Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

The African American Film Critics Association Honors American Fiction and Origin!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the African American Film Critics Association announced its picks for the best of 2023!

And here they are:

AAFCA’S TOP 10 FILMS OF THE YEAR
1. American Fiction
2. Origin
3. The Color Purple
4. Oppenheimer
5. Past Lives
6. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
7. Poor Things
8. Anatomy of a Fall
9. Killers of the Flower Moon
10. Barbie

Best Drama: Origin
Best Comedy: American Fiction
Best Musical: The Color Purple
Best Director: Ava DuVernay – Origin
Best Screenplay: American Fiction
Best Actor: Colman Domingo – Rustin
Best Actress: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Origin
Best Supporting Actor: Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Best Supporting Actress: *TIE* Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple & Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Best Ensemble: The Color Purple
Breakout Performance: Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Emerging Filmmaker: Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
Best Independent Feature: A Thousand and One
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best Documentary: Stamped from the Beginning
Best Music: The Color Purple
Best International Film: Io Capitano
Best Short Film: The After

Oppenheimer Wins In North Dakota!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, The North Dakota Film Society announced its picks for the best of 2023!

The winners are listed below in bold.

Best Picture
ANATOMY OF A FALL – Marie-Ange Luciani, David Thion (Neon)
MAY DECEMBER – Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, Grant S. Johnson, Pamela Koffler, Tyler W. Konney, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman, Christine Vachon (Netflix)
OPPENHEIMER – Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan (Universal Pictures)
PAST LIVES – David Hinojosa, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon (A24)
POOR THINGS – Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Director
Yorgos Lanthimos – POOR THINGS (Searchlight Pictures)
Christopher Nolan – OPPENHEIMER (Universal Pictures)
Alexander Payne – THE HOLDOVERS (Focus Features)
Martin Scorsese – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (Apple Original Films)
Celine Song – PAST LIVES (A24)

Best Actress
Lily Gladstone – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (Apple Original Films)
Sandra Hüller – ANATOMY OF A FALL (Neon)
Greta Lee – PAST LIVES (A24)
Natalie Portman – MAY DECEMBER (Netflix)
Emma Stone – POOR THINGS (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper – MAESTRO (Netflix)
Paul Giamatti – THE HOLDOVERS (Focus Features)
Cillian Murphy – OPPENHEIMER (Universal Pictures)
Andrew Scott – ALL OF US STRANGERS (Searchlight Pictures)
Teo Yoo – PAST LIVES (A24)

Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt – OPPENHEIMER (Universal Pictures)
Danielle Brooks – THE COLOR PURPLE (Warner Bros.)
Sandra Hüller – THE ZONE OF INTEREST (A24)
Julianne Moore – MAY DECEMBER (Netflix)
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – THE HOLDOVERS (Focus Features)

Best Supporting Actor
Robert Downey Jr. – OPPENHEIMER (Universal Pictures)
Ryan Gosling – BARBIE (Warner Bros.)
Charles Melton – MAY DECEMBER (Netflix)
Paul Mescal – ALL OF US STRANGERS (Searchlight Pictures)
Mark Ruffalo – POOR THINGS (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Screenplay
ANATOMY OF A FALL – Justine Triet, Arthur Harari (Neon)
THE HOLDOVERS – David Hemingson (Focus Features)
MAY DECEMBER – Samy Burch, Alex Mechanik (Netflix)
PAST LIVES – Celine Song (A24)
POOR THINGS – Alasdair Gray, Tony McNamara (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Cinematography
BARBIE – Rodrigo Prieto (Warner Bros.)
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Rodrigo Prieto (Apple Original Films)
OPPENHEIMER – Hoyte van Hoytema (Universal Pictures)
POOR THINGS – Robbie Ryan (Searchlight Pictures)
THE ZONE OF INTEREST – Łukasz Żal (A24)

