Ohlala Mag

X-MEN 3: THE LAST STANDReview by Queer Beacon

Very good movie. I think that X-Men 2 was the best of the three movies. This third one was easily the worst of them, but still, it was a great blow-up-super-hero movie, even if the movie-making was not as good as the first two releases.

I was hoping that this third installment would be the best in the X-Men series just because it had the greatest plot for us so far. You should know by now that the X-Men movies are based on the comic book from Marvel. This time, a pharmaceutical company develops a "cure" for the mutant gene. With a single vaccine shot a mutant can go straight, immediately. The government offers / forces the "cure" on the mutants and Ian McKellen plots an upheaval. Ian rules as Magneto!

I already said here that the plot hits even closer to home this time. The movie does compel you to think about whether being gay is something that needs to be cured and whether the gay people would or should be subject to such a "cure" were it to be available.

I guess the movie plot could also be seen as a parallel to a "cure" for other minority situations -- a "cure" for being black, a "cure" for being Jewish etc. -- and perhaps discussing a "cure" for being black could actually hit closer to home because of the three minority situations I mentioned (gay, black and Jews) the blacks are the only ones that are certain to be born that way, and consequently the ones that should be the least "blamed" for their minority situation. On the other hand, it is still not clear whether us gays are born that way. I have no doubt, from personal experience, that being gay has a very strong genetic component, a component that can certainly vary in degree from person to person, but I do concede that there seems to be no final scientific word on the matter.

Anyway, it is quite safe to say that no lucid and normal person would actually successfully apply the X-men 3 parallel to the Jewish and black situations because, fortunately, for a while now being black and being Jewish are clearly not something to be cured. But being gay is still up for grabs in that area.

Don't kid yourself, we are still one of the only minorities (if not the only one) that are still abused daily with little or no consequence to the abusers. Look no further than this very recent example involving this Richard Cohen dude. Cohen says he can "cure" homosexuality with hugs and other bullshit (in the pic he is hugging a "client"). You have got to watch the trailer at The Malcontent. It's creepy, but it's shown seriously by CNN, which is an otherwise serious news channel I guess.

Can you imagine what would be the consequences for Paula Zahn and Richard Cohen and CNN if they were involved with a segment on a "cure" for being black or being Jewish? I mean, if CNN were to ever allow that kind of material to be aired, can you just imagine what would and should happen to them?

But when it happens to the gays, all we get is blog-rage, lots of posts denouncing the awful piece of journalism. We are even seen as cry babies for that. Blog-rage is certainly a great start, but we evidently do not have the reaction we deserve from society. I suspect that all the blog-rage is seen mostly by the gays themselves and is unlikely to be heard by the general media.

Oh well. I am furious, and I needed to vent on the Cohen crap, but now let's get to our gay movie review.

Mission Impossible III - "No" Gay ContentReview by Queer Beacon

Very good blow-up movie. I hate to say it, but I did like the joint. It was a (very) guilty pleasure to watch her on the big screen.

Shame on the Queer for not joining one of the many boycotts called for this movie. Anyway, with that caveat, I have to say Bitch was actually pretty good in the flick -- considering her limited acting skills.

Here, she plays secret agent Ethan Hunt, who enters a two-hour-plus cat-fight with the villain played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Philip is trying to sell some sort of weapon or technology to some bad guy. Bitch tries to protect his own identity and that of his 'girlfriend' (to be read with three snaps and a good back and forth head-tilt). The girlfriend is played by Michelle Monaghan (who played a homophobe in North Country, remember?). Philip is excellent as a villain, as expected. Both bitch and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (he's also a secret agent) appear shirtless a few times, but don't expect much.

So, no gay content for our gay movie review. At least bitch did not slur us in the movie.

Oh, and she got to shoot in the Vatican and Shanghai, she got to wear the robe of a priest and a pair of fancy jeans (I think they were indeed the same jeans she wore in War of the Worlds -- maybe it's her lucky jeans).

THE SUM OF USReview by Queer Beacon

Good movie. You'll feel all good and hoping the world could be like the movie, with fathers getting along with their gay sons. Here, Russell Crowe, yes him, plays a big gay. Jack Thompson plays his father. They have an awesome relationship. Jack is extremely supportive and accepts Crowe's homosexuality like I've never seen in a father-son relationship before.

There are constant reminders that the father is super supportive. He pushes for safe sex. He keeps hoping Russell will find Mr. Right. He tells Russell how lucky he is to have him for a son, it goes on and on. Seriously, see the movie with someone you like because you'll want to kiss someone.

To top it all off, Russell's grandmother was a lesbian and she is remembered fondly, and Russell plays footy. He's just a nice and ordinary guy. You will also get to see various types of gays in the movie. Queens, older gays, butch gays (like Crowe) etc. It's great when movies reflect the wide range of gays available.

Forget that you hate Russell. If you see this movie you might actually like him. The movie was shot in 1994, he was 30 then.

There was some homophobia elsewhere in the movie but not inside Crowe's house, and the homophobia was portrayed as something bad.

After the jump there is a little discussion on the mentioned homophobia (which will sort of give away part of the plot).

MAURICEReview by Queer Beacon

I first saw the movie when I was 17 and did not like it at all. Now, I thought this was a true Merchant Ivory production. Rich in every sense. Excellent acting. But, I still came out of it with a negative image for the gays overall. I think that negative image blurred my judgment of the movie before. Now, I think it is a little easier to separate the excellence of the movie and the slight negative light for the gays.

