Brad reviews SHATTERED (2007) starring Pierce Brosnan, Gerard Butler, and Maria Bello!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

My wife and I decided to watch SHATTERED (2007), also known as BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL, on a whim tonight. We were browsing through Amazon Prime when I saw Gerard Butler on the preview, and that was enough for me to watch it. Sierra likes cheesy thrillers, which this definitely gives off that vibe, so she was all in as well. 

SHATTERED is set in Chicago and opens on the Randall’s, a seemingly perfect little family, made up of Neil (Gerard Butler), Abby (Maria Bello), and their beautiful daughter, Sophie. Neil’s a successful, if somewhat ethically challenged businessman on the verge of a big promotion, and life is good. That is, until a stranger (Pierce Brosnan) literally pops up in the couple’s life out of nowhere, tells them that he’s kidnapped Sophie, and forces them to do whatever he says or he’ll kill the girl. One moment they’re emptying their bank accounts only to see the stranger burn the money, and the next they’re delivering incriminating business documents to the competition that will destroy Neil’s company and his career. As the demands escalate, we learn that Neil and Abby’s lives aren’t quite as perfect as initially presented. But who is this stranger, why is he doing this, and how far will he force them to go to save their daughter?

I enjoyed SHATTERED quite a bit. It’s one of those movies that rope you in with its intriguing premise… a mysterious stranger puts a happy couple through hell, and we don’t know why he’s doing it, but we want to! This type of story, if done well, always pulls me in even though we’ve seen it done many times before. It’s helped by the game cast. Pierce Brosnan is appropriately intense and menacing as the stranger, helping us believe that he’ll hurt their daughter if they don’t follow his orders. James Bond, he is not! I’m a big fan of Gerard Butler, and he’s good here. His character is not the badass that we’ve come to expect from him these days, and he’s not that great of a guy either, but he does a good job of portraying a morally compromised guy whose life is spiraling out of control. Maria Bello is equal to the task as well, as the desperate mother who’s forced to deal with her husband’s failures at the same time as she’s dealing with any mother’s worst nightmare.

At the end of the day, these types of thrillers live and die based on their “twists” at the end. I have to admit that I was able to figure out the first twist about halfway through the movie, but SHATTERED isn’t content with just one twist, and it seems to stumble somewhat as it continues on after the first big reveal. I don’t blame the writers for trying to come up with something unique to close us out, but it doesn’t feel entirely successful in light of all that’s transpired before. It might actually be worth a rewatch just to see how well it stacks up. 

I’m glad I watched SHATTERED. It’s time-tested storyline and fast pace make it worth a viewing, especially if you’re a fan of the cast like I am. Just keep your expectations in check, and you should enjoy the ride!

Song of the Day: In the House – In a Heartbeat (by John Murphy)

Posted on by Arleigh

It’s been 23 years since the world was introduced to Danny Boyle’s genre-defining horror film 28 Days Later. The film helped reinvigorate the zombie horror genre by introducing the so-called “fast zombies” to the horror lexicon.

It was a divisive change of pace, so to speak, within the zombie genre fandom. Some welcomed the change since it brought a new type of energy to what had become a stale, oft-ridiculed zombie film trope of the slow, shambling undead. The purists saw it as separate from the rules introduced by the zombie subgenre’s godfather, George A. Romero, with his Living Dead films. Yet, it doesn’t matter which side of the debate someone was on (something even I have fallen into spending way too much time with) there was no denying the fact that Boyle made a great horror film…no, let me correct that. He made a great film.

This was followed 5 years later by 28 Weeks Later (minus the involvement of the first film’s director and screenwriter, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland) with Spanish filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. While not on the same level as the first film, it did add something new to the world created with the first film. It even had a mid-credit sequence that gave a hint as to how the series could move forward.

The latest “Song of the Day” comes courtesy of the series film composer John Murphy. He did the soundtrack for the the first film and the sequel. The song I picked was used in the first film, but took center stage in the sequel. The piece of music is the track titled “In the House – In a Heartbeat” that becomes the main theme for 28 Weeks Later.

Scenes That I Love: Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s scene that I love comes from Bob Fosse’s 1979 masterpiece, All That Jazz.  This scene features the legendary Ann Reinking at her best.  Roy Scheider said that he cried after shooting this scene.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Bob Fosse 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!

Today, we celebrate the birth and legacy of Bob Fosse.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Bob Fosse Films

Cabaret (1972, dir by Bob Fosse, DP: Geoffrey Unsworth)

Lenny (1974, dir by Bob Fosse, DP: Bruce Surtees)

All That Jazz (1979, dir by Bob Fosse, DP: Giuseppe Rotunno)

Star 80 (1983, dir by Bob Fosse, DP: Sven Nyvkist)

#MondayMuggers present AVENGEMENT (2019) starring Scott Adkins!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. Tonight, Monday June 23rd, we are showing AVENGEMENT (2019) starring Scott Adkins, Craig Fairbrass, Thomas Turgoose, and Nick Moran.

Convicted felon Cain Burgess (Scott Adkins) escapes prison and heads out to take revenge on those he holds responsible. The consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is as follows:

“AVENGEMENT compensates for a lack of narrative originality with thrilling sequences of violent, bone-crunching action, elevated by Scott Adkins’ brutally intense performance.”

So, if you like “violent, bone-crunching action,” it sounds like we have the movie for you! Join us tonight for #MondayMuggers and watch AVENGEMENT! It’s on Amazon Prime. The trailer is included below:

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 6/16/25 — 6/22/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy anniversary to Jaws!

