Happy Easter everyone!

This was a good week.  I survived April Fool’s Day and, unlike last year, I was able to spend Easter with my family.  For this upcoming week, I look forward to continuing to clean out my DVR and also to getting caught up on my film reviewing.

Here’s what I watched, read, and listened to last week:

Films I Watched:

1. BMX Bandits (1983)
2. Boom! (1968)
3. BUtterfield 8 (1960)
4. The Comedians (1967)
5. The Evil Twin (2021)
6. Girl in the Basement (2021)
7. King Kong (1933)
8. Mulberry Street (2006)
9. The Sandpiper (1965)
10. Sodom and Gomorrah (1962)
11. The Ten Commandments (1956)
12. The 300 Spartans (1962)
13. Tony Rome (1967)
14. The V.I.P.s (1963)
15. The Wrong Prince Charming (2021)

Television Shows I Watched:

1. Allo Allo
2. America’s Most Wanted
3. American Idol
4. Baywatch
5. The District
6. Fear They Neighbor
7. Hell’s Kitchen
8. Hill Street Blues
9. The Killer Beside Me
10. King of the Hill
11. Law & Order: Organized Crime
12. Law & Order: SVU
13. The Love Boat
14. The Masked Singer
15. The Office
16. The Old Guys
17. Open All Hours
18. Parking Wars
19. Rome’s Chariot Superstar
20. The Rookies
21. The Screen Actors Guild Awards
22. Shipping Wars
23. Temptation Island
24. Tough as Nails
25. Upstart Crow
26. The Voice
27. Wipeout
28. Yes, Minister
29. Your Worst Nightmare

Books I Read:

1. Once Is Not Enough (1973) by Jacqueline Susann

Music To Which I Listened:

1. Afrojack
2. Armin van Buuren
3. Big Data
4. Blanck Mass
5. Britney Spears
6. The Chemical Brothers
7. deadmau 5
8. Dillon Francis
9. DJ Snake
10. Fiona Apple
11. Icona Pop
12. Joywave
13. Jungle
14. Kaskade
15. Kedr Livanskiy
16. Phantogram
17. Purity Ring
18. Saint Motel
19. St. Vincent
20. Selena Gomez
21. Stardust
22. Steve Aoki

Trailers:

1. Black Widow
2. Space Jam: A New Legacy
3. The Mitchells vs. The Machines
4. Percy vs. Goliath
5. The Resort
6. Zola
7. Spiral: From the Book of Saw
8. The Night House
9. The Wrath of Man

Awards Season:

1. The SAG Awards
2. Online Television and Film Critics Association Awards
3. Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards
4. Set Decorators Society of America

News From Last Week:

1. DC Films Shelving ‘New Gods’ With Ava DuVernay, ‘The Trench’ With James Wan
2. Netflix Buys ‘Knives Out’ Sequels for $450 Million
3. The Invisible Oscars: Consumers Largely Unaware of This Year’s Best Picture Nominees
4. DMX Hospitalized After Apparent Drug Overdose
5. David Schwimmer hints ‘Friends’ cast will revive characters
6. Inside Sandra Lee and Andrew Cuomo’s split: Gov’s cheating ‘an open secret,’ sources say
7. Rare Super Mario Bros. game sells for a record $660,000
8. Russell T. Davies Receives Positive Note From Tony Kushner Amid ‘It’s a Sin’ Controversy

Links From Last Week:

1. The King of the Geezer Teasers Inside Randall Emmett’s direct-to-video empire, where many Hollywood stars have found lucrative early retirement.
2. Everyone Jumps Off Bridge After New Government Order Telling Everyone To Jump Off Bridge
3. Marlon Brando’s Acting Style Was Ahead of Its Time
4. Tom Hanks’ three other kids are less embarrassing than his son Chet

Links From The Site:

1. Case shared his COVID experience and reviewed Ghosts of War!
2. Erin wished us all a Happy Easter and shared: Real Detective, Johnny Come Deadly, G-Men, The Red Couch, White Cross Gray Sky, Clouds at Sunset, and Faith!
3. Jeff shared music videos from Depeche Mode, Markita, AC/DC, Modern Talking, The Cramps, Mojo Nixon, and Johnny Cash!
4. Leonard shared the trailer for Space Jam: A New Legacy!
5. Ryan reviewed Crusher Loves Bleeder Bleeder Loves Crusher!
6. I wished everyone a Happy April Fools Day!  I shared my week in TV watching!  I shared my early March Oscar predictions.  I paid tribute to Eric Rohmer and Christopher Walken.  I reviewed the first episode of Law & Order: Organized Crime, The Wrong Prince Charming, The Evil Twin, Robocop, Robocop 2, Robocop 3, Girl in the Basement, Killer Advice, Tony Rome, The 300 Spartans, Sodom and Gomorrah, Boom!, The Comedians, The Sandpiper, The VIPs, and BUtterfield 8!

More From Us:

1. At SOLRAD, Ryan reviewed Miffed Ruffianz!
2. Ryan has a patreon!  Please consider subscribing!
3. On her photography site, Erin shared: Showing Off, Lone Duck, Angels, Remember Baseball, Church in the Rain, Church in the Rain 2, and The Church Is Behind The Trees!
4. At Pop Politics, Jeff shared: The Suez Canal Boat Is Free, Pop Politics Endorses Andrew Yang For Mayor of New York City, Is Anyone Actually Surprised, I Was Fooled, An Amtrak Thought, My Congressman Is Less Productive Than AOC, and Happy Easter!
5. At my music site, I shared songs from: Britney Spears, The Chemical Brothers, Phantogram, Jungle, Joywave, Stardust, and Big Data!
6. At SyFy Designs, I shared: It’s Time To Clean Out The DVR!
7. At my dream journal, I shared Last Night’s Quest To See A Show Dream!

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

Right now, there’s a lot that I could talk about as far as world events are concerned but I’ll be honest with you.  As of right now, I’m obsessed with one thing:

Yes, that’s right.  This boat is currently blocking the Suez Canal.  (Update: The ship is apparently now free. — LMB)  And you know there’s going to be a movie.  There’ll probably be several movies.  Peter Berg will make a movie with Mark Wahlberg as the engineer brought in to figure out how to move the boat.  Wes Anderson will make a movie with Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and a hundred others having quirky adventures that are all somehow connected to the boat.  Steven Spielberg will come up with an inspiring story starring Tom Hanks and Mark Rylance.  I’m sure there’s also a hundred horror fans thinking about sea monsters and pirate ghosts right now.

Personally, I want to see a 70s-style disaster movie made about the Suez Canal crisis.  I want C and D-list actors emoting all over the place.

Here’s what I read, watched, and listened to this week:

Films I Watched:

1. Auto Focus (2002)
2. The Beach Girls (1982)
3. Billy Madison (1995)
4. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
5. Deadly Excursion: Kidnapped From The Beach (2021)
6. Happy Gilmore (1996)
7. The Hoarder (2014)
8. Hunk (1987)
9. Killer Advice (2021)
10. The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane (1976)
11. Love in A Goldfish Bowl (1961)
12. On The Town (1949)
13. Planet of the Dinosaurs (1977)
14. Robocop (1987)
15. Robocop 2 (1989)
16. Robocop 3 (1993)
17. Scandal (1989)
18. Space Raiders (1983)
19. St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)
20. Tom & Jerry (2021)

Television Shows I Watched:

(For some reason, I pretty much exclusively watched old shows this week.  To be honest, I think it’s because I spent a lot of time out in my private office, where I can get a lot of the retro stations on my TV.  Sometimes, when you’re trying to meet a deadline, a low-stakes show from the 60s or the 70s can provide the ideal background noise.)

1. ‘Allo Allo
2. American Idol
3. Baywatch
4. The Bob Newhart Show
5. The Bold and the Beautiful
6. Charlie’s Angels
7. City Confidential
8. DailyMailTV
9. Days of Our Lives
10. The Dick Van Dyke Show
11. The District
12. Fawlty Towers
13. First Among Equals
14. General Hospital
15. Ghost Whisperer
16. Hell’s Kitchen
17. Hill Street Blues
18. Hunter
19. Law & Order
20. The Love Boat
21. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
22. Medium
23. My Evil Sister
24. Newhart
25. One Day At A Time
26. Open All Hours
27. Red Dwarf
28. The Rookies
29. Saved By The Bell
30. Starsky and Hutch
31. Three’s Company
32. The Voice
33. Who’s The Boss?
34. Yes, Minister
35. The Young and the Restless

Books I Read:

1. Killer Instinct (1997) by Jane Hamsher

Music To Which I Listened:

1. Amy Winehouse
2. Banks
3. Big Data
4. Blanck Mass
5. Britney Spears
6. The Chemical Brothers
7. The Crystal Method
8. Edgar Allan Poets
9. Fritz and the Tantrums
10. Jakalope
11. Joywave
12. New Order
13. Nine Inch Nails
14. Public Service Broadcasting
15. Saint Motel
16. Simple Plan

Awards Season:

