Tag Archives: Leonard Wilson

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets Super Bowl Sunday!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

The Super Bowl just ended so I guess it’s time to recap the reaction of the members of the TSL Team who watched and tweeted about it.  Jeff, Erin, Case, Leonard, and I all watched and …. I don’t know.  The game kind of sucked this year.  I didn’t care about the game and I thought that commercials were kind of boring..  Case thought the commercials were depressing.  Leonard got so bored that he left for ice cream.  Jeff and Erin are mad that the Bengals lost.  Even though it wasn’t as bad as last year, there was still weren’t as many movie commercials as in the past.

I think our collective reaction can be summed up as this:

There was apparently some hope at the start of the second half, when the game started get exciting:

But in the end, the Super Bowl and the commercials just didn’t deliver:

It all led to one question:

Yep, that was it.

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets Halloween

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy Halloween!

Well, October is our biggest month of the year at the Shattered Lens.  We spend 30 days waiting for Halloween and then when it arrives, it’s always a little hard to know how to react.  I watched several horror movies.  Val watched some movies about Arsene Lupin.  Leonard reviewed a few movies.  Case has got his super cool sick voice going.  Jeff watched a documentary on mummies.  Erin is watching the World Series.

Here’s a little of what Halloween was like here at the Shattered Lens:

That #704 means that Val has watched nearly a hundred more movies than I have this year  I’m running behind!  What have I been doing that’s been taking me away from my first love of movies?

Agck!

By this point, I was watching Psycho on TCM.

All in all, it’s been a good October here at the Shattered Lens.  So, from our family to yours, Happy Halloween and to all a good night!

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets Oscar Sunday

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Patrick, I think, had the right idea. While Doc and Epoch slept and he read, Leonard, Jeff, and I watched a live tweeted this year’s Steven Soderbergh-produced Oscar ceremony. That it was an odd ceremony should not have come as a surprise, all things considered. Still, the three of us found ourselves shocked by not only the strange placement of the categories (i.e., putting Best Director in the middle of the show) but also by just the entire style of the entire ceremony. It was very Soderberghian, in that it was occasionally interesting but overall rather uneven. We were especially surprised when Best Picture was given out before the acting prizes but then we realized that they were obviously building up to the emotional moment when Chadwick Boseman would win his posthumous Oscar. Of course, for that to happen, Boseman would have to win Best Actor and …. well, here’s a few of our tweets from the very odd ceremony:

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets The Golden Globes

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It turns out that Patrick had the right idea.  Jeff, Leonard, Case, and I watched the Golden Globes tonight and it was seriously the most depressing awards show that I can remember.  The tables were largely empty and Amy Poehler and Tina Fey’s attempts at humor felt forced and awkward.  The constant bragging about the amount of money that the show was raising for charity felt like an attempt to deflect from all of the negative publicity that the HFPA has received over the past few weeks.  Nothing about the show felt right.

The winners accepted from home.  I enjoyed seeing Eugene Levy’s house.  It’s a very nice house.  But it still felt, to use that familiar term again, forced and awkward.  Even the surprise winners — and there were more than a few — could do little to alleviate the gloomy feel of the show.  At a time when we could use a little glamour, the Golden Globes were subdued and painful.  One can only imaging how painful the Oscars are going to be.

Here’s a few tweets from tonight:

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets Super Bowl Sunday!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today was probably the most low-key Super Bowl Sunday is the history of the Shattered Lens.

The reasons for that are fairly obvious.  The Super Bowl is tradition.  It’s something that people look forward to as a sign of normalcy and continuity.  Some people care about the game.  Some people care about the commercials.  But the main thing is that the Super Bowl is always there and it’s always a big deal.  This year, though, was different.

For one thing, the commercials were different.  Usually, we struggle to keep up with all of the movie advertisements but this year, there were only four to share.  For another things, no one really had a team in the game.  Jeff was excited about Tom Brady winning another Super Bowl.  Leonard wanted anyone but Brady to win.  But it’s not like anyone here at the TSL is a huge fan of either Kansas City or Tampa Bay.

So, it was a subdued Super Bowl Sunday.  Everyone observed it in their own way:

In the end, the team that score the most points won so congratulations to them! Here’s hoping that next year’s Super Bowl’s commercials will be a little bit more memorable.

 

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets The First Day of 2021

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy 2021, everyone!  However you chose to welcome the new year, I hope you’ve managed to recover.

Today was the first day of the New Year and, for me, it was also a day to start a new list of films.  It’s something I and a lot of people do every year.  We keep a list of every film that we watch and, of course, the idea is to see as many possible.  In 2020, I watched 820 films at least once.  (Some films, like It’s A Wonderful Life, I watched several times but, for list purposes, I only counted the first time.)  This year, I’m hoping to watch at least 1,000.

