Billy Idol Should Be Dead (2025, directed by Jonas Akerlund)

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

Billy Idol Should Be Dead is the title of a new documentary about Billy Idol and, watching the movie, it’s hard not to agree.

Billy Idol Should Be Dead covers Billy Idol’s storied career, from being a member of the Bromley Contingent to his time as lead singer of Generation X to his solo career and his current status as an unlikely elder statesman of rock and roll. The film features interviews with Miley Cyrus and Billie Joe Armstrong and, despite the age differences, you only have to listen to them and then listen to the 70-something Billy Idol to see the difference between a true rocker and a pretender. Even in his 70s and speaking in a gravelly voice, Billy Idol still has the charisma and the confidence that made him a star. He still has the genuine punk rock attitude that bands like Green Day have made a lot of money imitating but which they have never matched.

The documentary is as open about Billy Idol’s history of drug abuse as Idol himself has been. Idol became a heroin addict at an early age and doesn’t really start to think about cleaning himself up until his father comes over to America and scolds him. Throughout the film, we hear about overdoses and lost weekends and all the times that Billy Idol came close to dying. We also hear about the motorcycle accident that nearly lost him his leg and which ultimately inspired his most controversial album, Cyberpunk. Why did Billy Idol survive while so many of his contemporaries did not? Why was Billy Idol able to survive heroin while so many of the original punk rockers succumbed to it? Who knows? Luck of the draw, perhaps.

The theme of family runs through Billy Idol Should Be Dead. Though Billy’s father is no longer around to offer up his perspective, Billy’s mother is and she’s the epitome of the perfect English mum, amused by her son’s antics even when she doesn’t quite understand them. Billy Idol’s relationship with his father is one of the running themes of the film. It was a difficult relationship but one built on familial love. The relationship is reflected by Idol’s relationship with his own children, all of whom seem to be remarkably stable for someone who grew up with a rock star for a father.

The film alternates between archival footage of the young and cocky Billy Idol and black-and-white scenes of the contemporary Billy Idol. The older Idol still has his swagger but he also has a hard-fought wisdom that younger Idol lacked. The younger Idol thought he was indestructible while the older Idol is happy to be alive and be a grandfather. The older Idol also reveals himself to be far more thoughtful than I think anyone gave the young Idol credit for being. This documentary shows not only how Billy Idol survived a lifestyle that should have killed him but also how and why he’s earned his place as one of rock’s elder statesmen.

Billy Idol probably should be dead but this documentary will make you happy that he’s not.

Cinemax Memories: Stormswept (1995, directed by David I. Fazer)

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Jedadiah Leland

Brad recently told me that he missed out on Late Night Cinemax in the 90s so, for this week, I’m going to review a few films from the era. I’m going to start with Stormswept, which is currently available on Prime.

Dottie (Melissa Moore) is a Louisiana realtor who has been assigned to show a plantation to Marla (Kim Kopf), an actress. When Dottie enters the main house, she has flashbacks to a traumatic experience that happened years ago. Dottie tries to talk Marla into looking at a different house but both Marla and the crew who are shooting her latest movie are drawn to the plantation. On a stormy night, a game of truth or dare leads to hypnosis, nudity, attempted murder, more nudity, the supernatural, and even more nudity.

Stormswept is the epitome of a 90s Cinemax film. Before Cinemax became a semi-respectable network and all of the old direct-to-video softcore films moved to streaming platforms, late night Cinemax was the main place to see films like Stormswept. Movies like this are why Cinemax was, for the longest time, nicknamed Skinemax. (Even Jerry Seinfeld made a joke about it on an episode of Seinfeld when he said, “People don’t just bump into each other. This isn’t Cinemax.”) Most of the movies that showed up on late night Cinemax in the 90s weren’t very good but, for viewers of a certain age, they were very popular.

