Words Seem Out Of Place

Everybody knows I love Frankie and Johnny . Everybody knows that, hard as it is to choose a favorite, Frankie will always have my heart when it comes to Michelle Pfeiffer characters. So, pardon me if you've heard or read all of this from me before, but here are just a few reasons why I love everything about this beautiful film. Sometimes you form such a personal connection with a film that you can't even imagine who you would be without it in your life. Frankie and Johnny  (1991) is that film for me. It hooked me first time I saw it, thanks to e xtraordinary performances from the two leads, Michelle Pfeiffer as Frankie and Al Pacino as Johnny; a sensational supporting cast, including Nathan Lane, Kate Nelligan, and Hector Elizondo; that sublime Marvin Hamlisch score; and Terrence McNally's exquisite adaptation of his own off-Broadway play, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Together, these elements combine to create something truly magical. I've been liv...

This week marks a sad anniversary for fans of popular culture: the death of Marilyn Monroe,  né  Norma Jeane Baker. Marilyn left us far too soon, on August 4, 1962. Countless books and movies and articles and first-hand accounts have tried to capture the essence of a woman who will forever be known as  the blonde bombshell, the sexiest sex symbol to ever walk the earth, and the greatest pop culture icon of the American twentieth century. Much of Marilyn's sex goddess appeal first bloomed during her early modeling days, like when she squeezed herself into a too-small sweater and barely-there skirt for a 1940s photoshoot. As noted in a 2012 Daily Mail article , Norma Jeane eliminated  the blouse as well as the bra and camisole worn under it. She then took a red cardigan, turned it around, and buttoned it up the back. The sweater clung to her breasts; she called it her ‘magic sweater’.  She wore the sweater backwards! Ingenious. The rest, as they s...

"I dropped out of Oxford, and now I only speak Russian with the woman who gives me a bikini-wax. See what Hollywood does to you?" "Apparently, I'm very good at firing a gun without blinking, which is unusual. That's why so many action characters have to wear sunglasses during shoot-out scenes. That's my party trick." "Someone once said that you can make the choice between getting old and getting creepy, and I think getting old is the way to go." ***** Before I begin, here's a haiku that took me at least ten seconds to write: Ah, Kate Beckinsale.  We'd gladly live with you, in your Underworld Yeah, so, I'm a fan. I've always been a fan of Kate Beckinsale, especially as the vampire Death Dealer Selene in the action/horror franchise  Underworld  (five films and counting now) and as a young upwardly mobile publishing professional in Whit Stillman's masterpiece of earl...

Selections from Nicole Kidman's  filmography that demonstrate her extraordinary talent and risk-taking commitment. I'm often asked if there are other actors I might be interested in giving the Michelle Pfeiffer treatment—a series of reviews offering a thorough career retrospective.  The short answer? No. But, if I'm being honest, yes, there are a few performers whose careers I'd like to explore in a similar series of posts. Although I have no desire to do an entire run through anyone else's filmography—mostly because I'm only that obsessively interested in Pfeiffer's career, but also because I just don't have the time to do it for another actor—certain actors do leap to mind. Vera Farmiga. Al Pacino. Winona Ryder. Michael Keaton. Gina Gershon. One legend stands out in my mind as particularly deserving of special attention, so much that I could imagine doing closer to a dozen or more reviews of her work: the inimitable Nicole Kidman . ...

“It would be immodest to say I’m terrific fun, but I am — I have a good time.” ***** Sylvia Miles passed away recently at 94, after a good, long life full of movies and parties. She was the epitome of New York cool, the #1 Partygoer in Manhattan . She was synonymous with the sort of decadent mid to late century New York City social scene that only lives on today in photos, and of course the memories and stories of those who lived it. She was so effortlessly cool in Midnight Cowboy , while also masterfully revealing her character's sadness and insecurities. Her Oscar-nominated supporting performance in the only X-rated film to ever win an Academy Award,  Midnight Cowboy (1969), is so extraordinarily memorable, especially when you consider she only had somewhere around ten minutes of screen time to make such a lasting impression. Seeing that film when I did, as a young college student becoming more obsessed with cinema by the day, was a seminal moment, and Mil...