By Brian Skutle The reasons I watched Karen Arthur’s “Lady Beware” (1987) in 1997 were not the reasons that I do now. I had just developed a crush on Diane Lane after “Murder at 1600” (1997), and this erotic thriller was one of the films that fed that- in some ways, for part of the reasons why Arthur would come to disown the film. Over … Continue reading “Lady Beware”: A Flawed, Feminist Look at Erotic Fantasy
The 8th March is International Women’s Day, a day devoted to celebrating the achievements of women all across the globe and throughout history. I wasn’t aware of the fact that International Women’s Day had been running for so long, apparently “It began life as National Women’s Day in the United States back in February 1909” which is astonishing to me as I had been under the impression that it was a recent thing. Continue reading Why We Still Need International Women’s Day
Being a kid in the ’90s there really wasn’t a lot of female-led action films like there are today. In a lot of ways I’m kind of jealous that girls (and boys) growing up today have the opportunity to watch female-led action films such as “Wonder Woman”, “Captain Marvel”, “Black Widow” and the new Star Wars trilogy. As a kid, the female action characters were very few and far between, which is probably why I favoured watching action films that weren’t aimed at children such as “The Terminator” and “Alien”. To see characters like Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley not only be the main characters but also kick-ass and drive the action and narrative forward just blew my mind. Continue reading #WomenInAction Month: The 10 Action Heroines Who Shaped My Childhood
I was recommended “Edge of Tomorrow” (2014) specifically for Emily Blunt’s character, Sergeant Rita Vrataski. I adore Emily Blunt, so I was all in for giving this a watch. The premise of this story is a groundhog’s day type of set up–the main characters re-live a single day on a loop. Rita is strong, both physically and emotionally. She is incredibly smart. She makes Cage (Tom Cruise) take a back seat as they attempt to conquer a world where humans are at war with a specific type of alien. Continue reading #WomenInAction Review: Edge of Tomorrow
In the month of August, we at In Their Own League are focusing on Women in Action; female-led films in the action genre. For my contribution, this retrospective will be focusing on the Japanese cult classic franchise of “Stray Cat Rock” (1970 – 1971) ; consisting of five films with a very simple yet enticing premise. Continue reading Stray Cat Rock: A Groovy Retrospective
“Bombshells and Dollies” (2020) is a charming new documentary looking at the lives of women who take part in the pinup culture, centred around one year’s contestants at the most well-regarded pinup contest. Pinup fashion, which refers to primarily 1940s and 1950s style, has seen a resurgence in the past couple of decades. The women featured in this documentary could pass for having lived in the times of their grandmothers when they’re all dressed up were it not for some of their tattoos, cell phones, and wild hair colours. Dan Halperin wrote and directed this fascinating look at a subculture that many may not know about. Continue reading Review: Bombshells and Dollies
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