1. Producers Guild Winners
2. NAACP Image Awards Winners

News From Last Week:

1. Beverly Cleary, beloved children’s book author, dies at 104
2. Larry McMurtry, ‘Lonesome Dove’ Novelist and ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Oscar Winner, Dies at 84
3. George Segal, Leading Man of Lighthearted Comedies, Dies at 87
4. Jessica Walter, Tart-Tongued Matriarch of ‘Arrested Development,’ Dies at 80
5. Bertrand Tavernier, French Filmmaker and Leader of a Generation, Dies at 79
6. Oz star and poet Craig ‘muMs’ Grant dies aged 52
7. Kylie Jenner backlash swirls on Twitter after GoFundMe donation request
8. FBI posts photo of Capitol Riot suspect who looks like Rick Moranis
9. Social-Media Star David Dobrik Leaves Dispo App Startup After Sexual-Assault Accusation Against Ex-Member of His Entourage
10. David Hasselhoff to Play David Hasselhoff in German TV Series
11. William Shatner celebrates 90th birthday by creating an AI version of himself for future generations
12. Alamo Drafthouse Opening New Location in Texas
13. DC Films Taps ‘Promising Young Woman’ Director Emerald Fennell to Write Zatanna Superhero Movie
14. ‘Jeopardy!’ contestants petition to remove Dr. Oz as guest host
15. Cineworld’s Regal Cinemas to Reopen With ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ in Deal With Warner Bros.
16. They Just Moved Into an Austin Neighborhood. Now They Want to End One of Its Traditions.
17. Britney Spears files petition to remove father as conservator
18. Anonymous Songwriters Group Calls for Artists to Stop Demanding Royalties for Songs They Didn’t Write
19. Sharon Osbourne exits ‘The Talk’ amid race controversy
20. Piers Morgan defends Sharon Osbourne after she exits ‘The Talk’
21. Scarlett Johansson says her political views shouldn’t affect her career
22. Chet Hanks Says Something Stupid
23. New Harvey Weinstein accuser claims she bloodied his genitals fighting back
24. NY Gov. Cuomo got family priority Covid testing, including CNN’s Chris Cuomo (reports)
25. CNN must investigate host Chris Cuomo over special Covid-19 tests, says Society of Professional Journalists

Links From Last Week:

1. George Segal, R.I.P.
2. RIP Jessica Walter…An Appreciation Of Her Life And A Look At Her Classic Thriller “Play Misty For Me…”
3. Will Zack Snyder Be Invited to Make a ‘Justice League’ Sequel? The Answer Is a Test of Whether Hollywood Still Works
4. The Pain of Paying Dues in a Pandemic: Hollywood Hopefuls on the Rough Start to Their Careers
5. The Dream of the ’90s Died in Portland
6. Francis and The Godfather: is Hollywood becoming creatively bankrupt?
7. Sean Young on Surviving Hollywood’s Many Toxic Men
8. A New Genre of Film Is Already Here: COVID Movies
9. The ridiculous, censorious social media campaign against Six Days In Fallujah
10. CNN’s Defense of Chris Cuomo’s Special COVID Privileges is Grotesque
11. The Cuomo Scandals: This Is CNN
12. 10 Movies That Will Make You Cry
13. New Graphic Novel Explores History of Cults In America

Links From The Site:

1. I shared the trailer for The Suicide Squad!  I paid tribute to Michael Haneke and Akira Kurosawa!  I shared a scene from Once Upon A Time In Hollywood!  I reviewed Tom & Jerry, Deadly Excursion: Kidnapped From The Beach, Auto Focus, Eureka, Love In A Goldfish Bowl, and Hunk!
2. Erin shared: The Absence of a Cello, The Thin Line, Mercy Island, Other Worlds, Big-Town Hellcat, Murder!, and Detective World!
3. Jeff shared music videos from John Waite, Journey, Roxy Music, Tears For Fears, Poison, Modern Talking, and Rage Against The Machine!
4. Ryan interviewed Alex Graham and reviewed The Antifa Super Solider Cookbook, Bughouse, and That Full Moon Feeling! 

More From Us:

1. At SOLRAD, Ryan Carey reviewed Campbell Whyte’s Home Time!
2. Ryan has a patreon!  You should consider subscribing!
3. At her photography site, Erin shared: Faucet, New Washing Machine, Christmas Past, Old Dryer, Sudden Blur, The Last Phone Book, and Some Ducks Go Their Own Way!
4. At Pop Politics, Jeff shared: Happy Birthday William Shatner, Tom Reed’s Retiring, Israel’s Fourth Election In Two Years, Biden’s Press Conference, We’re All On A Boat In The Suez Canal, Happy Passover, and My WordPress Updated!
5. At SyFyDesigns, I shared: One Good Thing About All of This, Another Day of Old TV, The Commercial Trend I Hate, Go Dino Go, One Thing I Hope Never Changes, Ask The Undertaker, and The 6 Most Underrated Presidents!
6. At my music site, I shared songs from Blanck Mass, Saint Motel, Edgar Allan Poets, Simple Plan, Jakalope, Public Service Broadcasting, and Banks!
7. At my dream journal, I shared: Last Night’s Car Theft Dream, No Dreams Last Night, Last Night’s Party Dream, Fragment From Last Night, Last Night’s Dallas Dream, This Morning’s Con Artist Dream, and Last Night’s Dream In Which I Yelled At Joe Biden!
8. For Horror Critic, I reviewed: Planet of the Dinosaurs!

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

And so another week comes to an end.

After all the drama of the extended awards season and all of the scenarios that we all went through as we tried to predict which films would and would not be nominated, Monday’s Oscar nominations were rather anti-climatic.  For the most part, there were no shocking snubs nor were there any truly awful nominations.  I can even accept the nominations that Borat received.  For those who were hoping for at least one totally weird nod — like Jared Leto for The Little Things — it didn’t happen.  (The only real shocker was both Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield being nominated for supporting actor for Judas and the Black Messiah, a film that I guess the Academy decided did not have a lead actor.)  For the first time in history, two female directors were nominated. That’s a good thing but, otherwise, the Oscar nominations were, for those of us who love controversy, almost boring.

Of course, I have to admit that I was far more interested in celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this week than obsessing over the Oscars.  Even though the annual parade got cancelled, I was determined to go out and celebrate and that’s just what I did.  I went out and I celebrated my heritage with friends and family and I stepdanced to Celtic folk music and, later on that night, I got a bit too enthusiastic and I missed a few steps and I managed to twist my ankle.  It’s really not a holiday unless I manage to injure myself in some way, is it?

Anyway, it’s not a bad sprain.  (To be honest, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve sprained and/or strained that ankle.)  I spent most of this weekend resting and, when I woke up on Sunday morning, I was feeling a lot better.  Of course, as I stumbled around this morning, I managed to accidentally slam my ankle against the coffee table, which led to me doing a lot of cursing and hopping around but I’ve recovered.

Finally, I hosted three live tweet events this week.  For #FridayNightFlix, we watched Cocktail, which is on Prime and which everyone of you needs to watch this upcoming week.  And then, for Saturday’s #ScarySocial, it was The House On Sorority Row!  And then, after #ScarySocial, it was time to watch The Thirty Dead with the #LateNightMovie Gang!  And then, just a few hours ago, I watched Deadly Illusions with some of my fellow TSL contributors.  Four fun movies with good friends, that’s the perfect way to end your week.

Here’s what I watched, read, and listened to this week:

Films I Watched:

1. The Caller (1987)
2. Cocktail (1988)
3. Cutting Class (1989)
4. Deadly Illusions (2021)
5. The House on Sorority Row (1982)
6. Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
7. Pitch Perfect (2012)
8. Scissors (1991)
9. The Thirsty Dead (1974)

Television Shows I Watched:

1. 9-1-1
2. Allo Allo
3. America’s Most Wanted
4. American Idol
5. The Bachelor
6. Bar Rescue
7. Baywatch
8. The Bold and the Beautiful
9. Call Me Kat
10. Community
11. Days of Our Lives
12. Degrassi
13. The District
14. General Hospital
15. Ghost Whisperer
16. Hell’s Kitchen
17. Hill Street Blues
18. Intervention
19. King of the Hill
20. Most Daring
21. Open All Hours
22. Parking Wars
23. The Rookies
24. The Voice
25. The Walking Dead
26. Yes, Minister
27. The Young and the Restless

Books I Read:

1. Devoted (2020) by Dean Koontz
2. Gilded Cage: A Russian Mafia Romance (2021) by Nicole Fox

Music To Which I Listened:

