Chill ~ Ideas on what to watch, listen, read and how to spend that leisure time...
If you love reading and want to add an LGBT slant to your fireside relaxation then our book group might fit the bill. This month 8 of us met to 2destroy" the Prophet Murders by Mehmet Murat Somer, a high tale of murder, court shoes and cardboard characters in the transvestite clubs of down-town Istanbul. can’t say that any of us would recommend the novel but it was an interesting launch and we set the scene with a meze of olives, hummus and falafels whist quaffing wine for a couple of hours.
So if it sounds like your kind of evening contact on 07833010712 and join us in late January for “Georgiana's Closet” by Dale Gunthorpe
What to watch
Why not rent a DVD for the weekend here are a couple of ideas
WTC View ( 2005 )
For an interesting take on 9/11 check out Brian Sloane's film adaptation of his 2003 fringe play starring Michael Urie of Ugly Betty fame .All about a gay photographer trying to rent his apartment immediately after the terrorist attacks . I must admit the script is better than the acting but there are some really good performances , particularly Nick Pontenzieri who plays a Bond Trader who witnessed the carnage first hand .WTC View might make for a very alternative evenings entertainment . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W29kQ2HLQgE
Socket ( 2007 )
If you're really, really bored and really, really not that fussy then this micro budget horror might come in handy especially if you are waiting for paint to dry . A surgeon has a near fatal electrocution and then hooks up with a group of fellow shock survivors who now like nothing better than to get together and stick their fingers into the mains! Its painfully slow stuff and very odd especially when cruising a local park involves zapping a guy with a few hundred mega Watts. This is slow, slow stuff , more irritating than erotic and left me wanting to pull the plug out of my own DVD socket ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OJp5V9NAZM
XXY ( 2007 )
This is a must see movie , if ever you considered yourself master of your own destiny then just take a moment to think about the genetic lottery we start out with it defines our gender, race , beauty , intelligence and health ... life is a game of chance .
XXY is based on a book by an Argentinean writer and is Director Lucia Puezo's debut film . Alex is an intersex teenager whose parents escape Buenos Ares to the supposed sanctity and privacy of a small Uruguayan fishing village in order to keep the child safe from bigotry .. but the rumours have already started . A plastic surgeon, his wife and there gangly son Alvero ( who is awaken to the fact that he is gay ) come to stay and Puezo creates a beautiful portrayal of how two young people battle to define there own identities ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvimt276vDI
Mysterious Skin - USA : 2005
Based on a novel by Scott Heim. Neil and Brian are worlds apart, one is a self-assured rebel who hustles gay men and the other is a geeky mothers boy who is convinced he was abducted by aliens at the age of eight and whilst trying to solve the mystery of his 'lost' five hours he uncovers the pairs shared traumatic past. A great cast,superb acting and an emotional rollercoaster ride into the harrowing and controversial territory of child abuse .Its a brave film , not easy watching but needs to be seen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjHgTn9tTxk
Coffee Date - 2007
Best described as a gay movie about a straight bloke. It’s no Oscar winner but it’s charmingly funny and does however get you thinking about friendship between two men regardless of sexuality. Todd (Jonathan Bray) gets set up on a blind date by his brother but his hot date 'Kelly'(Wilson Cruz) turns out to be a gay man. It’s a great portrayal of a paranoid heterosexual guy who finds he really hits it off with the most unexpected soul mate; trouble is now everyone believes he’s gay! It beautifully shows that the gay and straight worlds can unite as one without all the normal angst. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VgthOE-DrY
What to listen to
Pet Shop Boys - Yes
If ever there was an album confirming the Pet Shop Boys' influence over pop music of the past twenty years this is it. 'Yes' is a delight. The PSB rightly deserved the Life Time achievement award at the Brits recently. There may not be any real surprises here in terms of change of direction. What you do get are eleven tracks that have been mined deep from the PSB goldmine. The arrangements are spectacular and the melodies are powerful. There are no less than (at least) five great hit singles here - 'Love etc.', 'Did you see me coming', 'Beautiful People', 'More Than a Dream' and 'Pandemonium'. That's nearly half the album! These guys worked with Xenomania (Girls Aloud Producers) and have a knack of writing pure pop melodies that - once you hear them - you really can't get them out of your head. Truly infectious. So, congratulations to the guys. If you love PSB, you will love this album. If you have not been into them, then this album is unlikely to sway you. An upbeat, optimistic 'power pop' album from a band showing no signs of slowing down. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQxx5hKndus
Donna Summers - Crayons
Forget all the anti-gay stuff she was supposed to have, but didn’t actually say and check out every Disco Bunny’s patron saint Ms Donna Summers latest album “Crayons” , her first for seventeen years.The 13 tracker shows she’s a little more versatile than some of our other aging Divas and contains a mix of Rock, R&B, Latino dance the odd Soulful Ballad and even a little Hip Hop. Her voice is still great and the Duet with Ziggy Marley “the Queen is back” is probably worth the cost of the album. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJbvW6inrl0