Best Costume Design
ASTEROID CITY – Milena Canonero (Focus Features)
BARBIE – Jacqueline Durran (Warner Bros.)
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Jacqueline West (Apple Original Films)
OPPENHEIMER – Ellen Mirojnick (Universal Pictures)
POOR THINGS – Holly Waddington (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Film Editing
ANATOMY OF A FALL – Laurent Sénéchal (Neon)
MAESTRO – Michelle Tesoro (Netflix)
OPPENHEIMER – Jennifer Lame (Universal Pictures)
POOR THINGS – Yorgos Mavropsaridis (Searchlight Pictures)
THE ZONE OF INTEREST – Paul Watts (A24)

Best Makeup & Hairstyling
BARBIE – Ivana Primorac (Warner Bros.)
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Thomas Nellen, Siân Grigg, Kay Georgiou (Apple Original Films)
MAESTRO – Kazu Hiro, Siân Grigg, Kay Georgiou, Lori McCoy-Bell (Netflix)
OPPENHEIMER – Luisa Abel, Jason Hamer, Jaime Leigh McIntosh, Ahou Mofid (Universal Pictures)
POOR THINGS – Nadia Stacey, Mark Couler, Josh Weston (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Original Score
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Robbie Robertson (Apple Original Films)
OPPENHEIMER – Ludwig Göransson (Universal Pictures)
POOR THINGS – Jerskin Fendrix (Searchlight Pictures)
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE – Daniel Pemberton (Sony Pictures)
THE ZONE OF INTEREST – Mica Levi (A24)

Best Original Song
AMERICAN SYMPHONY – ”It Never Went Away” – Jon Batiste, Dan Wilson (Netflix)
ASTEROID CITY – ”Dear Alien (Who Art In Heaven)” – Wes Anderson, Jarvis Cocker, Richard Hawley (Focus Features)
BARBIE – ”I’m Just Ken” – Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt (Warner Bros.)
BARBIE – ”What Was I Made For?” – Billie Eilish, Finneas (Warner Bros.)
PAST LIVES – ”Quiet Eyes” – Zach Dawes, Sharon Von Etten (A24)

Best Production Design
ASTEROID CITY – Adam Stockhausen, Kris Moran (Focus Features)
BARBIE – Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer (Warner Bros.)
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Jack Fisk, Adam Willis (Apple Original Films)
OPPENHEIMER – Ruth De Jong, Claire Kaufman (Universal Pictures)
POOR THINGS – Shona Heath, James Price, Szusza Mihalek (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Sound
ANATOMY OF A FALL – Olivier Goinard, Fanny Martin, Julien Sicart (Neon)
FERRARI – Tony Lamberti, Andy Nelson, Lee Orloff, Bernard Weiser (Neon)
MAESTRO – Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Steve Morrow (Netflix)
OPPENHEIMER – Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo, Kevin O’Connell, Willie Burton (Universal Pictures)
THE ZONE OF INTEREST – Johnnie Burn, Tarn Willers (A24)

Best Visual Effects
THE CREATOR – Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts, Neil Corbould (20th Century Studios)
GODZILLA MINUS ONE – Kiyoko Shibuya, Takashi Yamazaki (Toho)
OPPENHEIMER – Andrew Jackson, Giacomo Mineo, Scott R. Fisher, David Drzewiecki (Universal Pictures)
POOR THINGS – Simon Hughes (Searchlight Pictures)
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW – Félix Bergés, Laura Pedro (Netflix)

Best Animated Feature
THE BOY AND THE HERON – Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki (GKIDS)
ELEMENTAL – Peter Sohn, Denise Ream (Pixar)
ROBOT DREAMS – Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé, Sandra Tapia Díaz, Angel Durández (Neon)
NIMONA – Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Roy Lee, Karen Ann Ryan (Netflix)
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE – Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Avi Arad, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, Christina Steinberg (Sony Pictures)

