Hi, everyone! Tonight, on twitter, I will be hosting one of my favorite films for #MondayMania! Join us for 2019’s The Ex Next Door!
You can find the movie on Prime and Tubi 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!
Today, the Shattered Lens observes the birthdays of two great actors, Robert Duvall and the much-missed Diane Keaton.
Along with being two of America’s best actors, Duvall and Keaton also co-starred in the first two Godfather films. They didn’t share many scenes in the second film (though there was at least one Duvall/Keaton scene that was filmed but not included in the final film) but, in the first film, they have a memorable moment in which Keaton (as Kay) visits the Corleone compound while the Corleones are in the middle of a gang war, and asks Duvall’s Tom Hagen to send a letter to Michael in Sicily. Hagen explains that he can’t do that because that would serve as evidence that he knew where Michael was. When Kay notices a car that has obviously been bombed, Tom blandly replies, “Oh, that was an accident. Luckily, no one was hurt!”
In honor of these two amazing performers and my favorite movie of all time, today’s song of the day is Nino Rota’s theme from The Godfather.
Today would have been Diane Keaton’s 80th birthday.
In today’s scene that I love, from 1972’s The Godfather, Keaton plays Kay Adams Corleone, the wife of Michael (Al Pacino). In this scene, Michael has “allowed” Kay to ask him about the family business. She asks him if he had his brother-in-law, Carlo, killed. Michael says, “No.” Kay is relieved …. until she steps out into the hallway and realizes, as the door is shut in her face, that her husband just lied to her.
This is a beautifully acted scene and one of the most powerful endings in film history.
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 celebrate the 95th birthday of Robert Duvall! Robert Duvall is rightly known as one of America’s greatest actors but he’s also directed a few films as well. Today, in honor of Mr. Duvall’s birthday, it’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Robert Duvall Films
Angelo, My Love (1983, dir by Robert Duvall, DP: Joseph Friedman)
The Apostle (1997, dir by Robert Duvall, DP: Barry Markowitz)
Assassination Tango (2002, dir by Robert Duvall, DP: Felix Monti)
Wild Horses (2015, dir by Robert Duvall, DP: Barry Markowitz)
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 Joker’s Poltergeist!
If you want to join this watch party, just hop onto Mastodon, pull up Joker’s Poltergeist on YouTube or Tubi, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!
Enjoy!
Probably much like you, I skipped the Critics Choice Awards this year. That said, here’s what won. (Winners are listed in bold.)
BEST PICTURE
Bugonia
Frankenstein
Hamnet
Jay Kelly
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Wicked: For Good
BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton – Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan – Sinners
Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent
BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Amanda Seyfried – The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone – Bugonia
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler – Jay Kelly
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
BEST YOUNG ACTOR / ACTRESS
Everett Blunck – The Plague
Miles Caton – Sinners
Cary Christopher – Weapons
Shannon Mahina Gorman – Rental Family
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet
Nina Ye – Left-Handed Girl
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer – Jay Kelly
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Zach Cregger – Weapons
Eva Victor – Sorry, Baby
Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar – Train Dreams
Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Don Mckellar, Jahye Lee – No Other Choice
Guillermo del Toro – Frankenstein
Will Tracy – Bugonia
Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet
BEST CASTING AND ENSEMBLE
Nina Gold – Hamnet
Douglas Aibel, Nina Gold – Jay Kelly
Jennifer Venditti – Marty Supreme
Cassandra Kulukundis – One Battle After Another
Francine Maisler – Sinners
Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey – Wicked: For Good
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Claudio Miranda – F1
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein
Łukasz Żal – Hamnet
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Kasra Farahani, Jille Azis – The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau – Frankenstein
Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton – Hamnet
Jack Fisk, Adam Willis – Marty Supreme
Hannah Beachler, Monique Champagne – Sinners
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – Wicked: For Good
BEST EDITING
Kirk Baxter – A House of Dynamite
Stephen Mirrione – F1
Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Andy Jurgensen – One Battle After Another
Viridiana Lieberman – The Perfect Neighbor
Michael P. Shawver – Sinners
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Kate Hawley – Frankenstein
Malgosia Turzanska – Hamnet
Lindsay Pugh – Hedda
Colleen Atwood, Christine Cantella – Kiss of the Spider Woman
Ruth E. Carter – Sinners
Paul Tazewell – Wicked: For Good
