Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

The Eric Roberts Collection: Depth Charge (dir by Terrence O’Hara)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s Die Hard On A Submarine in 2008’s Depth Charge!

Dying of a brain tumor and passed over for a promotion (and wow, you thought your week sucked), Commander Krieg (Eric Roberts) and a band of mercenaries take over a nuclear submarine.  They force off all of the actual crew of the sub but they somehow miss the doctor (Jason Gedrick) and an electrician (Chris Warren).  The mad commander announces that unless he is sent a certain amount of money, he will launch the nuclear missiles.  While the President (Barry Bostwick) dithers and an admiral (Corbin Bernsen) searches for the sub, the doctor and the electrician beat up mercenaries and work their way to the bridge.

“Get off my boat!” Gedrick growls several times.

Yeah, dude, we get it.  Air Force One.  Good movie.

This on the other hand …. well, let’s be positive here.  This movie provides Eric Roberts with a substantial role and he does a good job as the villain, even if his motives never quite make sense.  (He’s got a year to live so what exactly would he have done with a promotion or any of that money that he’s demanding?)  But this movie asks us to believe that a bunch of mercenaries could not only sneak onto a submarine but also defeat almost the entire crew without a single bit of trouble.  And then for submarine’s doctor to just happen to turn out to be a former boxer or UFC fighter or whatever he’s supposed to be (“He was a fighter,” a presidential aide explains) is just a bit too much of a coincidence.

That said, you get Eric Roberts, Corbin Bernsen, and Barry Bostwick, all in the same movie.  All three of them deserve better but at least they all gave it their best here!

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

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

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Eric Roberts 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!

Happy birthday, Eric Roberts!

4 Shots From 4 Eric Roberts Films

Star 80 (1983, dir by Bob Fosse, DP: Sven Nyvkist)

The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984, dir by Stuart Rosenberg, DP: John Bailey)

Runaway Train (1985, dir by Andrei Konchalovsky, DP: Alan Hume)

The Dark Knight (2008, dir by Christopher Nolan, DP: Wally Pfister)

The Eric Roberts Collection: Border Blues (dir by Rodion Nahapetov)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

2004’s Border Blues features Gary Busey as a wild-haired LAPD police chief who has psychic visions that enable him to track down a mad bomber.

Wow, that sounds great!

Well, believe it or not, that’s really only a minor subplot in this film.  The majority of the film is about Andrei Samurov (Rodion Nahapetov), who was the greatest detective in Moscow before he immigrated to the United States.  Now, he works in a restaurant and dreams of being the greatest detective in the LAPD.  During a trip to Mexico, Andrei meets Larry (Eric Roberts), an American who now helps people sneak across the border.  Larry is helping a Russian woman (Anna Nakhapetova) and her daughter make their way across the desert.  Larry seems to take a special interest in the woman’s daughter.  Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Larry’s own daughter died under tragic circumstances.

Oh, and Erik Estrada’s in this too!  He plays a Mexican cop named Morales and he yells a lot.

Gary Busey, Erik Estrada, and Eric Roberts!?  How could this go wrong?  Well, you could stick them all in a film that doesn’t make much sense and which has a plot that is next to impossible to follow.  This is one of those movies where you get the feeling that the names were cast first and then a story was built around them.  On the plus side, Eric Roberts actually gets a good deal of screentime and turns Larry into a rather interesting character.  Larry is menacing but, there are times when he’s almost sympathetic.  Roberts gives a good performance but, unfortunately, the majority of the film is focused on Rodion Nahapetov’s unconvincing turn as the greatest detective in the world.  Nahapetov both directed and starred in this film and the end result is a vanity project that doesn’t seem to lead to anywhere in particular.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

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

The Eric Roberts Collection: 69 Parts (dir by Ari Taub)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’m going to guess that there’s quite a backstory to the production of the film …. well, I’m really not even sure what to call the film.

The version that I just watched on Tubi was called 69 parts and it clocked in at a little over 90 minutes.  It’s the story of gangsters, cops, and one hapless law student in 1979 New York.  Jack (Ryan O’Callaghan) needs money to go to law school.  His best friend, gambling addict Gino (Johnny Solo), arranges for Jack to get a loan from his uncle, Dennis (Aidan Redmond).  However, Gino swears that he can double the loan if Jack goes with him to the tracks.  Unfortunately, Gino’s hot tip turns out to be a bust so now Jack is broke and can’t pay back the money.  So, Dennis forced Jack to marry Dennis’s mistress so that she can get her green card but then Dennis gets jealous and decides to kill Jack but then he discovers that Jack is the son of an imprisoned criminal associate (Eric Roberts).  It’s all a bit too complicated for its own good and the use of multiple narrators, many of whom sound exactly alike, doesn’t make the film any easier to follow.

Tubi claims that 69 Parts was released in 2022.  However, on the IMDb, there’s a film called 79 Parts, which is listed as being a few minutes shorter than 69 Parts but it has the exact same cast and the exact same plot.  This version was released in 2016, six years before 69 Parts.  And then there’s 79 Parts: The Directors Cut, which clocks in at over two hours and which was released in 2019.  In short, there appears to be multiple versions of this film and really, I have to be a little bit impressed by the determination necessary to keep re-editing, re-titling, and re-releasing the film.

As for the film itself, the version I saw was a bit too busy and difficult to follow but I appreciated the work that went into recreating the 70s.  That obviously take some effort.  Aidan Redmond was properly avuncular and menacing as Dennis but Jack was such a wimpy character that it was difficult to really care about him.  As for Eric Roberts, he appears for about five minutes and is even less impressed with Jack than I was.  Maybe Eric gets to do more in the director’s cut.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

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

Music Video of the Day: We Belong Together (2005, dir by Brett Ratner)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, we wish a happy birthday to Eric Roberts!

In our music video of the day, Roberts nearly marries Mariah Carey, just for her to leave him for Wentworth Miller.  This video is a sequel to the video for It’s Like That and Mariah wears the same wedding dress when she married music exec Tommy Mottola.  (Make of that, what you will.)  Personally, I think Eric dodged a bullet here because everyone knows that he and Eliza were meant to be.

Enjoy!

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

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

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special 1982 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, we pay tribute to the year 1982 with….

4 Shots From 4 1982 Films

Fitzcarraldo (1982, dir by Werner Herzog, DP: Thomas Mauch)

Poltergeist (1982, dir by Tobe Hooper, DP: Matthew Leonetti)

Cat People (1982, dir by Paul Schrader, DP: John Bailey)

King of Comedy (1982, dir by Martin Scorsese, DP: Fred Schuler)

Scenes That I Love: The Diner Scene from Thief

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Seeing as how I raved about this film and James Caan’s performance earlier this week, it only seems appropriate that today’s scene that I love should come from 1981’s Thief.  Here is the famous diner scene, featuring Caan and Tuesday Weld.  Caan later said that he considered this to be the best acting he had ever done.