The Eric Roberts Collection: Megalodon: The Frenzy (dir by Brendan Petrizzo)

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In 2023’s Megalodon: The Frenzy, the giant shark that keeps coming back …. well, it comes back again! Actually, there’s more than one giant shark this time. The ocean is not safe, not for tourists, not for beach partiers, not for scientists, not even for the Marines!

Fortunately, Lt. Commander Sharp (Eric Roberts) is in command of a battleship and he’s constantly encouraging his Marines to be prepared to sacrifice everything to stop the giant sharks. While scientist Rylie Clark (Caroline Williams) attempts to figure out how to stop the sharks, Sharp barks out order to his crew. His crew replies with “Oorah!” I would have to check the official records to know for sure but there’s a distinct chance that this movie set the record for the most use of “oorah” over an 82 minute run time.

The true stars of the film are the giant sharks, of course. That said, it’s nice to see Eric Roberts playing a good guy for once. Of course, Eric does seem a little advanced in years to still be on active duty. The mandatory retirement age for a flag officer is usually 64 but retirement can be deferred until 68 by Presidential order. Eric Roberts was around 67 years old when he filmed this so I guess it pays to have a friend in Washington. Well, no matter. Eric gave his orders with authority and rallied his men and probably had the longest hair that you’re ever likely to see on an officer.

As for the sharks, they’re really big and they jump out of the water and eat people. This is an Asylum film and the Asylum has always understood what people want when it comes to giant sharks. Don’t take this film seriously and you’ll be fine.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 1.10 “Swap Meet”

Posted on April 7, 2026 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 Saved By The Bell: The New Class, which ran on NBC from 1993 to 2o00. The show is currently on Prime.

It’s time for the annual school swap meet!

Episode 1.10 “Swap Meet”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 13, 1993)

It’s time for the Swap Meet, the annual Bayside tradition that has never been mentioned before this week’s episode. All of the students — and Mr. Belding — go to the gym to sell the old stuff that they don’t need anymore. Does anyone in this school actually go to class?

Weasel, Scott, and Tommy D. have their own table, where they are apparently selling random things from Weasel’s garage. Scott desperately needs some money so that he can take Rachel Meyers (Sarah Lancaster, who would become a regular starting with season 2) to the Janet Jackson concert. Scott is not happy when Weasel takes the ten dollars that Scott and Tommy D have made at the table and spends it all on comic books. Fortunately, one of those comic books turns out to be Defender Dog #59, the one with the “famous misprint!” Scott and Weasel go to call the comic book shop to find out how much the comic book is worth. “It’s worth 600 raviolis!” Weasel announces. Huh? Who talks like that?

While Scott and Weasel are dancing in the hallway, Tommy D sells the comic book for nine dollars to Marv and Harv Dorkman (played by Grant Gelt and Karl Michael Maschek).

Marv and Harv, as you guessed, are two of Saved By The Bell‘s stereotypical nerd characters. They refuse to sell the comic book back to Scott. When Scott realizes that Marv and Harv have crushes on Megan and Vicki, he convinces Megan and Vicki to go to the movies with them and to lie about loving comic books. Megan and Vicki think that, by doing this, they’ll get the Defender Dog comic book. Instead, Marv and Harv sell the comic book to Crunch Grabowski (Ryan Hurst) and then use the money that they made to buy necklaces for Megan and Vicki, which Megan and Vicki promptly reject.

“I can’t believe this,” Scott says.

“Getting that comic book back is harder than Chinese square dancing,” says Weasel.

It’s hurting my head just to recap this.

Anyway, Crunch doesn’t want to sell the comic book so Scott convinces Crunch to come to the local comic book shop, which is owned by Honolulu Harry. So, of course, Weasel puts on an old man mask and pretends to be Honolulu Harry and Tommy D. pretends to be a nerd who wants to sell a copy of Defender Dog so that Weasel (as Harry) to tell him that no one likes Defender Dog. Crunch cannot handle being seen with an unpopular super hero so he trades Defender Dog for Lou the Ant. Scott gets the comic book but then the real Honolulu Harry shows up and refuses to buy it from him because he caught Tommy D. in the back of the comic book shop. “You touched my comics!” Harry yells. What are people supposed to do in a comic book store?

Poor Scott! Well, no, not really. There’s a hundred smart things that Scott could have done during this episode and he didn’t do a single one of them. He deserves what he gets….

Oh wait, the Dorkmans spent a lot of money to get four tickets to the Janet Jackson concert. Megan tells them that she and Vicki would love to go to the concert with them. Megan says she’ll hold on to two of the tickets and that she and Vicki will meet them at the concert. The Dorkmans give the tickets to Megan and Vicki and then Megan and Vicki give them to Scott so he can take Rachel to the concert.

“You guys did this for me? You guys are the best.” Scott says.

Rachel shows up to go to the concert with Scott. She asks if the tickets were hard to get.

