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Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 1/10/22 — 1/16/22

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week sick.  No …. not COVID sick.  Instead, I just had a cold.  I get a cold every January.  In fact, I almost always get a cold during the second week of January so really, I guess I should be happy that I’m consistent about these things.  The temperature is plunging outside.  The nights are below freezing.  The days aren’t much better.  The snow that is covering the rest of the country might reach us eventually.  Who knows?  But, my point is, this is the type of weather that always leads to me getting a cold so it’s no surprise or reason for worry that I ended up with a cold this week.

Still, being sick when there’s things you want to do sucks!  And it especially sucks right now because anytime I so much as sniff in public, everyone turns around and stares like I’m a witch.  And it doesn’t matter if I’m wearing a mask.  I could probably carry a negative COVID test around with me and there’s certain people in the world who would freak out the slightest hint of a cough.

My point is, people are paranoid out there.  But again, I’m not a witch.  I’m just a girl with asthma, trying to survive the cold season.  I will happily be weighed alongside a duck because I am definitely not a witch.

Anyway, I was sick from Monday until Thursday.  I’m over it now and I’m ready to make up for missed time over the upcoming week!  Here’s what I watched, read, and listened to this week:

Films I Watched:

  1. American Ninja 2 (1987)
  2. Dear Evan Hansen (2021)
  3. End of a Gun (2016)
  4. God’s Not Dead: We The People (2021)
  5. I Hear The Trees Whispering (2022)
  6. The Internship (2013)
  7. The Last Duel (2021)
  8. Mass (2021)
  9. Murder in the Blue Room (1944)
  10. The Truman Show (1998)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. Allo Allo
  2. The Amazing Race
  3. The Bachelor
  4. Bar Rescue
  5. Football Game: Cowboys vs The Cheaters
  6. Full House
  7. Judge Steve Harvey
  8. King of the Hill
  9. Mom
  10. The Office
  11. Open All Hours
  12. Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules
  13. Silk Stalkings

Books I Read:

  1. The Man on the Train (1988) by W.J. Chaput

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Alesso
  2. Avicii
  3. Bee Gees
  4. Blondie
  5. Britney Spears
  6. Calvin Harris
  7. The Chambers Brothers
  8. Charli XCX
  9. The Chemical Brothers
  10. Chic
  11. Coldplay
  12. Donavon
  13. Fatboy Slim
  14. Fiona Apple
  15. Icona Pop
  16. John Carpenter
  17. JR JR
  18. Katy Perry
  19. Muse
  20. Paper Lace
  21. The Prodigy
  22. Saint Motel
  23. Samuel
  24. Smokey Robinson
  25. Steve Miller Band
  26. Taylor Swift
  27. Underworld
  28. Wyre
  29. Yvonne Elliman

Best of 2021:

  1. 25 Best, Worst, and Gems Val Saw In 2021 (Valerie Troutman)

Awards Season:

  1. North Dakota Film Society Nominations
  2. San Francisco Bay Area Critics Circle Winners
  3. Denver Film Critics Society Nominations
  4. Seattle Film Critics Society Nominations
  5. San Diego Film Critics Society Winners
  6. Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Guild Nominations
  7. Music City Film Critics Association Nominations
  8. Austin Film Critics Association Winners
  9. SAG Nominations
  10. Georgia Film Critics Association Winners
  11. Hawaii Film Critics Society Winners
  12. Iowa Film Critics Association Winners
  13. Kansas City Film Critics Circle Winners
  14. Toronto Film Critics Association Winners

Trailers:

  1. 6 Classic Trailers for January 16th, 2022

News From Last Week:

  1. Groundbreaking Canadian Director Jean-Claude Lord dies at 78
  2. French director Jean-Jacques Beineix dies
  3. Cultural Critic Terry Teachout Dies
  4. Legendary singer Sonny Turner dies at 83
  5. Icon Ronnie Spector dies at 78
  6. Box Office: ‘Scream’ Debuts to Bloody Impressive $30.6 Million

Links From Last Week:

  1. Hiking To The Iconic Hollywood Sign! Getting My Tinseltown Close-Up!
  2. The World’s Common Tater’s Week in Books, Movies, and TV 1/14/22

