Call Me By Your Name (2017)

I’ve seen lots of Italian Films in my day. From Neorealism to Giallo, I’ve taken in some of the best Cinema that boot-shaped country has to offer. Yet, as "sensual" as that country truly is, that is not the word I would use to describe their films. Luca Guadagnino is the exception.

Unlike his countryman Paolo Sorrentino, I don’t feel a slavishly self-conscious debt to the operatic camera movements and emotions of Fellini, Visconti, or Leone. From the enveloping soundtrack of insects and wind through trees, to the sun-soaked photography that is so bright it warms you with refracted light off the screen, every artistic decision here is intended to make you feel as though you are actually in the north of Italy, in the early 80’s, during summer. There is no need to beat us over the head with heighten emotions in desperate hope of making us feel something/anything. We are already/immediately right there. We are taking everything in with all five senses simultaneously. We can smell the sweat, taste the food and feel the caresses. We are living it. We are living the good times...and the sad times, too.

Princess Cyd (2016)

While it isn’t about gay cowboys eating pudding, this is very much what people think of when they think of an indie movie. It has female protagonists, it deals with trauma, it features bisexual and gender non-conformist characters, it’s multicultural and there are prolonged discussions about fascinating/important issues. This could have felt like a bunch of topics or issues being checked off of a list. Instead it is one of the best films of last year. The characters are so well-drawn that you cannot help but care for them, and the whole thing is directed with the perfect balance of beauty and unobtrusiveness. I’m so glad to have finally caught up with it.

Born in Flames (1983)

It's depressing how prescient this film turned out to be - and I'm not even talking about that last sequence. The idea of a utopia in name only that came about because of a peaceful revolution feels a lot like the eight years of Obama that we just lived through. We were able to pretend that everything had changed overnight without all the messy business of addressing the racism, xenophobia, misogyny and homophobia that eventually made Trump possible. The future depicted in this film even had a Black President!

When we were watching this the other night 'Becca'lise proclaimed, "This feels like a zine!" and I don't think I could have said it any better. I was already thinking about how this felt like mid-60's Godard (when he was stating to get political but had not yet lost his sense of fun) but my wife's observation is really more apt. This film owes way more to punk and queer culture than it does to Bertolt Brecht and Nicholas Ray. Moreso than cinema, this is reportage. Dispatches from the future. Now, if only we'd really listened to Lizzie and the girls all those years ago. Anyone have a time machine?

Philadelphia (1993)

I wish I had seen this film when it first came out. As the son of a huge Bruce Springsteen fan I was certainly aware of it, but I didn't actually seek out and watch it until five or so years ago. And while both viewings moved me greatly, I also felt like I was watching AIDS, homophobia and bigotry 101. I was watching this film in an After Ellen world where HIV/AIDS is still incurable, but it is also no longer a death sentence. It's amazing how fast the world can change.

It's also amazing that it took thirteen years for Hollywood to address this plague. I get that the GOP was ignoring it because they were fine with it killing off gay men and IV drug users, but homosexuals have formed the bedrock of the entertainment industry since forever. Why did it take active protesting of the Oscars and of hit films like Silence of the Lambs and Basic Instinct to get the Coastal Elites on board?

Philadelphia remains an important film worth watching for its strong performances and Demme's compassionate direction, but more so than anything it is a reminder of how slow to action even the most progressive people can be when there isn't someone actively pushing them to do right. If you want to get something done, you can't be silent.

Moonlight (2016)

On his audio commentary track for The Graduate, Mike Nichols seems rather proud of the fact that he was able to open the film by stating his theme outright. His pride is justified. It's tough to do. Usually the line where a theme is stated will stick out like a sore thumb and turn many people off. Oh, that's what they want me to think?! Only truly skilled directors like Nichols are able to pull it off. And the newest filmmaker to join that club is Barry Jenkins.

