Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Range Feud (1931, directed by D. Ross Lederman)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In a frontier town, two ranching families are at war.  The Turners claim that the Waltons have been stealing and reselling their cattle.  Even an attempt to hold a peace meeting at the local church just leads to more fighting.  Complicating things is that young Clint Turner (John Wayne) is in love with Judy Walton (Susan Fleming).  When someone shoots John Walton (Edward LeSaint) through the window of his office, Clint is the number one suspect.  Not helping is that Clint had an empty round in his gun.  Clint says that he fired at a coyote but he missed.  Everyone else in town says that its time to hang Clint without a trial.

Only Sheriff Buck Gordon (Buck Jones) stands between the mob and Clint.  Buck was raised by the Turner family and considers Clint to be his brother.  However, Buck still knows that Clint might be guilty but there’s no way that Buck is going to allow mob justice to rule his town!

The Range Feud was one of the many B-programmers that were released in the 30s.  Running less than 60 minutes, it is a briskly paced western that features a theme that was present in many westerns, the battle between mob justice and the law.  The townspeople who are eager to hang Clint without a trial represent the old ways of doing things while Buck represents the new way, in which everyone is innocent until proven guilty and entitled to a fair trial.

Buck Jones was one of the best of the early western heroes.  He played tough-but-fair men who could definitely handle themselves in a fight but who preferred to try to reason their way out of conflict.  Buck Jones served in a Calvary unit, worked as a cowboy, and started in the film business as a stunt man.  He had an authenticity that set him apart from others who merely pretended to be cowboys.  That authenticity serves him well in The Range Feud.  He may feel bad about having to arrest his stepbrother but any character played by Buck Jones can be guaranteed to follow the law.  In real life, Buck Jones died a hero.  In 1942, Buck Jones was at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston when a fire broke out.  Though Jones initially was able to get out of the nightclub, he subsequently reentered to help other people get out.  Severely burned, he died of his injuries two days later.

Of course, the main reason that people will track down this film is for a chance to see the young John Wayne playing a key  supporting role as Clint Turner.  It’s always a little bit strange to see Wayne playing a young man.  He’s one of those actors who you always assume was always in his 40s.  Wayne is likable as the free-spirited Clint, though it is again strange to see Wayne playing someone other than an authority figure.  For once, it’s Wayne who ends up in jail and who is dependent on someone else to save him.

The Range Feud is an entertaining and fast-moving western.  Fans of the genre and of Buck Jones and John Wayne will appreciate it.

The Marcel The Shell With Shoes On trailer takes us on an adventure.

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

I’ll admit, watching the trailer for A24’s Marcel The Shell With Shoes, I was a little amused. The story of a Shell looking to find their family is cute, but once Phil Collins’ “Take Me Home” kicked in, I was hooked. A24 is known for being weird, and this doesn’t look like it’ll disappoint.

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On stars Jenny Slate (Zootopia), Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel), and Isabella Rossellini (Death Becomes Her), and will be released this June.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 3/27/22 — 4/2/22

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I spent most of this week passed out, to be honest.  Oscar Sunday took a lot out of me.  Here’s a few thoughts on what I did watch:

The Academy Awards (Sunday Night, ABC)

I wrote about the Oscars here.

Allo Allo (Sunday Night, PBS)

Could the British airmen escape from floating down a canal and meeting a submarine?  It sounds like a good idea but …. no, of course it’s not going to work.  Good moaning, indeed!

American Idol (Monday Night, ABC)

Hollywood week!  The genre challenge!  It was boring.  The indie folk group had some of the most annoying singers that I’ve ever seen.  I’m really hoping that the girl who keeps bragging about how “weird” she is will get eliminated early.  If you’re truly weird, you don’t have to beg people to notice.

Baywatch Hawaii (Hulu)

On Wednesday, I finally watched episode two of the second and final season of Baywatch Hawaii.  JD wasn’t being a team player so Sean briefly suspended him and then asked him to help with a rescue.  JD learned an important lesson about putting aside your own concerns and taking one for the team.  Bleh.  Meanwhile, the father of an injured jet skier tried to sue Baywatch Hawaii but then he met the couple who was nearly killed by his son’s carelessness and he dropped his lawsuit.  Yay!  Lessons were learned all around.