Links From The Site:

  1. Case reviewed Gone and the Lady Vic episode of Titans!
  2. Erin shared The Scarlet Spade, The Grindle Nightmare, The Smasher, A Half Interest in Murder, Crockett’s Woman, The Shame Takers, and Top of the Heap!  She also reviewed Forever Strong and took a look at the covers of Detective Short Stories!
  3. Jeff reviewed Gunfighters, End of the Gun, Griff the Invisible, Rangers of Fortune, The Doolins of Oklahoma, Ring of Terror, and Space Rage!  He also played Second Wind and wrote about Galactus and the first ever televised football game!
  4. Val shared her 25 Best, Worst, and Gems list of 2021!
  5. Ryan reviewed The Christmas Before/Santer, Quiet Thoughts, and Sour Pickles!
  6. I shared music videos from Wyre, The Chambers Brothers, Chic, Bee Gees, Steve Miller Band, Paper Lace, and Yvonne Elliman!
  7. I reviewed Ford: The Man and the Machine, Dear Evan Hansen, I Hear The Trees Whispering, Space Mutiny, and God’s Not Dead 4.
  8. I paid tribute to John Carpenter and Walter Hill!
  9. I shared scenes from Diva and Bonnie and Clyde, 
  10. I read 1988!
  11. I shared my week in television and reviewed the Dexter finale!
  12. I shared an AMV of the Day and a short film called The Other Fellow’s Feelings!

More From Us:

  1. Ryan has a patreon!  Consider subscribing! 
  2. For Horror Critic, I reviewed I Hear The Trees Whispering!
  3. At my online dream journal, I shared: Monday Morning’s Lecture Dream, No Dreams on Tuesday, Wednesday Morning’s Snow Dream, Thursday Morning’s Locked-In Dream, Friday Morning’s Broken Window Dream, No Dreams on Saturday Morning, and Sunday Morning’s Trip To The Lake Dream!
  4. For Reality TV Chat, I wrote about the latest episode of The Amazing Race!
  5. At my music site, I shared songs from Avicii, Samuel, Muse, Alesso & Katy Perry, Coldplay, David Shire, and Donavon!
  6. At Pop Politics, Jeff shared Look Who’s Running Again, Tom Malinowski Channels Henry V, Larry Hogan for Senate?, He’s Always Been Like This, It’s About Time, God Has Abandoned The Patriots, and Thank You, Tom Brady!
  7. At her photography site, Erin shared mediation, Light in A Tunnel, Flower, New Angle, Guard, Shoes on a Wire, and Blue Sky!

Want to see what I did last week?  Click here!

(I am not a witch.)

6 Classic Trailers For January 16th, 2022

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since today is the birthday of John Carpenter, can you guess what the theme of the latest edition of Lisa Mare’s Favorite Grindhouse Trailers is going to be?

Enjoy!

  1. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

Let’s get things started with the wonderfully grainy trailer for 1976’s Assault on Precinct 13!  Though the film may have been intended as an homage to Howard Hawks’s Rio Bravo, everything about the trailer screams grindhouse.  

2. Halloween (1978)

Assault on Precinct 13 may not have set the box office on fire but it did help build Carpenter’s critical reputation.  One fan of the film was the actress Angela Pleasence, who suggested to her father, Donald, that he accept Carpenter’s offer to play the role of Dr. Loomis in Carpenter’s next film.  And that film, of course, was Halloween!

3. Escape From New York (1981)

Donald Pleasence returned to play the President in Escape from New York and, of course, Kurt Russell appeared in his first Carpenter feature film.  (Russell had previously played Elvis in a Carpenter-directed television film.)  Though the film may not have been an immediate hit in the United States, it was embraced in Europe and it led to an entire series of Italian films about people trying to escape New York.

4. The Thing (1982)

Carpenter and Russell reunited for The Thing, another film that underappreciated when first released but which has since become a classic.

5. They Live (1988)

They Live is one of Carpenter’s best films and certainly his most subversive.  What may have seemed paranoid in 1988 feels prophetic today.

