Movies Dearz

Traditional Navajo culture used the word nadleehi, or "two-spirit," to refer to male-bodied persons who possessed a feminine nature. Some today may call them "effeminate" or "transgender," often in a disparaging sense. There was a time, however, when such people enjoyed an honored position in North America.

Sadly, Fred Martinez, Jr. was not one of them. The 16-year old from the border town of Cortez, Colorado became one of the youngest hate crime victims in modern history when he was brutally murdered in 2001. Martinez's only "offense" was to put on make-up and dress in female attire, which led his assailant, Shaun Murphy, to abduct him from a local rodeo one night. Murphy would later brag to friends about having killed "a fag." Martinez's body laid in the desert for five days before it was discovered by two boys at play.

An insightful new documentary about the Martinez case will make its premiere in June. Appropriately titled Two Spirits, it will air as part of the PBS series Independent Lens. The film will also have several special theatrical screenings in California and elsewhere. Please visit the PBS website for more information.


Two Spirits, directed by Lydia Nibley, utilizes gorgeous location photography (by David A. Armstrong) and an effective mix of interviews with those who knew Martinez, archival footage, and recreations of moments from the young nadleehi's life and death. It doesn't take viewers long to agree with one commentator who remarks, "The place where two discriminations (in this case, against Native Americans and transgender people) meet is a dangerous place to live."

Efforts by some to eradicate two-spirit people began long before 2001. The Spanish conquistadores were horrified to discover nadleehi in America, and fed them to wild dogs as a form of entertainment. Later, the post-Civil War schooling system established by the US government for Native Americans "sought to rub their culture out of them," according to the film.

Martinez's mother, Pauline Mitchell, is interviewed extensively in Two Spirits. Sad but dignified, she recounts her experience raising her unique child and trying to protect him from a prejudiced society beyond their community. Martinez didn't have to travel far from home (just a few miles) to discover how vicious the outside world could be. Mitchell continues to mourn her son-daughter's loss nearly ten years later, despite several mystical experiences she says she has had wherein Fred has appeared to her.


As illustrated in the film and by Martinez's life, ours is "a many-gendered world." Navajos have traditionally believed that there are four genders among human beings: males who identify as males, women who identify as females, men who identify as females and women who identify as males. The term "two-spirit" is often applied to the latter two, but it ultimately describes the entire spectrum of gender and sexual expression among Native Americans.

Two Spirits has been recognized by the American Library Association (ALA) as one of 15 Notable Videos for Adults released in the past two years. The documentary and the educational outreach efforts of the Fred Martinez Project have also been awarded the Monette-Horwitz Distinguished Achievement Award "for outstanding activism, research, and scholarship to combat homophobia." With or without such kudos, the film should not be missed.

Reverend's Rating: B+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

In celebration of Gay Pride month, Movie Dearest once again offers up a special calendar wallpaper for June paying tribute to some of the best in queer cinema.

The 2011 edition features such old and new GLBT favorites as The Hours, A Single Man, Little Ashes, The Boys in the Band, Heavenly Creatures, The Wedding Banquet, Breakfast on Pluto and The Birdcage.

All you have to do is click on the picture above to enlarge it, then simply right click your mouse and select "Set as Background". (You can also save it to your computer and set it up from there if you prefer.) The size is 1024 x 768, but you can modify it if needed in your own photo-editing program.

In addition to Beginners (opening June 3) and an onslaught of superhero epics, there are a number of movies being released between now and the end of August that will be of special interest to the GLBT community:

Mr. Popper's Penguins (June 17): OK, so a family film starring Jim Carrey as the surprised recipient of a gift of six penguins might not seem like gay-interest fare. Throw co-star Angela Lansbury into the mix, however, and it becomes the biggest event for her GLBT fans since her 2009 Tony Award-winning turn in Blithe Spirit on Broadway!

The Smurfs (July 29): Similarly, a big-screen version of the more irritating than charming kiddie icons from the early 1980's may tempt us to run screaming from our local multiplex, but Neil Patrick Harris (its openly gay star) will no doubt get me to fork over $10 to watch him help the little blue animated critters fight the villainous Gargamel (played by gay fave Hank Azaria).


