NinadeL

This is a film that shaped me like no other. It would be futile to count all the reruns I've seen, all the formats in which I've watched Interview with the Vampire, and to calculate how intimately the adaptation rooted my love for Anne Rice within me. Even twenty years later, the film hasn't aged and every little detail is still fascinating. The soundtrack comes from another world, and Lestat and his story never cease to inspire. Kirsten Dunst became a legend and Antonio Banderas has never forgotten his Parisian days at Theatres des Vampires... The new series Interview with the Vampire (2022) is also great.

There have never been enough de Laclos adaptations. Interest in his transcripts peaked in the late 1980s, and I have to add that Frears' competing project means little when compared to Miloš Forman's purely auteur concept. Forman's Valmont is a gem among all his works, a balanced work of moral destruction that plays out both a playful minuet and a funeral mass at the same moment. Superb cinematography, ethereal set design, haunting music, and breathtaking performances are all a given with this film.

This film is a loss to Valmont by knockout. Glenn Close is merely interesting, and John Malkovich is a good schemer, but it's just not where it needs to be. Keanu and Uma are terrible, and thus only Michelle Pfeiffer, the costumes, and the breathtaking music feel very good to me. Sometimes I just listen to the soundtrack of a film and I feel bliss.

It’s so good that TV has made three attempts at an Eastwick series, the most successful of which had 13 episodes. The Witches of Eastwick is simply exceptional and one of the best films of the 1980s. The reigning trio of Pfeiffer, Sarandon, and Cher is as irresistible as the diabolical Nicholson. I repeat - I never get tired of its reruns.

The final installment of the Stacy Valentine trilogy (preceded by Eternal Lust and Dark Desires) promises an interesting climax to the story of Samantha Armstrong and her transformation from a housewife to a professional. This promise is kept, although Stacy doesn't get as much space as in the previous films. That’s a shame, but then again, you don't see blackmail like in the film this very often. The acting of the Cal-Vista and Metro stars is a guarantee of quality. :) James Avalon, who directed his own script, also produced the film. We can only thank Stacy for saying goodbye in such style after her fantastic career of four years. Everything that came after that was just edits...

The constantly frustrated housewife Sam Armstrong continues her fight for her husband's attention (first there was Eternal Lust, to be then countered by The Garden of Transgression). She confides in her diary and this time it’s not easy even in her secret "job." She wants to keep her freedom while making an impression in private. Can she do it? ;) Or Stacy Valentine in her classic role of a woman of two faces. The traditionally high standard of James Avalon's films is once again slightly exceeded. James also contributed to the script and editing.

A charming story as if from a successful soap opera, meaning that if you take out the XXX scenes it could be aired on regular TV and no one would be bored by it. ;) The subtitles of Dark Desires and The Garden of Transgression reveal how the plot is going to develop. This was likely the first collaboration between Stacy and James Avalon, which later developed very nicely. James also contributed to the script and editing.

This is without exaggeration an excellent time-consuming documentary about the star Stacy Valentine, whom the camera followed for over two years. Stacy works, is in a tumultuous relationship with her colleague Julien, and is focused on her career. With her proud parents (who have no issues with their daughter's profession), she goes to the 1998 Adult Video News Awards gala, which unfortunately doesn't go well, but she does get what she’s owed at the next Hot D'Or Awards. She thanks Jenna for the inspiration... Stacy talks openly about the reasons for her career choice, her failed marriage, and her plans for the future. She disproves the idea that it's ideal when two people from the industry date. It's only in private that they discover they have first-date jitters, and when they meet again at work afterward, Julien is jealous of Stacy... Stacy is very cheerful, but things aren’t easy after several plastic surgeries when she has low self-esteem and the subsequent recovery. She talks about how people like her sacrifice themselves for the desire for an unrealistically perfect appearance. However, she is rewarded with the recognition of the Monroe Touch. Yet she doesn't have many friends, much less childhood friends, because they can't share Stacy’s life with her. We accompany Stacy during the filming of White Angel and here and there we see scenes from films like A Little Piece of My Heart, Forever Night, and Sex Commandos. She sometimes wears the costume from My Horny Valentine. We also learn about a funny incident that happened during the filming of Beauty Captured and say goodbye as Stacy is working on The Devil in Miss Jones 6. She and Julien broke up, and even though he said he wouldn't date his colleagues anymore, he didn't keep that promise. Wrong... Stacy is slowly getting ready to go into retirement from the adult industry and work on her new career as a director for Penthouse. The highlight of her career is the third installment of her Red Vibe Diaries series. Her fans are grateful for that because there is only one extraordinary Ordinary Girl (by the way, that is also the title of the very aptly-chosen opening song by Naked Blue). :)

This was perfectly fine in its day. To this day, I still like to remind myself of the local variations of Val Kilmer's antagonists, because Batman Forever is simply cast unusually well in terms of the supporting roles. Tommy Lee Jones is excellent, Jim Carrey and Riddler are one and the same soul... and of course, the sexy Dr. Chase Meridian, played by the ethereal Nicole Kidman. Unfortunately, it goes downhill a bit with Chris O'Donnell, but Sugar and Spice are there, and so is good old Alfred Pennyworth.

A Batman movie? Only this one. That’s because a celebration of fascist aesthetics, cut with art deco perfection, is a union of love. This is refined filmmaking with an admiration for the perfection of sculpture. This is the story of Catwoman and The Penguin. In the early 1990s, Hollywood was refreshed by a very interesting wave that drew inspiration from the 1930s, and as kindly as the remakes were with their return to the roots of Universal's classic monsters, Burton's team understood where to get the true delights. If they needed something comic for the decadent world of New Expressionism, they chose the Ice Queen, inspired by 1940s clowns such as Betty Grable. They clearly defined the beginning of bad taste and the end of goodness. I love Michelle Pfeiffer for her ambivalent Selina and Danny De Vito for the bird-like Oswald. Michael Keaton definitely entertained here more than he did in the first film. If you have a soft spot for Batman Returns, feel free to pick up the 2 DVD release.