Christmas on Film

I love the look of Christmas season. The more bright, colorful lights strewn about the better, in my opinion. Mistletoe and holly and candy canes, oh my! Keep it coming. So I thoroughly enjoy when Christmas movies go all in with their yuletide vibes. In the best Christmas movies, the seasonal trappings are a key … Continue reading Christmas on Film

The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games

The 1970s-1980s arcade ads are so gloriously retro now that you can almost see the console lights blinking and flashing, smell the acrid odor of teenage boys working up a sweat gunning for high score on Centipede, and hear the myriad sounds of bleeps, booms, and other onomatopoeia bouncing around the room. The later, home … Continue reading The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games

Forty Years of Fast Times

If you grew up at a certain time—the 1980s—and in a certain place—suburban America—then there’s a better than average chance Fast Times at Ridgemont High means an awful lot to you. Earlier this year the movie celebrated its fortieth anniversary, which feels like the right time to express my undying love for it. In his … Continue reading Forty Years of Fast Times

Bad Girls We Love: Joan Collins in Everything

Normally, I select one character to spotlight in the Bad Girls We Love posts, but this time I’m throwing all the love at one legendary actress who has made a career out of playing the bad girls we love: Dame Joan Collins, or Joan Fucking Collins, as her fans affectionately call her. Or maybe that’s … Continue reading Bad Girls We Love: Joan Collins in Everything

Queen Bettie: Attack of the 50 Foot Bettie

With this ongoing series celebrating the historical, cultural, and artistic importance of Bettie Page, I’m trying to honor the legacy of a real, honest-to-goodness icon. There aren’t many of those, truly, in our popular culture. What I’m really doing with these posts is celebrating Bettie’s legacy as an artist and not so much delving into … Continue reading Queen Bettie: Attack of the 50 Foot Bettie

“Exquisite romantic pain”: Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Martin Scorsese’s masterful 1993 adaptation of Edith Wharton’s heartbreaking novel The Age of Innocence, which traces the tragic, Gilded Age romance between Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer). No surprise there, as it’s quite possibly my favorite Scorsese film—which always shocks fans of Goodellas … Continue reading “Exquisite romantic pain”: Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence