Michelle Pfeiffer: An Alternate Oscar History

On the occasion of the 94th Annual Academy Awards being handed out tonight, I thought it might be fun to right some wrongs and list ten times Michelle Pfeiffer deserved an Oscar nomination. You see, she's only received three Oscar nods in her career, which is utterly insulting when you consider the breadth of excellent, … Continue reading Michelle Pfeiffer: An Alternate Oscar History →

So long Stacy, and thanks for all the Pfeiffer

Stacy. I’ve started this, deleted portions, and started over several times now. I guess I'm just trying to reconcile that you’re gone. It still doesn't seem real. Cancer, though, is as real as it gets, and fuck that merciless disease for taking you away from your life, your family, your animals, your friends. God, how … Continue reading So long Stacy, and thanks for all the Pfeiffer →

Hurricane Nomi

We knew nothing of Nomi Malone’s past, sordid or otherwise, when we signed the leggy, athletic, and disturbingly enthusiastic stripper—sorry, dancer!—for a residency at the Starfire Lounge. She mentioned something offhand about dancing in Vegas before she took the stage and shook her sweet ass for us. I don’t know if what she did was … Continue reading Hurricane Nomi →

Monica Vitti, the Face of Italian Cinema

Long ago, in a different lifetime, deep in the bowels of the college library, I poured over the pages of Sight & Sound, Film Quarterly, and other esteemed cinema journals, along with the collected reviews of Pauline Kael, among other prominent critics. Those afternoons and evenings, spent alone with only what felt like the entirety … Continue reading Monica Vitti, the Face of Italian Cinema →

The Neon Demon

I finally watched Nicholas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon (2016) and can’t quite shake its gorgeous aesthetic and haunting mood. Seeing as it’s set in the high-stakes Los Angeles fashion world, it comes as no surprise that nearly every single character is a vapid, raging, sociopathic narcissist. Elle Fanning plays the supernaturally beautiful teenage model … Continue reading The Neon Demon →

Eyes of Angela De Marco

Jonathan Demme’s gloriously eccentric and refreshingly sweet Married to the Mob (1988) is one of the ultimate comfort movies for me. So I watch it a lot. And every time I’m struck by the same thought: it’s clear that Demme knew what he had in Michelle Pfeiffer’s face and, most importantly, he knew what do … Continue reading Eyes of Angela De Marco →

On Sirius, Harry, and Family

I’ve been rewatching every Harry Potter film with my kids for like the fourth time in maybe two months, and each pass through a couple things really stand out. Harry’s relationship with his surrogate father Sirius Black touches every one of my paternal heartstrings. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Gary Oldman and Daniel Radcliffe shared … Continue reading On Sirius, Harry, and Family →