Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us For Warrior of the Lost World and Copycat!


As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in hosting a few weekly live tweets on twitter.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, for #MondayActionMovie, the film will be 1983’s Warrior of the Lost World!  Selected and hosted by me, this film features car motorcycles, explosions, Donald Pleasence, and a timely message about creeping authoritarianism!  The movie starts at 8 pm et!  Here’s the playlist!

Following #MondayActionMovie, Brad and Sierra will be hosting the #MondayMuggers live tweet.  They will be watching Sigourney Weaver in 1995’s Copycat!  Check the hosts’s twitter accounts for a link to the film!

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 twitter, start the Warrior of the Lost World playlist  at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!  Then, at 10 pm et, start Copycat, and use the #MondayMuggers hashtag!  The live tweet community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.    

Hope to see you there!

Music Video of the Day: If You Come To Me by Atomic Kitten (2003, dir by Si & Ad)


The next time someone tells you that music was generic and predictable in the early aughts …. well, don’t try to refute their case with Atomic Kitten.

This video was shot in front of a greenscreen.  There’s no plot but there is a lot of dancing and personally, I think that’s a good thing.  Back in 2003, there was really no need to pretend that the song and the video were meant to do anything other than sell the group and score a spot on the soundtrack of the next Lizzie McGuire movie.

Personally, I like Atomic Kitten because of their name.

Enjoy!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 3/13/23 — 3/19/23


The first week after the Oscars was not a bad one.  Here’s what I watched, read, and listened to.

Films I Watched:

  1. Absentia (2011)
  2. The Bat (1959)
  3. Boston Strangler (2023)
  4. Dave (1993)
  5. Deadly Hero (1975)
  6. Detective Knight: Rogue (2022)
  7. Disco Godfather (1979)
  8. The Holy Roman Empire (1961)
  9. Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)
  10. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  11. Romero (1989)
  12. Shotgun (1989)
  13. This Is Our Time (2013)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. Abbott Elementary
  2. Accused
  3. The Bachelorette
  4. The Brady Bunch Hour
  5. Farmer Wants A Wife
  6. Jail
  7. Night Court
  8. Night Flight
  9. The Scott & Gary Show
  10. Survivor

Books I Read:

  1. Wild In The Streets (1968) by Robert Thom

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Adi Ulmansky
  2. Atomic Kitten
  3. Avril Lavigne
  4. Big Data
  5. Blondie
  6. Britney Spears
  7. The Chemical Brothers
  8. Christina Aguilera
  9. Dropkick Murphys
  10. ELO
  11. Fiona Apple
  12. Hilary Duff
  13. Jessica Simpson
  14. Lindsay Lohan
  15. Michelle Branch
  16. Muse
  17. The Ohio Players
  18. Saint Motel
  19. Spice Girls
  20. The Spokemen
  21. Taylor Swift
  22. Think
  23. The Wallflowers

Live Tweets:

  1. Shotgun
  2. Dave
  3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
  4. Absentia 

News From Last Week:

  1. Actor Lance Reddick Dies at 60
  2. Ben Savage Gets Married As Congressional Campaign Kicks Off
  3. Mira Sorvino Reacts to Oscars 2023 Omitting Dad Paul Sorvino from In Memoriam: ‘Baffling Beyond Belief’

Links From Last Week:

  1. Clint Eastwood’s Triple Play Of Classic Films – In One Year! 1971’s “Dirty Harry!” “Play Misty For Me!” “The Beguiled!”
  2. Tater’s Week in Review 3/18/23
  3. The Oscars’ best picture might seem radical. But it’s as traditional as they come
  4. Whit Stillman’s Cinema of Loyalty

Links From The Site:

