Author Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Retro Television Review: Fantasy Island 7.20 “Don Juan’s Last Affair/Final Adieu”

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 the original Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1984.  The show is once again on Tubi!

This week, a tramp and a wimp seek romantic advice.

Episode 7.20 “Don Juan’s Last Affair/Final Adieu”

(Dir by Philip Leacock, originally aired on April 14th, 1984)

Fashion marketer Whitney Clark (Phyllis Davis) is having an affair with her boss, Daniel Garman (David Hedison).  Whitney’s fantasy is to end the affair.  Myself, I have to wonder why she would have to come to Fantasy Island to end the affair.  Why can’t she just save the money and end the affair in New York or wherever it is that they’re from?  Better yet, why can’t she end the affair in New York and then come to Fantasy Island and actually have an enjoyable fantasy?

Daniel is on the Island, putting together a fashion show that he hopes will convince Roarke to commission a line of Fantasy Island fashions.  Whitney wants to end the affair but then she meets Daniel’s wife, Elizabeth (Marion Ross).  Elizabeth is in a wheelchair and, as she explains it, Daniel only stays with her out of guilt and a sense of responsibility.  When she offered Daniel a divorce, he turned it down.  Whitney comes to realize that Daniel loves both her and Elizabeth but that Daniel’s heart will always belong to Elizabeth.  “If you love me, let me go,” she tells Daniel.  She leaves Fantasy Island alone but looking forward to the future.  “I’ve come to admire your courage,” Lawrence tells her.  I’m not sure what courage he’s referring to.  She couldn’t even break up with her married lover without Mr. Roarke’s help.

Meanwhile, nerdy Alan Curtis (Michael Spound) is in love with his best friend, Pat Grayson (Geena Davis, in an early role).  Mr. Roarke arranges for Alan to go into the past to Madrid so that the legendary Don Juan (Fernando Rey) can give him advice but, due to a mix-up in the space-time continuum, Don Juan ends up in the present and on Fantasy Land.  Pat falls for Don Juan!  While Roarke fences with Don Juan, Alan finally tells Pat that he loves her.  At first, Pat is like, “But Don Juan….” but then Don Juan mentions that he’s had 14,000 lovers and Pat decides to give Alan a try.

*sigh*  The seventh season of Fantasy Island has been really depressing to review.  The first few seasons were fun but the seventh season has just been a drag.  This episode featured a lively performance from Geena Davis but that was pretty much it.  Everyone else seemed bored and unlikable.  Whitney and Alan were both wimps.

This was my final trip to the Island for 2025.  Retro Television Reviews will be going on break for the Holidays so that I can focus on both the Awards Season and Christmas movies!  Fantasy Island will return on January 6th, 2026.  There’s only two shows left and then something new will be appearing in this time slot.

The New York Film Critics Circle Honors One Battle After Another

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The New York Film Critics Circle has announced its picks for the best of 2025.  And here they are:

Best Film: One Battle After Another

Best Actress: Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Best Director: Jafar Panahi, It Was Just An Accident

Best Screenplay: Marty Supreme

Best Actor: Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Cinematography: Sinners

Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, Weapons

Best Non-Fiction Film: My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow

Best Animated Film: KPop Demon Hunters

Best First Film: Eephus

Best Supporting Actor: Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another

Best International Film: The Secret Agent

The Gothams Honor One Battle After Another

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, Awards Season began with the Gotham Awards!  One Battle After Another, which I really don’t want to have to sit through but I guess now I have no choice, won Best Feature.  (Oddly enough, that was the only award that One Battle After Another won, suggesting that the award had more to do with the film’s politics than its quality.)  Far more interesting is the fact that Iranian dissident (who is facing prison if he even returns to his native country) Jafar Panahi won Best Director and Best Screenplay for It Was Just An Accident.  Will the Academy have the courage to also honor him?

The winners are listed in bold below.

