Tag Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Music Video of the Day: Eras of Us by Fletcher (2023, dir by Alexandre Moors)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Wandering around a city at night while singing is probably not the safest thing you can do but I applaud Fletcher for taking the rest and being smart enough to bring a film crew with her.

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 1.5 “Career Day”

Posted on 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 Freevee!

This week, Jon and, to a lesser extent, Ponch continue to keep the highways safe.

Episode 1.5 “Career Day”

(Dir by Ric Rondell, originally aired on October 20th, 1977)

It’s another crazy week on the California highways.  A husband-and-wife team of burglars are driving around in their van and breaking into mansions.  Frat boys are stealing hearses and hiding in coffins.  A photographer and his models hold up traffic by doing a swimsuit shoot under an overpass.  A little child gets lost while walking along the Los Angeles river.

It’s a lot to deal with and somehow, it all falls on Jon and Ponch.  This is one of those episodes that leaves you to wonder where all the other members of the highway patrol are.  At one point, Sgt. Getraer comments that the highway patrol has 100 motorcycles and that 90 of them are being used.  Despite that, it seems like every crime and accident seems to happen just a mile or two away from wherever Jon and Ponch happen to be.  Occasionally, Bear (played by Brodie Greer) shows up in his police car but he always seems to wait until Ponch and Jon have already caught the bad guys.

This episode, Ponch once again damages his motorcycle by not parking it correctly.  (The motorcycle falls over and a bunch of a teenagers point and laugh.  Take that, Ponch!)  Getraer puts Ponch on desk duty but then a helicopter cop says that he needs someone to fly with him.  Ponch gets to go up in a police helicopter and help search for the missing child.  Baker, who is perfect and therefore, still has his motorcycle, is the one who actually retrieves the child and takes him home but Ponch gets to ride in a helicopter.  Seriously, I’ve been in a helicopter a few times and, once you get used to all the shaking and get over your fear of heights, it’s pretty fun.  I guess it’s a good thing, for Ponch, that he is such an incompetent highway patrolman that he can’t even park his own bike.

This episode could best be described as a “week-in-the-life” episode as it follows Ponch and Jon as they deal with all the weird things that happen on the Los Angeles highway.  The burglars bookmarked the episode, showing up at the start and then again at the end, so that they could be chased down by Ponch and Jon.  That said, the closest thing that this episode had to a real storyline was the result of Ponch pulling over his old high school principal (played by the very familiar character actor, Richard Deacon) and being asked to speak at his school’s career day.  The principal seems to believe that if Ponch can actually stay out of jail and become an authority figure, there’s a chance for everyone!  Of course, when it’s time to give his speech, Ponch freezes up and Jon has to act like his hype man.  Eventually, Ponch finds the courage to speak and turns out to be such a blowhard that the entire student body gets bored.  Indeed, as Ponch brags on himself, the line between character and actor becomes rather blurred.  Erik Estrada is not the world’s most subtle actor but he’s entertaining in the right role.

As with all of the previous episodes, the real star here was the California scenery.  The mountains and the blue skies were inviting, no matter how dangerous the highways might have been.

Retro Television Reviews: Miami Vice 1.14 “Golden Triangle: Part One”

Posted on 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 is currently streaming on Tubi!

This week, Castillo opens up!

Episode 1.14 “Golden Triangle: Part One”

(Dir by George Stanford Brown, originally aired on January 11th, 1985)

Okay, things are going to get a little complicated here.  This is one convoluted episode.

Crockett and Tubbs’s latest assignment has them pretending to be the head of security for a Miami hotel.  Castillo wants them to catch two crooked cops who are shaking down the prostitutes who use the hotel as their office.  Tubbs and Crockett aren’t happy about it because it makes them feel like they’re working for Internal Affairs but Castillo makes it clear that he has no patience for any dirty cops.

Unfortunately, they’re not having much success with the security gig.  The episode opens with Crockett and Tubbs subduing a guest who is freaking out on Angel Dust.  “Attack the whack!” as the Disco Godfather once put it.

Crockett decides to put on a pair of thick glasses and a pocket protector and sit by the pool.  He’s approached by Candy James (Robin Johnson), a high-class escort who asks Crockett if he wants to party.  Crockett promptly arrests her.

