Awards Watch: Nominations for the 2010 Dorian Awards

The Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (of which yours truly and my fellow Movie Dearest Men on Film Chris Carpenter and Neil Cohen are members) has announced its nominations for the group's second annual Dorian Awards, celebrating the best in film and television for 2010.

In 17 categories, including new ones this year for documentaries and "unsung" movies, GALECA has nominated a wide variety of films and TV programs, both with and without GLBT themes. Titles with multiple nominations include such big screen hits as Black Swan, The Kids Are All Right and The Social Network, while The Big Bang Theory, Glee and Modern Family represent the small screen.

See the comments section below for the complete list of nominations. Winners will be announced January 18 in Los Angeles.

MD Poll: The Man of Your Dreams

With close to half of the total votes, Inception's dreamy Tom Hardy was easily your "Boy of Summer", Class of 2010.

Wolfboy Taylor Lautner was a distant second, followed by Tom's fellow dream teamer Leonardo DiCaprio. See the comments section below for the complete results.

MD Poll: The Boys of Summer 2010

The end of the summer movie season is almost upon us, so it is time for our annual look back at the film actors that made it so memorable ... and judge them on their looks alone and anoint one the hottest cinematic hunk of the past four months or so!

This year's batch is filled with some familiar faces (Leo, Jake, the Twilight guys) alongside some "fresh meat" (Inception hottie Tom Hardy, Sex and the City 2's sizzling Max Ryan), plus a surprise stud who is technically nearing 50 years old.

Take your pick and place your vote in the MD Poll located in the right hand sidebar. The ultimate summer movie hunk, class of 2010, will be crowned September 25.

UPDATE: This poll is now closed; click here for the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

MD Poll: Goin' South

When it comes to movies adapted from TV shows, Movie Dearest readers prefer them "Bigger, Longer and Uncut".

That's right, South Park reigned in a narrow victory over The Fugitive, while Sex and the City and Star Trek tied for third place. See the comments section below for the complete results.

Reel Thoughts: Good Sex

If you aren’t totally won over by the über-gay first twenty minutes of Sex and the City 2, you might want to see if your Gay Card has expired. This sophomore outing with the girls is in every way the most over-the-top fabulous event of the year. In many ways, it is a lot better than the original. It’s been just two years since the last film and as Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) puts it, a lot has happened.

In a sidesplitting opening, Carrie reminisces about when she came to New York in 1986 and in a flash, we see her (in hilarious Glenn Close-Fatal Attraction hair) in all her 80’s non-glory. She then describes when she met Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Samantha (a punked out Kim Cattrall), all of whom get their own flashback of shame. It’s a smart way for writer/director Michael Patrick King to introduce us to the girls, who still have a fantastic chemistry together. Then comes the gay wedding ...

As Charlotte exclaims, “Her best gay friend is marrying my best gay friend!” Sure enough, Mario Cantone’s Anthony is marrying Willie Garson’s Stanford in the whitest, most-gilded and beyond garish wedding of all time. A hot men's choir belts out show tunes and just when you think it can’t get any gayer, Liza Minnelli bursts out to officiate and do Beyoncé’s "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)". Ah, heaven.

Meanwhile, Carrie’s married life with Mr. Big (Chris Noth) is getting too comfy-stale, Charlotte’s two young daughters are driving her crazy (and her smokin’ hot nanny won’t wear a bra), Miranda’s high-powered job is being derailed by a sexist boss, and Samantha is fighting Menopause tooth and nail (and bedding the groom’s sexy brother) with the help of Suzanne Somers. In other words, they need a vacation.

Off to Abu Dhabi they jet, and the opulence never stops. I worried that sending four sexually liberated women into the most repressive culture on earth might be a sick joke, but that’s sort of the point. The film doesn’t ignore the Arabic world’s treatment of women, and reality intrudes on the happiness. There is even a priceless “F-you” scene where a hormonally charged Samantha tells off a bunch of morally offended men in a marketplace that will have you cheering through your tears of laughter. Carrie has a crisis of trust and Charlotte and Miranda get some heart-to-heart time to bare all about the difficulties of motherhood. Oh, and of course there are shirtless Aussie rugby players and an insanely seductive Dane (Max Ryan) thrown in for good measure.

