The One on The Dark Knight

Second installment in Director Christopher Nolan's new take in the Batman series, The Dark Knight is one of the highly anticipated movie in the year 2008, even more so after the mysterious death of Brokeback Mountain's Academy Awards Nominee for Best Actor - Heath Ledger.

I went into the theatre filled with much anticipation and excitement, only to find my satisfaction level bested by so much more the movie had to offer. The Dark Knight has a pitch black dark tone, many of the regular casual movie goers may not like it, but those who come into terms with it will be in for a treat of that kind of escapism the movie relays.

Christian Bale is as charming as ever, sporting more control in his life this time round than in Batman Begins. Batman has came affirmed his responsibility as the condemned protector of the Gotham and has a whole new lot of gadgets under his belt, especially the Sonar Goggle which allows him to use ultrasound to scan an entire building or even city of Gotham for enemies, making him more Bat-like.

The Dark Knight will feel like - to many whether sub-consciously or not - a movie that put more emphasis on The Joker, played by Heath Ledger (though it might be possible too that it's because we paid more attention to The Joker.)

The truth is, whether he is still alive or not, Heath Ledger did play a fantastic Joker in the movie, from the way of speech right down to the sinister laughter. Forget about the critics' crap about the movie being overhyped, just put yourself in the shoe's of Heath Ledger's Joker, and you will understand what commitment to the role is all about, so much so that it may be driving force behind the reason why Ledger died.

Movie goers will have a love-hate tendencies towards The Joker, making him probably one of the most likable villain in recent times. The Joker commits crime and create chaos which people detest, but he does it in a manner that you can't help but even clap for his feat.

Overall, the movie is well paced and filled with perhaps too much adult dialogues, not the typical light-hearted action hero movie that you have been familiar with (read: Ironman). Coupled with the amount of disturbing scenes that made a couple of us cringe, think twice before you bring your nephews and niece there.

The Dark Knight has overtaken Spiderman 3's record of the highest revenue in its first weekend of the US Box Office, grossing $158.3 million as compared to Spidey's $151.1 million. Yes partly thanks to the hype, do consider too the fact that Sotongball had watched it twice.

The One on Heroes

Yes, yes. There is no gay couple shown in the TV series so far, and no prominent sashaying sluts either. But Heroes deserves to be mentioned simply because of the craze over it since the end of 2007, Sotongball thinks it should be due to the eye candies in the show.

By now everyone should have been able to catch Season One on Channel 5 especially those who do not know how to use bit-torrent, or not resourceful enough for that matter. Heroes reminds us of superheroes TV Series like Spiderman or Superman, multiply the spotlight by 10 or so, we have a myriad of characters with special abilities. Also, instead of wearing funky costumes like underwear outside or over their heads. Heroes features "ordinary people with extraordinary abilities".

The storyline of Season One surely wowed a lot of audiences, initially we see a bunch of ordinary people, going about their ordinary lives, and surely we can identify with at least one of them: geeky office boy, struggling policeman, junkie artist, executive high-flyer, male nurse and etc. Overnight they discovered their special abilities like mind-reading, time manipulating, flight, prophecy and what not. And STB shall not spoil the rest of the story for you.

What makes Heroes so addictive from STB's point of view are the characters in the series. Most of them are not out to abuse their abilities for their own good, but to make a difference to the world. Or as cliched and corny as it sounds, to "save the world". A very bad attempt in trying to make it relevant to us will be the inference that initially some of the character struggled with them being different, or freaks in the society, eventually how they came to accept it and do good to the world at large.

The scriptwriters and director did a good job in delivering the story. Like any good entertainment, nothing is given out blatantly at your face kind of style. The story of Heroes unfolds layer by layer, throw in a few plot twists here and there and voila, you'll be teased to watch the next episode as soon as you have the means to get your hands on it. If only STB can get a man like that...

It's really hard for STB to ramble on and on about the show without showing you guys some substance, here's some sample:

For those who yearn for more, Heroes Season Three will be aired in the US on September 22, 2008. Other than that, you can always fill in the gaps in the plots of the Series, with the side stories in the form of graphic novels over here (I suggest you start from chapter 1). Always good for those of you whose company has blocked out Youtube.

All in all, for those of you who haven't got a chance to catch Heroes. I'm sure you can get the DVDs very easily now off the shelves in HMV, or better still ask around your cliques, there's bound to be someone who has them in his hard disk.

The One on Rent (the movie)

For any modern musical fans, you should have heard of Jonathan Larson's Rent. Sotongball is not those atas and civilized type who attend all these productions in the Esplanade, (though he had the privillege to perform in the concert hall numerous times) but he does enjoy a couple of good cinematized encores of musical productions.

Sotongball first chanced upon Rent's Seasons of Love in his college choir farewell practice. The intro never fails to captivate you right at the start:

link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Py_HRW-zg6k

Then, like any gay man with good taste, STB's soon-to-be-ex housemate has a vast collection of non-porno gay materials. So on a bored Sunday afternoon, STB decided to borrow his Rent DVD.

Rent reminds me of the camaraderie in the sitcom series Friends, it talks about the lives of 8 friends staying in modern New York City. Instead of the hehe hahas all the way, Rent encompasses a darker tone with bunch of outcast characters.

The story touches on the harsh reality of life. From the fear of eviction (we know how burdensome rents can be when we live outside), to being a carrier of HIV/AIDS from drug abuse. In the midst of all this abyss, it is comforting to watch the characters not living in despair and whine about their sad sad lives. But they are filled with hope and even the motivation the make a song out of every situation (duh, it's called a musical...)

