Everything smelled like cigarette smoke when I was a kid. You could smoke in an airplane. You could smoke in a taxi. You could smoke in Burger King. I smoked my first cigarette when I was nine. It took a lot of practice to learn to inhale and exhale without choking, but I was passionate, and I got very good at it. Self-taught, as they say. \xa0 Imagine a ten-year-old girl on Rollerblades doing figure eights on a quiet evening road in the suburbs, flicking a butt into the neighbor’s flower garden. That was me. I smoked riding my bike at night, no hands, with my eyes closed. That was freedom. I smoked waiting for my mom to pick me up from my piano lesson. That was relaxing. I stole cigarettes from my aunt, who bought Chesterfields by the carton and never noticed if a pack went missing here or there. At some point, I’d heard that\xa0smoking\xa0stunts your growth. That’s why I started. I did not want to grow up. |
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How the Cars in Michael Mann's Ferrari Came to Life |
If you love cars and you dig racing, it’s pretty clear from several moments into\xa0Ferrari\xa0that this\xa0Michael Mann\xa0epic is one of the greatest\xa0car movies\xa0ever made. You have a stellar performance from\xa0Adam Driver, who plays Enzo Ferrari in midlife, when his company nearly bankrupted. He's dealing with an illegitimate son, a mistress, and his fierce wife, Laura—portrayed brilliantly by Penélope Cruz—who controls half of the company and happens to wield a Beretta. (Cruz’s performance is one of this year’s biggest\xa0Oscar snubs.) The film dives deep into the ruthlessness of racing culture, a beautiful yet deadly sport. For the men that are in it, it's a lifestyle described by Enzo in the film as “a deadly passion…our terrible joy.” You can see why director Michael Mann was so fascinated by this story, beyond being a Ferrari fanatic himself. \xa0 But what also makes\xa0Ferrari\xa0such a thrilling racing movie,\xa0which is now available to stream, is the attention to detail and historical accuracy when it comes to the vehicles. These aren't cars that you can simply bid for on\xa0Bring a Trailer\xa0or rent from a specialty prop house. Some of these Ferraris no longer exist. The ones that do cost millions. And so, they had to be built. |
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Matt Bomer on Dressing for Joy: 'Part of Me Just Hit the Fuck It Button' |
Matt Bomer says he’s not a fashion guy, but you wouldn’t know it from talking with him. It’s the day after Loewe’s fall/winter 2024 fashion show, and the L.A.-based actor is calling me from Paris, where designer Jonathan Anderson’s creations walked the runway while Bomer and a cadre of other actors—“half of the leading men in Hollywood, I felt like, were in the front row”—observed the proceedings. \xa0 “It was a perfect fusion of art and style,” Bomer says of the event. This season’s collection was heavily influenced by artist Richard Hawkins, whose large-scale work was on display during the show. “The murals came to life with the models and the music,” Bomer continues. “All of it just set such a great tone; the energy and excitement to see what Jonathan had up his sleeve was really palpable. It was like being at a Beatles concert.” |
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The Western Renaissance Begins With\xa0The Bullet Swallower |
What’s the case for the\xa0western\xa0in 2024? Once a backbone of cinema and\xa0literature, the genre looks downright dated to contemporary eyes, steeped as it is in harmful American mythologies of racism, colonialism, and toxic masculinity. Westerns endure, but they’re long overdue for radical change—and now, change is here. \xa0 According to author Elizabeth Gonzalez James, westerns are undergoing a renaissance, with those who were sidelined, villainized, or victimized now telling their own stories. A new wave of westerns featuring Black, queer, Asian, and Indigenous characters is striking the genre like a depth charge. “It’s not a reimagining of history; it's just history,” James tells\xa0Esquire. “It’s the truth of the people who were there. We’re going to keep seeing more of these stories, and I think it’s wonderful.” |
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How to Build a Face-Saving, Age-Defying Skincare Routine |
If your ideas about\xa0skincare\xa0come from Reddit, you might think it’s a dark rabbit hole of science akin to astrophysics or neurology. If your opinion comes exclusively from the men’s\xa0personal care\xa0aisle of your local big box store, you probably think one multi-use product can do everything (as long as it contains charcoal). But the reality of skincare lies somewhere in between. \xa0 Thanks to the sheer volume of product options,\xa0skincare\xa0can be daunting at best and confusing at worst. Maybe that’s why many guys have no skincare routine to speak of—they don’t want to put in the effort to figure it out. Or maybe they just don’t care. Well they, and you,\xa0should\xa0care.\xa0Good skincare\xa0is one of the most powerful tools we have against most of the common issues men face on their faces:\xa0acne,\xa0wrinkles, even sun damage. And in both the short and long term, it could mean the difference between someone saying, “Wow, you look great!” as opposed to, “Oh, have you been getting enough sleep?” |
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What I’ve Learned: Billie Joe Armstrong |
I was never Mr. Hardcore.\xa0When we first started playing together, there was a big trend of who can play the fastest. And it was like, “Well, I don’t want to do that.” That’s not really musical for me. It became almost a bit macho, which is something we were definitely trying to get away from. \xa0 We didn't want\xa0to be a bunch of tough guys. We would rather have bigger hearts than bigger muscles. \xa0 Whatever the criticisms were,\xa0though, I had enough of a chip on my shoulder that I wasn’t going to let anybody hold me down. |
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