Category Archives: Film

Scenes That I Love: Clara Bow Prepares For Her Date In 1927’s It!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It (1927, directed by Clarence Badger)

Today, we celebrate the birthday of my pre-code, silent film role model, the amazing Clara Bow!  Clara was born 115 years ago, on this date, in Brooklyn, New York.  As an actress, she was one of the biggest stars of the silent era.  She came to represent the the Roaring 20s in all of their glory.  She also co-starred in the first film to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture, Wings!

Below is a scene from my favorite Clara Bow film, 1928’s It.  Playing a poor but confident shopgirl who falls in love with her wealthy boss, Bow was so popular with audiences that she became known as the “It Girl.”

In the scene below, she prepares for a date with her boss.  She may not be as rich as her romantic rivals but she doesn’t let that stand in her way.  She’s Clara Bow.  She’s got it and she knows it.

Here’s The Trailer For Blonde!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

There are some people out there (mainly on Twitter) who are convinced that Andrew Dominik’s film adaptation of Blonde will be the first NC-17 film to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

Well …. maybe.  If I’m skeptical, it’s because I can still remember suffering through Dominik’s previous non-documentary film, Killing Them Softly.  That said, Ana de Armas seems like she’s destined to be nominated some day and playing the lead role of Marilyn Monroe in a controversial film adapted from a controversial Joyce Carol Oates novel seems like the sort of thing that will get the Academy’s attention.

Here’s the trailer for Blonde:

Here’s The Trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Every few years, we get a new version of Pinocchio.  Walt Disney was responsible for the best-known version.  And then there were a few live action versions that were made in Europe in the 50s and 60s.  There was a pornographic version in the 70s that featured the immortal tag line, “This time, it isn’t his nose that grows!”  If I remember correctly, there were a few made-for-television versions.  Roberto Begnini did a version that I’ve never seen but many people have told me that it’s terrifying.

Well, it’s 2022 and that means that were due a new version.  This time, it’s Guillermo del Toro’s turn to bring the tale of a wooden boy to life.  His animated version will be released on Netflix in December and, given how much the Oscars have recently embraced del Toro, it seems likely that it will be a contender for Best Animated Feature Film.  That’s fine, by me.  I like del Toro.  Of the latest crop of Best Picture nominees, Nightmare Alley is the one that has really stuck with me.  Certainly, it’s stuck with me more than whatever it was that actually won.

(Seriously, what did win?)

Here’s the trailer for Pinocchio!

Here’s The Trailer for TAR!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Director Todd Field, who directed two masterpieces (In The Bedroom and Little Children) and then seemingly fell off the face of the Earth, has returned!  His latest film is TAR and it’s due to be released on October 7th of this year, just in time to make a potential splash in the Oscar race.

In TAR, Cate Blanchett plays a composer who is recording a symphony.  In the just-released teaser below, she smokes in slow motion.  Actually, the trailer makes the film look a bit like a horror film.  It’s intriguing, though.  We’ll see what this is all about in October!

Comic-Con 2022: Here’s The Trailer for Shazam! Fury of the Gods!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The first Shazam has a loyal legion of fans, many of whim cite it as being perhaps the most underrated comic book movie of the past few years.  Watching the trailer for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which just dropped at Comic-Con, I think those fans are going to be happy with the sequel.

As for myself, I like Zachary Levi so I’m hoping for the best.  His monologue at the start of this trailer made me smile.

Nothing’s more important than family.

Comic-Con 2022: Here’s The Teaser For John Wick: Chapter 4

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Coming to us straight from Comic-Con 2022, here is the teaser for the fourth film starring everyone’s favorite killer, John Wick!  Keanu Reeves is back in John Wick: Chapter 4!  And even better, Bill Skarsgard is with him!

(Or, actually, against him….)

Without further ado, here is the teaser!

Who would have thought that Keanu Reeves, who is apparently the world’s nicest movie start, would also turn out to be the most convincing action hero not named Tom Cruise?

Here’s The First Poster For Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Listen, I have no idea what films are going to be nominated for this year’s Oscars or next year’s Oscars.  I really don’t.  I can guess but I certainly am not a 100% certain about anything.

However, I do know that it seems like Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is being set up as next year’s big Oscar bait film.  Along with featuring an incredible cast and dealing with an important subject, it’s also directed by a filmmaker who many (especially on Twitter) consider to be overdue for some Oscar love, Christopher Nolan.

Admittedly, of course, it takes more than Twitter excitement to turn a film into a hit and Oppenheimer could be a hard sell when it comes to filmgoers who are less into history and auteurs than the members of Film Twitter are.  (Let’s not forget what happened with Damien Chazelle’s First Man a few years ago.  Or, for that matter, Nolan’s Interstellar.)  Personally, though, I’m rooting for the film.  I like Christopher Nolan.  I like Cillian Murphy.  I like Emily Blunt.  I want them all to succeed.

(Of course, I imagine a lot of the coverage will center on Robert Downey, Jr. and Florence Pugh and the phenomenon of two MCU starts appearing in a non-MCU film.  Such is the way of most mainstream film coverage nowadays….)

The first poster for Oppenheimer was released today and it leaves little doubt that it’s a film about a man who was at the center of the development of one of the greatest and deadliest weapons ever created.  A shadowy J. Robert Oppenheimer stands in the flames of his own creation.

Oppenheimer will arrived in one year, on July 21st, 2023.

Here’s The Trailer For Curse of the Kraken!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Below, you’ll find the trailer for Curse of the Kraken.  Humanity has been dumping trash in the ocean for so long that the Kraken has decided to toss it all back onto dry land.  It’s also decided to use its tentacles to create some cartoonish gore.

Yes, this is apparently a real movie.  And who knows?  With the right attitude, it could be fun.  I’ll watch just about anything.