Goonies 'R' Good Enough

I guess I was too old when I first saw The Goonies to get wrapped up in its fledgling cult status. However, I appear to be in the minority when it comes to this movie, which, even twenty years later, continues to fascinate its fans.

In addition to the ever-present rumors of a sequel, the kiddie adventure has inspired its own line of action figures. The first series includes the four main "Goonies", plus the Quasimodo-ish Sloth.

Each of the figures is modeled after the movie characters, and they did get the "Chunk" squat down, but "Mouth" doesn't look much like Corey Feldman (which may be a good thing). Accessories include an inhaler for Sean Astin's "Mikey", a "sticky dart" (?) for "Data" and not only a milkshake and a piece of pizza for "Chunk", but also ... a "statue of David"???

No word on a second batch of figures, but I would love a little Martha Plimpton doll, especially if it is a talking one that says her immortal Mosquito Coast line, "I think about you when I go to the bathroom."

Click here to purchase from Entertainment Earth: Goonies Action Figures Wave 1
Links via Imdb.com, MoviesBlog.MTV.com and Wikipedia.org.

Out in Film: Anthony Rapp

He is best known for his stage and screen performances as the passionate and loyal film director Mark Cohen in Jonathan Larson's seminal rock musical Rent, so it is no surprise that Anthony Rapp has found success in all three of his passions: theater, movies and music.

Rapp found his love of musicals at an early age, appearing in touring productions of Evita and The King and I. As a teenager, he made his film debut in Adventures in Babysitting, followed by supporting roles in School Ties, Dazed and Confused, Twister and (recreating his Broadway role) Six Degrees of Separation.

In 1994, Rapp began his involvement with the project that would change his life: Rent. Following its acclaimed Off-Broadway debut, the show took Broadway by storm, winning every award in sight and catapulting its cast to stardom. In addition to the 2005 movie version, Rapp also played Mark in the London production and recently returned to the Great White Way for a sold-out run.

Rapp starred as the title character in David Searching, a gay coming of age drama, and also co-starred in the films Road Trip and A Beautiful Mind. In addition to his acting, Rapp wrote a bestselling book entitled Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent, and recorded his own solo CD, Look Around.

For a recent interview with Rapp, visit QueerSighted.com.

Click here to purchase Rapp's book, Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rentfrom Amazon.com.

Links via Imdb.com and QueerSighted.com.

Box 66

According to this note at TIFF Reviews, Box 66 is the pick for TIFF 07, and there was a total of boxes. This information is now confirmed and on the TIFF07 website.

I went down at about 9am on Friday Aug 31/07, there was just a bit of a line up* if you wanted to get your choices double checked by a staff member. You could also place your envelope in a box without waiting to have it check. I waiting and had it checked, just in case. Then my picks were placed in box 41 which places me in the 50th out of 75 boxes. Ouchies. I'm glad I added some 2nd choice selections.

How did everyone do?




Note: Above picture is from the Festival Box Office at College Park Friday Aug 31/07 around 9am. There were 2 line ups, and a volunteer manning a box for dropping of envelops without checking.

* I'd recommend always asking the staff where to go to get into the correct line up (look for someone with a clipboard and/or headset), until you get the swing of things. I'm sure by day 4 we will all be versed in where the box office, ticket holders and rush lines are.

The Latest in Theaters: Ryan x 3

This week's new releases run the gamut from the metaphysical to the moronic to Michael Myers.

- The abtastic Ryan Reynolds plays three different characters whose lives are inexplicably intertwined in The Nines. One of the trio of roles Reynolds plays is gay, reportedly based on the film's director John August. Hope Davis and little Elle Fanning co-star.
- For what it's worth, Balls of Fury has already been dubbed "not quite the best Will Ferrell movie he never made" by one critic. Tony Award-winning Spelling Bee-er Dan Fogler makes the jump to the big leagues with this comedic attempt to mix ping-pong and kung fu. And what the hell is Christopher Walken (as an Asian mystic, no less) doing here?
- If you are unsure whether of not you want to see Rob Zombie's Halloween remake, the San Francisco Bay Guardian gives you several reasons why you should go for the gore. Or, if your tastes hew toward old school scares, Moviefone takes a look back at the original cast and asks, "where are they now?"
- Itching for a Death Wish-style vigilante flick but can't wait for Jodie Foster's The Brave One? Then Death Sentence is the one for you (or maybe not). Kevin Bacon is a dad who seeks revenge on the thugs who have murdered his son. John Goodman and Kelly Preston also star.

