Tag Archives: movie

The New York Film Critics Online Honor One Battle After Another

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The New York Film Critics Online have announced their picks for the best of 2015.  The winners are listed in bold.

PICTURE
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
Nuremberg
One Battle After Another (WINNER)
Sentimental Value
Sinners (RUNNER-UP)
Train Dreams

DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
Park Chan-wook – No Other Choice
Ryan Coogler – Sinners (WINNER)
Mona Fastvold – The Testament of Ann Lee
Olivier Laxe – Sirāt
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Lynne Ramsey – Die, My Love
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
Chloe Zhao – Hamnet

SCREENPLAY
Bugonia
Hamnet
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
It Was Just an Accident (WINNER)
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value (RUNNER-UP)
Sinners
Sorry, Baby
Train Dreams
Twinless

ACTOR
Timothee Chalamet – Marty Supreme (RUNNER-UP)
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Sope Dirisu – My Father’s Shadow
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon (WINNER)
Lee Byung Hun – No Other Choice
Dylan O’Brien – Twinless
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia

ACTRESS
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (RUNNER-UP)
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (WINNER)
Kathleen Chalfant – Familiar Touch
Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
Jennifer Lawrence – Die, My Love
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Sydney Sweeney – Christy
Tessa Thompson – Hedda

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Cera – The Phoenician Scheme
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein (WINNER)
Noah Jupe – Hamnet
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Pierre Lottin – When Fall is Coming
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Alexander Skarsgard – Pillion
Stellan Skarsgard – Sentimental Value (RUNNER-UP)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
Glenn Close – Wake Up Dead Man
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Regina Hall – One Battle After Another
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value (WINNER)
Amy Madigan – Weapons (RUNNER-UP)
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – Eternity
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

ENSEMBLE CAST
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
Sentimental Value
Sinners (WINNER)
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wake Up Dead Man

USE OF MUSIC
Hamnet
KPop Demon Hunters
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners (WINNER)
Sirāt (RUNNER-UP)
Song Sung Blue
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
The Testament of Ann Lee
Wicked: For Good

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Frankenstein
Hamnet
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Sinners (WINNER)
Sirāt
Train Dreams (RUNNER-UP)
The Testament of Ann Lee
28 Years Later
Wicked: For Good

DEBUT DIRECTOR
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Harris Dickerson – Urchin
Sarah Friedland – Familiar Touch
Scarlett Johansson – Eleanor the Great
Harry Lighton – Pillion
Carson Lund – Eephus
Charlie Polinger – The Plague (RUNNER-UP)
Kristen Stewart – The Chronology of Water
Constance Tsang – Blue Sun Palace
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby (WINNER)

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER
Odessa A’zion
Everett Blunck
Miles Caton (RUNNER-UP)
Chase Infiniti (WINNER)
Jacob Jupe
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
Kayo Martin
Abou Sangare
Eva Victor

ANIMATION
A Magnificent Life
Arco (WINNER)
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain (RUNNER-UP TIE)
100 Meters
Predator: Killer of Killers
Scarlet
Zootopia 2 (RUNNER-UP TIE)

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
It Was Just an Accident (WINNER)
Left-Handed Girl
No Other Choice
Resurrection
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value (RUNNER-UP)
Sirāt
Sound of Falling
The Voice of Hind Rajib
We Will Not Be Moved

DOCUMENTARY
Afternoons of Solitude
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (WINNER)
Come See Me in the Good Light
Cover-Up
My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow
Pee-wee as Himself
Put Your Soul in Your Hand and Walk
The Perfect Neighbor (RUNNER-UP)
The Alabama Solution
2000 Meters to Andriivka

The Southeastern Film Critics Association Honors One Battle After Another

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s another day of Awards Season and, this year, that seems to mean that it’s time for another One Battle After Another victory.  Here the picks of  The Southeastern Film Critics Association.