People like us will love this movie for the fact that it features two homosexual couples, two men with AIDS, 1 black + 1 drag queen); and a bisexual slut with her Harvard grad lawyer girlfriend. Their relationships are quite apparently not the perfect happy-ending ones but one that most of us can identify with: tolerance for your bf's compulsive behavior, acceptance for who your other half is and sticking together no matter how bad the current situation is.

Besides, the soundtracks in the movie are quite listenable and each fits into the mood of different scenes nicely. STB's favorite soundtracks from the movie includes: Seasons of Love, No Day but Today, I Should Tell You and I'll Cover You.

In conclusion, Rent touches on many aspects of emotions. For sure, it might not be everyone's cup of tea. Nonetheless, if you're interested in watching the movie or listening to the soundtracks, do feel free to drop STB a message.

The One on Sex and the City

What better way to start Tube Thursday with the movie STB watched for 3 times in the cinema? Once with BWers, once with my fellow hairstylist and once with Mr Not-So-Big (body size-wise), I can almost replay every single scene in my head.

Tell you guys a not-so-secret, STB has never watched a single episode of Sex and the City series before, one of his exes was promoting the series to him but he was still green in the gay scene so  all he wanted then was just men, not some cunts who bitch about how bad their sex are.

So he had not much expectations at all when going into the cinema.

As soon as the movie starts, STB was trying so hard to keep himself from grooving to the catchy opening theme - Labels or Love by Fergie. He sat through the show laughing most of the time, digesting the themes half the time, and almost fight not to tear at one scene.

Laughing is because of the wickedly funny scripts, STB's top 10 favourite lines:

(SPOILERS ALERT! You might wanna skip if you still haven't catch it)

1. "Color? Well I can't color enough. I would color all day...everyday if I had my way I'd use every crayon in the box" - Samantha
2. "But I'll tell you this: When Big colors, he rarely stays inside the line." - Carrie
3. "Sorry my dog ran up your dick... I mean, deck!" - Samantha
4. "Jesus honey wax much? Charlotte is married but she's not growing a nature reserve. I could be on a death roll and not have that situation." - Samantha's triple play!
5. "Am I not a little old to be called your boyfriend?" - Big
6. "From now on you shall be called my manfriend." - Carrie
7. "I guess when you stop trying, things happen" - Charlotte
8. "In some household, fairy tales do come true" - Carrie
9. "I'm 41 and I still don't know what's sex" - Miranda
10. "Good guys screw ya, bad guys screw ya. And the rest of them dunno how to screw ya. Trust me I've done my homework" - Miranda with Samantha

The theme explored was obviously the cliched LOVE, with lots of designer brands at the background makes you think it's actually a fashion show with a storyline. It gives an alternative perspective of really how there's a second, third, fourth, countless chances in every situation, whether with the same person or not.

The tear jerker came with the scene when this song is playing, anyone with similar sentiments?

All in all, Sex and the City is THE gay movie on the year. Anyone who has watched it can't help but feel good and full of hope. Sotongball labels this movie as a Must-Watch for any chick-flick, romance lovers, or just about any gay man who do not wanna feel left out in group outings conversations.

Sex and the City is still showing in the cinemas, with limited time slots (1 per day). STB actually had to produce his ID when purchasing the tickets over the counter. Compliment or insult?

The One on Will & Grace

I'm surprised quite a number of queer folks do not know about this comedy series. Set in modern day New York City, Will & Grace features the lives of 2 gay men and 2 fag hags, namely Will, Jack, Grace and Karen.

Will Truman is an anal-retentive clean freak high-flying lawyer. His apartment is where most of the scenes are filmed, in Sotongball's opinion, it sets the standard of how a gay man's 

love nest should look.

Jack McFarland is a care-free talentless artist-wannabe who is quite the every bit of a gay man's stereotype: loud and proud, flamboyant, promiscuous and superficial. He always likes to hang out with 3 other characters in the series for free meals and shopping spree.

Grace Adler is an interior designer who likes to eat her hearts out. She is likened to behave like Will's wife sans the sex. Her design firm office is the next most frequent spot where scenes are shot after Will's apartment.

Karen Walker is a filthy rich socialite covered with only designer brands. Her high pitch voice is unmistakable and she has the very lovable wicked sense of humour. Karen works in Grace's firm for zero wage just to find excuse to not be at home with her unseen husband Stanley Walker. Karen has a side-kick called Rosario who hails from El Salvador, she's a domestic helper whom Karen can't live without.

The series ran 8 seasons long with many wonderful Guests Stars appearing in different episodes, such as Elton John, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, Cher, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson and many more. With unheard main actors and many famous guest stars often appearing as themselves, you can't help but identify with the feelings these guys have when meeting their idols.

What makes this show outstanding is that it highlights the lives of two types of gay men, one who believes in monogamous love and another who has a different partner every episode. They are both out to their parents and friends around, with almost zero discrimination from their parents and peer. Something we would like to see happening in Singapore but sadly not achievable for all in the next 10 years or so.

Like any other good sitcoms out there, Will & Grace are filled with lots of quotable lines and never fail to make you laugh even if its a funeral scene. So do give it a try and have a common gag with your queer peers from the Award-winning series. Heck, even my straight ex roommate watches it too.

Here are some clips from the series:

Thank you Akated dar for passing me the whole series! Feel free to ask Sotongball for the videos. Now we just need to cross our fingers for Will & Grace The Movie.