Best Feature
Bugonia
East of Wall
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Lurker
One Battle After Another
Sorry, Baby
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams

Best Director
Mary Bronstein – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Kelly Reichardt – The Mastermind
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Oliver Laxe – Sirât

Outstanding Lead Performance
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Lee Byung-hun – No Other Choice
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Sopé Dìrísù – My Father’s Shadow
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Josh O’Connor – The Mastermind
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Tessa Thompson – Hedda

Outstanding Supporting Performance
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Indya Moore – Father Mother Sister Brother
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Andrew Scott – Blue Moon
Alexander Skarsgård – Pillion
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

Best Original Screenplay
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident
The Secret Agent
Sorry, Baby
Sound of Falling

Best Adapted Screenplay
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Pillion
Preparation for the Next Life
Train Dreams

Best International Feature
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
Nouvelle Vague
Resurrection
Sound of Falling

Best Documentary Feature
2000 Meters to Andriivka
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow
The Perfect Neighbor
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Breakthrough Director
Constance Tsang – Blue Sun Palace
Carson Lund – Eephus
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Harris Dickinson – Urchin

Breakthrough Performer
A$AP Rocky – Highest 2 Lowest
Sebiye Behtiyar – Preparation for the Next Life
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Abou Sangaré – Souleymane’s Story
Tonatiuh – Kiss of the Spider Woman

The Holidays on the Lens: Christmas Angel (dir by Brian Brough)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s the holiday season and Ashley (Kari Hawker-Diaz), who has spent almost her entire life alone, needs a job.  She has a nice apartment and a cute dog but no job.  Fortunately, her neighbor, Nick (Bruce Davison), needs an assistant.  It turns out that Nick is a bit of a Secret Santa, anonymously helping people.  Nick makes Ashley promise not to reveal who she works for….

(Wait, Nick — SAINT NICK!  I just got that.  Anyway….)

But when a travel writer (K.C. Clyde) meets Ashley and discovers the truth about Nick’s involvement, it looks like the holidays might be ruined for everyone.  Can the holiday season be saved?

Okay, obviously this is not a film for cynical people.  I like it, though.  December is my month to be earnest.  It’s a cute movie and there’s a lot of romance in the snow.  Bruce Davison isn’t in as much of the film as you might expect but he’s still the perfect Secret Santa.  If you’re in need some holiday cheer, you watch it below!

 

Song of the Day: Let It Snow! Let It Snow! by Dean Martin

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

My friends, it is 29 degrees this morning in Dallas!  My fingers are freezing just trying to type this.  So, as I jump back under the covers and try to stop shivering, let’s turn things over to the great Dean Martin with today’s song of the day!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we’ve no place to go,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It doesn’t show signs of stopping,
And I brought some corn for popping;
The lights are turned way down low,
Let it snow, let it snow.

When we finally kiss good night,
How I’ll hate going out in the storm;
But if you really hold me tight,
All the way home I’ll be warm.

The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we’re still good-bye-ing,
But as long as you love me so,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

When we finally kiss good night,
How I’ll hate going out in the storm;
But if you really hold me tight,
All the way home I’ll be warm.

Oh, the fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we’re still good-bye-ing,
But as long as you love me so,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Songwriters: Josef Larossi / Andreas Romdhane

4 Shots From 4 Holiday Films: Classic Christmas 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 is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

4 Shots From 4 Holiday Films

Holiday Inn (1942, dir by Mark Sandrich)

Holiday Inn (1942, dir by Mark Sandrich)

It's A Wonderful Life (1946, dir by Frank Capra)

It’s A Wonderful Life (1946, dir by Frank Capra)

Miracle on 34th Street (1947, dir by George Seaton)

Miracle on 34th Street (1947, dir by George Seaton)

White Christmas (1954, dir by Michael Curtiz)

White Christmas (1954, dir by Michael Curtiz)

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.2 “Vagabonds”

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 Prime!

This week’s episode features a future Oscar nominee!

Episode 5.2 “Vagabonds”

(Dir by Bruce Kessler, originally aired on October 11th, 1981)

The saying goes that “everyone had to start somewhere,” and, for actor Ed Harris, somewhere included guest-starring on an episode of CHiPs.

The future Oscar nominee appears as Lonny Wilson, the scion of a family of a hillbilly con artists.  He and his brother, Daws (Jesse Vint), purposefully cause auto accidents and con their victims out of their money in return for not calling the police or the insurance company.  Lonny’s young son, Jamie (James Calvert), is looking forward to joining the family business until he actually is injured while taking part in one of the family’s cons.  Lonny reconsiders his way of life and, by the end of the episode, he’s cooperating with the highway patrol.

