Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

The Eric Roberts Collection: Strange Frequency (dir by Mary Lambert and Bryan Spicer)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

2001’s Strange Frequency is an anthology film.  Usually, I hate anthology films because it always seems like the viewer ends up with one good story and three mediocre ones.  As well, the anthology format is one that sometimes seems to be specifically designed to bring out the worst tendencies in otherwise talented directors.  Often times, they seem to treat the anthology format as a lark, an excuse to show off their technical mastery without really paying much attention to anything else.  The results often feel thematically shallow.

Well, guess what?  I liked Strange Frequency.  It was a lot of fun.  Each of the four stories mixed horror with music.  The first story features two heavy metal fans (Erik Palladino and Danny Masterson) who, after a car accident, find themselves in a club where disco is played nonstop.  For them, it’s Hell.  For me, it sounds like a fun afterlife.  (Yes, it’s not easy to watch Danny Masterson nowadays but he does suffer in this story.)  The second story is about a middle-aged serial killer (Eric Roberts) who targets younger hitchhikers, specifically because he dislikes their taste in music.  However, when he picks up a young grunge fan (Christopher Kennedy Masterson), he suddenly finds himself being targeted.  It turns out that this hitchhiker targets old people who won’t shut up about Woodstock.  They then meet an older man who has never forgiven the baby boomers for rejecting big band music.  In the third story, a rock star (John Taylor) who enjoys destroying hotel rooms is confronted by a maid (Holland Taylor) who can literally clean up any mess.  (“I want my headlines!” the rock star shouts as he realizes he’s never going to get credit for destroying his current room.)  Finally, the fourth story stars Judd Nelson as an A&R man who has the ability to find up-and-coming stars but whose discoveries inevitably end up dying.

All three of the stories were well-done and genuinely clever.  My favorite was the second story, which featured Eric Roberts giving an enjoyably unhinged performance as the Woodstock refugee with a hatred for Lollapalooza.  The story was both clever and suspenseful and it actually had something to say about the cultural differences between the generations.  As you get older, you really do come to hate whatever music came after the artists you grew up listening to.  Eventually, all the Swifties will be in their 40s and 50s, wondering why the younger generation doesn’t appreciate good music about feelings.

Strange Frequency was a pilot for a series that aired on VH-1 in 2001.  How come I don’t remember this show?  The pilot was actually really good!  Thank you to Australia’s own Mark V for telling me about this pilot and letting me know that it was on YouTube!  Check it out if you get a chance.

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. Wolves of Wall Street (2002)
  19. Border Blues (2004)
  20. Mr. Brightside (2004)
  21. Six: The Mark Unleased (2004)
  22. We Belong Together (2005)
  23. Hey You (2006)
  24. Depth Charge (2008)
  25. Amazing Racer (2009)
  26. In The Blink of an Eye (2009)
  27. Bed & Breakfast (2010)
  28. Enemies Among Us (2010)
  29. The Expendables (2010) 
  30. Sharktopus (2010)
  31. Beyond The Trophy (2012)
  32. The Dead Want Women (2012)
  33. Deadline (2012)
  34. The Mark (2012)
  35. Miss Atomic Bomb (2012)
  36. Assault on Wall Street (2013)
  37. Bonnie And Clyde: Justified (2013)
  38. Lovelace (2013)
  39. The Mark: Redemption (2013)
  40. The Perfect Summer (2013)
  41. Self-Storage (2013)
  42. A Talking Cat!?! (2013)
  43. This Is Our Time (2013)
  44. Inherent Vice (2014)
  45. Road to the Open (2014)
  46. Rumors of War (2014)
  47. Amityville Death House (2015)
  48. Deadly Sanctuary (2015)
  49. A Fatal Obsession (2015)
  50. Las Vegas Story (2015)
  51. Stalked By My Doctor (2015)
  52. Enemy Within (2016)
  53. Joker’s Poltergeist (2016)
  54. Prayer Never Fails (2016)
  55. Stalked By My Doctor: The Return (2016)
  56. The Wrong Roommate (2016)
  57. Dark Image (2017)
  58. Black Wake (2018)
  59. Frank and Ava (2018)
  60. Stalked By My Doctor: Patient’s Revenge (2018)
  61. Clinton Island (2019)
  62. Monster Island (2019)
  63. The Reliant (2019)
  64. The Savant (2019)
  65. Seven Deadly Sins (2019)
  66. Stalked By My Doctor: A Sleepwalker’s Nightmare (2019)
  67. The Wrong Mommy (2019)
  68. Exodus of a Prodigal Son (2020)
  69. Free Lunch Express (2020)
  70. Her Deadly Groom (2020)
  71. Top Gunner (2020)
  72. Deadly Nightshade (2021)
  73. The Elevator (2021)
  74. Just What The Doctor Ordered (2021)
  75. Killer Advice (2021)
  76. Night Night (2021)
  77. The Poltergeist Diaries (2021)
  78. The Rebels of PT-218 (2021)
  79. A Town Called Parable (2021)
  80. Bleach (2022)
  81. My Dinner With Eric (2022)
  82. 69 Parts (2022)
  83. D.C. Down (2023)
  84. Aftermath (2024)
  85. Bad Substitute (2024)
  86. Devil’s Knight (2024)
  87. The Wrong Life Coach (2024)
  88. When It Rains In L.A. (2025

