homosexuality Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Discuss: Do Sacha Baron Cohen's Antics Bother You?
Filed under: Comedy », Documentary », Casting », New Releases », Celebrities and Controversy », 20th Century Fox », Movie Marketing », Politics »
Call it performance art, savage prank behavior or audacious social satire. Call it whatever you want, but there's no question Sacha Baron Cohen is at it again. As Erik reported back in March, the Borat star began surfacing as his Bruno alter-ego in a variety of absurd situations likely intended for the movie starring the effeminate European character. Wearing chains at a Kansas church? Check. Weirding out Ben Affleck? Check. Airport dancing? Yep. Now, bizarre reports of a cage match in Arkansas, where attendees paid for admission expecting to watch a fight and instead witnessed two men get naked and lock lips, suggests Cohen is still at it, more than three months down the line. Not only that, but he appears to have pulled the stunt twice: First on June 5 at the Four States Fair Grounds in Texarkana, then again at Fort Smith's convention center, where a character named "Straight Dave" apparently selected a planted audience member to challenge him. Whether or not you agree with Cohen's brash style -- he claims to take inspiration from Michael Moore's stunts --
the actor definitely constructs his gags with very specific ideas in mind. Borat took a stab at American stereotypes of foreign cultures, but Bruno looks like it's geared more towards attacking homophobia -- specifically as it manifests in middle America. However, it's hard to say whether or not such excessive spectacles will manage to correct misinformed perspectives or reinforce them.
Fan Rant: Adam Sandler, Republican Actor
Filed under: Comedy », New Releases », Sony », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », Exhibition », Politics », Columns »
Adam Sandler's movies haver never represented the apex of cultural awareness, but they do tend to grapple, if somewhat brashly, with the finer points of human relations. In his latest raunchfest, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, the insolent comic creates "his stupidest character ever" (as an audience member muttered five minutes into last night's New York preview screening), but it's also his most symbolic one: Sporting a hyperbolic flair for disco music and using hummus as toothpaste, hardened Israeli soldier Zohan is a bloated creature of Semitic extremes.
Overall, however, the movie uses metaphors more than stereotypes. When Zohan and a furious Palestinian terrorist (John Turturro) use paddles to bat a live grenade back and forth, the result is a lowbrow editorial cartoon.
First Run Acquires Sundance Doc 'For the Bible Tells Me So'
Filed under: Documentary », Independent », Deals », Sundance », Celebrities and Controversy », Distribution », Movie Marketing », Politics », Cinematical Indie »
One of my fave films at Sundance this year was For the Bible Tells Me So, a documentary exploring the disconnect between what most Christians believe about homosexuality versus what the Bible actually has to say on the subject and,in particular, the way the Christian right has used misinterpretation of the Biblical take on the issue to shut homosexuals out of their faiths. Director Daniel Karslake scored some amazing interviews to flesh out the film, including Bishop Desmond Tutu, Rabbi Zachary Mayer, and, at the center of the film, Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay man to be elected Bishop of that denomination. Robinson's election was controversial and divisive, and he and his partner received so many death threats that he had to wear a bullet-proof vest under his robes at his consecration (because Jesus was all about the death threats, right?)
Flamingos Are the New Penguins
Filed under: Documentary », Drama », Disney »
I still don't understand the success of March of the Penguins. I don't understand the film's popularity, and I really don't understand how it beat Murderball for the documentary Oscar. I do understand its influence, though. Yes, Happy Feet was coincidentally in production before the release of the penguin doc, but as far as the public knows, the animated movie is coming on the heels of March, and it should be of help to Warner Bros. that kids might be hungry for more penguins (not literally, of course). Earlier this month, the New York Times featured an article on the penguin craze and mentioned other related movies coming out in the near and distant future, including Surf's Up, a Madagascar sequel and a long-in-the-works Opus picture. Of course, there's also Bob Saget's March parody, Farce of the Penguins, which heads straight-to-DVD in January. But what about the nature documentary? What influence has March of the Penguins had on its genre as opposed to its subject? Obviously, Hollywood isn't so keen on celebrating the medium, especially when that medium is one typically associated with the Discovery Channel and other cable outlets more than with theatrical box office gold. Sure, before March of the Penguins there was Winged Migration, another doc about birds that grossed about $11 million domestically, but compared to March's $77 million domestic earnings, that can easily be forgotten in studio execs' memories.
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
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Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
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