Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix for Escape From L.A.!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

 

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, at 10 pm et, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix!  The movie? 1996’s Escape From L.A.!

Director John Carpenter reunites with Kurt Russell and Peter Fonda, Steve Buscemi, Bruce Campbell, and Cliff Robertson are along for the ride!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag!  I’ll be there tweeting 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.

Escape From L.A. is available on Prime and Paramount!  See you there!

Chicago Honors The Banshees

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On Wednesday, the Chicago Film Critics Association announced this picks for the best of 2022!  You can see the nominees here and the winners below:

BEST PICTURE
The Banshees Of Inisherin

BEST DIRECTOR
Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, TÁR

BEST ACTOR
Colin Farrell, The Banshees Of Inisherin

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kerry Condon, The Banshees Of Inisherin

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Fire of Love

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Decision to Leave

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Women Talking by Sarah Polley

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Banshees Of Inisherin by Martin McDonagh

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Decision to Leave, Kim Ji-Yong

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Babylon, Justin Hurwitz

BEST ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Everything Everywhere All At Once

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Everything Everywhere All At Once, Shirley Kurata

BEST EDITING
Everything Everywhere All At Once, Paul Rogers

BEST USE OF VISUAL EFFECTS
Everything Everywhere All At Once

MILOS STEHLIK AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH FILMMAKER
Charlotte Wells, Aftersun

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Austin Butler, Elvis

The AARP Nominates Elvis and Adam Sandler

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the old people got their say when the AARP announces their nominees for the Best Movies For Grown-ups of 2022!  The nominees are below.  The winners will be announced on January 28th, 2023.  The ceremony will air on PBS so make sure grandma stays awake to watch it.

Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tár
Top Gun: Maverick
The Woman King
Women Talking

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett (Tár)
Viola Davis (The Woman King)
Lesley Manville (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris)
Emma Thompson (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande)
Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Best Actor
Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick)
Brendan Fraser (The Whale)
Tom Hanks (A Man Called Otto)
Bill Nighy (Living)
Adam Sandler (Hustle)

Best Supporting Actress
Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Patricia Clarkson (She Said)
Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Judith Ivey (Women Talking)
Gabrielle Union (The Inspection)

Best Supporting Actor
Andre Braugher (She Said)
Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Woody Harrelson (Triangle of Sadness)
Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans)
Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

Best Director
James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water)
Todd Field (Tár)
Baz Luhrmann (Elvis)
Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King)
Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)

Best Screenwriter
Todd Field (Tár)
Kazuo Ishiguro (Living)
Tony Kushner and Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)
Rebecca Lenkiewicz (She Said)
Dana Stevens (The Woman King)

Best Actress (TV)
Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
Toni Collette (The Staircase)
Laura Linney (Ozark)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)
Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)

Best Actor (TV)
Jeff Bridges (The Old Man)
Steve Carell (The Patient)
Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)
Gary Oldman (Slow Horses)
Wes Studi (Reservation Dogs)

Best TV Series
Abbott Elementary
The Old Man
Only Murders in the Building
The White Lotus
Yellowstone

Best TV Movie/Limited Series
Black Bird
The Dropout
Inventing Anna
The Staircase
The Watcher

Best Ensemble
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Nope
She Said
The Woman King
Women Talking

Best Intergenerational Movie
Armageddon Time
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
A Man Called Otto
Till

Best Time Capsule
Armageddon Time
Babylon
Elvis
The Fabelmans
Till

Best Grownup Love Story
Empire of Light
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
A Love Song
Ticket to Paradise

Best Documentary
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down
Lucy and Desi
The Pez Outlaw
Sidney
Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off

Best Foreign Film
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Mexico)
Broker (South Korea)
One Fine Morning (France)
The Quiet Girl (Ireland)

Here Are the 2022 Nominations of Hollywood Critics Association!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the 2022 nominations of the Hollywood Critics Association were announced!

