Styles That Might Not Catch On

Gladiator chic! Of course he wouldn't dare wear those trousers after labor day.

A Blog of Note

Don't you love the internet? The randomness of it? How you can stumble onto something completely awesome without even trying. That's what happened to me today when I read an amusing comment by one of my readers and lazily clicked into his profile which lead me to his blog, Valley Dreamin'. I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this blog. J.D. describes himself as a "confused 15 year old cinephile." Really? Because he doesn't seem confused at all. He seems smart, funny, well informed, did I mention smart? And since I have yet to read anything he has written with which I disagree, I think he has great taste. While so many movie bloggers,most of them well past the age of puberty, are getting themselves all worked up about the latest Hollywood shoot 'em up he is waxing lyrical over Fanny and Alexander, the superior five-hour televison edit, naturally. Well, he also waxes lyrical over Wanted, but c'mon people: Wanted was pretty awesome. (I'm not going into details here, but I started to write about Wanted and abandoned it because my review seemed too snarky. I couldn't quite convey how completely crazy it was while simultaneously expressing how much I enjoyed it without seeming completely detached and ironic.)

The great thing about reading someone like J.D. is that he is still in a stage of discovery. There's no sense of "been there, done that." Sure, he's seen a lot of movies, but there are so many things that seem new and exciting to him and he can do nothing less than fully express his enthusiasms. A movie can be rated A++++++++++++(ad infinitum) because that's just how much he liked it. Ah to be young again!

I rate J.D.'s blog A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Check it out!

Getting back to musicals...

...it has been nearly two weeks since I went to see Mamma Mia and it would be safe to say that I had mixed feelings about it. My reaction was somewhere between Matthew Rettenmund's hatred for it at his excellent blog Boy Culture, and this positive, but not blindly so, review at Slate. Given the high level of anticipation I had for this, I guess my general feeling was one of disappointment. Granted, I felt the same way about the film version of Chicago, which was generally greeted as the best thing since Botox and won all those Oscars. So what do I know, right? Well, when it comes to musicals, the answer is that I know a hell of a lot more than most people. Trust me on this: I know musicals. So please don't hate me when I say that the movie Mamma Mia most reminded me of was, ahem, From Justin to Kelly, but with better songs and (mostly) better acting.

The things that were wrong with the movie are mostly the same things that were wrong with the stage version; namely: 1) no plot, 2) shallow characterizations- I refer here to the writing, not the acting, 3) songs that have tenuous connection to the story. The director has no idea where to place a camera or how to film a number so that it isn't either completely static or stupidly frenetic. There is almost no choreography and what there is is rudimentary and badly handled. And I can't say this enough: if you are going to do musicals, please use actors who are trained in musical theater. Is it at all surprising that Meryl Streep, who has done musicals on stage, makes a pretty good showing, while Pierce Brosnon does not?

I did enjoy aspects of the movie. The Streep, though a bit over the top, seems to be having a genuinely good time and is always fun to watch. Ditto Amanda Seyfried who is lovely and the best singer here. Dominic Cooper takes his shirt off, which is nice. Julie Walters and Christine Baranski are people I enjoy watching, but they both have numbers which are slightly-to-extremely embarassing. The ABBA songs are wonderful, of course, except when they are being butchered (yes, Mr. Brosnon, I'm talking to you.) As in the stage show, my favorite moment is Slipping Through My Fingers, an emotional song about a parent ruefully watching her daughter growing up and which is actually used in that very context in the movie.

You know, it's easy to sound churlish here, but I really didn't hate it. I had a moderately good time. And it always makes me happy when a musical does well because that means more musicals in the future. I just wish this musical was better. I wanted to come out of the theatre with the glow I had when I saw Hairspray and Moulin Rouge. I want to be transported. Mamma Mia was just an OK way to blow a few hours.

Strange Places To Hang Out in Your Underwear

One of the more amusing aspects of porn (I'm just assuming that this is an early picture in a porn set- I haven't seen the rest, more's the pity) is seeing people trying to look natural while in inappropriate locales. How often do you suppose this guy really hangs out in the woods while wearing nothing but Calvin Klein briefs? Not that I'm complaining.

Styles That Might Not Catch On

One hardly knows where to begin. The sheepskin rug as a cape is the first thing that got my attention. The striped floral skinny trousers are pretty awful, but honestly I've seen just as bad on real people. (As you know, models are not real people.) But do my eyes deceive me, or is he wearing matching floral print spats? Damn! I wish I had this picture in a higher resolution!

Random Shirtless Guy of the Day

When Good Models Go Bad

This is the uni-monikered Daryl at Select London. I'll let you decide which is good and which is bad.

Random Shirtless Guy of the Day

I had someone completely different lined up for today's random shirtless guy, but then this turned up in my mailbox and I had to change my plan. Look at that face: he either wants to screw you or beat the crap out of you. Maybe both.

My Kind of Blog

"Awesome is the New Pretty." That is the tagline at Boy On Film, a blog I stumbled upon today. It is run by someone calling himself Brooke Cloudbuster, a fellow from New Zealand who writes mostly about movies. Brooke has really excellent taste and is just as likely to write a review of It Happened One Night (A+! Yay!) as the latest Hollywood blockbuster. More likely, in fact. I don't know about you, but it gives me a bit of a thrill to see a review that includes both All About Eve and Terror Planet. That's quite a double feature!