Does Ed Harris come across as being a future star in this episode?  Well, he definitely has charisma.  He has screen presence.  That said, this is also CHiPs, a show that was mostly about capturing potentially serious auto accidents in slow motion.  No one came across as being a future star on ChiPs and that was actually a part of the show’s appeal.  The stars on CHiPs were always the motorcycles, the cars flipping over on the freeway, and Ponch’s blinding smile.  That said, Ed Harris gives a good performance.  For that matter, so does Jesse Vint as his brother.  This is a well-acted episode of CHiPs.  Such things do exist.

In all fairness, I should also note that, when this episode aired, Harris had already starred in George Romero’s Knightriders so, while Harris may not have been a household name, it’s probably still debatable whether or not this was really at the start of his career.  Ultimately, the important thing is that, two years after appearing this episode, Ed Harris would play John Glenn in 1983’s The Right Stuff and firmly established himself as one of our best character actors.

As for this episode, it also features the Highway Patrol taking part in a “supercycle” race, which is a race featuring bicycles that you lie down on as you peddle.  I don’t know why anyone would want to do that but whatever.  Jon Baker wins.  Yay, Highway Patrol!

On that note of victory, Retro Television Reviews is going on a holiday break so that I can focus on the Oscar precursor awards and reviewing Christmas movies so this will be last CHiPs review of 2025!  CHiPs will return on January 5th, 2026!

Holiday Film Review: Jingle All The Way (dir by Brian Levant)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Whatever else one may want to say about it, 1996’s Jingle All The Way is a cute film.

It’s necessary to point that out because Jingle All The Way has a terrible reputation and, if we’re going to be honest, it deserves a lot of the criticism that it has gotten over the years.  In many ways, it epitomizes the way a Hollywood studio can take an interesting idea and then produce a film that seems to have no understanding of what made that idea so interesting in the first place.  Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Howard Langston, an overworked mattress store manager who waits until Christmas Eve to try to buy his son a Turbo Man action figure.  (In the film, they call it a “doll,” which is one of the film’s false moments.)  The only problem is that the Turbo Man action figure is the most popular gift of the year and everyone is looking for one.  What starts out at as a satire of commercialism ultimately becomes a celebration of the same thing as Howard ends up dressed up as Turbo Man and taking part in his town’s Christmas parade.   The film becomes a comedy without any sharp edges.

That said, it’s a cute film.  It’s not cute enough to really be good but it is cute enough that it won’t leave you filled with rage.  Arnold Schwarzenegger is in True Lies mode here, playing a seemingly boring and suburban guy who is secretly a badass.  (In True Lies, Schwarzenegger was secretly a spy who had killed man people, though all of them were bad.  In Jingle All The Way, he’s just a parent who has waited too long to go Christmas shopping.)  Schwarzenegger’s main strength as an action star — even beyond his physique — was that he always seemed to have a genuine sense of humor and he’s the best thing about Jingle All The Way.  This film finds him acting opposite actual comedic actors like Jim Belushi and Phil Hartman and holding his own.  (The film also features Sinbad as another dad trying to get the Turbo Man action figure but Sinbad comes across as being more of a stand-up comedian doing bits from his routine than an actual character.)  The film’s set pieces grow increasingly bizarre and surreal as Howard searches for his Turbo Man and the film actually becomes less effective the stranger that it gets.  A scene of Howard fighting a crowd in a toy store works far better than a later scene where Howard battles a bunch of men dressed as Santa Claus and his elves.  (It doesn’t help that, after an intelligent and well-edited opening thirty minutes, the film seems to lose all concept of comedic timing.)  But there’s a sincerity to Schwarzenegger’s performance that keeps you watching.

Of course, today, Jingle All The Way feels like a relic from a different age.  All the kids want a Turbo Man and you’re so busy at work that the stores are closed by the time you get home?  Fine.  Hop on Amazon at three in the morning and order one.  Christmas shopping is a lot easier nowadays.

It’s just not as much fun.