And here they are:

Best Picture
Avatar: The Way of Water
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
RRR
TÁR
The Banshees of Inisherin
The Fabelmans
The Woman King
Top Gun: Maverick
Women Talking

Best Director
Baz Luhrmann – Elvis
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Gina Prince-Bythewood – The Woman King
James Cameron – Avatar: The Way of Water
Martin McDonagh – The Banshees of Inisherin
Park Chan-wook – Decision to Leave
S.S. Rajamouli – RRR
Sarah Polley – Women Talking
Steven Spielberg – The Fabelmans
Todd Field – TÁR

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett – TÁR
Danielle Deadwyler – Till
Michelle Williams – The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Viola Davis – The Woman King

Best Actor
Austin Butler – Elvis
Brendan Fraser – The Whale
Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin
Paul Mescal – Aftersun
Tom Cruise – Top Gun: Maverick

Best Supporting Actress
Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau – The Whale
Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Keke Palmer – Nope
Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin
Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Supporting Actor
Barry Keoghan – The Banshees of Inisherin
Ben Whishaw – Women Talking
Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry – Causeway
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Adapted Screenplay
Guillermo del Toro & Patrick McHale – Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Rebecca Lenkiewicz – She Said
Rian Johnson – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Samuel D. Hunter – The Whale
Sarah Polley – Women Talking

Best Original Screenplay
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Martin McDonagh – The Banshees of Inisherin
Seth Reiss & Will Tracy – The Menu
Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner – The Fabelmans
Todd Field – TÁR

Best Voice or Motion-Capture Performance
Antonio Banderas in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Ewan McGregor in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Jenny Slate in Marcel The Shell With Shoes On
Rosalie Chiang in Turning Red
Zoe Saldaña in Avatar: The Way of Water

Best Cast Ensemble
Babylon
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
The Woman King
Women Talking

Best First Feature
Charlotte Wells – Aftersun
Lila Neugebauer – Causeway
John Patton Ford – Emily the Criminal
Elegance Bratton – The Inspection
Domee Shi – Turning Red

Best Action Film
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
RRR
The Batman
The Woman King
Top Gun: Maverick

Best Comedy
Bros
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
The Menu
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Triangle of Sadness

Best Horror Film
Barbarian
Bones and All
Nope
The Black Phone
X

Best Indie Film
Aftersun
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On
TÁR

Best Animated Film
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Bad Guys
Turning Red

Best Documentary Film
All the Beauty and The Bloodshed
Fire of Love
Good Night Oppy
Moonage Daydream
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me

Best International Film
All Quiet on the Western Front
Argentina, 1985
Close
Decision to Leave
RRR

Best Short Film
All Too Well: The Short Film
Moshari
North Star
Regret to Inform You
Triggered

The winners will be announced on February 24th so you’ve got a lot of time to consider these!

Here Are The 2022 Nominees of the Black Reel Awards!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, the Black Reel Awards announced their nominees for the best of 2022!  

And here they are:

OUTSTANDING FILM
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – Kevin Feige & Nate Moore, producers
DEVOTION – Molly Smith, Rachel Smith, Thad Luckinbill & Trent Luckinbill, producers
NOPE – Jordan Peele & Ian Cooper, producers
TILL – Keith Beauchamp, Barbara Broccoli, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Reilly & Thomas Levine, producers
THE WOMAN KING – Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Cathy Schulman & Julius Tennon, producers

OUTSTANDING ACTOR
JOHN BOYEGA – BREAKING
STERLING K. BROWN – HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL.
DANIEL KALUUYA – NOPE
JONATHAN MAJORS – DEVOTION
JEREMY POPE – THE INSPECTION

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS
VIOLA DAVIS – THE WOMAN KING
DANIELLE DEADWYLER – TILL
ANNA DIOP – NANNY
REGINA HALL – HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL.
LETITIA WRIGHT – BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR
ELEGANCE BRATTON – THE INSPECTION
GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD – THE WOMAN KING
CHINONYE CHUKWU – TILL
RYAN COOGLER – BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
JORDAN PEELE – NOPE

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR
BRIAN TYREE HENRY – CAUSEWAY
MICHEAL WARD – EMPIRE OF LIGHT
MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS – BREAKING
BOKEEM WOODBINE – THE INSPECTION
JEFFREY WRIGHT – THE BATMAN

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ANGELA BASSETT – BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
THUSO MBEDU – THE WOMAN KING
JANELLE MONAE – GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
KEKE PALMER – NOPE
GABRIELLE UNION – THE INSPECTION

