10 Films For The Weekend (6/20/25)

Posted on June 20, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hail To The King, Baby

This Sunday is Bruce Campbell’s birthday. Our own Case Writes will be reviewing Bruce’s two autobiographies on that day. Here’s a few films you can watch while celebrating.

Sadly, the first three Evil Dead films are not streaming anywhere for free this weekend. However, Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), which features Bruce as a nursing home resident who may or may not actually be Elvis Presley, is available on Tubi. This is definitely Bruce’s best non-Ash performance and there’s actually something very touching about the idea of an elderly and forgotten Elvis teaming up with John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis) to battle an ancient mummy. There’s a lot of humor to be found in this film but there’s also a definite strain of melancholy and Bruce gives a truly moving performance as someone who you’ll want to believe in. The film is on Tubi.

Maniac Cop (1988) is nowhere near as good as the Evil Dead films or Bubba Ho-Tep but it does give audiences a chance to see Bruce giving a relatively “serious” performance as a policeman who is accused of a murder that was actually committed by a hulking zombie cop. Not only does this film feature Bruce Campbell but it’s also got Tom Atkins, William Smith, Richard Roundtree, and Robert Z’Dar. If nothing else, this film is a tribute to exploitation canniness. Director William Lustig and screenwriter Larry Cohen understood that the idea of dangerous cop would remain compelling one long after the film’s initial release and, as such, Maniac Cop retains a definite cult appeal. The film is on Tubi.

Sadly, Bruce Campbell is killed off rather early in Maniac Cop 2 (1990). That’s a shame because the second film is a lot better than the first one. Robert Davi plays the detective who won’t be pushed around while Robert Z’Dar takes the maniac cop’s search for revenge to a whole other level. Leo Rossi is memorably unhinged. Personally, I would have liked to have seen Bruce try to take a chainsaw to the Maniac Cop but it was not be. Maniac Cop 2 can be viewed on Tubi.

Finally, The Woods (2006) is a sadly underrated horror film, one the features Bruce in a supporting role as a loving dad. Agnes Bruckner give a wonderful performance in the lead role, investigating her mysterious school and taking way too much abuse just because she has red hair. Hey, I’ve been there! I’m just happy that “fire crotch” didn’t catch on the way that “Gingers have no soul” did. (Seriously, the redheads have no soul thing was funny when South Park did it but everyone else needs to shut up about it.) The Woods is an atmospheric horror film from Lucky McKee and one that I would recommend even if it wasn’t Bruce Campbell’s birthday. View it on Tubi.

Pleasures, Guilty And Otherwise

Seriously, if I had to suggest one non-Bruce Campbell movie to you for this weekend, it would be my favorite Lifetime film, True Confessions of a Go-Go Girl (2008). Chelsea Hobbs plays a recent college graduate who realizes that she can either waste more of her life in law school or she can just make a bunch of money by being a …. GO-GO GIRL! The use of the anachronistic term “go-go girl” really does get to the charm of this movie, which manages to be both enjoyably trashy and quaintly old-fashioned at the same time. Hobbs discovers that she loves to dance and that men love to watch her dance. Her wimpy boyfriend freaks out when Hobbs goes from being a meek “good” girl to an aggressive temptress. The film is at its best when its embracing the decadence and the melodrama. On stage, Hobbs is empowered and I was all about that. Of course, Hobbs has to using hard drugs and learn a lesson because that’s the way these films go. Still, this one is a lot of fun and it features Corbin Bernsen doing his somewhat sleazy father figure thing. Find this film on Prime.

The Perfect Teacher (2010) is also available on Prime and you need to watch it because it features my favorite line of all time. “I can be your dream …. or I can be your NIGHTMARE!” This is another perfect Lifetime film and it can be viewed here!

The Wrong Cheerleader (2019) is one of the best of Lifetime’s wonderfully over-the-top “Wrong” film, featuring Degrassi’s Cristine Prosperi and, of course, Vivica A. Fox. “Looks like he messed with the wrong cheerleader.” Hell yeah! It’s on YouTube. (I have a feeling that if I ever hire someone incompetent, Vivica A. Fox will show up at my door and say, “Girl, looks like you hired the wrong landscaping crew.”)

