice (2014)
  50. Road to the Open (2014)
  51. Rumors of War (2014)
  52. Amityville Death House (2015)
  53. Deadly Sanctuary (2015)
  54. A Fatal Obsession (2015)
  55. Las Vegas Story (2015)
  56. Stalked By My Doctor (2015)
  57. Enemy Within (2016)
  58. Hunting Season (2016)
  59. Joker’s Poltergeist (2016)
  60. Prayer Never Fails (2016)
  61. Stalked By My Doctor: The Return (2016)
  62. The Wrong Roommate (2016)
  63. Dark Image (2017)
  64. The Demonic Dead (2017)
  65. Black Wake (2018)
  66. Frank and Ava (2018)
  67. Stalked By My Doctor: Patient’s Revenge (2018)
  68. Clinton Island (2019)
  69. Monster Island (2019)
  70. The Reliant (2019)
  71. The Savant (2019)
  72. Seven Deadly Sins (2019)
  73. Stalked By My Doctor: A Sleepwalker’s Nightmare (2019)
  74. The Wrong Mommy (2019)
  75. Exodus of a Prodigal Son (2020)
  76. Free Lunch Express (2020)
  77. Her Deadly Groom (2020)
  78. Top Gunner (2020)
  79. Deadly Nightshade (2021)
  80. The Elevator (2021)
  81. Just What The Doctor Ordered (2021)
  82. Killer Advice (2021)
  83. Megaboa (2021)
  84. Night Night (2021)
  85. The Poltergeist Diaries (2021)
  86. The Rebels of PT-218 (2021)
  87. Red Prophecies (2021)
  88. A Town Called Parable (2021)
  89. Bleach (2022)
  90. Dawn (2022)
  91. My Dinner With Eric (2022)
  92. 69 Parts (2022)
  93. The Rideshare Killer (2022)
  94. D.C. Down (2023)
  95. Aftermath (2024)
  96. Bad Substitute (2024)
  97. Devil’s Knight (2024)
  98. The Wrong Life Coach (2024)
  99. When It Rains In L.A. (2025

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us for Final Voyage!

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 occasion ally 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 1999’s Final Voyage!

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, pull up Final Voyage on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!

Enjoy!

 

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 5/19/25 — 5/25/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s what I watched and read this week!

Films I Watched:

  1. Any Which Way You Can (1980)
  2. The Big Bluff (1955)
  3. City Heat (1984)
  4. Dazed and Confused (1993)
  5. Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
  6. Final Justice (1984)
  7. Flashing Spikes (1962)
  8. Joe Kidd (1972)
  9. Kelly’s Heroes (1970)
  10. The Last Gangster (1937)
  11. The Mortal Storm (1940)
  12. The Naked Spur (1953)
  13. Ninja III: The Domination (1984)
  14. Parker Adderson, Philosopher (1974)
  15. Pray For Death (1985)
  16. Speed (1936)
  17. Terminal Bliss (1990)
  18. To Heal A Nation (1988)
  19. Two Mules For Sister Sara (1970)
  20. Young Guns (1988)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. The American Short Story
  2. Check It Out!
  3. Cheers
  4. CHiPs
  5. Fantasy Island
  6. Friday the 13th
  7. Highway to Heaven
  8. Indianapolis 500
  9. The Love Boat
  10. Malibu CA
  11. Miami Vice
  12. Monsters
  13. Pacific Blue
  14. St. Elsewhere

Books I Read:

  1. Original Sin (2015) by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson
  2. Unchartered Fight (2015) by John Chris Tapper

Links From Last Week:

  1. Leonard reviewed Lilo & Stitch!
  2. Erin reviewed 61* and Flashing Spikes!
  3. Jeff reviewed Guilty by Suspicion, Hostage for A Day, and Golden Needles!
  4. Brad reviewed The Man From Laramie, Coogan’s Bluff, and True Crime!
  5. The Grand Canyon From Up High And Down Low! 277 Miles Of Wonder!
  6. My Prince turned six today.  (Happy birthday, Ramses!)

Want to check out last week?  Click here!

Song of the Day: Revenge of the Ninja by Robert J. Walsh

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s song of the day comes to us from the soundtrack of the 1983 film, Revenge of the Ninja.  Composed by Robert J. Walsh, this soundtrack will definitely leave you prepared to defeat all of your enemies, ninja-style!

(Actually, don’t try to do that without getting some training once.  I speak with the experience who sprained her ankle multiple times as a result of trying to duplicated Kate Beckinsale’s Underworld moves.)

Scenes That I Love: Cillian Murphy in 28 Days Later

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, we wish a happy birthday to Cillian Murphy!

A year ago, Murphy won the Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer.  However, before playing the lead role in Christopher Nolan’s epic, Cillian Murphy been an intriguing cinematic presence for over two decades.  I first became aware of him after watching Danny Boyle’s 2002 classic, 28 Days Later.  Here he is, showing what he can do without even uttering a word of dialogue, in a haunting scene from that film.