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 →

Bad Girls We Love: Serleena from Men in Black II

I’ve never been particularly enamored with the Men in Black films. I like the first one, but my appreciation for it never rose to the level of love. I realize this puts me in the minority, but I would probably enjoy the MIB movies more if they made one important casting change. I’ll freely admit … Continue reading Bad Girls We Love: Serleena from Men in Black II →

Lost and Found: Revolver

Few actors have ever commanded the screen with as much intensity as English actor Oliver Reed. For a long time growing up, I knew him mostly as “Uncle” Frank, from Ken Russell’s bonkers film adaptation of The Who’s Tommy (1975). Reed was mesmerizing in a performance that’s both menacing and hilarious. Over the years I’ve … Continue reading Lost and Found: Revolver →

Play Ball

Before the Super Bowl I waxed nostalgic about growing up watching football with my father and how the sport doesn’t hold a lot of appeal to me since he passed away. The same holds true for “America’s pastime,” baseball. In 1951, Marilyn Monroe, know as “the Blonde Bombshell” batted a stellar .327 with 28 home … Continue reading Play Ball →