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 4/14/25 — 4/20/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy Easter!  Here is my latest week in review!

Films I Watched:

  1. The Anderson Tapes (1971)
  2. Baffled! (1972)
  3. Best of the Best (1989)
  4. Best of the Best 2 (1993)
  5. Border Blues (2004)
  6. The Client List (2010)
  7. Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders (1979)
  8. Depth Charge (2008)
  9. Harry’s War (1981)
  10. Heat (1995)
  11. Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
  12. Kansas City Bomber (1972)
  13. Outer and Inner Space (1966)
  14. Patriots Day (2016)
  15. Point of Entry (2007)
  16. 69 Parts (2022)
  17. Something Wild (1986)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. America’s Most Wanted
  2. CHiPs
  3. Fantasy Island
  4. King of the Hill
  5. The Love Boat
  6. Miami Vice
  7. Pacific Blue
  8. Unsolved Mysteries

News and Links From Last Week:

  1. Singer Clodagh Rogers Dies At 78
  2. Happy Easter!
  3. These Park Avenue Statues Are “Stalled Mid-Step!” It’s Stunning Half-Art With Baggage!
  4. Espresso

Links From The Site:

  1. Leonard reviewed Sinners!
  2. Arleigh shared a scene from Apocalypse Now and the new Fantastic Four trailer!
  3. Jeff reviewed California Straight Ahead, Knute Rockne — All American, Hellcats of the Navy, and Somewhere in Sonora!
  4. Brad wrote about Freedom and shared four shots of James Woods.  He reviewed The Big Bullet, Rudy, Indictment: The McMartin Trial, and God of Gamblers!
  5. Erin shared Hornblower, Clouds Above, A New Day, and Faith!  She welcomed back the Easter Beagle!

Click here for the previous week!

A Blast From The Past: Outer and Inner Space (dir by Andy Warhol)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s blast from the past comes from 1966.

In this 33-minute short film, we watch as Edie Sedgwick appears to have a conversation with herself.  She’s not, of course.  Instead, she’s sitting next to a television monitor that is showing a video of Edie having a conversation with an off-screen someone who was to the right of her.  Meanwhile, the “live” Edie is having a conversation with an unseen person who is sitting to the left of her.  This creates the illusion of the two Edies having a disjointed conversation with each other whereas, in reality, we’re really not sure who either Edie is talking to or what they’re even talking about.  As was typical with Andy Warhol’s Factory films, the soundtrack is notably muddy.  As well, the video below is actually a film of the film, which I think Warhol perhaps would have appreciated as long as he got paid.

