Showing posts with label Coming Soon to DVD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coming Soon to DVD. Show all posts

Friday, April 16, 2010

Meet the Director of Fraternity Massacre at Hell Island


May 2nd, 2010
3 - 5 p.m.

OutLoud! Books and Gifts
1703 Church Street
Nashville, TN 37203

Thursday, July 9, 2009

The New Twenty

The New Twenty (2009) Starring Bill Sage, Terry Serpico, Nicole Bilderback, Colin Fickes, Andrew Wei Lin, Ryan Locke, Thomas Sadoski – Directed by Chris Mason Johnson



The New Twenty tells the story of five college friends that are approaching thirty and questioning the bonds they once shared. In a post 9-11 world where ‘text is the new sex, gay is the new straight, and friends are the new family’ Chris Mason Johnson has given us the most dysfunctional ‘family’ ever. There’s Julie (Nicole Bilderback – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bring It On, Clueless) an over-achiever, and her aggressive fiancĂ© Andrew (model Ryan Locke from Beyonce’s If I Were a Boy video). Then there’s Julie’s gay brother Tony (Andrew Wei Lin) and his addict roommate Felix (soap star Thomas Sadoski). Tony is dating the HIV+ teacher Robert (Bill Sage – Sex & the City, Mysterious Skin, Boy Wonder). Then there’s woof-y Colin Fickes as Ben Barr, a bearish geeky guy that spends most of the movie trying unsuccessfully to hook up online. Julie is incredibly successful at her job which threatens Andrew. He becomes fixated on his own success and partners with a stereotypical money-grubbing investment banker. He also tries to bring in Tony who refuses after her overhears the banker verbally gay bash him. Tony and Robert are having problems as well – although there’s only one real scene that conveys that – and eventually they break up. All the tension (I know, *what* tension?) builds until the climactic finale at Andrew’s bachelor party. This is a movie that gets everything and nothing right. The performances are top caliber from this ensemble of back-players, but that can’t help a talk-y script that confuses, ignores, and generally falls flat. There’s so much importance plot-wise on the careers of the two leads – and yet you’re never quite sure what *anyone* in the story does for a living. For example, Andrew’s job apparently consisted of yelling obscenities and scarring his staff of two. And there was also some confusion on my part about Felix’s addict status; we see him meet up with some girl and they go back to her apartment. Next we see a baggie with something inside and a glass pipe – I’m thinking pot, right? Also, cue ‘girl-with-a-guitar’ music. But the movie treats it like he’s addicted to heroin. Now, it may have been heroin in the baggie, but there’s really nothing else in the movie that would indicate *what* the guy is addicted to. And the tacked-on fifth wheel Ben is completely pointless and spends the entire movie maybe hating his body, smoking, and being incredibly needy. At the end of the movie I felt like if thirty is the new twenty then I feel sixty. Killer soundtrack though. The New Twenty will be available on DVD on July 21st.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Were The World Mine (2008)

Were the World Mine (2008) Starring Tanner Cohen, Nathaniel David Becker, Wendy Robie, Judy McLane, Zelda Williams, Jill Larson, Ricky Goldman, Christian Stolte, David Darlow – Directed by Tom Gustafson



If you have ever considered yourself a movie fan in the least, I have something very special to share with you. Actually, this isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned Were the World Mine. But now that it’s finally arrived on DVD, I wanted to take a second opportunity to implore you to see this fantastic film.

I still have trouble believing this is a feature film debut for Tom Gustafson. The film is so pitch perfect you’d believe it was the work of a seasoned Hollywood heavyweight. Were the World Mine is a re-working of Gustafson’s 2003 short film Fairies. Fairies was a major festival success and repeatedly shown on LOGO. It was this success that inspired Gustafson to try it on a larger scale.

Were the World Mine is like you threw High School Musical, Moulin Rouge, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet into a blender and still managed to achieve something wholly original and emotionally moving. While there’s nothing particularly ‘new’ about Were the World Mine (the story is a few hundred years old) it still feels fresh and groundbreaking, perhaps in its’ ability to finally combine all the queer elements of the films that preceded it then distilling it into a simple-fairy tale-esque story. In its simplicity it will become this generation’s Beautiful Thing.

