Category Archives: Film

Scenes That I Love: Philip Stone In The Shining

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Shining (1980, dir by Stanley Kubrick)

Today would have been the 101st birthday of character actor Philip Stone.  While Stone appeared in a lot of films, he’ll probably always be best-remembered for his subtly menacing turn as the ghostly Grady in 1980’s The Shining.  Here he is, having a conversation with Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and letting him know that he’s always been caretaker.

(Fair warning to those who may not have seen this scene before or who perhaps have forgotten about it, Grady does use a racial slur at one point.  It’s a moment that’s true to his villainous character, even if it’s a bit jarring to hear today.)

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us For Baffled!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in hosting a few weekly live tweets on twitter and occasionally Mastodon.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of Mastodon’s #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We snark our way through it.

Tonight, for #MondayActionMovie, the film will be 1972’s Baffled, starring Leonard Nimoy! I picked it so you know it’ll be good.

It should make for a night of fun viewing and I invite all of you to join in.  If you want to join the live tweets, just hop onto Mastodon, find the movie on YouTube, hit play at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!  The live tweet community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.   

See you soon for some psychic excitement!

Westward Ho (1935, directed by Robert N. Bradbury)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

As a young man, John Wyatt (John Wayne) witnessed an attack on a wagon train by the evil outlaw Wick Ballard (Jack Curtis).  John’s parents were killed and his younger brother Jim was abducted.  Years later, the grown John Wyatt realizes that the law cannot be depended upon in the wild west so he raises his own band of vigilantes and delivers justice to the frontier.  (Wayne’s second-in-command is played by the legendary Glenn Strange.)  Wyatt remains committed to taking down Ballard.  Going undercover as John Allen, Wyatt joins a cattle drive that he thinks will be attacked by Ballard.  Also working undercover as a member of the cattle drive is Jim Wyatt (Frank McGlynn Jr), John’s long-lost brother, who is now working for Ballard!  Both the Wyatt bothers end up falling for Mary Gordon (Sheila Bromley), the daughter of rancher Lafe Gordon (Jim Farley).

This was a good example of the the type of B-movies that John Wayne made in the years before John Ford cast him in Stagecoach.  The story is simple but Wayne gives a commanding performance as Wyatt.  Unlike many of the B-movies that featured Wayne as a callow singing cowboy or a fun-loving rogue, Westward Ho features Wayne playing the type of character that he would often play after he became a star.  Wyatt is determined to get justice for his family and to protect the innocents who are attacked by men like Ballard.  The presence of his brother in the enemy camp adds an extra dimension to Westward Ho.  Wyatt learns that vengeance isn’t everything.

It’s only 61 minutes long but it tells a good story and it has all the gunfights and horse chases that Western fans expect from their movies.  Of Wayne’s poverty row westerns, Westward Ho is one of the better ones.

The Eric Roberts Collection: Rough Air: Danger on Flight 534 (dir by Jon Cassar)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s disaster time!

In 2001’s Rough Air: Danger on Flight 534, a plane is making its way across the country.  The pilot is the arrogant Jack Brooks (Kevin Jubinville), who is convinced that all a pilot has to do is let the instruments and the plane’s computer run the flight.  He has total faith in technology.  His first officer is Mike Hogan (Eric Roberts), a veteran pilot whose career went downhill after he was unfairly blamed for a crash in Boston.  Mike is old school.  He doesn’t have much use for all this technology nonsense.  Mike thinks that a pilot has to listen to his own instincts and be willing to improvise.  That sounds dangerous!  It’s a good thing that Jack’s in charge of this plane!

Unfortunately, turbulence and a concussion temporarily puts Jack out of commission.  Mike is going to have to conquer his own fears and insecurities to land this plane.  Fortunately, he has the support of the head flight attendant, Katy Phillips (Alexandra Paul).  Also, one of the passengers has some flight experience!  Grant Blyth (Dean McDermott) is willing to help out.  Of course, Grant is also a convicted murderer who was being flown to prison but whatever.  I just find it interesting that, in the movies, convicted murderers and their handlers are always put on commercial flight.  That seems kind of irresponsible to me.

Rough Air is a throwback to the old disaster movies of the 70s.  The airplane is full of people who have to set aside their differences to work together and try to avoid a disaster.  There’s a soccer star (Mark Lutz) and an engineer (Russell Yuen) and a rich guy (Carlo Rota) who only exists that he can be told to shut up whenever he doubts Mike.  Unfortunately, this film isn’t quite as fun as any of those old disaster movies.  There’s one funny moments where Jack wakes up and deliriously demands to be allowed to fly the plane but otherwise, this is a pretty boring flight.  Not even Eric Roberts giving a typically committed performance can save this flight from being forgettable.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

