10 Films For The Weekend (5/30/25)

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are ten films that I recommend checking out this weekend. These films are all streaming so, if you’re stuck inside due to weather or crippling depression, give them a shot!

In Honor of Clint Eastwood

Saturday will be Clint Eastwood’s 95th birthday. Clint’s career has stretched from the 50s t0 the present day. (Though some thought he might retire after 2024’s Juror #2, Eastwood is reportedly working on a new film.) We’ll be posting a lot of Eastwood reviews tomorrow but I want to take the time right now to mention three of his films that will be streaming this weekend.

First off, 2024’s legal thriller, Juror #2 (which I consider to be the best film of 2024), is still streaming on Max. Featuring excellent performances from Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette, Juror #2 is an entertaining courtroom thriller that, in its efficient and non-flashy way, shows that Eastwood is still one of the best directors work.

Clint Eastwood was 88 years old when he gave one of his best performances in 2018’s The Mule. The Mule tells the true story of a 90 year-old widower who found a second job smuggling drugs across the country for a Mexican cartel. Eastwood gives a likable performance as someone who is definitely not an action hero but who gets a second lease on life by working with some very dangerous people. This film is tense, poignant, and surprisingly funny at time. It’s on Netflix.

Also on Netflix is 2014’s American Sniper, a film that Eastwood directed. Bradley Cooper gives a strong performance as Chris Kyle and Eastwood direction will leave you breathless. This film was controversial when it was released. It had only been two years since Eastwood gave his speech at the Republican Convention and, amongst the online crowd, there was still a lot of anger at him. (Considering that the online critics often presented themselves as being film experts, it was surprising how many of them apparently did not know that Eastwood was, at the time, a lifelong Republican. Apparently, he’s currently registered as a Libertarian.) Personally, I don’t find American Sniper to be a political film. Eastwood’s made a lot of films about war and he’s never been one to glorify it. Instead, as with many of Eastwood’s films, it’s a character study of man who has to learn how to live with his actions.

Here’s Some More Action

If you’re in the mood for some non-Eastwood action, here’s some suggestions.

Rolling Thunder (1978), starring William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones, is both a revenge film and a look at the struggle of two men returning to a country that they no longer recognize. Devane and Jones’s characters have recently returned from a Vietnamese POW camp. When Devane’s wife and son are killed by bandits and Devane’s hand is lost in a garbage disposal, he and Jones join forces to “clean them up.” This film is a favorite of Quentin Tarantino’s and I personally consider it to be one of the best Texas-set films ever made. Devane has never been better and Jones deserved an Oscar for his performance as the emotionally shattered and withdrawn vet who comes to life when it time to “kill a bunch of people.” Rolling Thunder is currently on Tubi.

Jeff says that The Delta Force (1986) is the greatest film of all time. And while I personally don’t think that’s possible as long as Money Plane exists, I will say that there is something very emotionally satisfying about watching Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin take out a bunch of terrorists. I dare you not to shed a tear when George Kennedy’s priest walks to the front of the plane and declares that if the terrorists are taking the Jewish passengers hostage, they’ll have to take him as well because “I’m Jewish.” The Delta Force can be found on Tubi and Prime.

Finally, I don’t think Brad would forgive me if I left out Charles Bronson. Breakheart Pass (1975) is an interesting and unfairly overlooked Bronson western, one that mixes a genuine murder mystery with all the action that one could hope for. Playing a 19th century detective on a train, Bronson more than holds his own against an impressive array character actors, including Charles Durning and Ben Johnson. It can currently be viewed on Tubi and Prime.

Odds and Ends

I read a story this week that France is planning on banning outdoor smoking. Seriously, what is happening to that country? How did they go from being the country of sexy ennui to the country that bans smoking? It’s a shame. If you want to remember France the way it was and the way it should still be, check out Jean-Luc Godard’s classic Breathless (1960), a film that still packs quite a stylistic punch. Jean-Luc Belmondo is the ultimate existential outlaw. Jean Seberg is the perfect femme fatale beatnik. The ending remains haunting and unforgettable. Belmondo would never let anyone tell him whether or not he could smoke. The film is currently streaming on Max.

Uh-oh! This weekend might be your last chance to see my favorite film of 2020, Money Plane, on Tubi! (It’s currently listed in the dreaded “Leaving Soon” category.) Ignore what the critics not named Lisa might tell you. Money Plane is an absolute blast. If for no other reason, see it for Kelsey Grammer’s wonderfully unhinged performance as the Rumble. For now, Money Plane is on Tubi and Prime.