Best Documentary Feature
20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL – Mstyslav Chernov, Derl McCrudden, Michelle Mizner (PBS)
AMERICAN SYMPHONY – Matthew Heineman, Lauren Domino, Joedan Okun (Netflix)
APOLONIA, APOLONIA – Lea Glob, Sidsel Lønvig Siersted (CAT & Docs)
BEYOND UTOPIA – Madeleine Gavin, Rachel Cohen, Jana Edelbaum, Sue Mi Terry (Roadside Attractions)
FOUR DAUGHTERS – Kaouther Ben Hania, Nadim Cheikhrouha, Martin Hampel (Kino Lorber)

Best International Feature
ANATOMY OF A FALL – France (Neon)
FALLEN LEAVES – Finland (Mubi)
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW – Spain (Netflix)
THE TASTE OF THINGS – France (IFC Films)
THE ZONE OF INTEREST – United Kingdom (A24)

Here’s What Won At The Emmys

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I was busy hosting a movie watch party on Monday night so I didn’t watch the Emmys.  It’s probably for the best, as I would have been very upset over the lack of love shown to Barry and Better Call Saul.

(That said, I did like The Bear and I’m happy that Ted Lasso didn’t win.  As for Succession, it’s never done much for me and I usually find the discourse around it to be kind of annoying.  Finally, Beef was a good pick for Best Limited Series, even if it did run on a bit too long.)

Here are the Emmy winners:

BEST COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Barry (HBO/Max)
The Bear (FX)
Jury Duty (Freevee)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Wednesday (Netflix)

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Bill Hader (Barry)
Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building)
Jason Segel (Shrinking)
Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)
Jeremy Allen White (The Bear)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary)
Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face)
Jenna Ortega (Wednesday)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Carrigan (Barry)
Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso)
Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)
James Marsden (Jury Duty)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear)
Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary)
Henry Winkler (Barry)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Ayo Edebiri (The Bear)
Janelle James (Abbott Elementary)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)
Juno Temple (Ted Lasso)
Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
Jessica Williams (Shrinking)

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Andor (Disney+)
Better Call Saul (AMC)
The Crown (Netflix)
House of the Dragon (HBO/Max)
The Last of Us (HBO/Max)
Succession (HBO/Max)
The White Lotus (HBO/Max)
Yellowjackets (Showtime)

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters)
Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets)
Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us)
Keri Russell (The Diplomat)
Sarah Snook (Succession)

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jeff Bridges (The Old Man)
Brian Cox (Succession)
Kieran Culkin (Succession)
Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)
Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us)
Jeremy Strong (Succession)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
F. Murray Abraham (The White Lotus)
Nicholas Braun (Succession)
Michael Imperioli (The White Lotus)
Theo James (The White Lotus)
Matthew Macfadyen (Succession)
Alan Ruck (Succession)
Will Sharpe (The White Lotus)
Alexander Skarsgård (Succession)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus)
Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown)
Meghann Fahy (The White Lotus)
Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus)
Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus)
Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)
J. Smith-Cameron (Succession)
Simona Tabasco (The White Lotus)

BEST LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES
Beef (Netflix)
Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
Daisy Jones & The Six (Prime Video)
Fleishman Is in Trouble (FX)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+)

BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Taron Egerton (Black Bird)
Kumail Nanjiani (Welcome to Chippendales)
Evan Peters (Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story)
Daniel Radcliffe (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story)
Michael Shannon (George & Tammy)
Steven Yeun (Beef)

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Lizzy Caplan (Fleishman Is in Trouble)
Jessica Chastain (George & Tammy)
Dominique Fishback (Swarm)
Kathryn Hahn (Tiny Beautiful Things)
Riley Keough (Daisy Jones & The Six)
Ali Wong (Beef)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Murray Bartlett (Welcome To Chippendales)
Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird)
Richard Jenkins (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story)
Joseph Lee (Beef)
Ray Liotta (Black Bird)
Young Mazino (Beef)
Jesse Plemons (Love & Death)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR TV MOVIE
Annaleigh Ashford (Welcome To Chippendales)
Maria Bello (Beef)
Claire Danes (Fleishman Is In Trouble)
Juliette Lewis (Welcome To Chippendales)
Camila Morrone (Daisy Jones & The Six)
Niecy Nash-Betts (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story)
Merritt Wever (Tiny Beautiful Things)

