Tag Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/30/25 — 12/6/25

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Frosty the Snowman (Thursday, NBC)

This holiday special makes me cry.  Everytime.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Thursday, NBC)

Oh, I love this one!  Seriously, Boris Karloff and Christmas are a great combination!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Friday, NBC)

Why is Santa Claus so mean in this one?  This special has always been my least favorite of the classic Christmas specials because it makes the North Pole look like a terrible place to work.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)

I’ve been struggling with insomnia this week but I discovered that, if I put SBTB: The New Class on as background noise, it actually eases me into sleep.  This week, I slept through seasons 6 and 7.  I had totally forgotten that, after Richard Lee Jackson left, they brought in yet another blonde transfer student from Valley to step into the Zack role.  As I said last week, this show was the version of Saved By The Bell that I grew up with and I have a certain nostalgia for it.  It’s not good but it’s oddly comforting in its terrible way.

Sean Combs: The Reckoning (Netflix)

I watched this docuseries on Friday and Saturday.  It’s always so weird to me how people just kind of shrug off rap feuds turning violent, as if all the death is just a part of the entertainment.  As for the series itself, it obviously had an agenda but that doesn’t make Sean Combs any less sleazy.

Retro Television Review: Baywatch 1.7 “The Cretin of the Shallows”

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 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, there’s a lot happening on the beach!

Baywatch 1.7 “The Cretin of the Shallows”

(Dir by Vern Gillum, originally aired on December 1st, 1989)

Eddie gets his wisdom teeth taken out.  Feverish and on pain-killers, he has a hallucination in which Gina Pomeroy (Holly Gagnier) kisses him.  Eddie spends the entire episode nervous that Craig is going to discover that he’s having an affair with his wife but actually, Eddie isn’t having an affair.  It’s not until the end of the episode that Gina tells Eddie that they never kissed and Eddie finally starts to relax.  Gina promises not to tell Craig because “I think it’s sweet.”  Myself, I’m just curious as to how stupid Eddie actually is.

Shauni and Jill deal with a teenage boy who has made a bet with his friends that he’ll be able to get a kiss from both of them.

And a horrifying serial killer (Robert Trebor) is stalking the night, brutally murdering people on the beach.

One of these storylines is not like the other!

The first season of Baywatch was seriously weird.  Light-hearted lifeguard hi-jinx would be mixed in with scenes of people being murdered.  Mitch and Craig weren’t just lifeguards.  They were also cops who solved mysteries (Kind of like Baywatch Nights!) and they put their lives at risk to do so.  Remember how I mentioned that Gina told Eddie that they never kissed?  She told him that after she had been rescued from the serial killer.  Gina nearly died!  Neither Gina nor Craig seemed to be too upset about that, though.  I would be a little bit traumatized but that’s just me.

This episode really didn’t work for me.  Personally, I like the light-hearted stuff.  It’s dumb but, at heart, Baywatch’s appeal is that it’s a dumb show with nice scenery.  Tossing a serial killer into the mix just made things unpleasant.  It didn’t feel like it belonged on a show about people running on the beach in red bathing suits.

This is my last Baywatch review of 2025.  Retro Television Reviews will be taking a break for the holidays so that I can focus on Awards Season and Christmas movies!  Baywatch will return on January 10, 2026.

Here are the nominations of the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the nominations of the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association!

Film
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners

Director
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet

Actor
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners

Actress
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value

Supporting Actor
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value

Supporting Actress
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

Youth Performance
Miles Caton – Sinners
Cary Christopher – Weapons
Shannon Mahina Gorman – Rental Family
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet
Mason Thames – How to Train Your Dragon
Nina Ye – Left-Handed Girl

Voice Performance
Jason Bateman – Zootopia 2
Arden Cho – KPop Demon Hunters
Ginnifer Goodwin – Zootopia 2
Yonas Kibreab – Elio
Ke Huy Quan – Zootopia 2

Motion Capture Performance
Oona Chaplin – Avatar: Fire And Ash
Stephen Lang – Avatar: Fire And Ash
Zoe Saldaña – Avatar: Fire And Ash
Sigourney Weaver – Avatar: Fire And Ash
Sam Worthington – Avatar: Fire And Ash

