4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Tom Laughlin Edition


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, we pay tribute to the man who gave us Billy Jack.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Tom Laughlin Films

Born Losers (1967, dir by Tom Laughlin)

Billy Jack (1971, dir by Tom Laughlin)

The Trial of Bully Jack (1974, dir by Tom Laughlin)

Billy Jack Goes To Washington (1977, dir by Tom Laughlin)

Scenes I Love: Billy Jack Defends Children And Other Living Things


Today would have been the 94th birthday of Tom Laughlin, the independent film pioneer who gave the world Billy Jack.

In honor of the day of his birth, here’s a scene that I love from Billy Jack.  The townspeople think that they can get away with humiliating the students from the Freedom School.  Well, Billy Jack’s got something to say about that and, as always, it starts with him taking off his shoes.

Brad’s Scene of the Day – Charles Bronson’s psychiatric evaluation in THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967)!


Robert Aldrich is a very important director in the career of my favorite actor, Charles Bronson. Bronson appeared in 4 films directed by Aldrich, including APACHE (1954), VERA CRUZ (1954) and 4 FOR TEXAS (1963). In 1967, just before Bronson would become the biggest star in the world, Aldrich would give him a significant role in the box office smash THE DIRTY DOZEN. In celebration of Aldrich’s 107th birthday in cinema heaven, I thought I’d share this fun scene from the World War II classic!

Live Tweet Alert: Join #ScarySocial for Earth vs The spider!


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 9 pm et, Deanna Dawn will be hosting #ScarySocial!  The movie?  Earth vs the Spider!  

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag!  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

The film is available on Prime!

Scenes That I Love: Sam Elliott and Patrick Swayze in Road House


Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to Sam Elliott.  In this scene from the classic film Road House, Sam Elliott and Patrick Swayze have a heart-t0-heart.  Swayze’s Dalton has a past that can only be understood by Sam Elliott’s Wade Garrett.

Take it away, mijo.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Robert Aldrich Edition


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!

On this date, 107 years ago, Robert Aldrich was born in Cranston, Rhode Island.  The first cousin of New York Governor and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, Robert Aldrich eschewed business and politics to pursue a career in film.  Though his wonderfully melodramatic films were often undervalued when first released, Aldrich is now seen as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time.  Tarantino loves him.

In honor of Aldrich’s career and legacy, here are….

4 Shots From 4 Robert Aldrich Films

Kiss Me Deadly (1955, dir by Robert Aldrich, DP: Ernest Laszlo)

What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962, dir by Robert Aldrich, DP: Ernest Haller)

The Dirty Dozen (1967, dir by Robert Aldrich, DP: Edward Scaife)

Hustle (1975, dir by Robert Aldrich, DP: Joseph Biroc)

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – Rory Calhoun tending to his garden in MOTEL HELL (1980)!


Rory Calhoun was a star of movies and TV going all the way back to the 40’s, but as a kid of the 80’s, the movies I most remember him for are not classics like HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (1953) with Marilyn Monroe, or RIVER OF NO RETURN (1954) with Robert Mitchum. Rather, the movies I grew up watching Calhoun in have titles like ANGEL (1984), a B-movie crime thriller about a teenage hooker, and PURE COUNTRY (1992), the acting debut of country music superstar George Strait! One movie that I’ve always enjoyed, and even introduced my son to a decade or so ago, is the horror comedy MOTEL HELL (1980). My son loved it, and even though he’s married with children, whenever we’re together for the holidays he wants to know if I brought my blu ray of the film for us to watch. The amazing thing… I always have it!

In celebration of Rory Calhoun’s 103rd birthday in cinema heaven, I present this scene of Calhoun tending to his human garden in MOTEL HELL! Enjoy, my friends.

The Gardener (2021, directed by Becca Hirani and Scott Chambers)


Volker (Gary Daniels) and his gang break into an English manor, hoping to rob the place.  Since their last home invasion led to a pregnant woman getting shot in the head (though the actress continued to visibly breathe onscreen even after her character expired), Volker has planned this robbery down to the least little detail.  However, it turns out that the family that was supposed to be on a trip is actually home for the holidays!  Also, their Hungarian gardener, Peter (Robert Bronzi), is a former soldier who returns to his former ways to protect the family.  Armed with his gardening tools, Peter takes out the bad guys, one at a time.

Robert Bronzi is an actor whose career centers around him bearing a passable resemblance to Charles Bronson.  He also appeared in Death Kiss and, earlier this week, Brad reviewed him in Escape From Death Block 13.  In this movie, he’s not really a gardener just like Charles Bronson wasn’t really a mechanic in the film of the same name.  Get it?  This is one of the Bronzi films I’ve seen in which he wasn’t dubbed.  Peter is from Eastern Europe, just like Bronzi, so Bronzi gets to speak with his own voice.  He still doesn’t say much, though.  Bronzi actually looks less and less like Charles Bronson every time that I see him.  If he ever lost the mustache, his career would end.  Even more importantly, Bronzi doesn’t have Bronson’s screen presence.  Bronson could accomplish a lot just by narrowing his eyes.  Brozni always seems like he’s not sure where the camera is.  The movie plods along without much suspense or humor, as if we’re supposed to take a low-budget film with a Charles Bronson imitator seriously.

The Gardener is a film with a plot so thin that I don’t think the real Charles Bronson would have wasted his time with it.