Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us For CAGE!

Posted on April 29, 2024 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 occasionally 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 1989’s Cage, starring Lou Ferrigno and birthday boy Reb Brown! I picked it so you know it’ll be good.

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, find the link to the video under my account, hit play at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag! The live tweet community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Fred Zinnemann Edition

Posted on April 29, 2024 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!

117 years ago, on this date, Fred Zinnemann was born in what is now Poland. Though he originally considered studying to become a lawyer, a teenage Zinnemann instead became fascinated with the relatively new medium of film. He immigrated to the United States in 1928, hoping to find more opportunities as an aspiring director. After working as an actor and crew member on several films, Zinnemann made his directorial debut in 1936.

His film career was span 50 years, during which time Zinnemann became known for making films about strong individuals who refused to back down in the face of societal pressure. In total, his films received 65 Oscar nominations and won 24. Zinnemann was nominated ten times and won three Oscars. Two of his films, From Here To Eternity and A Man For All Seasons, won best picture. While many of his contemporaries were retiring or fading into irrelevance, Zinnemann remained an important director throughout the 70s and early 80s.

Today, we honor the legacy of Fred Zinnemann with….

4 Shots From 4 Fred Zinnemann Films

High Noon (1952, dir by Fred Zinnemann, DP: Floyd Crosby)

From Here To Eternity (1953, dir by Fred Zinnemann, DP: Floyd Crosby and Burnett Guffey)

A Man For All Seasons (1966, dir by Fred Zinnemann, DP: Ted Moore)

The Day of the Jackal (1973, dir by Fred Zinnemann, DP: Jean Tournier)

Scenes That I Love: Reb Brown in Space Mutiny

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yell it loud …. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, REB BROWN!

Reb Brown, the star of some of the loudest movies ever made, is 76 years old today but I bet he could still beat the evil doers and encourage us all by shouting, “Go! Go! Go!” A former college football player turned actor, Reb Brown holds the distinction of being one of the first actors to play Captain America and for also starring in classic films like Yor Hunter of the Future, Strike Commando and Strike Commando 2. Though he may not have ever become a household name, Reb Brown is a beloved figure amongst my circle of film-loving friends.

The scene below is from 1988’s Space Mutiny and it featured Reb doing what Red does best.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 3.2 “Can’t Live With ‘Em: Part 2”

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi Junior High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1987 to 1989! The series can be streamed on YouTube!

The tragedy of Wheels continues.

Episode 3.2 “Can’t Live With ‘Em: Part Two”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on November 28th, 1988)

What a sad episode!

Much as with the previous episode, several storylines play out over the course of this episode. For the most part, this episode is all about setting up the rest of the season. Among the things that happen:

Lucy starts to hang out with Paul (Michael Blake), a student at Borden High and she stops hanging out with her best friend, L.D.

Arthur, who has taken to wearing a white scarf to school, finally admits to Yick that his family is rich and that he has been buying and selling stock in a company called Repco. Yick responds by demanding that Arthur pay for their food when they go to the local diner.

Shane hears Spike talking to Liz about how much she misses having free time. As soon as Spike gets home from school, she has to look after baby Emma while Spike’s mother goes to work. Shane approaches Spike and says that he knows that she doesn’t want to talk to him but he’s still going to give her half of his allowance and get a part-time job to help her pay for a babysitter for Emma.

Nancy and Kathleen are still running for school president and getting aggressive in their campaigning. Kathleen confesses to Melanie that she’s scared she’s going to lose. Melanie points out that, even if she does come in second, Kathleen will still be Vice President. Kathleen replies that she doesn’t want to be the second-in-command. She wants it all.

(Kathleen is rarely portrayed sympathetically on this show but I totally related to how she felt.)

Scooter and Bartholomew Bond debate whether Superman is better than Spider-Man.

Even with all that going on, this episode is dominated by Wheels. Last week, Wheels was informed that his parents had been killed by a drunk driver. This week found him struggling with anger, depression, and survivor’s guilt. He was supposed to be with his parents when they were going to the movies and if had gone with them instead of sneaking out to Joey’s house, Wheels probably would have died with his parents. Wheels is haunted by a nightmare in which he wakes up to find his parents coming home from the movies.

“I thought you were dead!” Wheels says.

“We are,” his mother replies.

Wheels doesn’t know what’s going to happen. Wheels is only 14 so living on his own is not an option. His grandmother and grandfather live miles away so if Wheels goes to live with them, it’ll mean abandoning his entire life in Toronto but that might be better than having to enter the foster system.

When Wheels returns to school, no one knows how to talk to him. Not even Snake is willing to approach him. Only Joey tries to talk to Wheels. The first time, Joey hands Wheels the demo tape that they made for the Zit Remedy. Wheels breaks the tape. The next time that Joey approaches Wheels, Wheels beats him up in the school hallway. Joey — and this is why everyone loves him — doesn’t get angry at Wheels. When Wheels finally approaches him and apologizes, Joey tells Wheels that he can beat him up whenever he needs to.

“I’m scared,” Wheels says.

Joey hugs him as the end credits role.

Awwwwwww!

This episode was Degrassi at its best, offering a lot of heartfelt emotions but no easy solutions. Neil Hope (who had lost his own father right before shooting this episode) gives a heart-breaking performance as Wheels and Pat Mastroianni reminds us that, underneath Joey’s bluster, he’s a good person who truly cares about his friends. Just as with last week, this episode is even more tragic if you know what’s destined to happen to the characters later on in the series. For now, though, I’m just going to be happy that Wheels had a friend like Joey.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 4/22/24 — 4/28/24

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week’s over. Next week beckons with the promise of a lot of rain. I’m looking forward to it.

Here’s what I watched, read, and listened to this week.

Films I Watched:

Class of 1984 (1982)
Death of a Soldier (1985)
John Carpenter’s Vampires (1998)
Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Mea Culpa (2024)
Meet Wally Sparks (1997)
Miller’s Girl (2024)
Sabotage (1936)
Shirley (2024)
Sudden Death (1977)
Three Amigos (1986)

Television Shows I Watched:

Books I Read:

The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, based on the screenplay by Robert E. Thompson (1977)

Music To Which Listened:

Adi Ulmansky
Britney Spears
Carrie Underwood
Christina Aguilera
Coldplay
ELO
Lacuna Coil
Lindsey Stirling
Loveless
Moby
Naked Eyes
Noa Kirel
Radiohead
Silversun Pickups
Sonja
Talk Talk
Taylor Swift
Tears For Fears
Til Tuesday

Live Tweets:

News From Last Week:

Links From Last Week:

Links From The Site:

Erin shared Whisper, Red Hood Detective Stories, Venus In Mink, The Pagans, Hollywood Detective, Black Mask, and Two-Fisted Detective Stories!
I shared music videos from Loveless, Silversun Pickups, Lacuna Coil, Britney Spears, Thom Yorke, Sonja, and Noa Kirel!
I shared my week in television!
I reviewed Shattered Innocence!
I reviewed Degrassi Junior High, Miami Vice, CHiPs, Baywatch Nights, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Monsters, Baby on Board, Highway to Heaven, T and T, Friday the 13th, Welcome Back Kotter, and Check it Out!

More From Us:

At my music site, I shared songs from Lindsey Stirling, Carrie Underwood, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Blondie, Lindsey Stirling again, and Adi Ulmansky!
At her photography site, Erin shared Lake, Doorway, Vintage Flag, Storm Coming, Buzzard, Duck, and Ducks On The Town!

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

Retro Television Review: Shattered Innocence (dir by Sandor Stern)

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Sundays, I will be reviewing the made-for-television movies that used to be a primetime mainstay. Today’s film is 1988’s Shattered Innocence! It can be viewed on YouTube.