The Babysitter’s Seduction (1996) was not originally made for Lifetime but it definitely found a home there. Keri Russell is the innocent babysitter. Stephen Collins is the handsome but sleazy guy who seduces her and then tries to frame her for killing his wife. This film’s twists was probably more effective back when Stephen Collins was still best-known as Rev. Camden as opposed to being known for …. other things. But it’s still a top-notch example of embracing the melodrama. It can be viewed on Tubi.

From the best Lifetime films, let’s now consider the best SyFy films. Jersey Shore Shark Attack (2010) not only features Tony Sirico, Paul Sorvino, and Jack Scalia but it also features characters with names like Nooki, TC, and Paulie Balzac dealing with killer sharks in New Jersey. Joey Fatone appears as himself and is promptly eaten. Of the many shark films to have been produced by the Asylum, this is definitely one of the best. It’s on Tubi!

Directed by actor Bruce Davison, Bigfoot (2012) not only features the title character but it also includes Danny Bonaduce, Barry Williams, and Sherilyn Fenn amongst the cast. Alice Cooper plays himself and meets a less-than-heroic end. This Asylum film is a true classic. It’s on Tubi!

(Click here for last week’s recommendations.)

A Book For The Weekend (6/20/25)

Posted on June 20, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Wow, I thought as I read Howard Hughes: The Secret Life, was there anyone Howard Hughes didn’t have sex with?

Actually, I imagine there was. Charles Higham’s 1993 biography, which I found in a used bookstore in Pensacola, is full of all sorts of “scandalous” details about Howard Hughes’s life and the decadent Golden Age of Hollywood but it’s not always convincing. Hughes, who was the subject of Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, was undoubtedly an eccentric and I have no doubt that he treated a lot people badly but the book itself tends put a lot of faith in gossip and rumors. As such, we get the established stories of Hughes bringing his control freak tendencies to Hollywood and having affairs with Katharine Hepburn and Ava Gardner mixed with stories about Hughes’s being involved with the Watergate break-in and also carrying on clandestine affairs with everyone from Errol Flynn to Tyrone Power, Jr. The book goes as far as to suggest Hughes died of AIDs, using an evidence the word of a doctor who didn’t examine Hughes but who did apparently read a list of symptoms that Hughes was rumored to have during his final days. That’s really the way that Higham approaches the majority of Hughes’s life. The established facts are mixed with rumor and speculation on the part of the author. It’s not always convincing but then again, since when does gossip have to be believable?

In short, the book is trashy but readable. It’s one of those books that one should probably read with a healthy sense of skepticism but, at the same time, one can appreciate the sheer number of personalities that Higham manages to weave into his narrative. Hughes goes from aviation to Hollywood to politics and he meets everyone who was anyone. It’s a history nerd’s dream.

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix for TWIN DRAGONS (1992)!

Posted on June 20, 2025 by Bradley Crain

This Friday, June 20th, at 9 pm CT, join my wife Sierra and I as we guest host for Lisa, and she continues to enjoy her vacation! We’ll be watching TWIN DRAGONS (1992), starring not just 1, but 2 Jackie Chans! It’s available on Prime!

I’ve included the trailer below!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 4.1 “Man’s Best Friend Part One”

Posted on June 19, 2025 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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, we start the fourth season of Highway to Heaven. This episode features orphans and dogs! I feel the tears coming….

Episode 4.1 “Man’s Best Friend Part One”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on September 16th, 1987)

Oh, this episode made me cry and cry.

Why? Well, for a couple of reasons….

First off, Jonathan and Mark got new jobs working at a kennel. Many of the dogs at the kennel had been abandoned by their owners and Ms. Lil (Fran Ryan) took care of them all, rather than taking them to the pound. And listen, I’m not a dog person. I’m a cat person. We all know this. But seriously, those dogs were adorable!

A Siberian husky named Jake gets lost. After running across the interstate (gasp!), he finds himself alone at night. Coyotes approach. (OH NO!) Suddenly, Jonathan appears and turns into a lion, scaring the coyotes off. (*sniff* *sniff* I’m okay.)

Every few days, Lil takes the dogs down to the local orphanage — (OH MY GOD!) — and lets them play with the orphans. Jake, now a part of the kennel crew, begs young Alex (Danny Pintauro, who had a much worse experience with a dog in Cujo) to play with him. Alex is shy and introverted but Jake quickly becomes his best friend. Alex starts to come out of his shell and says that he knows he’ll never be separated from Jake. For the first time in his young life, Alex is happy.