  1. I reviewed the Oscar ceremony!
  2. I shared an AMV of the Day!
  3. I congratulated you on surviving Oscar Sunday!
  4. I shared my March Oscar Predictions!
  5. I shared the trailer for The Little Mermaid!
  6. I shared my week in television!
  7. I shared music videos from Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Michelle Branch, Dropkick Murphys, The Wallflowers, and Jessica Simpson!
  8. I shared scenes from The Godfather, The Dark Knight Rises, and It Happened At The World’s Fair!
  9. I paid tribute to David Cronenberg!
  10. I reviewed Drive He Said, Charlie Says, Polk County Pot Plane, 600 Miles, Road to the Open, The Holy Roman Empire, Luther: The Fallen Sun, Deadly Hero, Boston Strangler, Disco Godfather, Detective Knight: Rogue, This Is Our Time, and The Weekend Nun!
  11. I reviewed Hang Time, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, City Guys, The Brady Bunch Hour, and California Dreams!
  12. Erin shared Captain Crossbones, Rangeland Romances, The Ides of March, St. Urho Statue, St. Patrick Mosaic, Small-Town Chippie, and Another Piece of Fanny!
  13. Erin profiled Joseph Szokoli and celebrated the return of Baseball!
  14. Jeff wrote about the Incredible Hulk!
  15. Jeff reviewed Rocky Marciano is Dead, New York Cop, Cover-Up, Intensive Care, Randy Rides Alone, Blue Steel, The Greatest American Hero, Winds of the Wasteland, and Amnesia!

More From Us:

  1. At her photography site, Erin shared Curb Appeal, Rainy Morning, Neighborhood, Wind, Movemenet, Exit, and Drive Carefully!
  2. At Pop Politics, Jeff wrote about Andrew Cuomo!
  3. For Horror Critic, I reviewed Hounded!
  4. For Reality TV Chat Blog, I reviewed the latest episode of Survivor!
  5. At SyFy Designs, I shared: Oscar Thoughts, Blinded By The Morning, Racetrac, Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and A Proposal!
  6. At my dream journal, I shared: Last Night’s Gate Dream, Last Night’s Searching For A Store Dream, Last Night’s Trying To Watch A Movie Dream, No Dreams Last Night, Last Night’s Sweetwater Dream, Last Night’s London Dream, and Last Night’s Tornado Dream!
  7. At my music site, I shared songs from Ohio Players, Spice Girls, Ireland, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and The Wallflowers!

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

Retro Television Reviews: The Weekend Nun (dir by Jeannot Szwarc)


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 1972’s The Weekend Nun!  It  can be viewed on YouTube!

By day, Marjorie Walker (Joanna Pettet) is a probation officer who, some might say, cares just a little too much.

By night and on the weekends, she’s Sister Mary Damian, a nun who has taken the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Mother Bonaventure (Ann Sothern) isn’t sure that she’s happy about Sister Damian working as a probation officer.  And the tough and cynical Detective Chuck Jardine (Vic Morrow) certainly isn’t happy when he discovers that the reason why Marjorie has never invited him into her home for a drink is because she lives at a convent.  But Marjorie is determined to make a difference, especially in the life of a troubled teen runaway named Audree (Kay Lenz).

Now, this may sound like the premise of a socially relevant sitcom and, indeed, The Weekend Nun is one of those titles that might lead some to expect wacky hijinks and an intrusive laugh track.  However, The Weekend Nun is not only loosely based on a true story but the film also takes itself very seriously.  From the minute that Sister Damian agrees to take part in a program that would allow her to work a real job during the day while returning to the convent at night, she’s exposed to the harsh realities of the world.  She goes from being sheltered to dealing with distraught parents, drug addicts, teen prostitutes, and violent criminals.  Because Captain Richardson (James Gregory) doesn’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable, he hides the fact that she’s a nun.  Of course, this leads to be people like Chuck Jardine wondering why Marjorie is so shocked when she witnesses the thing that he has to deal with a day-to-day basis.