So, what about Stormswept? Is it any good? The plot is impossible to follow and the dialogue is so risible that it could have been written by AI but it’s a still a film that, for better or worse, epitomizes an era. Whatever else, Stormswept does generate some atmosphere and, even more importantly, it features some of the most popular B-movie actresses of the 90s. Melissa Moore, Kim Kopf, Lorisa McComas, and Kathleen Kinmont are all featured in the movie and they all give better performances than the material probably deserved. Melissa Moore, who I will admit is one of my favorite Cinemax actresses, is especially good as Dottie. Even though the camera ogles her and, as soon as Moore opens her bedroom door in a towel, it’s obvious that the towel will be on the floor within minutes, Melissa Moore still gives a committed and sincere performance as the only person in the house who truly seems to understand that something bad is going to happen. She is still sympathetic and believable as Dottie and you actually do want to find out the secrets of her past experiences with the mansion.

I should give proper warning here. Stormswept is definitely a softcore film, make no mistake about that. Even by the standards of 90s Cinemax, a few of the scenes are unusually explicit. But, with its game cast and occasionally interesting story, it’s also a pretty good example of what made late night Cinemax memorable beyond the nudity.

Villain of the Day: Emilio Barzini (The Godfather)

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Emilio Barzini.

As played by Richard Conte in The Godfather, Barzini is far different from many of the other mob bosses that we meet over the course of Mario Puzo’s and Francis Ford Coppola’s Mafia epic. He doesn’t yell. He doesn’t threaten. If anything, Barzini comes across as almost being a statesman. When it’s time to broker a peace between the Tattaglia and the Corleone families, Barzini is the one who sits at the head of the table. When it’s time to determine how the drug trade will be divided, Barzini is the one who offers up the “sensible” solution. Barzini keeps calm. He knows how to deal with volatile people. He just wants to make sure that peace is restored and everyone gets a fair cut of the profit. “We are not communists,” he says.

It’s after that meeting that Vito Corleone finally realizes that everything that has happened, from the nearly successful attempt on his life to the exile of Michael to the death of Santino, was Barzini’s doing. Barzini perhaps a got a bit too clever for his own good. By so coolly and efficiently brokering the peace, Barzini revealed that was far more clever than the “pimp” Philip Tattaglia. Whereas Tattaglia was too crude to put together a coalition against the Corleones, Barzini was just the type of pitiless manipulator who could convince a group of otherwise powerful people to sign away their own futures. Perhaps he was a communist after all.

Of course, most viewers (and readers) will have figured out that Barzini is the main bad guy long before Vito does. From the first minute that we see Barzini at the wedding reception at the Corleone Compound, we know that he’s a sinister figure. While everyone else at the wedding is being emotional, sentimental, and delightfully Italian, Barzini watches without a hint of emotion. Indeed, the only time we see any real emotion from Barzini is when he smirks at Vito’s funeral.

After his goons unsuccessfully attempt to assassinate Don Vito, Sollozzo famously tells Tom Hagen that “the Don was slipping.” And it’s hard not to feel that Sollozzo had a point. Consider Vito Corleone’s track record in The Godfather. He failed to teach Sonny the basics of being a good Don. He promoted Tom Hagen to consiglieri despite the fact that Tom was viewed as being an outsider by the other Families. When it came time to send someone undercover to investigate the Tattaglias, he gave the job to Luca Brasi despite the fact that everyone knew there was no way that Brasi would actually betray Vito. He stopped to buy fruit, despite not being accompanied by his bodyguards. Worst of all, Vito somehow missed that it was Barzini all along. Vito was slipping. He got complacent. He failed to see how the world was changing and how the old honor system was being discarded. That allowed him to be victimized by Barzini.

Fortunately, Michael was there to take charge. Unfortunately, for Barzini, Al Neri was also there to put on his policeman’s uniform and wait for Barzini to exit from his latest meeting. Barzini took several bullets to the back. Barzini’s driver was caught in the cross-fire. I’ve always felt bad about that. I mean, the driver was just asking why he had been given a parking ticket and Neri shot him. If nothing else, we can see why Neri didn’t make it as a cop.