(Oh dear.)

The local media does a story on Lil and her dogs. They take a picture of Alex and Jake. The next morning, a young girl named Jenny (Elisabeth Harnois) sees the picture and recognizes Jake. For the past month, she’s been desperately looking for Jake!

(This isn’t good….)

Jenny and her grandfather (William Schallert) pick Jake up from the kennel. Jonathan has to go to the orphanage and tell Alex that his best friend is no longer going to be visiting him.

(Sorry, give me a minute.)

Alex is depressed. Jake is depressed. Jonathan shows at Jenny’s home and asks if Alex can come and visit Jake. Jenny and grandpa say yes. (YAY!)

Suddenly, three dreaded words appear on the screen: “TO BE CONTINUED”

What!? No, there’s no need to continue. Alex and Jake have been reunited, let’s end the story here….

This episode was Highway to Heaven at its most earnest, manipulative, and effective. Not only did it feature orphans but also an adorable dog and William Schallert as a genial authority figure. There was also a subplot about Jenny’s parents trying to have another child with a surrogate and I’m sure that has something to do with that promise of “TO BE CONTINUED.”

Nothing better happen to the dog!

Retro Television Review: Malibu CA 2.15 “Goin’ Up In Smoke”

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Malibu CA, which aired in Syndication in 1998 and 1999. Almost the entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.

This week, Jason’s smoking! And Dick Butkus shows up.

Episode 2.15 “Goin’ Up In Smoke”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on February 12th, 2000)

Okay, can we just agree that Lisa is the absolute worst?

No, not me! I’m talking about the show’s Lisa, the premed student played by Marquita Terry. In this episode, she somehow gets a job writing theater reviews for the local newspaper. When Traycee puts on her own version of Romeo and Juliet (an “urban” version that she calls Rom-e-yo and Juliet), Lisa has to review it. Lisa doesn’t like the play so she writes a negative review in which she says that Traycee is a terrible actress. Traycee reads the review and gets offended. Lisa says that she didn’t have a choice. She had to be honest.

Actually, Lisa did have a choice and it wouldn’t have been involved any sort of dishonesty. Lisa could have simply said, “I can’t review this show because I have a conflict of interest.” The show was adapted, directed, and produced by Lisa’s roommate! That’s all Lisa had to say to get out of writing the review. The newspaper could have sent someone else to write the review and Lisa would have been off the hook. Instead, Lisa went to the show, trashed her roommate in the newspaper, and then acted like somehow she was the one being inconvenienced.

Seriously, Lisa is the worst and it doesn’t help that Marquita Terry’s performance on this show was so incredibly bad that she made the cast of One World look Emmy-worthy. Seriously, you have to be really bad to make Cray from One World look good by comparison.

That was the B-plot. The A-plot found Dick Butkus returning as Uncle Charlie, just in time for Jason to start smoking …. just like his favorite uncle! Peter freaks out. His son is smoking! Hey, Peter …. your son is 19 years old and legally an adult. If he wants to smoke, he can smoke. He’s a musician in Malibu so you should really be thankful that smoking cigarettes is all he’s doing.

Uncle Charlie is a smoker too. He and Jason try to quit together but, after one hour without a cigarette, they’re both ready to kill someone. Uhmmm …. okay. I don’t smoke but I know plenty of smokers and most of them can last for more than an hour without a cigarette. Anyway, Uncle Charlie gets lung cancer because this is a Peter Engel sitcom and, therefore, every point has to be made with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

This episode felt familiar, mostly because every single Peter Engel sitcom had at least one insane anti-smoking episode. Having Dick Butkus show up just reminded me of how much better Hang Time handled smoking. This episode annoyed me beyond all belief.

Thank God it’s the final season.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Monsters 3.21 “Talk Nice To Me”

Posted on June 18, 2025 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 Wednesdays, I will be reviewing Monsters, which aired in syndication from 1988 to 1991. The entire series is streaming on YouTube.

This week, someone won’t stop calling!