Okay, it’s not for everyone.  Obviously, if you’re not a fan of Warhol’s films, this experimental piece is not going to change your mind.  In fact, it’ll probably make you a little bit angry.  But, for me, it’s a fascinating time capsule, a true product of the era from which it came.  Warhol’s experiments might not seem spectacular today but that’s because we’ve grown use to experimentation.  Experimentation has become a mainstream concept.  Warhol, on the other hand, was making his underground films at a time when the term “underground” actually meant something.

As well, this film features Edie at the height of her fame.  It’s a bit sad to watch now, knowing how fleeting her obvious happiness would be.  Warhol’s films always framed Edie as being just slightly out of reach, from both the viewers and the filmmaker.  With the muddy soundtrack, one watches the multiple Edies in this film and wonders what is going through their mind,  This is a film that embraces the enigma of existence and image.

 

Song of the Day: Femme Fatale by Nico and the Velvet Underground

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s song of the day comes from Lou Reed.  Andy Warhol reportedly asked Lou Reed to write a song about how Edie Sedgwick was a femme fatale.  It’s a song that captures the fascination that Edie inspired amongst artists in the 60s and beyond.  It may not be the most positive portrait of Edie as a person but at least it’s not quite as bitter as Bob Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone.

Here she comes,
You’d better watch your step,
She’s going to break your heart in two,
It’s true.

It’s not hard to realize,
Just look into her false colored eyes,
She’ll build you up to just put you down,
What a clown.

‘Cause everybody knows
She’s a femme fatale
The things she does to please
She’s a femme fatale
She’s just a little tease
She’s a femme fatale
See the way she walks
Hear the way she talks.

You’re written in her book,
You’re number thirty-seven, have a look.
She’s going to smile to make you frown,
What a clown.

Little boy, she’s from the street.
Before you start you’re already beat.
She’s going to play you for a fool,
Yes, it’s true.

‘Cause everybody knows
She’s a femme fatale
The things she does to please
She’s a femme fatale
She’s just a little tease
She’s a femme fatale
See the way she walks,
Hear the way she talks.

‘Cause everybody knows
She’s a femme fatale
The things she does to please
She’s a femme fatale
She’s just a little tease
She’s a femme fatale
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
She’s a femme fatale
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
She’s a femme fatale
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
She’s a femme fatale

It’s about a hundred years old that song …

Songwriters: Lou Reed

Scenes that I Love: Edie Sedgwick and Gerard Malanga Dance in Andy Warhol’s Vinyl

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s scene that I love comes to use from an underground 1965 film called Vinyl!  This film, believe it or not, was actually an adaptation of the novel A Clockwork Orange, one that was filmed six years before the better-known Stanley Kubrick version.

In this scene below, Gerard Malanga and Edie Sedgwick dance to Nowhere to Run by Martha and The Vandellas.  Malanga is playing the role that would later be made famous by Malcom McDowell.  Edie is playing …. well, Edie is basically playing herself.  No one smoked a cigarette with as much style as Edie Sedgwick.

Watching her in this scene, it’s sad to think that, in just six years (and at the same time that Stanley Kubrick was releasing his version of A Clockwork Orange), Edie Sedgwick would die at the age of 28.  Like all of us, she deserved much better than what the world was willing to give her.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Edie Sedgwick 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!

Today would have been Edie Sedgwick’s 82bd birthday.  Unfortunately, she died under tragic circumstances in 1971, after having briefly found fame as a model, a “youthquaker” (as some in the media called her), an actress, and Andy Warhol’s muse.  Her tragic life is often held up as a cautionary tale and perhaps it is.  For all of her talent and her appeal (not to mention that sharp wit that made her an outsider in the 60 but which would have made her a fascinating interview subject in 2025), Edie was far too often exploited by those who should have been protecting her.  She was too beautiful not to be famous but, at the same time, too sensitive not be hurt by the experience.  She’s truly a tragic figure but, because she also epitomizes everything that the New York underground art scene in the 60s represents in the popular imagination, she’s also an inspiring one.  Edie lives forever as a symbol and a muse.  Personally, I’ve been fascinated by her life for as long as I can remember.