Barzini and Vito had a lot in common. They were both diplomats who could use violence when necessary. It’s perhaps not a surprise to learn that, before he was cast as Barzini, Richard Conte was one of the many actors considered for the role of Vito Corleone. How different would the film have been with the sinister Conte — as opposed to the likable Brando — in the lead role?

Luckily, Coppola made the right decision. Just as Brando was the perfect Vito, Richard Conte was the perfect Barzini.

Villain of the Day

Film Review: Brainstorm (dir by Douglas Trumbull)

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s hard to imagine that someone could overact while playing a corpse but Louise Fletcher somehow manages to do just that in 1983’s Brainstorm and I think we owe her some respect for that. The underrated Fletched won an Oscar for playing Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and she appeared in a handful of other films that I’ve liked (Strange Behavior, the 2012 restoration of Once Upon A Time In America) but, now that I’ve watched Brainstorm, I will always think of her playing a dead character with the biggest, hammiest facial expression ever on her otherwise lifeless face.

In Brainstorm, Fletcher plays Dr. Lillian Reynolds, a chain-smoking scientist who is always upset about something. When Lillian isn’t lighting a cigarette or yelling, “You sold me out!,” she’s clutching her chest and taking her heart pills. Working with her partner, Dr. Michael Brace (Christopher Walken), Lillian has developed a brain-computer interface that allows people’s brain waves to be recorded on tape so that others can then experience what they experienced. In practice, this looks like putting on a helmet and then seeing what appears to be a home movie. What fun! Lillian thinks that the interface can be used to change and save the world. Dr. Brace thinks he can use the interface to discover why his marriage to Karen (Natalie Wood) fell apart. Their associate, Hal (Joe Dorsey), thinks he can use it to experience his friend screwing the babysitter over and over and over again. Meanwhile, Alex Taber (Cliff Robertson) thinks that it can be used as a military weapon.

(Hal is probably the one who comes the closest to what people would actually use this technology for.)

Lillian is not happy about her technology being turned over to the military. She gets upset about it over and over again. Eventually, she suffers one of the most overdramatic heart attacks ever recorded on film. Before she dies, she hooks herself up to the machine and records her dying vision. Michael becomes obsessed with seeing what Lillian saw as she entered the afterlife. Unfortunately, the mean military folks have the tape so it looks like Michael is going to have to unleash some chaos. I can’t think of any other film that mixes Christopher Walken having a beatific vision with a bunch of slapstick humor featuring an out-of-control robot and a bunch of soap bubbles.

Today, if Brainstorm is known for anything, it’s as the film that Natalie Wood was shooting when she died. One popular theory about the circumstances surrounding Wood’s death is that she was having an affair with Christopher Walken. Watching the two of them in this film should disabuse anyone of that notion as the two of them have absolutely zero chemistry as a couple. (For the record, I think Wood’s death was an accident and that a lot of self-styled Internet sleuths owe Robert Wagner an apology.) If there’s anything that this film should be known for, it should be that it features a large number of Oscar nominees and winners and they all end up giving absolutely lousy performances. Even the usually wonderful Christopher Walken seems to be playing someone imitating himself. Watching this film, I was never quite sure why anyone was actually doing anything.

Director Douglas Trumbull was best known for designing the Stargate sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey and, not surprisingly, Brainstorm’s vision of the afterlife is actually pretty effective. One gets the feeling that Trumbull was more comfortable with the special effects than he was with the human actors.

I have to admit that I always smile a little at films where scientists are shocked — shocked, I tell ya! — to discover that their technology is going to be used for military purposes. Why did they think the government was funding them in the first place? Lillian seems to believe that her technology will be used to allow people to experience what it’s like to ride a roller coaster. That’s what IMAX is for.

I Watched Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (1999, Dir. by Paul Cox)

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Dazzling Erin

In the late 19th Century, a leper colony was established on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. Officially, the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement was said to be for the care of people with leprosy, which was then raging across Asia. Unofficially, it was a prison where lepers were isolated from the rest of society and left to die. Any leper who tried to leave the colony would be shot on sight. Father Damien, a Belgian priest, was one of the few people willing to walk amongst the lepers. When he was first sent to the colony, he was ordered to only administer last rites to the dying and to not allow himself to be touched. Instead, Damien stayed and ministered to the lepers, knowing that he would probably never be allowed to leave. For 16 years, Damien ministered to the colony. Even after he himself grew sick, he continued his ministry and continued to be an advocate for his fellow lepers until he died.