Not only is Jenkins able to get away with stating his theme outright, he's able to do it while also mentioning the film's title at the same time. That's just asking for trouble! But it works. When Juan tells Little about the Cuban woman who told him that, "In moonlight, black boys look blue" you don't exactly know what to take from that. Sure there's the double-meaning of blue as a color and blue as an emotion, but is that really all there is to this film? Is it just about sadness?

For me, the most important aspect of this film is light. This film is filled with different types of light. There is natural light, there is artificial light, there is direct light, there is diffused light, there's warm light, cool light and even highly stylized, colored light. And because this film is nuanced, everyone gets to be seen in a variety of those lights because no person is any one specific thing. In one light they are loving, in another they are hateful. The light can change from scene to scene or angle to angle depending on the emotion of the scene. Sometimes the light can even change within a shot. 

So yes, black boys do look blue in the Moonlight. But that's just one type of light.

Chasing Amy (1997)

To many, liking the work of Kevin Smith is grounds for having your cinephile card revoked. Even I will concede that his most recent work (Tusk, Yoga Hosers, etc.) is near impossible to defend. But doesn't anyone remember those early years? Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Chasing Amy. Smith's tale of a hetero man who is unable to accept his girlfriend's fluid sexuality was more than a decade ahead of it's time. Long before terms like "pansexuality" were able to enter the broader pop cultural lexicon via celebrities like Miley Cyrus or shows like Broad City, there was Joey Lauren Adams as Alyssa Jones delivering impassioned monologues about refusing to conform to what heteronormative society thinks is proper and insisting on loving whomever the hell she wants to love. Sure this message would have been more authentic and nuanced coming from a Queer filmmaker rather than from Smith, but because it came from him, it was able to reach a whole lot of immature boys who just wanted to hear dick and fart jokes. I know this because that's how I found my way to this film. I like to think that in some small way, Chasing Amy helped to move me towards becoming the ally that I try to be. And that's why I paid money to see Cop Out in a theater.

Appropriate Behavior (2014)

When this movie came out, that still of writer/director/star Desiree Akhavan sitting on the toilet was all over my tumblr feed. And then there was the poster with her staring at the straight, kissing couple. The moody photography of these images combined with the bisexuality and the whole Iranian aspect had me pre-judging this film in all sorts of ways. And while this film is about all those things, it's also really damn funny. Why didn't they play up that angle? For some reason they sold this film like NyQuil when it's actually Dimetapp. This film is bubblegum amoxicillin. I guess I would have been just as reluctant if they had played up the comedy. Could you imagine a poster with a rainbow flag on one side, an Iranian flag on the other side and Shirin in the middle looking quirkily confused? When a film is one dimensional it's fine to pick an angle and stick to it like glue. But when a film is as unique and nuanced as this one, you're doing it a disservice by making it out to be just one thing. Or maybe going in with pre-judgements helped me to like this movie better. Maybe I liked it this much because of all the ways it defied my expectations. Well, either way it's a good movie. You should see it!

Tangerine (2015)

The use of widescreen can be tricky. In the early days of CinemaScope, many great directors were rendered impotent by that long skinny frame. How to fill it? Where to place the camera? Can it move? Many of the early "epics" just sit the camera there and stuff just happens in front of it. To this day there are filmmakers who couldn't liven up a scope frame if their lives depended on it. Thankfully, Sean Baker is not one of those filmmakers.

By virtue of the fact that it was shot on an iPhone, Tangerine is fairly limited in its photographic options. Zooming is difficult and there are only about three lenses to choose from. Yet magically, Baker and co-cinematographer Radium Cheung were able to turn these limitations into an asset. By shooting the entire film in wide shots through wide angle lenses, you get to see EVERYTHING. Even a close-up cannot help but bring the outside world into play.