6. In The Mouth of Madness (1995)

Finally, in 1995, Carpenter proved himself to be one of the few directors to be able to capture the feel of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu stories on film.  In The Mouth of Madness, like other Carpenter films, has been rewatched and reappraised over the years and is now widely recognized as a classic.

Happy birthday to the great John Carpenter!

Here Are The 2021 Music City Film Critics Association Nominatons!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Just to be clear, the Music City referred to here is Nashville.

The nominations were announced yesterday.  The winners will be announced on January 25th.

BEST FILM
Belfast
C’mon C’mon
CODA
Dune
Licorice Pizza
The French Dispatch
The Harder They Fall
The Power of the Dog
Tick, Tick…Boom!
West Side Story
​
BEST DIRECTOR
Denis Villeneuve – Dune
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story

BEST ACTRESS
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Kristen Stewart – Spencer
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter

BEST ACTOR
Andrew Garfield – Tick, Tick…Boom!
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy Of Macbeth
Nicolas Cage – Pig
​Simon Rex – Red Rocket
Will Smith – King Richard

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Ann Dowd – Mass
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Caitriona Balfe – Belfast
Kathryn Hunter – The Tragedy Of Macbeth
Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – Licorice Pizza
Colman Domingo – Zola
Jason Isaacs – Mass
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog
Troy Kotsur – CODA

BEST YOUNG ACTRESS
Emilia Jones – CODA
McKenna Grace – Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Millicent Simmonds – A Quiet Place Part II
Rachel Zegler – West Side Story
Saniyya Sidney – King Richard

BEST YOUNG ACTOR
Cooper Hoffman – ​Licorice Pizza
Jude Hill – Belfast
Noah Jupe – A Quiet Place Part II
Reyn Doi – Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar
Woody Norman – C’mon C’mon

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Mass
The Harder They Fall

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Flee
Summer Of Soul
The First Wave
The Rescue
Val

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Drive My Car
Flee
The Hand Of God
Titane
The Worst Person In The World

BEST SCREENPLAY
Belfast
The French Dispatch
​Licorice Pizza
Mass
The Power of the Dog

BEST SONG
“Dos Oruguitas” – Encanto
“Guns Go Bang” – The Harder They Fall
“Just Look Up” – Don’t Look Up
“No Time to Die” – No Time To Die
​”So May We Start” – Annette

BEST SCORE
Germaine Franco – Encanto
Hans Zimmer – Dune
Jonny Greenwood – The Power of the Dog
Jonny Greenwood – Spencer
Nicholas Britell – Don’t Look Up

BEST SOUND
A Quiet Place Part II
Dune
No Time To Die
Spider-Man: No Way Home
The Power of the Dog

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Belfast
Dune
The Power of the Dog
The Tragedy Of Macbeth
West Side Story

BEST EDITING
Belfast
Dune
Last Night In Soho
​Licorice Pizza
The Power of the Dog

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Dune
Last Night In Soho
Nightmare Alley
The French Dispatch
The Tragedy Of Macbeth

BEST MUSIC FILM
In The Heights
Respect
Summer Of Soul
Tick, Tick…Boom!
West Side Story

BEST COMEDY FILM
Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar
Don’t Look Up
Free Guy
​Licorice Pizza
Red Rocket

BEST HORROR FILM
A Quiet Place Part II
Lamb
Last Night In Soho
Malignant
The Night House

BEST ACTION FILM
Dune
No Time To Die
Nobody
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
Spider-Man: No Way Home

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 1/3/22 — 1/9/22

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s been a long week.  On Monday, the WiFi at the house went down.  It was down for about 15 hours.  It was frustrating and it set me behind for the rest of the week.  It also made me think about what life must have been like in the past.  How did people used to live without all of this technology?  I imagine they were very happy for 32 years that they lived before dying of the plague or sweating sickness.  I swear, I’ve read about people in the 13th century dying of something called “sun sickness.”  I have no idea what sun sickness was but apparently, it was a thing!

My point is, things could always be worse.  You could go to sleep tonight and wake up in 1342.  Think abut the next time you’re tempted to give into the forces of doom and gloom.

Here’s what I watched, read, and listened to this week!

