Tag Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 12/11/23 — 12/17/23

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Christmas is coming!  Starting on Monday, I’m looking forward to all of the Bowman sisters being together for the next two weeks!  There are so many movies to watch and presents to wrap and love to give.

Here’s what I watched, read, and listened to this week!

Films I Watched:

  1. Assassin (2023)
  2. Bob and Don: A Love Story (2023)
  3. M3GAN (2023)
  4. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
  5. Rustin (2023)
  6. Knight and Day (2010)
  7. Little Miss Millions (1993)
  8. Night Partners (1983)
  9. Scrooge (1935)
  10. Total Reality (1997)
  11. Training Day (2001)

Television Shows I Watched:

  1. All In the Family
  2. Baywatch Nights
  3. Check It Out!
  4. CHiPs
  5. Degrassi Junior High
  6. Fantasy Island
  7. Friday the 13th: The Series
  8. Frosty the Snowman
  9. Frosty’s Return
  10. Hell’s Kitchen
  11. Highway to Heaven
  12. Jennifer Slept Here
  13. The Love Boat
  14. Monsters
  15. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
  16. Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town
  17. T and T
  18. Welcome Back, Kotter

Books I Read:

  1. Prophet Song (2023) by Paul Lynch
  2. Romantic Comedy (2023) by Curtis Sittenfeld

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Adi Ulmansky
  2. Armin van Buuren
  3. Ashlee Simpson
  4. Billy Squier
  5. Britney Spears
  6. Elton John
  7. Exit Eden
  8. Fiona Apple
  9. Fletcher
  10. Florence + The Machine
  11. Gwen Stefani
  12. Hazel English
  13.  Jennifer Lopez
  14. Jessica Simpson
  15. Jessie Ware
  16. Jungle
  17. Kylie Minogue
  18. Lili Refrain
  19. Paul McCartney
  20. Rita Coolidge
  21. Saint Motel
  22. Shakira
  23. Taylor Swift
  24. Tiesto
  25. Tomoyasu Hotei
  26. Tracey Thorn
  27. Yvonne Elliman

Live Tweets:

  1. Total Reality
  2. Knight and Day
  3. Miracle on 34th Street
  4. M3GAN

Awards Season:

  1. Golden Globe Nominations
  2. Chicago Film Critics Association Winners
  3. Indiana Film Journalists Association Nominations
  4. North Texas Film Critics Association Nominations
  5. Phoenix Critics Circle Nominations
  6. Critics Choice Award Nominations
  7. Florida Film Critics Circle Nominations
  8. Las Vegas Film Critics Society Winners
  9. New York Film Critics Online Winners
  10. Phoenix Critics Circle Winners
  11. Black Reel Awards Nominations
  12. Boston Online Film Critics Association Winners
  13. Utah Film Critics Association Nominations
  14. San Diego Film Critics Society Nominations
  15. Toronto Film Critics Association Winners
  16. Philadelphia Film Critics Circle Winners
  17. St. Louis Film Critics Association Winners

Trailers:

  1. Dune: Part Two
  2. Civil War
  3. American Star
  4. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
  5. IF

News From Last Week:

  1. Actor Andre Braugher Dies At 61
  2. Actress Shirley Anne Field Dies At 87

Links From Last Week:

  1. New York Dresses Up For The Holidays! Plus NYC’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Up Close!
  2. 2023 Dickens Faire
  3. Tater’s Week in Review 12/16/23

Links From The Site:

  1. Erin shared Snappy, Argosy, The Great Snow, The Deadly Streets, Marvel Science Fiction, A Woman’s Game, and Film Fun!
  2. Leonard shared the trailer for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F!
  3. I shared my week in television!
  4. I shared music videos from Saint Motel, Exit Eden, Jungle, Vince Vance and the Valiants, Taylor Swift, Fletcher, and Lili Refrain!
  5. I reviewed Rustin, Assassin, and Night Partners!
  6. 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!