Parts of Los Angeles that seldom get seen on screen are suddenly given their time in the flared sunlight. Through this literal lens, an average donut shop is effortlessly transformed into a stage on which frantic melodrama unfolds and a drive-thru car wash makes for one of the most epic sex scenes imaginable. It's fitting that a film about marginalized groups (transgender prostitutes, Armenian cabdrivers, etc.) gets to be filmed in such a manner. A wide lens that allows audiences to notice things they normally would have ignored, used to tell a story about people who are constantly ignored. Pretty damn smart.

Paris is Burning (1990)

Such an astounding documentary! This film was instrumental in bringing a very specific, important and ignored subculture to the attention of the world at large. The ripples caused by the Drag Balls depicted here can still be felt to this day in popular culture the world over. Faced with homo/transphobia and the decimation of AIDS in the 80's, the members of this vibrant community refused to be anything but themselves. Even if it was just for a night, these balls allowed them a brief respite from the darkness.

Though many of the participants in this film are no longer with us, they live on in a work that is still so vital. The fight for marriage equality may now be a thing of the past, but stories like Venus Xtravaganza's are still happening every single day all across America. There are still battles to win. Everyone should see this film. It's funny, fabulous and heartbreaking without even breaking a sweat.

Favorite Drag Movies

Sooo I'm a little bit obsessed with "RuPaul's Drag Race" and I spent all the time I should have been writing a blog post watching the show instead.  My oh-so-smart husband suggested I do a post featuring men in drag, so here it is! And no, I'm not going into the whole drag queen vs transvestite vs transsexual vs everything. These are just movies featuring blokes dressed as women Whether playing actual female characters, drag queens, or disguising themselves as women for some other reason, they're all favorites of mine, and they're all fabulous.

Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

What is there to say about this film? It's moving, the music is great, and it leaves you smiling. 

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Some Like it Hot (1959)

A comedy classic! These two are hilarious as men hiding in an all-female band to hide from mobsters who want them dead.

Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

"I see you shiver with antici..........pation!"

Divine in Hairspray (1988)

Okay, okay...let's make that Divine in every movie he did with John Waters. R.I.P. you twisted fabulous individual!

Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

There's GOT to be a less creepy way to visit your kids, right? Right?? Oh well, without this movie we wouldn't have gotten this.

Nathan Lane (and shhh, spoiler alert, Gene Hackman) in The Birdcage (1996)

Nathan Lane is great as the drag queen Alfred/Starina, successfully convincing staunch Republicans that she was their future son-in-law's birth mother. And I'm surprised at how pretty Gene Hackman looks in drag too, I must say.

Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie (1982)

Can't get work as an actor? Try disguising yourself as the opposite sex! OK, that sounds crazy difficult, but Hoffman's performance is great and it led to this awesome interview where he gets emotional about his feelings making this film. We love you, Dustin Hoffman!

Remember, in the words of RuPaul, you're born naked and the rest is drag! 

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

After a summer working together on the titular mountain, two cowboys (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) fall in love but society and personal issues keep them apart.

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Though I admired and enjoyed this film when it was first released, a question kept gnawing at my brain: Why this one? What made this film so much more special than all the other queer films that had come before? Was it even really a queer film? Straight stars, straight writers, straight director, gay story. I felt like I was missing something. I kept looking for subtext in every nook and cranny, but to no avail.

With nearly a decade elapsed since its initial release I decided it was time to give Brokeback Mountain another look. Perhaps this time I would find what I'd been looking for all those years ago.

What I found was a film of starling beauty. Every shot makes your heart ache. The direction is so delicate. One false step and many of the lines, hairstyles and costumes in this film could have lead to chuckles. Yet somehow Ang Lee and company were able to dance that tightrope as though it were a ballroom floor. And let us not forget that Heath Ledger's Ennis is nothing short of a living, breathing, human being. In short, I was finally able to appreciate this film for what it is: a remarkably heartbreaking and passionate piece of filmmaking.

Why is Brokeback Mountain "the one"? Because it is.

