The Television and Movie Recommendation/Discussion Thread!

[Big Dummy]

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"We're doing the lords work....I am his servant"

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Carson Kressly gets on my nerves, but that's a pretty ballsy statement, in jest or not.

[Gatito Grande]

Yeah, he got on my nerves too, until I realized that it's all a part of his schtick. Y'know, Carson's the lewd one (My personal fave was just last week, w/ George the Kick-Boxer. Carson, grabbing some shirts of the rack: "I thought of you, and pulled these. Of course, that's not the only thing I pulled when I thought of you!" ), Thom's the bitch, Kyan is haughty (& hottie), Jai is Super-Friendly, and Ted, whom I just adore, is Wise. I think the distinct personalities of the Fab Five is a major reason the show is such a hit.



GG Plus, tonight's the finale of "Boy Meets Boy": who is James going to pick? Frankin is probably straight, my money's on Wes, but I wish he'd pick Brian. Out

[Ben Varkentine]

The way me and my friend Danny (who's gay, but less flamboyant than me, his straight friend--take that you stereotypes!) broke it down is into a family dynamic.



Carson is mom, Ted's dad (and Gatito, you'll have to fight Danny for Ted affections--he's crushing on him so hard he can't believe it), Thom's the bitchy maiden aunt, Kyan's the favorite son and Jai is the baby girl.



BTW, is it just me or is anyone else hoping this wave of Queer Eye For The Straight Guy-mania extends to a soundtrack release including the theme and songs used in the series? Maybe programmed by Jai and designed by Thom?



It is just me, isn't it.

Ben



"We are all one. And if we do not know, we will learn it the hard way."

-- Bayard Rustin, organizer of the 1963 March on Washington

[Iamyouknowyours]

Feel free to move this if it is in the wrong spot. I just finally got my copy of Fucking Amal/Show Me Love. It has become my new favorite movie. What an amazing story. I have never seen adolescence so accurately portrayed, except perhaps on My So-Called Life. And it's one of the few movies out there to defy the lesbian cliche, thank god! The writing is brilliant. And the two lead actresses are outstanding. I'm going to have to watch more of Rebecka Liljeberg's (Agnes's) work. Not only is she drop dead gorgeous, but she speaks volumes with her eyes. I have never been so taken with an actresses eyes before. I had heard good things about this movie, but none of it did the movie justice. Highest recommendations. If you can find it, be sure to watch it.

[Strapping Lass]

I know this will make me look all shallow like in light of the rest of the thread above me , but I just got back from seeing Pirates of the Carribbean and dear god its fantastic!



Plus Johnny Depp is wonderfully camp and beautiful as Captain Jack Sparrow, but all the uk kittens should check out Kiera Knightly in britches and a red soldiers jacket, being all fiesty and kicking zombie pirate ass...oh dear god she is sooooo hot



So thats me being all shallow *cough cough* back now to the people with interesting stuff to say!



Strapping Lass

[sprhrgrl]

Yeah. . . Pirates is great. I saw it for the third time yesterday. Lovely. Johnny Depp . . . *swoon*

she's my everything

Sweetie, I'm a fag. I been there. - Tara (Dead Things shooting script)

A muscle cramp? in your. . . pants? - Tara (Older & Far Away)

[Lindy]

You know, I work at a movie theatre and the people are running us the house down (do you say that in English?). Anyways, we have 6 halls and on the last weekend (which was the first to show Pirates here) we showed the movie in 4 halls around 8 pm. And they were all totally packed. This was worse than the times when we show Lord of The Rings. Tomb Raider and Tears of the Sun we didn't play because of that. I was surprised everytime someone asked for tickets for American Wedding or Terminator.



And you know what else? I haven't had the time to watch the movie myself yet, because I had to work every day since the movie is on.

[Chameleon girl]

Mulholland Drive is one of my all time favorite movies, it had a very twin peaksy feel to it with its craziness. ( Raising my hand as a David Lynch fan, hehehe) ooh, I want to go watch it again now, god Naomi Watts is cute! Anyway, before I rush off I'd better mention what I came here to mention.



I'm not sure if anyone has put this, but there is this mini-series called Tipping The Velvet that the BBC made i think. It's about this woman, Nan Astly, in the early 20th century who falls in love with this male impersonator, Kitty Butler. They go off to the city and start a show together, Kitty realises her feelings for Nan and they get together. It doesn't stop there but I'd better not say anything else otherwise i'll spoil it .



