Category Archives: Movies

Palm Springs Shortfest – Some Shorts I Saw

Better late than never: I volunteered at this year’s Shortfest in Palm Springs, and in the process, got to within hugging distance of James Franco.

James Franco

Alas, I did not get to hug Mr. Franco. I did, however, get to see some of the shorts, so I thought I’d say a thing or two about them here. Honestly, I am sorry this is so late, I mean, this festival ended almost two weeks ago. I’ve been depressed and scattered; I’m hoping a regularity in blogging, if I can find it, will alleviate the introspection.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyUWxV2rY-c]

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From New Zealand and James Cunningham, an interesting GCI film about two Kiwi soldiers in the WWI trenches who find a live baby. And of course, what they do with the baby. I liked the message and the overall feel of the movie. Always assumed that trench warfare was no picnic, and this little movie does nothing to dispel that notion, nor should it. The only question I bring up is why CGI? I think the story, effective as it was, would have been more wrenching if we’d had actual actor faces to look at. I have some bias, of course, as I’m always thinking about employment in Hollywood and here are several roles that went to pixels. But don’t let that remark keep you from watching it when you get a chance. It’s quite good.

Born Sweet, 29 minutes

On the site link above is a trailer – I was unsuccessful on posting it directly here. This is a short film that told me about something I had no idea even went on – a huge problem of arsenic poisoning from wells dug by well-meaning aid groups in Cambodia. They actually made the lives of the people living in the areas they served so much worse by introducing this toxic substance into the water system. The film tells this story through the eyes of Vinh, a 15-year-old boy (who to me looked more like he was 10 or 11) and his daily struggles with the poisoning. The highlight is when he gets to video a karaoke for the country on the dangers of drinking the wrong water.

Gorgeously filmed, Born Sweet also fulfilled a major mission of the documentary form, which is to teach – as well as entertain, at least in this case. Filmmaker Cynthia Wade won an Oscar for Freeheld.

"Lost" this homo…

still from "Lost" final episode, The End.

Mmmmmm, OK, well it’s been a coupla days now and I’ve digested lots of the the last “Lost.” Odd for me, I don’t normally watch television in real time anymore (who does?) and I think that “Lost” was probably one of the last times I will do that, especially now since I gave up my cable service entirely and only watch television that streams on the Mac.

I was probably as teary-eyed as anyone during the reconciliations and enlightenments (“do you remember? do you?”) of the last couple of episodes, even though it turned out to be quite the hetero love feast. We had Jack and Kate, Sawyer and Juliet, Desmond and Penny, Charlie and Claire, Shannon and Sayeed, Libby and Hurley, and of course poor waterlogged Sun and Jin. Am I missing anybody? Do you detect a pattern here?

The cases were giving focus on women who had surgery to remove their uterus (hysterectomy). commander viagra These impotence remedies include both medical and non-conventional medical solutions. sample viagra for free twomeyautoworks.com Bernie Sanders, a reliable cheapest levitra prices voice on the Left chest wall or around the shoulder or neck that is provoked by physical exertion as the heart muscles are deprived of blood and oxygen supply. It troubles adult men discounts on viagra a lot because of high expectations from the sex partner the male partner is not able to obtain the erection which lasts long to reach the satisfaction of the couple. Not that there’s anything at all wrong with hetero couples finding their “lost” selves on a TV program. The power of the writing and the connections to the characters meant that even I, as a gay man, could feel the emotional tug of these male-female reunions – which makes me think – aren’t those feelings universal, and wouldn’t the general audience have been affected had the loves been the occasional man-man or girl-girl pairing?

How I would have loved to see a match-up between studly Jack and blond babe Sawyer. Better yet, cute Charlie and adorable Boone – or for a little spice, Boone and sexy as all git-out Jin! Yes! For a while there it did look like there was going to be a Daddy-Boy thing going on between Locke and Boone, but unfortunately Boone got booted off that Island. And on the distaff side, a pairing of those beauties Kate and Juliet has my homo heart swooning. Or how about that tough Ana Lucia with icy Sun? There’s a lot of diversity there!

