Someday my nephew will probably hate me. On the other hand, I think his fixation with wearing a cape and spinning is fabulous!

Wonder Craig

Speaking of superheroes, I went to see The Incredible Hulk earlier tonight. It was fun and entertaining. For some reason, I enjoy Hulk as a movie character far better than as a comic book character. Norton did a good job and the action kept moving.

Posted: June 20th, 2008 under Mi Familia, movies.
Comments: 1

Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes yesterday. To clarify, although I joked, it’s not the getting older that had me reluctant to ackowledge my birthday yesterday. I didn’t want to celebrate my birthday because no amount of well-wishing was going to keep it from being a crap-tastic day. Call me crazy, but I think birthdays should continue to be special, even in your 30s. Instead of having a special day, I had work (I’m a fucking rock-star for hard-coding updates to our website because we’re having problems that prevent me from using our usual web editing software, big boss can’t operate basic office equipment or software which makes life harder, and I’m dealing with a far-less-than-competent contractor daily), class, homework, dieting, and trying to keep my brave face on despite my friends moving away. In short, it just wasn’t a special day, it was a banal, if not abnormally bad sorta day.

Anywho, the final issue of the Whedon/Cassaday run on Astonishing X-Men came out today. It’s hard to believe that this story arc I’ve been reading for three and a half years, the very book that brought me back to comic books (curse you Joss Whedon!), is over. The final issue had me choking back sobs in public during my lunch break. {spoiler font - highlight to read} I’m so glad Kitty isn’t officially dead - it will be less obnoxious when they eventually bring her back. Also, the final exchange between Kitty/Emma - beautiful, just beautiful. So much goodness: Beast/Brand. Scott’s eyes failing. “Brand isn’t my given name.” “I will rule it.” And the reveal featuring a drooling Reed Richards… I fucking love this shit. {end spoiler font} I’m looking forward to some quiet time where I can start at the beginning and read the whole 25 episode story in one sitting.

In fact, I’m very much looking forward to late June, when I can (theoretically) go back to pleasure reading, watching movies instead of doing homework, and playing video games.

Also, even though all those internet quizzes tell me I’m a Carrie, I’ve still never watched a single full episode of Sex in the City. It makes it hard to get excited about the movie. I guess I’ll always be more of a Golden Girls sorta guy (I’m totally Dorothy)…

The Golden Boys

Posted: May 30th, 2008 under comic books, movies, personal, television.
Comments: 5

J.R.R. Tolkien thought the phrase “Cellar Door” to be especially beautiful. No offense to J.R.R. (I can call him that, we’re close), but if he had lived into the 21st century, he might have realized English contained a phrase vastly superior in it’s beauty: Free Comic Book Day.

Jennifer, Jacob and I spent the day visiting Whatever and Isotope before heading down to the Metreon to watch Iron Man. As you can see, it was a day of geekery.

I quite loved Iron Man. If only all comic book movies were done this well. I can’t imagine anyone other than Robert Downey Jr. playing that role, and I would have loved more fight scenes… or longer fight scenes.

The trailers were awesome, too. Although I’m not as excited about Indiana Jones and The Beef as most everyone else. Still, Batman + Hulk + Love Guru (I admit it, seeing Justin Timberlake’s crotch on the big screen is awesome).

Anyway, I think we were trying extra hard to have fun today. Jennifer and Jacob are moving to Cincinnati (the day before my birthday). It has to do with Jennifer’s immigration status and the process of getting her green card. She’ll be working in Ohio for up to 6 months before coming back to San Francisco, but it’s going to hard having my best friend leave for most of the rest of this year. It’s not like she wants to go, she just has to if she doesn’t want to get deported or go bankrupt not working during the gap between her visa expiring and her green card being approved. Anyway, I’m not going to get weird about it, because I’ve spent the last several months talking about moving away for law school in a year or so.

She’s told me that I have to come visit Cincinnati sometime while she’s there. We’ll see, I guess. I’m wondering if I can tack it on to the end of my planned New York trip this fall. Hooray, Creation Museum here I come!

Posted: May 3rd, 2008 under comic books, movies.
Comments: 1

As promised, I spent most of Saturday lying in bed. I’m almost caught up on my LSAT class homework, so I’m not even feeling guilty. Tomorrow I have to get to the gym, though, so no lazy Sunday.

The NetFlix fairy brought me The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green, which I’d forgotten was even in my queue from my “are there any gay movies I haven’t seen yet” adding spree. Anyway, Ethan Green is based on a long-running queer comic strip by Eric Orner. The movie adaptation stars Daniel Letterle (a.k.a. Isn’t that the kid from CAMP all growed up with chest hair?!?) as Ethan and a parade of mostly unknown actors in various beefcake roles. Richard Riehle and Joel Brooks as the hat sisters are hilarious, though, and although not household names, they both have long and impressive acting records and are of the Hey-Wasn’t-That-That-Guy-In-That-Thing kind of fame. And Meredith Baxter plays Ethan’s mom, a supportive, hip, happy homo-loving mother.