Shattered Innocence starts with a young woman shooting herself in a nice bedroom, while someone on the outside bangs on the door.

The rest of the movie shows the events the led up to the suicide of Pauleen Anderson (Jonna Lee). On the one hand, starting a film with a literal bang is definitely a way to capture the audience’s attention. On the other hand, letting us know that the story is going to end with a suicide pretty much robs the story of the element of surprise or the ability to take the viewer by surprise. We know how the story is going to end and it doesn’t take long for us to figure out why it’s going to end that way.

From the minute we see Pauleen as a naive cheerleader with an overprotective family, we know that she’s going to end up hooking up with Cory (Kris Kamm), the local bad boy. As soon as she graduates from high school and gets a job as a waitress, we know that Pauleen is not going to be staying in Kansas. As soon as she and Cory end up in California and Cory suggests that Pauleen is pretty enough to be a model, we know that she’s going to end up modeling topless and that she’s going to deal with her nerves and her weight by snorting cocaine. We also know that she’s going to end up appearing in adult films and that her concerned mother (Melinda Dillon) is constantly going to be begging her to come back home and forget about Los Angeles and its sinful ways.

Apparently based on a true story, there’s not really anything surprising about Shattered Innocence. It tells a sordid story but, because it was made-for-TV, the scene usually ends right before anything really explicit happens. (Ironically, by keeping the sordid stuff off-camera, the film invites the audience to imagine scenarios that are probably a hundred times more trashy than anything that could be recreated on film.) Shattered Innocence gets by on innuendo, with frequent scenes of people saying stuff like, “Did you see the pictures?” or “You may recognize her from her centerfold.” Nerdy Mel Erman (John Pleshette), who becomes Pauleen’s business partner, first meets her when he asks her to autograph the cover of Penthouse. Otherwise, this film is actually pretty tame.

In fact, the one scene that really jumped out and made me go “Agck!” was a scene in which Pauleen’s nose suddenly started bleeding as a result of all the cocaine that she had recently done. That was frightening, just because I’ve always had to deal with nosebleeds due to my allergies. I hate them and the taste of blood in the back of my throat. In that scene, I could relate to Pauleen’s shock and embarrassment.

Shattered Innocence tells a story that’s as old as Hollywood itself, which is a bit of a problem. Too often, the movie just seems to be going through the expected motions. Jonna Lee was a bit dull in the lead role but Melinda Dillion and John Pleshette both did well as the only two people who seemed to really care about Pauleen. For the most part, though, Shattered Innocence was sordid without being memorable.

Music Video of the Day: I Love It When It Rains by Loveless (2024, dir by ????)

Posted on April 28, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

So do I!

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Check It Out! 2.4 “Operation Bannister”

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, I will be reviewing the Canadian sitcom, Check it Out, which ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

This week, Howard has an operation …. maybe.

Episode 2.4 “Operation Bannister”

(Dir by Alan Erlich, originally aired on October 24th, 1986)

A foolish attempt to impress a blonde customer by lifting and carrying a crate full of bottles lands Howard in the hospital. He’s scheduled to have a hernia operation. It should be a simple procedure but there’s a problem. Howard’s a wimp.

Seriously, Howard spends this entire episode in a state of panic. First, he has to deal with an ER doctor who is — *gasp* — a woman! Then he discovers that the doctor who will be operating on him is barely out of medical school and looks like he’s about 16 years of age. Then, he discovers that his roommate at the hospital is full of horror stories. I guess it’s a good thing that Howard knows how to escape from hospitals because he ends up doing it several times. Of course, every time, he’s promptly recaptured and sent back for his operation.

This episode ends on a curious note, with the store’s staff putting on a “welcome back” party three days after Howard’s operation just for Howard to reveal that he once again escaped from the hospital and, instead of getting the operation, he spent three days hiding out in a hotel. He didn’t even let Edna know what he had done. Two burly orderlies show up at the store and drag Howard back to the hospital as the end credits roll.

