I’ve always enjoyed this confrontation from 1990’s Die Hard 2.
I think it accurately reflects how most cops and security people would react to having John McClane in their town (trouble does tend to follow him!) and both Bruce Willis and Dennis Franz seem to be having fun trying to irritate each other.
Today would have been Peter Graves’s birthday. Here he is, delivering one of the greatest monologues ever written, in Roger Corman’s It Conquered The World:
From 1982’s The Thing, here is one of the greatest endings in the history of horror. Kurt Russell and Keith David play two characters who might be the final survivors of the The Thing’s rampage or who might just be one human talking to one alien. With nothing to do but wait for the inevitable, the two of them share a drink and prepare to freeze.
The scene features great acting from Russell and David and great direction from John Carpenter. It’s one of those endings that you will never forget.
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to the one and only Erik Estrada!
Here he is in 1990’s Guns, bringing his customary style to the world of Andy Sidaris.
Beware the Ides of March!
The scene below is from the 1953 film, Julius Caesar. This Oscar-nominated Shakespearean adaptation had a cast that was full of distinguished actors. James Mason played Brutus. The great John Gielgud played Cassius. Louis Calhern was Caesar while other roles were filled by Deborah Kerr, Greer Garson, Edmond O’Brien, George Macready, John Hoyt, Edmund Purdom. and a host of other distinguished thespians. And yet, the best performance in the film came from an actor who, at the time, no one considered to be a Shakespearean. Marlon Brando brought his method intensity to the role of Mark Antony and the result was a performance that is still electrifying today.
Here is Marlon Brando in Julius Caesar, giving one of the best performances to not win an Oscar. Remember this the next time someone defends a film or a performance by saying that it won an Oscar. Sometimes, the best does not win. Most of the time, the best cannot even be identified until several years have passed. It’s hard to argue with William Holden winning a long overdue Oscar for his work in 1953’s Stalag 17 but still, the power of Brando’s performance is impossible to deny.
Happy Oscar Sunday!
Today’s scene that I love come from the classic Hollywood melodrama, 1966’s The Oscar!
Behold the glory that was Hollywood!
Actually, this film makes Hollywood look pretty low-rent. Hopefully, though, this will be Frankie Fane’s year. He’s paid his dues. Who else are they going to give it to? Frank Sinatra?
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy 93rrd birthday to Sir Michael Caine.
Today’s scene that I love comes from 2010’s Inception, a film that featured Caine in a small but key role. Caine shares this scene with Leonardo DiCaprio and, as good an actor as DiCaprio may be, Caine dominates from the moment he first looks up.
Since today is the second Friday the 13th of 2026, it only seems appropriate that today’s scene that I love comes from Friday the 13th Part II. In this scene, Ginny (Amy Steel) proves herself to be the only camp counselor in history to be smart enough to confuse a backwoods vagrant who wears a flour bag over his head. This scene is one of the reasons why Ginny is one of the franchise’s most popular characters.
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to the one and only Liza Minnelli. Here she is, in today’s scene that I love, performing Money with Joel Grey in 1972’s Cabaret.
Since today is Raoul Walsh’s birthday, it only makes sense that our scene that I love should come from one of Walsh’s best films.
In 1948’s White Heat, James Cagney plays Cody Jarrett, a gangster who loves his mother and goes out like a raging inferno. Here, for those who don’t mind a spoiler or two, is the end of Raoul Walsh’s White Heat.
Through the Shattered Lens 