12- The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - Friday, November 4, 1994

A 'Kiss'
goodbye
KISS
Continued from page 4
Spiderwoman, and plays Valentin's
bourgeousie lover Marta. The kiss of
the spiderwoman is the kiss of death,
but here (unlike in the musical) the
presence of the Spiderwoman is sec-
ondary.
The other big strength of the film
comes in William Hurt's heartful per-
formance as Molina. The way he
tosses his hair, the way his right hand
touches his left shoulder, the way he
crosses his arms - every gesture,
every touch is perfection. He is all at
once girlish yet manly, strong yet
indescriably vulnerable.
Beyond Julia's and Hurt's charac-
terizations, perhaps the most extraor-
dinary aspect of "Kiss" is its color
scheme. Molina's movie sequences
are in black and white, the rest of the
film in color. Thejuxtaposition of the
prison grays and Molina's colorful
robes is positively striking. Babenco
also creates some nice moments with
candlelight; atsome moments Molina

B-flick chicks have
their own pix mag

By ALEXANDRA TWIN
If the sassy, sexy and slightly sag-
ging cover photo of Sally "I'll pose
for anything" Kirkland didn't imme-
diately clue you in to just how cool a
rag "Femme Fatales: the Luscious
Ladies of Horror, Fantasy and Sci-
The Magazine Column
ence Fiction" is,just wait 'til you turn
the first page.
How many publications can you
think of that boast interviews with
current B-movie star June Wilkinson,
former B-movie star Jewel Shepard
and future B-movie star Cameron Diaz
(of "The Mask") as well as two, count
'em, two features on the highly-an-
ticipated "Abducted 11" all in one
issue?
Well, "Femme Fatales," or just
"Fatal," if you prefer, has got it all.

will be bathed in that soft light, and prison, the film gets a little disjointed,
Valentin will be harshly shadowed, a but it gets back on track soon enough.
technique which underscores their re- The ending does not resolve Molina
spective characters. and Valentin's relationship on a real-
Once Babenco's focus leaves the istic level; however, it does bring

Valentin into Molina's fantasy world
with a "Hollywood ending."
And fortunately, this "Kiss" lingers
on the lips longer than all those Holly-
woodendings.

Coming up on its third year of
publication, "Fatal" is vampy, campy
and fun. Oh, it's sleazy, but in a sort-O
of endearing way. You know, like
spam. Or B-movies. In fact, it may be
safe to say that very few productions
would dare to be this sleazy without
affiliating themselves with the porns.
Cast-wise, they've got quite the
stellar crew. While incorporating a
bevy of multi-talented personalities,
most of the celebrity interviews and
commentary may be attributed to
"Gary Garfinkel, Director of West
Coast Talent." Not to alarm you, but
there is no "Director of East Coast
Talent." There is also no "Director of
Mid-West Talent." Are the publish-
ers of "Fatal" trying to snub us?
Perhaps. But it is doubtful. In all like-
lihood, they probably just realized
that our friend Gary spends far too
much time looking up the skirts of
West Coast actresses to deal with
those beyond. Judging from the qual-
ity of the photos, it would also be safe
to assume that the publishers simply
cannot afford to hire anyone else.
Alas, the East goes undisturbed. Yet,
never fear, Gary is equipped with a
wide enough range of astute insights
to eradicate any harm caused by this
egregious territorial oversight.
On Kirkland: "Sally is totally un-
inhibited. She had no qualms as to
posing topless for 'Femme Fatales."'
Hmm. Sally also hasn't worked in
anything that didn't begin and end in
a video store in over five years. Un-
less, you count "Boris and Natasha,"
but that was on cable. Yet, Garfinkel
certainly has a point. She does appear
to be pretty... qualmless in those pho-
tos.
While the summer issue (which'
we can assume is still on the shelves
due to the fact that it's in such hot
demand that a fall issue has not even
been considered) begins with Sally
"OverHere!" Kirkland, it surely takes
off with the exclusive feature on
Donna Jason, ex-sidekick of none
other than Cynthia Rothrock. Yes,
Cynthia Rothrock.


I

On Kirkland: "Sally is
totally uninhibited. She
had no qualms as to
posing topless for
'Femme Fatales."'
Hmm. Sally also hasn't
worked In anything
that didn't begin and
end in a video store in
over five years.

"

Although, to be fair, it is probably
the story of Jewel Shepard that best
embodies the magazine's darker pre-
occupation with the triumph of sheer
will over adversity. It states that while
"the ex-stripper launched her career
with B-films that often stressed
anatomy over acting, 13 years later,
Jewel Shepard is declining
disrobement roles." That's good to
know. Although she doesn't appear
to be declining disrobement photos.
Nor do any of the celebs that the mag
has to offer.
Oh, yeah, that's the other thing.
Staying true to the B-movie motif, all
the women are featured in various
scenarios, cinematically speaking.
They are in costume, of course. This
is a film magazine, you know.
Oh, yes. Located in the "periodi-
cals" section of Border's between
"Blimp," the Melodram Film Maga-
zine and "Cinefantastique," apreten-
tious French ditty, lies "Fatal". For
five and a half bucks, it's yours. No
more garrishly glossy than any other
cheap thrill, the magazine, at least
structurally, is quite standard. It of-
fers a table of contents: "In Bed with
Sally Kirkland." A letters to the editor
page: "I really enjoyed issue 2:3, es-
pecially the photo of that adorable
brat Stinky." An up-coming soft-core
porn, uhhh, B-films list: "Shelby
Steven meets a 100ft. eel that eats
beach girls in 'Moray.' Call it 'Jaws'
meets 'Fast Times at Ridgemont
High"' and of course, the afore-men-
tioned features. "Totally Live, Nude
Jewel" was a favorite of mine.
While you are able to learn both
that Sally is on the cover due to her

m