And, indeed, the film’s biggest flaw is that Marjorie is often portrayed as being ridiculously naïve.  The film acts as if spending time in a convent is somehow the equivalent of spending a decade hiding out in a bomb shelter or something.  (Speaking as a Catholic school survivor, nuns are usually some of the least naïve people around.)  Marjorie is portrayed as being such a wide-eyed innocent that it’s hard not to wonder why she was hired to work as a probation officer in the first place.  Of course, Marjorie quickly gets an education on just how dangerous and unforgiving life on the streets can be and she soon has to make a choice between being a nun or being a probation officer.  Will she give her life to God or will she potentially give it to Vic Morrow?

Joanna Pettet overplays Marjorie’s innocence but that’s more the fault of the script than anything else.  James Gregory, Vic Morrow, and Ann Sothern are all believable as the authority figures in Marjorie’s life and Kay Lenz has a few good scenes as the teenage runaway who Marjorie tries to save.  Beverly Garland has a small but brief role as Lenz’s horrifically unconcerned mother.  It’s a well-acted film, regardless of any other flaws.

The Weekend Nun is not perfect but it’s still preferable to The Flying Nun.  It’s a sincerely heartfelt film, one that’s earnest in a way that can seem a bit quaint but which is still likable when watched today.  For better or worse, there’s not a hint of snark to be found.

Music Video of the Day: Come On Over by Jessica Simpson (2008, dir by Liz Friedlander)


Today’s music video of the day is both wholesome and rebellious.  It’s wholesome because it’s a Jessica Simpson video.  It’s rebellious because it’s Jessica finally calling the shots over her own life.

Take that, Nick Lachey!

Seriously, this feels like a nice revenge video.  It came out two years after Jessica and Nick divorced and it finds Jessica back on the ranch and waiting for a better lover and, even more importantly, doing it all on her own terms.  This is the type of video that Jessica’s management never would have allowed to happen in the days before she married Nick.  As such, this is not just a video about inviting over your lover.  This is a video growing up, maturing, and embracing what makes you happy.

Enjoy!

March Positivity: This Is Our Time (dir by Lisa Arnold)


The 2013 film, This Is Our Time, opens with a college graduation and a voice-over from Ethan (Shawn Culin-Young), who explains that everyone goes through four stages when they go to college.  The first stage is being excited about getting away from home and being on you own.  The second and third stages are about settling down, choosing your major, and maybe meeting the person with whom you want to spend the rest of your life.  The fourth stage is all about looking forward to graduation and finally getting to enter the real world.

This Is Our Time follows the story of five friends as they discover what comes after the fourth stage.  For two of them, it’s making a living as corporate workers and being pressured to behave unethically.  For two others, it’s marriage and a new life working as missionaries in India, ministering to the needs of leprosy sufferers and their children.  For Ethan, it means giving up his dream of being a writer and working as a waiter at his father’s bar.  But, as Ethan warns us in his narration, one of the five is not going to be alive in a year.  The movie follows the friends as they deal with death and try to learn how to live.

Some of the acting is a bit stiff and the attempt to capture the feel of corporate America feels rather comical.  (Erik Estrada glowers his way through the role of a dishonest executive.)  But, at the same time, the film does end with a message from the founder of Embrace a Village, which actually does provide support for people dealing with Leprosy and the guy is so sincere that it kind of makes you feel guilty for all the snarky thoughts that you had while watching the movie.  Whatever else you might want to say about the film, the intentions are good and there’s something to be said for that.

Add to that, Eric Roberts is in the film.  Roberts plays Ethan’s father and he brings a lot of genuine emotion to the role.  The scene where he breaks down behind the bar in response to having gotten some bad news is well-done.  Roberts is kind of famous for accepting almost any role that’s offered to him and he’s said that he hasn’t actually watched the majority of the films in which he’s appeared.  Who knows if Roberts actually watched this film but, regardless, his performance was definitely the highlight.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