Episode 3.21 “Talk Nice To Me”

(Dir by Ernest Farino, originally aired on February 17th, 1991)

A sexist newspaper columnist named Martin (Ed Marinaro) starts receiving phone calls from a woman (Tina Louise) with a sultry voice. She continually calls him, leaving message after message. She refuses to reveal her name or how she got Martin’s unlisted “private” number. (This episode aired during the landline era, before you could block numbers.) Martin tries everything to get her to stop calling. He disconnects his phone for two days but, as soon as he reconnects, she calls again. Martin can’t work. He can’t write. When he invites Linda (Teri Ann Lind) over to his apartment, his paranoia prove to be a real turn-off. He becomes convinced that the stalker has somehow entered his apartment. The truth is even more twisted….

This episode had potential but it was let down by a rather cartoonish performance by Ed Marinaro. I could buy Marinaro as a misogynist. I could even buy Marinaro as a womanizer. I couldn’t buy him as a successful newspaper columnist and, as a result, the whole “you’re going to lose your column!” subplot fell flat for me. That said, Martin’s apartment was an appropriately claustrophobic location and the idea of the nonstop caller was suitably creepy. This was not necessarily bad episode. It’s just an episode that could have been better than it was.

Only three more episode to go and we will have finished up with Monsters. Though uneven, the third season has still been a marked improvement over the first two. Even the third season episodes that don’t work quite as well as they should, like this one, are watchable.

Retro Television Review: The Love Boat 6.3 “The Anniversary Gift/Honey Bee Mine/Bewigged, Bothered and Bewildered”

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Wednesdays, I will be reviewing the original Love Boat, which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986! The series can be streamed on Paramount Plus!

It’s time so set sail for adventure, your mind on a new romance….

Episode 6.3 “The Anniversary Gift/Honey Bee Mine/Bewigged, Bothered and Bewildered”

(Dir by Ted Lange, originally aired on October 16th, 1982)

Oh my God, what did Julie do to her hair!? I mean, I understand that it was the 80s and everything but Julie’s short, spiky look in this episode is not a good decision. No wonder she’s so worried that she’s going to lose her boyfriend (Richard Bergman) to her old college friend, Honey Bee Harknest (Randi Oakes, taking a break from appearing on CHiPs to do The Love Boat). Honey Bee has always stolen Julie’s boyfriends so, for this cruise, Julie lies and says that she’s dating Gopher. Normally, Gopher would be happy about this but he’s already got a girlfriend to whom he’s trying to stay loyal.

(I’m going to guess that we’ll never see Julie’s boyfriend or Gopher’s girlfriend again after this episode.)

In other cruise news, Lynn Redgrave and Robert Mandan are taking a vacation to celebrate 20 years of wedded bliss. Mandan is looking forward to traveling. Redgrave wants to have another child. You’ve probably already guessed where this storyline is heading. Lynn Redgrave and Robert Mandan made for a surprisingly believable couple. Redgrave was, of course, an Oscar nominee while Mandan was the best of the celebrity skaters to appear on the Roller Disco episode of CHiPs.

(There’s our second CHiPs reference of the review! Woo hoo!)

Finally, Phyllis Diller plays an old classmate of Captain Stubing’s. When Diller compliments Stubing on still looking young, Stubing starts to worry about how she’ll react when he removes his captain’s cap and reveals that he’s bald. So, he starts wearing a toupee. Oh, Captain Stubing! To be honest, I do like episodes that allow Stubing to be emotionally vulnerable. Gavin MacLeod always did a good job of suggesting the insecurity that lay underneath the commanding presence and that’s certainly the case with this episode. That said, Stubing could take a lesson from Sgt. Getraer, who still manages to run things on CHiPs despite his thinning hair.

(Boom! Three references to CHiPs in one review of The Love Boat. That’s got to be a record.)

This was a pleasant cruise and it was directed by Isaac himself, Ted Lange! Lange keeps the action moving and, as a director, he obviously knew how to get good performances out of his castmates. Julia’s terrible hairstyle aside, this was a good trip on The Love Boat.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Pacific Blue 2.7 “Line In The Sand”

Posted on June 17, 2025 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 Tuesdays, I will be reviewing Pacific Blue, a cop show that aired from 1996 to 2000 on the USA Network! It’s currently streaming everywhere, though I’m watching it on Tubi.

This week, the beach gets dangerous.