After Candy agrees to help Crockett and Tubbs (in return for her criminal record being wiped out of the system), Crockett and Tubbs decide to go undercover as pimps while still pretending to be hotel security guards.  When a guest named Albert Szarbo (John Snyder) and his unnamed Thai associate see Tubbs setting Gina up with her date (who is actually Zito), they decide that Crockett and Tubbs must be using the hotel as a front for their own prostitution operation.  Szarbo approaches Crockett and explains that he wants to rob all of the hotel’s safe deposit boxes.

With Candy’s help, Crockett and Tubbs discover that the crooked detectives are Herb Ross (Paul Austin) and Dan Garcia (Gary Jellum).  Ross and Garcia are arrested but are released just a few hours later.  Because they were not actually arrested by Crockett and Tubbs, they assume that Crockett and Tubbs are still just the hotel security guys but they also assume that Crockett must have snitched on them to the police and….

Wait?  What?  Seriously, how does everyone in Miami not know, at this point, that Crockett and Tubbs are cops?  They make no effort to hide the fact that they’re cops.  Even when they’re undercover, they refer to each other by their real names and spend half of their time talking about what’s going on back at the station.  Even if the criminals don’t know that Crockett and Tubbs are working undercover, you would at least expect their fellow police officers to know.

Anyway, where was I?  Oh yeah, Candy.  Candy said she would leave Miami after Ross and Garcia were busted but, instead, she shows up back at the hotel.  Crockett is not happy about this but then he finds himself being confronted by Szarbo and Ross, who claims that Crockett is a snitch.  Candy steps up and announces that she’s the snitch, saving Crockett and Tubbs’s case.

However, it turns out that Szarbo was lying to Crockett about wanting Crockett and Tubbs to be present when he robbed the safety deposit boxes.  Instead, he was just using Crockett so that he could get a look at the vault before breaking in.  Szarbo and his associate pull off the robbery and are then murdered by whoever hired them.

Castillo takes one look at the body of Szarbo’s Thai associate and realizes that he was tortured to death by associates of Chinese General Lao Li, a drug lord who Castillo tangled with before he joined the Miami PD.  The normally stoic and unemotional Castillo opens up a little and reveals that he spend three years working undercover in Thailand for the DEA.  Castillo says that they need to discover why Lao Li wanted whatever was in the safety deposit boxes.

Leaving his office and helping Tubbs and Crockett with their investigation, Castillo stuns everyone by revealing that he’s actually a total badass who speaks Thai, knows martial arts, and can handle himself in a fight.  A search of all of Miami’s Thai restaurants eventually leads Castillo to Lao Li’s assassin.  After an exciting fight with Castillo, the assassin purposefully commits suicide by swallowing his own tongue.

Back at police headquarters, Castillo, Crockett, Tubbs, Zito, and Switek takes a look at some of the items that were recovered from Szarbo’s hotel room.  Castillo has deduced that Lao Li has come to the United States and his immigration visa was probably in one of the safety deposit boxes.  He then looks at a picture of an attractive Chinese woman.  (Some viewers will recognize her as being actress Joan Chen.)  When asked who the woman is, Castillo replies, “My wife.”

This was a great episode, with a wonderfully twisty plot and a great fight scene between Edward James Olmos and Paul Tenn.  After spending the past few episodes as a glowering figure who spent most of his time standing in his office and glaring at Crockett, Castillo revealed a bit about himself and it was fun to discover that this stoic figure was actually a total badass.

Next week: Part two of Golden Triangle!

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us For Total Reality and Knight and Day!

Posted on 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 occasion ally 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 1997’s Total Reality!  Selected and hosted by Rev. Magdalen, this movie is yet another thing about time travel!  So, you know it has to be good!

Following #MondayActionMovie, Brad and Sierra will be hosting the #MondayMuggers live tweet.  We will be watching 2010’s Knight and Day!  It’s on Prime.

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, pull up Total Reality on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!  Then, at 10 pm et, switch over to Twitter and Prime, start Knight and Day, and use the #MondayMuggers hashtag!  The live tweet community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.   

Here Are The 2023 Golden Globes Nominations

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2023 nominations for the Golden Globes — which are now under new management after all the scandals of the past few years — were announced today.  Amongst the more interesting nominations are Anatomy of a Fall for Best Motion Picture, Drama and ….