Trailer on YouTube

The movie was pretty seriously panned by the critics as being too, well, unfabulous. I admit that the flick is a long way from winning any awards–the acting is uneven, the humor too broad, and the characters are inconsistently two-dimensional. I didn’t hate it though. I’ve suffered through much, much worse films that are more widely loved. The Matrix trilogy springs to mind. Or almost anything starring Will Ferrell… let’s go with Elf for the purpose of this review.

Sexy Scene on YouTube

The final word: I’d be happy to add it to my permanent collection of sappy queer romantic comedies. I’d suggest you go ahead add it to your NetFlix, too.

Posted: April 27th, 2008 under movies.
Comments: 1

Tonight involved drinks, dinner and a romantic comedy. See I do date. I just date my best friend, we split the bill, and take seperate cabs home.

After a couple drinks, but before going to see the movie, Jen and I had dinner that included this bit of conversation while talking religion:

Jen: See, and that’s where they lose me. Once you get this idea that you’re superior to other people, that you have the only correct answer, once you establish systems of superiority–

Me: Oh, I believe in systems of superiority. I totally think I’m superior to other people.

Jen: What?

Me: I think I’m smarter than most people in this world. I’m more capable, intellectually, than most of the people I’ve met, anyway. And it’s not just because I’m genetically coded to be smart, but because in a world where chaos reigns, enough untraceable factors have come together to make me smart. And so, if there is a problem that is best solved by an intellectual solution, I believe that I am better suited to offering a sound intellectual solution than the average person, and that makes me superior.

Jen: Yes, but your system of superiority doesn’t involve a magic fairy or invisible being telling you you’re better than everyone else because of your skin color or what you eat on Fridays…

About 10 minutes later it dawned on me that anyone listening to our conversation would think we’re a bunch of assholes. Like I care what they think…

Anyway, we went to see Kiss the Bride, the new gay flick everyone is buzzing about. It was about what I expected in some regards: uneven acting from leads who were probably cast more for how their asses would look in the obligatory naked scenes than dramatic range, low-budget props, kooky side-kick characters, broad situational comedy based on mistaken identities and drunken revelations, etc.

Kiss the Bride Trailer

What delighted me was that the writing itself (Tyler Lieberman) was so superior to the production. Witty, clever, and aside from some rather clunky exposition in the first 15 minutes, spot-on. Tori Spelling was great, as was Amber Benson as the bitter sister-of-the-bride (the anti-Tara from Buffy). The scene involving the rehearsal dinner speeches was comedy gold. So were the strip club confessions from the spastic groomsmen (including my other boyfriend Steve Sandvoss–but don’t tell James Marsden I’m cheating).

Sadly, if the dramatic moments between the two leading men had been as good as the comedy, this would be a great film. As it is, it’s a cute movie. The lead roles are carried Philipp Karner and James O’Shea - both of whom are delightful to look at, but as Paula Poundstone once said (regarding ‘actress’ Darryl Hannah): “It’s the walking and talking that are the problem.” This is coming from the guy who usually cuts actors a lot of slack if I want to find them naked in my bed some night (did you see my reviews of Stop-Loss and Jumper?).

One other point of issue. I’m getting gorram tired of gay flicks using bisexuality as a punchline. I don’t care how clever you think your “bi now, gay later” joke is, it’s tired and it’s offensive. Stop it.

Posted: April 21st, 2008 under atheism, movies.
Comments: 1

Well, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to blog this or not, but frankly, I’m floating on air. After 4 weeks of classes, we took our second diagnostic/practice LSAT test today. A few hours later our scores were posted on the class website.

I’ve improved. A lot. (Relatively speaking, of course… a small point jump makes a huge ranking jump on the LSAT)

Basically, if you look at the lowest GPA and lowest LSAT score from different schools over the last 6 years, there are only 15 (out of almost 200 ranked schools) whose minimum standards are outside my reach on the basis of today’s score. And I’ve still got 8 weeks to get better. When you add to that the fact that I have a pretty interesting background, I’m feeling really positive about law school right now.

Anyway, I’m not going to get sloppy or cocky, after taking the rest of the day off after the test, it’s back to work tomorrow so I can catch up on the homework I’m falling behind in.

I rewarded myself by watching Little Miss Sunshine, which I’ve never watched despite the fact that it was one of the big buzz films from the year I worked at Sundance. I’m glad I waited, without all the hype, I was able to enjoy it without being overly critical.

Posted: April 19th, 2008 under law school, movies.
Comments: 3

Anyone following my tweets probably already noticed that I went to see Stop-Loss today. Although it was initially a toss-up between 21, Superhero Movie and Stop-Loss, I decided that of the three, this is the one I’ve most looked forward to, primarily because of Ryan Phillipe, Channum Tating, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt and Timothy Olyphant–four actors whose careers I’ve enjoyed.