BEST REALITY COMPETITION
The Amazing Race (CBS)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Survivor (CBS)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)

BEST TALK SERIES
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
Late Night With Seth Meyers (NBC)
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS)
The Problem With Jon Stewart (Apple TV+)

BEST SCRIPTED VARIETY SERIES
A Black Lady Sketch Show (Max)
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (Max)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Barry: “wow” – Bill Hader (Max)
The Bear: “Review” – Christopher Storer (FX)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: “Four Minutes” – Amy Sherman-Palladino (Prime Video)
The Ms. Pat Show: “Don’t Touch My Hair” – Mary Lou Belli (BET+)
Wednesday: “Wednesday’s Child Is Full Of Woe” – Tim Burton (Netflix)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Andor: “Rix Road” – Benjamin Caron (Disney+)
Bad Sisters: “The Prick” – Dearbhla Walsh (Apple TV+)
The Last of Us: “Long, Long Time” – Peter Hoar (HBO)
Succession: “America Decides” – Andrij Parekh (HBO)
Succession: “Connor’s Wedding” – Mark Mylod (HBO)
Succession: “Living+” – Lorene Scafaria (HBO)
The White Lotus: “Arrivederci” – Mike White (HBO)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Beef: “Figures of Light” – Lee Sung Jin (Netflix)
Beef: “The Great Fabricator” – Jake Schreier (Netflix)
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story: “Bad Meat” – Carl Franklin (Netflix)
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story: “Silenced” – Paris Barclay (Netflix)
Fleishman Is in Trouble: “Me-Time” – Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (FX)
Prey – Dan Trachtenberg (Hulu)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Barry: “wow” – Bill Hader (HBO)
The Bear: “System” – Christopher Storer (FX)
Jury Duty: “Ineffective Assistance” – Mekki Leeper (Amazon Freevee)
Only Murders in the Building: “I Know Who Did It” – John Hoffman, Matteo Borghese, and Rob Turbovsky (Hulu)
The Other Two: “Cary & Brooke Go to an AIDS Play” – Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider (Max)
Ted Lasso: “So Long, Farewell” – Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, and Jason Sudeikis (Apple TV+)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Andor: “One Way Out” – Beau Willimon (Disney+)
Bad Sisters: “The Prick” – Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett Baer (Apple TV+)
Better Call Saul: “Point and Shoot” – Gordon Smith (AMC)
Better Call Saul: “Saul Gone” – Peter Gould (AMC)
The Last of Us: “Long, Long Time” – Craig Mazin (HBO)
Succession: “Connor’s Wedding” – Jesse Armstrong (HBO)
The White Lotus: “Arrivederci” – Mike White (HBO)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Beef: “The Birds Don’t Sing, They Screech in Pain” – Lee Sung Jin (Netflix)
Fire Island – Joel Kim Booster (Hulu)
Fleishman Is in Trouble: “Me-Time” – Taffy Brodesser-Akner (FX)
Prey – Patrick Aison and Dan Trachtenberg (Hulu)
Swarm: “Stung” – Janine Nabers and Donald Glover (Prime Video)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story – Al Yankovic and Eric Appel (The Roku Channel)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)

OUTSTANDING VARIETY SPECIAL (LIVE)
The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna (Fox)
Chris Rock: Selective Outrage (Netflix)
Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium (Disney+)
The Oscars (ABC)
76th Annual Tony Awards (CBS)

Scenes That I Love: The Duke Makes Quite An Entrance in Escape From New York

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Continuing our celebration of John Carpenter’s birthday, today’s scene that I love comes from one of my favorite Carpenter movies, 1981’s Escape From New York.

In this scene, The Duke of New York makes quite an entrance.  Not only does he have an entourage but his car comes with its own chandeliers and a disco ball!  Along with writing and directing this film, Carpenter also composed the score.

6 Shots From 6 Films: Special John Carpenter 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 wishes a happy 76th birthday to one of this site’s favorite filmmakers and a patron saint of the independent spirit, the great John Carpenter!