In terms of plot think High School Musical Does A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Timothy (Tanner Cohen) is begrudgingly but openly gay at an all-boys school in typical small town America. He doesn’t hide who he is but he doesn’t exactly flaunt it either. Nevertheless he still gets teased by his schoolmates. And his mother (Judy McLane) is trying to be accepting but obviously still doesn’t understand. He feels completely alone except for his two best friends from a neighboring school – guitar-toting Frankie (Zelda Williams) and athletic Max (Ricky Goldman). Timothy spends most of his afternoons with Frankie and Max but most of his school hours daydreaming about the jock rugby team player Jonathan (Nathaniel David Becker) – but Timothy’s got plenty of material. Jonathan pats his butt during basketball practice, compliments his singing in a particularly dreamy/flirty scene, and always rises to his defense when the other rugby players start their bullying. So he’s completely annoyed when his kooky drama teacher interrupts his Jonathan-drooling-a-thon one day to insist he try out for the school’s upcoming musical version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Timothy gets cast as Puck, and while memorizing his lines he stumbles upon the recipe for the pansy’s love potion. For the non-Shakespearean among you – in A Midsummer Night’s Dream the impish fairy Puck creates havoc when he sprays a love potion via a pansy into several sleeping eyes one night that causes the sleeper to fall madly in love with the first person he or she sees upon opening his or her eyes. Timothy is skeptical at first, but looses all doubts when he accidentally sprays Max. The next day at school he’s ready when drama practice starts – determined once and for all to get the guy of his dreams. To his delight it works, but his moment is cut short by more homophobic taunting from the rugby team members in the cast. In a moment of anger he sprays his two worst antagonists – who start totally making out! Now anyone who tries to stand in his way will finally see what life is like in his shoes. Soon half the town has had a sudden change in orientation and gay marriages have been legalized! But soon we realize that what was at first laugh-inducing has become heart-breaking. Problems arise – as they will when love is involved.

The cast is fantastic. Relative newcomers Tanner Cohen and Nathaniel David Becker are not only heavenly on the eyes (and I do mean heavenly) but they can both act and sing. Tanner is one half of an emotronic pop (a sub-genre I had never heard of) band called The Guts. He also appeared in The Life Before Her Eyes and “As the World Turns”. As for Becker, you might remember him from a Virgin Mobile commercial (I didn’t). The most recognizable cast members are in the ranks. Wendy Robie might look more familiar to audiences with an eye-patch but her role as the as the ethereal drama teacher is the complete opposite of Nadine from ‘Twin Peaks”. She’s captivating and enchanting – so, completely believable as a captivating and enchanting drama teacher. Another television personality on-hand is Jill Larson, who has played Opal Cortlandt on “All My Children” for the past 18 years. And Zelda Williams may not be a name you know offhand but you probably know her dad, Robin.

The DVD officially hit store shelves June 9th, so if you haven’t been lucky enough to see it at a festival or you have and you have to own a copy be sure to keep your eyes peeled.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Some Like It Hot: 50th Anniversary Edition

Some Like It Hot: 50th Anniversary Edition (1959) Starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O’Brien, Nehemiah Persoff, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee – Directed by Billy Wilder



It’s been 50 years since the release of the now classic comedy and cinema fans can rejoice at the recently announced 50th Anniversary Edition 2-Disc DVD. There was a Collector’s Edition that was released in 2007 but the new release, which is scheduled to hit store shelves on September 1st, might finally contain the special features that fans have been clamoring for. It is, after all, one of the most beloved comedies of all time. If you have yet to see it there’s never been a better time to check it out and see what all the fuss is about. For starters, it will certainly go down as one of the best and most memorable performances for all three of its stars. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon star as Joe and Jerry respectively, two out-of-work musicians in 1929 Chicago who accidentally witness a Mob hit on Valentine’s Day. In a desperate attempt to run they disguise themselves as women and join up with an all-female band headed to Florida. Once on the train they both end up falling for the lead singer and ukulele player Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe). Sugar is on the run as well, trying to escape her historically bad choices in men; apparently she has a thing for tenor sax players (like Joe) but always ends up with her heart broken and coleslaw in her face. Having had enough with the red cabbage facials she has decided to meet and marry a millionaire once she gets to the seaside. She’s disappointed however to find that the rich men that troll the beaches of Miami are decidedly older than she had hoped. But Joe has a plan. Donning a second disguise (and a Cary Grant accent) Joe introduces himself to Sugar as Junior, heir-apparent to the Shell Oil fortune. As for Jerry, he’s got admirers of his own. Is she as devastatingly breathtaking as Marilyn? Not quite. Jerry finds himself pursued by a gentlemen by the name of Osgood – a real millionaire with a real million dollars. After some pleading (and just a few threats) Joe convinces Jerry to occupy Osgood on the mainland one night while Joe (as Junior) takes Sugar onto Osgood’s yacht. There he pretends to be gay in the hopes that Sugar will view his lack of interest in women as a challenge. As the sun rises the next morning we find Joe and Sugar deeply in love, and Jerry has received a marriage proposal from Osgood. But the morning also brings trouble. The very Mafia goons that were chasing after Joe and Jerry check into the same hotel! Apparently there is a ‘Friends of the Opera’ convention going on (so it’s going to be a little weird) but that’s actually just a front for the Mob! That’s when the ‘ladies’ have to put their pumps to the pavement in one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Marilyn Monroe performed three songs for the soundtrack – including one of her signature tunes “I Wanna Be Loved By You”. Despite reported problems on the set, Monroe was at her comedic best in a role that, looking back, couldn’t have been played by anyone else. And the critics agreed – she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy that year, one of the few acting awards she ever received. Special features for this new edition have yet to be announced, but hopefully it will combine features from both the Collector’s edition that was released in 2007 and the laserdisc edition that came out in the 80s. So pre-order this comedy classic now and be one of the first to get your copy on its tentative September 1st street date.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Siren in the Dark (2009)