Also listed as “Leaving Soon,” is Dario Argento’s classic directorial debut, Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970). One of the best giallo films ever, Argento’s thriller continues to be a twisted delight, featuring excellent performance from Tony Mustante and Suzy Kendall and one death scene that literally makes me put my hands over my eyes every time I watch the movie. This is one of the great shockers. For now, it can be found on Tubi and Prime.

Finally, The Last Movie Star (2017) is a flawed film but it features a wonderful, late career performance from Burt Reynolds. The Last Movie Star pays tribute to both Reynolds as an actor and a cinematic icon. It can be found on Tubi.

Check out last week’s suggestions here!

Scenes That I Love: Burt Reynolds Meets Burt Reynolds in The Last Movie Star

Posted on January 2, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the national speed limit is 50 years old.

Boooo!

Yes, it was 50 years ago today that President Richard Nixon signed the law that set the national speed limit as being 55 miles per hour. Perhaps this was Nixon’s final revenge on a nation that was making a huge deal out of Watergate. Who knows?

In honor of the occasion, today’s scene that I love is from 2018’s overlooked The Last Movie Star. In this scene, an elderly Burt Reynolds finds himself transported back to the days of Smokey and the Bandit, where he meets his younger self and takes a ride in a famous black sportscar. It turns out that the two Burts do not agree when it comes to observing the posted speed limit.

Catching Up With The Films of 2018: The Last Movie Star (dir by Adam Rifkin)

Posted on December 25, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Vic Edwards (Burt Reynolds) was once the biggest movie star in the world.

At times, that’s hard to believe. Vic may have started out as a stunt man before moving on to star in westerns and action movies but Vic is now 80 and he moves slowly and with a permanent slouch. At times, he appears to be so frail that you wonder how he even manages to get out of bed in the morning. Though he still possesses the acerbic wit for which was once famous, the words now come out a lot slower and his voice is tinged with pain that is both physical and emotional. It’s been a while since Vic appeared on a movie set. After years of being a self-described asshole, Vic now spends most of his time alone. His only friend appears to be his aging agent, Sonny (Chevy Chase).

When Vic receives an invitation to attend a film festival in Nashville and accept a career achievement award, Vic goes in hopes of not only getting his ego stroked but also visiting some of the places where he grew up. It’s only once Vic has arrived that he discovers that the film festival is basically a group of wannabe hipsters hanging out in the back of a bar. Under the direction of Doug (Clark Duke), the film festival has previously given lifetime achievement awards to everyone from Al Pacino to Robert De Niro. Vic’s the first recipient to actually show up.

After a night of watching a younger version of himself and answering inane questions about his career and his turbulent personal life, Vic comforts himself by getting drunk and yelling at Doug and his friends. The next day, while the film festival continues, Vic get Doug’s sister, Lil (Ariel Winter), to drive him around Tennessee. Vic wants to visit the places of his youth. As for Lil, she just wants to get rid of her cranky passenger so that she can deal with her emotionally abusive boyfriend.

As you probably already guessed, in The Last Movie Star, Burt Reynolds may have been cast as a character named Vic Edwards but he was basically playing himself. (Director Adam Rifkin has said that he would have abandoned the film if Reynolds had turned down the role) When Vic watches himself onscreen, the clips are from Burt Reynolds’s old movies. When Vic falls asleep and has a dream in which he confronts his younger self, the film uses footage from Deliverance and Smoky and the Bandit. (“Slow down!” Vic yells as the cocky, younger version of him speeds down a country road.) When Vic considers his own mortality, it’s obvious that the aging and frail Reynolds was doing the same thing.

At the start of the film, both Vic and Reynolds seem so infirm that you wonder how he’ll ever make it through the weekend. But, as the film progresses, an interesting thing happens. Before our eyes, both Vic and the actor playing him become stronger. His confidence returns and, as Vic confronts the past, we finally start to see some hints of the old charisma that once made him the world’s biggest film star. As we watch the film, we realize that his body may be weak but his mind is still sharp. We come to realize that Vic now understands that he will die someday but he’s still not going to give up. He may accept his own mortality but he’s not going to surrender to it.

That Burt Reynolds passed away just a few month after The Last Movie Star was released adds an extra poignance to his performance in the film. The Last Movie Star has its flaws. The pacing is inconsistent and, when it comes to Vic relationship with Lil, the film too often falls back on anti-millennial clichés. In the end, the film works best as a tribute to its star. The film argues, quite convincingly, that if anyone deserved to be known as the last movie star, it was him.