So many choices. So many opportunities missed. Well, it would’ve been nice. Oh, by the way, the creators did insert some homo fun into the show – but not in the show proper, but in a video about other possible endings. Check it out below, it’s at the end, Damon and Carlton in bed together. Take that, Freckles.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjfc7uLJvCo]

The 1980s in movies – that I watched for pop culture detail…

Part of my new novel, so-far called “The Forest Dark,” takes place in 1984 Los Angeles – in the summer of the Olympics, and the following fall and winter. My writing group was continually reminding me to add authentic touches of 80s flavor to my descriptions and characters, and of course they were right – but how to channel the 80s back into my head quickly? Of course, I lived through the era but remembering how one thought back then was a bit more challenging! The power of the movies to the rescue – I watched and made notes on the following classics (or classics wannabes):

Less than Zero

Robert Downey, Jr., in "Less than Zero"

Desperately Seeking Susan

Robert Joy and Madonna in "Desperately Seeking Susan"

Wall Street

Michael Douglas in "Wall Street"

Bright Lights Big City

Michael J. Fox in "Bright Lights Big City"

Slaves of New York

Bernadette Peters in "Slaves of New York"

Themes of that decade certainly included drug use (often cocaine) – please see stills of Robert Downey, Jr. and Michael J. Fox.

Here are some of the notes I took on just a few things:

On FASHION:

• In General: looser tops and tighter bottoms for both men and women.

• Men: power suits, as people started to show off their wealth; oddly, this was newly fashionable.

• Women – shoulder pads in dresses, red suits. Madonna’s influence: bustiers, lace, underwear as outerwear, dangly earrings

• Big Hair, Spiky hair, oddly colored hair: blue, cranberry, etc.

• Leggings, the “pirate” look, streaky eyeliner

• Miniskirts – tight ones

• Headbands! Baggy sweaters. Baggy sweaters off the shoulder.

• Acid washed denim!

• Skinny leather ties for men.

• Dancewear as fashion. (see Jane Fonda, Flashdance, etc.)

• Miami Vice – the Don Johnson look, T-shirts under suit coats, pleated pants (see Rick Astley’s “Together Forever” video for a good illustration of this:)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLsJryWc5XE]

• Hawaiian Shirts – Tom Selleck

• Members Only! (I still wear mine!)

Jim Arnold and Members Only.

• Tom Selleck imitators – straight guys with moustaches

• Raybans, aviators, leather jackets, Doc Martens

MISCELLANEOUS THINGS THAT WERE OR BECAME POPULAR:

• Lofts, warehouse parties

• Popular NY Club: Odeon. LA, Revolver

• Video walls in bars. Every happening bar had a video wall!

• Obsession with getting an MBA…

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• CDs were just being invented, so it’s still albums, LPs. CDs are a new fangled invention.

• Downtown Art scenes – names like Slash, Stash, etc.

• Hairstyles where part of the head is shaved. (see: Flock of Seagulls, Echo and the Bunnymen – please tell me, what is a Bunny Man?)

• NY art scene – egomaniac artists – PERFORMANCE ART got really popular. see Laurie Anderson

• Putting Graffiti on jackets, like at a party with silver or gold pens

• Coiffures that were amazing – gel, mousse dreams, etc

• Designer sheets. (lyrics to “Call Me,” by Blondie)

• Hard Rock Café – in LA

• Telephone answering machines – the very height of modernity.

• Girls with a lot of white powder on their faces.

• Gaudy, glittery jewelry

• In LA, the Park Plaza for events and dances and concerts.

• Pastels – pastel sweaters slung over shoulders. Preppy look.

• Reflective surfaces like marble, glass, mirrors.

• A huge focus was on material success and the price paid for it. A theme that runs through all of these films.

• Karen Voight – high impace aerobics.

• Drug testing at work. Peeing into a cup.

• Suspenders – greasy hair. See: Michael Douglas. ’nuff said.

• Computer monitors were that greenish color – no graphics, no photos, just text. Ick.

• “The Art of War,” Sun Tzu. In LA, CAA/ICM wars. Ovitz.

• Words/phrases like “bimbette”, “kicking ass and taking names”

• Conspicuous consumption

• In “Wall Street,” they have a sushi machine and a pasta machine that they use to make a dinner for two!

• Portable phones were ENORMOUS.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RAgmf22Ie8]

• Miniblinds, very thin.

• Faux wall finishes

• Still lots of smoking — on screen, anyway.