TOP 10 FILMS OF 2025
1. One Battle After Another
2. Sinners
3. Marty Supreme
4. It Was Just an Accident
5. Sentimental Value
6. Hamnet
7. Train Dreams
8. Weapons
9. Frankenstein
10. The Secret Agent

BEST ACTOR
Winner: Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Runner-Up: Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon

BEST ACTRESS
Winner: Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Runner-Up: Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Winner: Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Runner-Up: Sean Penn – One Battle After Another

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Winner: Amy Madigan – Weapons
Runner-Up: Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

BEST ENSEMBLE
Winner: Sinners
Runner-Up: One Battle After Another

BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Runner-Up: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Winner: Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Runner-Up: Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt – Sentimental Value

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Runner-Up: Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Winner: The Perfect Neighbor
Runner-Up: Predators

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Winner: KPop Demon Hunters
Runner-Up: Zootopia 2

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Winner: It Was Just an Accident
Runner-Up: Sentimental Value

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Winner: Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
Runner-Up: Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another

BEST SCORE
Winner: Ludwig Göransson – Sinners
Runner-Up: Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another

An Eric Roberts Holiday Film Review: A Karate Christmas Miracle (dir by Julie Kimmel)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In 2019’s A Karate Christmas Miracle, young Jesse Genesis (Mario Del Vecchio) believes that if he can become a black belt in four days, his father — who has been missing for a year — will return home.  Jesse’s mother, Abby (Mila Milosevic) tries to get Jesse to understand that his father was abducted and probably murdered by a killer clown.  Eventually, trying to understand what happened to her husband, Abby teams up with Elizabeth (Julie McCullough), a quirky law professor who is also psychic.

This is a strange film.  Eric Roberts and Martin Kove are listed as co-starring in the film but actually, all of their footage appears to have been lifted from 2015’s Joker’s Poltergeist, a film that stylistically and thematically has next to nothing in common with A Karate Christmas Miracle.  Scenes of Jesse practicing karate and trying to work his way up to black belt in just six days are mixed with scenes of Eric Roberts threatening to kill people and Martin Kove rambling about he wants to leave a movie theater to his daughter.  The scenes just don’t mix but they do show that if Eric Roberts and Martin Kove aren’t available to do your bad movie, you can just lift scenes of them from an even worse movie.

Sitting through A Karate Christmas Miracle is a bit of a struggle.  It’s only 81 minutes long but every scene still goes on for too long and the dialogue is full of overly quirky moments that probably sounded great in the writer’s head but which play out very awkwardly on film.  This movie really made me appreciate films that are actually edited in a professional manner.  We tend to take good editing for granted.  This movie reminds us not to.

Now, to be honest, the story did have some potential.  A child is so desperate for his father to return that he sets an impossible goal for himself.  Seriously, in the right hands, this could have been a real tearjerker.  But everything about A Karate Christmas Miracle just feels off.  The film works itself towards an heartfelt ending that it really hasn’t earned.

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about this film is that it’s still better than Joker’s Poltergeist.

Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:

  1. Paul’s Case (1980)
  2. Star 80 (1983)
  3. Runaway Train (1985)
  4. To Heal A Nation (1988)
  5. Best of the Best (1989)
  6. Blood Red (1989)
  7. The Ambulance (1990)
  8. The Lost Capone (1990)
  9. Best of the Best II (1993)
  10. Love, Cheat, & Steal (1993)
  11. Voyage (1993)
  12. Love Is A Gun (1994)
  13. Sensation (1994)
  14. Dark Angel (1996)
  15. Doctor Who (1996)
  16. Most Wanted (1997)
  17. Mercy Streets (2000)
  18. Raptor (2001)
  19. Rough Air: Danger on Flight 534 (2001)
  20. Strange Frequency (2001)
  21. Wolves of Wall Street (2002)
  22. Border Blues (2004)
  23. Mr. Brightside (2004)
  24. Six: The Mark Unleased (2004)
  25. We Belong Together (2005)
  26. Hey You (2006)
  27. Depth Charge (2008)
  28. Amazing Racer (2009)
  29. The Chaos Experiment (2009)
  30. In The Blink of an Eye (2009)
  31. Bed & Breakfast (2010)
  32. Enemies Among Us (2010)
  33. The Expendables (2010) 
  34. Sharktopus (2010)
  35. Beyond The Trophy (2012)
  36. The Dead Want Women (2012)
  37. Deadline (2012)
  38. The Mark (2012)
  39. Miss Atomic Bomb (2012)
  40. Assault on Wall Street (2013)
  41. Bonnie And Clyde: Justified (2013)
  42. Lovelace (2013)
  43. The Mark: Redemption (2013)
  44. The Perfect Summer (2013)
  45. Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End (2013)
  46. Revelation Road 2: The Sea of Glass and Fire (2013)
  47. Self-Storage (2013)
  48. Sink Hole (2013)
  49. A Talking Cat!?! (2013)
  50. This Is Our Time (2013)
  51. Bigfoot vs DB Cooper (2014)
  52. Doc Holliday’s Revenge (2014)
  53. Inherent Vice (2014)
  54. Road to the Open (2014)
  55. Rumors of War (2014)
  56. So This Is Christmas (2014)
  57. Amityville Death House (2015)
  58. Deadly Sanctuary (2015)
  59. A Fatal Obsession (2015)
  60. Las Vegas Story (2015)
  61. Sorority Slaughterhouse (2015)
  62. Stalked By My Doctor (2015)
  63. Enemy Within (2016)
  64. Hunting Season (2016)
  65. Joker’s Poltergeist (2016)
  66. Prayer Never Fails (2016)
  67. Stalked By My Doctor: The Return (2016)
  68. The Wrong Roommate (2016)
  69. Dark Image (2017)
  70. The Demonic Dead (2017)
  71. Black Wake (2018)
  72. Frank and Ava (2018)
  73. Stalked By My Doctor: Patient’s Revenge (2018)
  74. Clinton Island (2019)
  75. Monster Island (2019)
  76. The Reliant (2019)
  77. The Savant (2019)
  78. Seven Deadly Sins (2019)
  79. Stalked By My Doctor: A Sleepwalker’s Nightmare (2019)
  80. The Wrong Mommy (2019)
  81. Exodus of a Prodigal Son (2020)
  82. Free Lunch Express (2020)
  83. Her Deadly Groom (2020)
  84. Top Gunner (2020)
  85. Deadly Nightshade (2021)
  86. The Elevator (2021)
  87. Just What The Doctor Ordered (2021)
  88. Killer Advice (2021)
  89. Megaboa (2021)
  90. Night Night (2021)
  91. The Poltergeist Diaries (2021)
  92. The Rebels of PT-218 (2021)
  93. Red Prophecies (2021)
  94. A Town Called Parable (2021)
  95. Bleach (2022)
  96. Dawn (2022)
  97. My Dinner With Eric (2022)
  98. 69 Parts (2022)
  99. The Rideshare Killer (2022)
  100. The Company We Keep (2023)
  101. D.C. Down (2023)
  102. Aftermath (2024)
  103. Bad Substitute (2024)
  104. Devil’s Knight (2024)
  105. Insane Like Me? (2024)
  106. Space Sharks (2024)
  107. The Wrong Life Coach (2024)
  108. Broken Church (2025)
  109. When It Rains In L.A. (2025)

Holidays On The Lens: A Very Merry Toy Store (dir by Paula Hart)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2017 film, A Very Merry Toy Store, asks the age-old question: “Could any couple possibly be more adorable than Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez?”

Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina!) and Mario Lopez (Slater!) play rival toy store owners.  (Their fathers once owned one big toy store but that didn’t work out.)  Hart’s idealistic toy store is struggling.  Lopez’s more commercial toy store is thriving.  But they’re going to have to set aside their differences (and accept that they’re totally in love) because a big chain store is coming to town!

It’s a cute movie, one that works because the leads are so likable.  (Brian Dennehy and Beth Broderick are both well-cast in supporting roles.)  What can I say?  I like this movie!  Maybe I just always wanted to own a toy store.

(If I had a toy store, I would so a “Buy a Toy, Get A Free Book” promotion.)

Here is A Very Merry Toy Store!

Scenes That I Love: The Courtroom Scene From A Few Good Men

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

For today’s scene that I love, I decided to pick from the only Rob Reiner-directed film to be nominated for Best Picture of the Year, 1992’s A Few Good Men.