“No, not when you have really great friends,” Scott says.

Awwwww! the audience replies.

The audience has probably forgotten that Vicki had a huge crush on Scott just a few episodes ago and Megan and Scott were hinted to be a couple-in-the-making at the start of the season. Beyond continuity, the main message here seems to be that, if your friend is a pathological liar, it’s okay to to lie to help him out. The Dorkmans, who apparently spent a lot of money on the tickets that Megan just gave away, are already at the concert waiting on their dates. Vicki and Megan’s actions would perhaps be justified if the Dorkmans were creeps but, for the most part, they’re just two guys who wears glasses and like comic books. And while it is true that the Dorkmans bought those tickets without bothering to ask Vicki and Megan out beforehand, it’s also true that Megan flat-out lied so that she could then give the tickets to Scott.

One thing that I have noticed about Saved By The Bell: The New Class is that it seems to really hate its nerd characters. The original series had stereotypical nerds as well but they were still, more or less, likeable and the show’s characters may not have hung out with them but they weren’t intentionally cruel to them. Saved By The Bell: The New Class, on the other hand, feels as if it was written by the same people who spilled the pig’s blood on Carrie White.

Anyway, this episode was terrible. Thank goodness there’s only three more episodes of the first season to go.

Song of the Day: Do Lung by Carmine Coppola

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since today is Francis Ford Coppola’s birthday, it only seems appropriate that today’s song of the day should come from the soundtrack of one of his films.

From 1979’s Apocalypse Now, here is the haunting music that plays as Willard and the boat approach the infamous bridge that is built every day so that it can be destroyed every night. This musical piece was composed by Francis Ford Coppola’s father, Carmine.

Scene That I Love: Vito Corleone and Johnny Fontane in The Godfather

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In honor of Francis Ford Coppola’s birthday, today’s scene that I love comes from The Godfather.

In this scene, a self-pitying Johnny Fontane (Al Martino) discusses his career problems with Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone. Johnny is losing his voice. Johnny is up for a role in a big movie but he worries that the producer will never allow him to appear in the film. Johnny says he doesn’t know what to do and he sheds a tear….

….and that’s not a smart thing to do when you’re talking to Don Corleone.

This scene contains some of the best moments of The Godfather. Al Martino was a professional singer with little acting experience. (While Johnny Fontane was a major character in Mario Puzo’s book, he only appeared in two scenes in the film version. Coppola later said that he thought the Johnny Fontane chapters were so poorly written that he would have turned down the film if he had to include too much of the character.) In order to get an effective performance out of Martino, Brando did not warn him that he would actually be slapping him. During one take, Brando got so aggressive that he knocked off Martino’s toupee and caused Robert Duvall to start laughing. It was all worth it, though. Martino was thoroughly convincing as Johnny Fontane and Marlon Brando won (but did not accept) his second Oscar for Best Actor. Coppola did not win Best Director for The Godfather (1972 was a competitive year) but he made up for it 1974 when he was honored for The Godfather Part II.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Francis Ford Coppola Edition

Posted on April 7, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.

Today is Francis Ford Coppola’s birthday! Coppola is a bit of a controversial figure among some film scholars. While everyone agrees that, with the first two Godfathers, he directed two of the greatest films of all time (and some people would include Apocalypse Now on that list as well) and that he was one of the most important directors of the 70s, his post-Apocalypse Now career is often held up as a cautionary tale. Some say that Coppola’s career suffered because of his own excessive behavior and spending. Others argue that he was treated unfairly by a film industry that resented his refusal to compromise his vision and ambitions. Personally, my natural instinct is to always side with the artist over the executives and that’s certainly the case with Coppola. Coppola has only completed five films since the start of this current century and three of them were not widely released. Say what you will about the films themselves, that still doesn’t seem right. For the record, I liked Megalopolis when I saw it but I don’t remember much about it now.

Regardless of how one views his latter career, Coppola is responsible for some of the best and most important films ever made. And today, on his birthday, it’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Francis Ford Coppola Films

The Godfather (1972, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Gordon Willis)

The Conversation (1974, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Bill Butler)

The Godfather Part II (1974, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Gordon Willis)

Apocalypse Now (1979, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Vittorio Storaro)

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.14 “Tiger In The Streets”

Posted on April 6, 2026 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 Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983. The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!

This week, there’s a big cat on the loose!

Episode 5.14 “Tiger In The Streets”

(Dir by Charles Bail, originally aired on January 10th, 1982)

Ponch and Baker wonder why someone is digging deep holes in the Los Angeles hills and filling them with raw meat. Could someone by trying to capture a tiger that’s recently gotten loose from a wildlife park? Yes, that’s exactly what’s happening! The owner of the park wants to keep the cops from finding out but, when it turns out that the tiger is a mother and is missing her cubs, only the highway patrol can help Animal Control capture her. Baker likes Stephanie, the Animal Control officer. This is one of the rare episodes where Baker actually gets to have a romance while Ponch stands around and looks awkwardly out-of-place.

