Natalie Litofsky
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positivelynatalie.bsky.social
Natalie Litofsky
@positivelynatalie.bsky.social
190 followers 200 following 1K posts
Writer | Editor | Pop Culture Nonfiction Publisher | Horror Podcaster
Mainly comprised of coffee, cheese, and zombie movie hot takes.
📚 atbpublishing.com
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positivelynatalie.bsky.social
THE MAGNETIC MONSTER is the best actual movie we've watched with RiffTrax so far this month.

Its greatest sin is being boring despite such high stakes. Also, our main science guy lusts after his wife constantly, which is rad and should be written into more plots. www.rifftrax.com/the-magnetic...
RiffTrax illustrated poster for The Magnetic Monster. It has a big U-shaped red magnet in the center, with a glowing monster figure behind it. Lots of metal stuff is getting stuck to the magnet.
December 10, 2025 at 3:42 AM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
And I've got the instructions for shielding wieners.

bsky.app/profile/posi...
positivelynatalie.bsky.social Natalie Litofsky @positivelynatalie.bsky.social · 14d
November 25: Basic Microwaving (1978) fulfills the promise of its title on both counts.

In creating Wiener & Bean Pot Casserole, someone decided to write and print the sentence, "Push wieners to bottom of dish so they are buried under beans," and I love them for it. Gotta shield your wieners.
Front cover of Basic Microwaving, which is part of the Microwave Cooking Library. It has a close-up photo of a piece of chocolate cake, a cheeseburger on a sesame bun, and corn on the cob with a melty pat of butter against a very brown background. Recipe and photo for Wiener & Bean Pot Casserole. The photo shows a close-up of hot dogs cut into long pieces, being stirred in a pot with various beans. The photo caption says, "Shield wieners by pushing them underneath beans." Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped onions, 1 clove crushed garlic, 2 Tb butter or margarine, 1 package wieners cut in quarters, 1 can baked beans, 1 can drained lima beans, 1 can drained kidney beans, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup catsup, 1 Tb prepared mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Directions: Combine onions, garlic, and butter in 3-quart casserole. Microwave at High 1 to 2 minutes, until onions are soft and translucent. Add remaining ingredients. Push wieners to bottom of dish so they are buried under beans. Cover. Microwave 13 to 15 minutes, until heated through, stirring after half the time.
December 9, 2025 at 6:07 AM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
One of my favorite movies is All About Eve and I always saw Margo Channing as "old actress trying play young," except... the character is about to turn 40 and Bette Davis was 42 when they filmed and now *I'm* in my 40s and my brain yells at me whenever I watch it.
December 9, 2025 at 5:15 AM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
It's fascinating how successfully DOUBLE DRAGON handles world building for a movie that has no real plot whatsoever. RiffTrax adds to the viewing experience, but it's still pretty rough.

I would 100% wear Alyssa Milano's painted jacket-chaps-gloves combo. Style icon. www.rifftrax.com/double-dragon
RiffTrax illustrated poster for Double Dragon. The two brothers are in the front wearing their final boss blue and red outfits, with wide open mouths screaming. Behind them are two tangled blue and red dragons with big eyes being tied together by one of the mutated henchmen, A very 90s dystopian kid street crew in various patterns, prints, and ripped denim, standing in a graffiti-covered alley. Alyssa Milano is in the front of the frame, walking toward the camera. She is wearing a long coat covered in spray paint graffiti, a tight green ringer tee tucked into denim hot pants, and chaps made from the same painted material as the jacket. She has a bleached blonde pixie cut and looks like a total badass.
December 9, 2025 at 4:29 AM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
Fine vintage, that one. My next door neighbor and I dug a snow tunnel between our houses so I could come over and play Nintendo.
December 8, 2025 at 9:23 PM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
Honorable mentions go to Waring for suggesting you just use your blender for *everything* and stop buying other gadgets, and to Kraft for suggesting that Santa would prefer a grilled cheese sandwich to cookies.

Personally, I think a plate of cookies AND a grilled cheese sandwich is in order. 🎁 5/5
Black and white ad for Waring Blender. It has a small photo of the blender, and then text that reads, "You have a mayonnaise maker in your house, a powdered sugar maker, a cole slaw maker, a pate maker, a potato pancake maker, an eggnog machine, a frozen daquiri mixer, a crumb maker, a soup machine, an ice crusher, a fresh baby food maker, a nut chopper..." At the bottom it advertises a Waring blender cookbook. Yet another ad for Kraft, with a photo at the top of a grilled cheese sandwich next a package of cheese slices. It has text that says, "Mother knows best." Additional text just talks about how great the cheese is. The bottom 2/3 of the ad is a scene made out of clay of a mother giving Santa a grilled cheese sandwich while a little girl rifles through his present sack. The tagline reads, "American spell cheese K-R-A-F-T."
December 8, 2025 at 6:27 PM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
No vintage magazine tour is complete without recipe ads, and the holiday season tends to bring out the worst impulses in brands.

