“Take California.”
Today’s song of the day is a classic. Released in 1996, the Propellerheads’s Take California is one of the essential big beat songs. It was used to good effect in Any Given Sunday. Was it the song playing when that football player lost his eye? I really don’t remember. It should have been, though.
The voices in this song belong to Richard Nixon and comedian (and Lyndon Johnson imitator) Earle Doud.
Today is John C. Reilly’s 61st birthday. This provides me with a great reason to share a scene that I love from 1997’s Boogie Nights. After falling out with his director, 70s porn star Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) attempts to reinvent himself as a rock star. Providing support, both emotionally and musically, is his best friend and frequent co-star, Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly).
Now, obviously, Wahlberg’s brilliantly tuneless singing usually gets the most attention here but there’s something really touching about Reed’s loyalty in these scenes. It may just be because of the cocaine but you can tell that Reed is perhaps even more convinced of Dirk’s talent than Dirk is.
Enjoy and remember …. YOU GOT THE POWER!
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to the legendary cinematographer, Roger Deakins! It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Roger Deakins Film
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984, dir by Michael Radford, cinematography by Roger Deakins)
Fargo (1996, dir by the Coen Brothers, cinematography by Roger Deakins)
Kundun (1997, dir by Martin Scorsese, cinematography by Roger Deakins)
1917 (2019, dir by Sam Mendes. cinematography by Roger Deakins)
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 Saved By The Bell, which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!
This week, it’s time to learn how to drive!
Episode 2.4 “Driver’s Education”
(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on September 29th, 1990)
Good Lord, Zack Morris is so insecure!
Even though Zack and Kelly have been dating since the prom, Zack still fears that Kelly will dump him when Slater turns 16 and gets his driver’s license. Slater’s already got a car. Sure, the car looks bad at first but Slater says he’s going to fix it up and, one jump cut later, he’s got a pretty badass red convertible.
Zack’s solution? If you thought Zack would respond by resolving to be such a great boyfriend that Kelly wouldn’t leave him, you don’t know Zack Morris! Instead, Zack comes up with a ludicrously complicated scheme to cause Slater to flunk driver’s education.
A few words about driver’s ed at Bayside:
First off, driver’s ed is one of the many classes that is taught by Mr. Tuttle (Jack Angeles). Last season, Mr. Tuttle inspired the creation of Buddy Bands. This season, he’s teaching the students how to drive and complaining that he should have been named principal instead of “Mr. Balding.” Mr. Tuttle was one of the few recurring teachers on Saved By The Bell and Jack Angeles, who was an attorney in real life, was a good comedic actor. It’s almost always a good sign when Tuttle shows up.
Secondly, at Bayside, students aren’t required to actually drive a car. Instead, they drive this thing:
Seriously, this thing has got three wheels and apparently, it’s not supposed to leave the classroom. How are you going to learn how to drive in this thing!? To his credit, Mr. Belding mentions that he’s often told Tuttle to get rid of this half-assed attempt at a car.
Zack’s plan is to take the driver’s ed car out of the classroom so that Slater can give him a private lesson. Slater will get caught in the faux car and somehow, this will lead to him getting kicked out of class. (Since it’s established that Slater already knows how to drive, couldn’t he just go down to the DMV and take the test regardless of the class?) However, Kelly asks Slater for a ride, Zack attempts to get Kelly out of the fake car, and the pretend car ends up crashing into a locker. Slater, Zack, and Kelly run for it.
In order to get Zack to confess, Kelly pretends to have amnesia. When Zack announces that he will not only confess but that he’ll also get Kelly the best medical care available (good luck doing with with no car, Zack!), Kelly says that she knew “Zack” would do the right thing. Hearing his name, Zack realizes that Kelly never had amnesia. Zack says that he’s not going to confess and it won’t matter because what’s Belding going to do? Flunk everyone?
The next day, at the start of class, Belding announces that he’s flunking everyone.
At first, Kelly stands up says that she’s to blame. Slater jumps up and accepts responsibility because Slater’s a soldier at heart. Realizing that Slater now looks a lot better than him, Zack finally admits that he’s the one who took the driver’s ed car out of the classroom. The end result is that Zack flunks, Slater gets two weeks of detention, and Kelly gets …. no punishment at all.