I’m still on vacation so I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

Films I Watched:

  1. I Am Your Biggest Fan (2025)
  2. Jaws (1975)
  3. Not Without My Daughter (1991)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. Dr. Phil
  2. Dr. Who
  3. Fight Sports: Ocampo vs Zewski
  4. Night Flight
  5. Quincy, M.E.
  6. Secret Agent Man
  7. 21 Jump Street
  8. Wiseguy

Books I Read:

  1. The Erection Set (1972) by Mickey Spillane
  2. Hollywood High (2025) by Bruce Handy
  3. Howard Hughes: The Secret Life (1993) by Charles Higham
  4. Problematic Summer Romance (2025) by Ali Hazlewood

I’m so proud of my fellow writers at TSL and how they’ve kept the site alive and vibrant while Jeff and I have been on vacation.  Here’s some of what was posted last week!  Check it out if you haven’t yet!

  1. Arleigh reviewed By Dawn’s Early Light!
  2. Case reviewed Bruce Campbell’s autobiography!
  3. Brad reviewed Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning!
  4. Erin paid tribute to Jaws and reviewed Touch The Top Of The World!
  5. Jeff reviewed The Boys In Company C and Running Time!
  6. I shared 10 movies for the weekend!

Finally, here are some off-site links from last week:

  1. RIP, Jack Betts, who was an actor who starred in a series of Spaghetti Westerns under the name Hunt Powers
  2. RIP, character actor Gailard Sartain
  3. RIP, singer Lou Christie
  4. Jeff Goldblum On Piano! 8-Minute Monsoons! My Favorite New York Minutes!
  5. Summer Stolstice, the 1st day of Summer, and Midsummer

As for me, I’m writing this from our room at the Phoenix Hilton Airport Hotel.  It’s currently 3:36 here, which means that it’s 5:36 in Texas.  Time zones have always been strange to me.  In about seven hours time, Jeff and I will be boarding a plane for Kauai where we will be spending the second week of our vacation.  It’s a bit strange to think that we will actually be going backwards in time.

Anyway, have a good week and stay safe!

Click here for last week in review!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 2.7 “The All Nighter”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1989 to 1991!  The series can be streamed on YouTube and Tubi

This week, it’s drugs and poker!

Episode 2.7 “The All Nighter”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on December 16th, 1990)

This week’s episodes tells the story of several all-nighters.

Alex, who is now apparently a major character, pulls an all-nighter to write a last-minute essay, one that he was assigned over a month ago.  Hey, we’ve all been there!  Luckily, he gets it written.  Because this episode aired at the end of the 80s, he has write on an old timey typewriter.  I like old typewriters.  I can’t imagine writing with one — seriously, how did people correct typos back then? — but I do like the look and the sound of them.

Luke, Yick, Joey, and Arthur play poker at Luke’s house.  (Apparently, everyone’s forgiven Luke for giving Shane the LSD that caused Shane to plunge to his near death last year.)  At first, Luke doesn’t want to invite Arthur  but Yick talks him into it.  Arthur turns out to be a poker hustler and soon, he’s made over $15 in dimes.  Myself, I don’t think I’ve ever won a hand at poker.  I’m good at blackjack, though!

Finally, the most important all-nighter is the one that Maya, Melanie, Caitlin, and Kathleen hold for Diana’s birthday!  Woo hoo!  Birthday all-nighter’s are the best!  However, in this case, Kathleen decides to bring two joints to the party.  Kathleen explains that she and Scott used to smoke weed all the time.  (Uhmm….okay.  I remember Scott and he really didn’t seem like a stoner.)  Luke made the mistake of trying to hide his stash in the tampon machine in the girl’s bathroom, which is how Kathleen got her hands on it.

Everyone, except for Caitlin, plays truth or dare while passing around the joint.  Uh-oh, can you see where this is going?  While Diana complains that she’s not feeling anything, Melanie decides that she’s stoned enough to reveal that she read Kathleen’s diary and that Kathleen has anorexia, an alcoholic mother, an abusive boyfriend, and a therapist.  Kathleen gets upset and runs outside.  Caitlin comforts her while Melanie giggles inside.

And again, I think just about everyone has been there.  From my own high school experiences, weed drama usually didn’t involve people who were actually stoned as much as it involved inexperienced smokers who were trying to convince themselves that they were stoned and who inevitably ended up doing something stupid as a result.  Melanie, for instance, I don’t think was anywhere near as stoned as she was trying to act.  For someone who has never smoked weed before, it apparently only took Melanie a few minutes to start talking about “the munchies.”  Her giggly betrayal of Kathleen was more about her thinking she was “so high” other than actually being high.  Still, the damage was done.  This episode ends with Melanie apologizing to Kathleen and Kathleen walking away without saying a word.

(While we’re on the subject of weed, I have to admit that I kind of lost interest in it once it started getting legalized and became socially acceptable.)

Anyway, this was a good episode.  I appreciated that it didn’t go for any of the usual melodrama that teen shows usually resort to when it comes to people experimenting with drugs.  Degrassi High’s strength is its nonjudgmental attitude and that was on display in this episode.

Next week, Wheels wears out his welcome at Joey’s house …. again!

Brad’s “scene of the day” – FROM BEIJING WITH LOVE (1994), starring Stephen Chow!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I love the Hong Kong actor and comedian Stephen Chow, who just happens to be celebrating his 63rd birthday today. While he may be best known for the smash hits SHAOLIN SOCCER (2001) and KUNG FU HUSTLE (2004), I first became a fan when I saw his James Bond send up, FROM BEIJING WITH LOVE. I was so impressed with his deadpan delivery style in the film, and even though he seems kind of goofy, he turns out to be a major badass. I loved it!

In honor of Stephen Chow’s birthday, I present this scene from the Hong Kong comedy FROM BEIJING WITH LOVE. Enjoy!