For today’s song of the day, here’s a beautiful sentiment from Mr. Joe Pesci.
Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman
Scenes I Love: The “Madison” Dance Scene From Bande à part
Jean-Luc and Anna
It’s probably not great shock to anyone that my favorite scene from a Jean-Luc Godard film would involve dancing.
From 1964’s Bande à part:
4 Shots From 4 Striking Films
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 is all about letting the visuals do the talking.
4 Shots From 4 Striking Films
Salt of the Earth (1954, directed by Herbert J. Biberman)
The Molly Maguires (1970, directed by Martin Ritt)
F.I.S.T. (1978, directed by Norman Jewison)
Made in Dagenham (2010, directed by Nigel Cole)
Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 2.2 “Night of the Dragons”
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!
This week, Hunter and McCall get involved in a gang war in Chinatown!
Episode 2.2 “Night of the Dragons”
(Dir by James Whitmore, Jr, originally aired on September 28th, 1985)
McCall’s desire to try out a Chinese restaurant leads to her and Hunter witnessing a shootout and an apparent murder in Chinatown. (It’s “apparent” because the body disappears in all the confusion.) A war is brewing between two gang lords, the Chinese Chang (James Hong) and the Vietnamese Mr. Nim (Arsenio “Sonny” Trinidad). However, when Hunter and McCall try to investigate, they’re told to let the “Asian Affairs Unit” handle things.
Hunter suspects that an old friend, Detective Raymond Lau (Clyde Kusatsu), has gone crooked and is now working for Chang. It turns out Hunter is half-right. Lau is giving information to Chang, but only because Chang has kidnapped his daughter and is holding her hostage. Chang, it turns out, likes to kidnap people. For instance, he kidnaps McCall. How often can McCall get kidnapped? It seems to happen fairly frequently.
This was another action-packed episode of Hunter. Every few minutes, someone is either shooting a gun or threatening to. Meanwhile, McCall just wanted to find a nice Chinese place to eat. It’s obvious that, with the second season, the show had found a formula that worked for it and was determined to stick to it. This episode benefited from strong guest performances from Hong, Trinidad, and especially Clyde Kusatsu.
That said, I do wish this episode had explored its themes a bit more deeply. It’s mentioned that Hunter served in Vietnam, but it’s mostly just a throwaway reference used to explain how Hunter knew that the bullets recovered from a crime scene had been fired by Mr. Nim’s gang. The rivalry between the Chinese Chang and the Vietnamese Nim also serves as a reminder of the Vietnam War, but again, the episode doesn’t really dig into it. At one point, Chang says that Lau is weak because he was born not in China but in America, and again, it’s hard not to feel that the episode missed an opportunity to dig deeper with both men.
(I’ll also mention that, at one point, McCall compares one of the Chinese gangsters to Godzilla. Godzilla, needless to say, is part of Japan’s culture and not China’s.)
This was a good episode of Hunter that felt like it had the potential to be so much more.
Retro Television Review: Sylvan In Paradise 1.1 “Pilot”
Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! This Thursday, I will be reviewing Sylvan in Paradise, which aired its only episode on NBC in 1986. The show can be found on YouTube!
Episode 1.1 “Pilot”
(Dir by Terry Hughes, originally aired on August 2nd, 1986)
“Welcome, welcome, welcome,” says Sylvan Sprayberry (Jim Nabors) to the guest checking into the Hawaiian hotel that employs him. Sylvan is tall, goofy, and talkative, and it’s never really made clear how he somehow became the head bellboy at a hotel in Hawaii. At one point, even Sylvan says he can’t believe he’s gone from “pickin’ cotton in Alabama” to working in paradise.
The uptight owner of the hotel, Clinton Waddle (Brent Spiner), fears that Sylvan will embarrass him when the Vice Consul of New Zealand (Michael Ensign) checks in. Sylvan is more concerned with making sure his niece, Lucy Apple (Courteney Cox), has a wonderful wedding when she marries another bellboy, Sparky McCann (Glenn Withrow).
When a guest who claims to be named Roy Rogers (Pat McCormick) gives Sylvan a statue to deliver to “a man in a green jacket,” Sylvan hands the statue off to Sparky so Sparky can get the tip. Unfortunately, both Roy Rogers and the man in the green jacket turn out to be drug smugglers, and the statue is full of cocaine. Sparky’s going to jail! “Golly!” Sylvan says.