Films I Watched:

  1. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
  2. Hostile (2017)
  3. Meteorites (1998)
  4. The Net (1995)
  5. National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
  6. Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979)
  7. Sworn to Justice (1996)
  8. Tommy (1975)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. Allo Allo
  2. The Amazing Race 33
  3. The Bachelor
  4. The Brady Bunch
  5. Dexter: New Blood
  6. Joe Millionaire
  7. The Larry Sanders Show
  8. The Love Boat
  9. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
  10. The Office
  11. Open All Hours
  12. Shipping Wars
  13. Silk Stalkings
  14. US Figure Skating Championship
  15. WKRP In Cincinnati

Books I Read:

  1. Limo (1976) by Dan Jenkins and Bud Shrake
  2. The Prodigal Daughter (1982) by Jeffrey Archer

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Andrea True Connection
  2. Avril Lavigne
  3. Bee Gees
  4. Blondie
  5. Britney Spears
  6. CHIC
  7. Coldplay
  8. Commodores
  9. Donavon
  10. Donna Summer
  11. Emerson Lake and Palmer
  12. The Four Tops
  13. Gloria Gaynor
  14. Hot Chocolate
  15. Jefferson Airplane
  16. Katy Perry
  17. KC and the Sunshine Band
  18. Muse
  19. Rick Dees and his Cast of Idiots
  20. Saint Motel
  21. The Trammps
  22. Walter Murphy
  23. Yvonne Elliman

Awards Season:

  1. Golden Globe Winners
  2. Columbus Film Critics Association Winners
  3. Chicago Indie Critics Winners
  4. National Society of Film Critics Winners
  5. San Diego Film Critics Nominations
  6. Georgia Film Critics Association Nominations
  7. Hawaii Film Critics Society Nominations
  8. Critics Association of Central Florida Winners
  9. North Carolina Film Critics Association Winners
  10. Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Winners
  11. Chicago Indie Critics Nominations

Trailers:

  1. Six Classic Trailers For January 8th, 2022

News From Last Week:

  1. Trail-blazing Oscar Winner Sidney Poitier dies.
  2. Director Peter Bogdanovich dies.
  3. Award-winning lyricist Marilyn Bergman dies
  4. Michael Lang, co-creator of Woodstock, dies
  5. Actor Mark Forest Dies
  6. Comedian Bob Saget Dies At 65
  7. Dwayne Hickman, Star of ‘The Many Lives of Dobie Gillis,’ Dies at 87
  8. Actress Joan Copeland Dies at 99
  9. Golden Globes 2022: HFPA Fails to Secure Celebrity Presenters

Links From Last Week:

  1. Why Do Poets Paint
  2. RIP Sidney Poitier…A Tribute To A Groundbreaking Actor And Activist…
  3. The World’s Worst Album Covers! Celebrating Horrible Vinyl Cover Art – Plus Some Good Songs Too!
  4. The World’s Common Tater’s Last Few Weeks In Movies, Books, and Television 1/7/22

Links From The Site:

  1. Ryan reviewed Scoop Scuttle And His Pals, Beatnik Buenos Aires, Marshal Law, and A Superhero Comic Book!
  2. Erin shared The Girl With The Long Green Heart, Office Wife, Crime, Bed-Time Angel, A Girl Called Joy, Gambler’s Girl, and Reno Tramp!  She also shared The Covers of Fantastic and reviewed King’s Faith!
  3. Jeff reviewed Battles of Chief Pontiac, The Gatling Gun, Mohawk, The Light of Western Stars, Bully, Riders of Destiny, and The Fighting Vigilantes!  He also played Being A Thing and shared a moment featuring Elvis and Sinatra!  Finally, he wrote about the angst of Spider-Man!
  4. I reviewed the ninth episode of Dexter, Monster, Kapo, An American Dream, Strike Commando, East of the Mountains, and The Last Don II!
  5. I shared music videos from KC and the Sunshine Band, Walter Murphy, The Trammps, Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots, Bee Gees, Hot Chocolate, and The Brady Bunch!
  6. I read Alright Alright Alright, The Prodigal Daughter, The War For Late Night, The Power Exchange, Things I’ve Said But Probably Shouldn’t Have, The Power of the Dog, and Monster!
  7. I paid tribute to Sidney Poitier, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert Duvall, Carlos Saura,, and Sergio Leone!
  8. I shared The Outsider and scenes from For A Few Dollars More, Christiane F, Wild At Heart, Cobra, and Once Upon A Time In America!
  9. I shared my week in television and an AMV of the Day!
  10. I wrote about what could have been with The Godfather Part III!