On Thursday, I watched episode three.  Jenna was determined to shut down Baywatch and sell the property to the Mafia.  Sean was determined to raise the money necessary to pay his bills.  Fortunately, Jason and Zack saved the gangsters from drowning and, as a result, Baywatch lived to see another day.  You can’t put someone out of business after they save your life.  It’s the Mafia code.

The Brady Bunch (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

All four of Sunday’s episodes centered around the kids playing baseball.  Greg wanted to drop out of school to pursue a career in the majors so Mike used a baseball bat to break his kneecaps.  That seems a little extreme to me but the important thing is that Greg stayed in school.

Couples Court With The Cutlers (Weekdays, OWN)

I watched two episodes on Monday afternoon.  I was too busy making jokes about Will and Jada Smith someday appearing on the show to actually pay that much attention.

The Dropout (Hulu)

I reviewed the latest episode of The Dropout here!

Full House (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

Personally, I don’t see what was so bad about Danny Tanner wanting to have a clean house.  In all four the episodes that aired last Sunday on MeTV, people gave him a hard time for being compulsively neat but seriously, who would want to live in a dirty house?  For instance, while I was watching Full House, I stepped outside for a few minutes and accident stepped on a rock while barefoot.  Once I came back in, I discovered that the den floor had a trail of bloody footprints on it, much like a totally horrific crime scene.  Needless to say, I was not happy about this turn of events so, once I managed to step bleeding, I spent a few hours scrubbing the floor.  It was just the right thing to do.

The Girl From Plainville (Hulu)

I wrote about the first three episodes of Hulu’s latest miniseries here!

King of the Hill (Weekday Afternoons, FXX)

I watched one episode on Monday.  Desperate to make money so that he could afford some nicer clothes, Bobby first tried to get a legitimate job but eventually, he turned to panhandling.  Hank, needless to say, did not approve of his own son being a bum for fun.  He also didn’t approve of the other panhandlers, who were all basically rich kids just pretending to need the money.  They even forced Hank’s favorite homeless man, Spongey, to move to a different spot!  Fortunately, it all worked out in the end and Spongey hopefully got the money he needed.

Last Man Standing (Sunday, Newsnation)

I swear, this show is inescapable.  It’s on at least one channel every hour of every day.  I guess it kind of makes sense.  It’s a sitcom that didn’t really require too much focus on the part of the viewer and, as a result, it makes for nicely acceptable and inoffensive background noise.  Myself, whenever I see this show, I find myself relating to the middle daughter, the one who pretends to be self-centered but is secretly nicer than everyone else.  Anyway, I watched three episodes on Sunday and I don’t remember a thing about any of them, other than one featured the mom and the older sisters trying on wedding dresses and talking about how silly the world was.  That’s just the type of show that Last Man Standing was.

The Love Boat (Sunday Afternoon, MeTV)

Debbie Reynolds boarded the ship and briefly pretended to be Dr. Bricker’s nurse.  I’m not sure it’s a good idea for a doctor to agree to allow anyone to “pretend to be a nurse.”  I mean, a nurse still has a lot of real responsibility.  I assume everything worked out in the end.  To be honest, I was busy getting ready for the Oscars so I didn’t pay much attention to the show this week.

Open All Hours (Sunday Night, PBS)

Arkwright somewhat desperately tried to convince Nurse Gladys Emmanuel that he wasn’t a monster who is holding Granville hostage.  The nurse (a real one, this time!) was too clever for him.

Saved By The Bell (Sunday Morning, MeTV)

I woke up on Sunday morning and I watched the Christmas episode!  That was the one where Zack and his mom allowed a homeless man and his daughter to move in and then they never mentioned them ever again.  Kind of a strange episode.  I’ve always been worried about what happened to the man and his daughter after the final credits.  It just seems like having two strangers living in the house is something that would have come up again in a future episode.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, ABC)

I wrote about the latest episode of Survivor here!

Talking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

Chris did his best to make this week’s episode of The Walking Dead more interesting than it actually was.  Good for him.

The Walking Dead (Sunday Night, AMC)

I wrote about the latest episode of The Walking Dead here!

Paddies Final Oscar Predictions!

Posted on by paddiesthoughts

I’m going to start with

Short Documentaries because one of these hurt me deeply!

Nominations

“Audible” (Will win and should win best picture, but that is another argument!)

“Lead Me Home”

“The Queen of Basketball”

“Three Songs for Benazir”

“When We Were Bullies”

So, onto my other big predictions:

Best Original Screen play:

Nominations:

“Belfast”

“Don’t Look Up” (probably will win)

“King Richard”

“Licorice Pizza” (would be my pick and should win!)

