Tag Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix For Miracle on 34th Street!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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

Tonight, at 10 pm et, #FridayNightFlix has got one of my favorite Christmas movies, 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag!  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

Miracle on 34th Street is available on Prime!  See you there!

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Highway to Heaven 1.12 “Hotel of Dreams”

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 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, Mark and Jonathan work at a hotel …. a hotel of dreams!

Episode 1.12 “Hotel of Dreams”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on December 12th, 1984)

Barry Rudd (Brian Kerwin) may be the son of a wealthy hotel owner but he’s far more comfortable living out in the country, wearing denim and flannel, and helping to raise goats.  However, one day, Barry is summoned to his father’s hotel.  His father even sends a helicopter out to get him.  Barry gets on the helicopter but he insists on bringing his goat with him.

At the hotel, Barry’s father (Jacques Aubuchon) explains that he’s gotten married to a woman who is much younger than him and he needs Barry to run the hotel while he’s on his honeymoon.  Barry is stuck running the snootiest hotel in California, despite the fact that he doesn’t even own a suit and all he really wants to do is look after his goat.  Unfortunately, the hotel has a lot of problems.  The manager (played by Dean Dittman) is a mean-spirited snob who takes bribes from the guests.  A child (Douglas Emerson) is running wild through the halls of the hotel, all because his father is too busy working to keep an eye on him.  Saintly maid Elena (Julie Carmen) does the best job that she can but she’s looked down upon by the guests and the hotel’s manager.

Can Barry solve all of the hotel’s problems and also find time to attend his high school reunion?  Will he stay true to himself or will he sell out in an effort to impress people like his former classmate, Allison Rutledge (Judith-Marie Bergan)?  It’s not going to be easy and Barry doesn’t even know where to begin.  Fortunately, he has some help.  The hotel’s two new bellhops are Jonathan Smith and Mark Gordon!

Especially when compared to the previous two episodes, Hotel of Dreams is a rather light-hearted episode.  There’s nothing particularly surprising to be found in this episode.  Of course, Allison is going to turn out to be a total snob.  Of course, Elena is going to help Barry take care of his goat.  Of course, Barry and Elena are going to fall in love and end up together, all with the help of Jonathan.  And, of course, Mark is going to become a surrogate father figure for the bratty kid.  This is a thoroughly pleasant if not particularly memorable episode, one that plays out more like a pilot for a show about the hotel than an episode about an angel trying to make the world a better place.  Brian Kerwin and Julie Carmen make for an attractive couple and, as the episode ends, you can’t help but hope that Barry and Elena are going spend the rest of their lives raising goats together.

There is an unfortunate moment in this episode when Jonathan gives Mark a hard time for smoking.  When Jonathan tells Mark that he could die if he doesn’t stop smoking, Mark replies that everyone has to die of something.  Mark then asks Jonathan what cause his death.

“Lung cancer,” Jonathan replies.

Victor French, who played Mark, would die of lung cancer just five years later.  Shortly afterwards, Michael Landon would also die of cancer.

Retro Television Reviews: Jennifer Slept Here 1.11 “Life With Grandfather”

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 Thursdays, I will be reviewing Jennifer Slept Here, which aired on NBC in 1983 and 1984.  The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

This week’s episode made me cry.

Episode 1.11 “Life With Grandfather”

(Dir by John Bowab, originally aired on April 28th, 1984)

George Elliott’s father, Barney (Milo O’Shea), is coming to visit.  He’ll be staying up in the attic, which upsets Jennifer until Barney actually arrives and she discovers that Barney is a lovable eccentric who loves her movies and spends his time trying to invent new toys.

Unfortunately, the rest of the family is not as thrilled to have Barney around as Jennifer is.  Barney and George have a strained relationship and Joey keeps making excuses not to spend time with his grandfather.  Jennifer is the only one who understands how lonely Barney is but she can’t help him because Barney can’t see her.

Sadly, that changes when one of Barney’s toys explodes in the attic.  Suddenly, Barney can see Jennifer and Jennifer can talk to him.  That’s because Barney is dead.  Jennifer helps Barney come to terms with being dead and she also tells him that he’s not alone because there’s ghosts all over the place.  Barney says that he had so much he still wanted to tell his family and Jennifer assures Barney that his family had a lot that they wanted to tell him.  It’s a surprisingly poignant scene, one that is wonderfully acted by both Ann Jillian and Milo O’Shea.