Well, actually none of the nominations are that interesting, though I am surprised that Rachel McAdams was not nominated for Best Supporting Actress.  That said, it remains an open question whether the Golden Globes will ever once again have the type of influence that they once had.  Last year, the ceremony wasn’t even televised and a lot of us were thankful to have an excuse not to worry about them.

I notice that the Golden Globes have decided to give out an award for “Cinematic & Box Office Achievement,” which is what I think the Oscars tried to do with their “Best Popular Film” award.

Anyway, the winners will be announced on January 7th.  Here are the nominees.

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Anatomy Of A Fall
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
The Zone Of Interest

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Air
American Fiction
Barbie
The Holdovers
May December
Poor Things

BEST DIRECTOR, MOTION PICTURE
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese – Killers Of The Flower Moon
Celine Song – Past Lives

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Annette Bening – Nyad
Lily Gladstone – Killers Of The Flower Moon
Sandra Huller – Anatomy Of A Fall
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Cailee Spaeny – Priscilla

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL, OR COMEDY
Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple
Jennifer Lawrence – No Hard Feelings
Natalie Portman – May December
Alma Pöysti – Fallen Leaves
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Emma Stone – Poor Things

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
Jodie Foster – Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Julianne Moore – May December
Rosamund Pike – Saltburn

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers Of The Flower Moon
Barry Keoghan – Saltburn
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Andrew Scott – All Of Us Strangers

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL, OR COMEDY
Nicolas Cage – Dream Scenario
Timothee Chalamet – Wonka
Matt Damon – Air
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Joaquin Phoenix – Beau Is Afraid
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
Willem Dafoe – Poor Things
Robert De Niro – Killers Of The Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Charles Melton – May December
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

BEST SCREENPLAY, MOTION PICTURE
Anatomy Of A Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE, MOTION PICTURE
The Boy And The Heron
Killers Of The Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The Zone Of Interest

BEST ORIGINAL SONG, MOTION PICTURE
“What Was I Made For?” – Barbie
“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie
“Dance The Night” – Barbie
“Road To Freedom” – Rustin
“Addicted To Romance” – She Came To Me
“Peaches” – The Super Mario Bros. Movie

BEST MOTION PICTURE, ANIMATED
The Boy And The Heron
Elemental
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Suzume
Wish

BEST MOTION PICTURE, FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Anatomy Of A Fall
Fallen Leaves
Io Capitano
Past Lives
Society Of The Snow
The Zone Of Interest

GOLDEN GLOBE FOR CINEMATIC & BOX OFFICE ACHIEVEMENT
Barbie
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
1923
The Crown
The Diplomat
The Last of Us
The Morning Show
Succession

BEST TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL, OR COMEDY
Abbott Elementary
Barry
The Bear
Jury Duty
Only Murders in the Building
Ted Lasso

BEST LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
All The Light We Cannot See
Beef
Daisy Jones and the Six
Fargo
Fellow Travelers
Lessons in Chemistry

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
Helen Mirren – 1923
Bella Ramey – The Last Of Us
Keri Russell – The Diplomat
Sarah Snook – Succession
Imelda Staunton – The Crown
Emma Stone – The Curse

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary
Ayo Edebiri – The Bear
Elle Fanning – The Great
Selena Gomez – Only Murders In The Building
Natasha Lyonne – Poker Face

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Riley Keough – Daisy Jones and the Six
Brie Larson – Lessons in Chemistry
Elizabeth Olsen – Love And Death
Juno Temple – Fargo
Rachel Weisz – Dead Ringers
Ali Wong – Beef

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL/COMEDY, OR DRAMA
Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown
Abby Elliot – The Bear
Christina Ricci – Yellowjackets
J. Smith-Cameron – Succession
Meryl Streep – Only Murders in the Building
Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
Brian Cox – Succession
Kieran Culkin – Succession
Gary Oldman – Slow Horses
Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us
Jeremy Strong – Succession
Dominic West – The Crown

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Bill Hader – Barry
Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building
Jason Segel – Shrinking
Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building
Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso
Jeremy Allen White – The Bear

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Matt Bomer – Fellow Travelers
Sam Claflin – Daisy Jones and the Six
Jon Hamm – Fargo
Woody Harrelson – White House Plumbers
David Oyelowo – Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Steven Yeun – Beef

