Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Michael Mann 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, we celebrate the 83rd birthday of the great Michael Mann!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Michael Mann Films

Thief (1981, dir by Michael Mann, DP: Donald Thorin)

Manhunter (1986, dir by Michael Mann, DP: Dante Spinotii)

Heat (1995, dir by Michael Mann, DP: Dante Spinotti)

Public Enemies (2009, dir by Michael Mann, DP: Dante Spinotti)

Late Night Retro Television Review: 1st & 10 3.2 “A Second Chance Once Removed”)

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 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 makes things awkward.

Episode 3.2 “A Second Chance Once Removed”

(Dir by Stan Lathan, originally aired on August 12th, 1987)

With Coach Denardo no longer around, Diana has kept her promise and promoted Fred Grier to head coach.  However, Diana’s boyfriend and the new co-owner of the Bulls, Teddy, wants to hire T.D.’s old college coach, Red Macklin (John Robinson).  Though T.D. isn’t comfortable with the idea of betraying Fred or doing anything behind Diana’s back, he does agree that Macklin would be a better coach.  After an argument with his wife, T.D. flies out to his old college.

T.D. doesn’t do a very good job of selling the team to Macklin.  Macklin finally says, “You don’t want to be the head coach of the Bulls, do you?”  T.D. says that he does but the position has already been given to Fred and T.D. doesn’t believe in doing things without being upfront with everyone because …. well, I’ll let T.D. explain it….

This episode is a good example of what happens when one of a show’s main characters is played by someone who is now best-known for somehow getting acquitted of stabbing his ex-wife and a waiter to death.  Even the most innocuous of lines seem to take on an entirely different meaning.  I have to admit that I cringed every time T.D.’s wife called and said that he was working too hard and spending too much time with the team.  No, I wanted to yell, don’t make him mad….

As for the rest of the episode, it largely dealt with training camp.  Veteran defensive player John Manzak (John Matuszak) fears that he won’t make the team.  There’s a young rookie who seems to have more energy and strength than him.  However, Manzak has a secret weapon …. steroids!  I cannot imagine that this is going to end well.

Meanwhile, the government wants to deport the Bulgarian kicker, Zagreb (John Kassir).  Zagreb applies for political asylum but it turns out that his father is some sort of official in the Bulgarian government and, as such, Zagreb would not be in any danger if he was sent back home.  (I don’t really follow that logic, to be honest.  Communist dictators, like Zagreb’s father, are notoriously unsentimental when it comes to their children.  Fidel Castro had children all over the world and he didn’t leave Cuba to a single one of them.  Instead, Justin had to settle for Canada.)  Diana has a solution, though.  They have to find Zagreb a wife.  Again, I cannot imagine that this is going to end well.

Meanwhile, Yinessa is still holding out for money, Bubba is still arguing with his wife, and I’m still not sure what Jethro does on the team.

This episode of 1st & Ten …. actually, it wasn’t that bad.  I could actually follow the story for once and it didn’t feel like it had been cut to ribbons for syndication.  John Matuszak actually gave a very touching performance as a player who might be past his prime.  Hopefully, things will work out for him.  We’ll find out next week!

Retro Television Review: The Love Boat 7.6 “Friend of the Family/Affair on Demand/Just Another Pretty Face”

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 Wednesdays, I will be reviewing the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986!  The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!

This week, the cruise is not especially pleasant.

Episode 7.6 “Friend of the Family/Affair on Demand/Just Another Pretty Face”

(Dir by Ted Lange, originally aired on October 29th, 1983)

This week, Herbert (Gordon Jump) and Anita (Florence Henderson) are setting sail.  Herbert and Anita have been married for 25 years and Herbert has never cheated on Anita.  However, as he tells his old friend Isaac, he’s decided that it’s finally time for him to have his first affair.  He’s even decided to trick Anita into giving her approval.  Herbert is an insurance agent and he shows Anita an article that suggests that men who don’t cheat are more likely to succumb to a heart attack.  Anita is so concerned that she not only gives Herbert permission to cheat but she decides that maybe she should have an affair as well….

Needless to say, Anita knows exactly what Herbert was trying to do with the article and, once she’s played her practical joke, she is surprisingly forgiving.  I probably would not have been.  Then again, Herbert does promise to buy her a sable coat to make up for attempting to cheat on her.

