My wife and I recently enjoyed a little weekend getaway to Branson, MO. Branson is a little “tourist town” in the Ozark Mountains just across the Arkansas state line, and it’s a place I’ve been visiting my entire life. One of my favorite things to do there is to take in an evening dinner cruise and show on the Showboat Branson Belle. The weather was perfect on the night of our cruise, and after enjoying some time on the top deck, my wife snapped this picture on our way back into the boat. This picture means so many things to me… along with a beautiful sunset and a moment in our lives that felt so perfect, it also captures a flag that stands for something special, something that I could never adequately put into words. A little later that evening all of the veterans of the armed forces in the audience were asked to stand and be recognized for their service to our country. Looking at those men and women who were standing, I felt those same feelings I had felt earlier looking at the flag. I still don’t have the perfect words, but I do know that we’re blessed. Happy 4th of July, friends!
I’ve chosen Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” as my video of the day solely because my wife is in it. The music video was partially filmed in West Virginia, which is where my wife is from. She saw them at the Huntington Civic Center in Huntington, West Virginia. Portions of that concert were included in the video, as well as portions in Rochester, Chicago, Denver, Pittsburgh, and Oklahoma City. (Pictured below the video is my wife having a blast!)
So, let’s take a trip back to 1987 and enjoy “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi!
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 June 30th, we are showing DARK ANGEL: THE ASCENT (1994), starring the lovely Angela Featherstone, Daniel Markel, Nicolas Worth, Charlotte Stewart, Milton James, and Mike Genovese.
The plot: A demoness from Hell, Veronica Iscariot (Angela Featherstone), uninterested in tormenting the souls of damned sinners, ascends to the world above and finds our world full of evil and corruption. Veronica decides her mission in life is to punish the wicked and evil and goes about this with a bloody vengeance. Along the way she meets and falls in love with a doctor, Max Barris (Daniel Markel), who tends to her wounds after an accident.
So, if you think you might enjoy watching a demoness punish the wicked and evil with a bloody vengeance, while falling in love with a handsome doctor, then we just may have the movie for you! Join us tonight for #MondayMuggers and watch DARK ANGEL: THE ASCENT. It’s on Amazon Prime!
My wife Sierra and I have had a lot of stress in our life lately, so I decided to take her on a little getaway this weekend to Branson, MO. This afternoon we’ve got tickets to the Sight and Sound production of “David,” and tonight we’re going to cruise Table Rock Lake on The Branson Belle.
As good as all of this sounds, my dream town would be the place imagined by THE SIMPSONS called Bronson, MO! That has to be the safest town in the world!!
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 June 23rd, we are showing AVENGEMENT (2019) starring Scott Adkins, Craig Fairbrass, Thomas Turgoose, and Nick Moran.
Convicted felon Cain Burgess (Scott Adkins) escapes prison and heads out to take revenge on those he holds responsible. The consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is as follows:
“AVENGEMENT compensates for a lack of narrative originality with thrilling sequences of violent, bone-crunching action, elevated by Scott Adkins’ brutally intense performance.”
So, if you like “violent, bone-crunching action,” it sounds like we have the movie for you! Join us tonight for #MondayMuggers and watch AVENGEMENT! It’s on Amazon Prime. The trailer is included below:
This Friday, June 20th, at 9 pm CT, join my wife Sierra and I as we guest host for Lisa, and she continues to enjoy her vacation! We’ll be watching TWIN DRAGONS (1992), starring not just 1, but 2 Jackie Chans! It’s available on Prime!
Charles Bronson is Leo Kessler, a veteran detective who’s seen it all and has grown sick of a system of justice that he thinks favors criminals over their victims. When girls start getting murdered, he immediately suspects the arrogant Warren Stacy, played by Gene Davis in the best role of his career. When Kessler and his partner Paul McCann (Andrew Stevens) start putting the pressure on Stacy, the killer responds by going after Kessler’s daughter Laurie (Lisa Eilbacher). Needless to say, our hero will do anything to stop the madman, ANYTHING!
10 TO MIDNIGHT is a special movie in my house because it’s my wife’s favorite Charles Bronson film, even when she didn’t have any overall appreciation for Bronson as an actor. Luckily for her, she had me to introduce her to the rest of the iconic actor’s voluminous catalog of movies. I saw 10 TO MIDNIGHT myself when I was pretty young, probably 13 or so. I remember being scared that first night after I watched the movie when I was trying to go to sleep. My wife and I watched it today on my old VHS tape that I’ve owned going back to the late 1980’s.
There are several elements that elevate 10 TO MIDNIGHT above the average cop / slasher thrillers of the 1980’s. First, it’s Charles Bronson in the lead role. Bronson has such a strong presence on screen that his presence alone elevates almost any material. He looks great in the film, and the role gives him some good opportunities, as both a mentor to the young cop, and even more importantly, as a dad who wants to do better for his daughter. It’s a solid role that seems to fit Bronson like a glove. Second, we know from the very beginning of the movie that Warren Stacy is in fact the killer. We also know that the law seems to be working in his favor. And because of that, we’re on Kessler’s side as he goes to extreme lengths to stop his reign of terror. Finally, the script and director J. Lee Thompson go all in on the sex and violence. Examples include Stacy killing his often naked victims while he himself is in the nude. There is much talk in the film about items of a sexual nature and Stacy even has a sexual release device that almost has to be seen to be believed. It definitely adds a decadent and voyeuristic feel to the proceedings. And I haven’t even mentioned yet that it has one of the very best endings of any Bronson film, second only to THE MECHANIC, in my humble opinion.
I highly recommend 10 TO MIDNIGHT!
For a more detailed review of 10 TO MIDNIGHT, check out Lisa’s review from a couple of years back below:
We’re watching THE MECHANIC (1972) on our #MondayMuggers live tweet tonight (see my prior post for the details). The film is a character study of an aging hitman, that just happens to feature some awesome action sequences. In case you’re on the fence about joining us, here’s a little taste of badassery to whet your appetite!
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 June 16th, we are showing THE MECHANIC (1972) starring Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Keenan Wynn, Jill Ireland, and Frank DeKova.
In THE MECHANIC, Charles Bronson plays a hitman who takes on a young apprentice (Jan-Michael Vincent) and trains him to be a professional assassin. But in their world, you never know when you’ll go from being the killer… to becoming the next target!
I reviewed THE MECHANIC for The Shattered Lens back on New Year’s Day!
Have y’all ever danced so hard you limped for a week? I have. It was in 2020, Sierra and I were in Myrtle Beach, SC, and we were dancing to UPTOWN FUNK. I got funk’d up and it was worth every second. Enjoy my friends!
Through the Shattered Lens 