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL/COMEDY, OR DRAMA
Billy Crudup – The Morning Show
Matthew Macfadyen – Succession
James Marsden – Jury Duty
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear
Alan Ruck – Succession
Alexander Skarsgård – Succession

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A STAND-UP COMEDY ON TELEVISION
Ricky Gervais – Ricky Gervais: Armageddon
Trevor Noah – Trevor Noah: Where Was I
Chris Rock – Chris Rock: Selective Outrage
Amy Schumer – Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact
Sarah Silverman – Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love
Wanda Sykes – Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer

Music Video of the Day: Earthling by Lili Refrain (2023, dir by Paolo Sanna)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

This atmospheric video can either be interpreted to mean that the world is going through a rebirth or it’s on the verge of ending.  It all depends on what type of mood you’re in.

I’m in a pretty good right now.

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Degrassi Junior High 1.13 “Revolution!”

Posted on 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 Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi Junior High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1987 to 1989!  The series can be streamed on YouTube!

This week, the first season of Degrassi Junior High ends …. WITH A REVOLUTION!

Episode 1.13 “Revolution!”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on April 12th, 1987)

Degrassi Junior High’s first episode featured Stephanie Kaye running for and winning the office of student body president.  Stephanie flirted her way to victory, exchanging kisses for votes and asking the students to go “All the Way with Stephanie Kaye.”  Stephanie’s best friend, Voula, was scandalized but every guy at Degrassi voted Stephanie into office.  Having been elected, Stephanie swore to herself that she would be the best president the school had ever had.

As the first season progressed, it become obvious that Stephanie did not keep that promise to herself.  She got drunk at the first school dance.  She continued to snub anyone who wasn’t in Grade 8.  Stephanie developed a crush on Wheels and she spent more time trying to flirt with him than actually doing whatever it is that a student body president does.  With everyone getting tired of Stephanie’s attitude, it was obvious that it was only a matter of time before open revolution broke out.

This episode opens with Stephanie asking out Wheels, just for him to tell her that he can’t go out with her because he needed to spend his time studying for the end-of-term exams.  Miffed, Stephanie decides to make Wheels dangerous by pretending to like Joey, who has had a huge crush on Stephanie since the show began.

Stephanie is so obsessed with Wheels that she barely notices that, due to a student transferring to another school, the position of “sports rep” is now open.  The sports rep is a member of the student council who represents the athletic teams.  (I’ve never heard of a student council sports rep before.  Maybe it’s a Canadian thing.)  Traditionally, the sports rep is a member of Grade 7 and star basketball player Yick Yu wants to run for the position.  However, Stephanie decides to cancel the election and to just give the position to Joey, despite the fact that Joey is not even on a team!

Grade 7 erupts into open rebellion.  Soon, signs that announce “IMPEACH STEPHANIE KAYE” start appearing on the school walls.  Caitlin and Rick circulate a petition demanding that Stephanie step down.  After they finish their exams, the Grade 7 students storm the halls while chanting, “Out of our way, Stephanie Kaye!”

Meanwhile, Joey has been taunting Wheels about how he stole Wheels’s girlfriend from him.  However, Wheels overhears Erica and Heather Farrell talking about how Stephanie is only dating Joey to make Wheels jealous.  Wheels tells Joey and Joey asks the Farrell twins himself.  When Joey runs into the Grade 7 protestors, he announces that he doesn’t want to be sports rep because “It’s a Grade 7 position.”

Thoroughly humiliated, Stephanie has several minutes of flashbacks to the first episode of Degrassi Junior High.  Realizing that she hasn’t been very nice over the past few months, she walks home with her brother, Arthur.  (During the first episode, Stephanie ordered Arthur to not tell anyone that they were related.)  Arthur says that he enjoyed his first term of junior high.  Stephanie says that the second term is going to be totally different and much better.

While it’s good that Stephanie and Arthur’s storyline came full circle (and it also proves that the show’s writers were making some sort of effort to tell a realistic story, as opposed to just making it up as they went along in the style of Saved By The Bell), this episode is also important because this is the first episode in which Joey, Wheels, and Snake’s band is officially called “The Zit Remedy.”  This episode also featured them performing, for the first time, Everybody Wants Something, the only song that the band would ever write.