In honor of the man and his legacy, here are….

6 Shots From 6 John Carpenter Films

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976, dir by John Carpenter. DP: Douglas Knapp)

Halloween (1977, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

Escape From New York (1981, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

The Thing (1982, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

Big Trouble in Little China (1986, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Dean Cundey)

They Live (1988, dir by John Carpenter, DP: Gary B. Kibbe)

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.10 “Highway Robbery”

Posted on 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 Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983.  The entire show is currently streaming on Freevee!

This week, Baker meets an old friend and Ponch is nearly commits a crime.

Episode 1.10 “Highway Robbery”

(Dir by Nicholas Colasanto, originally aired on December 1st, 1977)

There’s a man on a motorcycle who is driving up and down the highways of California.  Whenever he comes across a traffic jam, he pulls up to people’s car and snatches whatever he can.  One man loses his wallet and his watch.  A woman has her purse taken.  When Ponch and Baker arrest him, the thief is revealed to be Leo Norrison (David Wilson), an old high school classmate of Baker’s.

Baker and Leo used to play on the school’s football team.  As Baker explains it, Leo was the student that everyone looked up to.  He was “Mr. Most Likely To Succeed.”  However, Leo fell on hard times after high school.  He won a scholarship to play football in college but then he flunked the entrance exam.  He joined the army but ended up losing his temper and striking his captain.  Now, with a dishonorable discharge on his record, Leo is unemployable and bitter.

Baker offers to help Leo out and Leo seems to appreciate the offer.  But, soon enough, Leo is back to stealing purses.  When Baker and Ponch arrest him for a second time, it’s clear that Leo will not be getting any more chances at redemption.

Wow, what a sad story for an episode of CHiPs!  Larry Wilcox can be a bit of a stiff actor but he actually did a really good job in this episode.  Baker couldn’t believe that his high school hero was now a petty criminal and Leo couldn’t believe that Baker had ever looked up to him.  As I watched this episode, I found myself wondering how many of my old high school classmates were now in jail.

Of course, this episode wasn’t all sad.  For instance, there was a rather lengthy scene that centered around a minor accident involving a traveling circus.  One of the circus’s elephants helped to pull a truck over to the side of the road.  Good elephant!

And then there was Ponch’s storyline.  In this episode, Ponch is even more cringey than usual.  He has grown obsessed with a model in an ad for suntan lotion, to the extent that he’s constantly putting on suntan lotion and he has a cut-out of the ad hanging in his locker.  When Ponch learn that the model is a friend of Getraer’s family, Ponch begs Getraer to set him up on a blind date.  Getraer says it’s not a good idea but Ponch insists.  Finally, Getraer relents.

Ponch shows up at the model’s house and discovers that Getraer is already there, having a glass of brandy with the model’s father (James Beach).  They tell Ponch that “Janey” will be right down.  When Janey (Wendy Fredericks) finally does come down to meet her date, Ponch is shocked to discover that …. SHE’S 15!

Getraer mention that Janey looks older in photographs.  Baker and two other officers — Fitz (Lew Saunders) and Grossman (Paul Linke, a future series regular) — step into the living room and start laughing.  Getraer laughs.  Janey’s father laughs.  Janey accepts Ponch’s flowers and then rests her head on his shoulder as the credits role….

So, just to repeat — SHE’S FIFTEEN!

Obviously, Ponch didn’t know that but still, it’s bizarre to see Janey’s father laughing about a 30 year-old showing up at the house to go on a date with his fifteen year-old daughter.  Getraer essentially set Ponch up to potentially commit a felony and everyone thinks its hilarious.  As the end credits rolled, I kept expecting Chris Hansen to step in the room and demand that everyone have a seat and explain what exactly it is they though they were doing.

Weird episode.  The stuff involving Leo was surprisingly well-done for this show.  The stuff with Ponch was truly cringe-inducing.  I mean, even if Janey had been an adult, Ponch’s obsession with her would have been creepy.  In the end, Baker’s friend went to jail and Ponch was thoroughly humiliated.  I guess it all balances out.

