Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – Brenda Benet watches Joe Don Baker swing his big stick!

Posted on August 14, 2025 by Bradley Crain

Today would have been the 80th birthday of actress Brenda Benet, a beautiful and talented woman whose life was cut short with tragedy. Born Brenda Ann Nelson in Los Angeles, California on August 14th, 1945, Benet had a career spanning over 16 years, mostly on TV. She’s probably best known for playing the character of Lee DuMonde in 298 episodes of Days Of Our Lives, but she appeared in episodes of many other classic TV series, and even in the Elvis Presley movie HARUM SCARUM (1965). In her personal life, she was married to actor Bill Bixby from 1971 to 1980, and they had one child, Christopher Sean Bixby. Tragically, Christopher died in 1981 during a ski vacation in California. Devastated and in the grip of depression after her son’s death, Brenda took her own life on April 7th, 1982. A very sad end for a very beautiful woman.

Today, I choose to celebrate her beauty and talent in this scene from WALKING TALL (1973). This is not her character’s most revealing scene in the film, but her exotic beauty at the beginning is quite the contrast to a situation that’s about to get real ugly. Rest in peace, Brenda.

June Squibb Moves To Manhattan In The Trailer For Eleanor The Great

Posted on August 14, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

Scarlett Johansson is making her directorial debut with Eleanor The Great, a film that stars 95 year-old June Squibb as Eleanor Morgenstein, an elderly woman from Iowa who moves to Manhattan after a devastating loss and who gets involved in the lives of Chiwetel Ejiofor and his daughter. Though it’s not obvious from the trailer, the reviews from Cannes indicate that Eleanor is not quite who she claims to be.

Many actors have tried their hand at directing, often with mix results. Ron Howard enjoyed directing so much that he gave up acting. Kevin Costner made his debut with a bang and he’s been struggling to match it ever since. Robert Redford is a far more interesting director than actor. You could probably make the same argument about Warren Beatty, Sean Penn, and Jon Favreau. But then there are countless other actors who directed one forgettable film and then quit. How will Scarlett Johansson’s debut play out? Watch the trailer and try to judge for yourself.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Wim Wenders Edition

Posted on August 14, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 78th birthday to the great German director, Wim Wenders! It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Wim Wenders Films

The American Friend (1976, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Paris, Texas (1984, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Wings of Desire (1987, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Until the End of the World (1991, dir by Wim Wenders, DP: Robby Muller)

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – Cary Grant & Eva Marie Saint hang out on Mt. Rushmore!

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Bradley Crain

Have y’all been to Mt. Rushmore? My wife and I stopped by in 2023 on the way home from Yellowstone. It was pretty cool stuff!

I remember as I was driving up to Mt. Rushmore, I saw a sign that mentioned the Alfred Hitchcock movie NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) being filmed there. I hadn’t seen the movie in many years, so I decided to watch it again when I got home to celebrate the trip. I enjoyed seeing Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint hanging out near the giant rock faces of some of America’s great presidents. In celebration of Hitchcock’s 126th birthday in cinema heaven, I thought I would share that scene with all of you!

Timothee Chalamet Plays A Mean Ping Pong In The Trailer For Marty Supreme

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

Timothee Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a young man who dreams of being the world’s greatest ping pong player.

Normally, that is not the type of plot description that would catch my attention but Marty Supreme is directed by Josh Safdie, so you know it’s going to be about much more than just ping pong. The cast is also intriguing. Along with Chalamet, the cast includes everyone from Gwyneth Paltrow to Fran Drescher to Penn Jillette and director Abel Ferrara. Is Kevin O’Leary playing himself? Who knows with Safdie directing?

Judging from the trailer, this might be the most intense ping pong film ever made.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Alfred Hitchcock Edition

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Bradley Crain

One of the all-time great directors in the history of cinema, Alfred Hitchcock, was born on this day in 1899. Today, I celebrate this master filmmaker with some images from some of his best films. Enjoy!

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – George Hamilton beats up… Charles Bronson?!!

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Bradley Crain

Happy 86th birthday to George Hamilton, also known as Zorro the gay blade in some circles!

One of the great things about movies is the way they ask us to suspend our disbelief in service of the story they are presenting. Most of the time we’ll go right along with the filmmakers, but sometimes they do go a little too far. For example, did y’all know there is a movie where George Hamilton beats up Charles Bronson?!! I’m not kidding! It’s true! The movie is called A THUNDER OF DRUMS (1961), and I’m including video evidence!! Enjoy my friends!

Liam Neeson Battles Zombies In The Trailer For Cold Storage

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Jedadiah Leland

It’s comforting to know that every year is going to bring us a new Liam Neeson action film. He’s already got his film for 2026 in the can and ready to go. Judging by the trailer, Cold Storage finds Neeson battling zombies and leaning into the comedic skills that he’s currently displaying in The Naked Gun.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Sam Fuller Edition

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On this date, 113 years ago, Samuel Fuller was born in Massachusetts. Before he became a filmmaker, Fuller was a crime reporter and a pulp novelist. His films were often melodramatic and unapologetically sordid. They were also often dismissed when they were initially released but almost all of them were subsequently rediscovered by audiences who appreciated Fuller’s striking visuals and the often subversive subtext to be found underneath the surface of his genre films.

Today, we celebrate Fuller’s legacy with….

4 Shots From 4 Sam Fuller Films

Forty Guns (1957, dir by Samuel Fuller, DP: Joseph Biroc)

Shock Corridor (1963, dir by Samuel Fuller, DP: Stanley Cortez

The Naked Kiss (1964, dir by Samuel Fuller, DP: Stanley Cortez)

The Big Red One (1980, dir by Samuel Fuller, DP: Adam Greenberg)

Live Tweet Alert – #MondayMuggers present RUNNING SCARED (1986), starring Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal!

Posted on August 11, 2025 by Bradley Crain

Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. Tonight, Monday, August 11th, we’ll be watching RUNNING SCARED (1986), starring Gregory Hines, Billy Crystal, Steven Bauer, Darlanne Fluegel, Joe Pantoliano, Dan Hedaya, Jon Gries, Tracy Reed, and Jimmy Smits.

The plot: Two street-wise Chicago cops have to shake off some rust after returning from a Key West vacation to pursue a drug dealer who nearly killed them in the past.

Peter Hyams directed RUNNING SCARED, and it’s one of the very best “Buddy Cop” films out there. So, if a night full of action and laughs sounds good to you, join us on #MondayMuggers and watch RUNNING SCARED. It’s on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and PlutoTV! I’ve included the trailer below: