I’ve always liked Amy Winehouse’s version of this classic song.
Scenes That I Love: Gregory Walcott Defends Earth In Plan 9 From Outer Space
Gregory Walcott, who was born 100 years today, appeared in a lot of good films over the course of his long career. He had supporting roles in major blockbusters. He was a friend and frequent collaborator of Clint Eastwood’s. In 1979, he played the sheriff in the Oscar-nominated Norma Rae.
That said, he will probably always be most remembered for playing Jeff, the patriotic pilot, in Ed Wood’s 1957 masterpiece, Plan Nine From Outer Space. Walcott gave probably as good a performance as anyone could in Plan 9, though that didn’t prevent the film from wrong being declared one of the worst ever made. Walcott, for most of his career, was not a fan of Plan 9 but, in the years before he passed away in 2015, Walcott’s attitude towards the film mellowed considerably. He even appeared in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood.
In this scene from Plan 9, Walcott shows how to deal with a snooty extra-terrestrial invader. Never has Earth had been a better defender!
4 Shots From 4 Film: Special John McNaughton Edition
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 is all about letting the visuals do the talking.
Today is the birthday of director John McNaughton! It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 John McNaughton Films
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986, dir by John McNaughton, DP: Charles Lieberman)
The Borrower (1991, dir by John McNaughton, DP: Julio Mucat and Robert C. New)
Normal Life (1996, dir by John McNaughton, DP: Jean de Segonzac)
Wild Things (1998, dir by John McNaughton, DP: Jeffrey L. Kimball)
Artwork of the Day: True Detective (by Robert Maguire)
by Robert Maguire
This watery cover is from 1954,
Music Video of the Day: The Golden Path by The Chemical Brothers, featuring Wayne Coyne (2003, dir by Chris Milk)
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to the Flaming Lips’s Wayne Coyne! Our music video of the day is for The Golden Path, his classic collaboration with The Chemical Brothers.
That is Fran Kranz, who acted in The Cabin In The Woods and who directed the brilliant Mass, playing the lead character.
Enjoy!
Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.4 “The Killer Indy”
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983. The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!
This week, Baker has a new partner!
Episode 5.4 “The Killer Indy”
(Dir by Leslie H. Martinson, originally aired on October 25th, 1981)
When a group of bikers start holding illegal street races, Getraer wants it stopped before someone is seriously hurt! Jon Baker and his partner Steve McLeish decide to end the races by any means necessary, especially since Steve’s brothers are involved….
Wait, who?
Played by a pre-transition Caitlyn Jenner, Steve McLeish serves as Baker’s partner in this episode. We don’t really get much of an introduction as to who Steve is or why he’s even riding with Baker. Everyone just acts as if Steve has always been there. Ponch is not even mentioned and it’s difficult not to notice that Larry Wilcox seems a bit more cheerful than usual in this episode. For once, he’s the one who gets to do all of the cool stuff while everyone else watches.
This was the first of several episodes that Erik Estrada missed during the fifth season, the result of being injured during a stunt gone wrong. Jenner, who was then best-known as an Olympian, was brought in to play Steve McLeish. Judging from this episode, Jenner was a remarkably bad actor. Compared to everyone else in the episode, Jenner comes across as being awkward and stiff. Like many nonprofessional actors, it’s obvious that Jenner was not sure what do when not delivering dialogue. Jenner stands there, hands awkwardly positioned and occasionally trying to react to the other actors. It’s really almost painful to watch.
It’s obvious that this episode was written with Ponch in mind. Like Ponch, Steve has two brothers and used to be a motorcycle-racing delinquent when he was younger. His older brother (who is played by the legendary character actor Robert F. Lyons) is named Toro, which might make sense if he was Ponch’s brother but, as it is, you really do have to wonder about the parents who would name one son Toro and the other sons Steve and Ted. Ted, incidentally, is played by Kevyn Major Howard. Howard, Lyons and Jenner have next to no features in common, leading one to wonder how they could possibly all be members of the same family?
There was some good motorcycle chase action in this episode. There was also so much dialogue about the importance of wearing a helmet that, as soon as the gang’s leader announced he didn’t need a helmet, the most viewers had to know that he was doomed to ultimately be thrown from his motorcycle and crash headfirst into the pavement. “He hit his head,” Getraer says and that’s the last we hear about the guy.
