Lost and Found: Fright Night Part 2

For a stretch in the 1980s you couldn’t visit the multiplex without tripping over vampires in the lobby. The Lost Boys, Near Dark, and The Hunger are among the classics of the era. Tom Holland’s Fright Night (1985) ranks near the top of that crowded field. A near-perfect horror comedy—a genre-blend that was perfected in … Continue reading Lost and Found: Fright Night Part 2

Happy Birthday Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Marie Pfeiffer was born on April 29, 1958. Today she turns 65 and continues to mess with our preconceptions of aging. She remains impossibly beautiful and absurdly talented. The woman might just be immortal. Michelle fits the traits we often associate with the astrological sign Taurus. Stubborn, down-to-earth, cynical, compassionate, intelligent, tenacious, loyal, and … Continue reading Happy Birthday Michelle Pfeiffer

How Grease 2 Became a Cult Classic

Earlier this month, Entertainment Weekly published a double-ketchup sized oral history of one of the greatest movies ever made, Grease 2. You can read the full, lengthy piece here, comprised of interviews with nearly every important player in the film. This includes star Michelle Pfeiffer, who probably says more about the film here than she … Continue reading How Grease 2 Became a Cult Classic

Bad Girls We Love: Mona Demarkov from Romeo is Bleeding

Some cinematic performances are so highly charged, so astonishingly assured, that we can still feel the reverberations years, even decades later. Lena Olin scorching the earth as Mona Demarkov in the excellent neo-noir classic Romeo is Bleeding (1993) is one such performance. Is Mona the most sexually uninhibited and ruthless femme fatale in movie history? … Continue reading Bad Girls We Love: Mona Demarkov from Romeo is Bleeding

The Starfire Lounge Turns 3

Three years ago today, four days before my birthday and just over a month into lockdown due to a global pandemic, I sat down and registered this domain name, briefly did some site window dressing, then knocked out my first post, all in about an hour or two. It was a spontaneous act that I … Continue reading The Starfire Lounge Turns 3

The Sexiest Man Alive: Ellen Barkin in Switch

That is not a mistake in the title: Ellen Barkin is the sexiest man alive. Let me explain. Recently, while digging through DVDs looking for something in particular, I stumbled on my old copy of a movie few seem to remember these days, Switch (1991). As I held the ancient snap-case DVD in my hands … Continue reading The Sexiest Man Alive: Ellen Barkin in Switch

Queen Bettie: The Notorious Gretchen Mol

Gretchen Mol is splendid to behold in every stage of dress or undress. Todd McCarthy, Variety As an actor, how do you play one of the world’s great icons and do it even the tiniest bit of justice? This is a question Gretchen Mol must’ve wrestled with when she took on the monumental challenge of … Continue reading Queen Bettie: The Notorious Gretchen Mol