  1. Star 80 (1983)
  2. Blood Red (1989)
  3. The Ambulance (1990)
  4. The Lost Capone (1990)
  5. Love, Cheat, & Steal (1993)
  6. Love Is A Gun (1994)
  7. Sensation (1994)
  8. Doctor Who (1996)
  9. Most Wanted (1997)
  10. Mr. Brightside (2004)
  11. Six: The Mark Unleased (2004)
  12. Hey You (2006)
  13. In The Blink of an Eye (2009)
  14. The Expendables (2010) 
  15. Sharktopus (2010)
  16. Deadline (2012)
  17. Miss Atomic Bomb (2012)
  18. Lovelace (2013)
  19. Self-Storage (2013)
  20. Inherent Vice (2014)
  21. Road to the Open (2014)
  22. Rumors of War (2014)
  23. A Fatal Obsession (2015)
  24. Stalked By My Doctor (2015)
  25. Stalked By My Doctor: The Return (2016)
  26. The Wrong Roommate (2016)
  27. Stalked By My Doctor: Patient’s Revenge (2018)
  28. Monster Island (2019)
  29. Seven Deadly Sins (2019)
  30. Stalked By My Doctor: A Sleepwalker’s Nightmare (2019)
  31. The Wrong Mommy (2019)
  32. Her Deadly Groom (2020)
  33. Top Gunner (2020)
  34. Just What The Doctor Ordered (2021)
  35. Killer Advice (2021)
  36. The Poltergeist Diaries (2021)
  37. My Dinner With Eric (2022)

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/12/23 — 3/18/23


Abbott Elementary (Wednesday Night, ABC)

Eh.  This has been a strong season, with the exception of all the nonsense about the charter schools.  Unfortunately, this week’s episode was all about trying to keep Abbott from turning into a charter school and it was a rare heavy-handed misfire for what it is usually one of the smartest shows on television.  Ava still made me laugh, though.

Accused (Tuesday Night, FOX)

This week’s episode of Accused was a misfire.  It tried to deal with both gun control and misinformation and, in both cases, it just came across as being histrionic.  It was like the Reefer Madness of 21st Century anthology shows.

The Bachelor (Monday and Tuesday, ABC)

The thing with this season is that it’s impossible to get excited about Zach and it’s difficult to take anyone seriously when they say that they were falling in love with Zach.  Monday featured the hometown visits and a “shocking” departure.  (Don’t worry, Charity avoided marrying Zach and she gets to be the new bachelorette).  Tuesday featured the Women Tell All, which started out as interesting with lots of petty drama but then all the action stopped so Greer could go through a televised struggle session about her old social media posts.  Jesse Palmer announced that the Bachelor franchise will no longer shy away from addressing the actions of its contestants and I rolled my eyes so dramatically that I’m surprised I’m still able to see straight.  It’s one thing to address actions.  It’s another thing to spend half an hour patting yourself on the back for doing it, especially when it was obvious that both Jesse and Greer were just reciting what they had been told to say.

The Brady Bunch Hour (YouTube)

I finished the series this week.  Yay!  Seriously, it was kind of fun to experience something as strange as The Brady Bunch Hour but I think if it had lasted longer than nine episodes, I wouldn’t have made it.  That final hour nearly broke me.

Farmer Wants A Wife (Wednesday Night, FOX)

After suffering through The Bachelor, this show provided a nice and simple relief.  Life on the farm isn’t easy but at least all the farmers are interesting and everyone gets to wear cute country outfits!

Jail (Tuesday Afternoon, Reelz)

This was a Cops-style show that aired in early 2010s.  As the title suggests, a camera crew filmed the events in a county jail.  Sometimes, they were in Fort Worth.  Sometimes, they were in Las Vegas.  Whenever they went to Las Vegas, there was one annoying intake officer who always ended up getting attacked by an inmate.  Were the inmates attacking because they were violent criminals or because they were on camera?  My personal theory is that the intake officer, with his sandy hair and his glasses and his air of unearned authority, was kind of a jerk who just brought out the worst in people.

Anyway, I watched two episodes on Tuesday.  A lot of drunks were brought in for the night.  Most of the guards were not particularly bright, which made it a bit awkward whenever they tried to get philosophical about why people commit crimes.  “I guess until they get tired of us arresting them, we’re going to keep getting called out there.”  Okay, whatever you say, dude.