As for this episodes comedic subplot, Grossman begged his fellow patrol people to join him and his nieces at the waterpark. While Baker, Steve, and everyone else took care of his nieces, Grossman hung out with his two bikini-clad neighbors. Grossman winked at the camera as the CHiPs theme music started to play.
And so, it’s another day in L.A….
Sinners Wins In Nashville
The Music City Film Critics Association has announced its picks for the best of 2025! The winners are in bold!
Best Picture
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Train Dreams
Weapons
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Guillermo Del Toro – Frankenstein
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
Best Actress
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Best Supporting Actress
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Best Young Actress
Shannon Mahina Gorman – Rental Family
Olivia Lynes – Hamnet
Madeleine McGraw – The Black Phone 2
Sora Wong – Bring Her Back
Nina Ye – Left-Handed Girl
Best Young Actor
Everett Blunck – The Plague
Miles Caton – Sinners
Cary Christopher – Weapons
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet
Alfie Williams – 28 Years Later
Best Acting Ensemble
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Wake Up Dead Man
Best Music Film
The Ballad of Wallis Island
KPop Demon Hunters
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wicked: For Good
Best Animated Film
The Day the Earth Blew Up
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Predator: Killer of Killers
Zootopia 2
Best Documentary
The Alabama Solution
Cover-Up
John Candy: I Like Me
The Perfect Neighbor
Predators
Best International Film
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirāt
Best Screenplay
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Sorry, Baby
Weapons
Best Cinematography
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Editing
F1: The Movie
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
The Perfect Neighbor
Sinners
Best Production Design
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wicked: For Good
Best Original Song
“As Alive As You Need Me to Be” – Nine Inch Nails, Tron: Ares
“The Girl in the Bubble” – Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good
“Golden” – EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, KPop Demon Hunters
“I Lied to You” – Miles Caton, Sinners
“Train Dreams” – Nick Cave, Train Dreams
Best Score
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Sound
F1: The Movie
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Warfare
Wicked: For Good
Best Stunt Work
Ballerina
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Sinners
Superman
Best Action Film
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Predator: Badlands
Superman
Best Comedy Film
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Friendship
The Naked Gun
Splitsville
Wake Up Dead Man
Best Horror Film
28 Years Later
Frankenstein
Sinners
The Ugly Stepsister
Weapons
The Jim Ridley Award
The Day the Earth Blew Up
Dracula
A Little Prayer
Resurrection
Sirāt
One Battle After Another Wins In Hawaii
The Hawaii Film Critics Society has announced its picks for the best of 2025! The winners are in bold.
Best Picture
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Guillermo del Toro, Frankenstein
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Chloé Zhao, Hamnet
Best Actor
Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Best Actress
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another
Sally Hawkins, Bring Her Back
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
Sophie Thatcher, Companion
Best Supporting Actor
Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Best Supporting Actress
Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Amanda Seyfried, The Housemaid
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Best Original Screenplay
Eddington
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Weapons
Best Adapted Screenplay
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
The Housemaid
Train Dreams
Best Editing
F1: The Movie
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Together
Best Cinematography
F1: The Movie
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams
Best Art Direction
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
The Phoenician Scheme
Best Costume Design
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Sinners
The Phoenician Scheme
Wicked: For Good
Best Animated Film
Arco
Dog Man
KPop Demon Hunters
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
Zootopia 2
Best Documentary
George A. Romero’s Resident Evil
Orwell: 2+2=5
Pee-wee as Himself
Predators
The Perfect Neighbor
Best Make-Up
28 Years Later
Frankenstein
Sinners
Weapons
Wicked: For Good
Best Sound
F1: The Movie
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
The Testament of Ann Lee
Best Score
F1: The Movie
Frankenstein
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Tron: Ares
Best Song
“As Alive as You Need Me to Be,” Tron: Ares
