Today's Mood

That moment from the masterpiece that is David Lean's Brief Encounter isn't the choice for "Today's Mood" because of why you might be assuming it is -- although the general state of the world isn't helping! -- but more due to a totally different subject. Namely I've had a serious toothache for five straight days and am only finally getting into my dentist this afternoon. It seems likely I might be getting my very first root canal if I had to wager a guess, so if you wonder where I am for the rest of today it's there -- getting my face torn asunder. Hooray! It's my own fault because once the pandemic broke my going to the dentist regularly routine I kind of stopped going altogether -- I've only had one check-up since 2020. So this was probably inevitable. Go to the dentist every six months, kids!

Today's Fanboy Delusion

 Today I'd rather be...

... breathing deeply with Austin Nichols.

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Saint Maud (2019)

Maud: Never waste your pain.

A happy birthday to actress Morfydd Clark today! 

We should all watch this masterpiece in her honor tonight. 

That line of dialogue feels fitting to 2025!

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, Gratuitous Omar Ayuso

It can be difficult to keep up with someone as ruthlessly exhibitionist as gay Elite actor Omar Ayuso is -- I've only done two itty bitty posts on him in the past, but in my defense I still haven't watched any of Elite... but in my anti-defense that hasn't kept me from posting heaps of his Elite co-star Manu Rios. Whatever. We're overdue-ly here today because Manu finally stormed his rightful and proper way...

 

... into the pink-hued pages of Butt Magazine, like so many ruthless exhibitionists before him. And it booted my bum into gear to post some Omar for y'all this Monday morning! Say thank you! And then hit the jump for a fine little collection of some of Omar's finest exhibitionist moments captured for posterity...

Paging Mister Page

This seems like the right and correct place to note that Regé-Jean Page has a shirtles sscene in Steven Soderbergh's ace spy thriller Black Bag that's in theaters today -- I didn't mention it in my review because I's respectable elsewhere, but here well here we let it all hang out. As you well know. Anyway it's a very brief moment and it's not particularly memorable as far as skin scenes go, but it is notable for being the only bit of skin we get in the movie and yet the movie manages to remain sexy as heckfire all the same! If you missed my review yesterday click over to Pajiba to read it -- I really kept it profoundly spoiler-free so no need to worry about that. I barely mention the plot at all, but then it's all Macguffins in service of hot talented actors being smooth and sexy and expensive looking. AKA Cinema! Point being y'all should go see it and let the studios know there is room for an adult entertainment like this in actual movie theaters. I promise you'll have a terrific time in exchange for your effort. Otherwise -- a very fine weekend to you all and goodbye!

Arnaud Valois Five Times

Even if actor Arnaud Valois isn't in any of the movies that screening at the "Rendez-Vous with French Cinema" series happening through this weekend at Film at Lincoln Center here in NYC (see my previous post here) I feel fine posting this new photoshoot of him (via) in lieu of one of an actor in one of their films because... well just because. The stache! The curls! The bedroom eyes! How could one resist? He's French so the point has been made. French cinema, huzzah! Now hit the jump for the rest... 

In Space No One Can Hear Barry Jenkins Scream

It hasn't been the greatest week on record just in the general sense of, you know, everything! But here is one good nice story to come out of it, one which hopefully come to fruition as long as, you know, "everything" doesn't murder us first. THR is reporting (thx Mac) that good and proper movie star (we can call him one now right?) Glen Powell is going to make a movie with good and proper auteur (we can definitely call him that) Barry Jenkins to make a movie! And there won't be any animated wildebeests this time -- it's about human beings and for adults this time! It's called The Natural Order and it's based on a story by Coco screenwriter Matthew Aldrich and all we know beyond that right now is that it's "a sci-fi thriller centering on the search for eternal life." I will watch a Barry Jenkins sci-fi thriller! And even better I will watch a Barry Jenkins sci-fi thriller starring Glen Powell! So sign me up. In all seriousness this sounds like a solid compromise between Barry making the tiny independent masterpieces he'd been making and then churning out depressing IP nonsense like the Lion King sequel  because that's the only sort of trash Hollywood is interested in. So bring it on. 