After scanning some of the top reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, I suspect that people’s opinions about the war itself influence their overall enjoyment of the film. In particular, a lot of people were bothered that director Kimberly Pierce (Boys Don’t Cry) didn’t offer up solutions to the problem of the “back-door draft.” It didn’t bother me so much. This is a messy, complicated situation without easy answers. That doesn’t make it any less important to discuss.

Stop-Loss may not enter the pantheon of great war films, but I suspect that it will be a herald of the types of films we can expect about this war. Specifically as the relationship between the war and the folks back home is depicted. If WWII gave us the great hero stories (e.g. Patton, Saving Private Ryan, Bridge Over the River Kwai) and the horror of nuclear warfare (Dr. Stangelove); Vietnam gave us existential crisis (Apocalyspe Now), counter-culture (Hair), and the fallout of war (Born on the Fourth of July); and the Gulf War gave us career soldier who are a mix of mixed-up and patriotic (Jarheads, Courage Under Fire); the current occupation in Iraq is already yielding movies that are critical of the motivation and methods of the war while trying to present the soldiers themselves in a good light.

I’m not so sure I’m sold on this point of view. I’ve known some asshole soldiers whose notion of patriotism is about as complex as dog’s sense of loyalty. I’m not troop bashing here, I’m just saying that pretending all our troops are heroes to be admired is a mistake.

Anyway, what does all this have to do with the movie? Not much, except that I hope people seeing the movie will engage in more thoughtful and mature discussions of the war than we typically get on political punditry shows. Even my favorites like Real Time with Bill Maher and The Daily Show tend to beat a pretty simplistic drum on the subject.

The cast all did a great job, IMO, with the material they were given. At times a bit cliche, at times a bit sappy, the script was nonetheless emotional. There were a number of times I was tearing up at the movie. I’d have had less reluctance to flee to Canada than Phillipe’s character (not that it’s so easy in this war), but just as much rage and indignation.

In the end, I thought it was worth seeing the movie if it makes you think more about the burden we’re putting on our soldiers and the horrors of this war our current president is so reluctant to end.

Posted: March 30th, 2008 under movies, politics, war.
Comments: none

Since it took me hours of searching a the help of a friend, I thought I’d share with y’all an MP3 of the Horton Hears a Who version of “I Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore.” It’s not on the official soundtrack, so it’s rare. I don’t know how long this link will stay active and I’m not uloading it if it goes down, so grab it soon if you want it. It’s only about a minute long.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/jcy7bk

And here’s another video from a Katie fan (I think)

Posted: March 27th, 2008 under movies, music.
Comments: none

So I’m going to make my review of Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! in three quick points. Unlike Alexia and Jayne, I quite enjoyed the movie (despite the anti-choice demonstrators trying to ruin it). This might be a movie more fun for adults. Here are the top three reasons I enjoyed the movie…

1. Horton’s Anime Fantasy
At an unexpected moment, Horton drifts into an awesome parody of all those damn cartoons my brothers still watch… A short clip…

2. I Can’t Stop This Feeling Anymore
Loved the song. When it started, I literally rocked forward in my chair with laughter.

3. Katie
You might have caught a hint of the glory that is Katie in the previous clip. She’s unbearably cute, little, yellow, fluffy, and decidedly odd. With a deep breath, she floats off into the sky. She bumps into things. And she has an active imagination…

These clips may represent my three favorite moments from the show, but I was also a fan of other decidedly adult aspects of the film - like the existential crisis of the Mayor or the Sour Kangaroo’s brilliant “For the Children” speech. Dear God, won’t someone please think of the children!! In this movie, not so much. The cute gags for the kids are there, but I think the real humor in this flick is for the really big kids who can buy beer and shit.

Posted: March 24th, 2008 under movies.
Comments: none

Once again, today’s strip is based on a true story… about 5 hours old. 

On the way to see Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who, Jennifer called me to warn me that some anti-choice folks hanging out in front of the Metreon tricking people into taking fliers. Apparently this is going to be a thing. These people were all wearing Horton Hears a Who t-shirts and were asking people, “Would you like a flier about Horton Hears a Who?” She’d already been in a confrontation with at least one anti-choice volunteer.

Armed with my new web-enabled phone, Jen, Jacob and I stood nearby and discussed very loudly that Dr. Seuss and his widow object to the anti-choice interpretation of the story and asked questions like “Is a person a person no matter how gay?” At one point we heard one of the girls using the “would you like a flier about this movie” line and we loudly said to all who could hear, “that’s not what those fliers are about!”

I’d love to hear other people’s stories encountering anti-choice zealots outside a children’s movie. If I’m seeing them in downtown San Francisco, surely there must people people in other communities having fun with these folks.

Posted: March 22nd, 2008 under movies, politics, webcomic.
Comments: 3