4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Nicolas Winding Refn Edition


4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 55th birthday to Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn!  Drive was one of the first films to really be celebrated on this site, receiving reviews from several contributors.  Personally, I preferred The Neon Demon.

In honor of of the man and his work, it’s time for….

4 Shots from 4 Nicolas Winding Refn Films

Bronson (2008, dir by Nicolas Winding Refn, DP: Larry Smith)

Drive (2011, dir by Nicolas Winding Refn, DP: Newton Thomas Sigel)

Only God Forgives (2013,dir by Nicolas Winding Refn, DP: Larry Smith)

The Neon Demon (2016, dir by Nicolas Winding Refn, DP: Natasha Braier)

Monday Live Tweet Alert: Join Us for Don’t Kill It!


As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in hosting a few weekly live tweets on twitter and occasion ally 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 2016’s Don’t Kill It!

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, pull up Don’t Kill It on YouTube, start the movie at 8 pm et, and use the #MondayActionMovie hashtag!

Enjoy!

 

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special 2014 Edition


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 lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, we pay tribute to the cinematic year of 2014.  It’s time for

4 Shots From 4 2014 Films

Goodbye to Language (2014, dir by Jean-Luc Godard, DP: Fabrice Aragno)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014, dir by Wes Anderson, DP: Robert Yeoman)

Boyhood (2014, dir by Richard Linklater, DP: Lee Daniel)

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014, dir by James Gunn, DP: Ben Davis)

 

Live Tweet Alert: Watch The Satanic Rites of Dracula With #ScarySocial!


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 1973’s Satanic Rites of Dracula!

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 and Tubi!  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!

 

Song of the Day: The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde by Georgie Fame


With today’s song of the day, we continue our Bonnie and Clyde theme!

This song is from 1968 and was inspired by Arthur Penn’s classic crime film, Bonnie and Clyde. Oddly enough, this song insists that Bonnie and Clyde were from Savannah, Georgia when everyone knows that they were from my part of the world, North Texas.  Then again, “Savannah” does sound a bit better when set to music than “West Dallas.”

Scene That I Love: The Story of Bonnie and Clyde


In this scene, from Arthur Penn’s 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, Bonnie Parker (played by Faye Dunaway) writes a poem and tries to craft the future image of Bonnie and Clyde.  Though it has none of the violence that made Bonnie and Clyde such a controversial film in 1967, this is still an important scene.  (Actually, it’s more than one scene.)  Indeed, this scene is a turning point for the entire film, the moment that Bonnie and Clyde goes from being an occasionally comedic attack on the establishment to a fatalistic crime noir.  This is where Bonnie shows that, unlike Clyde, she knows that death is inescapable but she also knows that she and Clyde are destined to be legends.

(Of course, Dunaway and Warren Beatty — two performers who once epitomized an era but who are only seen occasionally nowadays — are already legends.)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Arthur Penn Edition


4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.

103 years ago today, Arthur Penn was born in Philadelphia.  In the 50s, Penn was one of the new crop of directors who made a name for themselves directing for television.  Like most of his colleagues, he transitioned into film.  Unlike many of his colleagues, he remained a fiercely iconoclastic director, one who was willing to challenge the conventions of Hollywood.  While his early films often struggled at the box office, he was respected by actors and hailed as a visionary by the directors of the French New Wave.

In 1967, he and Warren Beatty changed the course of American cinema with Bonnie and Clyde.  Penn followed up that classic film with movies like Alice’s Restaurant, Little Big Man, Night Moves, and a handful of others.  When he died in 2010, Penn was hailed as one of the most influential (if sometimes underrated) directors of all time.

Today, in honor of the anniversary of his birth, the Shattered Lens offers up….

4 Shots From 4 Arthur Penn Films

The Chase (1966, dir by Arthur Penn, DP: Joseph LaShelle)

Bonnie and Clyde (1967, dir by Arthur Penn, DP: Burnett Guffey)

Alice’s Restaurant (1969, dir by Arthur Penn, DP: Michael Nebbia)

Little Big Man (1970, dir by Arthur Penn, DP: Harry Stradling Jr)

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix for Sixteen Candles!


As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly watch parties.  On Twitter, I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday and I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday.  On Mastodon, 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, I will be hosting #FridayNightFlix!  The movie?  Sixteen Candles!

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

See you there!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Horrorthon Preview


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!

With October approaching, it will soon be time for our annual Horrorthon here at the Shattered Lens.  We’ve been working hard getting things ready!  Here are 4 shots from 4 of the many films that we will be reviewing this October.

4 Shots From 4 Horror Films

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, dir by Robert Wiene)

Last House on the Left (1972, dir by Wes Craven)

The Grapes of Death (1978, dir by Jean Rollin)

The Shining (1980, dir by Stanley Kubrick)

 

Scenes That I Love: Linda Hamilton in The Terminator


Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to actress Linda Hamilton.

This scene that I love is the haunting conclusion of the original Terminator.  Even with the Terminator (momentarily) vanquished, there’s still a storm coming.