Molokai: The Story of Father Damien is a wonderful film about the life and ministry of Father Damien. The movie features a lot of familiar actors in small roles, like Sam Neill, Kris Kristofferson, Peter O’Toole, Tom Wilkinson, and Alice Krige. But the star of the film is David Wenham, who portrays the kindness and dedication of Father Damien without ever making him seem idealized or boring. Father Damien is guided by both his faith and his belief that no one should be abandoned. It’s not always easy to watch. The horrors of leprosy are unflinchingly portrayed. But, by the end of the movie, it doesn’t matter if you’re Catholic or not. You’re just thankful for men like Father Damien.

Saint Damien of Molokai was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

I Watched One In A Million: The Ron LeFlore Story (1978, Dir. by William A. Graham)

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Dazzling Erin

LeVar Burton stars as Ron LeFore. After growing up on the hard streets of Detroit and getting addicted to heroin, Ron is arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to four years in prison. It’s in prison that Ron starts playing baseball and proves himself to be so good at the game that he’s offered a contract with Tigers. (Manager Billy Martin plays himself.) Out of prison, Ron proves himself on the field but he worries about his younger brother (Larry B. Scott), who is still trying to survive in Detroit.

This movies was made for television and no one’s going to mistake it for anything other than a television movie. When the movie was made, Ron LeFore was still playing in the Major Leagues. Several players appear as themselves and the movie feels pretty sanitized. None of the other players give Ron a hard time about being a baseball player on parole. Instead, they’re all supportive and encouraging from the minute he arrives. They’re the nicest jocks around! I like baseball players. I still light up whenever I think about the way Elvis Andrus would smile when he was playing for the Rangers. But even I know that players like to give each other a hard time.

I still liked the movie because it was about second chances and one of the things that I love about baseball is that it’s a game that gives second chances. There is always another chance to hit the ball. There’s always another chance to make a game-saving catch. There’s always another chance to throw a strike. A player who struggles on one team can become a star on another. While the rest of the world gave up Ron LeFore, his family believed in him. The city of Detroit believed in him. Baseball believed in him.

LeVar Burton isn’t the most convincing baseball player that I’ve ever seen but Ron LeFore’s story still moved me. After this movie aired, LeFore went on to set franchise records for stealing bases. After playing a few seasons with the White Sox, he retired from the game in 1983.

Join #MondayMania For Deadly Sorority

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, everyone! Tonight, on twitter, I will be hosting one of my favorite films for #MondayMania! Join us for 2017’s Deadly Sorority!

You can find the movie on Prime and then you can join us on twitter at 9 pm central time! (That’s 10 pm for you folks on the East Coast.) See you then!

Scenes That I Love: Cillian Murphy in 28 Days Later

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, we wish a happy birthday to Cillian Murphy!

Two years ago, Murphy won the Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer. However, before playing the lead role in Christopher Nolan’s epic, Cillian Murphy been an intriguing cinematic presence for over two decades. I first became aware of him after watching Danny Boyle’s 2002 classic, 28 Days Later. Here he is, showing what he can do without even uttering a word of dialogue, in a haunting scene from that film.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Bob Gale Edition

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to screenwriter Bob Gale! It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Films Written By Bob Gale

I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978, dir by Robert Zemeckis, DP: Donald M. Morgan)

1941 (directed by Steven Spielberg, DP: William A. Fraker)

Used Cars (1980, dir by Robert Zemeckis, DP: Donald M. Morgan)

Back to the Future (1986, dir by Robert Zemeckis, DP: Dean Cundey)

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us for Lavalantula!

Posted on May 25, 2026 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 Lavalantula!

If you want to join this watch party, just hop onto Mastodon, pull up Kid Cannabis on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!

Enjoy!