OUTSTANDING SCREENPLAY
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – RYAN COOGLER & JOE ROBERT COLE, WRITERS
THE INSPECTION – ELEGANCE BRATTON, WRITER
NANNY – NIKYATU JUSU, WRITER
NOPE– JORDAN PEELE
TILL – KEITH BEAUCHAMP, MICHAEL REILLY & CHINONYE CHUKWU, WRITERS

OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL FILM
NEPTUNE FROST (RWANDA) – SAUL WILLIAMS & ANISIA UZEYMAN, DIRECTORS
OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL (FRANCE) – ELLIE FOUMBI, DIRECTOR
SAINT OMER (FRANCE) – ALICE DIOP, DIRECTOR

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
AFTERSHOCK – PAULA EISLET & TONYA LEWIS LEE, DIRECTORS
DESCENDANT – MARGARET BROWN, DIRECTOR
IS THAT BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU? – ELVIS MITCHELL, DIRECTOR
LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S BLACK & BLUES – SACHA JENKINS, DIRECTOR
SIDNEY – REGINALD HUDLIN, DIRECTOR

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – SARAH FINN, CASTING DIRECTOR
HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL. – SHANNON REIS, CASTING DIRECTOR
THE INSPECTION – KIM COLEMAN, CASTING DIRECTOR
TILL – KIM COLEMAN, CASTING DIRECTOR
THE WOMAN KING – AISHA COLEY, CASTING DIRECTOR

OUTSTANDING VOICE PERFORMANCE
ZAZIE BEETZ – THE BAD GUYS
IDRIS ELBA – SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2
KEKE PALMER – LIGHTYEAR
ZOE SALDANA – AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
GABRIELLE UNION – STRANGE WORLD

OUTSTANDING SCORE
ALICE – COMMON, COMPOSER
END OF THE ROAD – CRAIG DELEON, COMPOSER
NANNY – TANERÉLLE & BARTEK GLINIAK, composers
NOPE – MICHAEL ABELS, COMPOSER
THE WOMAN KING – TERENCE BLANCHARD, COMPOSER

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG
“BORN AGAIN” – BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
“KEEP RISING” – THE WOMAN KING
“LIFT ME UP” – BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
“PAPER AIRPLANES” – A JAZZMAN’S BLUES
“STAND UP” – TILL

OUTSTANDING SOUNDTRACK
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
A JAZZMAN’S BLUES
REMEMBER ME: THE MAHALIA JACKSON STORY
TILL
THE WOMAN KING

OUTSTANDING INDEPENDENT FILM
EMERGENCY – CAREY WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR
HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL. – ADAMMA EBO, DIRECTOR
THE INSPECTION – ELEGANCE BRATTON, DIRECTOR
MASTER – MARIAMA DIALLO, DIRECTOR
NANNY – NIKYATU JUSU, DIRECTOR

OUTSTANDING SHORT FILM
ANGOLA DO YOU HEAR US? VOICES FROM A PLANTATION PRISON – CINQUE NORTHERN, DIRECTOR
ELEGY: MY TWO MONTHS IN HARLEM – ANDRE LAMBERTSON, DIRECTOR
FANNIE – CHRISTINE SWANSON, DIRECTOR
NEW MOON – JEREMIE BALAIS, RAUL DOMINGO & JEFFIG LE BARS, DIRECTORS
NORTH STAR – P.J. PALMER, DIRECTOR

OUTSTANDING EMERGING DIRECTOR
ELEGANCE BRATTON – THE INSPECTION
ADAMMA EBO – HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL.
NIKYATU JUSU – NANNY
ELVIS MITCHELL – IS THAT BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU?
CAREY WILLIAMS – EMERGENCY

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR
JALYN HALL – TILL
DARYL MCCORMACK – GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE
JEREMY POPE – THE INSPECTION
QUINTESSA SWINDELL – BLACK ADAM
MICHEAL WARD – EMPIRE OF LIGHT

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH ACTRESS
SHEILA ATIM – THE WOMAN KING
CHARMAINE BINGWA – EMANCIPATION
ANNA DIOP – NANNY
THUSO MBEDU – THE WOMAN KING
DOMINIQUE THORNE – BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER

OUTSTANDING FIRST SCREENPLAY
HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL. – ADAMMA EBO, WRITER
THE INSPECTION – ELEGANCE BRATTON, WRITER
MASTER – MARIAMA DIALLO, WRITER
NANNY – NIKYATU JUSU, WRITER
ON THE COME UP – KAY OYEGUN, WRITER

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – AUTMUN DURALD ARKAPWA, CINEMATOGRAPHER
EMANCIPATION – ROBERT RICHARDSON, CINEMATOGRAPHER
NOPE – HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA, CINEMATOGRAPHER
TILL – BOBBY BUKOWSKI, CINEMATOGRAPHER
THE WOMAN KING – POLLY MORGAN, CINMETOGRAPHER

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – RUTH E. CARTER, COSTUME DESIGNER
HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL. – LORRAINE COPPIN, COSTUME DESIGNER
NANNY – CHARLESE ANTOINETTE JONES, COSTUME DESIGNER
TILL – MARCI RODGERS, COSTUME DESIGNER
THE WOMAN KING – GERSHA PHILLIPS, COSTUME DESIGNER

OUTSTANDING EDITING
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – MICHAEL P. SHAWVER, KELLEY DIXON & JENNIFER LAME, EDITORS
I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY – DAYSHA BROADWAY, EDITOR
LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S BLACK & BLUES – JASON POLLARD & ALMA HERRERA-PAZMINO, EDITORS
THIRTEEN LIVES – JAMES D. WILCOX, EDITOR
THE WOMAN KING – TERILYN A. SHROPSHIRE, EDITOR

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – HANNAH BEACHLER, PRODUCTION DESIGNER
DEVOTION – WYNN THOMAS, PRODUCTION DESIGNER
NOPE – RUTH DE JONG, PRODUCTION DESIGNER
TILL – CURTIS BEECH, PRODUCTION DESIGNER
THE WOMAN KING – AKIN MCKENZIE, PRODUCTION DESIGNER

The winners will be announced on February 6th, 2023, hopefully via a press release that was written with the caps lock turned off.

Retro Television Review: City Guys 3.5 “The Players” and 3.6 “Raise the Roofies”

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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing City Guys, which ran on NBC from 1997 to 2001.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

Let’s see what’s happening at Manny High!  But first, let’s check out the theme song and watch as Chris and Jamal have way too much fun while wandering around New York City together….

Episode 3.5 “The Players”

(Dir by Frank Bonner, originally aired on October 2nd, 1999)

Remember, way back during season one, when Ms. Nobel ordered Chris and Jamal to work together on the video yearbook?  That was kind of set up as being the season’s big storyline and then it was just abandoned.  Instead, Chris and Jamal got their radio show and people like me were left to wonder whatever happened with the video yearbook.

Well, in this episode, City Guys finally addressed the issue of the video yearbook.  When Chris and Jamal decide to make a movie and enter it into a film festival, Cassidy asks them what they know about making movies.  Chris and Jamal immediately mention the video yearbook.  Cassidy replies that they never finished the video yearbook.  

Later, Chris and Jamal ask Ms. Nobel, “When have we ever let you down?”

“Well, there was the video yearbook,” Ms. Nobel replies.

I have to admit that I actually laughed at that joke.  It’s not often the City Guys makes me smile but this episode succeeded.  Not only did I discover that I was right in my suspicion that Chris and Jamal just gave up on the video yearbook but there was also a funny B-plot in which L-Train, Al, and Dawn agreed to be tested for ESP.  They were asked to guess what a researcher was looking at on a card.  If they gave the wrong answer, they would get an electric shock.  Al and L-Train always got the answers right.  Dawn got shocked over and over again until the researcher finally revealed that the test was actually a social experiment to see how many time someone could be shocked without getting mad.  Again, I laughed, I’ll admit it.  Steven Daniel, Caitlin Mowery, and Dion Basco all really sold the story.

As for the main plot, Chris and Jamal try to make a movie together but Jamal wants to make a Spike Lee-style social drama while Chris wants to do an Austin Powers-style spoof.  Eventually, they realize that they need to work together so they splice their two films together.  Everyone loves the film, of course!  And you know what?  This plotline also worked far better than I was expecting, with Scott Whyte and Wesley Jonathan really selling both their fight and their eventual collaboration.  Jamal’s movie actually felt like a movie that the politically-minded Jamal would make while it’s very easy to imagine that Chris would probably be a huge fan of Austin Powers.  For once, the plot and its developments actually felt like an organic result of who the characters were.  This was a surprisingly good episode.  