It's based on this book by Sarah Waters (not sure if that name is right) and it is absolutely fantastic and the cinematography is amazing. The woman who plays Kitty is from that T.V. series Spooks, can't remember her name right now though. So it's highly recommended and i think everyone should see it, but there are a few fairly strong sex scenes so there's your warning.



oh, I also loved Donnie Darko! That rabbit freaked me right out, and isn't it good that Drew Barrymore makes up for crap like Charlie's Angels by producing a gem like this?

Willow: I don't think you wanna help. I think you just wanna slay the demon, then go "la, la, la."

[maudmac]

Hey, Chameleon girl, we've got a whole Tipping the Velvet thread here.

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Walking in space we find the purpose of peace. The beauty of life you can no longer hide.
Our eyes are open, our eyes are open. Our eyes are open, our eyes are open wide, wide, wide. -- Walking In Space

[Big Dummy]

I just watched this movie on IFC. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, because it's very confusing. It takes place on 4 simultaneous screens, so the screen of your television is divided into four squares, like a windowpane. Each screen has a different thing going on,pretty much following a specific character(s), and sometimes 2 of the screens will show the same thing when the characters interact. It's very wierd. You only hear certain screens at a time as well, the sounds goes in and out depending on which scene the director wants you to focus in on.



One of the main characters is a lesbian couple, one of whom is played by Selma Hayek. I don't think this is the most positive portrayal of lesbians I've ever seen, since one is a sort of controlling sugar-daddy type, and the other (Hayek's character) is cheating on her with a director. The other woman actually secretly mics Hayek's character so that she can spy on her while they're apart, and thus hears Hayek and the director making love during a secret rendezvous. She subsequently winds up beating Hayek's character, and then shooting (murdering) the director.



I'd recommend it because it's a really well-made film, but the lesbian characters sort've dismayed me.

[xita]

Oh yeah, I've seen timecode, don't recommend the lesbian angle at all, but the 4 screen thing was at least interesting. So I enjoyed watching it for that.

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"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."

-Me & Bobby
McGee

[Boomstick79]

Well it's been a while but I have been off watching lots of films and generally living at work so here we go with the first batch of recommendations.

First the big one. I have seen Kill Bill . I got invited to a press show in London last week and saw the almost finished cut (bar the closing credits) of Volume 1. The film has been cut into two volumes, and the first ends on an absolute bitch of a cliffhanger!

Be warned though - this is not a film for the squeamish. There is the trademark Tarantino black humour coupled together with innovative camera work and stunning cinematography - in particular the showdown at the House of Blue Leaves between The Bride (Uma Thurman) and O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), but there is also shitload of claret. And for those among you not familiar with British slang, it means blood. Lots and lots of blood. I am talking fountains of the stuff.

However, do not let that put you off. Although not a five star film for me personally, it rates as a high four. Daryl Hannah, Liu and Thurman all rate particularly high in the acting stakes, with Darryl Hannah coming out with one of the best lines (though it works better in the context you see on screen ) - "You don't owe her shit Bill!"

The action scenes are well choreographed and designed by Yuen Wo Ping (he was the one who designed the fight choreography of the Matrix Trilogy and many, many Hong Kong movies) and all the principal actors equip themselves well with their roles.

I reserve judgement on Kill Bill until I see Volume 2 (due for release in February) but Volume 1 has some outstanding sequences that should go down in cinema history. The Bride and O-Ren's showdown in the snow garden absolutely blew me away. Absolutely stunning composition of frame and set design. Truly magical.

I too also jump on the bandwagon of Pirates of the Carribean. I thought it was bloody marvellous and Johnny Depp wouldn't surprise me if he got a nod an awards ceremony this year, though I doubt it will be an Oscar. It doesn't seem to be the choice of the Academy to award to mainly comedic roles, but hey ho, you never know. Great film though.

And Keira Knightley just keeps growing in my estimation as an actress. I liked her a lot in Bend It Like Beckham last year, and is soon to be seen in Richard Curtis' (he who wrote Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral among others) directorial debut 'Love, actually'. Have heard very good things about it, and am looking forward to seeing it soon.

I also managed to get into a talker screening of Finding Nemo last month - sadly we Brits are getting it the cinemas six months after you lot over the other side of the pond got it but I absolutely loved it. Pixar just keep on growing and growing, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be a shoo-in for Best Animated feature at this years Oscars. Crush the 150 year old surfer turtle just rules!

To join in the Timecode debate, I saw it a few years back at an independent cinema in London, and I kinda liked it. Very innovative and excellent use of the boundaries afforded by Digital Video and although the storyline was a little weak in places, it was an intriguing enough proposition to keep me entertained for an hour and a half.

Best digital film I have seen for a while though is definitely Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. See it if you get the chance. Great film



~Lou

[Hyo Shin]

OK, here is a little story about a Korean miniseries called Damo.



'Damo' means 'Tea lady' but it is a codename for female police detectives. Naturally it started as a period drama about a strong female action hero.



It was not a big hit. But it became a cult series and made some wild fans called 'Damo pyein' (Pyein means invalid). They loved its slightly twisted wordplay. They are still using 'Damospeak' in real life.



The series became ridiculously melodramatic. They made a complicated double love triangle and added some incest touch. The fans went wild.



And they lost their energy. The characters lost consistency. They almost abandoned some favorite characters and storylines. And some of 'cool' male characters became too big and our heroine became a heartless bitch.



The ending was disaster. Everybody expected a tragic ending. But it was just too meaningless. They just died. That's all. No revolution, no hope.



Now the Damo message board became a battlefield. Everybody is fighting everybody. And if you have a negative opinion of the show, you are a traitor.



Bored now...



www.koreanfilm.org/htdocs.../5026.html

Edited by: Hyo Shin at: 9/14/03 9:06 am

[xita]

I come here to plug Lianna. I love this movie a lot. Since I saw it, I have become a fan of John Sayles. Here's my short review. Anyway, the reason I am plugging it now is:



Lianna is finally on DVD!! AND it's only $14.99.



If you haven't seen it, give it a shot. It's definitely dated, it's from the early eighties but it almost seems like 70s. But it's very honest and not exploitative.

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"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."

-Me & Bobby
McGee

[maudmac]

Anybody see Carnivàle on HBO this week?



I was intrigued. I was kind of eh about Nick Stahl, until I saw it. And, wow, I'm so glad Adrienne Barbeau's in this. I haven't seen her in anything since Creepshow and Swamp Thing. (Not that she hasn't been working, I just haven't seen any of what she's been doing.)



The first Carnivàle ep really made me want to find out what happens next and see where it will go. I don't feel that way about very many shows. Most of the shows I like are actually pretty boring in that they're formulaic and plot-based procedural types of shows (L&O, CSI, etc.). So it's nice to see something so different. It's mysterious and freaky, but not so much so that I was just left frustrated and scratching my head.



Oh, and, speaking of Timecode, I really want to see Cold Creek Manor, which opens Friday (9/19). (Both directed by Mike Figgis.) I understand it's supposed to not really be all that great, but I'm a sucker for spooky shit.

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Walking in space we find the purpose of peace. The beauty of life you can no longer hide.
Our eyes are open, our eyes are open. Our eyes are open, our eyes are open wide, wide, wide. -- Walking In Space

[dekalog]

Nick Stahl is also in the new flick Twist - which is a cool twist on Oliver Twist.



Also for anyone else who is into Neve Campbell her new film The Company (directed by Robert Altman) is excellent and she is stunning in it.

[xita]

I loved Carnivàle! I of course like the whole good and evil thing going on but I also love that it's set during the dust bowl , I don't think I've seen any show set during that time and I think historically it is very important. One of my favorite movies is Freaks, so you know I am loving the folks in this. I think I would have liked to have been a carnie myself

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"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."

-Me & Bobby
McGee

[BytrSuite]

It's never too late xita! You should write a fic where Willow and Tara are carnies. That would be cool.



This is the first time I actually regret not getting HBO. Ah, well, I shall wait till it is (hopefully) out on dvd.

________
"Oh, good! I was hoping to add theft, endangerment and insanity to my list of things I did today."
"Ah! You, too?"
(Stitch laughs delightedly)

[Puff]

That's the Sharon Stone movie yes? I saw her promote it on the Ellen show today. I'm waiting for 'Underworld' to open on Friday myself.



I want to recommend 'Watching you' It's a DVD of lesbian short movies that all won awards at various gay and lesbian film festivals. They range from 6-40 mins or so in length. 2 of them had me in hysterics ('Interview with my next girlfriend' and 'The ten rules: A lesbian survival guide') they wer just so good. And 'Traveling companion' is just an amazing short movie. All of the short movies are worth watching but these three were by far my favorites. The DVD can be brought on Amazon etc.