This episode also featured Mr. Raditch having a panic attack when he discovers that he’s left his end-of-term exams at home, which gave Dan Woods a chance to show off his comedic timing.  Given just how much of a jerk Mr. Raditch would eventually become in Degrassi: The Next Generation, it’s kind of nice to see him having a human moment in this episode.

And so, season one of Degrassi Junior High comes to an end.  It was a good season, without the unevenness that one often comes across in the first season of a long-running series.  This episode was absolutely everything that a season finale should be, bringing storylines to a close while hinting at future developments to come.

Next week, we start season two!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 12/4/23 — 12/10/23

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s the holidays!  I’ve started my shopping but I got a lot more left to go!  Will we have a snowy Christmas this year?  Probably not but who knows?  Maybe we’ll get some snow in January!

Ryan O’Neal, RIP.  There’s no point in pretending that Ryan O’Neal didn’t have his demons but he also starred in two of my favorite 70s films, Barry Lyndon and The Driver.  He was especially well-cast in Barry Lyndon, in which his steady presence held together one of Kubrick’s most challenging films.  And you know what?  It’s easy to make fun of Love Story but Ryan O’Neal gave exactly the performance that film needed to work.

On Saturday, my friends and I had our annual viewing of Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.  I never get tired of singing Hooray for Santy Claus!  Here’s what else I watched, read, and listened to this week:

Films I Watched:

  1. Cop (1988)
  2. Don’t Bother To Knock (1952)
  3. Fist of the North Star (1995)
  4. The House At The End of the Street (2012)
  5. House of Strangers (1949)
  6. The Last Angry Man (1974)
  7. Rifftrax Live: Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (2013)
  8. Santa Claus and the Fairy Snow Queen (1951)
  9. Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964)
  10. Starship Invasions (1977)
  11. This Side of the Law (1950)
  12. The Stranger (1946)
  13. Tight Spot (1955)
  14. Uncle Buck (1989)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. The Amazing Race
  2. Bar Rescue
  3. Baywatch Nights
  4. Check It Out!
  5. CHiPs
  6. Dancing With The Stars
  7. Degrassi Junior High
  8. Dr. Phil
  9. Fantasy Island
  10. Frasier
  11. Friday the 13th
  12. Hell’s Kitchen
  13. Highway to Heaven
  14. Jennifer Slept Here
  15. Kitchen Nightmares
  16. The Love Boat
  17. Monsters
  18. Night Flight
  19. The Simpsons
  20. Survivor
  21. T and T
  22. Welcome Back, Kotter

Books I Read:

  1. The Connellys of County Down (2023) by Tracey Lange
  2. Silver Nitrate (2023) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  3. There Will Be Fire (2023) by Rory Carroll

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Adi Ulmansky
  2. Amy Winehouse
  3. Armin van Buuren
  4. Ashlee Simpson
  5. Bloc Party
  6. Britney Spears
  7. Carly Simon
  8. Chelsea Wolfe
  9. The Chemical Brothers
  10. Christina Aguilera
  11. Dean Martin
  12. Dillon Francis
  13. DJ Snake
  14. Dove Cameron
  15. Ellie Goulding
  16. Fatboy Slim
  17. Fletcher
  18. Fiona Apple
  19. Frank Sinatra
  20. Frankie Valli
  21. Gwen Stefani
  22. Jakalope
  23. Jessica Simpson
  24. Jungle
  25. Katy Perry
  26. The Killers
  27. Lady Gaga
  28. Lili Refrain
  29. Linda Scott
  30. Lindsey Stirling
  31. Maria Tomba
  32. Mariah Carey
  33. The Prodigy
  34. Rita Coolidge
  35. Rita Ora
  36. Saint Motel
  37. Selena Gomez
  38. Taylor Swift
  39. Tiesto
  40. Tony Bennett

Live Tweets:

  1. Fist of the North Star
  2. Cop
  3. Uncle Buck
  4. The House at the End of the Street

Awards Season:

  1. Atlanta Film Critics Winners
  2. Michigan Movie Critics Guild Winners
  3. Independent Spirit Awards Nominations
  4. National Board of Review Winners
  5. AFI Top Ten
  6. Astra Nominations
  7. Chicago Film Critics Association Nominations
  8. Las Vegas Film Critics Society Nominations
  9. Los Angeles Film Critics Association Winners
  10. Boston of Society of Film Critics Winners
  11. Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Winners
  12. St. Louis Film Critics Association Nominations 