Sylvan sure does feel bad about ruining Lucy’s wedding and getting Sparky sent to jail. Plus, the Vice Consul is now insisting on checking out of the hotel. When Sylvan insists on helping the Vice Consul with his luggage, one of the suitcases opens and reveals that the Vice Consul of New Zealand is himself a drug smuggler. Ha! Take that, New Zealand!
Somehow this leads to Sparky getting out of jail. No one has any hard feelings against Sylvan because he’s such a nice guy. Personally, I would have hard feelings, because just about everything that happens in this episode could have been avoided if Sylvan weren’t so stupid. Jim Nabors gives the same performance here that he gave as Gomer Pyle in the 1960s. The only problem is that Gomer was supposed to be young, whereas Sylvan is in his late 50s and looks older. He really has no excuse for not knowing any better. Would you hire someone who screws everything up to be your head bellhop?
The pilot did not become a series. Today, the only thing really interesting about it is that it featured a pre-Star Trek Brent Spiner and a pre-Friends Courteney Cox. Cox is stuck playing a one-dimensional role, but at least Spiner gets to express some annoyance with Sylvan. He was probably speaking for the entire audience.
Join #TubiThursday For Rambo: First Blood Part II!
Hi, everyone! Tonight, on Mastodon, I will be hosting the #TubiThursday watch party! Join us for 1985’s anti-communist masterpiece, Rambo: First Blood Part II!
You can find the movie on Tubi and you can join us on Mastodon at 9 pm central time! (That’s 10 pm for you folks on the East Coast.) We will be using #TubiThursday hashtag! See you then!
Song of the Day: Peace In Our Life by Frank Stallone
I am going to be hosting a watch party of Rambo: First Blood Part II later tonight so it seems only appropriate for Frank Stallone to provide us with our song of the day.
Sing it, Frank!
Scenes I Love: Ghetto Freaks
Today’s scene that I love comes from one of the first movies that I ever reviewed at this site, the psychedelic classic Ghetto Freaks! They knew how to have a good time in the freezing cold of the late 60s/early 70s.
4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Edgar G. Ulmer Edition
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!
122 years ago, on this date, the great director Edgar G. Ulmer was born in what is today the Czech Republic. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Edger G. Ulmer Films
The Black Cat (1934, dir by Edgar G. Ulmer, DP: John J. Mescall)
Detour (1945, dir by Edgar G. Ulmer, DP: Benjamin H, Kline)
The Man From Planet X (1951, dir by Edgar G. Ulmer, DP: John L. Russell)
Beyond The Time Barrier (1960, dir by Edgar G. Ulmer, DP: Meredith Nicholson)
Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & Ten 5.3 “False Start”
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Wednesdays, I will be reviewing 1st and Ten, which aired in syndication from 1984 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on Tubi.
This week, OJ Simpson is stalked by an abhorrent admirer!
Episode 5.3 “Fale Start”
(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on October 25th, 1989)
Johnny Gunn, the new quarterback, is injured while leading the Bulls to victory in their latest game. Westwood, who has an unexplained dislike for Gunn, convinces the drugged quarterback to sign away his power of attorney and then has Gunn undergo a risky surgery. When Gunn realizes what has happened, he goes to the construction site of Westwood’s new house and knocks a few things over. The lesson? When your quarterback has just finished spending several years in prison for manslaughter, don’t upset him.
Dr. Death is stunned to discover that the highest bidder in the “Win a Day With Dr. Death” auction was not Heather Locklear but instead Carlyle Trent (Vince Edwards), a motorcycle-riding millionaire who happens to be gay. (Trent was obviously based on publisher Malcolm Forbes Sr.) Trent thinks that Dr. Death might be gay too. Oh, the hilarity, I guess. Actually, this storyline wasn’t as homophobic as one might expect from 1st & Ten. One of cool things about Dr. Death is that, despite his fearsome image, he’s usually the most open-minded and least prejudiced of all of the Bulls.
Finally, TD Parker (OJ Simpson) finds himself being stalked by a woman named Lisa (Laura Alavarez). Hey, that’s my name! Anyway, what starts as a one night stand ends with OJ having to talk Lisa out of shooting him and Kristy. Wow, OJ Simpson getting stalked by a homicidal maniac. Who would have guessed?
This episode tried to cram three big storylines into just 24 minute and, as a result, everything ended up feeling a bit half-baked. Last season, for all of its flaws, did seem to have a definite destination in mind, The Bulls were finally going to win the Championship Game. This season, on the other hand, has been all over the place.
Get it together, Bulls!