From Mishima to Midnight in 32 Seconds

There is a lot of love about Paul Schrader's film Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters -- the visuals are incredible and the score by Phillip Glass is a world-class one, and it's further proof that Paul Schrader is the gayest "straight" man on Earth -- but I've always been disappointed by it all the same because the real life writer and filmmaker and homosexual fascist Yukio Mishima was actually more fascinating and more deranged and, well, hotter (see up top), than the movie ever is. I'll always recommend Mishima's own film called Patriotism over Schrader's sort-of-biopic any day. (And Criterion has released that movie themselves.) 

But since Criterion is now upgrading their Mishima disc to 4K come June I'll go ahead and admit I cannot wait to see the new restoration -- I sort of wish they'd add Patriotism itself to the special features of this disc if they're not going to upgrade that one from DVD but I guess we can't have (anything) everything. 

That said the June release I'm the most excited about isn't that one -- it's William Friedkin's Sorceror in 4K! I've admitted before that I only saw this movie about five years ago for the first time -- I know I'm not alone in being thrown off by its title; I thought it was a fantasy movie for the longest time a la Krull or Zardoz aka some bargain basement shit from a period and genre that I'm not super interested in. But no it's a remake of Clouzot's 1953 thriller Wages of Fear (which Criterion helpfully just dropped onto 4K earlier this month) and it turns out that it ranks among Friedkin's greatest accomplishments. It's a spectacular film, tense and hypnotic and so much stranger than you're expecting it to be. It haunts me. I got to see it on a big screen last year and man alive does it play like gangbusters that way. Anyway it immediately became one of my favorite Friedkins and I wish I'd seen it earlier. (And speaking of amazing scores the one here from Tangerine Dream is The Shit.) 

And then further on in June we've got The Wiz hitting 4K -- the 1978 reworking of The Wizard of Oz with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson has always creeped me out in a not good way, but I know it's iconic to a lot of people so I'll shut up! -- and then the 1988 documentary Thelonious Monk Straight, No Chaser about the jazz musician, which, yeah, not a jazz person so this isn't for me either. So moving right along...

... because this is a loaded month, there's also the 1939 screwball comedy Midnight starring Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, and John Barrymore -- I have never seen this. Any fans? It was written by Billy Wilder so I'm sure it's crackling and it's got one of those great fake-identity screwball plots where Colbert infiltrates Parisian society pretending to be a Hungarian noblewoman. I'm sure it's fun and thankfully it's on Criterion Channel to watch right now so maybe I'll watch it this weekend to gauge my interest in a hard copy. 

Next up there's François Girard's 1993 pianist bio-pic Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould which is one that's been on my to-watch list for decades now but I've never gotten around to. 1993 was right around when I was beginning to turn into a movie dork properly so I remember hearing a lot about this one at the time, but we've never crossed paths. Its pastiche approach to its story, which tells Gould's life in 32 separate chunks that range from animation to interview -- always sounded like a treat so I'll definitely be seeking this one out at last, for sure, now that I have been re-reminded. Oh and the final June drop is Terry Gilliam's masterpiece Brazil in 4K. Certainly no slouch to end with there!

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, World

I don't know where the tenacious sleuths on Tumblr dug up this shot from On Swift Horses, the forthcoming (out on April 25th) movie film starring Diego Calva and Jacob Elordi as forbidden lovers but this shot was not in the trailer they released a few weeks back -- I giffed all the good stuff in that one right here. Maybe a new clip's been dropped somewhere? It's too early for me to do much more digging -- I slept like hell last night and need to finish this great big coffee sitting in front of me -- so let's just enjoy that gif of the two gorgeous actors bumping tighty-whities for now. Good morning!

Sexy Spy Time

Extremely happy to have loved Steven Soderbergh's new movie, the spy thriller Black Bag starring Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett as a pair of married spies who find themselves doubting -- or do they? -- each other's motives when there turns out to be a mole among their agency. It's a smashing good time, sexy and stylish as hell -- head on over to Pajiba to read my thoughts. And here's a bonus photo of Fassy with his ridiculously handsome co-star Regé-Jean Page because duh:

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Pride (2014)

Bromley: They called us perverts.