I watched Thank God It’s Friday as a part of #FridayNightFlix, which is a weekly live tweet that I host.  Every Friday, at 10 pm et, we watch a movie.  So far, we’ve watched Starcrash, Ator, Split Image, Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny, Robot Monster, and now Thank God It’s Friday.  If you’re reading this and you’re on twitter, consider yourself invited to next Friday’s film.

As always, the work here at the TSL Bunker is never done.

Still, for the most part, the first day of 2021 was a rather mellow and peaceful one and, after 2020, I don’t think anyone can complain about that.  One thing about almost everything being on hold right now is that it gives us a chance to reflect and think about both the past and the future.  For instance, I spent a good deal of today staring at my film collection and realizing that I need to spend this entire year watching every piece of physical media that I own, if just to make sure that they all still work.  So, you can consider that one of my resolutions for 2021.  I will sit down and watch all of the movies that I own.  And maybe I’ll even review them!

I wasn’t the only one making resolutions around here, of course.  Patrick also set himself up for a challenge:

That was pretty much it for today.  I watched some movies.  I listened to some music.  And I made some last-minute resolutions for the new year.  It was a quiet day but it was a good day.  I can’t complain about that.  Instead, we can all sing along:

Have a good year everyone.  Keep reading.  Keep listening to music.  And as always, keep watching, talking, debating, discussing, and making your opinions known!  Let’s make 2021 a year to be remembered!

 

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets Christmas

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy holidays!

Today was Christmas and, as you can see, even the TSL cats got into it:

This year, Christmas was, for many of us, a bit more low-key than usual.  That’s understandable, of course.  For instance, I’m used to having a big family gathering for Christmas.  Usually, on this day, I would be catching up with aunts and uncles and cousins from all over the country.  The morning would be spent at one house and the afternoon at another and the evening and yet another.  That didn’t happen this year, for obvious reasons.  That said, my sisters and I were still able to keep a few our traditions alive.

For instance, I kept alive the tradition of waking up early and then wondering why everyone else was still asleep:

Every year, I make it a point to go for a drive on Christmas Day.  It may sound like a minor thing but it’s something that I always look forward to.

And finally, there were the most important traditions.  Like this one about watching certain movies over the course of the day.  I’m happy to say that I not only watched A Christmas Story this morning (before we even unwrapped presents, if you need an example of just how early I woke up compared to everyone else) but that it was also the 800th films that I’ve watched this year.

After A Christmas Story, it was time to rewatch It’s A Wonderful Life on E!  I also watched the 1983 Tom Cruise football film, All The Right Moves before joining my family in observing one of the greatest of all Christmas traditions:

Everyone celebrated Christmas in their own way.  Here’s a few thoughts from the TSL crew:

To be honest, that’s what I always thought Boxing Day was but apparently, it’s a shopping holiday.  That’s pretty nice since I was already planning on shopping tomorrow anyways.

Anyway, Happy Holidays, everyone!  I hope it was a good one without any fear.  Another year over and a new one just begun.

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets Christmas Eve

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy Christmas Eve, everyone!

It’s been a relatively quiet Christmas Eve down here at the TSL Offices.  We’ve wished each other a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday.

We’ve definitely devoted some time to trying to keep up with what’s going on with Santa and his trip around the world.

There was a brief moment of panic when it appeared that Santa may have disappeared.  I wondered if maybe he had been called away to once again conquer the Martians.

Fortunately, we eventually found him on a beach in Florida and sent the Ice Cream Bunny out to get things moving again.

Resolutions were made:

Treats were considered:

Nostalgia was indulged:

And, in the end, we watched a lot of movies.  Myself, for instance, I watched Less Than Zero, Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, and It’s A Wonderful Life today.  I’ve still got the first two Die Hards and A Christmas Story to look forward to.  That’ll be after midnight mass, of course.

And finally, as he does every year, Patrick helped bring this Christmas Eve to a perfect close by sharing the Night Before Christmas.

Here’s hoping that everyone has a good holiday tomorrow!  Thanks for reading and we look forward to ringing in the new year with you!

The Shattered Lens Live Tweets Thanksgiving

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, another Thanksgiving is coming to an end.

Needless to say, with everything going on in the world, this Thanksgiving is a bit different than what I’m used to.

With all that in mind, though, the TSL crew had an active Thanksgiving.  Here’s a few highlights of our day:

So, another Thanksgiving comes to a close.  Usually, I do a big long list of what I’m thankful for each and very year but this year, I’m just thankful for all of you.  2020 has not gone the way that any of us planned it would.  I was certainly expecting the year to be a lot more festive and I think that the rest of this decade probably will be.  People have been locked away for too long.  I have a feeling that once the pandemic is under control, there’s going to be a lot of pent up energy being released.

So, this year, I’m thankful for our readers, our contributors, and just this site in general.  TSL has been around for ten years now.  We’re going to be around for the next ten as well.

So, let’s sit back and enjoy the ride, shall we?