Meanwhile, Jack (Robert Reed) is dating Leslie (Deborah Shelton), the much younger daughter of his best friend, Bill (Clint Walker).  Bill is not happy when he learns about this and orders Jack to stay away from his daughter.  Fortunately, Bill’s wife (Cathryn Damon) is able to show Bill the error of his ways.  Leslie gets to fulfil everyone’s fantasy of dating a tall, thin, neat, single 60 year-old with a mustache.

(Yes, Robert Reed and Florence Henderson do both appear in this episode but they only share one scene.  While getting breakfast out by the pool, they see each other and give each other a questioning look before shaking their heads.  Personally, I think this episode would have been a classic if it had featured Robert Reed as the husband trying to trick Florence Henderson into giving him permission to cheat.)

Finally, Deanna (Kim Lankford), the spoiled niece of one of the cruise line’s executives, boarded the boat and immediately developed a crush on Gopher.  I don’t blame her.  Gopher can be adorable when he wants to be.  But, as with the other two storylines, something just felt off here.  Gopher being such a passive character didn’t quite feel right for who the character has become by season 7.  This felt like a season 1 Gopher plot.

This episode didn’t do much for me, which is a surprise considering that it was directed by the usually dependable Ted Lange.  It was hard to sympathize with any of the passengers and the crew just seemed to be going through the motions.  Usually, I love The Love Boat but this episode didn’t work for me.

Scenes I Love: The End of The Original Dawn of the Dead

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The original Dawn of the Dead, which was released in 1978 and directed by George Romero, is not only one of the most influential horror films of all time.  (Even more so than Night of the Living Dead, Dawn was responsible for inspiring the Italian zombie boom.)  It’s also a rather dark satire of humanity and commercialism.  With the world ending, both humans and zombies head to the mall.  Briefly, the humans manage to form their own peaceful society but, inevitably, they end up screwing it all up.  The Dead may be slow and not particularly intelligent but, as poor old Steve discovered in that elevator, they’re absolutely determined to get what they want.

Dawn of the Dead ends with an apocalytpic combination of bikers, zombies, and one helicopter that has next to no fuel.  Our two remaining survivors head off in search of some place safe but we all know that helicopter isn’t going to stay in the sky for long.  In its way, the ending of Dawn of the Dead is even more bleak than the end of Night of the Living Dead.   With the end of this film, Romero’s message is clear.  Society is as dead as the creatures tearing it down.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special George Romero 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 George Romero’s 86th birthday.

Now, those of you who have been reading us since the beginning know how important the work of George Romero has been to this site.  A mutual appreciation of Night of the Living Dead is one of the things that first brought many of us together.  It’s a film that we watch ever Halloween and Arleigh’s review of the original remains one of our most popular posts.  If this site had a patron saint, it would probably be George Romero.

And yet, Romero wasn’t just a director of zombie films.  He made many films, dealing with everything from hippie lovers (There’s Always Vanilla) to wannabe vampires (Martin) to government conspiracies (The Crazies) and eccentric bikers (Knightriders).  George Romero was one of the pioneers of independent films and today, on his birthday, we should all take a minute to consider and appreciate the man’s cinematic legacy.  It’s not just horror fans who owe George Romero a debt of gratitude.  It’s lovers of cinema everywhere.

With that in mind, here are….

4 Shots From 4 George Romero Films

Night of the Living Dead (1968, dir by George Romero, DP: George Romero)

The Crazies (1973, dir by George Romero, DP: S. William Hinzman)

Martin (1978, dir by George Romero, DP: Michael Gornick)

Dawn of the Dead (1978, dir by George Romero, DP: Michael Gornick)

Late Night Retro Television Review: Pacific Blue 3.13 “Avenging Angel”

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 Tuesdays, I will be reviewing Pacific Blue, a cop show that aired from 1996 to 2000 on the USA Network!  It’s currently streaming everywhere, though I’m watching it on Tubi.

This week, two vigilantes disturb the peace, Cory meets a special guest star, and everyone continues to look stupid on their little bicycles.

Episode 3.13 “Avenging Angel”

(Dir by Terence H. Winkless, originally aired on December 14th, 1997)

This episode was dumb.

Cory is haunted by nightmares involving her mother, who died when Cory was 10.  In her latest nightmare, she runs into her mother at a crime scene and her mom shoots her!  Chris thinks that’s an odd dream and she’s right.  Cory explains that her mom is just trying to get her attention.  Cory believes that her mom is her guardian angel.  Chris doesn’t know how to react to this because Cory is expressing an emotion that doesn’t involve being snarky or self-righteous.