The writing in Sex and the City 2 is crisp, sharp-tongued and full of quotable lines, including Samantha’s “He’s Lawrence of my labia!” It is a perfect sequel, lighter and freer than the first movie and full of what we know and love about these women, who feel like our friends.

However, I was a little put off by Cantone’s clumsy declaration “and I get to cheat.” at his own wedding celebration. Can’t gay marriages be portrayed as valid a little bit before being torpedoed by the old “We’re gay and we can’t be monogamous” cliché? I also fear any women who decide to emulate the girls and fly off to the Middle East. No matter what the film shows, there are plenty of better (and less oppressive and dangerous) places for Cosmo-sipping, sex-talk loving gals to go.

For now, ladies, don ye now your gay apparel, Manolos and all, and get thee to Sex and the City 2. It’s the party of the summer.

UPDATE: Sex and the City 2 is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.com.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reverend's Reviews: Sex and the City 2 Tunes

Despite a growing gay controversy over its producers' decision to shoot much of Sex and the City 2 in anti-gay Morocco, I'm looking forward to the femme-centric sequel that opens this Thursday. I watched very little of the original HBO series but 2008's big-screen adaptation won me over.

To tide me and other fans over for the next 48 hours, the Sex and the City 2 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is being released today. I can assure readers that the CD is the gayest music-listening experience since, well, last week's Glee: The Music, Volume 3, Showstoppers (which is fabulous, btw)!

The soundtrack features not one but two songs performed by gay icon Liza Minnelli: a rousing, Vegas showroom-esque version of Beyonce's inescapable "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" and a cover of Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye." Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and Grammy nominee Leona Lewis contribute a duet, "Love is Your Color," and Alicia Keys sings "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" as well as Deborah Harry's "Rapture."

I really like Dido's exclusive new track, "Everything to Lose." It manages to be simultaneously meditative and danceable. Also included on the disc are Erykah Badu's "Window Seat" (which spawned Badu's controversial music video), Cee-Lo's "Language of Love" and a rambunctious version of Helen Reddy's anthem "I Am Woman" sung by the Sex and the City stars themselves: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon.

But the gayest tracks are three classic show tunes performed by the specially-formed, 16-member Sex and the City Men's Choir. Their lovely renditions of "If Ever I Would Leave You" (from Camelot), "Sunrise, Sunset" (from Fiddler on the Roof) and "Til There Was You" (from The Music Man) are presumably part of a gay wedding that occurs in Sex and the City 2, at which Liza reportedly officiates.

So, why wait until Thursday? Grab or download the soundtrack today, shake some Cosmos and let the party begin!

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

MD Poll: As Seen on TV

With movie versions of The A-Team, MacGruber and Sex and the City set to debut in the coming months, the latest MD Poll takes a look back at the best of the "boob tube-to-big screen" adaptations and asks, "What is your favorite movie based on a TV series?"

Aim your remote control at the choices found in the poll located in the right hand sidebar and make your selection. And be sure to tune back in on June 5 for the results!

UPDATE: This poll is now closed; click here for the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

Monthly Wallpaper - May 2010: As Seen on TV

In recognition of this summer's premieres of The A-Team and Sex and the City 2, May's movie calendar wallpaper is a salute to movies inspired by the "boob tube".

Our "As Seen on TV" tribute features the families Addams, Brady and Simpsons; the adventures of Richard Kimble, George of the Jungle, Charlie's Angels and the crew of the Starship Enterprise; and the comedic stylings of the Sex girls, Wayne Campbell and the residents of South Park, Colorado.

All you have to do is click on the picture above to enlarge it, then simply right click your mouse and select "Set as Background". (You can also save it to your computer and set it up from there if you prefer.) The size is 1024 x 768, but you can modify it if needed in your own photo-editing program.

