The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games

The 1970s-1980s arcade ads are so gloriously retro now that you can almost see the console lights blinking and flashing, smell the acrid odor of teenage boys working up a sweat gunning for high score on Centipede, and hear the myriad sounds of bleeps, booms, and other onomatopoeia bouncing around the room. The later, home … Continue reading The Art of the Ad: Sex, Lies, and Video Games →

“Exquisite romantic pain”: Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Martin Scorsese’s masterful 1993 adaptation of Edith Wharton’s heartbreaking novel The Age of Innocence, which traces the tragic, Gilded Age romance between Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer). No surprise there, as it’s quite possibly my favorite Scorsese film—which always shocks fans of Goodellas … Continue reading “Exquisite romantic pain”: Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence →

The Horror Movie Poster Art of Enzo Sciotti

Italian artist Enzo Sciotti, who passed away in April 2021, always comes to mind during the scary season for me. His horror movie poster artwork, so lurid and lush, was filled with women in peril, knife-wielding maniacs, and grotesque creatures of the night. During his peak period in the 1970s through the 1980s, Sciotti illustrated … Continue reading The Horror Movie Poster Art of Enzo Sciotti →

“Everything I want is in this room”: Happy Anniversary, Frankie and Johnny

I’ve loved an awful lot of movies in my life, but none more than Frankie and Johnny, which opened thirty-one years ago today, October 10, 1991. The superlatives for this movie are endless. A career-best performance from Michelle Pfeiffer as Frankie, a 30-something New York City diner waitress who’s been hurt badly in the past … Continue reading “Everything I want is in this room”: Happy Anniversary, Frankie and Johnny →

They Want to Suck Your Blood

October is all about chilly, cozy autumn vibes and binging all things horror. I relish these 31 days spent gorging on scary novels, short stories, movies, art, podcasts, television, comics, you name it and I’m feasting on all the horror right now. Speaking of feasting—what a segue—vampires are one of the stars of October, no … Continue reading They Want to Suck Your Blood →

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 →

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 →