• Printed Personal Ads in papers for hook-ups, romance etc. You’d pick them up at the newspaper office or they’d mail them to you. Yes, mail, like in an envelope with stamps on it.

• Vanity license plates – had just started them

• 80s bands, kind of a post-punk look, much spiky hair.

• Girls wore colorful “rag” bows in their hair.

• Designer water just beginning to be a fad: Perrier and Evian were the first big ones.

• Caftans – and not just for gay men. Everyone seemed to have one. (check out crushed velvet angel, gotta wear it, gotta have one)

• Mr. T – I once saw him at the Venice Muscle Beach thing.

• Gloves with no fingers (Madonna in “Desperately Seeking Susan”) – honey, don’t your fingers get cold?

Goodbye, Dorothy Provine

I was saddened to read that Dorothy Provine passed away (April 25, 2010). Even though she retired from showbiz after her marriage to director Robert Day in the late 1960s, she was memorable in some great films of the era, including “The Great Race” and “Never a Dull Moment.” However, I will always remember her fondly as the less-than-enthusiastic screen wife of Milton Berle in the classic 60s comedy “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” It would be hard for me to underestimate the influence that movie had on me at the time.

I was obsessed.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee3CPfH2O_I]

Ben Kantor reel

I met a young cinematographer, Ben Kantor, along his wife M. Elizabeth, at the way-fun and very useful New Media Vault mixer at The Standard downtown last Thursday. They both recently finished film degrees at Chapman University here in Southern California. Service learning is learning about others levitra uk as opposed to doing service where you might do something for them. Treatment for erectile dysfunction The only treatment which produced in different forms of consumption. lowest prices for sildenafil MYTH: YOU WILL HAVE TO SEE YOUR online viagra india CHIROPRACTOR THREE TIMES A WEEK. Prescription medications are usually the buying cialis cheap first line of treatment is decided after carrying out certain tests. He’s got a great reel, which I’ve linked to here, so take a look. Also, for anyone interested in new media, those monthly New Media Vault get-togethers are great. Enjoy the atmosphere.

Benjamin Kantor Reel 2010 from B Kantor on Vimeo.

Go, Johnny Weir

I think that to be the person you are to the world fearlessly without giving a flying fuck about what anybody else thinks is pretty much a definition of courage – definitely a manly virtue. Go, Johnny, Go!

What do you think?
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I tried to embed the video but it wouldn’t take. Here it is on Huffpost:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/26/johnny-weir-fires-back-at_n_478547.html

The Butch Factor, and where the hell do I fit in?

Hey, don’t answer that!

I’ve never thought I was very butch, but then again, it’s not something I think about often, if at all. Maybe if I did, I’d be more studly, but I digress…. I really enjoyed Christopher Hines’ documentary The Butch Factor, which profiles a wide variety of gay men (and one – at least – transman) and their feelings about masculinity and what all goes into it, etc. Most importantly, how earlier life situations shaped expectations – or didn’t.

There were a number of Bay Area interviewees and locations, and I recognized one fellow from the Gold’s Gym SOMA – next to Dolby – where I used to work out when I lived there. There was a nice selection of guys on gay athletic teams – for me at least, a group I don’t hear much from in the gay press or otherwise. Also, a great section on black gay athletes, something I don’t believe I’ve ever seen.

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A thought-provoking and well-made documentary. It’s on netflix. He’s working on something called The Adonis Factor, which is scheduled for this summer. Can’t wait.

New Gay Filmmaker Group in New York (oh, and Happy New Year, too!)

Hey everybody, happy new year, even that salutation gets a little old after about 10 am on New Year’s Day (or maybe only to those of us with short attention spans?) and it’s already January 2.

I actually went out this NYE, to a bar first (The LA Eagle) and then to a sober celebration just down the street. Now I know why I don’t go out on New Year’s Eve. Truthfully, both venues were fine and each had it’s attractions (the Eagle – lots of hairy, muscular men; the sober celebration, diet root beer, food, and lots of people I knew) but the noise level at both really got to me much more quickly than I thought it would. Luckily, my partner in crime (Harry W) wanted to leave at 12:01 am just like I did so the entire affair wasn’t painfully drawn out.

