5 LGBT Characters We'd Love to See in a Justice League Movie
We choose five LGBT characters from the DC Universe that would add a much-needed dose of queer to our superhero movie-going experience.
Brian Andersen
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8 Movies From The Last 15 Years That Are Super Overrated
8 Movies From The Last 15 Years That Are Super Overrated
Recently, HuffPost Entertainment presented a list of so-called terrible movies that we simply adore. Now we’re flipping the coin to tear down championed films we just can’t get behind. Calling something overrated is usually more contentious than calling it underrated because no one enjoys being told the things they like are garbage. Oh well! We’ll accept the challenge — and the fallout — that comes with insulting some of the movies you may have revered the most over the past 15 years. (Ed. note: Ahem, “Gravity”? Come on!)
“The Hurt Locker” (2009)
Kathryn Bigelow made great movies before “The Hurt Locker” (“Point Break” and “Strange Days” are genre classics). She made a great movie after “The Hurt Locker,” too (“Zero Dark Thirty” was 2012’s best movie). If only “The Hurt Locker” was a great movie. I know, it is great — or at least that was the narrative in 2009-10, when Bigelow’s war thriller about a bomb disposal squad in Iraq stormed through awards season as the little movie that could (and did) defeat James Cameron’s “Avatar.” But, man, this one is generic. The script — by Mark Boal, who also wrote “Zero Dark Thirty” — is redundant, repeating the motif about war being a drug over and over again until it loses all potency. Then there are the action beats, which feel like some cross between stuff Bigelow did better before and stuff Peter Berg did better in “The Kingdom.” (Next time we do an underrated movies post, I might call dibs on “The Kingdom,” which was “The Hurt Locker” and “Argo” before either won Best Picture.) For its middling efforts, “The Hurt Locker” was rewarded with six Academy Awards, including a historic Best Director win for Bigelow. That was a wonderful moment in Oscars history. If only “The Hurt Locker” were able to match its power. — Christopher Rosen
“Blue is the Warmest Color” (2013)
Decent movies about lesbian romance are a rare occurrence, especially ones that aren’t stereotypical or utterly terrible. This scarcity is partly what fueled the appeal of “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” one of those rare movies, but one that received much unwarranted acclaim. Abdellatif Kechiche’s Palme d’Or winner does a lot of things right, but not nearly as much as it does wrong, including its inability to portray and obsess over women in a sickening and sexualized manner. It’s filled with sex, which you likely heard a lot about when critics decried its controversial, excessive sex scenes, and when the actresses spoke out against the director. We all love a great sex scene, but nearly every moment of the 179-minute film is drenched in a distasteful lust for the film’s protagonist. The closer you pay attention, the more you’ll realize that it’s far more occupied with Kechiche’s desires than the characters’ wants. If you disagree, just count how many ass shots there are. You’ll run out of fingers, and you’ll also run out of patience for this (unfortunately) distracted movie. — Erin Whitney
“Gravity” (2013)
“Gravity” was visually stunning and it uncannily captured the vacuum of sound that is space, but it was also boring and felt long, despite being only 91 minutes. Hearing everyone rave about it beyond the score and visual effects was like overhearing an inside joke that only well-respected movie critics were really in on. And that scene where Sandra Bullock jet-packs to another space station using mostly just a fire extinguisher? Crap. — Lauren Duca
“The Matrix” (1999)
Sure, sure, “The Matrix” popularized the bullet-time phenomenon and cinema was never the same again. Yes, fine, Plato and Baudrillard and Lewis Carroll all saw their prolific work borrowed for a modern-day sci-fi audience, and lovers of literature and highbrow cultural theory found themselves seated next to action-film aficionados. Why, then, 15 years later, is “The Matrix” so dull and dated? It’s all action and no substance, unless you like faux-spiritualism psychobabble and blatant metaphors about the simulation of reality. Because, gosh, we are just such a troubled society, so let’s use a seething Keanu Reeves and a smug Laurence Fishburne to prove it. “The Matrix” has the deadly combination of being both confusing and juvenile, and were it not for the Wachowskis’ impressive visual effects, everyone would have just taken the blue pill and shut up about it. — Matthew Jacobs
“Blue Valentine” (2010)
Just like the relationship it chronicles, “Blue Valentine” is incredibly disappointing. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams make for an adorable couple on paper, but I’d actually have to believe either of their characters were in love with the other to begin with for the movie to be watchable. Gosling’s ukulele dance number is endearing, I guess, but with the way “Blue Valentine” jumps between time, it doesn’t explain why they fell so hopelessly for each other, nor does it give a satisfying explanation of how things fell apart in such a rapid fashion. On top of that, the characters are just unlikeable people with whom I had no vested interest, leaving me to spend the majority of the film’s 112 minutes wanting to scream, “Will you just break up already?” — Stephanie Marcus
“The Descendants” (2011)