Larry Crowne (July 1): Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts reunite in this dramedy co-written by Hanks and Nia Vardalos. Vardalos previously wrote and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Connie and Carla, both popular among GLBT viewers. Hanks, who played gay in 1993's Philadelphia and won an Academy Award for it, directs as well as stars as a recently laid-off man who decides to go back to college.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (July 15): Femme-centric director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club) returns with a new tale about forbidden friendship between two young women in 19th-century China. Several modern-day scenes include one in a Shanghai nightclub that features a musical cameo by Hugh Jackman.


Friends with Benefits (July 22): Justin Timberlake headlines and reportedly shows a lot of skin in this romantic comedy that has him and hot co-star Mila Kunis (a recent Golden Globe nominee for her bisexual turn in Black Swan) grappling with unexpected emotions that intrude into their initially strictly-sexual relationship. Will Gluck, who made last year's delightful Easy A, directs and Woody Harrelson plays a gay role!


The Perfect Host (July 1): Out actor David Hyde Pierce stars as a man planning a lavish dinner party at which a bank robber hiding from the police shows up in this dark comedy-thriller. Singer-actress Helen Reddy, long absent from the screen since her 1970's heyday, is in the supporting cast.


The Help (August 12): Based on the bestselling novel that details the lives of African-American maids in the early 1960's and the white families for whom they work. The film's star-studded cast includes Emma Stone (also an alum of Easy A), Sissy Spacek, Allison Janney, Viola Davis and Cicely Tyson.

Circumstance (August 19): A lesbian love story set in repressive Iran, this movie has been hailed by some as the best of numerous GLBT-themed entries at this year's Sundance Film Festival. While it is American-produced, much of it was secretly shot in Iran.


Conan the Barbarian (August 19): Summer will end on a hunky note, as newcomer Jason Momoa inherits Arnold Schwarzenegger's loincloth to become Robert E. Howard's classic warrior. Stephen Lang (Avatar) plays his supernaturally-powered nemesis.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Magicians and ventriloquists may be considered by some to inhabit the lower rungs of the show business ladder, but that doesn't give pause to the diverse group of aspirants on display in two new documentaries, Dumbstruck and Make Believe (both opening today in Los Angeles). While one is more accomplished than the other, they make a fascinating "double feature."

Dumbstruck (playing exclusively at Landmark's Regent Theatre, where writer-director Mark Goffman, producer Lindsay Goffman and Dan Horn, one of the ventriloquists featured, will be appearing at select opening weekend shows) follows five voice-throwing puppeteers. They are a 14-year old white boy who operates a black dummy; a six-foot-five woman who has been ostracized by her family; a cruise ship performer with a failing marriage (Horn, who Arizona readers may recognize from his days on The Wallace and Ladmo Show); a former Miss Ohio, whose mother bemoans "She always played with the little puppets; I thought it would end as she got older"; and Terry Fator, the rare success to score a $100 million contract at a Las Vegas resort.


While the filmmakers do a good job showcasing their subjects' talents, I found the movie a bit lacking in exploring their personal lives and motivations. Wilma, the plus-sized former security guard turned ventriloquist, shares "I can say things that I can't say as myself or I'd get fired or beat up" so long as she has her puppet in hand. That's about as far as Dumbstruck goes, though, in revealing what keeps these people devoted to their craft against numerous obstacles. Similarly, we are told Horn's wife is planning to divorce him due to his long periods away from her and their family, but we never hear his wife's or kids' perspective firsthand. We also don't learn what grievance Wilma's family has against her, so the film serves as an accessory to the proverbial "elephant in the room."

On the other hand, Make Believe (which won prominent awards at last year's LA and Austin Film Festivals) more than satisfies with its multi-layered approach to an assortment of teenaged, wannabe magicians from the US, Japan and South Africa. They converge at the 2009 World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas, referred to as "the Magic Olympics," where superstar illusionist Lance Burton will ultimately name one of them Teen World Champion. We see their performances in full, and also meet the young people's friends, family members, classmates and mentors.


