Although probably intended to break the hearts of straight women and men, About a Boy will undoubtedly have plenty of gays reaching for tissues, thanks to its near-perfect depiction of life as an outcast. A scene of a sissy-ish boy, Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), being chased home from school by a trio of bullies did it … Continue reading →

Allow me to make a prediction: Jack Nicholson will receive an Oscar nomination – and very likely the award itself – for his performance in About Schmidt. Not because he’s particularly good in it, or because the movie is all that great, but because the film stinks. It reeks throughout with a carefully formulated aroma … Continue reading →

Finally, the wait is over: the year’s best film has arrived. An incredible semi-quasi-autobiography that defies both explanation and categorization, the newest from director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is even more inventive and perplexing than their pleasingly peculiar Being John Malkovich. In 1999, Kaufman was commissioned to adapt “The Orchid Thief,” a nonfiction … Continue reading →

Like most Americans (well, the women and gay men, anyway), I’m a sucker for a good romantic comedy.   Give me Meg Ryan tippity-typing away with Tom Hanks or Julia Roberts selling her love to Richard Gere and I’m quite content, thank you (and if Julia’s got a gay best friend and is trying to stop … Continue reading →

Many critics will undoubtedly point to Big Trouble’s unfortunate subject matter (particularly an extended plane-hijacking sequence and an excruciating lampooning of airport security) as the reason for the film’s certain failure at the box office. Disney, the film’s distributor, will surely cling to that theory as well, having already pushed the film’s opening back from … Continue reading →

When Al Gore invented the Internet, he surely never guessed how useful a tool it would become in helping love-starved denizens of cyberspace find their perfect mate.  How could he have known that, by the year 2002, websites like match.com would be advertising during Friends, promising a perfect partner for every Tom, Dick and Mary … Continue reading →

If you own a Palm Pilot, you’re probably already playing Dope Wars, the most popular game currently available for the Palm.  For those whose lives aren’t ruled by pocket circuitry (and may therefore be unaware), Dope Wars is essentially an accounting game: starting with $2000, players must make money by buying and selling a variety … Continue reading →

Bully bears the unmistakable stamp of director Larry Clark, who is known for his documentary-style cinematography and graphic depictions of teenage excess. Clark’s films luridly amplify teen sexuality, drug use and violence; true to form, Bully, an in-your-face portrait of a group of aimless youths, makes the crowd from Fast Times at Ridgemont High look … Continue reading →

Baz Luhrmann “reinvented” the movie musical with his deliriously over-the-top Moulin Rouge. Now, director-choreographer Rob Marshall’s Chicago takes the genre right back to its roots, proving that a savvy story, a sizzling score and a series of scorching musical numbers can send shivers down the spines of viewers even without flashy cinematic gimmickry. Just how … Continue reading →