This scene features great work from two legitimate film stars, Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.  It’s also the type of potentially stagey scene that would have proved problematic for a lot of other directors.  Rob Reiner, however, handled it perfectly.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Rob Reiner Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 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 is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

A mere 4 shots cannot sum up how shocked and heartbroken we all are today.  Rest in Peace, Rob Reiner.

4 Shots From 4 Rob Reiner Films

Stand By Me (1986, dir by Rob Reiner, DP: Thomas Del Ruth)

The Princess Bride (1987, dir by Rob Reiner, DP: Adrian Biddle)

When Harry Met Sally (1989, dir by Rob Reiner, DP: Barry Sonnenfeld)

A Few Good Men (1992, dir by Rob Reiner, DP: Robert Richardson)

Join #MondayMania For The Bachelor Next Door!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, everyone!  Tonight, on twitter, I will be hosting one of my favorite films for #MondayMania!  Join us for 2017’s The Bachelor Next Door!

You can find the movie on Prime and then you can join us on twitter at 9 pm central time!  (That’s 10 pm for you folks on the East Coast.)  See you then!

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us For The Crater Lake Monster!

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 occasionally 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 1977’s The Crater Lake Monster! I picked it so you know it’ll be good.

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, find the movie on YouTube, Tubi, or Prime hit play at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!  The  watch party community is a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.   

See you soon!

One Battle After Another Wins In San Francisco

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle announced their picks for the best of 2025.  The winners and runner-up are in bold.

Best Picture
Hamnet
One Battle After Another (WINNER)
Sentimental Value
Sinners (RUNNER-UP)
Train Dreams

Best Director
Hamnet – Chloé Zhao
It Was Just An Accident – Jafar Panahi
One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson (WINNER)
Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier
Sinners – Ryan Coogler (RUNNER-UP)

Best Original Screenplay
Sinners – Ryan Coogler (RUNNER-UP)
Sentimental Value – Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier (WINNER)
Sorry, Baby – Eva Victor
It Was Just An Accident – Jafar Panahi
Weapons – Zach Cregger

Best Adapted Screenplay
Bugonia
Hamnet
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another (WINNER)
Train Dreams (RUNNER-UP)

Best Actor
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another (RUNNER-UP)
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon (WINNER)
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent

Best Actress
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (RUNNER-UP)
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (WINNER)
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Emma Stone – Bugonia
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby

Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another (WINNER)
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value (RUNNER-UP)

Best Supporting Actress
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value (RUNNER-UP)
Amy Madigan – Weapons (WINNER)
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

Best Animated Feature
Arco
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters (WINNER)
Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain
Zootopia 2 (RUNNER-UP)

Best International Feature Film
It Was Just An Accident (WINNER)
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value (RUNNER-UP)
Sirat

Best Documentary Feature
The Alabama Solution (RUNNER-UP)
Come See Me In The Good Light
Orwell: 2+2=5 (WINNER)
The Perfect Neighbor
Riefenstahl

Best Cinematography
Frankenstein – Dan Laustsen
Hamnet – Łukasz Żal
One Battle After Another – Michael Bauman
Sinners – Autumn Durald Arkapaw (WINNER)
Train Dreams – Adolpho Veloso (RUNNER-UP)

Best Production Design
Frankenstein – Tamara Deverell (RUNNER-UP)
Hamnet – Fiona Crombie
Marty Supreme – Jack Fisk
One Battle After Another – Florencia Martin
Sinners – Hannah Beachler (WINNER)

Best Film Editing
A House Of Dynamite – Kirk Baxter
F1 – Stephen Mirrione
Marty Supreme – Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
One Battle After Another – Andy Jurgensen (WINNER)
Sinners – Michael P. Shawver (RUNNER-UP)

Best Original Score
Bugonia – Jerskin Fendrix
Frankenstein – Alexandre Desplat
One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood (RUNNER-UP)
Sinners – Ludwig Göransson (WINNER)
Train Dreams – Bryce Dessner

Special Citation for Independent Cinema
Brother Verses Brother (RUNNER-UP)
The Encampments
Happyend
Twinless (WINNER)

The Marlon Riggs Award (Goes to someone from or working in the Bay Area)
Karen Larsen – Publicist and Academy member who tirelessly advocates for independent film and giving local people opportunities that build careers beyond the Bay