Visit Fandango - Search movie showtimes and buy tickets!
Links via Imdb.com, NYDailyNews.com, EW.com, SFBG.com, Movies.AOL.com and Premiere.com.

Charts and graphs, oh my!

Now that I've plotted out and filled out the forms and double checked all my first choices, the question is - to pick 2nd choices or not? I'm so stumped. It took me ages to come up with my list, to do it all over again the logistics of that make my brain hurt! We shall see.

Off the Shelf: Leonard Maltin

The first "name" movie critic that I became aware of was Leonard Maltin. His book, The Disney Films, was my bible in my Walt-obsessed youth; in fact, I still have that dog-eared copy after all these years.

His appearances on Entertainment Tonight in its early (not-so tabloid-y) years provided a face for the words, and my respect for him as both a contemporary critical voice and a champion of classic films has never wavered.

Every year, Maltin publishes the latest edition of his indispensable Movie Guide, filled with reviews on every major release from the silent era to today. In 2005, Maltin also released his first Classic Movie Guide to provide a separate volume for films released prior to 1960.

With a style thankfully devoid of the condescension apparent in most authors of film, Maltin's books are welcome additions to any movie lover's personal library.

Click here to purchase any of Leonard Maltin's booksfrom Amazon.com.
Link via LeonardMaltin.com.

The Real "Soldier's Girl"

Those who have seen the award-winning TV movie Soldier's Girl know that it is a harrowing depiction of homophobia in the military. But it is also a rarity among transgender-themed films in that it shows a fully formed, realistic romance between a man and a transgender woman.

Based on the true story of Army Private Barry Winchell (Troy Garity) and Nashville entertainer Calpernia Addams (Lee Pace), the film dramatizes the events that led up to Winchell's brutal murder at the hands of a fellow soldier. The reason for this senseless act was simply because he was dating Addams, a male-to-female transgender. It is a powerful, gut-wrenching film, yet the earlier scenes where the couple tentatively approach their romance are both tender and true.

Orange County & Long Beach Blade contributor Chris Carpenter recently had the opportunity to interview the "real" Soldier's Girl, Calpernia Addams. Addams currently lives in Hollywood; her latest projects include the short film Casting Pearls (which screened at this year's OutFest) and a TV pilot.

Click here to purchase Soldier's Girlon DVD from Amazon.com.

Links via Imdb.com and GayBlade.com.

Extra! Extra! Movie Dearest in the Headlines!

Movie Dearest has received a nice write-up from my pal and fellow film critic Neil Cohen over at Echo Magazine (Phoenix's main source for gay news and reviews). Here is a snippet:

"Do you ever beat yourself up for not knowing every single thing about the movies? Well, never fear, Movie Dearest is here. ... If you're in danger of losing your gay card for not knowing the difference between Joan Crawford and Joan Blondell, or if you just want to see hot pictures of Zac Efron and Channing Tatum, Movie Dearest is for you."

Thanks for the kind words, Neil!

And for the record, Crawford is on the left, Blondell on the right (above). And yes, there will be a test later ...

Link via EchoMag.com.

Just Like Jesse James

After nearly a year delay, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford will finally hit theaters next month. Starring Brad Pitt (pictured) and Casey Affleck, respectively, as the title characters, the western drama appears to be taking a similar path as another film on the subject, Samuel Fuller's 1949 I Shot Jesse James.

While watching the trailer for the new film, notice Affleck's Ford displays a disturbing fascination with the notorious outlaw. Pitt's James even asks Ford if he wants to "be like me, or you wanna be me?", which gets further homoerotically charged by the fact that he is sitting in a bathtub when he says it (shades of The Talented Mr. Ripley).

In Fuller's film, the director hints that Ford's eventual murder of James stemmed from the "twisted love/hate relationship" between the two. I Shot Jesse James also includes a scene with James (Reed Hadley) in a bathtub with Ford (John Ireland) looking on.