Episode 3.6 “Raise the Roofies”

(Dir by Frank Bonner, originally aired on October 2nd, 1999)

This episode opens with Al, Jamal, and L-Train giving Chris a hard time about his efforts to date Cassidy.  They mention that Cassidy is mad at Chris for dating that Greek girl behind his back.  Oh my God — continuity on City Guys!

Anyway, Cassidy has a new boyfriend and his name is Trent.  We know that he’s evil because his name is Trent and he’s a student at NYU.  No one named Trent is ever a good guy and, in the Engelverse, frat boys are always dating high school students and revealing themselves to be jerks with wandering eyes.

Trent has a roommate named Tom who compliments Trent on his girlfriend.  Trent reveals that Cassidy is in high school and she’s a “goody-goody.”

“I guess you’ll be sleeping alone this Friday night,” Tom says.

“Not necessarily,” Trent says with an evil laugh, “I’ll just need a little help from old friend, Mr. Roofie! …. And the best part is that she won’t remember a thing Saturday morning.”

Trent invites Cassidy to a frat party, which makes sense.  He also invites all of her high school friends, which makes far less sense.  Chris, in an effort to make Cassidy jealous, allows Al to set him up with an old woman, who turned out to be a taxi driver named Cookie.  Dawn meanwhile drinks a glass of punch that Trent was about to hand to Cassidy.  Dawn ends up passing out and while she’s being taken to the student health center, Trent takes Cassidy back to his room and attempts to drug her a second time.  When Cassidy refuses the drink, Trent tries to force himself on her.  Fortunately, Chris overheard some other frat boys talking about Trent’s plans and he breaks into the room.  Cassidy escapes and, upon learning what happened to Dawn, agrees to go to the police.

Wow, this was a heavy episode!  But again, the cast deserves a lot of credit for playing their roles with enough sincerity to make it work and the episode’s message was a good one.  

Wow, two good episodes of City Guys in a row!  I wonder what next week will bring!

Here Are The 2022 Nominees of the Florida Film Critics Circle

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the Florida Film Critics Circle announced their nominees for the best of 2022!

And here they are:

Best Picture
Aftersun
Decision to Leave
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Tár
The Fabelmans

Best Actor
Austin Butler – Elvis
Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser – The Whale
Park Hae-il – Decision to Leave
Paul Mescal – Aftersun

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett – Tár
Danielle Deadwyler – Till
Michelle Williams – The Fabelmans
Tang Wei – Decision to Leave
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Supporting Actor
Paul Dano – The Fabelmans
Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Supporting Actress
Jessie Buckley – Women Talking
Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Nina Hoss – Tár
Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Ensemble
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans

Best Director
Park Chan-wook – Decision to Leave
Todd Field – Tár
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Steven Spielberg – The Fabelmans
Charlotte Wells – Aftersun

Best Original Screenplay
The Banshees of Inisherin – Martin McDonagh
Decision to Leave – Park Chan-wook, Jeong Seo-Gyeong
Everything Everywhere All at Once – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
The Fabelmans – Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner
Tár – Todd Field

Best Adapted Screenplay
Three Thousand Years of Longing – George Miller, Augusta Gore
Pinocchio – Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Robbins, Gris Grimly, Patrick Hale
She Said – Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – Rian Johnson
Women Talking – Sarah Polley

Best Cinematography
Decision to Leave – Kim Ji-yong
Empire of Light – Roger Deakins
The Fabelmans – Janusz Kamiński
Top Gun: Maverick – Claudio Miranda

Best Visual Effects
Avatar: The Way of Water
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Nope
Top Gun: Maverick

Best Art Direction/Production Design
Babylon
Crimes of the Future
Elvis
RRR

Best Score
Babylon – Justin Hurwitz
Empire of Light – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Everything Everywhere All at Once – Son Lux
The Fabelmans – John Williams
Nope – Michael Abels

Best Documentary
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Descendant
Fire of Love
Good Night Oppy
Moonage Daydream