"Magic is borderless," according to the impressive Hiroki Hara, an 18-year old Japanese contestant. One-half of a poverty-stricken duo from Cape Town says, "With magic, we're trying to find out who we are as a person." And Bill Koch, a 19-year old magician-musician from Ohio, shares his mantra: "The goal is excellence, nothing less." Such wisdom "from the mouths of babes" could put many older performers in the entertainment industry to shame. Make Believe also provides viewers a rare inside look at LA's famed Magic Castle, with openly gay board member and actor Neil Patrick Harris making a brief appearance.

Make Believe, by the proficient filmmaking team behind 2007's The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and beautifully shot by Richard Marcus, reaches deep into its magic hat and pulls out a treasury of human and show business revelations. Especially when viewed in conjunction with Dumbstruck, I gained a greater appreciation for those willing to risk all for their respective craft... including the risk of being christened a misfit in our modern, high-tech entertainment world.

Reverend's Ratings:
Dumbstruck: B-
Make Believe: A

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

By the time a successful film franchise hits the fourth installment, a certain formula has usually settled in. In the case of Disney’s hit Pirates of the Caribbean movies, such by-now familiar aspects include a complex plot steeped in legendary pirate lore, a rogues’ gallery of mythical and/or magical characters, enough double crosses and double-double crosses to make your eyes cross, and plenty of swashbuckling stunts and special effects spectacle.

All that, as well as Johnny Depp’s swarthy, swishy Captain Jack Sparrow, are on hand in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, in theaters now. Gone are original trilogy director Gore Virbinski and lovebirds Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. In their place are Academy Award nominated director Rob Marshall (of the glitzy and gritty musicals Chicago and Nine fame) and a love interest for Captain Jack himself, played by Oscar winning actress Penélope Cruz.


But even with this mixture of old and new blood, On Stranger Tides is curiously lacking in excitement, as if we’ve all rode this E ticket too many times to care much any more...

UPDATE: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is now available on DVD and Blu-rayfrom Amazon.com.

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides at LaughingPlace.com.

No one was more surprised than graphic artist turned filmmaker Mike Mills when his father came out as a gay man shortly after the death of Mills' mother. Mills has parlayed his unusual experience into the alternately funny and dramatic new movie Beginners, which opens June 3 in Los Angeles and will expand throughout California and the nation next month. I had the opportunity to watch the movie in advance and speak with Mills about it.

"I have so much at stake with this project: My memories of my dad and my career as a filmmaker," the sensitive, soft-spoken screenwriter/director said. "I feel more like a sharer than an author." Beginners is only Mills' third cinematic outing, following the 2005 film festival favorite Thumbsucker and the 2007 documentary Does Your Soul Have a Cold? "This script was developed with the belief that something this personal can become universal."


Mills' father was 75 years old when he came out and had been married to his mother for 45 years. When his parents married in the 1950's, conservatism and homophobia were the norm in the United States. Mills' father told his wife-to-be he was gay prior to their marriage. She was Jewish, and faced as much difficulty fitting into post-war America as he did. Subsequently, Mills says, "My mom took off her Jewish badge and he took off his gay badge."

Following his mother's death and dad's revelation, their son watched with equal parts surprise, confusion and admiration as his father became heavily involved in Southern California gay life and began a relationship with a younger man. "He just started living this explosive new life," marveled Mills. "He became more emotionally alive than I'd ever seen him." Just five years later, however, the elder Mills was diagnosed with terminal cancer and passed away. His father's death served as the true catalyst for what would become Beginners.


Mills was fortunate to secure the participation of two fine actors in the roles based on his father and himself: Christopher Plummer (The Sound of Music and an Oscar nominee for 2009's The Last Station) and gay favorite Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge!, Star Wars Episodes 1-3). The filmmaker wrote them both very personal, impassioned letters asking them to be in his movie. While both actors were initially hesitant to play characters so close to Mills, they eventually agreed based on the strength of Mills' screenplay and his reassurance that they could make the parts their own. They deliver excellent performances, as do fellow cast members Mary Page Keller (as Mills' mother), Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) and ER's Goran Visnjic, who plays Mills' father's late-in-life boyfriend. An impressive Jack Russell terrier also plays a pivotal role.