This was actually a pretty enjoyable episode. I mean, it was dumb but that’s par for the course when it comes to Saved By The Bell. This episode features a lot of Tuttle comedy and Mario Lopez once again outacting everyone else in the cast. That’s what Saved By The Bell is all about.
Bardo: A Night In The Life (YouTube)
This was a live music program that aired on certain PBS stations. On Friday night, I watched a concert given by Lake Street Drive. Musically, they were very talented but a little mellow for my tastes.
Burning Love (Prime)
I bought all three seasons of Burning Love this week. On Wednesday, I watched the first season. Ken Marino was Mark Orlando, a fireman looking for love on a reality dating show. “Will you accept my hose?” “Please put your hose in my hands.” I laughed and laughed. If nothing else, it made up for not having a new season of The Bachelorette.
The Cult Behind The Killer: The Andrea Yates Story (Hulu)
I watched this documentary on Wednesday and Thursday. Over three episode, it revisited the horrific crimes of Andrea Yates and suggested that she was brainwashed by a street preacher. It didn’t really convince me. Obviously, Yates claimed that she was driven to murder by her beliefs but I think that, even if she had never heard a sermon in her life, she would have eventually become a murderer. Some people are just evil and will use whatever they can as a justification.
This documentary featured interviews with two people who were former members of the preacher’s cult. Former cult members always make for terrible witnesses because it’s hard to have much respect for anyone who could get brainwashed in the first place.
Dr. Phil (YouTube)
I watched an episode on Saturday about fighting in-laws. They should have just called off the wedding.
Election Coverage (Tuesday)
As someone who pretends not to follow politics, I made sure to pretend that I wasn’t glued to Tuesday’s election coverage. I did a little cheering, I’ll admit it.
Family Lockup (Disney+)
I watched the first episode of this true crime show on Wednesday. The father of a prisoner spent 72 hours in jail so he could talk to his son and see what it was like to be on the inside. At the end of the episode, the son was released and his father was waiting for him. Awww!
George Gently (YouTube)
I watched an episode of this British detective show on Tuesday. It was depressing, as most British detective shows tend to be.
Good Times (Tubi)
In this 70s sitcom, the Evans family was divided over who to support in the next election, Alderman Fred C. Davis or Jimmy Pearson, who was well-educated but refused to play the dozens. Jeff and I watched this episode on Sunday night. Jimmy lost his election but swore that he would run again and this time, he would play the dozens. Good for you, Jimmy. Get out there and sell out.
Hollywood Demons (HBOMax)
This week’s episode took a look at 16 and Pregnant. I guess it’s good that this episode exists because, in the future, historians will probably try to deny that 16 and Pregnant ever existed.
Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock TV)
My review of this week’s episode will drop tomorrow.
Hulk Hogan: Real American (Netflix)
I watched this docudrama on Thursday. It told the story of Hulk Hogan, from his early days to his death. The weird thing about this documentary was that it acknowledged that wrestling was fake but still tried to pretend like it wasn’t. (I have to admit that I’ve never been a big wrestling fan.) The documentary featured extensive interviews with sickly looking Hogan. He passed away shortly after filming wrapped. Hulk Hogan took down Gawker and he’ll always be remembered for that.
Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Shout Factory TV)
I watched two episodes of this weird Japanese series on Saturday morning. Monsters were everywhere but luckily, so were some people who were apparently descended from dinosaurs. I really couldn’t follow the plot but the saber-tooth tiger was cute.
The PGA Championship (Sunday, CBS)
Congratulation to Aaron Rai! I loved looking at the golf course. It looked so relaxing.
Saved By The Bell (Tubi)
My review of this week’s episode will drop in about 90 minutes.
Watched and Reviewed:
Welcome to 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 Baywatch, which ran on NBC and then in syndication from 1989 to 2001. The entire show can be viewed on Tubi.
This week, we meet Mitch’s brother.
Episode 2.5 “The Fabulous Buchanan Boys”
(Dir by Gus Trikonis, originally aired on October 14th, 1991)
Mitch’s brother, Buzz (Tim Thomerson), shows up with his 12 year-old son, Kyle (Chance Michael Corbitt)! Mitch is reunited with Buzz and they both realize that they’re two old beach bums who are not getting any younger. That’s especially true in the case of Buzz. The show makes it clear that Buzz is Mitch’s older brother but we’re still left wondering just how much older. With his gray hair and his weathered features, Tim Thomerson looks like he’s nearly 70 while Hasselhoff appears to be in his late 30s.
