4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Joseph Kosinski Edition


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, TSL wishes a happy birthday to director Joseph Kosinski!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Joseph Kosinski Films

Tron: Legacy (2010, dir by Joseph Kosinski, DP: Claudio Miranda)

Oblivion (2013, dir by Joseph Kosinski, DP: Claudio Miranda)

Only The Brave (2017, dir by Joseph Kosinski, DP: Claudio Miranda)

Top Gun: Maverick (2022, dir by Joseph Kosinski, DP: Claudio Miranda)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special 1932 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 take a look at a classic cinematic year.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 1932 Films

The Blood of a Poet (1932, dir by Jean Cocteau, DP: Georges Piranal)

Shanghai Express (1932, dir by Josef von Sternberg, DP: Lee Garmes and James Wong Howe)

Trouble In Paradise (1932, dir by Ernst Lubitsch, DP: Victor Milner)

Vampyr (1932, dir by Carl Theodor Dreyer, DP: Rudolph Mate)

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Wes Anderson Edition


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 Texas’s own Wes Anderson!  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Wes Anderson Films

Rushmore (1998, dir by Wes Anderson, DP: Robert Yeoman)

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

The French Dispatch (2021, dir by Wes Anderson, DP: Robert Yeoman)

Asteroid City (2023. dir by Wes Anderson, DP: Robert Yeoman)

Brad’s “Scene of the Day” – Jill Clayburgh as Jill Ireland and Lance Henriksen as Charles Bronson 


Jill Clayburgh would have been 81 years old today. She was quite an actress, receiving 2 Academy Award nominations during her career for her performances in the films AN UNMARRIED WOMAN (1978) and STARTING OVER (1979). She will always be special to me based on her performance as Jill Ireland in the 1991 Made-for-TV film REASON FOR LIVING: THE JILL IRELAND story. Clayburgh passed away in 2010 after a long struggle with leukemia.

6 Shots From 6 Films: Special 1996 Edition


6 Shots From 6 Films is just what it says it is, 6 shots from 6 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 6 Shots From 6 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, we take a look at a classic cinematic year.  It’s time for….

6 Shots From 6 1996 Films

Breaking the Waves (1996, dir by Lars Von Trier, DP: Robby Muller)

The Stendhal Syndrome (1996, dir by Dario Argento, DP: Giuseppe Rotunno)

Fargo (1996, dir by the Coen Brothers, DP: Roger Deakins)

Trainspotting (1996, dir by Danny Boyle, DP: Brian Tufano)

Basquiat (1996, dir by Julian Schnabel, DP: Ron Fortunato)

Normal Life (1996, dir by John McNaughton, DP: Jean de Segonzac)

#MondayMuggers presents THE RIVER MURDERS (2011) starring Ray Liotta, Ving Rhames & Christian Slater!


Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. Tonight, Monday April 28th, Sierra has chosen THE RIVER MURDERS (2011) starring Ray Liotta, Ving Rhames, Christian Slater, and Raymond J. Barry. 

The plot revolves around a homicide detective (Liotta) who becomes the prime suspect in a series of murders when the FBI uncovers his close personal ties to all of the victims.

This sounds pretty good to me, so join us tonight for #MondayMuggers and watch THE RIVER MURDERS! It’s on Amazon Prime. The trailer is included below:

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special 1953 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 take a look at a classic cinematic year.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 1953 Films

From Here To Eternity (1953, dir by Fred Zinnemann, DP: Floyd Crosby and Burnett Guffey)

Fear and Desire (1953, dir by Stanley Kubrick, DP: Stanley Kubrick)

Pickup on South Street (1953, dir by Samuel Fuller, DP: Joseph MacDonald)

The War of the Worlds (1953, dir by Byron Haskin, DP: George Barnes)

Brad’s Scene of the Day – Jet Li in LETHAL WEAPON 4 (1998)!


Happy 62nd Birthday, Jet Li!!

I had never heard of Jet Li until I saw a trailer for LETHAL WEAPON 4 that mentioned him. Now, as a rabid fan of Hong Kong cinema, I consider him a legend. And the scene that started it all for me is this badass scene where he dismantles Riggs, Murtaugh, their guns and their family members. Enjoy, my friends!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Douglas Sirk Edition


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!

128 years ago, on this date, Douglas Sirk was born in Germany.  He would start out his career as a stage director in Germany before coming to the United States in 1937.  In the U.S., he made his mark as the director of a series of lushly visualized and often over-the-top melodramas.  Never a critical favorite, Sirk was rediscovered and his reputation rehabilitated when film students and critics started to reexamine his work in the late 60s and the 70s.  Once dismissed as the maker of tawdry (if popular) melodramas, Douglas Sirk is now seen as a subversive master of irony, one who used his melodramas to comment on American society.  It’s fair to say that, without the films of Douglas Sirk, there would be no Lifetime today.

It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Douglas Sirk Films

Magnificent Obsession (1954, dir by Douglas Sirk, DP: Russell Metty)

All That Heaven Allows (1955, dir by Douglas Sirk, DP: Russell Metty)

Written on the Wind (1956, dir by Douglas Sirk, DP: Russell Metty)

Imitation of Life (1959, dir by Douglas Sirk, DP: Russell Metty)

Brad’s Scene of Day – Al Pacino in SCENT OF A WOMAN (1992)


Al Pacino finally won his long overdue Oscar with his excellent performance as Lt. Colonel Frank Slade in SCENT OF A WOMAN. This scene where he’s “just getting warmed up” is a personal favorite and no doubt helped him bring home the gold.

Happy 85th Birthday, Mr. Pacino!