More From Us:

  1. At Day Without Incident, Leonard shared Richard Carter’s La Monde!
  2. At my music site, I shared songs from Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, Fiona Apple, Jessica Simpson, Ashlee Simpson, Vince Vance and the Valiants, and Fletcher!
  3. At her photography site, Erin shared Ice, Christmas Past, Icicles, Deep Snow, Snow In The Trees, Sign of Life, and Table Snow!

Click here to see what I watched last week!

Oppenheimer Wins In St. Louis

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The St. Louis Film Critics Association have announced their picks for the best of 2023!  The winners are listed below in bold.

BEST FILM

American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie (RUNNER-UP)
Oppenheimer (WINNER)
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
May December
Past Lives
The Zone of Interest

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

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

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

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

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer (RUNNER-UP TIE)
Ryan Gosling – Barbie (WINNER)
Charles Melton – May December (RUNNER-UP TIE)
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers

BEST ENSEMBLE
Asteroid City
Barbie (RUNNER-UP TIE)
The Holdovers (WINNER)
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer (RUNNER-UP TIE)

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

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Air
Barbie (WINNER)
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers (RUNNER-UP)
Past Lives

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Asteroid City (RUNNER-UP TIE)
Killers of the Flower Moon (RUNNER-UP TIE)
Maestro (RUNNER-UP TIE)
Oppenheimer (WINNER)
The Zone of Interest

BEST EDITING
The Holdovers

The Killer (RUNNER-UP)
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer (WINNER)

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Asteroid City
Barbie (WINNER)
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things (RUNNER-UP)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Barbie (WINNER)
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things (RUNNER-UP)
Priscilla

BEST MUSIC SCORE
Killers of the Flower Moon (RUNNER-UP TIE)
May December (RUNNER-UP TIE)
Oppenheimer (WINNER)
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The Zone of Interest

BEST MUSIC SOUNDTRACK
Air
Barbie (WINNER)
The Holdovers

The Killer (RUNNER-UP)
Maestro

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

The Creator (WINNER)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Godzilla Minus One
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer (RUNNER-UP)

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




BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Anatomy of a Fall (WINNER)
Fallen Leaves
Perfect Days
The Teachers’ Lounge
The Zone of Interest (RUNNER-UP)

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

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

BEST COMEDY
American Fiction
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret
Barbie (RUNNER-UP)
Bottoms
The Holdovers (WINNER)

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

BEST HORROR
Evil Dead Rise
Knock at the Cabin
M3GAN
Talk to Me (WINNER)
Skinamarink (RUNNER-UP)



BEST SCENE
Barbie – Gloria (America Ferrara)’s monologue on impossible standards for women (WINNER)
John Wick: Chapter 4 – Staircase Fight (RUNNER-UP)
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 Philadelphia Film Critics Circle Honors Poor Things

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Philadelphia Film Critics Circle has announced its picks for the best of 2023!  Here’s what won in Philadelphia!

Best Film
Winner: Poor Things
Runner-Up: Oppenheimer

Best Director
Winner: Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Runner-Up: Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer

Best Actress
Winner: Emma Stone – Poor Things
Runner-Up: Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

​Best Actor
Winner: Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Runner-Up: Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

Best Supporting Actress
Winner: Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
​Runner-Up: Julianne Moore – May December

​Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Runner-Up: Charles Melton – May December

Best Animated Film
Winner: The Boy And The Heron
Runner-Up: Robot Dreams

Best Foreign Film
Winner: The Boy And The Heron
Runner-Up: Anatomy Of A Fall

Best Documentary
Winner: 20 Days In Mariupol
Runner-Up: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Best Cinematography
Winner: Oppenheimer
Runner-Up: Poor Things

Best Breakthrough Performance
Winner: Charles Melton – May December
Runner-Up: Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret

Best Directorial Debut
Winner: Celine Song – Past Lives
Runner-Up: Cord Jefferson – American Fiction

Best Screenplay
Winner: Poor Things
Runner-Up: Oppenheimer

Best Score/Soundtrack
Winner: Oppenheimer
Runner-Up: Poor Things

Best Ensemble
Winner: Oppenheimer
Runner-Up: Poor Things

Cheesesteak Award – for a film meant to recognize a blockbuster that’s hard to ignore
Winner: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Runner-Up: Godzilla Minus One

The Toronto Film Critics Association Named The Zone of Interest The Best Of 2023

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Canada has spoken!  Today, the Toronto Film Critics Association named their picks for the best of 2023!