1. Addison Rae
2. Big Data
3. Billie Eilish
4. Bob Dylan
5. Britney Spears
6. Brittany Howard
7. Cage the Elephant
8. The Chemical Brothers
9. Coldplay
10. Daft Punk
11. Dillon Francis
12. Dropkick Murphys
13. Fatboy Slim
14. Franka Potente
15. Gary Nunan
16. Gorillaz
17. Hans Zimmer
18. Icona Pop
19. Imagine Dragons
20. Jake Bugg
21. John Carpenter
22. The KLF
23. M/A/R/R/S
24. Madeleine The Person
25. Muse
26. Neon Indian
27. Nine Inch Nails
28. Olivia Rodrigo
29. Phantogram
30. The Prodigy
31. Public Service Broadcasting
32. Saint Motel
33. Selena Gomez
34. Sleigh Bells
35. The Selkie Girls
36. Taylor Swift
37. Teisto
38. Zedd

Awards Season:

1. The Oscar Nominations
2. Phoenix Film Critics Winners
3. Austin Film Critics Association Winners
4. Writer’s Guild of America Winners

News From Last Week:

1. Oscars Make History by Nominating Two Women Directors
2. Chloé Zhao Is First Chinese Woman Nominated for Best Director at the Oscars
3. China Orders Media To Downplay Oscars Coverage After Chloé Zhao, Hong Kong Doc Noms – Update
4. Yaphet Kotto Dies At 81
5. ‘The Talk’ producers ‘destroyed the show’ with Sharon Osbourne debacle
6. The Talk Extends Hiatus A Second Time During Piers Morgan/Sharon Osbourne Controversy
7. ‘Bhad Bhabie’ Danielle Bregoli says she was abused at Dr. Phil-touted troubled-teen camp
8. 2021 Oscar Awards Show To Look Like A Movie: No Zoom, No Sweatshirts allowed
9. Matthew McConaughey Addresses Speculation He May One Day Run for Texas Governor: “It’s Something I’m Giving Consideration”
10. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet Gets HBOMAX launch date
11. SXSW: ‘The Fallout’ Takes Grand Jury Award
12. Chris Harrison Hires Powerful Lawyer over Bachelor Dispute
13. Oscars surprises, snubs include Glenn Close, ‘Da 5 Bloods’
14. Oscars 2021: How The Two Leads for Judas and the Black Messiah Were Both Nominated For Supporting Actor
15. Disneyland Reopens And Begs You To “Scream Inside Your Heart!”
16. Female roadie rats out rock gods: A Beatle proposed, Iggy Pop stole from her
17. Texas Roadhouse founder Kent Taylor commits suicide amid COVID-19 battle
18. Sharon Stone: I was pressured to have sex with co-star
19. Armie Hammer Being Investigated by LAPD after woman accuses him of rape
20. Ronald DeFeo, whose murder spree inspired The Amityville Horror, dies
21. Andrew Cuomo Is Accused of Sexual Harassment By Current Aide
22. Andrew Cuomo threatened to compare critic to “child rapist” in leaked audio
23. Andrew Cuomo accuser Lindsey Boylan leads NYC impeachment rally — as fans gather to support him
24. CNN guest calls out network on-air for Cuomo brothers ‘love-a-thon’
25. Chris Cuomo has lost an average of 600,000 viewers a night on CNN since his brother’s nursing home and sex scandals – which the show ignores
26. Intruder takes shower, drinks booze in Johnny Depp’s Hollywood mansion: report
27. Coachella Music Festival Moving to 2022: Sources
28. ‘In the Heights’ Moves Up Release Date
29. L.A. Celebrates Return of Movie Theaters: ‘I’ve Been Waiting for This for a Year’
30. Queen Elizabeth to hire ‘diversity czar’ after Meghan Markle’s Oprah interview: report
31. Meghan Markle reportedly networking with Democrats, eyes bid for US president
32. Critics Choice Association Expels Jeffrey Wells Following Posts About Atlanta Shootings

Links From Last Week:

1. All the ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoffs in the Works at HBO
2. Justice League: Comparing The Snyder Cut vs the Joss Whedon Cut
3. First Day of Spring Poetry
4. ☘️Happy St. Patrick’s Day!☘️
5. 17 Irish Movies to Watch on St Patrick’s Day
6. RIP Yaphet Kotto…Paying Homage To This Iconic Actor…His Greatest Roles…
7. On Guilt
8. CLASSIC ALBUMS REVISITED: PET SOUNDS
9. An E-mail Interview with Oudai Kojima, Director of JOINT [Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021]
10. How Some Americans Fell For Andrew Cuomo’s Good Guy Performance
11. Why ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ Is So Pointed About Race, Nationalism and the World Today
12. Only Tolerance Can Save Us From Political Fanatics
13. Why Government Funding Hurts PBS and NPR
14. Chloe Zhao Backlash Will Test China’s New Era of Hollywood Censorship

Links From The Site:

1. I paid tribute to David Cronenberg.  I wished everyone a happy St. Patrick’s Day.  I reviewed Schizoid, The Beach Girls and the Monster, Top Secret!, The Sound of Metal, Jaws: The Revenge, and The Thirsty Dead!
2. Erin shared: Love Life of a Hollywood Mistress, Hollywood Hellcat, Fight Stories, Tom Blood Highwayman, Madame Buccaneer, Mystery Adventures Magazine, and La Paree!
3. Jeff paid tribute to Yaphet Kotto and shared music videos from Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics, U2, 4hero, ABC, The Beach Boys, and Survivor!
4. Ryan interviewed Sean Knickerbocker!

More From Us:

1. At SOLRAD, Ryan reviewed Dog Biscuits!
2. Ryan has a patreon!  You should consider subscribing!
3. At Days Without Incident, Leonard shared a song from Brittany Howard!
4. At Pop Politics., Jeff shared: Beware The Ides of March, Thoughts of a Former Smoker, Happy St. Patrick’s Day, 2024 Predictions, Here Come The California Recall, Everything You Need To Know, and Andy Kaufman on The Dating Game!
5. At her photography site, Erin shared: More Old Cameras, Old Flash Bulbs, St. Patrick’s Day Morning, Mourning, Morning, Bird On A Wire, and Made in Texas!
6. At SyFy Designs, I shared: Perspective, I Miss Spring Break, For St. Patrick’s Day A Poem By William Butler Yeats, St. Patrck’s Day Recap, Ankle Update, What I’ve Learned over The Past Two Days, and Ouch!
7. At my music site, I shared songs from Phantogram, Gorillaz, Saint Motel, Imagine Dragons, Gary Nunan, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo!
8. On my online dream journal, I shared: Last Night’s Oscar Dream, Last Night’s Weird Party Dream, Last Night’s Shopping Dream, Last Night’s Dancing Nightmare, Last Night’s Dream About Waiting Out A Tornado While Half-Naked In The Laundry Room, Last Night’s James Franco Dream, and Last Night’s Bad Kitty Dream!
9. At Horror Critic, I reviewed The Caller, Scissors, Invitation to Hell, Summer of Fear, Cutting Class, The Wraith, and The Food of the Gods!

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

We lost an hour but, soon, we will have gained a whole new slate of Oscar nominees.  So, everything evens out!

Anyway, I’m feeling a little under the weather — and before anyone asks, it’s just a cold and not the COVID, so I’m going to lay down and wait for the Oscar nominations to be announced!  While I wait, I’ll think back to all of the movies and television shows that I watched over the previous 7 days.

Good thing I made a list!

Films I Watched:

1. A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2020)
2. Airplane! (1980)
3. American Strays (1996)
4. Baffled (1973)
5. The Boston Strangler (1968)
6. The Bounty (1984)
7. Breathless (1983)
8. The Crush (1993)
9. Eureka (1983)
10. Hitcher in the Dark (1989)
11. Invitation to Hell (1984)
12. Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
13. King Dinosaur (1955)
14. Malicious (1995)
15. Marjoe (1972)
16. Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (2019)
17. One Foot In Heaven (1941)
18. Schizoid (1980)
19. Thoth (2001)

Television Shows I Watched:

1. 9-1-1
2. 9-1-1: Lone Star
3. 20/20 on ID
4. American Idol
5. The Bachelor
6. Bar Rescue
7. City Confidential
8. Deadly Women
9. The District
10. Evil Twins
11. Friends
12. Grammy Awards
13. Hell’s Kitchen
14. Hill Street Blues
15. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
16. Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court
17. Married With Secrets
18. Nightmare Next Door
19. Obsession: Dark Desires
20. People Magazine Investigates
21. Saved By The Bell
22. Seinfeld
23. Selling Mega Mansions
24. South Park
25. Unsolved Mysteries
26. The Voice
27. WKRP In Cincinnati
28. Yes, Minister

Books I Read:

1. The Vanishing Half (2020) by Brit Bennett

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019, dir by Quentin Tarantino)

Music To Which I Listened:

1. Ali Barter
2. Britney Spears
3. The Chemical Brothers
4. Daft Punk
5. DJ Snake
6. Islands
7. Kaiser Chiefs
8. Karate Guns & Tanning
9. The Killers
10. Laurence-Anne
11. Muse
12. The Prodigy
13. The Psychedelic Furs
14. Saint Motel
15. St. Vincent
16. Selena Gomez
17. Taylor Swift

Awards Season:

