Queer Beacon

Kathy Griffin on The View

Kathy Griffin talking about her beef with Barbara Walters is one of the funniest moments in stand-up comedy -- you have got to see it over and over:

Now it seems the two are fine, and there's even a chance Kathy might replace Rosie on the show.  Last night on Larry King (yes, I actually watch that show) former View host Debbie Matenopoulos suggested something interesting: she suggested a gay man should replace Rosie. I think Kathy Griffin could be a decent surrogate for a gay man...but what do you think?  Maybe Rupert Everett could work, he's been all bitchy about not getting more major movie roles.  I think Ross the Intern could be hilarious too, but probably not as biting.  Who else?

Venus (2006) - LightShed 5

Venus is both cute and creepy.  It is cute because the movie shows the life of two aging actors (Peter O'Toole and Leslie Phillips) -- the two have a nice relationship, they even dance together a few times (nothing really gay about that, but I decided to give the movie a LightShed anyway because it is nice for people to see two old guys dancing together). 

The movie is creepy in a Notes on a Scandal way: Peter O'Toole develops this creepy infatuation with a much younger relative of his old friend. 

I loved the performances. Venus is out on DVD.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) - No Gay Content

Awful movie. I was confused most of the time I was not asleep.  I was thinking I was confused precisely because I dozed off a few times (and was awaken by my husband, looking at me startled -- as in "are you going to review the movie or not?"), but more people (who I assume did not sleep) were also confused by the plot. 

Here's the yahoo! description of the shitty story: "Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) are allied with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in a desperate quest to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from his mind-bending trap in Davy Jones' locker, while the terrifying ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman and Davy Jones, under the control of the East India Trading Company, wreaks havoc across the Seven Seas."

I guess you really need to have watched (and remember well) the previous installments.  One thing the movie does deliver, though.  The special effects, especially the open sea battle scenes, are awesome, I must admit -- so if that's all your after, you will probably enjoy At World's End. 

Even though Johny Depp's Captain Sparrow is sounding gayer than ever, there's no gay content in this installment.

Scenes of a Sexual Nature and Pirates

I will see one or both films this weekend.  Have you seen the trailer for Pirates? 

It looks good.  I didn't really love the previous installments, but I cannot resist such a big hit. 

The other movie I might see is Scenes of a Sexual Nature. The movie opened in November in the UK but it is only now being released in North America (the DVD already hit the streets in the UK).

In Scene, Ewan McGregor goes gay -- watch a little clip in which Ewan discusses the possibility of adopting a child with his man, played by Douglas Hodge:

What are you going to watch this weekend?

Lost - Rough Trade Jack

Now it's official, it is impossible to make this man look ugly. 

If you saw Lost's season finale tonight, you got to see rough trade Jack:

Me likes it.  A lot.  Many more pics (all from lost-media) after the jump.  More comments on Lost coming soon.

You Park Like An Asshole 2

Go on, laugh:

Previously: You Park Like an Asshole. [Thanx, Marcus!]

Death at a Funeral - Trailer

It seems we have a dead gay:

I am curious to see how Death at a Funeral will treat the gays; the trailer indicates that the fact that the deceased might have been gay is shocking (well, at least to his son Matthew MacFadyen) and was having an affair with Peter Dinklage...

I saw the trailer before Waitress, the review for that is coming soon!

Spider-man 3 (2007) - No Gay Content

Good movie.  I guess my low expectation helped me enjoy the flick -- I was expecting a piece of crap.

In Spider-man 3, Tobey Maguire is a little more comfortable in his superhero skin; he thinks he can balance his hero life, MJ and taking pics for a living.  That is until Topher Grace, James Franco and Thomas Haden Church get in the way.  They are all villains (sort of emotionally complex) and they are all after Spidey's sweet behind for various reasons.

But we don't get to see Spidey being gang-banged, we only get to see him trying to be cool and look cool after this substance from outer space takes over his body and makes him go all vindictive.

I saw the movie for the first time at 12:01 am Friday and I could barely hear what was going on onscreen, so much was the noise from the audience (I think Scott had a similar problem).  The audience screamed all the time.  I was in a theater filled with macho teenagers and they mostly called Spidey a faggot whenever he cried (and he cried quite a bit).  Bad bad crowd.

And there wasn't even anything gay in the movie: I am not counting as gay James Franco's butler declaring his love for James and his father (played by Willem Dafoe, who died in Spidey 2), and the cutest little boy in the world being grossed out by the kiss a pretty girl (played by Bryce Dallas Howard, who had been previously saved by Spidey) lays on Spidey in front of a crowd.

Gays and Immigration - UAFA - Take Action!

I bet that a lot of you living in the US don't even know that if you fall in love with a foreigner you are in a for a very hard time if you want to be together: The government does not recognize same-sex unions for immigration purposes. 

You probably heard that a gay American is a second class citizen; and in few other areas of the law such a statement is truer.  Seriously.  If a straight American falls for a foreigner, he can sponsor the foreign lady for a visa, no problem.  A gay American has to leave the country if she wants to remain in a relationship.  If you think about the amount of traveling that people have been doing, and the ease of communication brought by phones, the Internet, etc., it is not hard to imagine the number of binational couples being formed, gay and straight (but only the gays will suffer from discrimination). 

17 countries already recognize same-sex couples for immigration purposes: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

To end the immigration discrimination towards same-sex couples in the US, Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) just reintroduced a bill called Uniting American Families Act, and now is the time to take action.  Go to HRC and send a message to your lawmaker (HRC provides a template).  Spread the word.  This is important folks.

[also on Joe, Queerty, 365gay, Out4Immigration - I hope to add more blogs/links here, soon]

The History Boys (2006) - Shipwreck 4

The movie is good, even though the acting is a little too theatrical for me (well, the film is based on a play -- and has the same cast).

In The History Boys we follow a bunch of smart kids from a less than stellar grammar school in England preparing to try for Oxford and Cambridge.  Of the three teachers preparing them for the task, two are certainly gay, and the other could be a lesbian (like, seriously). 

Of the 8 students, one is gay and out, another is kinda bisexual.  It is the 80's but no one has a problem with their sexual orientation.

We have gay content from beginning to end, some of it very very good, but the balance, I think, is negative, and that's a pity: The History Boys would have otherwise been a highly recommendable movie.  The soundtrack, filled with sweet 80's tracks, is pretty good too.

I will talk about the gay content after the jump as it will ruin the plot quite a bit.  In any event, despite what I think of the light for the gays, I would be curious to know if you share my views.  Let me know if you see the movie.  You can queue it on Netflix or get it on DVD.

[SPOILER AHEAD]