X-Men Dominates Super Hero Movies

Dec 18

JeremyMovies , , , , , , Comments Off

Question: What is your favorite superhero movie adaptation?

Answer: Hands down, this is so much easier than the Harry Potter question where I actually had to think about my answer. This time, I can go on pure instinct: the first two X-Men movies (thought I think I’m gonna give a brief shout out to Iron Man as runner up!). It might be cheating, but I’m going with both because I really view them as a single adaptation.

The first movie revived the 90′s-moribund superhero genre, despite Storm’s bad hair and “Do you know what happens to a toad when it’s struck by lightning?”; up to that point, the movie superhero had been largely dormant for quite some time. I mean, seriously, those were people’s main quibbles with the first movie. Well, those and Magneto’s largely one-dimensional minions. But it brought us action, it brought us character development (for the good guys) and it was superbly cast. I mean, the brilliance of casting Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan aside, Hugh Jackman is just delicious (and maybe James Marsden too).

Moving right into the second movie in a way that really advanced the plot and the relationships between the characters was superb. Anyone who has ever felt marginalized can really connect with these people who really would rather just be left alone to live their lives in peace. At the same time, it’s easy to understand how the experiences of someone like Magneto have shaped him in a way that has built up a burning hatred within.  How often does Hollywood manage to give us good action with a moral (that doesn’t feel like a moral bludgeon) and still leave some ambiguity in how we’re supposed to feel?  Rarely, but it was achieved with these two films.

Yup.  That’s my pick.

And now, a moment of vituperation:  Damn, damn Bryan Singer for bailing on us and letting Brett Ratner ruin the third! I find it entirely ironic that Singer jumped to Superman Returns and Ratner to X-3 and then no one liked either movie. Wouldn’t it be awesome if Twentieth Century Fox would be what Warner Bros is doing and just ignore the bad movie and move on with producing a replacement?

Alas and alack…at least I hear good things about X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Excuse Me, But Can a Gay Man Who Is *Relevant* Please Come Out?

Sep 24

JeremySociety and Culture , , , , , , , , , , , , Comments Off

In case anyone missed it, American Idol crooner and runner up Clay Aiken finally decided to come out of the closet as a gay man on the cover of Friday’s People magazine leaked by Perez-Hilton. According to media reports, as a new dad, he decided that he didn’t want to raise a child while living a lie, thereby passing on negative values to the next generation. So, good for him. Which I mean sincerely, because no one should live in the closet. Even when that closet appears to have been made entirely of clear glass for years.

But seriously…big deal.  Clay joins the ranks of Lance Bass, Neil Patrick Harris, and that guy on that TV show. You know, the one with all the controversy where the other guy got fired in a media circus for saying naughty words. Yay for all of them! If I wrack my brains, I might be able to count enough out young men in entertainment to get up to my other hand. I applaud these men for their willingness to risk their careers by going public with this information (unless they reached the point where they didn’t have one anymore anyway and coming out was a desperate plea for attention). I’m not going to dispute that in the least. But the reality is that when these men de-closet themselves, there’s lots of media hype but little social impact.

I’m also not going to discount the importance of older gay male figures with some star power such as Sir Ian McKellan, Elton John, George Takei, Rupert Everett, and David Hyde Pierce, but they don’t serve as social role models in quite the same way younger men do. While young gay men may look up to them because they are successful and out, just as they may look up to the B list mentioned above in the same way, these men don’t have the mass media appeal to change minds and alter thinking wholesale. In relation to either of these groups, there aren’t many people out there thinking “Hey, he’s not such a bad guy. Maybe gays are okay.” Mostly they’re just thinking “It’s about time. Everyone already knew anyway.”

I’m still waiting for the blockbuster movie star or superstar rocker to ‘fess up to the world (don’t even get me started on sports). Of course, if I give a “what if” example here, Andrew and I will probably have Tom Cruise’s lawyers knocking on our doors within fifteen minutes of my clicking “publish,” so I won’t do that. It would be fantastic, though, to see a star of magnitude come out and say to the world “You know what? I’m gay and I’m not going to hide that. I hope you will still come see my movies.” While the media hubbub would be intense, there would also be the chance to start some real social dialogue around the issue of homosexuality that might just alter our collective thinking a little bit. If enough young Hollywood A-listers came out, it might eventually even become NO BIG DEAL. Imagine that: the day the media ignored a star’s coming out?

At the end of the day, though, maybe all these little comings out do have one impact. Perhaps they are drawing us closer to that day when the big name follows in their footsteps by showing that being out and gay doesn’t automatically end your career. Hey, look at Neil Patrick Harris: he comes out and all of the sudden he’s on a highly-rated sitcom (and no one has a problem with him playing a straight character) and people actually want him to do other projects (Dr. Horrible, anyone?). His tiny victories in the fight against discrimination show the potential for the big names to have similar experiences if only they are willing to take the risk.

And really…even if coming out is a career-ending move for that first big star at the peak of his career, can’t he find a good money manager to make that $100 million he’s earned already last?