Today is actor William Forsythe’s 70th birthday. Forsythe is a good character actor, and I’ve always had a fondness for a movie he appeared in called STONE COLD, because it was partially filmed in the town of Conway, Arkansas, which is about seven miles from the house I grew up in. I even remember when they had the downtown blocked off so they could film their scenes. STONE COLD starred All-American football player Brian Bosworth, who was making his film debut. As was the norm back in those days, Forsythe played a really bad guy. So happy birthday, Mr. Forsythe! Enjoy!
Brad’s Song of the Day – “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver!
Today has been an interesting day. My wife Sierra is pulling a 12 hour shift at the hospital, so I started the day by going to a men’s breakfast at the Chenal Valley Baptist Church and listening to award winning Christian singer Dallas Holm. He sang a couple of his hits and then presented an uplifting message that encourages us to look for ways to show the love of Christ to people every day. I then came home and took a short nap before my parents came over. My dad is an excellent carpenter, and he helped me replace some bad boards on my deck. By saying “he helped me replace some bad boards,” what I really mean is that he replaced the boards while I played gopher, held things in place, and got him iced tea when he needed a break. We had a nice time together and they left. After that I watched the movie THE GREY starring Liam Neeson. It’s been a good day. Throughout the day, I’ve done things that seem meaningful to me. Life is wonderful when you do things you love and spend time with people you love.
John Denver’s classic song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is a song that makes me happy, and reminds me to make time for the meaningful things in life, the types of things I did today. Life is hard enough, but it always seems so much better when you’re surrounded by those people you love and doing the things that you love. Enjoy my friends!
Brad reviews THE GREY (2011), starring Liam Neeson!
Liam Neeson is John Ottway, a sharpshooter who works for an oil company in Alaska. His job is to protect the company’s employees from dangerous wildlife in the area. He’s flying with a group of his co-workers from a remote drilling site when the plane crashes out in the middle of nowhere. There’s a small group of survivors who must now face harsh weather conditions with very little supplies. If that isn’t bad enough, a pack of hungry wolves are after them. Ottway takes charge of the group and tries to lead them out of the remote, frozen wilderness to safety. As impossible as it all seems, it turns out to be even worse, and all of those lucky enough to survive the plane crash must try to come to terms with the difficult moments that lie ahead.
I’ll go ahead and say that THE GREY is my favorite film starring Liam Neeson. When I first saw the movie in the theater back in 2012, I was expecting more of a typical “man versus nature” survival thriller. I wasn’t expecting director Joe Carnahan to deliver a powerful story that would transcend its basic premise and force me to assess the meaning of my life! When I watch THE GREY, I think about the things that make my life meaningful, and if I truly appreciate those things. I think about my own mortality, and if I am living a life that makes a real difference to anyone. I think about the need to take advantage of every moment in my life, and I’m doing this while I’m watching a movie where men are desperately trying not to be eaten by big wolves. Carnahan pulls off this feat brilliantly! With that said, if you’re looking for mindless wall-to-wall action, THE GREY is probably not the movie for you. This is a thinking person’s film, and even though I wasn’t expecting that element when I first watched it, I love it!
Liam Neeson gives an incredible performance as a man who goes from being so emotionally damaged at the beginning of the film that he considers killing himself, to a man who’s willing to go one on one with a giant black alpha male wolf for one more chance at life! For a man who played Oskar Schindler, I don’t think Neeson has ever been better than he is in THE GREY. If you don’t get misty-eyed in the scene where he holds a man’s hand as he’s dying and talks him through his fear, then you must have a heart of stone. It’s a beautifully acted scene by Neeson and actor James Badge Dale. There are other good performances in the film, mainly from Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, and Dallas Roberts as the plane crash survivors that make it deep into the story with Neeson. Each of these actors have strong moments at different times. But make no mistake, Neeson’s performance is the backbone of the story and elevates THE GREY to something special.
Throughout the story, Neeson’s character recites a poem that was written by his father:
Once more into the fray, into the last good fight I’ll ever know. Live and die on this day, live and die on this day.
In THE GREY, we see various characters live their lives and face their deaths in different ways. While none of them wants to die, some fight harder for life than others. At the end of the day, we have to honestly ask ourselves… are our own lives really worth fighting for?
Zardoz (1974, directed by John Boorman)
Welcome to the year 2293. Savages known as the Brutals live in a wasteland and worship a giant stone head named Zardoz, who comes out of the sky, tells them to shoot guns and not have sex, and then dumps hundreds of firearms on them. One Brutal, Zed (Sean Connery, wearing what appears to be a big red diaper) jumps into Zardoz’s mouth and discovers that Zardoz is actually a spaceship that is piloted by Arthur Frayn (Niall Buggy). Zed shoots Arthur and then flies with Zardoz to the Vortex, where a bunch of overdressed and overaffected Immortals are having a perpetual garden party.