Reverend’s Preview: Forecast: A Hot Summer at the Movies

The month of May might be best known in local GLBT circles as the celebratory start to a summer full of Pride celebrations, but it is also the annual beginning of Hollywood’s biggest season. While many of the studios’ offerings will be loud, overblown spectacles geared to kids and teens out of school, there are more than a few more adult-oriented offerings with appeal to GLBT moviegoers.

Based on advance word and my personal survey of several studio and independent films’ public relations reps, the following are films we should consider lining up for between now and the end of August. They are listed in order of their scheduled release dates, but please note these dates are subject to change.

Iron Man 2 (May 7): Robert Downey Jr.’s tongue-in-cheek performance powered the Marvel superhero’s first big-screen adventure to record grosses two years ago. Downey and Gwyneth Paltrow return and face off against Russian baddies played by the lovely Scarlett Johansson and a resurgent Mickey Rourke. While Rourke doesn’t fulfill every gay man’s ideal of physical beauty, the film’s trailer reveals The Wrestler Oscar-nominee sporting nothing more than tighty-whities in one scene.

OSS 117: Lost in Rio (May 7): I’m just going to quote from the press release to describe this one: “France’s top secret agent, a cross between James Bond and Austin Powers, teams up with a beautiful Mosad colonel whose mini skirt and kinky boots disguise dangerously forward-thinking views on women’s lib and world politics.” Mexican wrestlers, a man-eating alligator and risqué sexual humor also figure into the plot. What’s not to like?

Robin Hood (May 14): Although star Russell Crowe is on the record saying neither himself nor his male co-stars wear tights in this new take on the classic hero, Crowe is always worth watching and Cate Blanchett co-stars as Maid Marion. Maybe Crowe will at least have a skinny-dipping scene like Kevin Costner (or, rather, Costner’s butt double) did in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves!

Sex and the City 2 (May 27): In what may be the summer’s campiest movie, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her BFFs Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (out actress Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) return for a globetrotting adventure but don’t lack for high fashion or cocktails! Mario Cantone and Willie Garson are also back as the quartet’s gay pals, with no less than Penélope Cruz, Liza Minnelli and Miley Cyrus (?) making cameos.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (May 28): Jake Gyllenhaal of Brokeback Mountain fame sports long hair, a leather codpiece and buffed-up biceps in this video game-inspired fantasy from mega producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean). Again, I ask: What’s not to like?

Stonewall Uprising (June 18): A documentary that uses archival film footage to trace events and cultural attitudes that culminated in the infamous police raid on New York’s Stonewall Inn in June 1969. The patrons’ counter-attack marked the birth of the GLBT movement; billed as “the first non-fiction film to tell the story of the Stonewall riots by the participants.”

Toy Story 3 (June 18): Action figures Woody the Cowboy and Buzz Lightyear (again voiced by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, respectively) resume their CG “bromance,” this time in 3-D. The series’ regulars are joined by Barbie’s boy toy Ken (Michael Keaton), as well as a new character with the unfortunate name “Mr. Pricklepants” (former James Bond, Timothy Dalton).

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (June 30): While teenaged girls are this successful book and film chronicle’s main fans, I know a few gay men smitten by its lovelorn vampire, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and/or heroine Bella’s werewolf friend, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Dakota Fanning also returns as the mind-controlling Jane, and Bryce Dallas Howard (director Ron Howard’s daughter) assumes the role of Edward’s jilted former lover, the vicious Victoria.

Love Ranch (June 30): A fictional account of Nevada’s brothel industry, starring Oscar-winners Helen Mirren (The Queen) and Joe Pesci (GoodFellas) as the purveyors of one of the state’s first such legal establishments. Problems arise when a South American boxer played by hottie Sergio Peris-Mencheta comes between them. Expect plenty of skin, both female and male.