Mark: Bromley, it's time for an
important part of your education.

Hands up, in this room, if you've ever
been called a name like that.

Now, there is a long and honorable
tradition in the gay community

and it has stood us in good stead for a very long time. 

When somebody calls you a name... am I right Jonathan?

Jonathan: Dead right.

Mark: You take it and own it.

A happy 33 to George MacKay today! He's certainly come

a very long way from Pride, but I gotta go re-watch Pride.

What a wonderful movie it is. Happy day, Georgie boy!

Sam Nivola Two Times

(via)

Five Frames From ?

What movie is this?

Good Morning, World

I'm probably seeing what I want to see but it looks to me like there's just one bed in this picture of Anora stars Mark Eydelshteyn and Yura Borisov sharing an Oscar day hotel room and since I already loved their love so much (no matter how conflicted I might be about the movie as a whole) I appreciate this brief little continuance of that. Let your minds wander...

Everything You Ever Need To Know About Life...

 ... you can learn from:

Queer (2024)

Doctor Cotter: What are you so afraid of? Hmm? 

Door's already open. Can't close it now. 

All you can do is look away. But why would you?

I suppose to those of you who haven't seen Queer yet the above image of Lesley Manville might come as a shock, as it did to me when I saw the movie for the first time during NYFF last fall -- that is not the Lesley Manville we're used to seeing! But that's one reason to love it -- another being she is, as always, fantastic. (Her delivery of the moment quoted above gives us one of the most heart-rending moments in the film.) Anyway yes this makes two Queer posts in a row -- I just posted about how the 4K blu-ray of the film is being released in the UK in April -- but I only just noticed today is Manville's 69th birthday so we gotta wish her a happy one. Lesley Manville rules! 

Oh but wait -- another Queer-adjacent thing! Let's keep ourselves from posting three posts in a row by doubling up and using this opportunity to share the video for HAIM's new song "Relationships" which features actor Drew Starkey giving a sexy-ass wordless performance as "The Sexy Music Video Guy." You know the one. They all have to do the same thing in these videos. Be sexy, stare longingly at the singers, et cetera. He does it well!

A Queer Coming Home

As of this second the only place that has it for pre-order is Amazon UK and there very well might -- hell, it will -- change soon. But I am impatient. And so here, click here, and you can pre-order Luca Guadagnino's film Queer on 4K thanks to the fine folks at MUBI for a release on April 28th. This is the first and only physical media release news we've gotten for the film which was released by A24 here in the US -- we'll have to wait and see if they're going to give us a proper edition here in the States and if they do announce that then you can go cancel your Amazon orders like I plan to. For now, prepare in advance, I say! The UK disc is region-free so it'll play fine here if you have a 4K player. Anyway here is my review of the film, which ended up at #2 on my list of the movies of 2024. I love its weird ass more every time I watch it. 

Parker Posey Island Hop

The cast for In Bruges and Banshees of Inisherin writer-director Martin McDonagh's next movie is shaping up and it's a good one -- this past week Parker Posey and Steve Buscemi both joined the already-cast Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich in what's being called Wild Horses Nine. Buscemi is replacing Mark Ruffalo (and I feel like that's the first and only time that sentence has been or will be uttered) and the movie will shoot on Easter Island of all places later this month. I have to admit I sort of feel like Sam Rockwell is a harbinger of doom as far as McDonagh movies go -- he starred in my two least favorite movies from the director previously. But maybe their third time together will be a charm? And Posey's presence more than makes up for anyone else. Our queen! I'm slightly curious what y'all are thinking of her work on The Whote Lotus but also hesitant to ask because just know I vehemently disagree with any complaints, of which I know many are going around. I think she's hilarious AND I think she's nailing the accent. So there!

 

You Just Got Eye Fucked, Zane Phillips

From what I can tell this video's like a year old so I imagine it's from an awards show where Fellow Travelers was nominated (that's actor Jelani Alladin on the left side of the frame) but who cares about context -- if Jonathan Bailey looked at me the way he was caught looking at Zane Phillips there I would turn into a puddle of mush on the floor and I feel the need to have that look documented here on the site, context or no. Phew! I got the vapors!