More From Us:

  1. Ryan has a patreon!  You should subscribe!
  2. At Days Without Incident, Leonard shared Happy New Year, Hurt, Putting Out Fire, Dead Man Walking, and As The World Falls Down!
  3. At Pop Politics. Jeff shared: Fireworks on a Cold Night, Bobby Rush Is Retiring, Michael Steele Is Not Running, The More Things Change, Nick Kristof Has Been Kicked Off The Ballot, Elvis Joins The Army, and Sign of the Times.
  4. At her photography site, Erin shared: The Cold Never Leaves, Dallas Fountains in Black-and-White, City Dreams, City Street, Reaching, Falling, and Dealey!
  5. At my music site, I shared songs from Yvonne Elliman, CHIC, Andrea True Connection, Bee Gees, Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, and Commodores!
  6. At SyFyDesigns, I shared: I Don’t Trust Google, Freedom?, The Amazing Race, Hoping For Snow, Did Video Stores Still Exist In 2009?, A Poem For Winter, and The 6 Best Reality Competition Shows!
  7. At my online dream journal, I shared: Garage Nightmare, Car Accident Dream, Bus Crash Dream, Licorice Pizza Dream, Socially Awkward Dream, I Think I Had A Dream Last Night, and No Sleep No Dreams!
  8. At Reality TV Chat Blog, I reviewed the first episode of The Amazing Race!
  9. At Horror Critic, I reviewed Hostile!

Want to see what I did last week?  Click here!

4 Shots From 4 Films: In Tribute To Sidney Poitier

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!

Earlier, today, it was announced that Sidney Poitier had passed away at the age of 94.

Poitier was, of course, the first black actor to win the Oscar for Best Actor.  He won that award for 1962’s Lillies of the Field.  He would go on to star in the Oscar-winning In The Heat of the Night, where he delivered the famous line, “They call me Mr. Tibbs!”  Poitier was one of the first black actors to be acknowledged as a movie star.  In the 70s and the 80s, he chafed at the limited selection of roles that he was being offered in mainstream productions and he started to produce and direct his own films.  He also served as a diplomat, serving as the Bahamian ambassador to both Japan and UNESCO.

In honor of Poitier’s life and legacy, here are….

4 Shots From 4 Sidney Poitier Films

A Raisin in the Sun (1961, dir by Daniel Petrie, DP: Charles Lawton Jr.)

Paris Blues (1961, dir by Martin Ritt, DP: Christian Matras)

In The Heat of the Night (1967, dir by Norman Jewison, DP: Haskell Wexler)

Brother John (1971, dir by James Goldstone, DP: Gerald Perry Finnerman)

Alex Skarsgard seeks vengeance in Robert Eggers’ The Northman Trailer!

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

Robert Eggers is back with another film, and I couldn’t be more excited for it. I’m a little surprised that The Northman isn’t under A24 like his other films. This time, Eggers is working with Focus Features and Universal.

Look at this cast: Alexander Skarsgârd (Godzilla vs. Kong), Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos), Claes Bang (Netflix’s Dracula), Willem Dafoe (Eggers’ The Lighthouse), Anya Taylor-Joy (Eggers’ The Witch), Ethan Hawke (The Black Phone) and Bjork (Dancer in the Dark). Much like Conan, The Northman follows a man hellbent on avenging his father’s death.

The Northman releases in theatres April 22.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (dir. by Jon Watts)

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

This is basically where we are.

If you haven’t seen a film on the Thursday preview night, chances are every online publisher is going to share spoilers by Friday Evening. I get it. It’s the Nature of the Beast. It makes for news, and there are people out there who either don’t mind being spoiled or need to know what they’re seeing going into a film. It’s partially why sites like Movie Pooper, and Does The Dog Die are popular. I usually try not to say anything about a movie on Twitter because of this. Everyone deserves to feel that sense of awe and surprise when the lights come down in their cinema.