Best Foreign Language Film
Decision to Leave
Playground
RRR
Saint Omer

Best Animated
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Inu-Oh
Marcel the Shell with Shoes
Turning Red

Best First Film
Aftersun – Charlotte Wells
Causeway – Lila Neugebauer
Emily the Criminal – John Patton Ford
You Won’t Be Alone – Goran Stolevski

Breakout Award
Austin Butler – Elvis
Anna Cobb – We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
Frankie Corio – Aftersun
Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Retro Television Reviews: The Love Boat 1.15 & 1.16 “The Eyes of Love / Masquerade / Hollywood Royalty / The Caper: Parts 1 & 2”

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’s episode of The Love Boat is one of historical value so let’s climb aboard and get to it!

Episodes 1.15 & 1.16 “The Eyes of Love / Masquerade / Hollywood Royalty / The Caper: Parts 1 & 2”

(Dir by Allen Baron, originally aired on January 21st, 1978)

This is an important episode for two reasons.

First off, this episode marked the first time that the opening credits featured video of the guest stars along with their names.  This was the only time that this was done during the first season, though it would become a regular feature of the show from the second season forward.

Secondly, excluding the three pilot films that aired before the series was ordered, this was the first super-sized two hour episode of The Love Boat.  This episode is split into two parts when it airs in syndication, which is why it’s listed as being the 15th and the 16th episode of The Love Boat. 

Oddly enough, despite all of that, it’s pretty much a standard episode.  Usually, whenever a TV shows airs an extra-long episode, it’s because some important event is occurring.  Usually, either someone’s getting married or someone’s leaving the show or maybe an actor died and the show needs an extra hour to pay tribute to them.  In this case, though, it’s just a typical cruise of the love boat, complete with three separate stories and a lot of time spent looking at the ocean.

For instance, Roz Rogers (Michele Lee) and Bill Teague (Fernado Lamas) are a famous and glamorous Hollywood couple who book a voyage and who are followed all the way to the dock by the paparazzi.  As quickly becomes clear, Bill and Roz’s relationship is not as perfect as the world believes.  Still, Bill is convinced that their relationship can be fixed by Roz co-starring in an old-fashioned adventure film that he wrote.  Along with having written the script, Bill hopes to direct, produce, and star in it.  Roz is a bit skeptical but fear not, everything works out in the end and she finally convinces Bill that she loves him for him and not because he’s a star.

Roz boards the boat with not just Bill’s script but also a large and valuable diamond.  A group of jewelry thieves follow her onto the boat, hoping to steal the diamond for themselves.  Vernon (Howard Gould) is the arrogant leader of the group.  Taffy (Karen Valentine) distracts Gopher, Doc, and the Captain by flirting with them.  Elwood (Larry Storch) is the group’s technician.  And Ox (John Schuck) is the muscle who tends to take things literally.  When the first attempt to steal the jewel fails, Vernon disguises himself as Captain Stubing and Gavin MacLeod gets a chance to do something more than just look slightly annoyed by the crew.  To be honest, I actually enjoyed the jewelry theft subplot far more than I was expecting.  Gould, Valentine, Storch, and Schuck all seemed to be having fun playing off of each other.  Plus, the whole story ended with a nice little twist that James Cameron would later use in Titanic.

(No, the Love Boat does not sink.)

While this is going on, a blind girl named Jenny (Stephanie Zimbalist) is stunned to discover that one of her former classmates, Steve (Desi Arnaz, Jr.), is also on the boat.  Jenny and Steve fall in love but Steve has recently gotten back his sight and Jenny worries that he won’t want to spend the rest of his life with someone who can’t see.  Fortunately, it turns out that Jenny’s wrong.

Finally, Alan (Dan Rowan) is horrified to discover that not only are both his wife (Juliet Mills) and his mistress (Adrienne Barbeau) on the cruise together but that they’ve become friends.  Alan was an adulterous jerk so it was pretty difficult to really care about this story.  

Again, it was pretty much a typical episode of The Love Boat, despite the extra length and the inclusion of a masquerade ball during the episode’s 2nd hour.  That said, the thieves were funnier than they had any right to be and the Jenny/Steve storyline was sweet.  The ocean scenery was lovely.  That’s really all I ask from The Love Boat.  This episode delivered.