Night Court (Tuesday Night, NBC)

You know, I still like Melissa Rauch but I have to say that, as of this latest episode, I think Abbi is now officially the most annoying character on television.  Her fiancé, Rand, came to New York to help her train for a marathon.  Rand himself was a pretty annoying character but Abi was a hundred times worse for putting up with him and forcing him on her co-workers.

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday, I watched an episode about the 1984 Oscars.  A lot of good songs were nominated that year.

The Oscars (Sunday Night, ABC)

I wrote about the 2022 Oscars here!

The Scott & Gary Show (Night Flight Plus)

This was a public access show from the 80s.  Night Flight Plus has episodes of it and several other old public access shows.  I watched one episode on Saturday morning.  Gibby Haynes stopped by the set and talked about how he used to be an accountant.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I wrote about Survivor at the Reality TV Chat Blog.

Retro Television Reviews: California Dreams 4.9 “Operation Tony” and 4.10 “Community Service”


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 California Dreams, which ran on NBC from 1992 to 1996.  The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

This week, California Dreams is Saved By The Bell!

Episode 4.9 “Operation Tony”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 18th, 1995)

Tony needs to have shoulder surgery and he’s so worried about dying that he not only practices laying very still but he also requires Sam to practice mourning.  The night before the operation, he has a dream where he sees his own funeral and, upon waking up, he tries to sneak out of the hospital and …. wait a minute.  This seems familiar.  The exact same thing happened to Zack Morris on Saved By The Bell!

Yes, this episode is pretty much a remake of Operation Zach.  The California Dreams version works a bit better than the SBTB version because Tony is a more sympathetic figure than Zach Morris and, unlike Zach, Tony didn’t have the power to stop time whenever he felt like it so Tony has no way to magically put off the operation.  Plus, this episode has a B-plot where Lorena volunteers as a candy striper in an attempt to catch the attention of a handsome doctor.  Unfortunately, the doctor explains that he doesn’t date people with whom he works.  (I would hope that he also doesn’t date teenagers.)  It was a predictable storyline but I still always like episodes that focus, even if just partially, on Lorena because Lorena is who I was always relate to whenever I watch this show.

Anyway, this was a good episode, even it was a familiar one.  Let’s move on.

Episode 4.10 “Community Service”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 25th, 1995)

In this episode, the members of the California Dreams do community service!

Now, I know that I always complain whenever this happens on City Guys but that’s because City Guys usually features Ms. Noble ordering her students to do stuff during their free time.  On California Dreams, everyone actually volunteered of their own free will.  It is true that Tiffani guilted them into volunteering but still, there’s a big difference between Tiffani looking sad and Ms. Noble telling all of her students what they’re going to give up their weekend just because she says so.

Sam volunteers for the blood drive.  Jake volunteers for Meals on Wheels and eats all the food himself.  (In 1995, this was played for laughs.  You can only imagine how it would be portrayed today.)  Mark helps to clean the beach and ends up smelling like a toxic waste dump.  Lorena gives some things to the Goodwill.  And Tiffani and Sly end up working at the Teen Help Line.  Tiffani tries to sincerely help people while Sly orders pizza and hits on all the female counselors.

Uh-oh!  The school is cutting its budget and the Teen Line is going to be closed down!  Sly comes up with an idea!  Maybe the Dreams can play a benefit concert.  I mean, it worked on Saved By The Bell …. TWICE!  Sly organizes the concert and basks in everyone’s attention, even though Tiffani is upset that Sly is doing the right thing for the wrong reason.  (Calm down, Tiffani.)  Fortunately, during the concert, a teen calls in and says he wants to run away from home.  Because Sly is the only person in the office, he’s forced to help the caller and he discovers that joy of doing the right thing for the right reasons!  Yay!  Of course, I imagine this lesson will be forgotten by the next episode.  We’ll find out next week!