The episodes jumps forward a few days.  George and Joey are still struggling to come to terms with Barney’s death.  George admits that he was never as close to his father as he wishes he had been and that he has a lot regrets about not getting to tell Barney how much he loved him before he died.  Joey, for his part, goes up to his bedroom and tells Jennifer that he wants to talk to his grandfather.  Joey feels that, since he can talk to Jennifer’s ghost, he should also be able to talk to his grandfather’s ghost.  Jennifer gently explains that Barney has moved on and Joey can’t talk to him anymore but he can continue to love him.

I mean …. MY GOD!  Though this series is admittedly uneven, I’ve enjoyed the majority of the episodes of Jennifer Slept Here that I’ve watched.  But I never thought that this show would bring me to tears.  This was such a sweet and poignant episode and I think it’s one to which everyone watching could relate.  We all have loved ones who we miss and we wish we could speak to.  And sadly, we rarely say everything that we want to say to people while they’re still here.  Joey’s desire to speak to his grandfather is an emotion that we’ve all felt.  But Barney has moved on and the show deserves a lot of credit for not going for the easy solution and having Barney suddenly return to say goodbye to Joey.  Instead, this episode (and Jennifer) emphasized the importance of enjoying the time together that we have and always carrying our love for others in our hearts.

This was a sweet episode and well-acted by the entire cast.  As I’ve said, this is an uneven series but this was a truly good episode.

Here’s The Trailer for IF

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

John Krasinski has gone from being the cute smirky guy on  The Office to an action hero to a legitimately good horror director.  Next year, the Krasinski saga will continue with IF, a comedy that he has written and directed about a father, his daughter, and a host of “imaginary friends.”

The trailer dropped today and it’s cute enough to be interesting.  A bearded Ryan Reynolds plays the father and it appears that a host of familiar names will be voicing the IFs.

Music Video of the Day: All I Want For Christmas Is You by Vince Vance & The Valiants (1990, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

There are a lot of version of this song out there.  Right now, I’m forcing everyone in the office to listen to the Mariah Carey version but, since our readers might be tired of that version, here’s the Vince Vance and the Valiants version!

I really hope we get some snow either this Christmas or in January.

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Monsters 1.11 “Rouse Him Not”

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 Wednesdays, I will be reviewing Monsters, which aired in syndication from 1988 to 1991. The entire show is streaming on Tubi.

This week, there’s a monster in the cellar!

Episode 1.11 “Rouse Him Not”

(Dir by Mark Shostrom, originally aired on December 31st, 1988)

Linda McGuire (Laraine Newman) is a painter who, for financial reasons, has moved from New York to a cottage in New England.  (As she explains it, she wouldn’t even be able to afford the tiniest hovel in New York for the amount she’s paying for the cottage.)  Along with hoping to paint some landscapes, Linda also plans to transform the cellar into her own personal art gallery.

Unfortunately, things are not going quite as well as one might hope.  First off, the scenery is not as inspiring as Linda thought it would be.  Instead of painting beautiful landscapes, she’s been painting portraits of the cottage, often with a dark figure standing in the doorway.

Secondly, her neighbor, Mr. Ritzen (Terrence Evans), keeps peeking through her windows.  Linda thinks that he’s just a perv but Mr. Ritzen actually has another reason for continually checking on her and the cottage.

One day, after Linda chases off Mr. Ritzen, she is visited by a mysterious man named John Thunston (Alex Cord).  The eccentric Thunston informs her that her cottage was once the home of a warlock named Crett Marrouby.  The warlock was hung by the other townspeople, an event that was witnessed by Mr. Ritzen.  Before Crett was executed, he warned everyone to avoid using black magic because they might accidentally summon something evil.

While Thunston is talking to Linda, a guttural roar comes from the cellar.  When Thunston and Linda go down to check on what is making all the noise, Thunston discovers that, as a result of Linda’s renovations, a mystic seal has been broken.  Thunston speculates that Crett summoned a demon and then used the seal to keep it trapped in the cellar.  Now that the seal has been broken, the demon is free to attack and kill.  Fortunately, Thunston just happens to have a special sword that he claims can be used to behead and kill the demon.  Now, it’s just a matter of waiting for the demon to appear and removing demon’s head before the demon removes Thunston’s.

The odd thing about this episode was how straight-forward it was.  I kept waiting for some sort of diabolical twist that would reveal that Linda was actually a witch or that Thunston was actually the warlock but it never came.  Instead, everyone in this episode was exactly who they said they were and the monster was pretty much exactly what Thunston thought it would be.  Things would have been improved by a sudden twist or two because, despite an effective monster and a enjoyably campy performance from Alex Cord, this episode is pretty boring.  The premise promises some Lovecraft-style horror but the anti-climatic conclusion will leave most viewers saying, “Really?  That’s it?”