Scenes That I Love: Steve McCroskey Realizes That He Picked The Wrong Week To Stop Sniffing Glue in Airplane!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Lloyd Bridges was born 111 years ago today.

Lloyd Bridges appeared in a lot of films and TV shows over the course of his long career.  He was the untrustworthy deputy in High Noon, for instance.  He was also the father of actors Jeff and Beau Bridges.  And, of course, he was one of the many Golden Age actors to be recruited to appear in the 1980 film, Airplane!  Airplane! was such a success that it launched a whole new career for Bridges, who went from being known for his serious roles to appearing in comedies, where he was often cast as well-meaning but clueless authority figures.

In today’s scene that I love, Lloyd Bridges plays the air traffic supervisor Steve McCroskey, who comes to realize that he picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

Retro Television Review: Miami Vice 1.18 “Made For Each Other”

Posted on 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 Mondays, I will be reviewing Miami Vice, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

This week, two supporting players get an episode all their own.

Episode 1.18 “Made For Each Other”

(Dir by Rob Cohen, originally aired on March 8th, 1985)

After spending most of the first season as background comedic relief, Detectives Switek (Michael Talbott) and Zito (John Diehl) are at the center of this week’s episode of Miami Vice.

With the Vice Squad trying to make a case against criminal fence John Costeleda (Johnny “Vatos” Hernandez), Switek and Zito recruit two informants — Noogie (Charlie Barnett) and Izzy (Martin Ferrero) — and send them in undercover to get close to Costeleda’s lieutenant, an electronic store owner named “Bonzo” Barry Gold (Mark Linn-Baker).  For once, it’s Zito and Switek who are pushing ethical boundaries to take down the bad guy though, notably, they never get quite as angsty about it as either Crockett or Tubbs.  If Crockett and Tubbs are secretly aware that they’re fighting a losing war against crime, Switek and Zito are a bit more earnest in their outlook.

This episode also takes a look at Switek and Zito’s life outside of Vice.  Zito likes to take care of fish and is something of an eccentric.  Switek is dating Darlene (Ellen Greene), who used to date Zito.  Switek is also a big fan of Elvis, though Darlene has tossed almost all of his Elvis stuff out of the apartment and instead replaced it with pictures of Princess Diana and baby Harry.  (Prince Harry’s father is not seen in any of the pictures.  Neither is the future King Charles III.)  When Zito’s house explodes due to a gas leak, he moves in with Switek and Darlene.  Darlene is not particularly happy about that and, by the end of the episode, Switek has decided that his partner is more important to him than his girlfriend.  As the title says, Switek and Zito are made for each other.

I like the fact that Miami Vice would occasionally allow people other than Crockett and Tubbs to headline an episode.  After all, the show is called Miami Vice and there’s more to the Vice Squad than just Crockett’s houseboat and Tubbs’s fake Jamaican accent.  Michael Talbott and especially John Diehl are both likable in their roles, with Diehl in particular making Zito into the type of strange guy who you can’t help but love.  That said, this episode was a bit too silly for its own good.  It would have been interesting to see Zito and Switek go after the type of criminals that Crockett and Tubbs regularly went after but instead, Costeleda was too much of a buffoon to really be a serious threat.  The emphasis here was on comedy but Miami Vice works better as a serious show with funny moments than as a funny show with serious moments.

It was nice to see that Zito and Switek were made for each other but, otherwise, this episode never worked as well as one might hope.

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us For Death Hunt and Murphy’s Law!

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 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 2017’s Death Hunt!! I picked it so you know it’ll be good.

Following #MondayActionMovie, Brad and Sierra will be hosting the #MondayMuggers live tweet.  We will be watching Charles Bronson in Murphy’s Law!  This film is also available on Prime and Tubi!

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 Death Hunt on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!  Then, at 10 pm et, switch over to Twitter, start Murphy’s Law, and use the #MondayMuggers hashtag!  The live tweet community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.