Published inFanfare ·Mar 7, 2022 Member-only Nobody Trusts Anybody: The Novelization of ‘The Thing’ is Even Darker Than the Movie The book was inspired by the script and has unfilmed scenes — Last year, beloved filmmaker Quentin Tarantino published a novel based on the script for his movie “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”. The book’s success rekindled popular interest in novelizations — those paperbacks with the literary version of movies sold at a time when the concept of “home video” didn’t… Movies 31 min read Movies 31 min read
Dec 10, 2021 Random Opinions — Benedetta (2021) Movie about horny nuns is more harmless than it sounds — There is a masterpiece out there, directed by one of the most controversial European filmmakers ever, about nuns, desire, witchcraft, and the Holy Inquisition. This film has strong images involving Catholicism icons (even Jesus Christ himself!), … Movies 6 min read Movies 6 min read
Nov 30, 2021 Random Opinions — Last Night in Soho (2021) Amazing sounds and images in a shallow mystery plot — Every teenager from the 1980s/90s certainly made or listened to mixtapes — those compilations of music from different albums/artists/styles recorded on cassette or CD-R to liven up parties. Mixtapes rarely stood out from the commonplace, but sometimes you found some really special selections that were pure fun while they… Movies 6 min read Movies 6 min read
Published inFanfare ·Nov 18, 2021 Member-only Every change in the new Stallone’s cut of ‘Rocky IV’ A detailed analysis of all the cuts and additions — With COVID-19 forcing humanity to lockdown, many people took advantage of the year 2020 at home to tinker with projects that had been stopped for a long time. Some even tried to improve things that were already done. It was the case of Sylvester Stallone. Locked at home with nothing… Film 33 min read Film 33 min read
Published inFanfare ·Sep 30, 2021 Member-only When the Overuse of Stock Photos Creates an Unexpected ‘Star System’ Familiar faces keep appearing on cheap movie covers — There’s an evil woman crawling on the DVD cover of a horror movie, promising nail-biting suspense and skin-chilling terror. But then you watch the film and discover that the evil woman isn’t even there. … Film 8 min read Film 8 min read
Published inHistory of Yesterday ·Sep 20, 2021 Member-only I Really Read It for the Articles: An Analysis of Playboy’s First Issue Published in 1953, the magazine is an interesting time capsule — Back in the 1950s, the concept of men’s magazines was still very far from what we understand today. The first publications of the genre were harmless: Stag (created in 1937), Peek (which hit newsstands in 1938), and Laff (quite popular in the 1940s) used to publish articles about literature, music… Culture 23 min read Culture 23 min read
Published inBooks Are Our Superpower ·Sep 14, 2021 Member-only ‘Foucault’s Pendulum’ and How Conspiracy Theories are Born Umberto Eco’s book plays with our obsession with secrets — Have you ever heard of QAnon? According to far-right theorists, it is a secret sect formed by Satanic, cannibalistic pedophiles — including Hollywood actors, Democratic politicians, and high-ranking government officials! — who operate a global child sex trafficking ring and conspire against the future of the U.S. … Books 12 min read Books 12 min read
Published inFanfare ·Sep 1, 2021 Member-only The Indonesian Film that Remade the End of ‘Friday the 13th’ Scene by Scene “Srigala” was produced when foreign ‘rip-offs’ were common — During the good ol’ days, countries with lenient copyright laws (or no copyright law at all) used to produce their own versions of Hollywood blockbusters. … Art 10 min read Art 10 min read
Published inFanfare ·Aug 21, 2021 Member-only Cruelty for the Whole Family: The 1980s Made-for-TV Films About Real-Life Serial Killers The crimes of Bundy, Gacy, and Co. inspired television dramas — There has been a lot of criticism recently about the protagonism real-life serial killers have received in American films and documentaries. … Film 18 min read Film 18 min read
Published inBooks Are Our Superpower ·Aug 11, 2021 Member-only From Book to Film: “Good Morning, Midnight” and “The Midnight Sky” Same characters, two very particular versions of the end — When George Clooney’s blockbuster “The Midnight Sky” premiered on Netflix in late 2020, many people didn’t know it was inspired by Lily Brooks-Dalton’s book “Good Morning, Midnight”. … Books 16 min read Books 16 min read