Arabian Nights (1974)

A bawdy and joyous adaptation of a few of the Arab folk-tails commonly known as One Thousand and One Nights.

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When it was originally released in the early/mid-70's Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life" (The Decameron, The Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights) was meant as a celebration of humanity via the bodily functions we have in common. Taro Gomi got it right with the title to the classic children's book Everyone Poops. An alternate title for these films could easily have been: Everyone Pees, Poops, Farts and Has Sex. But as cool and hippie as this message was for its time, I would argue that it is even more important now. Since 9/11, anti-Muslim/anti-Arab sentiment has been at record highs. Conservative media and religious leaders add to this by spending so much time detailing the sundry ways in which the two cultures are different. It's much easier to hate someone you feel you have nothing in common with. During The Cold War we had The Reds to serve as the exotic "other" to be feared, now it's Muslims. Too bad Arabian Nights is rated NC-17, I think prudish, ignorant hate-mongers would really get something out of it. They'd finally learn the simple fact that everyone poops, everyone pees, everyone farts, everyone has sex, and (most importantly) everyone loves.

All About My Mother (1999)

After her son is killed in a car accident, Manuela (Ceclia Roth) travels to Barcelona in order to inform the boy's estranged father. I'll just leave it at that...

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This was my first Almodóvar film. I'd heard the name a few times, but my still-forming film brain hadn't really branched out into world cinema yet.  I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about Pedro's particular brand of cinema...which is why I brought my grandparents with me. They'd gone with me to see Life Is Beautiful the year prior and seeing as the film is in Spanish this seemed like a perfect fit for mis abuelos Mexicanos. Admittedly, things did get a little awkward during the first scene with Agrado (you couldn't help but notice my grandpa starting to squirm in his seat) yet surprisingly, we stayed through the entire film. Even more surprisingly, my grandparents really enjoyed it. This film is that good! The colors and the characters are so wonderful that audiences cannot help but get caught  up in their spell. I have not missed an Almodóvar film since. Though my grandparents did take a little bit of a "Pedro break" after this film, they did return to the fold for Volver.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

I woke up early this morning to watch RuPaul's Drag Race (like every Tuesday morning) and I remembered that I needed to write a post in here, but what about? Why the best drag queen movie ever, of course! The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is about drag queens Mitzi (Hugo Weaving) and Felicia (Guy Pearce) and transsexual Bernadette (Terence Stamp) who are contracted to appear in a cabaret gig in the middle of the Australian desert. They start their road trip in a purple (oh excuse me, lavender) bus named Priscilla, and that is where the adventure begins!

I love this movie. It has spice, it has bite, and it's visual eye candy all over the place. It took home the Oscar for costuming, and it's easy to see why. There's a dress made entirely from flip flops! I love the contrast of the artifice and glamour of drag against the harsh and beautiful Australian outback. The harshness of the desert helps the girls tell their stories, or at least come to terms with themselves in their own way. They meet a colorful cast of characters (including a dog named Herpes!), create a fabulous show, and reconnect with themselves and other loved ones. All in all it's a fun movie with great acting, great visuals, and great music. ABBA, anyone?

Enjoy!

Kinsey (2004)

A biopic on the infamous Dr. Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson) whose research on human sexuality brought about a firestorm of controversy in post-war America.

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It's sad how fast this film was forgotten, even in the year of it's release. The only Oscar it was up for was Best Supporting Actress. It's the middle-child of Bill Condon's filmography, sandwiched between the much better received Gods and Monsters and Dreamgirls. Yet of those three, Kinsey is easily the more important film. Were it  to be released today amidst the waves of gay teen suicides and Rick Santorum's war on reproductive freedom, it would likely provoke a firestorm. Well like mama always said: It's never too late to start a revolution! If you haven't seen this film yet, see it. If you have seen it, show it to a friend. Show it to multiple friends! Let the good word spread like VD!

