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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

SUPERHEROES.

MovieWeb has posted Comic-Con 2008 footage of Smallville cast members Allison Mack (Chloe Sullivan) and Justin Hartley (Oliver Queen/Green Arrow) and the new villains Sam Witwer (Davis Bloome/Doomsday) and Cassidy Freeman (Tess), talking about the new season. MovieWeb had recently posted other Smallville news from Comic-Con: The Legion of Super-Heroes is Coming to Smallville. Also on the Man of Steel front, Variety has posted a Superman Status Update, regarding the long-rumored movie.


I barely saw The Dark Knight in time before reading some major spoilers. Everyone assumes everyone else has seen it. Despite all the hype about the late Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker, I wasn’t at all surprised by his excellent performance. I’ve enjoyed Ledger’s work since seeing him on the short-lived fantasy series Roar. However, I thought the entire cast of TDK fit the roles perfectly, and I look forward to seeing Christian Bale in his next genre film, Terminator Salvation.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

VIEWS FROM THE ACORN UNIVERSE, 8/12/08

This week, Books, Jake, Star Trek: The Experience.

BOOKS.

The Kindle edition of The Acorn Stories, winner of a Pride in the Arts Award, is currently charting as follows. Those charts update constantly.

#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Gay & Lesbian

#2 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Literature & Fiction > Fiction > Short Stories > Gay

#3 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Anthologies


The rest of the gay fiction top five is dominated by queer-themed scifi, fantasy, or horror.

#2 Second Thoughts: More Queer and Weird Stories by Steve Berman, an author whose works I’ve praised before.

#3 Without Reservations, J. L. Langley’s queer werewolf epic.

#4 IM, Rick R. Reed’s cleverly promoted tale of stolen identity. Reed, a doorQ-er, is passing himself up, with his thriller Deadly Vision at #8.

#5 is a magic-tinged book from Mark Abramson, with a title that might say it all: Beach Reading.

SciFi Wire lists the Hugo Awards. SciFi Wire also talks to fantasy author Patricia Briggs about her werewolf POV novel, Cry Wolf.

JAKE GYLLENHALL.

For beach viewing, try Jake Gyllenhaal is the Shirtless Prince of Persia.

STAR TREK.

I finally caught Star Trek: The Experience! See it before it ends! It’s geeky fun!

Thursday, August 07, 2008

VIEWS FROM THE ACORN UNIVERSE, 8/7/08

This week, In The Closet, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, and Doctor Who.

IN THE CLOSET.

ThisWeekInTexas.Com has posted my review of In The Closet, as well as an updated version of my review of A Four Letter Word. In The Closet is a production of the gay scifi/fantasy/horror site doorQ.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

The SciFi Channel has announced plans for another Battlestar Galactica prequel. Edward James Olmos will direct the feature, which takes place just before the mini-series and series, but will air after the series finale in 2009. SciFi had previously announced the prequel pilot Caprica, which takes place much further in the past.

STARGATE.

The new direct-to-DVD movie Stargate Continuum is an exciting romp, filled with nostalgia. It also contains hints about a new villain, suggesting more installments in the movie series. If the sequel prequel sequel The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior can happen, you just never know.

DOCTOR WHO.

The site io9 has posted an Exclusive Interview with Doctor Who’s Steven Moffat. The new show-runner discusses his plans for the series, which won’t return until 2010, except for some specials.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008





Arizona Sky. Distributed by Guardian Pictures.
Review by Duane Simolke for ThisWeekInTexas.Com.


Jeff London, the writer/director of And Then Came Summer and Regarding Billy, returns with another warm hug of a movie. Like all of London’s films, Arizona Sky relies on dialogue and character development to tell its story. The lack of a large budget never deters London, who keeps sharing quiet but heartfelt tales about gay lives. This new film often feels like a videotaped play, and could easily translate to the stage.



The story starts with an awkward conversation, as teenaged Kyle (Kyle Buckland) and Jake (Blaise Embry) get ready to leave for a camp-out. After they arrive at the camping spot, we soon learn that their innuendoes and uncomfortable glances reflect just what they suggest: that these two best friends are more than just friends. Neither can accept what that means; instead of exploring their feelings, they discuss how their lives will change after one of them makes an impending relocation.


A decade and a half later, Jake (now played by Eric Dean) is unhappy in his life as a Hollywood filmmaker. His new best friend encourages him to figure out what’s missing in his life. Jake knows it involves his home town, and the friend he left behind. They had gone all those years without contact.

The adult Kyle (Jayme McCabe) also has a new best friend. In both cases, “best friend” no longer serves as a shield or euphemism for something more, but those fulfilling friendships provide a counterpoint for the untapped potential of Jake and Kyle’s possible love.

Kyle and Jake slowly explore how they really feel about each other and themselves, providing the conflicts and romance for the remainder of the story. London interjects other characters from Kyle’s life as well. They reveal a man who obviously qualifies as marriage material.


Still, Kyle hurts those loved ones in a way, by not giving them credit for their ability to unconditionally love and understand him. I don’t want to make Arizona Sky sound like an issue-driven movie, though. It mostly offers viewers an old-fashioned romance that simply happens to involve two men.




Patricia Place, Brent King, Bernadette Murray, and Emerson Smith also star in Arizona Sky. Cinematographer Matthew Skala captures the beautiful but sometimes harsh-looking setting of Lake Havasu, Arizona. Mark Krench, the composer for London’s film Regarding Billy, provides a soundtrack with a touch of romance and Western charm.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Gay SciFi for the United Kingdom!

Degranon is gay-themed science fiction. The paperback is currently charting as follows at Amazon U.K.

#18 in Books > Fiction > Gay & Lesbian > Fiction General > Gay

#49 in Books > Gay & Lesbian > Literature

#96 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Adventure


Meanwhile, here in the U.S., The Acorn Stories (West Texas Fiction) is still holding at Number # 1 in Amazon Kindle’s gay fiction chart.