We will just have to wait and see how blatant this gay subtext will be in the latest retelling of the legend of Jesse James, which will hit theaters September 21.

Click here to purchase I Shot Jesse Jameson DVD from Amazon.com.
Links via Imdb.com, Movies.AOL.com and MovieMorlocks.com.

Women We Love: Angela Bassett

Although she made notable appearances in such films as Boyz N the Hood, City of Hope and Passion Fish, it was when she started portraying real life figures that we really started to notice Angela Bassett.

In 1992, she played both the mother of Michael Jackson (in the TV movie The Jacksons: An American Dream) and the wife of Malcolm X. The following year she strutted her stuff (in every sense of that phrase) as the ultimate rock survivor, Tina Turner (another Woman We Love) in the musical biopic What's Love Got To Do With It. As Turner, Bassett ran the gamut of emotions from naive country girl to humiliated victim to triumphant diva, and we were with her every high-heeled step of the way.

She followed up that Oscar nominated, Golden Globe winning role with her fierce performance as the ultimate woman scorned in Waiting to Exhale and then showed us all How Stella Got Her Groove Back (opposite the delectable Taye Diggs). A string of strong supporting turns was next (Music of the Heart, The Score, Sunshine State), and she played another historical icon in the award-winning TV movie, The Rosa Parks Story.

Roles for so-called "mature" actresses are rare in Hollywood (at least in the movies), and those for women of color even more so, but Bassett consistently delivers in whatever part she plays, no matter the size.

Links via Imdb.com and LATimes.com.

My list so far

After much deliberation and head scratching moments I've come up with my hopeful list of films to see. I've not yet picked my 'second' choices yet. Considering the films are predominately not star studded, and I've only picked 2 Gala's I have my fingers crossed that my first picks will make it in.

Âge des ténèbres, L
Beyond the Years
Blood Brothers
Cèdre penché, Le
Chrysalis
Contre toute espérance
Encounters at the End of the World
Flash Point
Forever Never Anywhere
Frozen
Garage
Gentle Breeze in the Village, A
Glory to the Filmmaker!
I am From Titov Veles
Jar City
Kings
Love Comes Lately
M
Man of Cinema
Mongol
Mother of Tears, The
My Winnipeg
Normal
Nos vies privé
Paranoid Park
Ploy
Sad Vacation
September
Shadows
Shake Hands with the Devil
Stone Angel, The
SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO
Sun Also Rises, The
Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
Trap, The
Ulzhan
Under the Same Moon
Vexille
Voyage du ballon rouge, Le
Wild Horse Redemption
Wolfsbergen

Program breakdown:
12 Contemporary World Cinema
6 Special Presentations
5 Masters
4 Midnight Madness
3 Real to Reel
3 Discovery
3 Vangard
2 Visions
2 Gala
1 Canada First

Country breakdown:
9 Canada
7 European co-pro's
5 Japan
3 France
3 USA
2 South Korea
2 Asian co-pro's
2 Austria
1 India
1 Ireland
1 Ireland/UK
1 Mexico/US
1 The Netherlands
1 Thailand
1 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
1 China

As I found a lot of the films I've noted have French titles, here is a quick tip to others
I found really helpful. Some shortcuts to common letters with accents:

â - alt+ 131
é - alt+ 130
è - alt+ 138
ö - alt+ 148

Woody is the New Gay American Gigolo

If the Academy Awards are the Super Bowl, then the Toronto International Film Festival is the first game of the season, kicking of the awards race for the year with a host of Oscar-bating movies eager for that much desired "early buzz".

TIFF recently announced this year's line-up, filled with world premieres from the top directors of today and starring, well, a galaxy of stars. Here is a preliminary look at some notable entrants.