As a general rule, the best episodes of California Dreams are the ones in which Sly is let loose to be his sleazy but ultimately good-hearted self.  Though the story was familiar, Michael Cade did a good job playing the two sides of Sly.  Plus, the Dreams performed that “To the End” song, which has a really rocking guitar solo.

Next week, Tiffani tries to heal the bay!  Hopefully, she’ll have better luck at it than Mark did during this episode.

Film Review: Detective Knight: Rogue (dir by Edward Drake)


Once upon a time, Casey Rhodes (Beau Mirchoff) was a football star.  He was a quarterback.  Everyone expected great things from him.  He was going to be the next Tom Brady.  But then a knee injury took him out of the game and a subsequent drug addiction took him out of mainstream society.  Now, Casey makes his living pulling off robberies.  He may be a criminal but he’s not a bad-hearted one.  He may carry a gun but he tries not to shoot anyone who doesn’t shoot at him first.  Working with him are a former baseball player named Mike (Trevor Getzky) and Nikki (Keeya King), who is the smartest member of the crew.

Despite Casey’s attempts to do his job with as little violence as possible, a gunfight does break out during one robbery in Los Angeles.  When Detectives James Knight (Bruce Willis) and his partner, Eric Fitzgerald (Lochlyn Munro), interrupt the robbery, Fitzgerald ends up getting shot multiple times as Casey and his crew make their escape.  With Fitzgerald in the hospital, Knight decides to follow the crew to New York and take out both them and their boss, a former Internal Affairs officer named Winna (Michael Eklund).  It turns out that there’s a history between Knight and Winna.  Knight wants his revenge on Winna but, at the same time, Winna knows some dark secrets from Knight’s past.

Though it works as a stand-alone film, 2022’s Detective Knight: Rogue is actually the first part of a trilogy that follows the adventures of Detective Knight.  (Detective Knight: Redemption was released at the end of 2022 while Detective Knight: Independence came out last month.)  The Detective Knight films were among the last of the movies in which Bruce Willis appeared before announcing his retirement.  It can be strange to watch Willis’s final films, knowing what we know about what he was going through at the time that he made them.  Though he’s definitely the star of the film, Willis is used sparingly in Detective Knight: Rogue and there’s little of the cocky attitude that we tend to associate with Willis’s best roles.  Instead, he’s a grim avenger, determined to get justice for both his partner and himself.  Willis is convincing in the role, even if the film is edited in such a way that the viewer gets the feeling that a stand-in may have been used for some of the long-shots involving Detective Knight.  That said, Willis still looks convincing carrying a badge and a gun and it’s nice to see a Willis film where he’s again playing a hero instead of a villain.

As the football player-turned-thief, Beau Mirchoff gets more screentime than Willis but, fortunately, Casey is an interesting character and Mirchoff gives a strong performance as a criminal who would rather be a family man and who is desperately looking for a way to make up for the mistakes of his past.  Towards the end of the film, he does a flawless job delivering a surprisingly well-written monologue about how he went from being a football star to being a common thief.  Mirchoff’s strong performance adds a good deal of ambiguity to the film.  The criminals aren’t necessarily that bad at heart and, as we learn, the good guys haven’t always been angels in the past.  Detective Knight: Rogue becomes more than just another low-budget thriller.  It becomes a meditation of regret and redemption.

Detective Knight: Rogue took me by surprise.  As directed by Edward Drake (who was also responsible for another effective late Bruce Willis starrer, Gasoline Alley), it’s an intelligent thriller and it’s one that pays tribute to Bruce Willis as an action icon.  It’s proof that a good story can sometimes be found where you least expect it.

Live Tweet Alert: Watch Absentia with #ScarySocial


As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, for #ScarySocial, ArtAttackNYC will be hosting 2011’s Absentia!

If you want to join us on Saturday night, just hop onto twitter, start the film at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag!  The film is available on Prime.  I’ll be there co-hosting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.