“The Worst Person in the World”

Best Animated Feature:

Nominations:

“Encanto” (This isn’t even close!)

"Flee

“Luca”

“The Mitchells vs. the Machines”

“Raya and the Last Dragon

Best Cinematography:

Nominations:

“Dune”

“Nightmare Alley”

“The Power of the Dog” (will win)

“The Tragedy of Macbeth” (my pick)

“West Side Story”

And now to my Final Picks!

Best Supporting Actress:

Nominated:

Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”

Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”

Judi Dench, “Belfast”

Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog” (Will win an should!)

Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard

Best Supporting actor

Nominations

Ciaran Hinds, “Belfast”

Troy Kotsur, “CODA” (will win and should!)

Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog”

J.K. Simmons, “Being the Ricardos”

Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog

Best Actress:

Nominated:

Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (will win)

Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter”

Penélope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers” (Should win)

Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”

Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”

Best Actor:

Nominated:

 Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos”

Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog” (I would’t be surprised here!)

Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick … Boom!”

 Will Smith, “King Richard” (It’s his to lose, but...)

Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”

Best Director :

Nominations are:

Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”

Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car”

Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”

 Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog” (There should be any question about this!)

Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story”

And for the movie of the year:

The nominations are:

“Belfast”

“CODA” (Will win)*

“Don’t Look Up”

“Drive My Car”

“Dune”

“King Richard”

“Licorice Pizza”

“Nightmare Alley”

“The Power of the Dog”

“West Side Story”

Like I said earlier, “Audible” Should be the movie of the year!

Happy Oscar Day and I hope you all get a well deserved trophy! We will see how my predictions (and hopes) go!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Zack Snyder 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!

As I already mentioned, today is Zack Snyder’s birthday!  It’s taken a while but critics are finally starting to appreciate Zack Snyder.  All it took was seeing the Joss Whedon version of Justice League for some viewers to realize that, whether you always agree with his directorial choices or not, Zack Snyder is one of the most consistently interesting filmmakers working today.

Personally, so as not to be a hypocrite about this, I will admit that I’ve been pretty critical of Snyder’s DC films.  I make no apologies for that.  I’ll continue to make jokes about the excessive destruction of Metropolis and the “Why did you say Martha?” scene.  That said, Watchmen was a well-done film that continues to be influential.  People are finally starting to admit that Sucker Punch was pretty damn good.  Dawn of the Dead is one of the few horror remakes that pay homage to its source material while also establishing a worthwhile identity of its own.  And, even if I haven’t worked up the courage to sit through all four hours of it, Zack Snyder’s Justice League has inspired an enthusiasm that I rarely see amongst film fans.  “Release the Snyder Cut!” was one of the few twitter campaigns to actually get results.  Even the Snyder films that I dislike are unlike any other film.  Snyder has a unique artistic vision and that’s what we need more of.

So, in honor of the man’s birthday, here are….

4 Shots From 4 Zack Snyder Films

Dawn of the Dead (2004, dir by Zack Snyder, DP; Matthew F. Leonetti)

Watchmen (2009, dir by Zack Snyder, DP: Larry Fong)

Sucker Punch (2011, dir by Zack Snyder, DP; Larry Fong)

Army of the Dead (2021, dir by Zack Snyder, DP: Zack Snyder)

Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck take some deep breaths in the Deep Water Teaser

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

On the surface, Deep Water just looks like “The movie Ben and Ana did during Lockdown”, but with Adrian Lyne’s name attached to this, I’ve had a double take. Lyne is responsible for Flashdance, 9 1/2 Weeks, Indecent Proposal and Unfaithful. I’m curious about where this one is going. Judging from the heavy breathing, it seems this couple is good at giving tummy tickles.

Deep Water premieres on Hulu on March 18th.

It’s Love, Part 8!

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today, we celebrate love! Love isn’t always easy! As we all know, Valentine’s Day can be difficult when you’re single. Everyone around you is bragging about how in love they are and you just want them to shut up and leave you alone. If you are among those who are single today, do not worry and do not despair.  You’re not the first person to find yourself in this situation and you won’t be the last.  Though you may feel like you, you are not alone.  The path to true love is never an easy one to travel but the destination makes the trip worth it.  To help you on your journey, here are some vintage romance comic covers.  Even in the 1950s and the 1960s and the 1970s, Valentine’s Day wasn’t for everyone.
And as difficult as it can be to find true love, it’s always worth it to look! So. if you’re alone or if you’re a part of a couple, if you’re single or married, in love or simply enjoying life, happy February 14th!  May it be a good day, no matter what it means to you.