Best Film
Winner: ​The Zone Of Interest
Runners-Up: All of Us Strangers & Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Director
Winner: ​Jonathan Glazer – The Zone Of Interest
Runners-Up: Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon & Justine Triet – Anatomy Of A Fall

Best Original Screenplay
Winner: Barbie
Runners-Up: Anatomy Of A Fall & Past Lives

Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: ​Killers of the Flower Moon
Runners-Up: All of Us Strangers & Poor Things

Best Lead Performance
Winners: ​Sandra Hüller – Anatomy Of A Fall & Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Runners-Up: Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers, Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers, Emma Stone – Poor Things & Kôji Yakusho – Perfect Days

Best First Feature
Winner: ​Rye Lane
Runners-Up: American Fiction & Past Lives

Allan King Best Documentary
Winner: 20 Days in Mariupol
Runners-Up: The Eternal Memory, Four Daughters & Swan Song

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: ​Fallen Leaves
Runners-Up: Anatomy Of A Fall & The Zone Of Interest

Best Animated Feature
Winner: Robot Dreams
Runners-Up: The Boy and the Heron & Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

Best Supporting Performance
Winner: Ryan Gosling – Barbie & Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Runners-Up: Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert Downey, Jr. – Oppenheimer, Glenn Howerton – BlackBerry & Charles Melton – May December

Best Breakthrough Performance
Winner: Teyana Taylor – A Thousand And One
Runners-Up: Charles Melton – May December & Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers

Best Performance In A Canadian Film
Winner: Glenn Howerton – BlackBerry
Runners-Up: Jay Baruchel – BlackBerry & Théodore Pellerin – Solo

Here Are The 2023 Nominations of the San Diego Film Critics Society!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the nominations of the San Diego Film Critics Association!  The winners will be announced on December 19th!

Best Picture
AMERICAN FICTION
ARE YOU THERE GOD? ITS ME, MARGARET.
THE HOLDOVERS
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
OPPENHEIMER

Best Director
Kelly Fremon Craig – ARE YOU THERE GOD? ITS ME, MARGARET.
Greta Gerwig – BARBIE
Cord Jefferson – AMERICAN FICTION
Christopher Nolan – OPPENHEIMER
Martin Scorsese – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

Best Actor
Colman Domingo – RUSTIN
Zac Efron – THE IRON CLAW
Paul Giamatti – THE HOLDOVERS
Cillian Murphy – OPPENHEIMER
Jeffrey Wright – AMERICAN FICTION

Best Actress
Abby Ryder Fortson – ARE YOU THERE GOD? ITS ME, MARGARET.
Lily Gladstone – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Sandra Hüller – ANATOMY OF A FALL
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
Mark Ruffalo – POOR THINGS

Best Supporting Actress
Jodie Foster – NYAD
Sandra Hüller – THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Rachel McAdams – ARE YOU THERE GOD? ITS ME, MARGARET.
Julianne Moore – MAY DECEMBER
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – THE HOLDOVERS

Best Comedic Performance
Michael Cera – BARBIE
Abby Ryder Fortson – ARE YOU THERE GOD? ITS ME, MARGARET.
Ryan Gosling – BARBIE
Nathan Lane – DICKS: THE MUSICAL
Mark Ruffalo – POOR THINGS

Best Youth Performance (For a performer under the age of 18)
Joe Bird – TALK TO ME
Christian Convery – COCAINE BEAR
Abby Ryder Fortson – ARE YOU THERE GOD? ITS ME, MARGARET.
Jude Hill – A HAUNTING IN VENICE
Milo Machado-Graner – ANATOMY OF A FALL