Lisa’s Editorial Corner: On Tornadoes, Rango, social media, and Charlie Sheen

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, it had to happen but did it have to happen so soon?

So, here we are.  Just two weeks into doing Lisa’s Editorial corner and already, I’m worrying that I may have nothing to talk about.  Of course, some of that is because I’m a little bit preoccupied.  Somehow — don’t ask how unless you really want the details — I managed to sprain my foot on Saturday morning.  I stayed on the couch for the weekend but then, foolishly, I attempted to both work and dance on Monday.  So, right now, I am home, my foot hurts, and I’m having a hard time focusing on anything else.

(At the same time, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve sprained my foot and/or my ankle.  It sucks right now but I’ll be okay soon.  I’m taking off work on Tuesday, which means that I’ll get to make even more progress in cleaning out the DVR!)

Plus, as I write this at 1:30 in the morning, we are currently under tornado watch!  If a tornado does decide to show up, I am not looking to forward to having to hop my way into the downstairs coat closet.  They say that, if you don’t have a storm bunker like the one Michael Shannon installed in Take Shelter, the downstairs closet is the safest place to get in case of a tornado.  I have never understood why.

This is why I sometime hate social media.

charlie-sheen-5240

Since Monday is always my crazy day, I was not on twitter when the whole “Charlie Sheen Has HIV” story broke.  In fact, I didn’t know a thing about it until someone mentioned it in passing that night and, at that time, I was so busy trying not faint from the pain of my sprained foot that it really didn’t register with me.

So really, it wasn’t until I got home, took a handful of Vicodin, and logged onto twitter that I was really aware of what’s been going on with Sheen.  Apparently, this Tuesday (i.e., today), Sheen is going to be on the Today Show and is going to reveal whether or not he has HIV.  There’s something really ghoulish about how much some people are anticipating Charlie Sheen announcing that he is HIV positive.

It’s also sad that, judging from many of the comments on twitter, a lot of people don’t understand that being HIV positive does not mean that Charlie Sheen has AIDS.  Check out a few of the comments:

Keep in mind that I’m writing this at 1:33 in the morning and Charlie Sheen has yet to officially announce anything.  By the time this post is published and you read it, Sheen will probably have announced whatever it is that he’s going to announce but, for now, nobody knows anything.  There’s just speculation.  For all we know, Sheen is going to announce that he’s HIV negative or that he wants to be Donald Trump’s running mate.

In fact, the only thing we know for sure is that a lot of people seem to be positively gleeful about the possibility of Charlie Sheen having HIV.  I’ve never been a fan of Charlie Sheen’s and I found his whole “winning” thing to be more pathetic than anything else.  But it has always disturbed me that his extremely self-destructive behavior has always been treated as a source of entertainment.  What’s particularly offensive is that many of the same people who loved to watch crazy old Charlie talk about “tiger blood,” are now gloating about how Sheen’s “lifestyle” has caught up with him.  It was a lifestyle that was largely dependent upon and made possible by American’s own twisted love/hate relationship with celebrity.

The blogger known as Jedadiah Leland and I have often debated whether or not social media is worth all the trouble.  Usually, I think I can make a pretty good case that twitter does enough good that it makes all the other bullshit worth it.  But, when I see thousands of strangers competing to come up with the best joke about someone being HIV-positive, I start to think that he may have a point.

And since I’ve just been critical of twitter, I’ll wrap this up with a tweet from my sister:

The best laid plans of Lisa…

Before I got caught up writing about Charlie Sheen, I was going to devote a bit of a space to talking about how much I hate it when people show up late for a movie.  I mean, seriously — we all know that, if a movie is listed as starting at 7:00, the movie isn’t really going to start until 7:20.  That’s a 20 minute grace period right there and there’s really no excuse for arriving at the theater after that grace period has ended.  If you’re going to be more than 20 minutes late, either go to a different showing or go back home.  But for God’s sake, don’t wander into the theater and go, “Oh, the movie’s started,” and then stumble around looking for a seat in the dark.

To be honest, I’d rather be stuck in a theater with a screaming baby than have to deal with people showing up 30 minutes late for the movie.

As long as we’re here, check this out!

The evil clown who pops up to sing ‘Get Yourself High‘ in the Chemical Brothers’ live show has his own Facebook page.  I am so happy right now!  Unfortunately, there’s not much information on the page about the clown but I liked it anyway.  You never know when the clown might decide to open up about his hopes and dreams.

Clown

FLASHBACK TIME!

You know what you should find time to do today?  You should take a trip into the past and read the very first review that Leonard Wilson ever wrote for this site.  I present to you … Leonard’s 2o11 review of Rango!

One Final Thought…

At any given time, I usually have about a week’s worth of blog posts scheduled to publish on the various sites that I write for.  So, if I died tomorrow, my writing would actually outlive me.  Think about it — I could be dead and still giving you my opinion.  And if I am dead and I tell you to see a movie, you better see it!

Ghost Critic

Have a great week!