- Paul Schrader, writer/director of American Gigolo, returns to the subject matter with The Walker, starring Woody Harrelson as a high society escort who, like Richard Gere before him, gets mixed up in a murder. What may set this apart from the first film is the fact that Woody's character is gay. Also stars Lauren Bacall, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily Tomlin.
- Sidney Lumet brings together an impressive cast (Philip Seymor Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei) in the shocking drama, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.
- In Neil Jordan's The Brave One, Jodie Foster is in peril ... again!
- In Captain Mike Across America, Michael Moore aims his camera at himself ... again!
- Guy Pearce is Harry Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones is the psychic he falls for (in more ways then one) in Gillian Armstrong's Death Defying Acts.
- Viggo Mortensen re-teams with his A History of Violence director David Cronenberg for the gritty crime drama Eastern Promises, co-starring Naomi Watts.
- Paul Haggis can boast three Oscar-winners in the cast of his home front-themed drama In the Valley of Elah: Tommy Lee Jones, Susan Sarandon and Charlize Theron.
- Rendition has three more Academy vets with Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon and Alan Arkin, plus nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, all wrapped-up in a terrorism scandal.
- Maria Bello, Hugh Dancy, Marc Blucas, Emily Blunt and Kathy Baker are among the members of The Jane Austen Book Club.
- Juno is a sassy pregnant teenager who comes up with a unique solution to her situation in Jason Reitman's latest comedy.
- George Clooney is Michael Clayton, a high-priced lawyer in the case of his career. Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton co-star.
- And finally: Ang Lee's Lust, Caution is described as an "erotic espionage thriller", which may explain why it has been tagged with a NC-17 rating.

TIFF opens September 6 and runs through September 15.

Links via TIFF07.ca, Imdb.com and TheEnvelope.LATimes.com.

Poster Post: "Three More Days 'Til Halloween, Halloween, Halloween"

OK, it's more like two months, but like Christmas, All Hallow's Eve seems to come earlier and earlier each year.

This year, trick or treat season starts this Friday with the release of Rob Zombie's reboot of Halloween. Based on John Carpenter's classic slasher film (the one that started it all thirty years ago), the new film delves deeper into the origins of Michael Myers, played as an adult by X-Men's Tyler Mane. Malcolm McDowell co-stars as Dr. Loomis, the role created by Donald Pleasence in the original.

For more on the new fright flick, visit Cinematical for their slightly spoilerish interview with Zombie himself.

Click here to buy Halloweenposters from Amazon.com.
Links via Imdb.com and Cinematical.com.

First Line up of the Year for TIFF 07

I arrived bright and early (ok, 8:30am isn't that early...) at College Park to pick up all the things for the next step in the planning process! There were a fair amount of people there, but I arrived 1/2 hour early and once they started letting the line in it only took 20 minutes to get my stuff. Oh, what a happy camper I was to have the official film guide as well as the program book!



I was floored that when I bought my book I was handed this huge bag and there was all this stuff inside. A co-worked was thrilled and say "Oh! Can I look through your swag?" Swag eh? Sure. Some of it was great stuff like a yellow/green highlighter which you need to fill out your advance order forms, Lindt chocolates and a $5 Starbucks card. There was also a great little put together about the Canadian films at the festival. Top points for that! There was a lot of promotional stuff as well. Here's a picture (I was only expecting the three things on the very left)



The cat wasn't in the bag, he just likes to be near, in or on them.

Well I know how I will be spending my night, I've got the all the essentials out and ready. All I need now is a cuppa tea.

The Latest on DVD: Super 'Heroes' & Not So Gay 'Blades'

What's new on DVD for the week:

Featured Titles:

• Heroes - Season One- Chuck-full of all the extra goodies fans crave, including an actual lock of Milo Ventimiglia's hair (no, not really).
• Blades of Glory- A fantasy about two heterosexual figure skaters (Will Ferrell and Jon Heder) who don't fall in love (in other words, not "our version" of The Cutting Edge).
• The Masseur- Described as an "erotic minimalist drama" about the "introspective odyssey" of the gay title character. In other words: art house soft-core.
• 3:10 to Yuma: Special Edition- Just in time for the remake, a gussied-up version of the classic oater starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin.

More of Gay Interest:

• Nick Name and the Normals- Documentary on the gay ex-Mormon-turned-punk-rocker.
• The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros- A gay pre-teen has his eyes opened by a handsome police officer in this comedy from the Philippines.
• Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World - Season 1- LOGO's answer to South Park.

TV Time:

• Friday Night Lights - The First Season- High school footballers and Kyle Chandler ... need any more reasons to watch?
• Dark Shadows: The Beginning- Rare, pre-Barnabus Collins episodes of the Gothic soap opera. Two volumes.
• Masters of Horror: Season One Box Set- Showtime's spooky serial, brought to you by such directors as John Carpenter, Joe Dante, Tobe Hooper and John Landis. Available in two volumes or one big set.
• The Outer Limits (Original Series) - Season 1, Volume 2- Even more scary stuff ... gee, could Halloween be just around the corner?
• The Odd Couple - The Second Season- Felix Unger: he put the F.U. in funny.
• Gideon's Trumpet- TV movie drama starring Henry Fonda in one of his final performances.
• Sold Separately: Classic Kids Commercials- Now you don't have to troll YouTube for all your favorite retromercial fun -- it's all right here in one handy-dandy package (batteries not included).

New on Blu-ray and HD-DVD:

• Heroes - Season 1 [HD DVD]- Even more bells and whistles in this hi-def package ... but still no hair, sorry.
• Blades of Glory [HD DVD]- Extra-not gay version.
• Masters of Horror: Season 1 [Blu-ray] - In two volumes.
• Dawn of the Dead (Unrated) [HD DVD]- The remake in all its hi-def gory ... uh, glory.
• The Hurricane [HD DVD]- The one starring Denzel Washington, not Dorothy Lamour.
• Notting Hill [HD DVD]- "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

Click on the individual links to purchase the DVDs at Amazon.com.

How I pick my pic's

I was all ready to set out this post with some complicated reasoning, numerical and colour coded system when I realized something very simple: I haven't made my selections yet so it's a little tough to share how I'll make them.

I've prepared as much as I can til this point. I have my graph paper chart that starts at 8am and goes til 1am, with the dates along the top and each square down represents 15 minutes. I've blocked off the one film I know I am planning on attending (a Midnight Madness) and I've marked off the following morning. I've notated how many films I will attempt to see each day, as well as any other possible scheduling issues in pencil, as well all know it's hard to do anything else when you are trying to pack in 40-50 films in 9 days. I don't include the first day as there isn't a ton showing.

I've made a list of: must see's, looks interesting and research more. I only came up with 28 or so and I'm planning on seeing 40+. Then again, a few things missing before I can make any more progress. Those are....

The official film schedule and the program guide. There are a few sites that have done an amazing job at covering the films including: TIFF Reviews and TOFilmFest. I did pan through both of them but nothing really beats sitting with a cup of tea, a good amount of table space, pen, pencil, paper and highlighters and then cracking open the program guide and looking at each and every page. I think of it as being akin to getting a calendar for a school, many of which are online but it feels different when you hold it in your hands and you can smell the paper and ink. It's a beautiful thing. I'll admit, the photo's also really influence me. This has not always served me well in the past, but remains to be a strong factor in choosing.

In general, I think I will start with the 'must see's' and plot around them. I've realized that one of the driving forces behind my decisions is I want to see films that aren't likely to make regular circulation. After years of writing the weekly newsletter Film Fan Fridays, I've really started to develop the sense of what will make it to regular theatres. I also live in Toronto where we do get quite a large and varied selection of films. Check out the list of 2007 releases so far to get a hint of the variety. I also know that I'm willing to give a film I know nothing about a chance. Some of my favorite festival moments are when you are in a room full of die hard fans but I've known nothing about the film, and then to see those fans when the director comes out? The energy in the room is amazing, there really is nothing like it.

A note on those working on their timing between films - make sure you give yourself a good amount of time between films, especially if you want to stay for the Q&A if there is one. Nothing is worse than feeling rushed when you are already in a hectic situation, and it's really a treasure to get the opportunity to hear what the people involved in the film have to say.

Well, now it's less than 12 hours until the schedule and books are available which means it's time for some shut eye. Sleep well my friends; there is a wild ride ahead.

AFI's 100 Movies: Facts & Figures

The AFI Top 10, circa 1998

"Can we ever get enough lists? Lists are the mix tapes of film buffs. Compilations of our favorites, presented to others in the hopes they'll love the selections as much as we do. Building a bond by finding mutual favorites. Showing what we love, and sharing it."

I love that quote (from "Rollerboy" over at AwardsDaily.com). It is such a fitting analogy for why movie lovers make so many lists of the best, worst, most, et cetera. It is also a great way to introduce this, the first of my "Facts & Figures" look at the best of the list makers, the American Film Institute.

The AFI began their annual countdown back in 1998 with this one, the ultimate "best of": AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies. It proved controversial then and, when they redid the poll earlier this year, it was controversial again.

However, whatever the critical pundits said pales in comparison to the exposure this list, and all the AFI lists for that matter, have given to classic films. In my opinion, there is no better starting point for someone interested in American film to use as a reference tool.

Sure, there are many great movies not included (not to mention foreign films and documentaries), but surely this is not the be-all/end-all of anyone's movie watching, nor was it ever intended to be; for example, if someone watches Gone With the Wind, and then moves on to other Clark Gable movies or other historical epics or other romantic dramas and so on, then the AFI -- and these lists -- did the job right.

Facts & Figures:

AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies was presented in 1998. 100 films were selected from a nomination list of 400, and films released in 1996 and prior were eligible.

By the Year:

• The oldest movie on the list: The Birth of a Nation (1915).
• The newest movie on the list: Fargo (1996).
• Most represented decade: The 1950's, with 20 movies total.
• Most represented year: 1939, with 5 movies total.

Sight & Sound:

• Total number of color films: 59 (including The Wizard of Oz, which has some black and white sequences).
• Total number of black and white films: 41 (including The Birth of a Nation, which has some color-tinted sequences).
• Total number of silent films: 5 (including The Jazz Singer, which has some sound sequences, and City Lights and Modern Times, which had soundtracks but no dialogue).

By Genre:

• Most represented genre is drama, with 46 films.
• Comedies come in next with 20 films.

And the Winner Is:

• 98 films on the list were eligible for the Academy Awards (The Birth of a Nation and The Gold Rush were released prior to the Oscars' first year, 1927).
• Total number of Best Picture winners: 33.
• Total number of Best Picture nominees: 41.

The Stars:

• Robert Duvall appears in the most movies, 6.
• James Stewart is the star of the most movies, with 5.
• Other actors who appear in 5 movies are Ward Bond, Robert De Niro and Thomas Mitchell.
• Katharine Hepburn is the most represented actress, with 4 movies.
• Actors who appear in 4 movies include Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, Harrison Ford, Alec Guinness, William Holden and Dennis Hopper.
• Note: these totals do not include uncredited bit roles.

The Directors:

• The most represented director is Steven Spielberg, with 5 movies.
• Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder come in second with 4 movies each.

Studio Call:

• United Artist has the most films on the list, with a total of 17.
• Warner Brothers follows with 15.

Miscellanea:

• There are 2 animated films on the list (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Fantasia).
• Only 1 sequel made the cut: The Godfather Part II.
• The longest title, with 68 letters, symbols and spaces, is Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
• Shortest title: Jaws.

For the full list of 100 movies, see the comments section below (and for the record, I've seen them all!).

Links via AwardsDaily.com and AFI.com.

Great Performances: Tuc Watkins as Sterling Scott

I recently watched the 1997 gay romantic comedy I Think I Do because of Tuc Watkins. He was recently cast on one of "my shows", Desperate Housewives, as one half of the gay couple who moves onto Wisteria Lane this season.

I have seen Watkins many times on one of Big Edie's "shows", One Life to Live, where he plays the lovable cad David Vickers. He is unique among soap actors in that he not only doesn't mind being silly, he appears to relish it, a fact that makes him immensely watchable. That, and he is a total hunk (don't you just love it when they can actually act too?).

Anyway, my previous exposure to him on the daytime sudser added to my appreciation of him in I Think I Do because he plays a soap opera actor in it. And a gloriously vain and self-involved (yet still likeable) one at that. His comedic performance as Sterling Scott (love the name), Alexis Arquette's studly boyfriend, is the highlight of this otherwise well intentioned but typical gay rom com (it is the type of indie where you just know the actors are wearing their own clothes -- not that there's anything wrong with that). Watkins really is a hoot in it, such as when he calls Arquette his "potato bug" or recalls how he wooed him by giving him his headshot.

If you're a fan of Watkins too and want to see him "play gay" before his "househusband" stint this fall, then this movie is worth a look.

Click here to buy I Think I Doon DVD from Amazon.com.
Links via Imdb.com and Televisionista.blogspot.com.

Cinematic Crush: James Dean

What is it about James Dean that makes his mystique, his allure, live on so many years after his brief but brilliant career?

Perhaps it is that he did die so young, forever sealing his youthful, angst-ridden image on celluloid. He never had to endure growing old in the public eye like his contemporaries Brando and Clift. His is the image of the eternal teenager, preserved for each new generation to discover and idolize.

Yet it is much more then that; plenty of Hollywood stars and starlets have gone before their time, but you don't see their faces emblazoned on t-shirts and posters aimed at the buyers of today (Monroe notwithstanding). It was that raw, yearning talent, captured on film, that made him the legend he is, the legend of James Dean.

Dean's portrayals of Cal Trask (East of Eden), Jett Rink (Giant) and, especially, Jim Stark (Rebel Without a Cause) may all be facets of the same personality that may or may not be the real James Dean. His was the talent that took bits and pieces of himself, twisted them into a character, and presented it to you, like a puzzle to untangle. His screen presence is the enigma forever aching to be solved. That is why the myth lives on, even if the man himself did not.

Link via Imbd.com.

The Latest on TV: Watch It, Buster!

Notable movies and other programs on TV for Monday August 27 to Sunday September 2:

Turner Classic Movies brings this year's "Summer Under the Stars" to a close this week, highlighted by the films of the incomparable Buster Keaton on Thursday. The day's classics include The Cameraman, The General and (my personal favorite, one of the funniest movies ever made) Sherlock Jr. (pictured).

Closing out the month long film festival, here are my picks for each day:

• Monday - Loretta Young: She won the Oscar for 1947's The Farmer's Daughter (not yet on DVD), but The Bishop's Wife from the same year holds up better.
• Tuesday - Roy Rogers: The Cowboy and the Senorita was Rogers' first film with long-time leading lady and, later, wife Dale Evans. Also showing: The all-star Hollywood Canteen, wherein he crooned his other signature song, "Don't Fence Me In".
• Wednesday - Mary Astor: The Maltese Falcon. Also showing: The early Oscar-winner, Two Arabian Nights, plus Astor's own Oscar-winning performance in The Great Lie.
• Thursday - In addition to the films listed above, the documentary Buster Keaton: So Funny It Hurt! will air.
• Friday - Sean Connery: No Bond or The Man Who Would Be King leaves us with the underappreciated The Hill.

Tuesday brings AMC's Backstory on The Boston Strangler, followed by the movie itself, while Movies That Shook the World takes a look at The China Syndrome on Friday.

Also on Friday, Bravo takes a peek at the Sexiest Moments on Film (narrated by Kathleen Turner), followed by a four-hour look at the 100 Funniest Movies.

And finally: LOGO celebrates with Out Magazine their Out 100, honoring the top 100 gay and lesbian success stories of 2006, this Wednesday.

Click on the network links to find the show times in your area. All programming is subject to change.

Links via TCM.com, AMCTV.com, BravoTV.com and LOGOOnline.com.

Monthly Wallpaper - September 2007: Great Movie Musicals

This month's movie collage/calendar wallpaper is devoted to the "Great Movie Musicals". All the biggies are here, from Singin' in the Rain to West Side Story to The Wizard of Oz to Grease to Beauty and the Beast. Personal favorites include Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins, Barbra Streisand as Hello, Dolly! and Madonna as Evita. Recent hits like Chicago, Moulin Rouge! and Hairspray are there, along with greats of yesterday like The Band Wagon, Cabaret and The King and I.

Just click on the picture above to enlarge it to its 1024 x 768 size, then right click your mouse and select "Set as Background", and you're done! If you want, you can also save it to your computer and set it up from there, or modify the size in your own photo-editing program if needed.

Enjoy!