“Highest 2 Lowest,” Highest 2 Lowest
“Hurry Up Tomorrow,” Hurry Up Tomorrow
“I Lied to You,” Sinners
“Train Dreams,” Train Dreams
Best Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Jurassic World: Rebirth
Predator: Badlands
Sinners
Best Action Movie
Ballerina
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Predator: Badlands
Best Stunt Work
Ballerina
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Best New Filmmaker
Ugo Bienvenu, Arco
Ben Leonberg, Good Boy
Charlie Polinger, The Plague
Michael Shanks, Together
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby
Best First Film
Arco
Good Boy
Sorry, Baby
The Plague
Together
Best Overlooked Film
Clown in a Cornfield
Eddington
Nouvelle Vague
Rental Family
The Life of Chuck
Best Vocal / Motion Capture Performance
Eric Bauza, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
Oona Chaplin, Avatar: Fire and Ash (TIE)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Sam Rockwell, The Bad Guys 2 (TIE)
Alison Wright, Predator: Badlands
Best Animal Performance
Bing the dog, The Friend
Indy the dog, Good Boy
Jolene the dog, Superman
Olga the cat, Sorry, Baby
Tico the cat, Caught Stealing
Best Horror Film
Bring Her Back
Keeper
Shelby Oaks
Together
Weapons
Best Comic Book Movie
100 Nights of Hero
Captain America: Brave New World
Superman
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Thunderbolts*
Best Foreign Language Film
It Was Just an Accident
Left-Handed Girl
No Other Choice
Sentimental Value
The Secret Agent
Best Underrated Film
Companion
Heart Eyes
Rental Family
The Life of Chuck
The Long Walk
Best Hawaiian Film
A Paradise Lost, dir. Laurie Sumiye (Hawaii)
Lahaina Rising, dir. Matty Schweitzer (Maui)
MĀHŪ: A Trans-Pacific Love Letter, dir. Lisette Marie Flanary (Oahu)
Reeling, dir. Yana Alliata (Oahu)
Sharing Aloha, dir. Blair Treu (Hawaii)
The Ha’aheo Award (Pride in Achievement for Film, TV, or Theater)
Chief of War
The Jason “Phormat” David Award celebrating originality and artistic playfulness in cinema
The Phoenician Scheme (dir. Wes Anderson)
The Phoenician Scheme (dir. Wes Anderson)
Worst Film of 2025
Death of a Unicorn
Eddington
Hurry Up Tomorrow
Karate Kid: Legends
The Strangers: Chapter 2
So, I Watched Perry Mason: The Case of the All-Star Assassin (1989, Dir. by Christian I. Nyby II)
Ken (William R, Moses), who is now a lawyer, is representing a hockey player (Jason Beghe) in his contract negotiation with a tyrannical team owner (Pernell Roberts). When the owner is murdered, the player is arrested and Ken turns to his mentor, Perry Mason (Raymond Burr), for help in winning his first murder case.
This was pretty forgettable. The mystery wasn’t interesting, there weren’t enough suspects to keep me guessing, and even the wrongly accused player was unlikable. Amy (Alexandra Paul) returned to help out Ken and was annoying as ever. I don’t understand the Amy/Ken relationship. They’re in love. They’re getting married. But they always act like they hate each other. Give me sex addict Paul Drake, Jr, any day! I read that this was Amy’s final appearance in the series and I hope that’s true.
This movie also features some of the worst courtroom dialogue of the series. Poor Bruce Greenwood plays Pernell Roberts’s son and gets stuck with the worst lines. Deidre Hall plays Pernell Roberts’s unfaithful wife, which is appropriate because this movie was just a bad soap opera.
The Nevada Buckaroo (1931, directed by John P. McCarthy)
When the population of a small frontier town all sign a petition asking that the governor name their town the new county seat, the petition is stolen by outlaw Cherokee (George “Gabby” Hayes). Cherokee substitutes a different petition requesting a pardon for a member of his gang, The Nevada Kid (Bob Steele).
The Nevada Kid gets his pardon, is released from prison, and returns to the town. No one is happy to see him, even though he says that he has changed his ways. Even if the pardon was gotten through illicit means (which the Nevada Kid himself knew nothing about), the Kid still says that he’s going to take advantage of his second chance. When Chereokee and the gang start to demand that the Nevada Kid once again work with them, Nevada gets his chance to show whether or not he’s really left being an outlaw behind.
I never expect much from these Poverty Row westerns but The Nevada Buckaroo, despite having not a great title, is actually pretty good. A very young-looking Bob Steele gives a good performance as the Nevada Kid and George Hayes show that, before he became everyone’s favorite sidekick, he was capable of being a very intimidating actor. The movie actually has something to say about trust, community, and second chances.
I don’t know much about director John P. McCarthy and I think this is the first of his films that I’ve seen. He and cinematographer Faxon M. Dean put together a film that looks infinitely better than the average B-western. That was obvious with even the grainy print that I watched. The final shot, of the Nevada Kid riding into the sunset, is a perfect western image.