The problem with 2011’s “The Descendants” is that it sucked. The silver lining is that non-teen audiences were introduced to Shailene Woodley, and the scene where she swims underwater while crying functions as the only worthwhile moment in the entire film. The rest of it is a mishmash of Hawaiian shirts, Beau Bridges, random bouts of George Clooney running and George Clooney playing a meek version of George Clooney. What’s meant to be an honest portrayal of loss, and the struggle a dad faces in connecting with his daughters, ends up putting you straight to sleep, even if you had every intention of crying. As much as we love Alexander Payne for movies like “Election,” “About Schmidt” and the recent “Nebraska,” I, for one, hope to never hear a ukulele again. — Sasha Bronner
“Drive” (2011)
“Drive” is an appropriate title for this movie because watching it will make you want to run out in traffic. Supposedly, the film is about a Los Angeles getaway driver for hire, but “Drive” is really one big, awkward staring contest between Ryan Gosling and every other character — with an occasional brutal murder thrown in to make the audience go, “I’m awake! What happened?” Gosling has less dialogue than Mr. Bean playing an introverted mime with bronchitis. Director Nicolas Winding Refn spends all 100 minutes trying to convince you that he has a cool iPod playlist. There is one redeeming quality of “Drive”: Gosling’s super awesome scorpion jacket. Even that, however, is not enough to make you avoid wishing you had spent your evening doing something more enjoyable, like driving off a cliff. — Bill Bradley
“Avatar” (2009)
“Avatar” was cool for a second, like before it hit theaters when all the buzz was about how much time and money James Cameron spent on it. But then it came out, and it was just a bunch of blue people running around with super expensive special effects in the background. Seriously, that’s all we can remember without looking at Wikipedia. Sure, “Avatar” was great fodder for Halloween costumes and stoned teenagers, but did it deserve to gross more than $2 billion and earn nine Oscar nominations? Nah. Does it deserve THREE more movies and FOUR movie-inspired novels? Even nah-er. — Jessica Goodman
Man arrested in London anti-gay bleach ‘blinding’ attack
Man arrested in London anti-gay bleach ‘blinding’ attack
A 31-year-old was arrested in Kent on suspicion of an assault near the Lightbox club in Vauxhall – an area popular with gay clubbers
joem
www.gaystarnews.com/article/man-arrested-london-anti-gay-bleach-blinding-attack120614
Laverne Cox Revisits Katie Couric, Engages Second Productive Discussion This Week
Laverne Cox Revisits Katie Couric, Engages Second Productive Discussion This Week
Laverne Cox is emerging as the transgender voice of a generation, tackling the tough issues and representing an entire community in the way that trans pioneers before her — as products of their time — were never able to do.
The celebrated Orange Is the New Black actress and trans advocate appeared on Katie Couric’s show again this week for her first interview since the light controversy that spawned in the wake of her last visit. In January, Couric was lambasted on social media for asking Cox and Carmen Carrera insensitive questions about transitional surgery, even after she was informed that it was an offensive thing to do.
“The preoccupation with transition and surgery objectifies trans people,” Cox said in her January interview. “And then we don’t get to really deal with the real lived experiences.”
In a perfectly flaw-free interview (her second this week), Cox revisited the controversy to really drive home this “teachable moment” Couric so desperately wants. “Last time you were here, I got a lot of flack because I asked about the physical process [of transition],” said Couric.
“It’s only a mistake if you make it twice,” Cox responded.
Cox goes on to say that she believes the “transgender tipping point” is due in part to social media. “We have a voice now,” she says. “There are so many amazing trans folks out there who are telling their stories [right now]…I think when we get to know folks as human beings, our misconceptions about people who are different than us melt away.”
Check out the full interview below:
h/t BuzzFeed
Matthew Tharrett
Rick Perry Says a Homosexual Deciding Not to Be Gay is Like an Alcoholic Deciding Not to Have a Drink
Rick Perry Says a Homosexual Deciding Not to Be Gay is Like an Alcoholic Deciding Not to Have a Drink
In a speech to the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco on Wednesday night, Texas Governor Rick Perry trotted out a sentiment he has used to describe his feelings about gays for years.
When asked about the Texas Republican Party’s new platform which advocates gay “reparative therapy”, Perry said:
“Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that. I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.”
Perry has been using this offensive comparison since at least as early as 2008, as TIME’s Mark Benjamin pointed out:
…in a little-noticed passage in his first book, “On My Honor,” a encomium on the Boy Scouts published in 2008, Perry also drew a parallel between homosexuality and alcoholism. “Even if an alcoholic is powerless over alcohol once it enters his body, he still makes a choice to drink,” he wrote. “And, even if someone is attracted to a person of the same sex, he or she still makes a choice to engage in sexual activity with someone of the same gender.”
Andy Towle
Blade wins 3 journalism awards
Blade wins 3 journalism awards
(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade won three first-place awards in this week’s Dateline Awards competition sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists D.C. chapter.
