My Summer Mix Tape

Remember making mix tapes? Now it is play lists. The magic kind of goes don't you think?

Here are a few song that make my summer. Some old, some new, all make me smile.



From top to bottom, left to right.

Althea and Donna - Up Town Top Ranking (this is just lazing off on a boat good!)
M.I.A. feat Timberland - Come Around (Her most commercial track, and oh so sexy)
Madonna - Incredible (Arguably the best track off the new album)
Nikka Costa - Like a Feather (Oh so sassy. Makes you wanna shake your tail feather)
Leila K - Got to Get (God this song takes me back, and it still sounds so good)
Gabriella Cilmi - Sanctuary (Another soul throwback, and she is only 16)
Roisin Murphy - Dear Miami (Best on the album. A nice global warming song)
Hercules and Love Affair - Blind (I just cannot stop loving this tune)
Tom Tom Club - Wordy Rappinghood (Deserves a re-release so badly)
De La Soul - Say No Go (Can rap ever get better?)
Macy Gray - Do Something (So chilled, so sexy, so need a cocktail)
Santogold - You'll Find A Way (Just makes me want to dance CRAZY like)
Salt N Pepa - Shoop (GOD I MISS THEM)
Adele - Hometown Glory (Night Facilities Remix) (So didn't think a remix of this would work)

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" Trailer

He even fails as an alien...I don't know, I still watch him waiting for the words "Excellent Dude" to escape his lips. I do, however, love my Kathy.

Just a reminder

As some of you may or may not know I am hosting a Blog-A-Thon. So far the response has been much better than expected and I am grateful for those of you who will participate.

The subject is Rug Rats Blog-a-Thon, and in it you can pick (as many as you want) a child performance that you simply cannot forget. For good or bad. Someone asked be what the age limit is, I can safely say it will be under your discretion (however 16 does veer into adulthood). If you really want to write about Sean Penn in "I Am Sam" go right ahead!

If you want to join in the celebration, or destroying of, child performances all you have to do is email me here and let me know your interest. The deadline for submissions will be July 27th, 2008, and they will be posted on the 28th unless fire, flood, famine or death prevents me. Send in the blog/web link to your submission to my email and I will post away.

Gay role models

There have been a few articles popping up lately talking about the lack of gay characters in feature films, and how television currently seems more liberal that Hollywood.
I do not get TV, everything I watch is on DVD or bought off iTunes so I have not been watching “Brothers and Sisters”, or a majority of the other shows that have gay characters, and I wish I had more time to watch them. Perhaps I will catch up in a few years. However there are two prominent gay characters on TV that break the stereotypes, and in my modest opinion are trail blazers.

The first is ‘Detective Shakima Greggs’ from HBO’s “The Wire” (which I am only on season 2 so please bear with me and my lack of knowledge of the past 5 years of character development).

Sonja Sohn plays a wise cracking, dedicated and stunningly beautiful lesbian detective in the series. She works the streets, befriends informants, and does her job – no questions asked. She has a partner who dislikes her job and wants her to quit, so ‘Kima’ as she is called, juggles her ‘lives’.
The way the character is written is not as wonderful as how the other characters who interact with her are written. They are open, understanding, there is no judgement, not male chauvinist jokes behind her back. She is who she. I am sure life is not that liberal in Baltimore, but it is refreshing to see how highly she is thought of by her colleagues and peers, all of whom are from complete different backgrounds and ethnicities.

The second is also from “The Wire”.
You all know I am talking about Michael K. Williams ‘Omar Little’. Omar is a bad ass thug on one hand, and the sweetest most sensitive soul on the other. He has grown up on the streets, and spends his time running around Baltimore robbing the drug lords, and hurting anyone who hurts the people he loves. He is technically one of the good guys, but you know why the drug lords fear him.
Season one saw his boyfriend get brutally murdered and the devastation Omar showed was tear inducing. Even in Season 2, he still talks about his boy with such pain in his eyes.
He is one of those TV characters that everyone can get behind. I have spoken to many people who love the show, and everyone sites Omar as their favourite character. And these are all straight men.

I love how the only people who call Omar ‘faggot’ are the drug lords and drug dealers, the technical bad guys of the show (how funny most of the actors playing the ‘bad guys’ also appeared in “Oz”, the gay fantasy drama) as though, by using that hateful word, they are underlining just how morally corrupted they are.
On one hand the writers deserve every accolade bestowed upon then (but not at the expense of ‘Battlestar’ please) but on the other, this character would not have worked as well, or be so loved had it not been for Williams fearless performance. Something I hope is not forgotten come Emmy time (it will be but I can hope).