The Birdcage (1996)

When his son announces that he's getting married to a right-wing senator's daughter (Calista Flockhart), gay cabaret owner Armand (Robin Williams) must put on a facade of "straightness" to meet her parents...including figuring out what to do about Armand's flamboyant partner Albert (Nathan Lane).

This is one of those silly feel-good movies for me. Nathan Lane is hilarious, although he plays his more serious scenes very well too. Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest are great as Flockhart's conservative parents. But my FAVORITE giggle-worthy performance comes from Hank Azaria as Agador, their house boy/Albert's assistant/jack-of-all-trades (just don't ask him to cook!). He's totally hilarious.

There are a lot of memorable scenes, including Armand taking us through a history of dance ("Madonna! Madonna! Madonna!") and Albert trying to act "straight" (his attempt to walk like John Wayne is too funny). But as funny as this movie is, it's a feel-good movie that teaches us a real lesson. How different are we all, really? Can't we all just get along?

Pop the popcorn and give this one a watch. And remember: we are family!

Can't Stop The Music (1980)

A highly fictionalized account of the formation of the disco group The Village People.

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Shot at the height of disco's popularity and released in the year of it's demise, Can't Stop The Music was destined for failure. Yet as bad as this movie is, it's not un-watchable. In fact it's actually pretty fun. Where else are you going to see a young Steve Guttenberg grooving around New York on roller-skates? Or a hairy-chested leather-man belt out "Danny Boy"? Oh and did I mention Bruce Jenner's in this thing? It's exactly like a Marx Brother's movie, only instead of Groucho, Harpo and Chico, you have The Village People helping out the struggling artist and the young lovers! Give it a spin. You'll have a gay ol' time!

Angels In America (2003)

The AIDS epidemic brings together a large swath of disparate characters in 1980s NYC.

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Though it was made for HBO, I still consider this to be a great work of cinema. It's not some simple filming of a stage production. It takes full advantage of all those wonderful things that only cinema can do, and uses them to transport us back to the fearful 1980s. A time when our own President refused to acknowledge a plague that was already laying waste to countless thousands. Not exactly the cheeriest of time periods right? Yet out of this horror, talented artists were able to produce a staggeringly hopeful work. I highly recommend you set aside the 6 hours and take this journey. You won't regret it.

Happy Together (1997)

Follow the tumultuous relationship of two gay men from Hong Kong (Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung) as they try to make a last go of it in Argentina.

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Wong Kar-Wai must be a very sad and lonely guy. He seems nice and affable in interviews. Yet nearly every film he has made is a story about beautiful, passionate and often unfulfilled longing. He instinctively knows exactly which moments to freeze or slow down. "Real" time is not enough for these moments. These moments are to be drawn out to their heartbreaking zenith. Viewed through Wong's lens, the smallest and most intimate story becomes an emotional epic. There's a reason this film won best director at Cannes that year.

Scorpio Rising (1964)

As passionate and visceral as Martin Scorsese's imagery is, the thing that really seals the deal for me is when he ironically sets scenes to popular songs. "Be My Baby" for the opening to Mean Streets, the piano exit to "Layla" when all the bodies are being found in Goodfellas and "Rang Tang Ding Dong (I Am The Japanese Sandman)" from the freak-out scene in Bringing Out the Dead leap to mind. He's so good at it that it seems almost like he was born to do it. But this is not the case.

In countless interviews Scorsese has credited Kenneth Anger's gay biker masterpiece Scorpio Rising, as being the film that opened his eyes to the endless cinematic uses of pop music. For this alone the film should be forever cherished. But wait there's more! The visuals are unforgettable. Anger really has an eye for iconic (nearly dreamlike) images that wedge themselves in your brain. Richard Linklater even nicked the opening image for School of Rock from here.

Thankfully someone has been kind enough to post Scorpio Rising on Youtube! It's divided into 3 segments. Here's the first. you're on your own from there. Enjoy!