Possession
The legend of Lou Reed’s Berlin (1973), the brutal concept album about the disintegration of a marriage, goes something like this: coming off his first big solo success with Transformer (1972), Reed and producer Bob Ezrin inexplicably set out to make “the most depressing album of all time.” And if you know (and love) Berlin … Continue reading Possession
What Lies Beneath
Twenty-one years after its release, What Lies Beneath (2000) is finally available on Blu-ray. Long overdue on the format, this spooky chiller from Robert Zemekis stars Michelle Pfeiffer in one of her most underrated performances as former cellist Claire Spencer, whose life might be haunted. It’s also her film, as she’s in almost every scene, … Continue reading What Lies Beneath
From the Vault: Eyes of Laura Mars
This essay first appeared, in slightly different form, at my old site, four years ago. Eyes of Laura Mars is a favorite slasher/American giallo-style horror film of mine, so Halloween season feels like the perfect time to revisit it. As its title indicates, Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) is especially concerned with eyes, and specifically … Continue reading From the Vault: Eyes of Laura Mars
The Writing is the Juice
“Why can’t I write something that would awake the dead? That pursuit is what burns most deeply.” Patti Smith, Just Kids The writers who’ve inspired me the most over the years share a knack for expressing complex, often-conflicting feelings in potent, artful prose that captures my own complex, often-conflicting feelings. Writers like Joan Didion, Lester … Continue reading The Writing is the Juice
From the Vault: Kelly Bundy and the Alternative Family Ideal
This was originally published at my old site four years ago. I’ve revised it a bit to share here because of actress Christina Applegate’s recent disclosure that she has multiple sclerosis. Applegate holds a special place in my heart and has since I was roughly 12 years old, thanks to her funny and sexy performance … Continue reading From the Vault: Kelly Bundy and the Alternative Family Ideal
Afraid
I’m afraid. I’m afraid to be alone, I’m afraid not to be alone. I’m afraid of what I am, what I’m not, what I might become, what I might never become. I don’t want to stay at my job for the rest of my life but I’m afraid to leave. And I’m just tired, you … Continue reading Afraid
Sea of Love
“I feel like a fucking teenager.” Det. Frank Keller, Sea of Love Knocked silly, knocked flat, sideways downThese things they pick you up and turn you aroundSay your pieceSay you’re sweet for me REM, “Me In Honey” Teenage love and lust in all its messy and passionate glory is the ultimate love, right? I mean, … Continue reading Sea of Love
Birthing the Brood Takes Time
Thirty seconds after you’re born you have a past and sixty seconds after that you begin to lie to yourself about it. Julianna Kelly (Nuala Fitzgerald), The Brood, 1979 It’s been almost two months since I last updated this space. Not for lack of trying, mind you, though lately there’s been less trying and more … Continue reading Birthing the Brood Takes Time
The Bat and the Cat
In The Brave and the Bold #197 (April 1983, DC Comics) Alan Brennert penned what I consider to be the definitive Batman/Bruce Wayne and Catwoman/Selina Kyle story. One of comics’ longest-running and most storied romances, the Bat and the Cat had already been flirting shamelessly and stealing kisses for more than four decades by the … Continue reading The Bat and the Cat
Oceans of Time
“Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who finds… true love?” Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) is peak cinematic romantic-horror for many of us, replete with thematic concerns that resonate … Continue reading Oceans of Time
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