Miss me with your Jell-O rings and cheese logs, but serious points to Duncan Hines for going the cheeky route with an ad for just straight-up boxed cake mix. 🎁 4/5
Photo ad for Kraft, with a recipe that highlights Dole sliced pineapple and Miracle Whip. The recipe is for a Winter Sunshine Mold, which is a milky green Jell-O ring with pineapple rings suspended inside it, and with a cherry in the center of each pineapple ring. The Jell-O ring is lined with lettuce and being used to serve whole cranberry sauce. Text above the recipe reads, "Ring In the Season. Here's a salad ring of winter sunshine made with Dole Sliced Pineapple and Miracle Whip salad dressing. This festive ring mold is a refreshing and colorful addition to any holiday-season dinner." Campbell's Soup ad with two recipes that used condensed soup, alongside photos of the completed dishes on holiday display plates. The recipes are for Holiday Pastries made with Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup and Yule Cheese Logs made with Condensed Bean with Bacon Soup. The heading at the top reads, "Give them something you made yourself with the help of Campbell's Soup." The tagline at the bottom says, "Give me the Campbell Life." Another ad for Kraft, this time highlighting canned yams and mini marshmallows. The top heading reads, "Apple Mallow Yam Yums." Underneath is a recipe and illustration of a dish that's basically just sliced apples and canned yams with marshmallows browned on top. Ad for Duncan Hines cake mix that's actually pretty fun for the time. It has a photo of a lemon drizzled bundt cake at the top. At the bottom, a hand is holding a box of cake mix with a handwritten note taped to the back. The note reads, "Alice — Remember the lemon pound cake you said was fantastic? Here's 'my' recipe you wanted! Sue. P.S. My orange and Devil's Food pound cakes are pretty fantastic too." Text on the ad reads, "Sue knows it's Duncan Hines layer cake mix that makes her pound cakes so moist and delicious. So cut out her recipe for 'your' pound cake."
December 8, 2025 at 6:27 PM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
Old Spice tries to say it mimics intoxicating man musk but ends up implying it helps you mimic masculinity.

Hanes somehow manages to predict the jealous partner meme as a way to sell stockings.

Both ads use "sensuous" and "unmistakably ______" so I wonder if they were made by the same firm. 🎁 3/5
Ad for Old Spice Musk for Men, which comes in cologne and lotion. It is a photograph of a shirtless man with some hair on his chest staring directly at the camera, as a blonde lady who is also implied to be sans clothes wraps her arm around him from behind while staring at him and huffing his neck. Text placed across his chest simply says, "Very convincing." Text at the bottom next to a photo of the product reads, "It's a different kind of musk for a sensuous man. Deep, mysterious and long lasting. And above it all, unmistakably male." Ad for Hanes stockings. A woman in a long red dress with her hair in an updo is walking toward the entrance of a restaurant while holding a man's hand. She is facing away from the camera. The man is in a suit and staring at another woman who is styled like Marilyn Monroe with a white dress and short blonde curls. She is adjusting her stockings as she inexplicably gets out of what appears to be an old-timey carriage. The tagline at the bottom reads, "Gentlemen prefer Hanes." Subhead reads, "Sensuously smooth. Luxuriously sheet. Unmistakably Hanes."
December 8, 2025 at 6:27 PM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
Kodak was going hard in the holiday season that year, with several full-color print ads and prominent placement on the magazine's gift suggestions list.

They were trying for cute, but I feel like the subtext is that the baby genuinely hopes to be returned to get away from these weirdos. 🎁 2/5
Kodak ad for the Trimlite Instamatic camera. It shows off how compact the camera is by placing one that has been wrapped in a red bow inside someone's back jeans pocket. The center of the pocket has been cut away so that you can see the full camera. The tagline is "Wrap up a pocket full of fun." Additional text on the page talks about the features, including the simple operation, optional flash bulbs, and reasonable price, starting at less than $26. Print ad for Kodak film. Most of the ad is a photograph of two very 70s parents dressed in loud plaid and houndstooth blazers, handing a baby dressed as Santa to a grandma. There is a Christmas tree behind the parents. The baby looks equal parts confused and disturbed, and is the only one in the photo looking at the camera. Everyone else is looking at the baby. The text under it reads, "Being grandma's Christmas present is an honor and all that. But what if she doesn't like me? Can I be returned?" The tagline under a box of film says, "Kodak film. For the times of your life."
December 8, 2025 at 6:27 PM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
Thanks for reminding me that it's been too long since I ate a shower popsicle.
December 8, 2025 at 4:25 AM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
DEMON ISLAND is what happens when you have a decent practical monster suit, some trash bags full of underwear, and industrial-strength tequila.

Who could have possibly predicted that filling a piñata with evil energy and floating it out to sea would go horribly wrong? www.rifftrax.com/demon-island
RiffTrax illustrated poster for Demon Island. It's done in a 4-color style with yellow, red, blue, and white. The demon pinata statue is dangling in the center, surrounded by paper pinatas, booze, underpants, and confetti. A male and female coed are standing on either side of it laughing.
December 8, 2025 at 3:15 AM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
I like this movie more than some of the others we've watched the past few days thanks to the acting, but yeah the stereotypes and lack of representation sort of rack up the negatives. Plus, the only parts for women seem to be crone and vacant sexpot.
December 7, 2025 at 4:40 AM
positivelynatalie.bsky.social
The movie is a dud, but BRIDE OF THE GORILLA has some real actors really acting (a RiffTrax rarity) and teaches an important lesson about not accepting drinks from witches.

It feels like the pitch was, "What if we remake GILDA as a Universal creature feature?" www.rifftrax.com/bride-of-the...
RiffTrax poster for Bride of the Gorilla, which is the original movie poster with Bridget and Mary Jo's heads photoshopped onto two of the main characters. There is a gorilla carrying a lady and some people standing around looking horrified.
December 7, 2025 at 3:46 AM