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So, the day started and I knew my name and had my pants on. So far, so good. Yay.
Amber Benson

[Warduke]

I really liked Carnivàle. The characters were very unique and the atmosphere was very eerie.



And of course there's Clea





edited to add...



From AICN

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Prey for Rock and Roll



This is a little film made on a modest budget that you can tell was a labor of love for all involved. It’s the story of an all-girlL.A. band whose lead member, played by Gina Gershon, is reaching the age where she has to make some hard decisions as to whether or not to go on. It’s based on the memoirs of real-life rocker Cheri Lovedog (who also wrote the songs) and is directed by first-timer Alex Steyermark, who’s been the music supervisor for dozens of feature films.



The film doesn’t glamorize the rock lifestyle – far from it. Instead it emphasizes the hard knocks that a band has to endure on the road to that ever-elusive recording contract: the hauling of heavy equipment…..the practice sessions in decrepit surroundings….the one-night stands that pay peanuts…..the day jobs that the members dare not quit. The trappings really feel genuine.



The cast – which includes Drea De Matteo, Gilmore girl Shelly Cole, and Lori Petty (who’s been pretty scarce since TANK GIRL tanked) as the other band members -- is excellent, but this is clearly Gershon’s picture. She’s the central character, does her own singing, and also does some very humorous voiceover narration. (Steyermark mentioned in the post-screening Q & A that nobody else was considered for the role.) She really shines in this part, which, combined with her Crystal Connors character in SHOWGIRLS, can only solidify her standing as teamHollywood’s top switch-hitter. (She goes down with a girlfriend early in the film, but late in the movie, she’s genuinely intrigued by a VERY unique male opportunity.)



The music is excellent also … there’s going to be a CD released shortly. The girls are very well-coached for the performance numbers, with the playing not looking phony at all. And with their wildly contrasting appearances, they genuinely LOOK like a girl band.



There’s humor, there’s tragedy, and there’s definitely ROCK in the course of a very tight storyline enhanced by the realistic surroundings. Consider this the antidote if you’re ever contaminated by exposure to JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS.

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Lil' Trevor : Always the life of the party.

Edited by: Warduke at: 9/16/03 8:19 pm

[xita]

Brian, that's a shame I wanted gina to have a girl/girl ending, oh well.



Puff, I got that dvd as well and I recommend it. I'd seen Traveling companion before but I have to say the title film, Watching You was quite the find, I am in love with the lead in that, what a hot woman. But yeah it was unusually good for a lesbian shorts film.



Ahh and I love Whoopie's new show, FUNNY!

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"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose."

-Me & Bobby
McGee

[Warduke]

I know xita, although I love Gina and I will watch this movie, my eagerness to see it just went down.

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Lil' Trevor : Always the life of the party.

[Boomstick79]

I've just finished watching Underworld. Go and see it. Now. That's all I will say.



~Lou

[kajo 2000]

[Hope this is the right place to post this interview]



From The Advocate:

Quote:

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Simply irresistable



Gina Gershon once again turns the world on with her smile — and everything else — in Prey for Rock and Roll

By Alonso Duralde

Excerpted from The Advocate, September 30, 2003



To paraphrase the old Sara Lee ad, nobody doesn't like Gina Gershon. She turns everyone on: Lesbians, straight men, straight women, and gay men alike find themselves melting under the heat of Gershon's on-screen sexuality, particularly in her legendary girl-on-girl love scenes with Jennifer Tilly in 1996's Bound.



Gershon's dark sensuality — and of course, her considerable acting chops — even helped her to rise above the rubble of her film previous to Bound, Paul Verhoeven's famously disastrous Showgirls from 1995. And while the film became a midnight-movie fave for camp-loving queens, Gershon became an instant queer icon for fag and dyke alike.



In October, Gershon's status as a straight "dykon" will be enhanced even further with the release of Prey for Rock and Roll, based on Cheri Lovedog's autobiographical stage play. Gershon stars as Jacki, a rocker who's hitting her "I'm still here" years and worrying that she may never make it big. And while the talented Gershon gives one of her most powerful performances in the film — along with singing and playing guitar herself — many of her fans will no doubt be most abuzz over her steamy tryst with Shakara Ledard.