1. PGA Nominations
2. Detroit Film Critics Society Winners
3. BAFTA Nominations
4. Phoenix Critics Circle Nominations
5. DGA Nominations
6. African-American Film Critics Winners
7. American Society of Cinematographers Nominations
8. Eddie Nominations
9. Austin Film Critics Nominations
10. Georgia Film Critics Association Winners

Links From Last Week:

1. Reid between the lines – the Joy Reid saga tells us what’s “acceptable” in the media
2. Last summer, Disney promised change. Then the first Black ‘Bachelor’s’ season unraveled

News From Last Week:

1. ‘Nomadland’ Production Sound Mixer Michael Wolf Snyder Dies at 35
2. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Interview: ‘Trash-a-thon,’ ‘Bomb,’ ‘Terrible State’ Among U.K. Reactions
3. Piers Morgan leaving ‘Good Morning Britain’ after storming off set over his attacks on Meghan
4. Pepe Le Pew Will Not Make an Appearance in Space Jam 2 After His Scene Was Cut
5. “They thought they had identified another political star,” Sources Say That Andrew Cuomo’s Tortured Pandemic Memoir Scored A Seven Figure Advance
6. Teen Vogue Staff Rail Against New Editor-in-Chief’s Past Tweets Mocking Asians
7. US box office notches strongest weekend since the pandemic began
8. A Bucks County woman created ‘deepfake’ videos to harass rivals on her daughter’s cheerleading squad, DA says
9. ‘Bye Bye Morons’ Wins Best Film, ‘Another Round’ Wins Best Foreign Film at France’s Cesar Awards
10. It’s 2021 and ‘Avatar’ Just Overtook ‘Avengers: Endgame’ as Highest-Grossing Movie of All Time
11. Sharon Osbourne: ‘CBS Blindsided Me’ With Heated Piers Morgan Discussion on ‘The Talk’
12. Piers Morgan Demands Apology From CBS’ ‘The Talk’ After Sharon Osbourne Clarifies Racism Stance
13. Former ‘The Talk’ Host Holly Robinson Peete Says Sharon Osbourne Complained She Was Too ‘Ghetto’
14. Chris Harrison is out as host of the next ‘Bachelorette’ season
15. Here Are Your 2021 Grammy Winners

Links From The Site:

1. I shared my personal Oscar nominations!  I paid tribute to Jack Smight!  I shared music videos from The Prodigy, Karate Guns and Tanning, islands, Ali Barter, and Laurence-Anne! I reviewed The Boston Strangler and One Foot In Heaven!
2. Erin shared: The Jet Set, The Hunter, Mail-Order Passion, The Lone Deputy, Hell Hath No Fury, Love-Crazy Millionaire, and Riverfront Girl!
3. Jeff shared Ten Essential Chuck Norris Films and Ten Essential Michael Caine films!  He shared a music video from Pet Shop Boys and then another music video from Pet Shop Boys!
4. Ryan reviewed This Wasn’t What I Had In Mind, Open All The Way, and Black Clouds Rolling In!

More From Us:

1. For SOLRAD, Ryan reviewed I Never Promised You A Rose Garden!
2. Ryan has a patreon!  You should consider subscribing!
3. At Days Without Incident, Leonard shared: Fight For You (by H.E.R.)
4. At Pop Politics, Jeff shared: The Harry and Meghan Thing, A Trip to Half Price Books, A Little From Alex Ross, Overhead Today, A Short Review of Biden’s Speech, How I Miss Baltimore, and Happy Pi Day!
5. At her photography site, Erin shared: Trunk, Light, Tree, Green Grass, Chimney, Old Cameras, and Old Projectors!
6. At my music site, I shared songs from Saint Motel, The Killers, Muse, Daft Punk, Islands, St. Vincent, and Kaiser Chiefs!
7. At my online dream journal, I shared: Last Night’s Flooded House Dream, Last Night’s Island Dream, Last Night’s Renaissance Faire Dream, Another Dream About A Flooded House, Last Night’s Audition Dream, Last Night’s Motorcycle Crash Dream, and Last Night’s London Dream!

Want to see what went on last week?  Click here!

One more week until the Oscar nominations are announced!  I don’t know what was really accomplished by extending the Oscar eligibility window, beyond dragging out Awards Seasons to such an extent that even someone like me got sick of it all.

Here’s what I watched, read, and listened to this week:

Films I Watched:

1. A Face In The Crowd (1957)
2. Argo (2012)
3. Fanged Up (2017)
4. The Guns of Navarone (1961)
5. Invitation to Hell (1984)
6. John Huston: The Man, The Movies, The Maverick (1988)
7. Superman (1978)
8. Top Secret! (1984)
9. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Television Shows I Watched:

1. 9-1-1
2. 9-1-1: Lone Star
3. ‘Allo ‘Allo
4. American Idol
5. The Bachelor
6. Bar Rescue
7. The Critics Choice Awards
8. Degrassi
9. The District
10. Ghost Whisperer
11. Hell’s Kitchen
12. Hill Street Blues
13. Kindred Spirits
14. The Love Boat
15. The Office
16. Oprah With Meghan and Harry
17. South Park
18. Tough as Nails
19. The Voice
20. WandaVision
21. Yes, Minister

Books I Read:

1. Peyton Place (1956) by Grace Metalious

Music To Which I Listened:

1. Beck
2. Blackstreet
3. Broken Bells
4. The Cardigans
5. The Chemical Brothers
6. Chromatics
7. The Cranberries
8. Daft Punk
9. DJ Snake
10. Eels
11. The Fratellis
12. Gary Numan
13. Gravity Kills
14. Haim
15. Luscious Jackson
16. Mark Morrison
17. Muse
18. The Prodigy
19. Rage Against The Machine
20. Saint Motel
21. Selena Gomez
22. Sleigh Bells
23. Sneaker Pimps
24. Social Distortion
25. Soundgarden
26. Spacehog
27. Squirrel Nut Zippers
28. Stone Temple Pilots
29. Tom Grennan
30. Wolf Alice

Awards Season:

1. Golden Reel Nominations
2. Cinema Audio Society Nominations
3. Visual Effects Society Nominations
4. Set Decorators Society Nominations
5. Phoenix Film Critics Society Winners
6. Online Association of Female Film Critics Winners
7. Latino Entertainment Journalist Association Nominations
8. Society of Composers and Lyricists Winners
9. Annie Nominations
10. Costume Designers Guild Nominations 
11. AARP Winners
12. Detroit Film Critics Society Nominations
13. Georgia Film Critics Nominations
14. Hollywood Critics Association Winners
15. Las Vegas Film Critics Society Winners
16. Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Winners
17. Women Film Critics Circle Winners
18. Critics Choice Awards Winners

Links From Last Week:

1. Morning After Report: Global Warning
2. The Golden Globes Face Irrelevance
3. Golden Globes TV Review: Technical Glitches Weren’t The Only Disasters On Tone Deaf HFPA Ceremony
4. The Golden Globes Is Beyond Fixing And The HFPA’s Time Is Up – Commentary
5. How is Chris Cuomo still on the air at CNN?
6. Dr. Seuss outrage: ‘The Cat in the Hat’ says don’t cancel that!
7. Hypocritical COVID politicians want lockdown for you, but not them
8. CNN has a Cuomo problem

News From Last Week:

1. Dr. Seuss Books Deemed Offensive Will Be Delisted From eBay
2. Chicago Public Library system to pull six Dr. Seuss books from circulation
3. TV Ratings: Golden Globes Crater, Headed for Multi-Year Low
4. ‘iCarly’ star Jennette McCurdy on quitting acting: ‘I’m so ashamed’
5. ‘Degrassi’ star Jahmil French dead at 29
6. ‘The Mandalorian’s Bill Burr Defends Gina Carano In Wake Of Her Controversial Statements: “She Was An Absolute Sweetheart”
7. Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
8. Local theaters still plan to reopen after Alamo Drafthouse bankruptcy filing
9. Alamo Drafthouse’s Founder Vows to Protect What Makes It Special
10. Cuomo accuser Karen Hinton says governor fears ‘truth’ the most

Links From The Site:

1. I shared the latest teaser for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier!  I reviewed The Guns of Navarone and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre!  I wished George Miller a happy birthday!  I asked if the Oscars must go on and I also shared my final Oscar predictions!
2. Erin shared: Icicles In The Sun, They Found Atlantis, The Big Eye, Naked Canvas, Sport Story Magazine, Love is a Surprise, and End of a J.D
3. Jeff shared music videos from Pat Benatar, Nick Lowe, Billy Idol, AC/DC, The Psychedelic Furs, Sammy Hagar, and Lou Reed!
4. Ryan reviewed Venue, Beach, and Beeline for the Crafty!

More From Us:

1. Ryan has a patreon!  You should subscribe!
2. On my music site, I shared songs from: Broken Bells, Wolf Alice, Chromatics, Gary Numan, DJ Snake and Selena Gomez, The Fratellis, and Tom Grennan!
3. On her photography site, Erin shared: Snow and Ice, When The Snow Started To Melt, Grass, Possum, Thursday Evening, Friday Evening, and Saturday Afternoon!

