Vanity Fair's "Vanities"

Since Vanity Fair's rebirth 25 years ago, the magazine has delivered one of the most stimulating cocktails of style, politics and investigative journalism available on the printed market. In a recent issue, the mag revealed the identity of Deep Throat, the until-then secret Watergate whistle-blower, beating even Bob Woodward to his own scoop! But we digress. Vanity Fair continues to publish outstanding, sexy pictures and portraits of celebrities from all walks of fame. My dear readers will certainly appreciate the Vanities Girls feature, a showcase of impeccable retro pin-up style photos of hot young rising starlets by the magazine's top photographers. We have seen countless attempts at reproducing the vibe of those classic pin-ups, with various degrees of (mostly) failure, but the style artists at Vanity Fair are doing an impressive job. You may browse through the selected photos published here or visit the online home of Vanities to read about the subjects of the images.

Modesty Blaise was anything but

The delightfully grrrroovy comic strip Modesty Blaise was created way back in 1963 by writer Peter O'Donnell and artists Jim Holdaway, and debuted in the London Evening Star. It ran until 2001 and spun off novels and three movies. Far from modest, the lead character is the quintessential bad girl, a reformed criminal mastermind who uses his skills and underworld contacts to pull off capers for the British secret services or to help complete strangers. Modesty's sexy adventures are loaded with elaborate conspiracies, exotic locations, abundant scenes of hand-to-hand combat and unusual weapons, not to mention fabulous outfits. In the US, the strip had erratic distribution due to its... guess... sexual content! Aside from the occasional nudity, Modesty would sometimes use a technique she called the "nailer", whereby she would appear topless in front of an enemy to cause a much needed distraction and allow for her partner or herself to dismantle the threat. As it is the case for most American fiction, one panel of partial nudity would drive censors up the wall and make them forget the hard-hitting writing and fantastic art of one of the best works of adventure fiction of the sixties and the inspiration of many female heroes to follow. In these times of political correctness and rampant puritanism, it is a sheer pleasure to dive into an old-school irreverent adventure trip. Thanks to Titan Books, the reprints are now available. Check out the collection here.

Sky Captain should've flown higher

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) is probably one of the most underrated sci-fi movies of this decade. The picture is a labor of love and a passionate homage to matinee films and pulp fiction adventures of the 30s and 40s. Set in an alternative 1938, it features the most creative production design and art direction since the original Star Wars, Alien and The Matrix. The picture is, simply put, gorgeous, and finds its inspiration in all those classic sci-fi elements that sparked the imagination of Americans in the 1930s: Mad scientists, dangerous dames, a manly hero, airplane dog fights, giant robots, secret bases in the Himalayas, underwater adventure, a giant "helicarrier" above the clouds, a lost King-Kong-type island with dinosaurs AND ANGELINA JOLIE, as a one-eyed amphibian squadron commander! One of my favorite nods to the period is the use of air ships for intercontinental travel, with a docking bay on top of the Empire State building, which was the real reason why the iconic mast was built in the first place. The whole show was shot against green screen and the sets were painted digitally, a couple of years before Sin City. The artistry is breathtaking. And there is a good old Hollywood story behind it, described in detail on the DVD. First-time director Kerry Conran, who, inexplicably, has not been given another film since, got the movie made based on a short he crafted single-handily for years and then peddled around town until a producer had enough vision to bring it to Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina. Sky Captain is now a cult gem to be discovered and appreciated by sci-fi lovers in the decades to come. Someone should start a petition to get Kerry another film soon, although there were rumors circulating about his involvement in a possible adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough's John Carter of Mars.

When will the L Word get an award?

Only priests and Christian Coalition members are not supposed to watch the L Word, the Showtime TV series that follows the lives of a close group of lesbians, bisexuals and transgender women, their families and entourage in West Hollywood-land. Without going into a deep review, let it be said that the writing is superb, the drama high, the sex-factor hot, cleverly staged and just a few frames short of avoiding an outright ban from television. And the whole thing is performed by one of the best female casts ever assembled (yes, a lot stronger than Sex in the City and Desperate Housewives). After Flashdance, those who forgot how great Jennifer Beals could be, will be reminded. The magnificent Pam Grier (Foxy Brown) is in the house, along with Mia Kirshner, Rachel Shelley, Katherine Moenning, as the tom-boyish heartbreaker, and Sarah Shahi, as Carmen, the curvaceous good-girl Hispanic lesbian that would make a straight woman regret her genetic orientation. A-list stars pop up left and right and viewers are left constantly wondering how the producers manage to get away with some scenes and situations. The L Word is landmark TV into its 6th season. And what about that weird theme song by Betty? Check it out:

CHÉ, ¿Qué pasa?

Steven Soderbergh and Benicio del Toro made an epic film about Che Guevara. Obviously, this posting has nothing to do with that. The reference to the film is just a ploy to squeeze some of their traffic out of search engines. It's called marketing. And when it comes to marketing, few companies beat the Belgian men's mangazine, CHÉ. Think Maxim and FHM, but Belgian and in Flemmish (that's a language, not a bodily expectoration). The target, of course, is male readers. Not only do they have extremely eye-catching ads, such as the Let Us Keep On Dreaming of a Better World campaign above, but they also come up with some extremely original merchandising, as attested by the pics below. As a branding fan, all I can say is congrats for sticking out in a highly competitive and cluttered indusry. Does anybody realize how difficult it is to come up with original sexy advertising? As a bonus, keep on scrolling down to check out one of their infamous TV ads.