Starring Orion Cross, James Townsend, David Beutler, Todd Tetreault, Rick Bolander, Madelyn Starr, Ashley Steel, Donner Tran, Riley Sheridan, Kyle Lankins, Sarah Christine Pletcher, A.J. Domianus – Directed by Laura Reilly and Steven Vasquez



Occasionally a movie comes along that completely blows me away and reminds me to never judge a book by its cover. That happened to me twice this week, and this is one of those movies. Don’t get me wrong, this movie is definitely a diamond in the rough….really rough. The cast at best is amateurish, the editor seems to be smoking crack on several occasions, and there are plot holes so big you could drive a hummer limo through them. But take a moment to look beyond these flaws and what you are left with is a fascinating and complex story that has more unexpected twists than the court documents from David and Liza’s divorce papers. I’ve been trying all week to explain to my friends why this movie is so good and the best I’ve come up with is imagine David Lynch and Christopher Nolan decided to make a big gay murder mystery. A troubled cop gets a late call that may shed some light on a recent missing person case he’s been working on. But when the young man and woman start to talk, their story may be more than the cop can handle. Orion Cross plays the mysterious Joshua and it’s almost difficult to see his devilish turn because of his overwhelming good looks. Todd Tetreault, who plays Officer Cameron Ibanez, looks like a mix of Brad Pitt and Guy Pearce and has one of the most beautiful asses I have ever seen. And his big naked moment is tame compared to the mountains of flesh on display; cut, uncut, bears, boobs – there’s truly something for everyone. And the sex scenes are so realistic it would make Queer as Folk fans blush. If you like light erotic drama, you’ll definitely get a kick out of A Siren in the Dark.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Coming Soon to DVD

By Joshua Thomas

Wonder Woman (2009) Featuring the voices of Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson, Virginia Madsen, Oliver Platt, Vicki Lewis, David McCallum – Directed by Lauren Montgomery



All the world is waiting for you, but they won’t have to wait much longer. On March 3rd, DC Comics and Warner Brothers will add the original Amazon Princess to its expanding list of animated feature films. Producer Bruce Timm, who revitalized DC Comics animation in the early nineties with the groundbreaking Batman: The Animated Series, continues to leave his mark of excellence on the all new original animated feature. Based on the overwhelming success of past animated features Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: A New Frontier, and Batman: Gotham Night, and hoping to capitalize on the theatrical release of DC’s The Watchmen, Wonder Woman will serve as an origin story for the Amazonian warrior and hopefully as a catalyst to get the long-delayed feature film back in motion. On the mystical island of Themyscira, a proud and fierce warrior race of Amazons have raised a daughter of untold beauty, grace and strength: Princess Diana, voiced by Felicity star Keri Russell. When an Army fighter pilot, Steve Trevor, played by Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nathan Fillion, crash-lands on the island, the rebellious and headstrong Diana defies Amazonian law by accompanying Trevor back to civilization. Meanwhile, the god of War Ares (voiced by Spiderman 2 star Alfred Molina) has escaped his imprisonment at the hands of the Amazonians and has decided to exact his revenge - intending to start a world war that will not only last for centuries but will wipe out every living being on the planet, starting with the Amazons! It is up to Princess Diana to save her people and the world by using her gifts and becoming the ultimate Wonder Woman! So do a Wonder Woman twirl and get ready for the superhero with all the right accessories.