In the movie, James Wilby plays Maurice Hall. It's the early 1900s England, and we see Maurice's childhood, college years and adult life. Gay movies like that lifespan thing. Very dramatic. He falls for Hugh Grant. Everybody is from reasonably important families and suffers a lot of pressure from society. In the time of the movie, homosexual acts were a crime in England, and the social pressure was far greater than it is today (duh?). One of Hugh's friends goes to jail after being framed with a guy. Heavy stuff. All that is a positive light for sure, serves as criticism.

So, continue reading if you don't mind spoilers. I will need to spoil the movie to make my case. I threw in a tiny bit of quasi nudity after the jump to lure you.

BASIC INSTINCT 2Review by Queer Beacon

Mediocre movie. This time it's London that gets whored up by Sharon Stone. She is this crazy novelist sexy bitch. A psychiatrist, played by David Morrissey, evaluates her for a trial. She sucks him into her black hole of mind games -- I love mind games. The movie is already taking a beating at the box office, but it's not so bad, you can definitely wait for it to come out on DVD though.

Reportedly, Sharon Stone was turning down male co-stars left and right, and being a total control freak and that's why the movie got delayed so much (the original was released in 1992). And she ends up with David Morrissey? For one he is a troll, and his acting sucked ass. She was ok in it, but she can act, she could have done more. Watch Broken Flowers and Casino if you doubt me. She was brilliant in both.

Also, I loved that she was older for the role. I heard a lot of complaints about her age, but that's a bit of a bad double standard there. Dennis Quaid is constantly without his shirt. Pierce Brosnan and Harrison Ford get young girls all the time, and they act all sexy in their movies. Why can't Sharon do the same? She was hot in the movie, I don't think like it looked like she was trying too hard (ok, maybe a little), and her sexual interest weren't even young. You go Sharon! Just be less of a bitch next time and don't delay movies for more than 10 years, ok?

Now to our gay movie review. Not a lot of gay content here, not as much as I would expect after Sharon's character was labeled a bisexual killer everywhere since 1992, but what was there was pretty good. In the first gay reference, this detective tells David Morrissey that Sharon had a girl buddy. The second time, Sharon says that this girl is good in bed. Also, we briefly see an artwork on the wall of the apartment of someone who died and the artwork depicts two hot girls kissing. All said and done naturally. Nice. Apart from that, there is a lot of lesbian tension, especially with Charlotte Rampling (she is excellent), but not much actual lesbian content:

Even so, the small references were positive, non-judgmental, almost neutral (neutrality in most instances is actually pretty positive).

The Washington Blade has a great article on the gay reaction to the original Basic Instinct. Gays hated it, for good reason. In 1992, there were few representations of the gays in movies (we had only the killers and fuck-ups, like the killer in Silence of the Lambs). The world is different now, and I don't think Basic Instinct 2 throws a negative light on the gays. Quite the opposite.

LOGGERHEADSReview by Queer Beacon

Watch the trailer HERE

Loggerhead is a type of sea turtle that the character played by Kip Pardue is obsessed with saving. It plays well with the tagline for the movie: "One son. Two mothers. Three endangered lives."

Here, Kip Purdue reminds us AIDS is still an important issue. Tess Harper is a minister's wife consumed with letting her gay son run away from them. Bonnie Hunt is a car rental agent who goes on a quest to find out what happened to a son she gave up for adoption. All in North Carolina.

This is not a typical gay movie. It's a heavier fare with excellent acting. Bonnie Hunt was the only one I knew, but everyone is great in it, especially Tess Harper.

I do wish the minister, played by Chris Sarandon, would have learned a harsh lesson for discriminating against his son and gay neighbors, but the movie has a pace which I think requires a few things to be left unsaid. I went for it. It made sense, but I almost didn't give it a LightShed 10 for that (lack of lesson for the Minister).

Also, there is not much skin for a gay movie. But you'll be glad skin was pretty much left out. Enjoy the great plot and film making instead. The movie is out on DVD already.

V for VendettaReview by Queer Beacon

Excellent movie. Excellent. Excellent. Wow! The Wachowski Brothers are my heroes now. The best blow-up movie I have ever seen. I saw it Friday night and I shall remember March 17! You will not believe the gay content. Just brilliant.

In the movie, Hugo Weaving's character, V (it's better than Cher, all he needs is one letter), seeks revenge and to overthrow a totalitarian regime. Yay, right? He finds a friend, played by Natalie Portman. The movie gives us a loud wake up call with respect to the seeds, read hatred of certain minorities, being planted in various countries today, particularly in the US, and the ugly tree that may sprung out of it. Basically, the totalitarian regime occurs in future England (at that point the US has already fallen to chaos), and the dictator there, played by John Hurt, instills fear in the population in order to control the country. The original story was published between 1982 and 1985, but the disastrous government portrayed in the movie seems eerily familiar, doesn't it? A government playing politics with certain groups in order to remain in control (in the movie, Muslims and Gays are targeted). And the message of the movie will hit you like a stampede. If you want to look for one to blame, just look in the mirror. You must see this movie in a large screen. Go to an IMAX if you can.

Our gay content is powerful, and present throughout the movie. Now, I will talk about much of the content of the movie, but I'll be far from revealing the end, but if you like to be in a little bit of suspense for the movie, you may wish to read this later.

SORT OF SPOILER WARNING