Friday, April 2, 2010

The Gayest Things You'll See This Week


A mixed bag of gay stuff tonight...

That's Bradley Cooper as 'Faceman' in the The A-Team movie. Dirk Benedict, star of the original "Battleship Galactica" and the ridiculous 1973 Sci-Fi movie Sssssss , played the role on the 80's TV show (which I am quite proud to say I have never seen). The show also starred the late George Peppard, Dwight Schultz and Mr. T. From what I understand, the show was about a group of disgraced soldiers out to prove their innocence while working as mercenaries for ordinary folks in trouble. Or some such nonsense. I didn't see much TV in the '80's. I was either rehearsing, performing or out dancing at City Gardens* (the Trenton Alt Music dance club/dive where I first saw Sinead O'Conner and where John Stewart served me drinks at least once a week for a couple of years). Needless to say, 'The A-Team' had little to offer a New Age Theatre Arts major who was much more interested in Hamlet than Hannibal, Faceman, B.A. and Murdoch. I was certainly aware of the show, which lasted a paltry 3 seasons on CBS, but couldn't have cared less about it.

And honestly, I almost couldn't care less about the movie version (didn't anyone learn anything from The Dukes of Hazard?), except that it stars Cooper and District 9's Sharlto Copely. Oh, and Liam Neesom takes on the George Peppard role. Seriously. Did Natasha's** death effect Neesom's judgment so profoundly that he can no longer tell when he's making a crappy movie? Still... Bradley Cooper. Woof! I seriously doubt I'll be seeing The A-Team either in a theatre; on DVD; On Demand or even on Spike when it undoubtedly premieres there by next February.



Okay - you got me. I'll be watching for some shirtless Bradley. So sue me.

Anyway, from gay fantasy to gay reality, singer/songwriter Jason Mraz (whose music has not been in my personal Top 10) is now officially one of my heroes. Here's his PSA for We Give A Damn, a group of primarily straight celebs who believe in LGBT rights:



Celebrities including Cyndi Lauper, Judith Light, Anna Pacquin (who recently came out as Bisexual) and Wanda Sykes have all lent their voices to the cause. And speaking of causes...

A San Francisco Bay Area high school was recently targeted by the disgusting Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church in their continued attempts to blame all of our country's (if not the world's) ills on gays. Gunn High School students, who were warned in advance of WBC's planned protest, took to the streets in response. Here (via) is their beautiful response:



That makes me almost wish I had gone to Gunn, though I expect the reaction may have been a little different in the late 70's. Still, it's heartwarming to know that there are right-minded youth out there who not only recognize what is right, but are willing to show it.The positive energy expended by the hundreds in attendance surely outweighed any negativity the WBC expended in their hateful and misguided messages.

This coming Sunday is Easter, the Holiest Day on the Christian Calender (even though it's celebrated on a different day every year). Considering all the crap the Catholic Church has been trying to hide, re-blame and deny lately, I think I'll celebrate by seeing Clash of the Titans, in an effort to reaffirm my own Paganism. Visit me tomorrow on The Zombie Zone, where I'm sure to offend someone with a comparison of the Resurrection to Zombieism.

* Remind me to tell you sometime about City Gardens, Q, Devo and the Vampires... its a rather disturbing little tale.

** Corrected on 4/4/10 - as pointed out by my dear Stephen at Post Apocalyptic Bohemian. Thanks, Love!

More, anon.
Prospero



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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Fan-Freaking-Tastic


Last year, I posted an April Fools joke on April 1st. I considered it this year -- I thought maybe a fake movie review or something. But then I realized that the entire Internet was full of April Fools posts, so I decided against it.

Instead, I'm posting about yet another remake of yet another Sci-Fi movie classic. Variety is reporting that director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy) is slated to helm a (sigh) 3D remake of the 1966 classic Fantastic Voyage. Starring 60's B-listers Stephen Boyd; Raquel Welch; Donald Pleasance; Arthur Kennedy; Arthur O'Connell and Edmond O'Brien, Fantastic Voyage is the story of a group of doctors who are shrunk down to microscopic proportions and injected into the bloodstream of a near-death diplomat whose survival is vital to world peace.

Pre-dating nanotechnology by 40 years, the movie's "micronauts" make their way through the diplomat's body toward his brain, in an attempt to repair damage that was caused by an assassination attempt. Using then state-of-the-art special effects, the team and their ship (The Proteus) travel through the diplomat's vascular system, encountering thunderous heartbeats, turbulent rises in blood pressure and an attack by antibodies on their trip to the brain, where they use a laser to repair the damaged tissue. Of course, the antibody attack was simply an excuse to have Ms Welch in a skin-tight diving outfit. Pleasance plays the bad guy while Boyd and Welch provide the eye-candy. Science Fiction legend Isaac Asimov went on to write the movie's novelization, fixing several flaws inherent in the original script.

To be honest, I am not all that upset by this particular remake. The original is hokey and while it may have been cutting-edge in 1966, it hasn't really aged all that well.



Honestly, if anyone can do justice to a remake, it's Greengrass. He's already proven his skills at making exciting, tension-filled movies. And advances in biology, medicine, nanotechnology and visual effects can only improve upon the original. Of course, the whole 3D thing makes me crazy. Yes, I know we're probably stuck with it until true holographic 3D movies arrive, but it seems like every Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror movie slated for production in the next two years is going to be in 3D. And while the new optical 3D is certainly better than the old 2-color process, I for one see no real advantage in 3D filmmaking. If Avatar is any indicator, 3D obviously does nothing to enhance what all of the best movies have in common: great stories, terrific acting, intelligent writing and honest direction. Truth be told, give me Casablanca over Piranha 3D, any day.

More, anon.
Prospero


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