These are as spoiler free as I can make them. I may write something else to focus on my thoughts with spoilers down the road.

If you managed to stay off the Internet and avoid any spoilers to Spider-Man: No Way Home (outside of the trailers themselves), then you are in for some grand fun that is almost on the level of Avengers: Endgame. I’ve been to the theatres a few times during the pandemic. Perhaps because it was an After-Midnight showing, but the audience was fantastic. The film comes full circle, with an adventure that celebrates Spider-Man’s guest appearance in the MCU for Disney/Marvel, while still building on the character for Sony’s purposes in the future. As a Trilogy, Jon Watts and the team deserve a round of applause for sticking the landing so very well here. The third film in a series is never easy, and even Sam Raimi found that out with Spider-Man 3. By the time the movie was done, I was soaking up the applause like Colin Robinson in What We Do In the Shadows.

The film picks up right at the last end credit from Spider-Man: Far From Home with Quentin Beck’s Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) proclaiming to the world (through J. Jonah Jameson, played by J.K. Simmons as usual) that Spider-Man was in control of the Stark Drones and that he is really Peter Parker. Normally, my first thought here would be to own it – like Stark did. However, with murders tied in, it’s a bad rap for our webbed hero and anyone associated with him. Peter decides to make things right by visiting Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch, Power of the Dog) to make everyone forget that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. This gets botched and pulls through some villains that our Peter (Tom Holland) isn’t quite ready for.

As you’ve seen in the posters and trailers, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina, Spider-Man 2), and Norman Osborn (Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man) along with a few others are pulled from their universe into Peter’s. When Peter discovers their fates in their own universes, he makes an attempt to save them, which puts him at odds with Doctor Strange. Can Peter find a way to change their futures, and clear his name in the process?

Of course, the gang’s all here. Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Tony Revolori, Angourie Rice, Marisa Tomei, and Jon Favreau are all on hand for this third one. Everyone has something to offer, with Zendaya, Batalon, and Tomei carrying the most weight. The only awkward character in the whole bunch is Favreau’s Happy Hogan, who is regulated into kind of a silly comic relief here. I don’t know. I just remember Happy being a bit more capable than they way they have him this time around.

From a writing standpoint, it’s somewhat innovative. If we didn’t already have the 2019’s Academy Award winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse, I’d say No Way Home was walking into uncharted territory. The film makes up for this by allowing our Peter to choose differently, compared to what we historically know about Spider-Man and these villains. I honestly enjoyed that angle and thought it helped to drive home the whole “With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility” motto that defines Spider-Man.

Musically, Michael Giacchino weaves his own form of magic here. Pulling themes both from Doctor Strange and what he’s done with the previous films, there are a number of great sequences. When all is said and done, the score for this film may very well rival Shirley Walker’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm score for me.

At the time of this writing, it sounds like NYC is headed for another lockdown. I’m hoping that’s not the case. If this is the last movie I get to see in a theatre for a while, I’m thankful for it. Spider-Man: No Way Home completes a great handoff from Disney/Marvel to Sony. The character did what he needed for Disney/Marvel’s MCU, and Sony still holds the movie rights to the character for where they want to take him. I’m hopeful for Spider-Man’s cinematic future.

Our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s going to be okay.

The Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore trailer changes our villain again!

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

Ah, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter returns! With all of the controversy surrounding the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard breakup, Warner Bros. made a switch and now Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) is our new Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore! What is it with Mikkelsen playing sorcerers hell bent on destroying things? This is becoming a trend.

This third act has our hero, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and his friends out to stop Grindelwald before he can do more damage. As a prequel to the Potter stories, I’m pretty sure they’ll succeed, but how they get there is important. Though I’m not particularly excited for this, having Mads on board is never a bad thing.

Returning are Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Jude Law, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler and Ezra Miller.

The film will be available in theatres in April 2022.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 12/6/21 — 12/12/21

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week getting ready for Christmas and the first two days of January.  I wrote some reviews that I’m very proud of and I can’t wait to share them with all of you on January 1st!