So, did Howard ever actually have the operation? I’m going to assume that he did but it’s interesting that the episode leaves the storyline unresolved. Instead of being about the operation, the episode instead becomes a meditation on fear and the foolishness of trying to escape fate. Howard is very good at running away from his problem but, no matter how hard he tires, the orderlies always track him down. Like the Grim Reaper, Canadian hospital orderlies cannot be escaped.

I hate hospitals so I could relate a bit more to this episode than some of the other episodes that I’ve seen of this show. As an American who gets tired of hearing about every other country’s supposedly perfect health care system, I appreciated that this episode showed that hospitals suck no matter what country you’re in.

That said, I have to admit that, while watching, I got a bit annoyed with Howard. I mean, first off, he shouldn’t have tried to pick up that crate to begin with. Secondly, if you don’t want to have the operation, don’t have it. Don’t keep returning to the hospital just because Edna and a bunch of orderlies yell at you. And if you do decide to return to the hospital, own that choice and stick around until the operation’s done. I understood Howard’s feelings but he still came across as being a bit of a wimp in this episode. Nobody likes a wimp.

Next week, according to the imdb, Howard’s niece will make an appearance. Let’s hope she has more guts than her uncle.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/21/24 — 4/27/24

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Baby On Board (YouTube)

I wrote about Baby on Board here!

Baywatch Nights (YouTube)

I wrote about Baywatch Nights here!

Check It Out! (YouTube)

My review of this week’s episode will drop in about 90 minutes.

CHiPs (Freevee)

I wrote about CHiPs here!

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

I wrote about Degrassi Junior High here! Poor Wheels.

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

On Sunday, I watched an episode in which Dr. Phil confronted a pathological liar named Brittany. She stormed off stage. The audience gasped.

On Monday, I watched a two-part episode featuring a crazy woman who insisted that both of her children were paranoid schizophrenic. Dr. Phil said he would help her if she agreed to delete her YouTube channel. “No,” the woman replied. The audience gasped.

On Tuesday, I watched a two-part episode in which a man was falsely accused by his ex-wife and mother-in-law of sexually abusing his daughter. What a toxic family! I mean, the guy was kind of a jerk but no one deserves to be falsely accused of something like that.

On Wednesday, I watched a divorced couple yell at each other over who was responsible for their son’s video game addiction.

On Thursday, I watched a two-part episode in which a masseuse named Tarek came on the show to try to clear his name after he was accused of sexually assaulting 18 of his clients. Tarek asked to be on the show and demanded to take a polygraph exam. What was weird about that was the fact that Tarek was obviously guilty and a terrible liar. No one was shocked when he failed the polygraph.

Later, I watched an episode about a mother-in-law who accused her son’s wife of being the “spawn of Satan.” Yikes! The wife was actually very nice and had the patience of a saint.

On Friday morning, I watched an episode in which Phil got annoyed with a teenage girl who hoped that getting pregnant would lead to her getting her own reality show.

On Saturday, I watched an episode featuring a young woman who insisted that her mother had kidnapped her son. The young woman wanted to sue her parents but she also wanted them to lend her the money for the attorney.

Dragnet (YouTube)

On Sunday, I watched my favorite episode of this old cop show. Friday and Gannon appeared on a talk show and debated an underground newspaper editor and a sociologist. Someday, I’ll write a full-length review of this episode because, from a historical point of view, it’s really is spectacular.

I followed this up with my second favorite episode, in which Friday enrolled in night school and promptly arrested one of his classmates.

Fantasy Island (Daily Motion)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

I wrote about Friday the 13th here!

Highway to Heaven (Freevee)

I wrote about Highway to Heaven here!

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Miami Vice (Prime)

I wrote about Miami Vice here!

Monsters (YouTube)

I wrote about Monsters here!

