Bad Girls We Love: Jane Mitchell from Zapped!

Zapped! (1982) is the heartwarming story of high school science geek Barney (Scott Baio, years before we knew how evil he was), who develops the power to move things with his mind after a lab accident, just like a Marvel Comics character. After slamming doors and flinging objects across rooms with an arched eyebrow and … Continue reading Bad Girls We Love: Jane Mitchell from Zapped! →

Howl at the Moon

The year's biggest supermoon is illuminating the night sky this week. So of course my mind conjures thoughts of the glorious Jack Nicholson-Michelle Pfeiffer collaboration, Mike Nichol's howlin' at the moon look at a midlife crisis, Wolf (1994). I'm picturing a hirsute Jack making jokes about the Hair Club for Men, and a flawless Michelle … Continue reading Howl at the Moon →

Between the Lines

I adore hangout movies. What's a "hangout movie," you ask? Well, it's a movie where a group of characters do exactly what it says—they hang out together, often at work, in bars, apartments, or anywhere, really. They're often found-family films also, and the workplace is central to many of them because sometimes the people you … Continue reading Between the Lines →

James Caan, 1940–2022

“I have run out of time. I have lost it all. So I can't work fast enough to catch up. I can't run fast enough to catch up. And the only thing that catches me up is doing my magic act.” Rest In Paradise to the man, the myth, the legend, James Caan, who passed … Continue reading James Caan, 1940–2022 →

From the Vault: Logan’s Run

Logan’s Run was released this week in 1976. Here’s my brief ode from several years back to the retro-futuristic-by-way-of-the-1970s stylings of a cult classic. This piece has been slightly revised from its original form. It's interesting and probably not that surprising that so many future-set science fiction films of the 1970s didn't look anything like … Continue reading From the Vault: Logan’s Run →

Honey, I’m Home: Batman Returns at 30

Earlier this week it was Grease 2 turning forty. June is a big release month for epic Michelle Pfeiffer performances and pfilms, so today we celebrate Tim Burton's phantasmagoria of gothic opulance Batman Returns, which turns thirty. In a world full of people willing to claim that the recent The Batman is the greatest Batman … Continue reading Honey, I’m Home: Batman Returns at 30 →

Still the Coolest Rider: Stephanie Zinone and Grease 2 at 40

We adore certain movies with such fervent, exuberant, out-of-control and infinite love that they feel like an inextricable part of our lives. There is no us without them. I feel this way about quite a few of Michelle Pfeiffer’s movies, and one of them is celebrating its fortieth anniversary today. Grease 2 might’ve been considered … Continue reading Still the Coolest Rider: Stephanie Zinone and Grease 2 at 40 →