In honor of Edie’s birthday, here are:

4 Shots From 4 Edie Sedgwick Films

Vinyl (1965, dir by Andy Warhol)

Beauty No. 2 (1965, dir by Andy Warhol)

Poor Little Rich Girl (1965, dir by Andy Warhol)

Lupe (1966, dir by Andy Warhol)

The Eric Roberts Collection: Best of the Best II (dir by Bob Radler)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Eric Roberts, Phillip Rhee, Simon Rhee, and Chris Penn all return for more martial arts action in 1993’s Best Of The Best II!

In the years since the American team’s quasi-victory over the Korean team in the first Best Of The Best, Travis (Chris Penn) has fallen on hard times.  While his former teammates, Alex (Eric Roberts) and Tommy (Phillip Rhee) attend to the day-to-day operations of running a martial arts studio in Las Vegas, Travis spends his time fighting in underground “colosseum” matches.  These matches, hosted by Weldon Mardano (Wayne Newton), are modern-day gladiatorial contests where the fighters often battle to the death while a bunch of rich people watch and cheer.  (We can tell they’re rich because they all wear tuxedos).  “There are no rules!” the crowd shouts as Travis defeats opponent after opponent.

Travis is convinced that he can defeat the colosseum’s German champion, fearsome Gustave Brakus (Ralf Moeller).  It turns out that Travis is wrong.  Travis loses to Brakus and is promptly killed after the crowd starts to chant, “Die!  Die!  Die!”  (In Brakus’s defense, he may have thought they were just chanting, “The!  The!  The!”)  (Actually, don’t ask me how that works in Brakus’s defense.  I really didn’t think that joke through.)  Travis’s death is witnessed by Alex’s young son, Walter (Edan Gross).  Travis, Walter, and Tommy go on the run, ending up at Tommy’s boyhood home.  Tommy, it turns out, is half-Native American and his bitter uncle, James (Sonny Landham), trains Tommy and Alex for their inevitable fight against Brakus.  Dae-han Park (Simon Rhee) also shows up, saying that he owes Tommy a debt for not killing him at the end of the previous film.

Best of the Best II is an improvement on the first film, if just because it doesn’t take itself seriously at all and it cheerfully embraces and celebrates the absurdity at the heart of the storyline.  Just the fact that one of the film’s villains is played by Wayne Newton should tell you everything you need to know about this film’s style.  This is a pure Vegas film, full of glitz and neon and plenty of tuxedos.  Eric Roberts even wears a tux at the end of the movie.  Just as in the first film, Roberts does most of the acting while Phillip Rhee supplies the action.  Roberts is a bit less emotional in this film.  If he spent the first film continually on the verge of tears, he spends the second one trying not to smile at the silliness of it all.  Towards the end of the film, you can actually see him starting to laugh at Wayne Newton’s over-the-top performance and it’s actually kind of a nice moment.  Don’t take this too seriously, the film seems to be saying, We’re not!  Just enjoy the fights!

Best of the Best II is definitely an improvement over the first one, even if it is unfortunate that neither James Earl Jones nor Sally Kirkland returned.  (Then again, if you were the Tony-winning, widely-celebrated, universally-beloved, and very much in-demand James Earl Jones, would you have returned?)   Best of the Best II doesn’t take itself too seriously and, as a result, it’s far more entertaining than you might otherwise expect.

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

Scenes That I Love: Hayden Christensen in Shattered Glass

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, we wish a happy birthday to actor Hayden Christensen.

This scene that I love comes from the 2003 film Shattered Glass, in which Christensen played real-life journalist and fabulist Stephen Glass.  In this wonderfully-acted scene, Glass’s (fake) reporting is challenged by another media outlet and Glass scrambles to keep his deception from being uncovered.