Best Original Screenplay
Samy Burch – MAY DECEMBER
Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach – BARBIE
David Hemingson – THE HOLDOVERS
Celine Song – PAST LIVES
Justine Triet, Arthur Harari – ANATOMY OF A FALL

Best Adapted Screenplay
Percival Everett, Cord Jefferson – AMERICAN FICTION
Kelly Fremon Craig, Judy Blume – ARE YOU THERE GOD? ITS ME, MARGARET.
Jonathan Glazer – THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Christopher Nolan, Kai Bird, Martin Sherwin – OPPENHEIMER
Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

Best First Feature (Director)
Chloe Domont – FAIR PLAY
Cord Jefferson – AMERICAN FICTION
Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou – TALK TO ME
A.V. Rockwell – A THOUSAND AND ONE
Celine Song – PAST LIVES

Best Documentary
20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL
AMERICAN SYMPHONY
KOKOMO CITY
LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING
STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE

Best Animated Film
THE BOY AND THE HERON
CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET
NIMONA
ROBOT DREAMS
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

Best Foreign Language Film
ANATOMY OF A FALL
FALLEN LEAVES
GODZILLA MINUS ONE
MONSTER
THE ZONE OF INTEREST

Best Editing
Nick Houy – BARBIE
Jennifer Lame – OPPENHEIMER
Yorgos Mavropsaridis – POOR THINGS
Thelma Schoonmaker – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Laurent Sénéchal – ANATOMY OF A FALL

Best Cinematography
Rodrigo Prieto – BARBIE
Rodrigo Prieto – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Robbie Ryan – POOR THINGS
Hoyte Van Hoytema – OPPENHEIMER
Dariusz Wolski – NAPOLEON

Best Production Design
Ruth De Jong – OPPENHEIMER
Jack Fisk – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Sarah Greenwood – BARBIE
Arthur Max – NAPOLEON
James Price, Shona Heath – POOR THINGS

Best Visual Effects
GODZILLA MINUS ONE
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING
OPPENHEIMER
POOR THINGS

Best Costume Design
David Crossman, Janty Yates – NAPOLEON
Jacqueline Durran, Charlotte Finlay, Hope Slepak – BARBIE
Ellen Mirojnick – OPPENHEIMER
Holly Waddington, Vincent Dumas, Zsuzsa Stenger – POOR THINGS
Jacqueline West – KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

Best Sound Design
GODZILLA MINUS ONE
MAESTRO
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING
OPPENHEIMER
THE ZONE OF INTEREST

Best Use of Music
AIR
ARE YOU THERE GOD? ITS ME, MARGARET.
BARBIE
THE HOLDOVERS
MAESTRO

Best Stunt Choreography
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4
THE KILLER
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING
NAPOLEON
POLITE SOCIETY

Best Ensemble
AIR
BARBIE
A HAUNTING IN VENICE
THE HOLDOVERS
OPPENHEIMER

Here Are The 2023 Nomination of the Utah Film Critics Association

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Utah Film Critics Association has announced the nominees for the best of 2023!  The winners will be announced on January 6th, 2024!

Best Picture
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things

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

Best Lead Performance, Male
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers

Best Lead Performance, Female
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Emma Stone – Poor Things
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Natalie Portman – May December

Best Supporting Performance, Male
Charles Melton – May December
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie

Best Supporting Performance, Female
America Ferrera – Barbie
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Rachel McAdams – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Sandra Hüller – The Zone of Interest

Best Ensemble Cast
Air
Barbie
The Holdovers
The Iron Claw
Oppenheimer

Vice/Martin Award for Performance in a Science-Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror Film
Bradley Cooper – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Chris Pine – Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Emma Stone – Poor Things
Iman Vellani – The Marvels
Nicolas Cage – Renfield

Best Original Screenplay
Celine Song – Past Lives
David Hemingson – The Holdovers
Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach – Barbie
Justine Triet and Arthur Harari – Anatomy of a Fall
Samy Burch – May December

Best Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon
Kelly Fremon Craig – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Tony McNamara – Poor Things

