When lifelong comic book fans get together they are prone to go down rabbit holes, like, “Name the best X-Men artists of all time” or, “Give me your best Batman stories ever.” I’m as guilty as any comics geek when it comes to this tendency to go list-crazy. Recently I was thinking about a comics … Continue reading Super Threads: Five Best Live-Action Super Costumes
Category: 1980s
Lost and Found: Call Me
The poster for the long-forgotten 1988 erotic thriller Call Me is one of the simplest, yet most effective of its era. A telephone cord wrapped around a woman’s long, nylon-sheathed legs, with the tagline, “Her fantasies could be fatal.” That’s a poster that knows what type of film it’s advertising and does it perfectly. That … Continue reading Lost and Found: Call Me
Lost and Found: Fear City
Since I first discovered his work with King of New York (1990), Abel Ferrara has been one of my favorite independent filmmakers. His films’ provocative style and content defined the pre-Disney New York City for me. Ferrara documented on film the city I knew from my childhood and young adulthood, the one that scared me … Continue reading Lost and Found: Fear City
Stella
Born in Mississippi, raised in Memphis, Tennessee, actress, model, producer, director, and all-around star Stella Stevens died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in February of this year in Los Angeles, California. I’m a little late with this tribute but I wanted to do it nevertheless because Stevens was always a welcome presence in movies and … Continue reading Stella
Lost and Found: Fright Night Part 2
For a stretch in the 1980s you couldn’t visit the multiplex without tripping over vampires in the lobby. The Lost Boys, Near Dark, and The Hunger are among the classics of the era. Tom Holland’s Fright Night (1985) ranks near the top of that crowded field. A near-perfect horror comedy—a genre-blend that was perfected in … Continue reading Lost and Found: Fright Night Part 2
How Grease 2 Became a Cult Classic
Earlier this month, Entertainment Weekly published a double-ketchup sized oral history of one of the greatest movies ever made, Grease 2. You can read the full, lengthy piece here, comprised of interviews with nearly every important player in the film. This includes star Michelle Pfeiffer, who probably says more about the film here than she … Continue reading How Grease 2 Became a Cult Classic
The Starfire Lounge Turns 3
Three years ago today, four days before my birthday and just over a month into lockdown due to a global pandemic, I sat down and registered this domain name, briefly did some site window dressing, then knocked out my first post, all in about an hour or two. It was a spontaneous act that I … Continue reading The Starfire Lounge Turns 3






