Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix for To Live and Die In L.A!


As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly watch parties.  On Twitter, I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday and I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday.  On Mastodon, 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, at 10 pm et, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix!  The movie?  1985’s To Live And Die In L.A!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, find To Live and Die In L.A. on Prime, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag!  I’ll be there happily tweeting.  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

See you there!

 

 

Join #TubiThursday For Pretty In Pink!


Hi, everyone!  Tonight, on Mastodon, I will be hosting the #TubiThursday watch party!  Join us for a true classic, 1986’s Pretty In Pink!

You can find the movie on Tubi and YouTube and you can join us on Mastodon at 9 pm central time!  (That’s 10 pm for you folks on the East Coast.)  We will be using #TubiThursday hashtag!  See you then!

Scenes That I Love: Amy Adams In Arrival


Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to my fellow redhead, Amy Adams!

Amy gave one of the best performances to not be nominated for an Oscar in 2016’s Arrival.  Today, my scene that I love is the poignant and thought-provoking ending of that film.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special H.P. Lovecraft 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.

This edition of 4 Shots From 4 Films is dedicated to H.P. Lovecraft, on the occasion of his 136th birthday.

4 Shots From 4 Films

The Dunwich Horror (1970, directed by Daniel Haller)

The Dunwich Horror (1970, directed by Daniel Haller)

Dagon (2001, directed by Stuart Gordon)

Dagon (2001, directed by Stuart Gordon)

The Call of Cthulhu (2005, directed by Andrew Leman)

The Call of Cthulhu (2005, directed by Andrew Leman)

The Whisperer in Darkness (2011, directed by Sean Branney)

The Whisperer in Darkness (2011, directed by Sean Branney)

The “This Week in Charles Bronson” Podcast discusses Antoinette Bower, my trip to Vermont and Val McCallum!


I’ve shared several episodes of the “This Week in Charles Bronson” podcast with our readers over the last year. I just love visiting with my Buchinsky Buddy Eric Todd about all things related to Charles Bronson. In our latest episode, Eric pays tribute to actress Antoinette Bower, who passed away on April 30th, 2026, at the age of 93. The first Bronson film he ever saw was THE EVIL THAT MEN DO (1984), where Bower plays Claire Molloch, the sister and the love of the life of political torturer Clement Molloch (Joseph Maher). In Bower’s three-decade career she starred in just about every classic TV series you can think of, including Have Gun, Will Travel, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Star Trek, and with Bronson and Kurt Russell in The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters. It’s a lot of fun revisiting much of her film work, and finding out a lot of other interesting things about her life after she retired from show business in the early 90’s.

After that, I get to tell you all about my trip to Vermont! My wife and I were able to visit Charles Bronson’s gravesite at the Brownsville Cemetery in West Windsor, as well as the property that was once his and Jill Ireland’s horse farm on Bronson Road. We were able to eat at places where he liked to eat and even go shopping at places where he liked to shop! And to top it all off, we had the good fortune to meet his son, Valentine McCallum, who still has property in the area and just happened to be visiting when we were there. Val’s an incredible professional musician and singer, and we were able to catch him performing at the Skunk Hollow Tavern on our last night in the area. I share a couple of his songs on the podcast. What I love the most is that these are very personal songs that Val performed that night. I think you’ll enjoy them. I know we sure did!

So, if any of that sounds like fun to you, take some time to give us a listen. I’m sharing the YouTube and Spotify links below, but you can find us on Apple Podcasts as well!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special 2004 Edition


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 pay tribute to the year 2004!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 2004 Films

Before Sunset (2004, dir by Richard Linklater, DP: Lee Daniel)

Sideways (2004, dir by Alexander Payne, DP: Phedon Papamichael)

Primer (2004, dir by Shane Carruth)

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

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” features Clint Eastwood & his Dog in TIGHTROPE (1984)!


When I was a teenager growing up in Toad Suck, Arkansas, we only had 5 TV channels. My favorite of those channels was Fox 16 out of Little Rock, because they showed a lot of movies. Many of my favorite movies to this day are the movies that showed on Fox 16 in the mid-80’s. One of those movies that they played frequently was TIGHTROPE. This being the TV edit of the movie, I was too young and naive to realize just how different of a character Wes Block was for Clint Eastwood. Sure, he was a badass cop, but he also indulged in somewhat perverse sexual activities with the ladies of the night in New Orleans. It’s actually an incredible performance and the type that helps separate Eastwood from so many of his contemporaries.

TIGHTROPE was released 42 years ago to the date on August 17th, 1984. Let’s celebrate by watching this interesting clip from the movie. It’s definitely tame compared to many others in film, but I love the payoff !

Scenes That I Love: Travis Bickle’s Paranoid Monologue from Taxi Driver


Taxi Driver is 50 years old but it’s still one of cinema’s most definitive portraits of urban paranoia and societal detachment.  Travis (played by Robert De Niro) obsesses on the city that he harshly judges even though he’s as much a part of New York as those who he wishes will be washed away.

This scene features Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Schrader at their definite best.  I imagine that, for a lot of people, this is one of those scenes that solidified their opinions on New York City.  For the record, the last time I was in New York, everyone was fairly pleasant.  They weren’t exactly friendly but I also didn’t get my bag stolen.  (Those of us who don’t live in New York tend to assume that we’ll get mugged as soon as we leave JFK.)