Tequila Sunrise

It's been a week or two now since I revisited Robert Towne's criminally underrated neo-noir classic Tequila Sunrise (1988), and I'm still obsessing over falling in love again with both the film and Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance. A sharp Towne script, packed with crackling dialogue, along with gorgeous cinematography from Oscar-winner Conrad Hall and a stellar … Continue reading Tequila Sunrise →

Back to School Again…Maybe

Grease 2 is on my mind a lot under normal circumstances, but with school districts and states across the United States unveiling the myriad, well-meaning but crazy-complicated and nerve-wracking plans for sending children back into Covid Petri dishes....well, I’m thinking about Grease 2 even more these days. I won’t bore you with the details. Short … Continue reading Back to School Again…Maybe →

Bombshells and Sunshine

Earlier this week, a friend on social media posted a set of four photos of Michelle Pfeiffer, taken from various early career projects, and asked if anyone could name the films and television series. As you might imagine, I moved faster than the speed of light to answer. My fingers started tapping so fast and … Continue reading Bombshells and Sunshine →

Fast Times with Phoebe

Legendary 1980s star Phoebe Cates turns 57 today. For many Gen Xers, Cates was the only religion we cared about back then. Her memorable monologue in Gremlins has remained an annual holiday favorite, which I’ve written about previously. Her roles in Private School and Drop Dead Fred were big favorites, but it was her work … Continue reading Fast Times with Phoebe →

40 Years of Dark Phoenix

The culmination of several years' worth of serialized storytelling, Marvel's Uncanny X-Men #137 hit newsstands and comic book shops forty years ago this summer. I didn’t read it until 1984, when it was collected in this then-newfangled thing called a graphic novel, which I begged my mother to buy for me from the local bookstore, … Continue reading 40 Years of Dark Phoenix →

Faith and Sweet Liberty

Today America celebrates its independence. Honestly, between the embarrassing and dangerous totalitarian tyrant in the White House and the coronavirus spreading like wildfire through the heartland and Deep South, there isn’t much to celebrate these days. So let’s celebrate something we can all get behind: Michelle Pfeiffer in Alan Alda’s largely forgotten midlife crisis film … Continue reading Faith and Sweet Liberty →

The Pfeiffer Woman

"Yeah, I'm free everyday. It's in the Constitution." - Stephanie Zinone, Grease 2 "What scares me isn't how short life is, no, it's the pain, all the pain. I don't understand why there has to be any pain." - Sukie Ridgemont, The Witches of Eastwick "What are you, the last civilized man?" - Laura Alden, … Continue reading The Pfeiffer Woman →