Over lunch in West Hollywood, Gershon's enthusiasm for the project and her character is clearly evident. With refreshing candor, she also talks frankly about aging in Hollywood, the fervor of her lesbian following, and how she completely changed her acting strategy during Showgirls.



The milieu of the movie is all very lived-in. What the houses look like and the way people live — the whole atmosphere really rang true. Did you research current people or famous acts like the Runaways at all?



I was hanging out with Joan Jett; she taught me how to play the guitar for this. Because I didn't play rock, so I had to learn to perform in a different way. It's more your whole arm instead of just this [strums]. [Director] Alex [Steyermark] really knows that world quite well. Everyone who worked on this movie — it certainly wasn't for the money, you know? [Chuckles] It's low-budget, and I think people who worked on it did it because they related to it and they loved the story.



And fans will love that girl-on-girl love scene you've got going.



Isn't she cute?



She's adorable. I asked a female co-worker about what she likes about your love scenes, and she said, "She always seems to be focusing on the other woman rather than where her cue light is or where the camera is."



Well, yeah — when you're having sex with someone, you're not thinking about your lighting.



And you're committed to it. It's very sexy.



You know what? I like love scenes a lot because I think they show a real parameter of who the character is. I didn't know who we were going to get, but I said, "She's got to be hot." I kept saying, "I really want a black chick or a Latino chick — everyone's so white in the movies." I saw a picture of her, and I thought, Please, God, let her be able to act. She's so incredible-looking, and she'd never acted before, but I said, "She could do it, she could do it." She's so funny. She said, "OK — I've never acted before; I've never kissed another woman…I'm all yours, mama." [Laughs] I felt very responsible, and I was very protective of her.



You were advised not to do Bound, and you did it anyway. When Prey came along, did you ever think, Oh, God, I can't ever do another lesbian love scene?



Obviously — well, not obviously — I've gotten a lot of offers to play lesbians. But honestly, I don't look at characters as to whether they're lesbians or straight; I just look at the character. It didn't really occur to me that I was playing a lesbian. When I saw the first screening of the movie when they first put it together, and I saw the scene with Lori [Petty] and Shelly [Cole] — they're really the lesbian girls of the movie — I literally thought, Oh, my God, I just did another lesbian movie! [Laughs] But you know, the thing I like is that a lot of the reviews — obviously, you'll bring it up because you're The Advocate — a lot of the reviews don't really mention it, which I really like because it's really not about that. They're these girls in a band who happen to be lesbians. It's not a big deal.

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"I want to be Byron... because I want to date young boys." Amber Benson

Edited by: kajo 2000 at: 9/19/03 6:57 am

[Warduke]

Thanks for the transcript kajo.



Speaking of the uber hot Ms Gershon, I saw her on TV last night, on the cover of Maxim, so I went to their site and check this out



And I also found these pics about Prey for Rock and Roll from the Sundance Film Festival.

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Lil' Trevor : Always the life of the party.

[tyche]

Not sure if this is the right place to mention it, but for anyone in the Bay Area, Gina Gershon is going to be appearing live on stage. She'll be singing with Girls Against Boys (though the ad actually says 'Prey for Rock & Roll') at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on Sunday Sept. 28th.

[emma peel]

Thanks for the Underworld mention, Boomstick79. When I saw the ad on tv and realized that was Kate Beckinsale, my jaw dropped a foot and a half.

Who woulda thunk she'd look so hot??? I thought she was just cute before.

Woof!!

Janice

[LokiPromise]

Ooh Underworld was pretty good, worth seeing. A great dark and moody flic and Kate Beckinsale was hot.

BB:Hello Xander...and Anya, how is your money?!

A:Fine!Thank you for asking!

[Gatito Grande]

A new Kitten over on The K had this listed re: support for this movie. www.lesbianfirstweekendfilmclub.com/ (Funny, it's not coming to Albion, Michigan anytime soon! )



GG Glad to see former BTVS cast-members making lesbian---um, bisexual---movies. Just always wish it were *female* cast-members! Out

[Cicca]

I caught the premiere tonight. Interesting show. It doesn't conflict with anything else I want to watch (OK, While You Were Out) so I may catch it again.





And Charmed. I've seen maybe half an episode before. The storyline packs no punch for me since I don't know the history, but those girls are hot!

Yes, I belong in the shallow end of the pool.

“Spirit of Sappho, ... I summon you. Come fill me with your big, dykey power!” ~ Final Exam by Tommo