When Cory is injured while chasing two Korean brothers (we’ll get to them in a minute), she has to go to rehab.  Luckily, Olympic track medalist Florence Griffith Joyner is a patient at the same rehab clinic.  Joyner takes Cory under her wing and encourages her to work hard and get her knee back into shape.  When Cory says she’s thinking of leaving the force, Joyner tells her not to.  “Thanks, FloJo,” Cory replies.

(Yes, Florence Griffith Joyner played herself.  As an actress, she was a good athlete.)

As for the two Korean brothers, they are vigilantes who are beating up criminals on the boardwalk and becoming celebrities in their own right.  Palermo views them as being a threat to the peace and he’s determined to catch them.  Meanwhile, the Mob is determined to kill them and a very annoying talent agent is determined to sign them.

Ugh, what a stupid episode.  Usually, I’m a sucker for episodes that deal with people coming to terms with the death of a parent.  That’s something to which I can relate.  I have no doubt that my mom is also looking over me.  But, as much as I wanted to fully embrace Cory’s story, I couldn’t get past the fact that she went to rehab and just happened to meet an Olympic athlete.  Maybe if Joyner has been a better actress, this storyline would have worked but, as it was, it just felt forced.  There was really no reason why Joyner should have been so wrapped up in whether or not Cory decided to remain with the force.

As for the stuff with the brothers, the entire plotline felt like filler.  The brothers couldn’t act.  The actors playing the gangsters who wanted to kill the brothers couldn’t act.  The talent agents who kept popping up and talking about how much they wanted to sign the brother, they also couldn’t act.

This episode was just painful and all the rehab in the world isn’t going to change that.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 1.3 “A Kicking Weasel”

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 Tuesdays, I will be reviewing Saved By The Bell: The New Class, which ran on NBC from 1993 to 2o00.  The show is currently on Prime.

This week, Scott and Tommy D attempt to exploit Weasel’s happiness for their own monetary gain.  Ah, that’s classic Bayside!

Episode 1.3 “A Kicking Weasel”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on September 25th, 1993)

It’s been ten years since Bayside had a good football team!

That’s what Scott tell us at the start of this episode.  Scott explains that the Bayside student body has no enthusiasm for football.  No one cares because the team always loses and, as such, even Mr. Belding is more concerned with the school’s ping pong team.

To which I say, “What?”

Seriously, every Saved By The Bell fan knows that A.C. Slater led the Bayside Tigers to victory after victory.  With the help of Ox and all the other players, Slater made Bayside into a football powerhouse.

This can only mean one of two things.  Saved By The Bell: The New Class is either taking place ten years after Saved By The Bell (possible but I doubt it due to the fact that Screech is coming back next season) or that the writers just didn’t care about continuity.  I’ll go with the latter.

Things are looking up for the football team, though.  It turns out that Weasel can actually kick the ball!  He goes from being the waterboy to the cornerstone of the team’s offense.  But Weasel can only kick well when he’s angry.  When he’s not angry, he’s too mellow.  When he become a football star, he’s happy.  He mellows out.

That’s bad news for Scott and Tommy D, who are looking to make a fortune by selling Weasel t-shirts!  Tommy D agreed to embezzle the seed money from the print shop fund.  (Hey, that’s a crime!)  In return, Scott fixed the varsity cheerleader tryouts so that Lindsay beat out both Megan and Vicki.  When Linsday finds out that the tryouts were fixed, she refuses to cheer.  That makes Weasel mad and he ends up winning the game with 11 field goals.  Lindsay, meanwhile. gets her revenge by telling Belding that Scott and Tommy D will be donating all of the t-shirt profits to the ping pong team.

This episode …. actually, I’m going to surprise myself by saying that it wasn’t that bad.  Yes, the plot was way too busy for its own good and Scott’s constant scheming feels like what it was, a bad imitation of Zack Morris.  But, in the role of Weasel, Isaac Lidsky actually gave a pretty good sympathetic performance.  (Weasel was never as annoying as Screech, largely due to Lidsky.)  Jonathan Angel delivered his dialogue with the right amount of dumb earnestness and it was nice to see the Bayside nerds end up winning for once.  All in all, this one really wasn’t bad.

Scenes That I Love: The Harvard Graduation Dance From Heaven’s Gate

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

How many westerns do you know that open with a graduation ceremony at Harvard?  I can only think of Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate.

Today’s scene that I love comes from the controversial 1981 epic western.  Some people feel that Heaven’s Gate is a secret masterpiece.  I’m not quite one of those people but I do think the Harvard graduation scene was a great way to launch Cimino’s idiosyncratic vision of the Old West.