Check for showtimes...
-
The Proposal
(Disney): Sandra Bullock (pictured) runs roughshod
over
Ryan Reynolds
. And that's really kind of how it should be. She's Sandra
Bullock after all. Once you've stared into the
Practical Magic
abyss and lived to tell about it, you're a veteran with
special privileges.
-
Year
One
(Sony): It doesn't matter that no one watched that caveman
sitcom; Hollywood won't stop until they have a hit
prehistoric property to hold up as a model of success. Michael
Cera is Barney to Jack Black's Fred -- well, sort of -- in
this comedy about a land before time.
-
Whatever Works
(Sony Pictures Classics): It was only a matter of time before
the East Coast neurosis gang (The Insufferably Whiny Woody
Allen Crew) called a truce with the West Coast gang (The
Miserable Larry David Posse) and decided to band together to
make the definitive funcomfortable film.
-
Food Inc.
(Magnolia): Do you know what they do to your orange juice
before you drink it? How about that frozen lunch you just put
into the microwave? That breakfast cereal you just ate is a
fascinating chemistry lab experiment too. Oh, and check out
what's in your diet soda, it's going to make you cry.
And after you're done crying,
you can sign a petition
to make sure that school lunches stop getting filled with high
fructose corn syrup and mystery meat.
Head to a theater...
- Precious Little
in
Clubbed
Thumb
's Summerworks Festival, June 14-20: Of the three plays in the
Summerworks Festival at New York's experimental Clubbed
Thumb theater company, we're most interested in Madeleine
George's
Precious Little
, which has six performances starting June 14. The play,
directed by Hal Brooks, features the superbly talented Randy
Danson as Brodie, a lesbian professor of linguistics who learns
the child she's carrying may have a genetic abnormality.
She finds herself taking unexpected comfort at the zoo sitting
at the cage of a strange, compelling gorilla.
Head to the bookstore...
-
Sprout
by Dale Peck (Bloomsbury Children's Books): Based on his own
experiences growing up and coming out in Long Island and
Kansas, Peck -- who is a contributing columnist to
Out
magazine and whose previous work in children's
literature includes the Drift House series -- tells the story
of Sprout Bradford, whose mother dies leaving him with his
alcoholic father, who he has to move cities to be with. This
young-adult book is not about Sprout dealing with being gay but
rather a young gay man dealing with love, lust, the loss of a
parent, and many of the other issues facing teenagers. A
literary next step into stories where the protagonists'
sexuality is a part of and not the point of the story.
-
Gay American Autobiography: Writings From
Whitman to Sedaris
edited by David Bergman: A sampling of writing featuring
everything from Thoreau's journals to Henry James's
letters that sheds light on homosexual desire from a time
before the gay rights movement as well as Earl Lind's
Autobiography of an Androgyne
, that illustrates the first stirrings of the movement. The
selections chronicle the gay American experience through the
'50s, Stonewall, AIDS, and finally the present. A good
one-stop shop for someone looking for a broad look at the inner
lives of gay writers.
-
Visible: A Femmethology (Volume 1)
edited by Jennifer Clare Burke: A collection of essays from not
often heard from queer writers,
Visible
does not attempt to define the "femme" esthetic or identity
-- an introduction by the author does everything to open up the
definition to a wide range of interpretations. Instead the book
is a fascinating discussion on topics like the riot girl
movement to the femme "Trannyfag," exploring
misogyny, gender, sexuality, and much more.
Get cozy on the couch...
-
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
:
Gay director Stephen Kijak (
Never Met Picasso
) and executive producer David Bowie teamed up to profile one
of pop music's most legendary and enigmatic figures. From
Brit-pop teen idol to daring experimental musician, Scott
Walker has never stopped creating unique music although his
evolution as an artist continues to catch even his most ardent
fans by surprise.
-
The Strange One:
An odd but fascinating attempt to examine homosexuality in an
all-male military academy at a time when American movies
weren't allowed to examine such subjects, this film
features a riveting performance by Ben Gazzara (in his screen
debut) as the magnetic yet clearly disturbed Jocko DeParis.
George Peppard and Pat Hingle costar; the DVD features a new
interview with Gazzara.
-
Everwood:The Complete Second Season:
One of television's most underrated shows brought Marcia
Cross back to television after
Melrose Place
(and before
Desperate Housewives
) as a doctor who contracts HIV from one of her patients. It
also introduced the world to the stunning Emily VanCamp, now
Rebecca on
Brothers & Sisters
. Family drama doesn't get much better than this -- the
story of a New York neurosurgeon who ups and relocates his kids
to Colorado.
-
Chess in Concert:Rent
fans won't want to miss this concert version of the show
featuring songs by ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny
Andersson, with lyrics by Tim Rice:
Idina Menzel
and Adam Pascal are two of the lead vocalists, as is crooner
Josh Groban.
Grab your headphones...
-
Catacombs
by
Cass McCombs
(Domino): Until recently, Cass McCombs was a musician's
musician: Adored by critics and name-checked by bands like
Grizzly Bear
,
The
Shins
, and
Blonde
Redhead
alike, he seemed destined to continue flying under the radar.
Finally, with his fourth album, mainstream audiences are
starting to take note of the enigmatic, mysterious McCombs,
savoring his vivid lyrics and whimsical art-pop orchestrations.
Taking an unorthodox and surreal approach to folk,
McCombs's music is deeply personal, with earlier albums
explicitly exploring a dark pain that pervaded his world at the
time.
Catacombs
eschews the gloomy aura of his previous work, taking a much
more lighthearted approach. If you need evidence of his
newfound lust for life, just take a look at the dewey-eyed
innocence in the clip for the album's first single:
"Dreams Come True Girl," featuring backing vocals
from the always-glamorous cinematic legend Karen Black:
-
Survival Strategies in a Modern Worldby Lichtenstein
(Slumberland Records): Just in time for a widespread
guitar-heavy shoe-gazing '80s indie pop revival led by
stateside sensation Vivian Girls, Lichtenstein is a Swedish
all-girl group that's causing quite a stir with their
fresh, razor-sharp tunes. Combining bubble gum pop with Jesus
and Mary Chain's bitter punch, experimental electronics,
and the epic brass of
Belle & Sebastian
,
Survival Strategies in a Modern World
is more than a straightforward tribute to C86 -- it's a
smorgasbord of styles and references combining to make
something that feels altogether original. Lichtenstein is a
band that's cool and disconnected but never pretentious or
cocky, just sugary fun for a mellow good time.
-
The Ecstaticby Mos Def
(Downtown): After the release of his iconic debut album in
1999,
Black on Both Sides
, Mos Def retreated from the music world -- at least in spirit:
His subsequent two albums were less than complete efforts --
and concentrated on his acting career, putting an NYU theater
degree to use in films like
The Italian Job, Be Kind Rewind,
and
Cadillac Records.
Now, discarding his glossy Hollywood career for a fully rounded
fourth album, Mos Def has finally crafted a suitable successor
to his first record, with help from collaborators Madlib and
Talib
Kweli
. Delightfully combining a vast array of styles from across the
globe,
The Ecstatic
is at turns Euro-disco, samba, Caribbean, and Middle Eastern.
Regardless of the varied musical styles, Def's words never
falter -- rapping about relationships, social issues, his
childhood in Bed-Stuy, or politics, Def's rhymes are
brilliant and intoxicating. Check out the funky,
Brazilian-sounding single "
Casa Bey
":