"The experience I'm most trying to communicate with Beginners is that of an adventure, the feeling of something breaking open," Mills shared. "While this film has illness and death, it's about beginnings, change, and how deeply funny life can be in its most serious moments." It is a touching movie with truly universal appeal. As Mills has learned via feedback from audience members at early screenings, his father's long-closeted homosexuality wasn't as unique as the filmmaker originally thought.


Beginners is composed of both autobiographical and fictional elements. "I wanted to root around between the way things really happened and the way we choose to remember them," Mills says. In the film, Mills goes back and forth between events in 1955, when his parents married, and 2003, when his father died. The historical sequences include a powerful gay rights montage set to words about "becoming real" taken from the classic children's book, The Velveteen Rabbit.

"The film is hopefully asking, 'What is real, anyway?' Are these memories real, or did I get them wrong?" according to Mills. "I lived with a man whose biography was somewhat fictionalized, a performance of sorts. He had to hide deep, personal, intimate things."


While Beginners tells a broader story than just a gay-themed one, there is considerable gay interest in it. "To be honest, the gay community is the audience I am most concerned about," Mills told me. "My dad's gayness taught me so much as a straight man, but it's definitely a film by a straight man curious about his gay dad and I'm not sure how that will resonate." I assured Mills I didn't think he has anything to worry about; between Plummer's liberated performance and the overall humanity of the film, Beginners will move gay and straight viewers alike.

"I do think my father would have loved coming out to the world through Beginners," Mills concluded. "He would have seen it as keeping the party going — but with a larger invite list."

Interview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

When Mario Matthews goes to a nightclub and an ABBA song is playing, he knows all the words. That’s because he’s been employed in a touring show of Mamma Mia! on and off since 2007. Matthews is part of the handsome male ensemble and is an understudy to Sky, the romantic lead.

“ABBA has been very good to me,” Matthews said of the Swedish pop group whose classic songs from the 1970s are the source material for the musical now on tour (and currently playing at ASU Gammage through May 22). It features songs like “Dancing Queen,” “The Winner Takes It All” and “Waterloo.”

In the story, Sky is about to marry Sophie, a 20–year–old girl living on an idyllic Greek island with her mother, Donna. Sophie desperately wants her father to walk her down the aisle. The only problem is she has no idea who he is, and her mother’s diary reveals that it could have been one of three different men. Sophie invites all three to her wedding hoping that she will figure out her parentage when she meets them face–to–face. Meanwhile, Donna and her two best girlfriends reminisce about when they were a singing group known as Donna and the Dynamos. The stage is set for a comedy of errors and a few love stories. And then there’s a gay surprise.


Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfreid, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan starred in the 2008 movie. But the stage musical also continues to be popular in New York City and on the road, a testament to the music’s infectious enthusiasm.

“I think that after the movie came out, it really gave us a boost,” Matthews said. “People really enjoy Mamma Mia! Everyone recognizes the songs, it’s a really fun–filled show, and the book in general is done really well in how they include the songs in the story. If anything, people can relate to love, because Mamma Mia! is about the aspects of finding love within yourself, finding a long–lost love or finding a new love. It’s so relatable in that way,” he said. “It’s about expressing individuality.”


Matthews, a native of Oklahoma City, said he’s happy at the positive response the show receives, even in conservative markets. He also says that the gay audience will enjoy the show’s spectacle. “Every gay man loves a little sparkle in their life! What’s been most exciting about our society is that it’s constantly growing and evolving, and people are becoming more gay–friendly. I think that’s awesome,” he said. “It’s great to see people becoming more understanding.”

Matthews, who also has been part of the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular ensemble, urged aspiring performers to pursue their dreams. “But with that dream comes a lot of hard work,” he said. “Everybody on this tour has had a long trail of hard work; they’ve gone to school, taken voice lessons, dance lessons, acting lessons, and almost everyone has gone to college,” Matthews said. “If you really want something to happen in your life, it can happen, but it takes work.”

Interview by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.