Snub UK (Night Flight Plus)

I watched an episode of this old music show on Friday night. The music videos were enjoyably trippy.

T and T (Tubi)

I wrote about T and T here.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back, Kotter here!

World’s Most Evil Killers (YouTube)

On Friday, I watched an episode about Arizona’s Baseline Killer. He was definitely evil and he was a killer so I guess the show delivered what it promised.

World’s Most Evil Prisoners (YouTube)

On Wednesday morning, I watched a profile of Christa Pike, the youngest inmate on Tennessee’s Death Row. And yes, Christa Pike did appear to be really, really evil. As a fellow redhead, I was upset to see a member of the 2% behaving so badly.

On Friday, I watched an episode about T.D. Bingham, a leader of the Aryan Brotherhood. He was definitely a scary guy, as well as being an evil prisoner. So, just as with World’s Most Evil Killers, this show delivered what it promised.

Retro Television Review: Welcome Back Kotter 3.19 “Epstein’s Term Paper”

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, I will be reviewing Welcome Back Kotter, which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1979. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

This week, it’s term paper time!

Episode 3.19 “Epstein’s Term Paper”

(Dir by Bob Claver, originally aired on January 19th,1978)

It’s term paper time!

Freddie Washington’s term paper is on the Dust Bowl, which he turns in despite the fact that, as he explains it, “Dust killed my grandma.”

Vinnie’s term paper is on the Irish Potato Famine. Vinnie thinks that the potato famine had something to do with no one in Ireland being able to eat French fries.

Arnold Horshack’s paper is on Joseph Stalin and the Purges, despite the fact that Horshack doesn’t know who Stalin was.

As Gabe tells Julie when she stops by his classroom for lunch, he’s really impressed with all the term papers. In fact, he is concerned because he’s too impressed. The Sweathogs have never been A-students so why are they now turning in perfect term papers? Gabe, however, is looking forward to reading Epstein’s term paper on FDR. Eleven years ago, Gabe turned in a term paper on FDR in which he described FDR as being a “white knight.”

Julie takes one look at Epstein’s term paper and mentions that Epstein used the exact same phrase.

Yes, you guessed it. The Sweathogs bought a bunch of old test papers from Carvelli (Charles Fleischer) and attempted to pass them off their own. Only Angie wrote her own term paper. She got a B minus, which she is happy about. Vinnie, Horshack, Freddie, and Epstein all gets F’s. They’re not happy about it because they spent five dollars apiece for those papers.

“I could have written it myself,” Vinnie says, “and gotten an F for free!”

Gabe, however, tells the Sweathogs that he’ll give them one final chance to write new term papers. Gabe explains that just because he turned in a term paper on FDR, that doesn’t mean that he wrote it. So I guess the lesson here is that Gabe cheated and now he’s a teacher so cheating isn’t the end of the world.

Considering the subject matter and the fact that Gabe usually tries to encourage the Sweathogs to not take shortcuts, this was a surprisingly slight episode. One gets the feeling that, if this story had been used during the first season, Gabe would have been a lot more upset about the fake term papers and he would have encouraged the Sweathogs to believe in themselves and their abilities. However, in the third season, everything was treated as a big joke. Gabe no longer seems that concerned about the Sweathogs realizing that they’re capable of being more than just Sweathogs. Watching this episode, I couldn’t help but think about how the Sweathogs lost their edge halfway through the second season. They used to be believable as delinquents, albeit goofy ones. By the time the third season began, they had all been reduced to a series of catch phrases and gimmicks. Robert Hegyes had some funny moments in this episode but it’s still hard not miss the old Epstein, the one who voted most likely to take a life.

As for this episode’s opening and closing jokes, Gabe told Mr. Woodman about his Uncle Murrow the biologist. Woodman was not amused. Later, Gabe tried to tell Julie about his Uncle Joe, just for Julie to shout out the punchline before he finished. Gabe was not amused.