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

I was going to write about how I finally feel as if I’ve gotten my rhythm back after having my focus shaken by last week’s  winter storm but I just finished watching this year’s Golden Globes ceremony and it was literally one of the most depressing things that I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

After all that, I’m just ready for the week to be over.

Films I Watched:

1. Airport (1970)
2. Airport 1975 (1974)
3. Airport 77 (1977)
4. The Concorde …. Airport 79 (1979)
5. The Dead Pit (1989)
6. The Little Things (2021)
7. Staying Alive (1983)
8. Summer of Fear (1978)
9. The Towering Inferno (1974)
10. The Way Back Home (2006)
11. Wildcats (1986)

Television Shows I Watched:

1. 9-1-1
2. 9-1-1: Lone Star
3. AMC Backstory
4. The Bachelor
5. Bar Rescue
6. Community
7. Degrassi
8. The District
9. Gangsters: America’s Most Evil
10. Golden Globes
11. Hell’s Kitchen
12. Hill Street Blues
13. Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court
14. The Love Boat
15. Mobsters
16. The Office
17. Parking Wars
18. Perry Mason
19. Tough as Nails
20. Twilight Zone
21. Yes, Minister

Books I Read:

1. Leave The World Behind (2020) by Rumaan Alam

Music To Which I Listened:

1. Air Supply
2. Broken Bells
3. Chromatics
4. Daft Punk
5. Dropkick Murphys
6. Dua Lipa
7. Elle King
8. Glume
9. Marilyn Manson
10. Modern English
11. Muse
12. Phantogram
13. The Prodigy
14. Saint Motel
15. Simple Minds
16. Vitalic

Live Tweet:

1. Through the Shattered Lens Live Tweets The Golden Globes

Awards Season:

1. Southern Eastern Film Critics Association Winners
2. Vancouver Film Critics Winners
3. Online Association of Female Film Critics
4. Art Directors Guild Nominees
5. The Golden Globe Winners

News From Last Week:

1. Daft Punk Break Up
2. 366 Feature Films Are Eligible for the Oscars, the Most Since 1970
3. Norway Museum Says Edvard Munch Wrote ‘Madman’ On ‘The Scream’
4. NBC Pulling ‘Nurses’ Episode From Digital Platforms After Criticism Over Orthodox Jewish Storyline
5. Lady Gaga’s two French bulldogs have been returned safely, LAPD says
6. CNN reporter under fire for ‘insensitive’ remarks on Tiger Woods crash
7. Cuomo Is Accused of Sexual Harassment by a 2nd Former Aide
8. Cynthia Nixon, others scoff after Cuomo team names judge to ‘review’ gov’s sex scandal
9. As recall threat grows, California Gov. Gavin Newsom shifts his governing style, pushing reopenings
10. Cannes, France, Opens Its Stunning Underwater Museum

Links From Last Week:

1. My story of working with Governor Cuomo
2. Media star Andrew Cuomo has gone missing
3. The Golden Globes’ weirdest nominations: Sia’s ‘Music’ and more
4. Justice League: The Shocking, Exhilarating, Heartbreaking True Story of #TheSnyderCut
5. NBC Needs To Apologize For Their Libelous Portrayal of Hasidic Jews In “Nurses”
6. Inside Joss Whedon’s ‘Cutting’ and ‘Toxic’ World of ‘Buffy’ and ‘Angel’
7. We’re gonna celebrate: How Daft Punk’s Discovery gave computer music soul
8. ‘They left an indelible mark on my psyche’: how Daft Punk pushed pop forward
9. Daft Punk and the virtues of mystery
10. Bye, Robot: a farewell to Daft Punk
11. The Robots Who Ruled the World

Links From The Site:

1. I reviewed The Little Things and shared a scene that I love from Staying Alive!
2. Erin shared: The Dark Throne, The Spice of Life, Hardrock, Diary of Death, Off Limits, Death Haunts The Dark Lane, and Gold!
3. Jeff shared music videos from Heart, Pearl Jam, Journey, Kiss, Matchbox Twenty, Chicago, and Hot Chocolate!
4. Ryan reviewed Moments with Mo’ Peaches, Bubblegum Maelstrom, and Dust!

More From Us:

1. Ryan has a patreon!  Consider subscribing!
2. At Days Without Incident, Leonard wrote about Daft Punk!
3. At Pop Politics, Jeff proclaimed: I’m Still Alive!
4. On her photography site, Erin shared: The Backyard Last Week, Ice, Daggers Above Your Head, Cold Air, Side of the House, Snow, and Swing!
5. On my music site, I shared songs from: Glume, Daft Punk, Modern English, Vitalic, Dropkick Murphys, Phantogram, and Muse!

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

Where to even begin with this week?

On Sunday night, I fell asleep thinking about how romantic it was to have snow on Valentine’s Day.  I knew that even more snow was coming.  I knew that the next week was going to be cold.  I knew that the temperature was not projected to get over freezing until the upcoming Friday.  I knew that it was going to be a difficult few days.  Before I fell asleep, I even saw a report that there would be rolling blackouts.  I knew this was all going to happen but still, nothing could prepare me for the experience of waking up at 3 in the morning on Monday, just to discover that the house had no power, the house had no heat, and it was 10 degrees outside!  (When I fell asleep, I was wearing socks and not much else.  So, at least my feet were protected from the cold.  The rest of me, not so much.)

Around 8 in the morning, the power did come back on.  And then, 90 minutes later it went back off and didn’t come back on for nearly 9 hours.  The problem was not just that there were rolling blackouts but also that some idiot crashed his car into a substation.  When the power did finally come back on, it was just in time for me to watch The Bachelor.  As soon as the show ended, the power went back out.

It didn’t come back on for most of Tuesday, despite the fact that it was 3 degrees outside!  And yet, as frustrating as it was, there was a strange beauty to the darkness.  At 3 in the morning on Wednesday, I found myself staring out the bedroom window and just marveling at how the snow seemed to glow in the dark.  When I read a book (Mickey Spillane’s One Lonely Night), I didn’t even have to grab a flashlight.  I read by the glow of the snow.  Call it snowlight.

On Wednesday, things started to improve.  Though it was a less than ideal time to start Lent, Erin and I still observed Ash Wednesday as well as we could.  It was on Wednesday that Erin pointed out that, even if not for the winter storm, Ash Wednesday would still have been strange because of the pandemic.  That was when I first realized that this was the first week in a year in which I’d had something other than COVID to worry about.  In fact, from the minute I woke up on Monday to find myself freezing and my teeth chattering, I pretty much forgot about COVID.

By Thursday, the power situation had stabilized.  The temperature was up to the 20s.  After spending three nights with freezing temperatures in an unheated house, 20 degrees sounded like paradise.  With the power situation stabilized, I realized how lucky we were.  We had power.  We had heat.  We had clean water.  Most importantly, Jeff made sure that we turned on all of the faucets at night, so the water didn’t freeze and we didn’t end up with any pipes bursting and flooding the house.  Even with my asthma, I had made it through two of the coldest nights of my life.

On Friday, the snow started to melt as the temperature zoomed up to 42.  By the end of Saturday, we were in the 50s.  By the end of today, we were in the 60s.  All of the snow is gone and I’m still struggling to figure out how to put this previous week into words.  It may have only been 7 days but it felt like 7 years.  It almost feels like it was just a very long dream.  Looking out at the neighborhood tonight, it’s hard to believe that it was just a few days ago that it was covered in snow and every house was dark.

I want to end on a positive note.  There’s a stray cat who lives in this neighborhood.  She’s a gray cat with dark stripes and white paws.  She’s very friendly and she’s also very …. well, fat.  Everyone feeds her.  She goes from house to house, eating whatever’s on the porch and always stopping long enough to rub up against anyone who happens to be outside at the time.  She’s the entire neighborhood’s cat and the collective love for her is the common bond that everyone who lives around here seems to share.  She’s cute and lovable and even Doc refuses to hiss when he sees her walking through our backyard.  When the snow started to fall on Sunday, I worried about whether or not she had found shelter.  By the time the temperature plunged to 3 degrees, I feared the worst.  As the days passed, I became more and more convinced that I would never see her again.  On Thursday, however, I looked outside and I saw her proudly walking down the snow-covered sidewalk as if she didn’t have a care in the world.   I’ve seen her everyday since.  I’ve never been more thankful to see a stray.

Here’s what I watched, read, and listened to this week.  Because of everything that went on, it’s a short list.