The Immortals, who can live forever because they’ve mentally learned how to slow the aging process, take an immediate interest in Zed. They want to know where Arthur is. Zed wants to explore the Vortex and learn what’s going on. The Immortals assign Zed to do menial tasks. Consuela (Charlotte Rampling) falls in love with Zed but keeps trying to kill him. If you could live forever, the film asks, wouldn’t you eventually want to die? I would not.
John Boorman, you nut! Boorman is one of the greatest directors ever, responsible for Point Blank, Deliverance, and Excalibur. Zardoz shows what happens when a great filmmaker falls so in love with his vision that no one can tell him that it’s not working. Zardoz is pure Boorman, obsessed with nature, curious about paganism, and cynical about religion. Boorman had something that he wanted to say about nature and humanity and he deserves a lot of credit for that. He had just directed Deliverance and could have had his pick of projects in 1974. He could have directed an action spectacular or he could have just gone home to Europe and counted his money. Instead, Boorman decided to go with a dream project that he had been trying to put together for years.
Did it work? No, it did not. A few stunning images (that stone head!) aside, the movie itself is slow and talky and Sean Connery, with his deep brogue, is miscast as Zed. (As Lisa said last night, “I’m glad to see Scotland survived the apocalypse.”) With his pony tail and his handle-bar mustache, Connery seemed like he was doing a dry run for his Highlander character. Charlotte Rampling is beautiful as Consuela and some viewers — mostly men — will appreciate her costumes, but the society of the Immortals is never as interesting as Boorman seems to think it is.
Zardoz is bad but still compelling because Boorman was so dedicated to whatever it was he thought the message of the movie was. Watch it with a bud and try to figure it out,
4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Liam Neeson Birthday 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 lets the visuals do the talking!
Today’s “4 Shots From 4 Films” celebrate the 73rd birthday of Liam Neeson!! Enjoy!
NEXT OF KIN (1989)
SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993)
TAKEN (2008)
THE GREY (2011)
Live Tweet Alert: Watch Horror Of Party Beach With #ScarySocial!
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.
Tonight, for #ScarySocial, I will be hosting Horror of Party Beach!
If you want to join us on Saturday night, just hop onto twitter, start the film at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! The film is available on Prime and Tubi! I’ll be there co-hosting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well. It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy!
Artwork of the Day: Argosy (by J.D. Sterling)
by J.D. Sterling
This cover is from 1935 and proves that hockey has always been a dangerous sport.
Music Video of the Day: Everest by Halestorm (2025, dir by DJay Brawner)
Play it loud and enjoy!
Quick Review: The Longest Day (dir. by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, and Bernhard Wicki)
Hey hey!! Before you read this, know that this isn’t the only review for The Longest Day. Lisa Marie also wrote about it. Read that first, and then double back here if you like.
With June 6th being the 81st Anniversary of D-Day, I decided to write about 1962’s The Longest Day, a film often discussed in my family, but surprisingly, I don’t recall ever fully watching it until today. I’ll try to get a hold of a hard copy of this in the future. The film is currently available to watch (with ads) on YouTube. This was a film my Aunt adored, as she liked seeing the Military come to the rescue in any situation (which happened often in most classic sci-fi films). This, They Died With Their Boots On, and All Quiet on the Western Front were films she raved about.
According to the National WWII Museum, “The Allies suffered over 10,300 total casualties (killed, wounded, or missing), of which approximately 2,400 were on Omaha Beach.” it was also an incredible offensive achievement, with nations gathering together to take the fight to a common enemy.
I don’t have a whole lot to say about this. As this is a film based on actual events (which takes some movie related liberties), I can’t complain or state I loved the “story”. As my boss at my Dayjob sometimes says, “It is what it is.” In terms of presentation, however, I highly recommend it. The film never really falters, nor does it give you too much time to relax. There’s a quiet tension with all of the characters you meet (all of the Allied ones, anyway), wondering if they may make it through by the end. If nothing else, watching it reminds one of the sacrifices made and the courage of anyone deciding to run head first into battle like that.
The film is epic in scope, with a runtime of 3 hours and an all star cast that includes Robert Mitchum (Cape Fear), Eddie Albert (Dreamscape), John Wayne (The Quiet Man), Henry Fonda (Once Upon a Time in the West) Curt Jurgens (The Spy Who Loved Me), Red Buttons and Roddy McDowall (who would later work together in The Poseidon Adventure), Richard Beymer (West Side Story), Frank Findlay (Lifeforce), Gert Frobe and Sean Connery (both two years shy of working together in Goldfinger), Richard Burton (Cleopatra) and Robert Ryan (The Wild Bunch) among others.