Best Cinematography
Barbie – Rodrigo Prieto
Killers of the Flower Moon – Rodrigo Prieto
Maestro – Matthew Libatique
Oppenheimer – Hoyte van Hoytema
Poor Things – Robbie Ryan

Best Original Score
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best Film Editing
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best Visual Effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best Documentary Feature
20 Days in Mariupol
American Symphony
Beyond Utopia
The Mission
Still: The Michael J. Fox Story

Best Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Best Non-English Feature
Anatomy of a Fall
Godzilla Minus One
Society of the Snow
The Taste of Things
The Zone of Interest

The Boston Online Film Critics Association Honors Killers of the Flower Moon

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Boston Online Film Critics Association has announced their picks for the best of 2023!  While the majority of the awards went Oppenheimer, Killers of the Flower Moon was named Best Picture of the year.

Top 10 of 2023
1. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
2. OPPENHEIMER
3. THE HOLDOVERS
4. PAST LIVES
5. MAY DECEMBER
6. BARBIE
7. THE ZONE OF INTEREST
8. AMERICAN FICTION
9. POOR THINGS
10. ANATOMY OF A FALL

Best Director
Christopher Nolan, OPPENHEIMER

Best Actress
Lily Gladstone, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

Best Actor
Cillian Murphy, OPPENHEIMER

Best Supporting Actor
Charles Melton, MAY DECEMBER

Best Supporting Actress
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, THE HOLDOVERS

Best Screenplay
David Hemingson, THE HOLDOVERS & Samy Burch, MAY DECEMBER (TIE)

​Best Ensemble
OPPENHEIMER

Best Score
Ludwig Göransson, OPPENHEIMER

Best Cinematography
Hoyte va Hoytema, OPPENHEIMER

Best Editing
Jennifer Lame, OPPENHEIMER

Best Documentary
MENUS-PLAISIRS – TROISGROS

Best International Feature
THE ZONE OF INTEREST

Best Animated Film
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

Retro Television Review: Night Partners (dir by Noel Nosseck)

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 Sundays, I will be reviewing the made-for-television movies that used to be a primetime mainstay.  Today’s film is 1983’s Night Partners!  It  can be viewed on Tubi.

Lauren Hensley (Diana Canova) is a divorced mother who has a nice house in Bakersfield, California.  Her best friends and neighbors are housewife Elizabeth McGuire (Yvette Mimieux) and Elizabeth’s husband, a cop named Glenn (Arlen Dean Snyder).  One night, after spending the day with the McGuires, Lauren returns to her home and is attacked by three burglars.

For Lauren, the crime is not even the worst part of the night.  The worst part is when the police don’t even seem to care that much about her suffering and instead take a “just-the-facts” approach to getting the details to what she’s been through.  Glenn attempts to explain to both Lauren and Elizabeth that cops see terrible things every day and, if they seem desensitized to it all, that’s just their way to handling the stress of the job.  Lauren, however, feels that the cops need a unit that provides the same support for victims that the criminals receive from their lawyers and social workers.

At a community meeting, Lauren proposes her idea to the police chief, John Wilson (Larry Linville).  When Wilson replies that there is no money in the budget, Lauren suggests that maybe the program could be staffed by volunteers.  She then proceeds to volunteer herself and Elizabeth.  Wilson agrees, but on the requirement that Lauren and Elizabeth first attend the police academy and train with the officers.  Under the watchful eye of the gruff but kindly Joe Kirby (M. Emmet Walsh), the two middle-aged housewives run obstacle courses and learn about conflict resolution.  And while the conflict resolution lessons make sense, I’m not sure what the point of having them do the obstacle course was.