Films I Watched:

1. Carrie (1976)
2. The Fighter (2011)
3. Mystery Liner (1934)
4. Slugs (1988)
5. Spellbinder (1988)
6. Wildflower (2016)

Television Shows I Watched:

1. ‘Allo ‘Allo
2. American Idol
3. The Bachelor
4. Bar Rescue
5. Court Cam
6. The District
7. Friends
8. Hell’s Kitchen
9. Hill Street Blues
10. I Lived With A Killer
11. The Masked Dancer
12. Open All Hours
13. Saved By The Bell
14. Saved By The Bell: The College Years
15. Seinfeld
16. South Park
17. Temptation Island
18. Tough as Nails
19. WandaVision
20. Yes, Minister

Books I Read:

1. One Lonely Night (1951) by Mickey Spillane

Music To Which I Listened:

1. Adi Ulmansky
2. Big Data
3. Britney Spears
4. Cage the Elephant
5. The Chemical Brothers
6. Daft Punk
7. deadmua5
8. Dua Lipa
9. Fatboy Slim
10. Haim
11. Hans Zimmer
12. Icona Pop
13. Jake Bugg
14. John Carpenter
15. Joywave
16. Kaskade
17. Kedr Livanskiy
18. The KLF
19. M/A/R/R/S
20. Muse
21. Phantogram
22. The Prodigy
23. Public Service Broadcasting
24. Saint Motel
25. Sleigh Bells
26. Tiesto
27. Upsahl

Awards Season:

1. The Satellite Awards
2. WGA Nominations
3. Seattle Film Critics Society Winners
4. Black Reel Nominations
5. Makeup Artists and Hair Stylist Guild Nominations
6. Vancouver Film Critics Nominations
7. Nevada Film Critics Winners
8. Iowa Film Critics Winners

News From Last Week:

1. Edgar Wright to Direct Adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘The Running Man’ for Paramount
2. ‘Fortnite’ Is the First Video Game to Host a Film Festival, with a Potential Audience of 350 Million
3. Kanye West and Kim Kardashian Are Getting a Divorce
4. L.A. Sheriff’s Department Investigating Marilyn Manson Abuse Allegations
5. Inside Hollywood’s Rush to Make the First GameStop Movie
6. Prince Harry, Meghan Markle officially resign from all royal duties
7. Half of all Brits don’t want to watch Oprah’s interview with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle
8. Prince William ‘sad and shocked’ by Harry’s behavior toward the Queen: report
9. Axed ‘Mandalorian’ actress Gina Carano: ‘I’m going to go down swinging’
10. Living Dead Museum rises again to salute classic horror film
11. ‘Silence of the Lambs’ Buffalo Bill house to become a bed and breakfast
12. THE LINCOLN PROJECT’S IMPLOSION HAS DERAILED ITS FOUNDERS’ PLAN FOR A MEDIA EMPIRE
13. Golden Globes voters in tumult: Members accuse Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. of self-dealing, ethical lapses

Links From Last Week:

1. Are streaming algorithms really damaging film?
2. Hey, Remember That Florida Grim Reaper Guy?
3. Why Do Democrats Pretend Andrew Cuomo Did a Good Job With COVID?
4. Media’s gushing promotion of Gov. Cuomo looks pretty bad now
5. Andrew Cuomo and the Lincoln Project were media-created debacles. What now?
6. The Real Lincoln Project Scandal: Political grifter Steve Schmidt used homophobia to distract from his own sins—and everyone just let him get away with it
7. 20 Black filmmakers who have changed Hollywood in the last century
8. Who Else Is Ready for a Horror Video Game from the Marvel Universe?
9. Overlooked Moments of Terror in Classic Disney Animation
10. Grave Marker and Monument For Charles R. Saunders

Links From The Site:

1. I reviewed One Lonely Night and announced that the Texas offices were down.
2. Case reviewed Prince of Darkness and COVID!
3. Erin shared: Your Most Intimate Problems, Mardi Gras, Laypeople Distributing Ashes, The Green Man, Wandl The Invader, The Lost Eagles, and Sirens and Clouds!
4. Jeff shared music videos from Natalie Merchant, Earth and Fire, INXS, R.E.M., Public Enemy, Live, and Lisa Loeb!
5. Leonard shared the trailers for Cruella and Mortal Kombat!
6. Ryan reviewed Death Plays A Mean Harmonica, Mothers Tales, and Spiny Orb Weaver!

More From Us:

1. Ryan has a patreon!  You should definitely consider subscribing!
2. At her photography site, Erin shared: Domain, Snow on the Roof, Snow in the Morning, Snow in the Morning 2, Snow In The Morning 3, Snow on the Patio, and Morning Birds!
3. At my music site, I shared songs from Hans Zimmer, Haim, deadmau5 & Kaskade, Fatboy Slim, Queen and David Bowie, Upsahl, and Dua Lipa!

Want to see what I did last week?  (Last week feels like it was 8 years ago.)  Click here!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

It’s snowing!  As I write this, it’s currently snowing outside!  For a full week, those of us in Texas were told that a huge winter storm was coming and …. well, hey, the weather report was right for once.  Anyway, I’m happy.  It’s beautiful and it’s romantic and it’s also extremely cold.  Actually, I’m not really all that happy about the extreme cold.  I mean, the snow looks good but then you go out and MY GOD!  (To quote my sister: “That negative 15 degree wind chill hits you in all the wrong places.”)  I don’t think we’re supposed to get up above freezing until next Friday so I guess that means I’ll be watching a lot of movies.  Of course, I seem to say that every week.  What can I say?  I’m an optimist.  I start every week with the assumption that I’m going to watch every single movie ever made while also writing history’s greatest novel in longhand.

It’s interesting, though.  I spent an entire week worrying over this gigantic blizzard that everyone insisted was coming our way.  I worried about the promise of single-digit temperatures and several inches of snow.  I was so worried that we were going to lose power or something similar.  And now, the snow has arrived and it’s lovely.  There’s probably a lesson somewhere in there.

Anyway, here’s what I watched, read, and listened to this week:

Films I Watched:

1. Barefoot in the Park (1967)
2. A Bullet For Pretty Boy (1970)
3. The Avalanche Express (1979)
4. The Food of the Gods (1976)
5. The Forbidden Dance (1990)
6. I Married A Witch (1942)
7. Lambada (1990)
8. The Love Witch (2016)
9. My Bloody Valentine (1981)
10. The Poltergeist Diaries (2021)
11. The Principal (1987)
12. Roman Holiday (1953)

Television Shows I Watched:

1. 9-1-1
2. 9-1-1: Lone Star
3. America Undercover
4. American Idol
5. The Bachelor
6. Bar Rescue
7. Baywatch
8. California Dreams
9. Court Cam
10. Crime Scene: The Vanishing At The Hotel Cecil
11. Degrassi
12. The District
13. Dr. Phil
14. Hells Kitchen
15. Hill Street Blues
16. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
17. Law & Order
18. The Love Boat
19. Mannix
20. The Masked Dancer
21. The Office
22. Open all Hours
23. Parking Wars
24. Saved By The Bell
25. Seinfeld
26. Tough as Nails
27. Unsolved Mysteries
28. Yes, Minister

Books I Read:

1. Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker (2014) by Doug J. Swanson
2. Secrets and Lies (2012) by Christine Keeler

Music To Which I Listened:

1. Blanck Mass
2. Bob Dylan
3. Britney Spears
4. Calvin Harris
5. The Chemical Brothers
6. Dua Lipa
7. Elle King
8. Haim
9. Jake Bugg
10. Kaskade
11. Marc Collin
12. Martin Garrix
13. Martin Gore
14. Moby
15. Phantogram
16. Radiohead
17. Rebecca Black
18. Saint Motel
19. Taylor Swift
20. Tomoyasu Hotei
21. Upsahl

Awards Season:

1. London Film Critic Circle Winners
2. Toronto Film Critics Winners
3. Washington D.C. Film Critics Winners
4. Critics Choice Award Nominees
5. Seattle Film Critics Nominees
6. AARP Nominations
7. DFW Critics Winners
8. Dorian Award Nominees
9. Utah Film Critics Winners

Links From Last Week:

1. The Spymaster
2. Searching for Shelley Duvall: The Reclusive Icon on Fleeing Hollywood and the Scars of Making ‘The Shining’
3. Buffy Deserves Better Than Joss Whedon
4. Disney Cancels The Mandalorian Star Gina Carano Over Provocative Social Media Posts
5. Why Were They So Cruel to Britney Spears?
6. I was an MTV VJ during peak Britney. ‘Framing Britney Spears’ made me ashamed … and hopeful

News From Last Week:

1. Paramount Pictures Locks $2 Million Deal For Gabrielle Zevin Novel ‘Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow;’ Temple Hill Producing
2. A24 Buys Explicit Sundance Movie ‘Pleasure’ About L.A. Porn Business
3.  Pioneering Hollywood casting director Lynn Stalmaster dies
4. Rowena Morrill (1944-2021)
5. We Know the Best Picture Oscar Contenders, but No One Knows Who’s Watching Them
6. Justin Timberlake Apologizes to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson: ‘I Failed’
7. ‘The Bachelor’ Under Fire for Contestant’s Social Media Controversy & Chris Harrison Commentary That ‘Perpetuates Racism’
8. Chris Harrison Briefly ‘Stepping Aside’ From ‘The Bachelor’ in Wake of Racist Controversy
9. Former ‘Bachelorette’ Rachel Lindsay Says She Will Not Renew Her Contract With Franchise, Addressing Chris Harrison Controversy
10. Gina Carano Hits Back, Announces New Movie Project With Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire: “They Can’t Cancel Us If We Don’t Let Them”
11. Charisma Carpenter accuses ‘Buffy’ creator Joss Whedon of toxic and verbally abusive behavior
12. Michelle Trachtenberg Said That Joss Whedon Wasn’t Allowed To Be Alone In A Room With Her On “Buffy”
13. Buffy’s Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michelle Trachtenberg and More React to Charisma Carpenter’s Joss Whedon Allegations
14. ‘Firefly’ Writer Jose Molina Says Joss Whedon Bragged About Making Female Writers Cry
15. Britney Spears’ father loses bid to retain control of delegating her investments