Ensemble
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Wake Up Dead Man

Original Screenplay
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Weapons

Adapted Screenplay
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Train Dreams

Animated Film
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain
Zootopia 2

Production Design
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Sinners
Wicked: For Good

Cinematography
Frankenstein
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Train Dreams

Editing
F1: The Movie
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners

Score
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners

Joe Barber Award for Portrayal of Washington, DC
Anniversary
Captain America: Brave New World
A House of Dynamite
Nuremberg
Thunderbolts

Stunts
F1: The Movie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Superman

Documentary
Come See Me in the Good Light
The Librarians
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Perfect Neighbor
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk

Foreign Language Film
It Was Just an Accident
Left-Handed Girl
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value

Holidays On The Lens: A Royal Christmas On Ice (dir by Fred Olen Ray)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Consider the plot of 2022’s A Royal Christmas On Ice.

He’s a prince.

She’s a former Olympic skater turned hard-as-nails coach.

They meet in a small town.

They fall in love….

AT CHRISTMAS!

Seriously, has there ever been a film more obviously made for me?  This is a cute movie and a reminder that you can find just about anything in Fred Olen Ray’s filmography.

Scenes That I Love: Franco Nero Opens The Coffin in Django

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In this scene, from Sergio Corbucci’s Django, the film’s title character (played by my man, Franco Nero) reveals what’s actually in the coffin that he’s been dragging from town to town.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Sergio Corbucci Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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, we honor the birth and the legacy of the great Italian director, Sergio Corbucci!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Sergio Corbucci Films

Django (1966, dir by Sergio Corbucci, DP: Enzo Barboni)

The Hellbenders (1967, dir by Sergio Corbucci, DP: Enzo Barboni)

The Mercenary (1968, dir by Sergio Corbucci, DP: Alejandro Ulloa)

The Great Silence (1968, dir by Sergio Corbucci, DP: Silvano Ippoliti)

Live Tweet Alert: Join #ScarySocial for Joyride!

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.  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 9 pm et, Deanna Dawn will be hosting #ScarySocial!  The movie?  2001’s Joyride!  

If you want to join us this Saturday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 9 pm et, and use the #ScarySocial hashtag!  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

The film is available on Prime!

Music Video of the Day: Please Come Home For Christmas by Taylor Hicks (2014, dir by ????)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Since yesterday’s music video of the day came to us from Katharine McPhee, it only seems appropriate that today’s music video of the day should feature Taylor Hicks.

Remember the Soul Patrol?

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Freddy’s Nightmares 1.18 “The Art of Death”

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 Fridays, I will be reviewing Freddy’s Nightmares, a horror anthology show which ran in syndication from 1988 to 1990. The entire series can be found on Tubi!

This week’s episode is actually decent.

Episode 1.18 “The Art of Death”

(Dir by Ken Wiederhorn, originally aired on March 12th, 1989)

Jack (Carey Scott) is a talented artist and college student who has a crush on Joan (Laura Schaefer).  When Joan’s jock boyfriend humiliates Jack, Jack suddenly finds himself approached by The Phantom (Judd Omen), a masked figure who claims that he can kill Jack’s enemies if Jack draws a picture of him doing it.  After the jock is killed in a treadmill accident, Joan sees the picture that Jack drew and decides she doesn’t want anything to do with Jack.  The Phantom suggests drawing a picture of him surprising Joan in the shower.  Jack refuses, just to discover that the picture has already been drawn and the Phantom is now holding Joan prisoner in a boiler room.  Jack draws a picture of the Phantom being sucked down a hole.  The Phantom vanishes but …. oh no, now Jack’s wearing the mask!  Jack was the Phantom all along!

As for the second story, Joan struggles to recover from the trauma.  In typical Freddy’s Nightmares fashion, she has a series of hallucinations that lead to her killing her psychiatrist.

This episode actually worked!  The first story was genuinely creepy.  The second story was predictable but it featured a good performance from Laura Schaefer and the action moved at a decent pace.  I’m going to give the majority of the credit to director Ken Wiederhorn, who previously directed one of my favorite zombie films, 1977’s Shock Waves.

This is my final Freddy’s Nightmares review for 2025.  Retro Television Review is taking a break for the holidays, so I can focus on Awards Season and Christmas movies!  Freddy’s Nightmares will return on January 9th.