However the best thing about Omar is that he make so apologies for being gay, in fact, on the streets of Baltimore where there is so much homophobia, he is out and proud.

"Let the weekend roll"

So it is a local gay pride celebration, so that means I will be drunk drunkity drunk drunk. In fact I will be consuming my weight in beer this weekend, and much deserved I have to say.
In light of my future inebriation I will not be posting much, but when I come back I need to update my predictions, give my thoughts on "The Wire", remind everyone about my Blog-A-Thon and do some other things I have been meaning to do.

Happy drinking everyone! And if you feel the room spinning do as I do. Go in the corner and have a discreet little vom.

"Rocknrolla" trailer

For the sake of his marriage this needs to be a hit! The trailer makes it look like a hell of a lot of fun, but trailers are so deceptive.

"Frozen River" trailer

Had big buzz at Sundance, especially for star Melissa Leo. If this crosses over, who knows what could happen. But that is a BIG IF

Well bollocks

I didn't get tickets to Madonna's Sticky and Sweet tour.
And now I see this set list and I wish I had.

Typical.

Blog-a-thon

So I am considering doing a blog-a-thon. Not because I think I get enough readers to warrant one, but simply because I kind of want to try it. Who knows if my blog takes off I am going to need a practice run.
Anyone can enter, but first let me tell you what it is about.

It is called the "Rug Rats blog-a-thon".


What it is going to be about is simple. Child actor performances that are great. The young actors who have delivered performances that have left you dumb founded. Now is your chance to celebrate them.

The simple reason for this is because of that damn addictive site, the site when I have lost many an hours perusing for various tid bits of information. That would of course be IMDB.

I was thinking ahead to 2009 and wondering just how "The Lovely Bones" will be received, especially the central performance of Saoirse Ronan. Could she be good enough to be the second youngest Actress nominated for Best Actress?

I could happen.

Then I continued my little search and discovered another, even more likely contender. Abigail Breslin.
Since her Oscar nomination for "Little Miss Sunshine" she has made a few movies. Not all of them critical darlings, but in every single case she has been praised. Not bad considering she is only twelve and has made eight films since her nom.

For those who do not know, the premise for this film based on the best selling novel, it is this:
The story follows a family in which a daughter has leukemia and her younger sister (Breslin) was conceived to provide a donor match. However, the family is torn apart when, after years of medical procedures, the healthy younger sibling sues her parents for the right to decide how her body is used.
Sounds juicy to me!

An added little bit 'o' info is that Dakota fanning was originally cast to play this, but refused to shave her head. Someone has been taking Diva lessons. I am sure Paris Hilton could have lent her some of her snap on weaves.

Could there be two young nominees in 2009? Plus Keisha Castle Hughes is in "The Vinters Luck" directed by Niki Caro who, in only two films, has directed 3 actresses to Oscar nominees. Plus she directed Keisha to her record breaking nomination in Best Actress.
Lets hear it for the kids.

Of course not all great child performances get the recognition they deserve. Where was Haley Joel Osment's nomination for his far superior work in "A.I."? Or what about "In America's" Bolger sisters? It is not always fair, but it seems the Academy is warming to these young thesps, especially the girls.

So if you would like to take part all you have to do is email me here and let me know your interest and I will email you back a lovely little .jpg to advertise. The deadline for submissions will be July 27th, 2008, and they will be posted on the 28th unless fire, flood, famine or death prevents me. Send in the blog/web link to your submission to my email and I will post away.
Hope you come! It should be fun. (ugh...I rhymed)

Buzzzzzzzz

Heeeeeeeeee!

"The Wackness" trailer

This could end up being the break out hit of the year and see a possible Oscar nom for Kingsley. It looks like a hell of a lot of fun. Now let me go out and spend some time with my mates in this grey dreary country. Summertime my ass.

Will this year be a first?

Let's hope so. Tom O'Neil points us to this over at Gold Derby.
It is about time and judging from the trailer this looks like a very likely nomination. Was she actually passed over for "Moulin Rogue!"?
I am dumb struck!