You’re probably thinking, geez, he’s just no fun AT ALL. Now just calm down. So this post will give you something that does sound like fun:

There’s a new gay filmmakers group in New York. Meeting monthly at the Gay Center there, this nascent group of film artists is looking for a project, and considering several short scripts which have been posted on their site, GayFilmmakersNYC, including one of mine, Hell for the Holidays. You can read a pdf of it there.
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I think it’s a great idea to bring together folks interested in making movies as that world is so incredibly collaborative and it is so hard to get a movie made, even if you have a story, even if you have people, even if you have some money. It’s just like pushing a 3-ton rock up a gravel hill. The group makes it easier, and I’m looking forward to seeing some interesting things to come out of this.

If you’re interested and live in NYC, by all means check them out. I think you can even become a member if you don’t live there, but the interaction would be limited, but it looks like they’re posting most things online, and they’ve got some great referrals, which I only suppose will grow.

The site again: www.gayfilmmakersnyc.com

"Up in the Air", comments from a captive passenger on the runway

Once again I’m fairly shocked at the critics, who, at least in the poll I saw, gave this movie an average A- and I see it’s also won a slew of noms and awards, including Best Film by the National Board of Review. Maybe it’s because everybody loves George Clooney. Maybe it’s because it coincidentally addresses that great national meme, unemployment. Maybe it’s because 2009 was another really dreadful year for movies, and this is just one of them that isn’t that bad.

Ok, it’s not THAT bad.

In fact, I enjoyed a lot of it. But I wouldn’t be writing this if it were all sunshine and rainbows, now would I, so here comes the shit.

STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS STOP READING NOW OK STOP IT!!! SPOILERS BELOW!

There are two things that bothered me about this movie. The first one is the opportunistic and condescending stance this material takes to those poor slobs in the flyover states (that’s where it largely takes place) who’ve been laid off/let go/downsized/what have you. In fact, the filmmakers go as far as to use “real people” who’ve lost their jobs as fill-in actors to play opposite Clooney & Co.’s fire-for-hire business (his character is a man who flies around the country firing people so that their own bosses can avoid this annoying task). I took this as Hollywood’s version of yes, we feel your pain! We really do, and in fact we are going to give you a SAG day rate and a shot at your 15 minutes by letting you be in this movie!

All well and good, and I hope it makes director Jason Reitman (member of a highly successful, employed and prominent Hollywood family) and George Clooney (member of a highly successful, employed and prominent entertainment family) feel better, though I doubt that either of them are going to have to try and figure out how to pay their COBRA premiums anytime soon. Or ever.
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The other thing that bothered me was dishonest and story-related. The George character (Ryan) has a girlfriend in the film, Alex (Vera Farmiga), who, like him, is some kind of business-class road warrior. OK, so they are getting along great, sharing hotel rooms and hotel bars, room service, plush robes and the like, when Ryan has the great idea to invite his sex buddy to a family wedding as his date. Well, she’s incredulous, and rightly so; still, she agrees to go for the WEEKEND to some small town in Wisconsin (some sign somewhere says Waupaca, though I grew up in Milwaukee I don’t remember where Waupaca is) and they both have a fun, helpful and very lovey-dovey time. In Wisconsin, at his sister’s wedding, for the damn weekend.

So. Ryan gets so inspired by all this to perhaps think that commitment is not such a bad thing after all, so he uses some of his coveted frequent flier miles to jet off to Chicago to find his lady and profess his love for her. Only thing is, when he shows up unannounced at her very chic brownstone – and she opens the door – it’s apparent she has a husband and at least two little kids (who are running around in the background). Of course, Vera chastises Ryan for showing up at her house (like, for sure, what was he THINKING??) and Ryan backs away, looking devastated.

But Ryan is not nearly as devastated as is the moviegoer who has endured this unbelievable scenario. Sorry, but I just don’t buy that a mother, no matter how much the vixen she is, would go away for the weekend (on a whim) with her fuckbuddy to a resort wedding a couple of hundred miles away from home where she has no idea if anyone she knows in the “real life” would be there or not – not to say married road-warrior women don’t have affairs, but I just think, it would be really hard to juggle the kids, hubby, the sex pals on the road, and go off unannounced to her boyfriend’s sisters nuptials, all on lies that must be sustained for hours, days on end. Come on.

Plus, you could see this coming a mile away, as the poor romantic sap is rushing up that snowy walk, we just know what’s behind that door is something he doesn’t want to see.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m-Da8Tz4_E]