Episode 2.7 “Line In The Sand”

(Dir by Michael Levine, originally aired on October 6th, 1996)

There’s a lot going on in this episode, leaving me to wonder if maybe this episode was edited together from two or three other episodes that, for whatever reason, were never aired in their original form. Seriously, it’s an oddly put together episode, with two very dramatic stories and one silly story and absolutely no tonal consistency whatsoever.

A kayaker keeps trying to kayak where he’s not wanted so two surfers beat him up. When the kayaker continues to kayak, the two surfers break into his home and …. put his girlfriend in a coma? Seriously? That seems like an overreaction. How exactly are these two getting away with this? Every episode of Pacific Blue leaves me more and more convinced that bicycle cops are a terrible idea. These surfers aren’t brilliant criminals or anything. Real cops would have been able to stop them.

Even with his girlfriend in a coma, the kayaker continues to kayak. So, the surfers punch out two other guys and steal their jet skis so they can chase the guy. But the kayaker leads them under the pier, which leads to one surfer colliding with a wooden support beam and the washing up on the beach, where he’s promptly arrested by Palermo.

“She woke up,” Palermo explains, referring to the kayaker’s girlfriend. Apparently, this whole thing was just a sting to arrest the surfers but did allowing the surfers to beat up two innocent jet ski owners play into the plan? If the girlfriend woke up and identified them as her attackers, why not just arrest the surfers on the beach instead of making them chase the kayaker?

Yes, it’s good the guy’s girlfriend woke up but consider this. She wouldn’t have been in a coma to begin with if Santa Monica had a real police force. Seriously, how can two surfers cause this much havoc without getting arrested before it reaches the point that they’re breaking into someone’s house and putting his girlfriend into a coma? It is explained that they have a lawyer who represents them free-of-charge in return for surfing lessons. I can’t think of a single lawyer who would do that. Most lawyers need money to pay their bills and stuff.

One of the surfers is named Weed so Palermo got to say, “Hold on, Weed!” at one point. That made me smile.

Meanwhile, a random woman became obsessed with Victor and started painting pictures of him. When Victor rejected her, she tore her clothes and accused him of attempting to rape her. Victor was charged with rape but we never actually saw anyone arrest him. Cory went undercover as Victor’s girlfriend in order to get the woman to attack her. Somehow, this led to the charges against Victor getting dropped, though it didn’t actually do anything to disprove the woman’s claim.

Finally, Elvis — the Pacific Blue mechanic played by David L. Lander — wanted to join a swinger’s club but he was told he would have to bring a woman with him. Elvis asked Chris to accompany him. By this point, Elvis should know that Chris’s character only exists to humiliate people who ask her to do things. Chris isn’t interested in swinging but Elvis continue to look. To be honest, I didn’t even realize that Elvis was still on the show.

This was a dumb episode. Let’s leave it at that.

Retro Television Review: Fantasy Island 6.19 “Edward/Extraordinary Miss Jones”

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Tuesdays, I will be reviewing the original Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1984. Unfortunately, the show has been removed from most streaming sites. Fortunately, I’ve got nearly every episode on my DVR …. nearly being the word to remember.

This week, Sammy Davis Jr. comes to Fantasy Island.

That’s be cool, right?

Episode 6.19 “Edward/Extraordinary Miss Jones”

(Dir by Don Ingalls, originally aired on April 9th, 1983)

Or, it would have been cool if my DVR had actually recorded this episode!

Sorry, it’s the curse of the DVR. This is one of the episodes that my DVR did not record. I’m not sure if it’s a case of the episode not being aired or perhaps the cable itself was out when it should have been recording but, for whatever reason, I do not have this episode and I also don’t remember having watched it in the past.

For now, I can’t review it. But I’m going to leave this here as a placeholder, in case the show ever starts streaming again.

Again, I regret not being able to review this episode at this time. But, as Mr. Roarke always says, “Smiles, everyone, smiles!”

Song of the Day: Main Theme From Zombi 2 by Fabio Frizzi

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Zombi 2 (1979, dir. Lucio Fulci, DP: Sergio Salvati)

For today’s song of the day, we celebrate the birthday of Lucio Fulci with Fabio Frizzi’s main theme from 1979’s Zombi 2. If you’ve ever seen the film, it’s impossible to hear this piece of music without imagining hundreds of zombies walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.