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Flora Moody, John Nolan – 28 Years Later
Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey – Frankenstein
Siân Richards, Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine, Shunika Terry – Sinners
Kazu Hiro, Felix Fox, Mia Neal – The Smashing Machine
Leo Satkovich, Melizah Wheat, Jason Collins – Weapons
Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier, Laura Blount – Wicked: For Good
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett – Avatar: Fire And Ash
Ryan Tudhope, Nikeah Forde, Robert Harrington, Nicolas Chevallier, Eric Leven, Edward Price, Keith Dawson – F1
Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Ivan Busquets, José Granell – Frankenstein
Alex Wuttke, Ian Lowe, Jeff Sutherland, Kirstin Hall – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter, Donnie Dean – Sinners
Stephane Ceretti, Enrico Damm, Stéphane Nazé, Guy Williams – Superman
BEST STUNT DESIGN
Stephen Dunlevy, Kyle Gardiner, Jackson Spidell, Jeremy Marinas, Jan Petřina, Domonkos Párdányi, Kinga Kósa-Gavalda – Ballerina
Gary Powell, Luciano Bacheta, Craig Dolby – F1
Wade Eastwood – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Brian Machleit – One Battle After Another
Andy Gill – Sinners
Giedrius Nagys – Warfare
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Arco
Elio
In Your Dreams
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain
Zootopia 2
BEST COMEDY
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Eternity
Friendship
The Naked Gun
The Phoenician Scheme
Splitsville
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Belén
It Was Just an Accident
Left-Handed Girl
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sirāt
BEST SONG
“Drive” – Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Blake Slatkin – F1
“Golden” – Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, Teddy – KPop Demon Hunters
“I Lied to You” – Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson – Sinners
“Clothed by the Sun” – Daniel Blumberg – The Testament of Ann Lee
“Train Dreams” – Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner – Train Dreams
“The Girl in the Bubble” – Stephen Schwartz – Wicked: For Good
BEST SCORE
Hans Zimmer – F1
Alexandre Desplat – Frankenstein
Max Richter – Hamnet
Daniel Lopatin – Marty Supreme
Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another
Ludwig Göransson – Sinners
BEST SOUND
Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, Juan Peralta, Gareth John – F1
Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern, Greg Chapman – Frankenstein
Jose Antonio Garcia, Christopher Scarabosio, Tony Villaflor – One Battle After Another
Chris Welcker, Benny Burtt, Brandon Proctor, Steve Boeddeker, Felipe Pacheco, David V. Butler – Sinners
Laia Casanovas – Sirāt
Mitch Low, Glenn Freemantle, Ben Barker, Howard Bargroff, Richard Spooner – Warfare
Here are the 2025 nominations of the Columbus Film Critics Association.
Best Film
Bugonia
Frankenstein
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners
Train Dreams
Wake Up Dead Man
Weapons
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Rian Johnson, Wake Up Dead Man
Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Best Lead Performance
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet
Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Joel Edgerton, Train Dreams
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent
Jesse Plemons, Bugonia
Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
Emma Stone, Bugonia
Best Supporting Performance
Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value
Delroy Lindo, Sinners
Amy Madigan, Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another
Best Ensemble
It Was Just an Accident
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Wake Up Dead Man
Actor of the Year (For an Exemplary Body of Work)
Josh Brolin, The Running Man, Wake Up Dead Man, and Weapons
Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another and The Phoenician Scheme
Josh O’Connor, The History of Sound, The Mastermind, Rebuilding, and Wake Up Dead Man
Amanda Seyfried, The Housemaid and The Testament of Ann Lee
Emma Stone, Bugonia and Eddington
Breakthrough Film Artist
Odessa A’zion, Marty Supreme (Acting)
Miles Caton, Sinners (Acting)
Chase Infiniti, One Battle After Another (Acting)
Carson Lund, Eephus (Directing and Screenwriting)
Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby (Acting, Directing, and Screenwriting)
Best Cinematography
Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Sinners
Michael Bauman, One Battle After Another
Dan Laustsen, Frankenstein
Claudio Miranda, F1
Adolpho Veloso, Train Dreams
Łukasz Żal, Hamnet
Best Film Editing
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Andy Jurgensen, One Battle After Another
Stephen Mirrione, F1
Joe Murphy, Weapons
Michael P. Shawver, Sinners
Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, Train Dreams
Guillermo Del Toro, Frankenstein
Park Chan-Wook, Lee Kyoung-Mi, Don McKellar, and Jahye Lee, No Other Choice
Will Tracy, Bugonia
Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet
Best Original Screenplay
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Zach Cregger, Weapons
Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident
Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein, Marty Supreme
Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Best Score
Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein
Ludwig Göransson, Sinners
Jonny Greenwood, One Battle After Another
Daniel Lopatin, Marty Supreme
Max Richter, Hamnet
Best Documentary
Cover-Up
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Perfect Neighbor
Predators
Seeds
Best Foreign Language Film
It Was Just an Accident
No Other Choice
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirât
Best Animated Film
Arco
The Bad Guys 2
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Predator: Killer of Killers
Zootopia 2
Frank Gabrenya Award for Best Comedy
The Baltimorons
Friendship
The Naked Gun
One of Them Days
Splitsville
Best Overlooked Film
The Ballad of Wallis Island
The Baltimorons
The Mastermind
Peter Hujar’s Day
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
Warfare
In NOWHERE TO RUN, Jean-Claude Van Damme plays Sam Gillen, a recently escaped convict who finds himself hiding on the outer edges of a rural farm owned by widowed mother Clydie Anderson (Rosanna Arquette) and her two children, Mookie and Bree (Kieran Culkin and Tiffany Taubman). Through a variety of circumstances, Sam learns that a ruthless developer, Franklin Hale (Joss Ackland), and his enforcer Mr. Dunston (Ted Levine), are trying to force all of the farmers to sell their land, using violence if necessary. When bad guys show up one night and threaten Clydie and her kids, Sam emerges from the woods and kicks their asses. Soon Sam finds himself fighting off more of Hale’s goons, romancing the beautiful widow and becoming more emotionally connected to the kids. With his past closing in, Sam decides to do whatever it takes to protect Clydie and her kids, even if that costs him his freedom.
The late 80’s and early 90’s saw the emergence of two new action stars… Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme. As a constant patron of our local video stores, I was there at the beginning of their careers and rented each of their new movies as they became available. Van Damme would establish himself in hit films like BLOODSPORT (1988), KICKBOXER (1989), DEATH WARRANT (1990) and UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (1992). As a big fan, I found myself in a movie theater in January of 1993 to watch his latest film, NOWHERE TO RUN.
With a plot that resembles an old western… a man corrupted by wealth tries to force a widow off her land until a kind-hearted drifter steps in… NOWHERE TO RUN isn’t trying to reinvent the action genre, but it does give Van Damme a different kind of role. His Sam Gillen isn’t a wisecracking action hero or an unstoppable martial artist. Rather, he’s a flawed man with a particular set of skills who’s looking for redemption. I think Van Damme plays that soulful weariness better than most would give him credit for. Rosanna Arquette brings a credible presence to this genre film that helps sell the relationship between her and Van Damme, and the presence of her kids, also amps up the stakes and gives the story a genuine sense of vulnerability. When Sam decides to fight back, it’s not to protect himself, but to protect people worth standing up for. That motivation helps make the film more engaging than you might normally expect from an early 90’s action film.
Speaking of action, NOWHERE TO RUN doesn’t feature a ton of action, but what it does have is effective. The early sequence where Van Damme’s character initially steps in to help the terrorized family is especially strong. There are several additional fight sequences and a prolonged motorcycle chase to provide some entertainment, but don’t expect wall-to-wall action or you could be disappointed. Joss Ackland (LETHAL WEAPON 2) and Ted Levine (THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) are suitably nasty villains so we definitely want to see them get their comeuppances, and the film effectively obliges. I also like the fact that NOWHERE TO RUN is set out on a rural farm. This setting enhances its “western” feel, and I certainly appreciate that unique element for an action film of this era.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed NOWHERE TO RUN when I watched it in the movie theater back in 1993, and I enjoyed it again today. It’s certainly not flashy and action packed like HARD TARGET or TIMECOP, but it is a solid, and surprisingly emotional Van Damme film. I recommend it.
Today’s song of the day was memorably heard in George Pan Cosmatos’s 1986 film, Cobra. Here is Angel of the City by Robert Tepper!
Today’s scene that I love comes from the 1985 film, Rambo: First Blood Part II. In this scene, Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo — having survived being abandoned yet again in Vietnam — let’s the CIA knew exactly what he thinks about their operation. As directed by George Pan Cosmatos and performed by Stallone, this scene is pure 80s action.
If you ever meet James Cameron, remind him that he wrote the script for this film and see how he reacts.
Here’s a scene that I love:
Through the Shattered Lens 