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 →

Cheetos, Candy, and the Light: Dangerous Minds at 25

Continuing the theme of back to school from my last post, I've been thinking a lot about how classrooms won't look or feel the same this year. And classrooms now also include the living rooms, kitchen tables, or dens of American households, as so many of us will be working from home and overseeing our … Continue reading Cheetos, Candy, and the Light: Dangerous Minds at 25 →

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 →

High Priestess of Horror

“I think it's very amazing that I do horror films when I had this awful childhood. But maybe that's why I'm good at it.” Ingrid Pitt grew up in Nazi occupied Poland. She survived the concentration camps. A few years later she was a young mother who started a career in film at a time … Continue reading High Priestess of Horror →

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 →