The Kids Are All Right (July 7): This dramedy focusing on two adult children raised by a lesbian couple (Oscar nominees Julianne Moore and Annette Bening) who decide to seek out their sperm-donor father (Mark Ruffalo) was well received at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Written and directed by lesbian filmmaker Lisa Cholodenko (High Art, Laurel Canyon).

Inception (July 16): From Christopher Nolan, the writer-director of Memento and the last two, super-successful Batman movies, comes a mind-bending science fiction saga about a corporate raider who steals the dreams of business tycoons, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. The film’s great supporting cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt (of the gay-themed Latter Days and Mysterious Skin) and Juno star/emerging lesbian favorite Ellen Page.

Dinner for Schmucks (July 23): Cuties Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, so funny together in The 40 Year Old Virgin, co-star as an unsuspecting dork (Carell) recruited by a callous executive (Rudd) as a pawn in a mean-spirited contest. Things don’t quite go as planned, and the two end up as friends rather than adversaries. From director Jay Roach of the Meet the Parents and Austin Powers film series.

Beastly (July 30): A contemporary spin on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast, starring Vanessa Hudgens of High School Musical fame as Beauty to Alex Pettyfer’s disfigured teenager looking for true love. Out actor and awards show host Neil Patrick Harris is also featured in the cast.

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (July 30): Bette Midler gives voice to the villainous feline of the subtitle, who is bent on world domination. This sequel to 2001’s Cats & Dogs (which featured the voice of the recently out Sean Hayes) is likely kids’ stuff, but GLBT pet owners may find it somewhat true-to-life.

The Girl Who Played With Fire (July): The second of Stieg Larsson’s international bestsellers involving bisexual computer-hacker Lisbeth Salander (strong and sexy Noomi Rapace) comes to the big screen quickly on the heels of the hit The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This time around, Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist go after the highly-placed leaders of a sex-trafficking ring.

The Extra Man (July): Described as “charming” and “howlingly funny,” this film centers on a young, aspiring writer (Paul Dano of Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood) who moves to New York City, where he befriends a failed playwright-turned-escort played by Kevin Kline. Think of it as The Great Gatsby crossed with Midnight Cowboy.

Also watch for several GLBT-themed movies that don’t have definite release dates yet: Spring Fever, Hideaway/Le Refuge and Out Late. And if these offerings aren’t enough for you, there will be GLBT movies galore screened as part of both the 9th Annual Dance Camera West and Los Angeles Film Festivals in June and, of course, the 28th annual Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, a.k.a. Outfest.

Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

MD Polls: Next Stop, Wonderland

When it comes to picking your "must see" movie of 2010, Movie Dearest readers proved their mad about the hatter:

Tim Burton's sure-to-be-trippy take on the Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland (starring his muse, Johnny Depp, as the hatter in question) came out on top in the latest MD Poll. In doing so, it soundly defeated another blockbuster-to-be based on a popular British book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 1, which placed second.  The catch-all "other" rounded out the top 3.

See the comments section below for the complete stats, and stay tuned for our epic Oscar polls, to be posted later today.

MD Poll: For What Movie Do You Yen in 2010?

It's a new year (and a new decade), with plenty of new and exciting films just around the bend. But which one is your absolute must see for 2010?

Is it the latest adventures of Harry Potter, Buzz and Woody, Iron Man, Carrie Bradshaw or the Twilight gang? How about new versions of such old favorites as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans or Robin Hood? Or do you just want to see more of Jake looking like this?

Make your choice and place your vote in the MD Poll located in the right hand sidebar. The ultimate "must see" movie of '10 will be revealed Saturday February 6.

UPDATE: This poll is now closed; click here for the results, and click here to vote in the next MD Poll.

Take Me Back to Manhattan

The friendship, the fun, the fashion, the ... camels?

Click here to watch the first trailer for Sex and the City 2, in theaters May 28.

Poster Post: Carrie Nation

"Hello, lover ..."

The first teaser poster for the eagerly awaited Sex and the City 2, opening nationwide May 28, 2010.