But who am I fooling? Look at Brooke's banner (conveniently hijacked and published here) and you'll know immediately why he's aces in my book. Bette Davis? Check. Audrey Hepburn? Check. Garbo, Bjork, Liz, Isabelle freakin' Huppert? Check, check, check and freakin' check! . And smack dab in the middle: Alex Pettyfer. It may seem a bit incongruous to see Alex up there with Vivien Leigh, Ziyi Zhang and all those other divas, but why not? After all, these are a few of my favorite things! Dig a little deeper and you will find that one of Brooke's recurring themes in 2007 was "Gratuitous Alex Pettyfer Photo Day." So... awesome and pretty! Brooke, we might be soulmates!

R.I.P.

Estelle Getty. She was a funny old broad.

Gratitude

One thousand and one thanks to our good friend Syeuk2002, who, unsolicited and out of the kindness of his heart made this beautiful new banner gracing the top of the screen. Who could that lovely boy in the picture be, I wonder? Thanks again S. To misquote Spencer Tracy, I don't have a lot of subscribers, but what there is is cherce.

One Very Good Reason To Subscribe To Showtime.

Our friend Syeuk2002 wrote us recently and mentioned Weeds co-star and blond demi-god Hunter Parrish. Weeds is an excellent show and and would be well worth watching even without the eye candy that is Hunter. As luck would have it, Hunter must have gotten a gym membership between season three and season four and he has taken the opportunity on a few occasions to show off his new body. Fans of the musical theatre might be happy to learn that Hunkster will soon be appearing on Broadway in the musical Spring Awakening in a role that calls for a brief nude scene. Buy your tickets now.

Random Shirtless Guy of the Day

Random Shirtless Guy of the Day

Marcell. That's all I know.

Cutie-Pie Actor of the Day

Don't let the baby face fool you: this is Douglas Smith and he recently turned 23 years old (and yes, this is a recent picture). Doug is one of the many reasons to watch the amazing HBO series Big Love, which should be starting its third season pretty soon.  If you haven't been watching Big Love I suggest you Netflix the first two seasons right now in preparation for the third. It is a show that gets better with each episode and is brilliantly acted by a large, pitch-perfect ensemble cast. And, oh yeah, Douglas occasionally gets his bits out.

Did I mention that Doug is Canadian? There must be something in the water up there.

Random Shirtless Guy of the Day

"I Have Been Waiting For These Visitors"

Call me a stereotype (Go on! I dare you!) but if there are two things I love in this world they are musicals, and ABBA. Well, I could make a whole list of things I love in this world, but musicals and ABBA would be right up there. So it should come as no surprise that I can hardly wait for next week's premiere of the film version of Mamma Mia, and not just because über-sexy Dominic Cooper is in it, though that sure doesn't hurt. I saw the stage version of Mama Mia! last year when a touring company came through my town. I can't say it is a great musical: the story and script are banal in the extreme, in most cases the songs have no connection with what is happening in the story, and the whole thing is padded out with a curtain call that is almost as long as the second act, plus it didn't have what I would call a first-rate cast. But, wow, did the audience I saw it with love that show, and I had a good time too. You always hear about people dancing in the aisles, but how often do you really see it? So the folks who made the movie of Mamma Mia! are going to have to really screw up to make a movie that won't be a great time. I mean, come on! Streep singing ABBA! I've already ordered my ticket.

I Just Placed My Order!

I've always thought he was a doll.

Book of the Day

I don't think I'll ever actually read this, but I love the title: Hot Chicks With Douchebags by Jay Louis. Spun off of the website by the same name. Good mean fun.

Random Shirtless Guy of the Day

Alex Pettyfer Mania Continues!

I have no idea where this came from or why it even exists. It's Alex playing air guitar and and dancing to the craptastic "classic rock" standby Freebird. (I think. I'm not really that up on that particular musical genre.) Isn't he adorable? Don't you want to give him a great big kiss? Well, back off! He's mine!

Hot!

Anyone who thinks the guys on this blog are too young should check out this hunk of finely aged grade A prime man meat! (Well, you've gotta admit, she is pretty masculine. Even in marabou.)

Random Shirtless Guy of the Day

Strangely enough, I liked this picture until I posted it here. Now I think it seems rather generic. Or is it just me?  See more of him here.

Model of the Moment: Sean O'Pry

Get this! Sean O'Pry (b. 1989) was a high school kid in Georgia when a modeling agent spotted his prom picture on MySpace. Now he is one of the fastest rising male models on the planet, and probably several other planets as well.

Random Shirtless Guy(s) of the Day

Let the joyous news be spread...

I'm usually not one to get all jingoistic, even on the Fourth of July, but America became a better place today because former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms has died. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but Helms was a force for evil in the world. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Styles That Might Not Catch On

Textured sleeveless and collarless hostess pajamas with floral satin highlights. On a guy. A guy who presumably is not a drag queen.

More Thomas Finchum

Images removed at request of original photographer.

Random Shirtless Guy of the Day

What's going on?

In addition to changing the blog's layout, I spent a little time tonight employing my limited Photoshopping skills to make a new banner. It's pretty basic, but I kind of like it. If you have ever read this blog before, I don't have to tell you who the photo is.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to say they like the blog (including Mischa, who is my roommate so he had freakin' well better like it). And special thanks to Syeuk2002 who took the time to advertise me on other sites. That was really nice of him, and the fact that he did it really makes me think this is all worthwhile. And good news! I'm now up to two subscribers.

In other news, someone just called me a pedophile because I have pictures of "children under 18 years of age" on my site. So let me just say this about that: If you are the kind of person who believes that a picture of a 17 year old in a bathing suit is kiddie porn, then by all means stay away. In fact, I don't want you here anyway. But you should probably avoid The Disney Channel as well.