As for Ponch, he is more concerned with an ex-con who is at the center of a series of violent confrontations involving various car clubs. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this plot before. CHiPs has been repeating itself a lot during the fifth season. That said, the car chases led to a slow motion wreck and a scene of bouncing hydraulics. I’ve never been in one of those bouncing cars before. It seems like you would get ill riding in one of those.

Finally, Grossie wants to be a comedian. Harlan is a friend of legendary funny man Slappy White. Harlan gives Grossie a bunch of Slappy’s jokes about how black people are different from white people. Needless to say, the jokes don’t go over that well when they’re told be a white guy in a policeman’s uniform.

This episode was silly but I did like the tiger.

Retro Television Review: Miami Vice 5.20 “Leap of Faith”

Posted on April 6, 2026 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 Mondays, I will be reviewing Miami Vice, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show can be purchased on Prime!

When is Miami Vice not Miami Vice?

Episode 5.20 “Leap of Faith”

(Dir by Robert Iscove, originally aired on June 28th, 1989)

A crazed college professor named Terry Baines (Keith Gordon) is making his own designer drugs and selling them to the cult-like college students who worship his every move. Terry thinks that the drugs will help people move into a dream state. However, Terry also doesn’t care how many people die as a result of entering that dream state. Terry is obviously crazy but he’s got tenure.

Fortunately, the youthful cops of the Young Victims Unit are able to go undercover as college students and infiltrate Terry’s organization. Joey Harden (Justin Lazard) is the newest member of the squad. He’s a cop who does things his way! Zach (Cameron Dye) is the wild man. He’s from Arkansas! And Ray Mundy (Adam Storke), he’s a surfer from California! Their boss is Lt. Paul Cutter (Kiel Martin). Tania Louis (Laura San Giacomo) is their computer expert. Together, they’re….

….not Crockett and Tubbs!

Crockett and Tubbs appear at the start of the episode and then Crockett appears in another scene, in which it’s established that he and Cutter have a contentious relationship. Otherwise, this really isn’t an episode of Miami Vice. Instead, it’s a pilot for a show about the Young Victims Unit. The pilot never became a series and, watching this episode, one can see why. The three undercover cops are all way too similar. They seem like three different versions of the same guy. Kiel Martin and Laura San Giacomo at least manage to bring some life to their characters but the rest of the cast is just bland. The best performance comes from Keith Gordon and he’s dead by the end of the episode.

Next week …. Miami Vice comes to an end as Tubbs falls in love and Crockett refuses to get a haircut.

The Eric Roberts Collection: Groupie (dir by Mark L. Lester)

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

2010’a Groupie tells the story of the Dark Knights.

The Dark Knights are a legendary band with devoted fans. I’m not sure why because, from what we hear of their music, they really suck. I don’t mean that they suck in a funny deliberate way, like Spinal Tap. I mean, they literally suck. Maybe some of their popularity has to do with their habit of setting their lead singer on fire during their performances.

Unfortunately, during one performance, the fire gets out of control. There’s a panic in the club. A 16 year-old fan is stomped to death. A year later, The Dark Knights are ready to launch their comeback tour. And they’ve got a new groupie, Riley (Taryn Manning)! Riley likes to make death masks. Well, I guess everyone needs a hobby. Riley is also the sister of the fan who was stomped to death. She’s looking for revenge against the Dark Knights and their manager, Angus (Eric Roberts).

That this film appears to be based on a real-life tragedy (i.e. the Station Nightclub Fire) gives the whole film are rather icky sheen. Also adding to the film’s oddness is how straight-forward it is. Riley shows up. A mysterious killer strikes. Riley appears to be the killer and, hey — she is the killer! There’s no real attempt to create any sort of suspense or misdirection as to who the killer may be. That said, Taryn Manning is entertainingly unhinged and director Mark L. Lester keeps the action moving quickly.

As far as Eric Roberts is concerned, he plays a pretty sleazy character but he does so with good humor. Indeed, it’s hard not to have sympathy for Angus. While the band is busy setting things on fire, he’s the one who keeps the tour bus moving.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

Join #MondayMania For The Perfect Stalker!

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, everyone! Tonight, on twitter, I will be hosting one of my favorite films for #MondayMania! Join us for 2016’s The Perfect Stalker!

You can find the movie on Prime and Tubi and then you can join us on twitter at 9 pm central time! (That’s 10 pm for you folks on the East Coast.) See you then!

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us For The Hitman!

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in hosting a few weekly live tweets on twitter and occasionally Mastodon. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of Mastodon’s #MondayActionMovie ! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We snark our way through it.

Tonight, for #MondayActionMovie, the film will be 1991’s The Hitman!

It should make for a night of fun viewing and I invite all of you to join in. If you want to join the live tweets, just hop onto Mastodon, find the movie on YouTube and hit play at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag! The watch party community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

See you soon!