And that’s pretty much it.
Okay, in all fairness to the show, there is a bit more of a plot than just Buzz showing up but none of it adds up to much. Mitch’s girlfriend, reporter Kaye Morgan (Pamela Bach), is pressured by her father to kill a story about a dangerous pier. Kyle has a bad attitude and has an accident while surfing at that pier. Luckily, the lifeguards are able to save him. Eduardo (Buzz Belmondo) sells bikinis on the beach but — ha ha — the bikinis dissolve when soaked in salt water. Eddie and Shauni have to help a lot of suddenly naked people get out of the water. “We’re in syndication!” the show loudly announces. Meanwhile, I’m left to wonder why you would buy a bikini from a stranger with a pencil-thin mustache.
For the most part, though, this was a montage episode. The plot was secondary to the music playing behind slickly edited montages of Buzz and Mitch bonding. Buzz and Kyle leave town at the end of the episode but, given how close Buzz and Mitch are, I’m sure that Buzz will return frequently in the future.
(Buzz will never be seen again.)
Well, another Cannes Film Festival has come to a close. Here in America, coverage of this year’s festival felt considerably more low-key than previous festivals. In fact, the conventional wisdom — again, here in America — seems to be that this year’s festival was a disappointment. Personally, I think there’s just some hurt feelings that only two American films were selected to compete this year.
Neither Paper Tiger nor The Man I Love won anything. (Fear not, I’m sure that James Gray will be back with another drama about the Russian mafia next year.) Instead, the Palme d’Or went to Fjord, a film about a traditional Catholic family that finds itself being targeted by a group of progressives. The Guardian gave Fjord a negative review so I imagine it’s pretty good. I look forward to seeing it. It should be noted that, as of the last few years, winning the Palme d’Or has been a plus when it comes to a film’s Oscar chances. (Even the now universally-derided Emilia Perez starting things off by winning at Cannes.) We’ll see if the same holds true for Fjord.
Here are the winners from Cannes:
Palme d’Or: Fjord by Cristian Mungiu
Grand Prix: Minotaur by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Jury Prize: The Dreamed Adventure by Valeska Grisebach
Best Director:
Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo for The Black Ball
Paweł Pawlikowski for Fatherland
Best Actress: Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto for All of a Sudden
Best Actor: Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne for Coward
Best Screenplay: Emmanuel Marre for A Man of His Time
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard Prize: Everytime by Sandra Wollner
Jury Prize: Elephants in the Fog by Abinash Bikram Shah
Special Jury Prize: Iron Boy by Louis Clichy
Best Actress: Daniela Marín Navarro, Marina de Tavira and Mariangel Villegas for Forever Your Maternal Animal
Best Actor: Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset for Congo Boy
Caméra d’Or
Caméra d’Or: Ben’Imana by Marie Clémentine Dusabejambo
Short Films Competition
Short Film Palme d’Or: For the Opponents by Federico Luis
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on twitter. 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, for #ScarySocial, I will be hosting 1987’s Killer Workout!
If you want to join us on Saturday night, just hop onto twitter, start the film at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag! The film is available on Prime! I’ll be there co-hosting and I imagine some other members of the TSL Crew will be there as well. It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy!
Today’s song of the day comes from the soundtrack of 1998’s Run, Lola, Run.
Whisper my darling
I didn’t have the time to say goodbye to you
Flow into silence
My mouth is full of blood and my mind is too
And my mind is too
And you see me walking miles away
Somebody has to pay
And you see me walking miles away
I’m gonna take your pain with me
Golden reunion
I will always wait for you to be with me
Secrets in heaven
I’ll complete the mission if you want me to
And you see me walking miles away
Somebody has to pay
And you see me walking miles away
I’m gonna take your pain
And you see me walking miles away
Somebody has to pay
Somebody has to pay
Somebody has to pay
Somebody has to pay
Somebody has to pay
Today is the birthday of German filmmaker Tom Tykwer. Tykwer directed one of my favorite films of all time, 1998’s Run, Lola, Run! As such, it only seems appropriate that today’s scene that I love should come from that film.
In this scene, Lola shows us all how to win at roulette. Do not try this in Vegas.
Through the Shattered Lens 