Trailers:

  1. Grand Theft Auto VI
  2. Handling the Undead

News From Last Week:

  1. Veteran television producer Norman Lear Dies At 101
  2. Actor Ryan O’Neal Dies At 82
  3. Producer Stan Rogow Dies At 75
  4. Actress Marisa Pavan Dies At 91
  5. Jonathan Majors begged accuser to avoid hospital, warning of possible ‘investigation,’ messages show
  6. The Bikeriders’: Jeff Nichols’ Biker Drama With Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, & Jodie Comer Set For Summer 2024

Links From Last Week:

  1. Disney Needs To Replace Jonathan Majors, Or Kang Needs To Be Cut From The MCU
  2. Mary Tyler Moore Takes On Philip Marlowe! “Gift” A Gumshoe’s Greatest Hits – Author Raymond Chandler!
  3. Tater’s Week in Review 12/9/23
  4. The Love of a Cat Named Ortoloni ~ Chapter 8

Links From The Site:

  1. Leonard shared the trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI!
  2. Erin shared The Gambler, Death Smells of Cordite, Shack Woman, Pearl Harbor 2003, Brain Surgeon, Venus on Wheels, and Brain Guy!
  3. I reviewed Degrassi Junior High, Miami Vice, CHiPs, Fantasy Island, Baywatch Nights, The Love Boat, Monsters, Jennifer Slept Here, Highway to Heaven, T and T, Friday the 13th, Welcome Back Kotter, and Check It Out!
  4. I paid tribute to Fritz Lang and Sergio Corbucci!
  5. I reviewed Evil Dead Rise, Cop, and The Last Angry Man!
  6. I shared my week in television!
  7. I shared music videos from Britney Spears, DJ Snake & Selena Gomez, Dove Cameron, Maria Tomba, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, and Chelsea Wolfe!

More From Us:

  1. At her photography site, Erin shared Spirit of Christmas, Horseman, Don’t Mess With Santa, Misty Morning,  Snowman, Afternoon, and December Sky!
  2. At my music site, I shared songs from Jessica Simpson, Linda Scott, Lady Gaga, Lindsey Stirling, Al Hirt, Frankie Valli, and Britney Spears!

Want to see what I did last week?  Click here!

Here Are The 2023 Nominations of the St. Louis Film Critics Association

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The St. Louis Film Critics Association has announced their nominations for the best of 2023!  The winners will be announced on December 17th!

BEST FILM

American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
Oppenheimer
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
May December
Past Lives
The Zone of Interest

BEST DIRECTOR
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Todd Haynes – May December
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
Celine Song – Past Lives

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

BEST ACTRESS
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Natalie Portman – May December
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Emma Stone – Poor Things

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Charles Melton – May December
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Viola Davis – Air
Rachel McAdams – 
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret
Julianne Moore – May December
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

BEST ENSEMBLE
Asteroid City
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Fiction
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Air
Barbie
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Past Lives

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Asteroid City
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest

BEST EDITING
The Holdovers
The Killer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Asteroid City
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Priscilla

BEST MUSIC SCORE
Killers of the Flower Moon
May December
Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest

BEST MUSIC SOUNDTRACK
Air
Barbie
The Holdovers
The Killer
Maestro

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Godzilla Minus One
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer

BEST STUNTS
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
The Iron Claw
John Wick: Chapter 4
The Killer
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One




BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Anatomy of a Fall
Fallen Leaves
Perfect Days
The Teachers’ Lounge
The Zone of Interest

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
John Wick: Chapter 4
The Killer
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

BEST COMEDY
American Fiction
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret
Barbie
Bottoms
The Holdovers

BEST DOCUMENTARY
American Symphony
Beyond Utopia
It Ain’t Over
Menus Plaisirs Les Troisgros
Still A Michael J. Fox Movie

BEST HORROR
Evil Dead Rise
Knock at the Cabin
M3GAN
Talk to Me
Skinamarink



BEST SCENE
Barbie – Gloria (America Ferrara)’s monologue on impossible standards for women
John Wick: Chapter 4 – Staircase Fight
Killers of the Flower Moon – The radio show finale
Maestro – Leonard Bernstein conducting London Symphony in Mahler’s Second Symphony in Ely Cathedral
Oppenheimer – Trinity Test

The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association honors American Fiction

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association announced their picks for the best of 2023 today and American Fiction picked up its first Best Picture win of the awards season.