Links From The Site:

1. Doc wished everyone a happy Valentine’s Day!
2. Jeff shared music videos from Queen, Corey Hart, Madness, Eddie Money, Howard Jones, Rolling Stones, and U2!
3. Erin shared part 7 of It’s Love and Cosmopolitan, The Show Girls, They Call Her Easy, Hot Date, Manhattan Nights, Play It Cool, and Do Not Disturb!
4. Ryan shared an interview with Mara Ramirez and reviewed Sketch Zine 2020 and Single Camera Sitcom!
5. I reviewed A Bullet For Pretty Boy and the Poltergeist Diaries!  I paid tribute to King Vidor and Darren Aronofsky!  I shared the Super Bowl spot for Nobody!

More From Us:

1. Ryan has patreon!  You should consider subscribing!
2. At Days Without Incident, Leonard shared a song from Tina Turner!
3. At Pop Politics, Jeff shared: Thank You Tom Brady, Here We Go Again, Larry Flynt Was Still Alive?, The New Normal, The Lincoln Project: Making Schadenfreude Great Again, A Second Acquittal, and Happy Valentine’s Day!
4. At her photography site, Erin shared: Backyard, Digging in Back, Coke, Sometimes The Day Is Just Gray, Sometimes The Day Is Just Gray 2, Hanging On, and Cold as Ice!
5. At SyFyDesigns, I wrote: The Equalizer: A Short Review, Cold Weather’s Coming, Disappointment, I‘m Having A Panic Attack Over the Weather, I’m Not Longer Freaking Out About The Weather, Still Waiting On The Bad Weather, and It Snowed!
6. On my dream journal, I shared: Last Night’s Cat-Related Dream, Last Night’s Angry Dream, Last Night’s Lake Dream, Last Night’s Teaching Dream, No Dreams Last Night, Last Night’s Angsty Fragment of a Dream, and Last Night’s Snow Dream!
7. At my music site, I shared songs from: Martin Gore, Martin Garrix, Marc Collin, Blanck Mass, Rebecca Black, Saint Motel, and Britney Spears!

Want to see what went on last week?  Click here!

What a long week!

Don’t get me wrong, it was a good week.  As far as this site is concerned, I got a lot done.  I’m most proud of the fact that I wrote about my 30 favorite films of 2020.  I’m very happy about how that post worked out and I’m also proud of myself for watching enough good movies that it was actually very easy to come up with a credible list of 30.  I’m proud of myself!  Wait — did I already say that?  See, that’s how tired I am.  I’m repeating myself!

Speaking of being tired, I was going to write about how I deal with anxiety but, to be honest, anxiety will still be a thing a few weeks from now and hopefully, I won’t be exhausted while putting the finishing touches on my week in review.  So, writing about anxiety can wait.

(Actually, the main way I deal with anxiety — and you’re going to think I’m lying but I’m not — is by putting on an old episode of Degrassi in the background.  It calms me down.  Maybe it’s because I’ve seen every episode so many times that I know exactly what’s coming.  Part of the comfort of rewatching something is knowing that, no matter what might happen in the world, those old episodes are always going to be the same.  It doesn’t have to be Degrassi.  It could be music.  It could be a beloved movie.  It could be someone chanting from the Necronomicon.  The familiar can be very helpful.)

For now, I just want to get some rest.  And I want to let you know what I watched, read, and listened to last week!

Films I Watched:

1. Alex Wheatle (2020)
2. Dazed and Confused (1993)
3. Destroy All Monsters (1968)
4. Education (2020)
5. Ford v Ferrari (2019)
6. Groundhog Day (1993)
7. The Last Laugh (2020)
8. The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1975)
9. Malcolm & Marie (2021)
10. Promising Young Woman (2020)
11. The Scarlet Claw (1944)
12. Soul (2020)

Television Shows I Watched:

1. 9-1-1
2. 9-1-1: Lone STar
3. ‘allo ‘allo
4. The Bachelor
5. Bar Rescue
6. The Bold and the Beautiful
7. City Confidential
8. Coronation Street
9. Court Cam
10. Days of Our Lives
11. Degrassi
12. The District
13. Dr. Phil
14. The Equalizer
15. Fawlty Towers
16. Friends
17. General Hospital
18. Hell’s Kitchen
19. Hill Street Blues
20. The Kitten Bowl
21. The Love Boat
22. The Masked Dancer
23. The Musketeers
24. The Office
25. Open All Hours
26. Saved by The Bell
27. Seinfeld
28. Super Bowl
29. Unforgotten II
30. WandaVision
31. Wonder Woman
32. Yes, Minister
33. The Young and the Restless

Books I Read:

1. Murder By Design: The Usnane Cinema of Dario Argento (2020) by Troy Howarth

Music To Which I Listened:

1. Big Data
2. Britney Spears
3. Broken Bells
4. Cage the Elephant
5. The Chemical Brothers
6. The Crystal Method
7. Depeche Mode
8. Desire
9. Fiona Apple
10. Gwen Stefani
11. Miley Cyrus
12. Phantogram
13. The Prodigy
14. REM
15. Saint Motel
16. Selena Gomez
17. Space 92
18. Talking Heads
19. Taylor Swift
20. Tiesto
21. The Ting Tings
22. twenty one pilots
23. The Weeknd
24. Yvonne Elliman

Live Tweets

1. Through the Shattered Lens Live Tweets Super Bowl Sunday!

Awards Season:

1. Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Nominations
2. SAG Nominations
3. Golden Globe Nominations
4. Winners at Sundance
5. NAACP Image Award Nominations
6. Hollywood Critics Association Nominations
7. Atlanta Film Critics Circle Winners
8. Satellite Nominations

Best of 2020:

1. Top 30 Films of 2020 (Lisa Marie Bowman)

Trailers:

1. Old
2. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
3. Raya and the Last Dragon
4. Coming 2 America

Links From Last Week:

1. ‘Malcolm & Marie’ and the Double-Edged Sword of Hype
2. No Real Super Bowl Movie Trailers This Year Feels Like The End Of An Era, And That Sucks
3. Britney Spears Documentary Brings Validity to #FreeBritney Movement, While Putting Misogynistic Media on Blast
4. Kickin’ The Willy Bobo With…DEMOND THOMPSON

News From Last Week:

1. Hilaria Baldwin Apologizes For Spanish Debacle: ‘I Should Have Been More Clear’
2. Armie Hammer Dropped by WME
3. Jennifer Lawrence Injured on Set of ‘Don’t Look Up’
4. Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Movie Finds Its Writer in ‘Watchmen’ Scribe
5. Hal Holbrook, Emmy and Tony-Winning Actor Who Portrayed Mark Twain, Dies at 95
6. Saved by The Bell Star Dustin Diamond Dies in Cape Coral
7. Christopher Plummer dies at 91
8. Haya Harareet Dies: Israeli Actress Who Starred In ‘Ben-Hur’ Was 89
9. Jamie Tarses, trailblazing ‘Friends’ and ‘Frasier’ TV exec, dead at 56

Links From The Site:

1. Erin shared Double Rainbow, 12 Against The Law, The Marriage Rite, Like Ice She Was, Smashing Detective Stories, Tough Guy, and Sport Story Magazine!
2. Doc shared his Kitten Bowl predictions!
3. Along with his super bowl predictions, Jeff shared music videos from Europe, Rick Springfield, AC/DC, Violent Femmes, Whitesnake, Winger, and Toto!  Jeff also congratulated the winners of the Super Bowl!
4. Ryan reviewed A New Leash on Life!
5. I reviewed Malcolm & Marie and I paid tribute to John Ford, Christopher Plummer, Francois Truffaut, and Greydon Clark!  I also wrote about my favorite Super Bowl commercials!

More From Us:

1. For Horror Critic, I reviewed The Last Laugh and The Naked Witch!
2. At my dream journal, I shared: Last Night’s Dream About The Rain!
3. At my music site, I shared songs from The Prodigy, Space 92, Selena Gomez, The Chemical Brothers, Desire, twenty one pilots, and Broken Bells!
4. For SyFy Designs I shared: Groundhog Day Predictions, Groundhog Day Results, Happy Birthday Elmo, Looking for Freedom, The Latest Scam, and When It Comes To the Super Bowl!
5. At her photography site, Erin shared: Truck in a Mild Snowfall, Swing with A Little Snow, Barely A Snowfall, I Tried to Capture The Snow, When The Snow Had Just Started To Fall, Today’s Sky, and Today’s Door!
6. Ryan has a patreon!  You should subscribe!