Much like 1970’s Tora!Tora!Tora! (which my Dad often talked about), there were multiple directors for The Longest Day. Bernhard Wiki captured the German scenes, Andrew Marton handled the American ones, and Ken Annakin handled both the English and French sequences. This is all brought together in a seamless and pretty amazing tapestry. Unlike Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day only covers the time leading up to and through the Omaha Beach assault, using the bulk of the film’s 3rd hour for the event. The entire film makes wonderful use of the time with all the alternate views, and by the time the first combat starts near the start of the 2nd hour, it continues to flow from interaction to interaction. There are also some wonderful arial shots over the battles, including an classic one shot that’s pretty marvelous given the time period.
The film takes place just before the invasion. American troops are already in the water on boats. Others are ready to parachute in. The French are ready to fight, waiting for the right phrase to hit the radio to put them into action. all are waiting to hear from the Britians on when the Allied Assault should begin. The weather isn’t optimal, but with the operation already delayed once before, President Eisenhower (Henry Grace) decides the 6th is the drop date. The Germans assume nothing will happen assaults are supposedly not done in harsh weather, but this proves to be quite the mistake.
It was wonderful to see everything come together. From the French sabotaging communications, to the strange comedy of soldier toting bagpipes to lead the Scottish into battle, or the Nuns who walked right through battle to save lives, it’s quite a sight to behold.
COMBAT (TV Series) – starring Rick Jason and Vic Morrow – S3, E30: “Heritage” (Guest star – Charles Bronson)!
Just after surviving a difficult mission, Lt. Hanley (Rick Jason) and Kirby (Jack Hogan) are given orders to guide an artistic demolitions expert named Cpl. Velasquez (Charles Bronson) to a German observation post that sits on top of a rocky mountain. Their objective is to blow up the enemy post so a group of ten thousand Allied soldiers can cross the valley below on the very next day. Complicating the journey to the targeted destination is Velasquez’s slow pace and fascination with the local geology. This lack of focus causes plenty of problems with Hanley who just wants to get to the location and blow it to smithereens. Once they finally make it to the observation post, Velasquez spots a vault dug into the side of mountain and determines it’s the perfect spot to set his charges. However, when he goes into the vault, he sees that it is full of priceless sculptures and works of art, and he can’t bring himself to blow them up. But if they don’t complete their mission, 10,000 Allied soldiers will soon be sitting ducks. Will Velasquez come to his senses in time to save the men?!!
Today, I watched my old VHS tape of this season 3 episode of COMBAT, called “Heritage,” which premiered in April of 1965. When I was in junior high, I was at Wal-Mart and they had a big bin of VHS tapes, and in those bins, they had tapes that would contain one episode of the series. I don’t remember now who the guest stars were on the other tapes, but I certainly got excited when I saw an episode with Charles Bronson for sale. Since this was in the late 80’s, my tape is over 35 years old, and it’s still holding up well. “Heritage” is the only episode of COMBAT that I’ve ever seen. The series stars Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley and Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders. Morrow just makes a very short appearance here at the very beginning, with the episode focusing on the characters played by Jason and Bronson. The other primary character in this episode, who goes by the name of Kirby, is played by Jack Hogan who appeared in 111 episodes of the series. He’s more in the background of the episode as Bronson and Jason take center stage.
Charles Bronson plays a much different type of character than he would go on to play in most of movies from the 70’s and 80’s. His Cpl. Velasquez can be described as more of a lover and not a fighter. Rather than focus on getting to his target, he’d rather take his time and soak in the interesting and varied rock formations along the way. Rather than easily taking out the enemy and saving his fellow soldiers, he can’t bring himself to destroy priceless works of art, pieces he calls our “God-given…immortal heritage!” It takes a little getting used to, but Bronson turns in a strong performance as a man who has something much more beautiful on his mind than just following orders and killing. This character and performance contrasts greatly with Rick Jason’s character who just wants to complete his mission and get back to base. It’s a shame that war puts people into these kinds of positions where you have to destroy some amazing things in order to save others, but that’s just how it is. I thank God that there have been so many brave men and women who have done what it takes to give us the freedom that we enjoy every day. Even though it was gonna hurt, Cpl. Velasquez, as played by Charles Bronson, is the kind of man who does what it takes.
Overall, “Heritage” is a good episode that’s elevated by Bronson’s excellent performance. It’s a prime example of just what a great character actor Bronson was before hitting the big time as an international superstar a few short years later. I may have to check out a few more episodes of the COMBAT series after this!
Through the Shattered Lens 