Here are the nominees and the winners!  (The winners are listed in bold.)

Best Feature
American Fiction (MGM)
Barbie (Warner Bros.)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)
Past Lives (A24)
The Holdovers (Focus Features)

Best Director
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
Celine Song – Past Lives

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

Best Actress
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Origin
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Emma Stone – Poor Things

Best Supporting Actor
Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Charles Melton – May December
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers

Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
Viola Davis – Air
Jodie Foster – Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

Best Adapted Screenplay
American Fiction (MGM) – Cord Jefferson (based on “Erasure” by Percival Everett)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures) – Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese (based on the book by David Grann)
Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures) – Christopher Nolan (based on the book by Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin)
Origin (Neon) – Ava DuVernay (based on the book by Isabel Wilkerson
Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures) – Tony McNamara (based on the book by Alasdair Gray)

Best Original Screenplay
Air (Amazon) – Alex Convery
Anatomy of a Fall (Neon) – Justin Triet, Arthur Harari
Barbie (Warner Bros.) – Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach
Past Lives (A24) – Celine Song
The Holdovers (Miramax) – David Hemingson

Best Animated Feature
Elemental (Pixar)
Nimona (Netflix)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount Pictures)
The Boy and the Heron (GKids/Toho)

Best Documentary
20 Days in Mariupol (PBS) – Mstyslav Chernov (director, producer), Derl McCrudden, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath (producers)
American Symphony (Netflix) – Matthew Heineman (director, producer), Lauren Domino, Joedan Okun (producers)
Little Richard: I Am Everything (Magnolia Pictures) – Lisa Cortes (director, producer), Caryn Capotosto, Robert Friedman, Liz Yale Marsh (producers)
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple Original Films) – Davis Guggenheim (director, producer), Jonathan King, Annetta Marion (producers)
They Shot the Piano Player (Sony Pictures Classics) – Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba (directors), Cristina Huete (producer)

Best International/Foreign Language Film
Anatomy of a Fall (France) – dir. Justine Triet
Fallen Leaves (Finland) – dir. Aki Kaurismäki
Perfect Days (Japan) – dir. Wim Wenders
Society of the Snow (Spain) – dir. J.A. Bayona
The Taste of Things (France) – dir. Trần Anh Hùng
The Teachers’ Lounge (Germany) – dir. İlker Çatak
The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) – dir. Jonathan Glazer

Best Voice Performance
Jack Black – The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Illumination)
Daniel Kaluuya – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
Shameik Moore – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
Hailee Steinfeld – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
Masaki Suda – The Boy and the Heron

Best Youth Performance
Joe Bird – Talk To Me
Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Milo Machado Graner – Anatomy of a Fall
Ariana Greenblatt – Barbie
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Iman Vellani – The Marvels

Best Acting Ensemble
American Fiction (MGM)
Barbie (Warner Bros.)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)
The Holdovers (Focus Features)

Best Production Design
Asteroid City (Focus Features) – Adam Stockhausen (production designer), Kris Moran (set decorator)
Barbie (Warner Bros.) – Sarah Greenwood (production designer), Katie Spencer (set decorator)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures) – Jack Fisk (production designer), Adam Willis (set decorator)
Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures) – Ruth De Jong (production designer), Claire Kaufman (set decorator)
Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures) – Shona Heath, James Price (production designer), Zsuzsa Mihalek (set decorator)

Best Cinematography
Barbie (Warner Bros.) – Rodrigo Prieto
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures) – Rodrigo Prieto
Maestro (Netflix) – Matthew Libatique
Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures) – Hoyte van Hoytema
Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures) – Robbie Ryan

Best Editing
Barbie (Warner Bros.) – Nick Houy
John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate) – Nathan Orloff
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures) – Thelma Schoonmaker
Maestro (Netflix) – Michelle Tesoro
Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures) – Jennifer Lame

Best Original Score
Kris Bowers – The Color Purple (Warner Bros.)
Jerskin Fendrix – Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures)
Ludwig Göransson – Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)
Daniel Pemberton – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
Robbie Robertson – Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)