The Secret Life of Links

Awards Daily via just Jared has these GORGEOUS pics of Nicole and Hugh from the upcoming "Australia". So many people are expecting this movie to flop.
Why?
I look forward to anything romantic, pretty and epic, and ole Baz has yet to steer us wrong.
Plus did I mention how pretty it is....just looking at the movie will be enough to give it an 'A' grade.

For those of you who love to discover new music, and I know there are a lot of you, Arjan Writes has some great downloads to, well, download. Go on, make your summer mix tape all the more interesting.

File this inder 'How Dare They'. Madonnalicious is reporting of one of the top remixers turning her down. Don't they know the only thing to make an ok Madonna album brilliant is the remixes?

Strange Culture looks at "Burn After Reading and it's chances of some Academy love. Go J.K.

Newly born from the Lady Blogs vagine is Valley Dreamin' who rewatches 3 of my favorite films that are all better than you.

Spike Lee is making a new movie, and this time The Film Experience proves that they should be the casting director for EVERYTHING.

Why am I not considering these women?

I was going over my little predictions and was looking fondly at some, when all of a sudden it hit me like a bee sting.

Why am I not predicting any of the women from the upcoming adaptation of the best selling novel "The Secret Life of Bees"?

The film stars an actress sure to be nominated in the future, one Oscar winner, two previous Oscar nominees and multi million dollar Grammy award winning recording artist.
So why is no one predicting anything for these wonderful women?

I have no idea!


Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Husdon, Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, and Alica Keys are helping bring this wonderful novel about the friendship of women to the big screen.

While I do not think Hudson will be nominated again (but who knows) I do think Latifah and Okonedo, who have the books juiciest roles can. Perhaps I should just go ahead and predict them. Latifah is fresh off her SAG and Golden Globe win for "Life Support" and may be ready to give the ole dramatic chop a whirl again. Okodeno has "Skin" coming out this year also so, as long as she gives two strong roles, she is sure to be recognized for one.
As for Keys, who knows at this point if she has the dramatic chops, but her role in the book is not as warm or challenging as the other two sisters, but a great actress can make so much more out of it....can she?
Hudson as the care giver to Fannings character does have some good dramatic moments but is mainly comic relief in the book. Can she prove all her one-hit-wonder detractors wrong?
As for Fanning, it depends how much "Hounddog" (The Dakota Fanning rape movie) hurts or helps her.

I for one will be watching this space very carefully.

Where are the Queers?

I just finished reading this article on Hollywood Reporter about how poor independent gay films are doing.
Could black Sunday have been a knife in the stomach of any film maker bringing a gay themed story to the screen?

Sure there has only been 1 major film being put into production, that being Gus Van Sants "Milk". Since that fateful day when the hopes of many a gay man or woman crashed into a wall. Sure you get the silly comedies that only a handful of people see, but nothing major.

Even gay character that seemed to litter a lot of prestige films have been scarce to say the least. Last year not one of the 5 nominated films even had a gay character in it. Perhaps gay interest film makers are playing the waiting game. Let all the homophobic old twats who hold positions of power in tinsel town pop their clogs, then things will be easier.

I still remember Ernest Borgnine saying publically he nor any of his friends would even see Brokeback, "I didn't see it and I don't care to see it ... If John Wayne were alive, he'd be rolling over in his grave."

At least we are not dealing with particularly intelligent people.

So where does this leave gay cinema? Is "Milk", Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" and "Talking Woodstock" (the new Ang Lee film about a gay man working at his parents' motel in the Catskills inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in the summer of 1969) all we have to look forward to? Sure Bryan Singer is doing "Mayor of Castro Street" but by that time Harvey Milk will be old news (Much like "Infamous" was for Truman Capote).
There is "I Love You Phillip Morris" with Jim Carey and Ewan McGregor, and even though Jim has more than proved his acting chops and we all know Ewan is basically family, I am very wary of the 'comedy/drama' categorization and the fact it is written by the guys responsible for "Cats and Dogs".
All I need is another "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" to send me over the edge.

In the mean time, gay men have to turn to womans films like "Sex and the City: The Movie" and even though we loved being in those ladies company, Carrie's close close gay friend Stanford Blatch was hardly to be seen.
I still hold out hope though. We are living in intolerant times, perhaps future elections will help sort out exactly what tolerance is, and that hate is not something that should ever be preached. Until then I hope for more "Brokebacks", "Bounds" and "Priscilla's"

At least we appear to be big on TV.