  1. Star 80 (1983)
  2. Runaway Train (1985)
  3. Blood Red (1989)
  4. The Ambulance (1990)
  5. The Lost Capone (1990)
  6. Love, Cheat, & Steal (1993)
  7. Voyage (1993)
  8. Love Is A Gun (1994)
  9. Sensation (1994)
  10. Dark Angel (1996)
  11. Doctor Who (1996)
  12. Most Wanted (1997)
  13. Mercy Streets (2000)
  14. Raptor (2001)
  15. Wolves of Wall Street (2002)
  16. Mr. Brightside (2004)
  17. Six: The Mark Unleased (2004)
  18. Hey You (2006)
  19. Amazing Racer (2009)
  20. In The Blink of an Eye (2009)
  21. Bed & Breakfast (2010)
  22. Enemies Among Us (2010)
  23. The Expendables (2010) 
  24. Sharktopus (2010)
  25. Beyond The Trophy (2012)
  26. The Dead Want Women (2012)
  27. Deadline (2012)
  28. The Mark (2012)
  29. Miss Atomic Bomb (2012)
  30. Bonnie And Clyde: Justified (2013)
  31. Lovelace (2013)
  32. The Mark: Redemption (2013)
  33. The Perfect Summer (2013)
  34. Self-Storage (2013)
  35. A Talking Cat!?! (2013)
  36. This Is Our Time (2013)
  37. Inherent Vice (2014)
  38. Road to the Open (2014)
  39. Rumors of War (2014)
  40. Amityville Death House (2015)
  41. Deadly Sanctuary (2015)
  42. A Fatal Obsession (2015)
  43. Las Vegas Story (2015)
  44. Stalked By My Doctor (2015)
  45. Enemy Within (2016)
  46. Joker’s Poltergeist (2016)
  47. Prayer Never Fails (2016)
  48. Stalked By My Doctor: The Return (2016)
  49. The Wrong Roommate (2016)
  50. Dark Image (2017)
  51. Black Wake (2018)
  52. Frank and Ava (2018)
  53. Stalked By My Doctor: Patient’s Revenge (2018)
  54. Clinton Island (2019)
  55. Monster Island (2019)
  56. The Reliant (2019)
  57. The Savant (2019)
  58. Seven Deadly Sins (2019)
  59. Stalked By My Doctor: A Sleepwalker’s Nightmare (2019)
  60. The Wrong Mommy (2019)
  61. Exodus of a Prodigal Son (2020)
  62. Free Lunch Express (2020)
  63. Her Deadly Groom (2020)
  64. Top Gunner (2020)
  65. Deadly Nightshade (2021)
  66. The Elevator (2021)
  67. Just What The Doctor Ordered (2021)
  68. Killer Advice (2021)
  69. Night Night (2021)
  70. The Poltergeist Diaries (2021)
  71. The Rebels of PT-218 (2021)
  72. A Town Called Parable (2021)
  73. Bleach (2022)
  74. My Dinner With Eric (2022)
  75. D.C. Down (2023)
  76. Aftermath (2024)
  77. Devil’s Knight (2024)
  78. The Wrong Life Coach (2024)
  79. When It Rains In L.A. (2025

Song of the Day: Shed a Tear by Teresa Laughlin

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is from 1974’s The Trial of Billy Jack.  Yes, Billy Jack killed a lot of people and broke a lot of laws but ultimately, he was just a man who protected animals, children, and other living things.

And, eventually, despite all of the murder convictions, he ended up serving in the U.S. Senate.

That’s a wonderful American story.

shed a tear, running deer
don’t turn back billy jack
i am crying, are you dying
just for me?

whenever trouble came about
i could feel you coming out
you were there, i could feel you
in the air
when anyone had a happy moment to share
you were there
when anyone had a burden they couldn’t bare
you were there to share the load

shed a tear, running deer
don’t turn back billy jack
i am crying, are you dying
just for me?

when they took you from the church
i couldn’t bare to watch the town stare
you aren’t an animal, you’re a man
it wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t fair
and they trialed you for murder
they said you were guilty, it just wasn’t fair
wanted to tell them they were unjust
i didn’t dare, i could only stare
what will happen to you now
you’ve got to live, but i don’t know how
i am crying, are you dying
just for me?

shed a tear, running deer
don’t turn back billy jack
i am crying, are you dying
just for me?

Scenes That I Love: Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse in Singin’ In The Rain

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s scene that I love, we have Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse dancing in the Broadway Melody sequence from Stanley Donen‘s 1952 masterpiece, Singin’ in the Rain!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Stanley Donen Edition

Posted on 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 would have been the 101st birthday of the great Stanley Donen.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Stanley Donen Films

Singin’ In The Rain (1952, dir by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, DP: Harold Rosson)

Funny Face (1957, dir by Stanley Donen, DP; Ray June)

Charade (1963, dir by Stanley Donen, DP; Charles Lang)

Two For The Road (1967, dir by Stanley Donen, DP: Christopher Challis)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special 1993 Edition

Posted on 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, we pay tribute to the year 1993 with….

4 Shots From 4 1993 Films

Dazed and Confused (1993, dir by Richard Linklater, DP: Lee Daniel)

Schindler’s List (1993, dir by Steven Spielberg, DP: Janusz Kamiński)

Trauma (1993, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Raffaele Mertes)

Indecent Proposal (1993, dir by Adrian Lyne, DP: Howard Atherton)

Scenes That I Love: Nicky Katt Meets Adam Goldberg in Dazed and Confused

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Rest in peace, the great character actor Nicky Katt.  The details are still sketchy but it’s being reported that he passed away at the age of 54.

Katt was a child actor who transitioned into adult roles.  He appeared in a lot of movies but I’ll always remember him as Clint, the absolutely terrifying bully in 1993’s Dazed and Confused.  Here he is, scaring the heck out of poor Adam Goldberg.

(For a while, there were plans for a Dazed and Confused sequel in which Clint reformed and became a respected businessman while Adam Goldberg’s Mike went insane as he continued to obsess on that fight back in 1976.)