Eventually, Lauren and Elizabeth become quite good at their jobs, providing comfort to the victims and getting information that helps the police put away criminals, like the serial rapist (a young M.C. Gainey) who has been stalking the streets of Bakersfield.  Of course, it takes them a while to get good at the job.  When Elizabeth and Lauren are first sent out on the streets, they can’t even keep the police codes straight and they accidentally call in a robbery code when they’re instead just letting the dispatcher know that they’re on break.  Bizarrely, when Lauren and Elizabeth are not at a crime scene talking to a victim, they’re just supposed to drive around in a beat-up patrol car.  Neither one of them has the power to arrest anyone because they’re just volunteers.  In fact, they’re supposed to stay out of the way until the police specifically call for them to come to a crime scene.  So, why are they patrolling the city like real cops?  It seems like that would basically be a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Night Partners was obviously designed to serve as a pilot for a series where Laruen and Elizabeth would comfort victims and help to solve crimes.  The two lead actresses are likable and M. Emmet Walsh is particularly effective as their supervisor.  That said, the film itself can’t decide if it wants to be a hard-hitting crime drama or a comedy about two housewives trying to make it as cops.  Of course, there’s no reason why it couldn’t be both.  Some of the best cops shows have had elements of dark, gallows humor.  But this film’s tone is so inconsistent that the comedic scenes seem to be taking place in an entirely different universe from the dramatic scenes.

As someone who strongly believes that the right of the victims need to be given as much weight as the rights of the criminals, I appreciated the film’s message.  I just wish it had been delivered a bit more effectively.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Check It Out 1.11 “Love on Sale”

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 Saturdays, I will be reviewing the Canadian sitcom, Check it Out, which ran in syndication from 1985 to 1988.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

Attention shoppers, tonight’s episode is weird.

Episode 1.11 “Love on Sale”

(Dir by Alan Erlich, originally aired on December 11th, 1985)

Weird episode.

Mrs. Cobb (Barbara Hamilton) wants to open up a store in Saudi Arabia so she assigns Howard to give a speech to a group of “Arab investors,” while she spends the night seducing a sheik.  Howard agrees and is told that, if everything works out, he could end up as the President of Cobb’s International.  Going from being the manager of grocery store to an international business tycoon would be quite an accomplishment.  Of course, Mrs. Cobb also expects Howard to dress up like Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia.  This leads to both Edna and Murray punching him out because they initially don’t recognize him in his costume.

Meanwhile, Murray is trying to raise $150 so that he can buy Howard’s old car, which is apparently sitting on a bunch of milk crates somewhere.  Murray is a teenager who doesn’t even know how to drive but he really wants that car.  How can Murray earn $150?

(Just consider that apparently, Murray doesn’t even make $150 a week from his job at Cobb’s.)

After a customer gives Murray a five dollar tip after Murray introduces him to a female shopper, Murray decides that he’ll start hooking up the single shoppers in return for a ten dollar payment.  Howard thinks that this is a fine idea, as long as Murray doesn’t try to hook up anyone who is married.  (Personally, I can’t think of anything that would make grocery shopping more awkward than having a 15 year-old bagboy trying to convince me to date someone while I’m looking over the produce but whatever.)  Soon, Murray is making all sorts of money but then a Vice detective shows up and arrests Howard for running an escort service.

While dressed like Lawrence of Arabia, Howard is thrown in jail.  In his cell, there are two burly men who continually threaten to beat him up, a skinny guy who talks about how he ate someone’s face, and a male lawyer who is wearing hot pink high heels.  Murray, Christian, and Alf show up at the station and explain that they were all involved in getting people dates at Cobbs and, as a result, they’re all tossed in the cell as well.

Somehow, Howard and his employees do get released because, the next day, Howard comes to work and discovers that every swinger in the city is eager to shop at his store and Mrs. Cobb is not upset about Howard missing the meeting with the investors because Mrs. Cobb was able to seduce the sheik.  Howard says that he can’t wait to be in charge of Cobb’s International because then he’ll be able to get a harem, which leads to Edna punching him.

Weird, weird episode.  It’s hard to even review this episode because it really does take place in its own rather surreal reality.  That said, I kind of appreciated the episode’s nonstop jokiness.  There wasn’t a serious moment to be found here and, while some of the jokes fell flat, some of them worked surprisingly well.  It’s an extremely silly episode that doesn’t add up to much but it’s just weird enough to be entertaining.