Sam Neill and Laura Dern return in the Jurassic World Dominion Trailer!

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

It looks like life found a way yet again to bring us another Jurassic World film. This time around, the dinosaurs appear to be out and everywhere on the planet. It’s like someone at Universal saw Mission Impossible: Fallout and said “How about we try all of that, but with Dinosaurs?!”

Motorcycle chases? Check, now with dinos.

Issues on a flight? Check, now with dinos.

I’ll admit though that I’m excited for this one. I’ve always wanted to see a Jurassic Park scenario where Dinosaurs reached the mainland, and The Lost World was possibly the closest we had there. It’s also cool to see that Blue (everyone’s favorite Raptor) has a little one of her own!

This third film brings back both Sam Neill and Laura Dern, reprising their roles as Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler. Jeff Goldblum and B.D. Wong are back as well with the Jurassic World cast, Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Isabella Sermon, Daniella Pineda, Justice Smith, and Omar Sy. Dichen Lachman (Netflix’s Altered Carbon) and Mamoudou Athie (Underwater) are new to the series.

Jurassic Park Dominion premieres in theatres June 10, with Colin Trevorrow returning as Director.

Film Review: Home Team (dir by Charles Kinnane and Daniel Kinnane)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The new Happy Madison production, Home Team, opens with Sean Payton (Kevin James) discovering that life can be difficult when you’re the coach of an NFL team.

On the one hand, Payton coached the New Orleans Saints to a Super Bowl victory and gave hope to a city that was still struggling to recover from the mental, physical, and spiritual damage done by Hurricane Katrina.  At a time when David Fincher was bringing everyone’s spirits down with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Sean Payton was raising them up with excellent football.

On the other hand, it was later discovered that the players were being paid extra to deliberately injure their opponents.

The NFL reacts to this scandal by suspending Payton for a year.  Payton abruptly goes from having a luxurious office in New Orleans to living and working out of a hotel suite in Argyle, Texas.  He spends his suspension trying to reconnect with his son, Connor (Tait Blum).  And when he discovers that Connor is playing football for his sixth grade team, Sean can’t stop himself from stepping up and trying to help Troy (Taylor Lautner) and Mitch (Gary Valentine) coach the team.  Soon, Payton actually is coaching the team himself!  And though he’s winning games, he’s also pushing the players too hard.  Can Sean Payton rediscover the simple love of doing your best and being a member of a team or is he destined to return to New Orleans and continue to hand out bonuses for injuring other players?  What do you think?

Now, I’ll just be honest and admit that I’m not a football fan.  I don’t really know much about Sean Payton or the whole targeting scandal.  I do know about CTE and the dangers of suffering multiple concussions in a short period of time so I do feel safe in assuming that the implications of the targeting scandal were a bit more serious than the way they’re portrayed in the film.  But, then again, this is a football film that was produced by Adam Sandler’s production company.  Was anyone expecting it to be a serious examination of the dangers of playing pro or even amateur football?  Instead, it’s a film that pretty much features every cliché in the book, from the team of underdogs that no one believed in to the down-and-out coach who has something to prove to both the doubters and to himself.  There’s the usual mix of sentimental drama and equally sentimental comedy.  Surprisingly for a Happy Madison production, there’s only one glaring case of gross-out humor.  For whatever reason, there’s apparently a lot of people who find projectile vomiting to be entertaining.  I’ve never cared much for it myself but, just as I have to be honest about not knowing much about Sean Payton, I should probably also be honest about the fact that I’m not this film’s target audience.

Kevin James is a likable actor, though his talents are definitely better served by television than by the movies.  He gives a rather subdued performance here, one that was no doubt influenced by the fact that Sean Payton is still alive.  Even when he rediscovers the joy of playing football and realizes that there are things more important than winning, James-as-Payton still comes across as being strictly business.  You get the feeling that, with the exception of his son, the film’s Sean Payton will probably have no further contact with the kids he coached once he returns to New Orleans.  In the film, it just comes across as something for him to do to pass the time.

Home Team is a fairly forgettable sports movie.  It’s not particularly good but it’s not particularly terrible either.  Instead, it’s typical of the adequate but not extremely memorable films that Netflix specializes in when no one is looking to win an Oscar.