Blade features editor Joey DiGuglielmo won the award for best feature story in the weekly newspaper category for “Remembering Sean Sasser,” about the former “Real World” cast member who died last year.
“The piece goes beyond the usual ‘he was such a great guy and will be missed’ obit to include the significance of his TV appearance and the career he crafted for himself after the cameras move on,” the judges wrote. DiGuglielmo also won the award for best arts criticism for his piece on organ music in D.C. titled, “Dynamic differences.”
Blade editor Kevin Naff won his eighth SPJ award, taking first place in the editorial writing category for a piece titled, “Victory, vindication and tears” about last year’s Supreme Court rulings in the DOMA and Prop 8 cases. “The editorial has a sound analysis of the court’s opinion and asks readers to contemplate several ‘tantalizing questions for the future’ of gay rights in states without marriage-equality laws,” the judges wrote.
Publisher Lynne Brown noted the timing of the awards.
“The Blade is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year,” Brown said. “These awards demonstrate we haven’t let up in our commitment to quality journalism and to serving the local market.”
Staff reports
VOTE NOW: Who Is the Grandest Marshal of Them All?
VOTE NOW: Who Is the Grandest Marshal of Them All?
Instead of one for each city, what if there was just one Grand Marshal for all of Pride? Vote now for your favorite.
Advocate.com Editors
www.advocate.com/pride/2014/06/12/vote-now-who-grandest-marshal-them-all
Rick Perry Compares Homosexuality To Alcoholism
Rick Perry Compares Homosexuality To Alcoholism
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry, during a visit that focused primarily on economic issues, drew on a reference to alcoholism to explain his view of homosexuality.
Perry’s comments to the Commonwealth Club of California came after Texas’ Republican Convention on Saturday sanctioned platform language allowing Texans to seek voluntary counseling to “cure” being gay. The San Francisco Chronicle bit.ly/1oWq0qR reports that in response to a question about it, Perry said he did not know whether the therapy worked.
Perry, a former and potential future GOP presidential candidate, was then asked whether he believed homosexuality was a disorder.
The paper says that the governor responded that “whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that.”
He said: “I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.”
The Texas Republican platform stand on the issue is in contrast to California and New Jersey, which have previously banned licensed professionals from providing such therapy to minors.
During the bulk of his talk, Perry held up his own state as a model for responsible energy production and economic growth in California.
Perry said he believes Texas is leading the way in achieving energy independence by producing crude oil and electricity in many forms, including solar power.
Perry also suggested that deregulating electricity had started a boom for renewable energy in Texas, which he called the nation’s leading developer of wind energy.
Perry said shale drilling techniques had doubled oil production in Texas, and he urged Californians to tap the full energy potential in its Monterey Shale.
On Tuesday, Perry drove up to California’s state capital of Sacramento in a Tesla Model S electric car — underscoring his desire to lure a Tesla battery factory to Texas.
Gay-hating Ugandan minister Sam Kutesa elected UN president
Gay-hating Ugandan minister Sam Kutesa elected UN president
Several thousand LGBTI advocates and allies signed a petition calling for him to be blocked from taking the petition, but the UN failed to listen
joem
www.gaystarnews.com/article/gay-hating-ugandan-minister-sam-kutesa-elected-un-president120614
Hillary Clinton Says She Got Into Shouting Matches With Russian Officials About Their Homophobia
Hillary Clinton Says She Got Into Shouting Matches With Russian Officials About Their Homophobia
Would you want to get into a shouting match with Hillary Clinton? Apparently, if you’re a homophobe, you might.
Appearing in Chicago to promote her new book, Hard Choices, the former Secretary of State spoke at some length about global homophobia, not least of all in Russia. According to Clinton, some countries “are just cynical” when it comes to LGBT oppression, most of all Russia.
Clinton said that “what Putin’s doing in Russia with all these laws against the LGBT community… is just a cynical political ploy.” Even more surprising, is how Clinton reacted to it: “I’ve gotten into shouting matches with top Russian officials.” Unfortunately, she didn’t provide names, although Putin has made his disdain for Clinton well known.
Clinton made her comments in the context of a broader discussion about LGBT oppression. She said that she came to realize as Secretary of State that there was an “increasing backlash” against LGBT people. That led her to deliver her famous speech in Geneva in 2011, in which she declared that “gay rights are human rights.”
“I began to vigorously protest with governments in many parts of the world,” she said. Some countries just need to be “brought along.” Russia, of course, is a case unto itself.
The fight isn’t over, says Clinton. “We have a long way to go, I don’t want to mislead anybody,” she said. “This is going to be an ongoing struggle and the United States must be on the front lines.”
Of course, no fair speculating on who the next commander-in-chief might be for that particular battle. We’ll have to wait a while longer for that inevitable campaign announcement.
JohnGallagher
