Mikey loves Lara!
Guest Review by Mike Flores
The tremendous opening weekend for Lara Croft Tomb Raider not only represents a triumph for actress Angelina Jolie, but also has great significance for women now working in Hollywood. From the 1920s to the 1950s, when women were considered “oppressed” by a “vicious male chauvinist system” before our more liberated times, female stars made as much or more money than most of their male counterparts. Women like Joan Crawford or Bette Davis made big bucks because their names sold tickets. Even as they aged, people kept paying to watch them work. Ah, but we live in more liberated times now. Gone are our horrible sexist ideas. And now the women make less, fail to sell tickets and are lucky to have a few hits a decade! Since Hollywood is now overwhelmingly liberal, politically correct and nonsexist, one has to ask — what happened? And why is it that strong women can pull big ratings on television for the last decade, but in Hollywood they are still arm candy for action stars or the love interest for men twice their age? Continue reading
At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul DVD
Coffin Joe on DVD!
It cannot be stressed enough that before 1963’s At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul there had never been (to the best of my knowledge) a horror film made in Brazil. There had been a version of Jekyll & Hyde and some Poe adaptations done in Argentina during the 1950s, but by and large the social climate of South America – a mix of the fiercely Catholic with deep strains of superstition – has been prohibitive on these types of productions. The cultural stew is rich with spooky ghost stories and supernatural folklore, but none dared think such things were respectable subjects for popular entertainment. Continue reading →