Next week, let’s hope that things will be a bit more interesting when three friends battle a fire-breathing troll!

The Las Vegas Film Critics Society Honors Oppenheimer!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Las Vegas Film Critics Society announced their picks for the best of 2023!  The winners are listed in bold.

Best Picture
Barbie
The Killer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer

Best Actor
Nicolas Cage – Dream Scenario
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

Best Actress
Annette Bening – Nyad
Emma Stone – Poor Things
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Natalie Portman – May December

Best Supporting Actor
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Glenn Howerton – BlackBerry
Charles Melton – May December
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

Best Supporting Actress
Jodie Foster – Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Rachel McAdams – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Julianne Moore – May December
Rosamund Pike – Saltburn

Best Director
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Celine Song – Past Lives

Best Original Screenplay
Air
Barbie
Maestro
May December
Past Lives

Best Adapted Screenplay
American Fiction
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

Best Cinematography
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Saltburn

Best Film Editing
Air
Barbie
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

Best Score
The Killer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Society of the Snow
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

Best Song
I’m Just Ken – Barbie
What Was I Made For? – Barbie
Road to Freedom – Rustin
Peaches – The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Better Place – Trolls Band Together

Best Documentary
American Symphony
Beyond Utopia
Kokomo City
Little Richard: I Am Everything
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Best Animated Film
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Best International Movie
Anatomy of a Fall
Godzilla Minus One
Society of the Snow
When Evil Lurks
The Zone of Interest

Best Costumes
Barbie
The Color Purple
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

Best Art Direction
Asteroid City
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things

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

Best Action Movie
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
John Wick: Chapter 4
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Best Comedy
American Fiction
Barbie
Dumb Money
Joy Ride
No Hard Feelings

Best Horror/Sci-FI Movie
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Talk To Me
Thanksgiving
When Evil Lurks

Best Family Film
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Barbie
Elemental
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Best Ensemble
Barbie
The Color Purple
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Saltburn

Breakout Filmmaker
Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
Adele Lim – Joy Ride
Celine Song – Past Lives
Nida Manzoor – Polite Society
Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman – Theater Camp

Best Stunts
John Wick: Chapter 4
The Killer
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Polite Society
Silent Night

Youth In Film (Male)
Milo Machado Graner – Anatomy of a Fall
Jake Ryan – Asteroid City
Christian Convery – Cocaine Bear
Jude Hill – A Haunting in Venice
Chase Dillion – Haunted Mansion

Youth in Film (Female)
Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Elle Graham – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Ariana Greenblatt – Barbie
Iman Vellani – The Marvels
Violet McGraw – M3GAN

The William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award
Nicolas Cage
Paul Giamatti
Hayao Miyazaki
Julianne Moore
Rodrigo Prieto

The Florida Film Critic Circle Nominate The Boy and The Heron For Best Picture!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Florida Film Critics Circle have announced their nominations for the best of 2023!  Probably the biggest “surprise” here is the nomination of The Boy and the Heron for not just Best Animated Feature but also for Best Picture as well!

As well, Florida nominated John Wick 4′s Donnie Yen for Best Supporting Actor, The Master Gardener‘s Sigourney Weaver for Best Supporting Actress, and Treyana Taylor for Best Actress!  Way to keep things interesting, Florida!

The winners will be announced on December 21st.

BEST PICTURE
The Boy and the Heron
Killers of the Flower Moon
May December
Oppenheimer
Past Lives

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Franz Rogowski – Passages
Andrew Scott – All of Us Strangers

BEST ACTRESS
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
Natalie Portman – May December
Emma Stone – Poor Things
Teyana Taylor – A Thousand and One

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Charles Melton – May December
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Donnie Yen – John Wick: Chapter 4

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Rachel McAdams – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Julianne Moore – May December
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
Sigourney Weaver – Master Gardener

BEST ENSEMBLE
Asteroid City
Barbie
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson – Asteroid City
Jonathan Glazer – The Zone of Interest
Todd Haynes – May December
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Celine Song – Past Lives

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson – Asteroid City
Samy Burch – May December
David Hemingson – The Holdovers
Celine Song – Past Lives
Justine Triet and Arthur Harari – Anatomy of a Fall