Here’s what I watched, read, and listened to this week:

My favorite scene from All About Eve

Films I Watched:

  1. All About Eve (1950)
  2. And New For Something Completely Different (1971)
  3. Epiphany (2019)
  4. 52 Pick-Up (1986)
  5. Invasion of the Pod People (2007)
  6. The Irishman (2019)
  7. The Last Don (1997)
  8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
  9. My Daughter’s Double Life (2021)
  10. Scream 3 (2000)
  11. Sisters for Life (2021)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. A Very Boy Band Christmas
  2. The Bachelorette
  3. Boxing
  4. Curb Your Enthusiasm
  5. Dexter: New Blood
  6. Fear The Walking Dead
  7. King of the Hill
  8. The Love Boat
  9. Parking Wars
  10. Seinfeld
  11. 70th Miss Universe Pageant
  12. Survivor
  13. Talking Dead
  14. The Walking Dead: World Beyond

Books I Read:

  1. Behind the Bell (2009) by Dustin Diamond
  2. The Books of Rachel (1979) by Joel Gross
  3. The Lives of Rachel (1984) by Joel Gross

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Adi Ulmansky
  2. Avril Lavigne
  3. Bloc Party
  4. Bob Dylan
  5. Britney Spears
  6. The Chemical Brothers
  7. Fiona Apple
  8. Hazel English
  9. Jake Bugg
  10. Jessica Simpson
  11. Katy Perry
  12. Kitten
  13. Manuel Agnelli
  14. Maya Hawke
  15. Moby
  16. Muse
  17. Phantogram
  18. P!nk
  19. Saint Motel
  20. Taylor Swift
  21. Tiffany Day
  22. UPSAHL
  23. Yael Ariel

Awards Season:

  1. Atlanta Film Critics Winners
  2. Detroit Film Critics Society Winners
  3. Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Winners
  4. AFI Top Ten of 2021
  5. Alliance of Women Film Journalist Nominations
  6. Boston Online Film Critics Winners
  7. Las Vegas Film Critics Society Nominations
  8. New York Film Critics Online Winners
  9. Boston Society of Film Critics Winners
  10. St. Louis Film Critics Association Nominations
  11. Philadelphia Film Critics Circle Winners

News From Last Week:

  1. Director Lina Wertmuller, first woman to be nominated for Best Director, dies
  2. Author Anne Rice Dies At 80
  3. Michael Nesmith, “the quiet Monkee” dead at 78
  4. Rapper Slim 400, at age 33, shot and killed in Los Angeles
  5. Actress Cara Williams dies at 96
  6. Actor Jussie Smollett found guilty on five of six counts of disorderly conduct
  7. ‘West Side Story’ Falls Flat at Box Office With Disappointing $10 Million Debut

Links From Last Week:

  1. RIP Anne Rice
  2. RIP Michael Nesmith…From The Monkees To “Elephant Parts” and More…
  3. The World’s Common Tater’s Week in Books, Movies, and TV 12/10/21

Links From The Site:

  1. Ryan reviewed Buzza Wuzza, Transmissions from Dreamtown, and More Seasons of Gary!
  2. I reviewed the latest episodes of Dexter: New Blood and Fear The Walking Dead and Sisters For Life!  I shared my week in television!  I shared music videos from Tiffany Day, UPSAHL, Manuel Agnelli, Maya Hawke, Bloc Party, Yael Ariel, and Kitten!
  3. Erin shared Amazing Stories, The Warriors of Kaneohe, Startling Stories, The Planet of Peril, Amazing Detective Tales, Film Fun, and Rangeland Romances!

More From Us:

  1. Ryan has a patreon!  You should subscribe! 
  2. For The Comics Journal, Ryan took a look at the history and the meaning of Peter Milligan’s and Duncan Fegredo’s Engima!
  3. At Days Without Incident, Leonard shared songs from Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, and Seatbelts!
  4. At her photography site, Erin shared: For the Birds, Pearl Harbor Memorial 2003, Santa!, Grinch, Santa Again, Snow Hitchhiker, and White Rock Lake!
  5. For Reality TV Chat, I reviewed the latest episode of Survivor!
  6. On my music site, I shared songs from Hazel English, Jake Bugg, Muse, Phantogram, P!nk, Avril Lavigne, and Britney Spears!

Want to see what I did last week?  Click here!