Want to check out last week?  Click here!

I haven’t read it yet but it’s on my list.

This week moved really fast.  From Monday to Wednesday, everything was about the stock market and now everything’s about …. well, to be honest, I don’t really know what everything’s about now.  I’ve been busy watching movies and making my plans for the rest of the year.

I’ll get to this one as soon as I finish the stock investing book.

When last I checked, Reddit was being blamed for every bad thing that’s ever happened in this country.  For the next four years, random people on the internet are going to be the scapegoat of choice.  There’s going to be a lot of breathless reporting about message boards and underground forums.  Remember when Brooke Baldwin was on CNN and she mentioned that she had seen a lot of talk of a “powerful hacker named 4Chan?”  It’s going to be like that, only a hundred times more annoying.  Right now, across the country, boomers are watching their favorite cable news channel and saying, “If we got Bin Laden, why can’t we take out this Reddit person?”

If I ever learn German, I’ll check it out.

Personally, my main thought on the whole stock market thing is that it’s just too bad that The Office is no longer on the air because they could have done a great show about Pennsylvania redditors forcing up Dunder Mifflin’s stock price.  Just imagine how excited Michael would have gotten until Oscar explained to him that the stock would eventually go back down.  Oh well.  I guess we’ll have to wait until Steven Soderbergh makes a movie about it.  It’ll have a soundtrack of mid-tempo jazz and Meryl Streep will play four different characters.

At the risk of being simplistic, sometimes you just have to concentrate on what makes you happy.  I love movies and that’s what I’ve largely devoted this week to.  I should be posting my picks for the best films of 2020 tomorrow.  On the one hand, it feels a bit silly to post a list of the best films of 2020 in February in 2021 but, on the other hand, what was I supposed to do?  Just pretend like some very good films didn’t exist just because I hadn’t gotten a chance to see them yet?

Speaking of watching movies, here’s what I watched this week:

Films I Watched:

1. Artemis Fowl (2020)
2. Assassin 33 A.D. (2020)
3. Bobbie Joe and the Outlaw (1976)
4. Death of Me (2020)
5. Dolittle (2020)
6. Emma (2020)
7. The Final Terror (1983)
8. First Cow (2020)
9. Gone In 60 Seconds (1974)
10. The Life Ahead (2020)
11. Lovers Rock (2020)
12. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
13. Ode to Billy Joe (1976)
14. One Night in Miami (2020)
15. Palm Springs (2020)
16. The Prom (2020)
17. She Dies Tomorrow (2020)
18. Sound of Metal (2020)
19. Swimfan (2002)
20. Witches (1961)

Television Shows I Watched:

1. 9-1-1
2. 9-1-1: Lone Star
3. The Bachelor
4. Bar Rescue
5. The Bold and the Beautiful
6. The Chase
7. Cheaters
8. Coronation Street
9. Couples Court with the Cutlers
10. Days of Our Lives
11. The District
12. Dr. Phil
13. General Hospital
14. Ghost Whisperer
15. Hell’s Kitchen
16. Hill Street Blues
17. King of the Hill
18. Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court
19. Law & Order
20. The Love Boat
21. The Office
22. Police Story
23. Saved By The Bell
24. Seinfeld
25. The Simpsons
26. South Park
27. The Twilight Zone
28. Yes, Minister
29. The Young and the Restless

Books I Read:

1. The Beginning or the End: How Hollywood―and America―Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (2020) by Greg Mitchell
2. The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Days of Hollywood (2020) by Sam Wasson
3. Gone at Midnight: The Tragic True Story Behind the Unsolved Internet Sensation (2020) by Jake Anderson
4. Reckless (2020) by Ed Brubaker

Music To Which I Listened To:

1. Above & Beyond
2. Adele
3. Armin van Buuren
4. Big Data
5. Bob Dylan
6. Britney Spears
7. The Chemical Brothers
8. Chromatics
9. Chrysta Bell
10. Coldplay
11. Courtney Barnett
12. Daft Punk
13. deadmau5
14. Dillon Francis
15. Dua Lipa
16. Fitz and the Tantrums
17. Fiona Apple
18. Haim
19. i_o
20. Icona Pop
21. Jakalope
22. Jessie Frye
23. Kate Vogel
24. Lady Gaga
25. Linkin Park
26. Muse
27. Phantogram
28. The Prodigy
29. Purity Ring
30. Saint Motel
31. Selena Gomez
32. Space 92
33. UPSHAL
34. Zeds Dead

Awards Season:

1. Hollywood Music In Media Awards
2. New York Film Critics Online Winners
3. North Texas Film Critics Association Winners
4. National Board of Review Winners
5. Independent Spirit Nominations
6. Online Film Critics Winners
7. AFI Top Ten
8. North Texas Film Critics Association Nominations
9. Kansas City Film Critics Winners

Best of 2020:

1. The Best of Lifetime (Lisa Marie Bowman)
2. 12 Good Things I Saw On Television in 2020 (Lisa Marie Bowman)
3. Lisa Marie’s Top 8 Novels of 2020 (Lisa Marie Bowman)
4. Lisa Marie’s Top 8 Non-Fiction Books of 2020 (Lisa Marie Bowman)
5. Lisa Marie’s 20 Favorite Songs of 2020 (Lisa Marie Bowman)
6. Lisa Marie’s 16 Worst Films of 2020 (Lisa Marie Bowman)

Links From Last Week:

1. The World’s Most Dangerous Theme Park – Welcome To “Class Action Park!” My “Cult Movie Monday” Has This Riveting New Documentary!
2. It’s time for major institutions to make their employees get off of Twitter
3. The Greatest Hollywood Memoir Ever Written
4. Oscar’s Best Picture Race Should Include a Documentary This Year

News From Last Week:

1. BAFTA Extends Awards Eligibility Period Through 2021 Calendar Year
2. AMC Raises $917 Million to Weather ‘Dark Coronavirus-Impacted Winter’
3. Anheuser-Busch Pulls Budweiser From Super Bowl Ad Lineup
4. GameStop Stock Soars as Reddit Investors Take On Wall Street
5. Billionaire Mark Cuban says his 11-year-old son made money with Wall Street Bets traders and he ‘loves’ what’s going on with the Reddit forum
6. Not just a U.S. phenomenon — the Reddit investing frenzy has spread overseas
7. Republicans in Washington warn Wall Street: The GameStop populists are more powerful than you think
8. Cloris Leachman, Emmy and Oscar Winner, Dies at 94
9. Cyberpunk developers ask players to please stop having sex with Keanu Reeves
10. Cicely Tyson, purposeful and pioneering actor, dead at 96
11. Sophie, Who Pushed the Boundaries of Pop Music, Dies at 34
12. Hollywood Is Leaving COVID Safety To Ill-Prepared Assistants Who Say They Have No Idea What They’re Doing
13. ‘CODA’ Sparking Sundance Bidding War Following Rapturous Premiere — How High Can It Go?
14. Lindsay Lohan Asks TikTok User to Take Down Viral Cameo
15. Armie Hammer Exits Making of ‘The Godfather’ Drama Series at Paramount Plus
16. The Academy Announces The Films Eligible For Best Animated, Documentary & International Feature For The 93rd Academy Awards
17. Melvin Capital Lost 53% in January, Hurt by GameStop and Other Bets
18. 21 Men Accuse Lincoln Project Co-Founder of Online Harassment

Links From The Site:

1. Erin shared: Look Behind You Lady, Waterfront Cop, The Episode of the Wandering Knife, Wanton For Murder, Not So Funny, Murder by Latitude, and Let the Night Cry!
2. Jeff shared music videos from Styx, Crash Test Dummies, Rodney Dangerfield, Heaven 17, Guns N Roses, INXS, and REM!
3. Ryan reviewed Even More Diary Comics From A Relative Nobody, Jeremy, and The Age of Elves!
4. I reviewed Artemis Fowl and Dolittle. I shared my January Oscar predictions!  I paid tribute to Norman Mailer, Michael Anderson, Ernst Lubitsch, and Cloris Leachman!

More From Us:

1. Ryan has a patreon!  You should consider subscribing!
2. At Pop Politics, Jeff wrote about the upcoming Super Bowl!
3. At Days Without Incident, Leonard shared a song from Odesza!
4. At SyFyDesigns, I shared: The Latest Twitter Disaster, What I Miss, and I Have No Idea How The Stock Market Works!
5. At my music site, I shared songs from: Bob Dylan, Linkin Park, Adele, Chromatics, Chrysta Bell, Above & Beyond, and Lady Gaga!
6. At her photography site, Erin shared: January 25th, January 26th, January 27th, January 28th, January 29th, January 30th, and God Bless Texas!

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

Have a good week!  We’ve got the Golden Globes nominations and a whole lot of other stuff to look forward to!  Stay safe!