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

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Dan Laustsen – John Wick: Chapter 4
Rodrigo Prieto – Killers of the Flower Moon
Robbie Ryan – Poor Things
Hoyte van Hoytema – Oppenheimer
Lukasz Zal – The Zone of Interest

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Asteroid City
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

BEST SCORE
Ludwig Göransson – Oppenheimer
Gary Gunn – A Thousand and One
Joe Hisaishi – The Boy and the Heron
Daniel Pemberton – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Robbie Robertson – Killers of the Flower Moon

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Eternal Memory
Kokomo City
Little Richard: I Am Everything
Menus-Plaisir – Les Troisgros
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

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

BEST FIRST FILM AWARD
Raven Jackson – All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
Cord Jefferson – American Fiction
Georgia Oakley – Blue Jean
A.V. Rockwell – A Thousand and One
Celine Song – Past Lives

BREAKOUT AWARD
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Charles Melton – May December
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Celine Song – Past Lives
Cailee Spaeny – Priscilla

GOLDEN ORANGE
Eric Bendick – Path of the Panther
Alex Mechanik – May December
D Smith – Kokomo City

Here Are The 2023 Critics Choice Award Nominations!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2023 Critics Choice Award nominations were announced today, because this is the season when everyone is announcing nominations!

Here are the film nominations.  They also nominated a lot of TV shows but who cares about those?  This is Oscar season, baby!  As for the nominations below, the Critics Choice pretty much nominated the same things that everyone else is nominating.  The Color Purple and Saltburn, both of which could use the boost, picked up Best Picture nominations

The winners will be announced on January 14th, 2024.

Best Picture
American Fiction
Barbie
The Color Purple
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Saltburn

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Leonardo DiCaprio – Killers of the Flower Moon
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

Best Actress
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
Greta Lee – Past Lives
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Margot Robbie – Barbie
Emma Stone – Poor Things

Best Supporting Actor
Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr. – Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Charles Melton – May December
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
America Ferrera – Barbie
Jodie Foster – Nyad
Julianne Moore – May December
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers

Best Young Actor or Actress
Abby Ryder Fortson – Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Ariana Greenblatt – Barbie
Calah Lane – Wonka
Milo Machado Graner – Anatomy of a Fall
Dominic Sessa – The Holdovers
Madeleine Yuna Voyles – The Creator

Best Acting Ensemble
Air
Barbie
The Color Purple
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer

Best Director
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Greta Gerwig – Barbie
Yorgos Lanthimos – Poor Things
Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer
Alexander Payne – The Holdovers
Martin Scorsese – Killers of the Flower Moon

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

Best Original Screenplay
Samy Burch – May December
Alex Convery – Air
Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer – Maestro
Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach – Barbie
David Hemingson – The Holdovers
Celine Song – Past Lives

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

Best Production Design
Suzie Davies, Charlotte Dirickx – Saltburn
Ruth De Jong, Claire Kaufman – Oppenheimer
Jack Fisk, Adam Willis – Killers of the Flower Moon
Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer – Barbie
James Price, Shona Heath, Szusza Mihalek – Poor Things
Adam Stockhausen, Kris Moran – Asteroid City

Best Editing
William Goldenberg – Air
Nick Houy – Barbie
Jennifer Lame – Oppenheimer
Yorgos Mavropsaridis – Poor Things
Thelma Schoonmaker – Killers of the Flower Moon
Michelle Tesoro – Maestro

Best Costume Design
Jacqueline Durran – Barbie
Lindy Hemming – Wonka
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck – The Color Purple
Holly Waddington – Poor Things
Jacqueline West – Killers of the Flower Moon
Janty Yates, David Crossman – Napoleon

Best Hair and Makeup
Barbie
The Color Purple
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Priscilla

Best Visual Effects
The Creator
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best Comedy
American Fiction
Barbie
Bottoms
The Holdovers
No Hard Feelings
Poor Things

Best Animated Film
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Wish

Best Foreign Language Film
Anatomy of a Fall
Godzilla Minus One
Perfect Days
Society of the Snow
The Taste of Things
The Zone of Interest

Best Song
“Dance the Night” – Barbie
“I’m Just Ken” – Barbie
“Peaches” – The Super Mario Bros. Movie
“Road to Freedom” – Rustin
“This Wish” – Wish
“What Was I Made For” – Barbie

Best Score
Jerskin Fendrix – Poor Things
Michael Giacchino – Society of the Snow
Ludwig Göransson – Oppenheimer
Daniel Pemberton – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Robbie Robertson – Killers of the Flower Moon
Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt – Barbie