【備忘錄】The Best in XXX, 2005_OUT雜誌篇

回顧似乎總是大家最愛做的事，國內外看起來好像都一樣嘛！

很無聊地整理了一下，天曉得還會有沒有第二個「xx篇」（笑）。

算是一種收集癖吧....


Out雜誌一共在Books、Film、Theater、TV和Music五大類選出他們心中的Top X，想看的人請自行按連結，小爺在下面將重複的挑出來（只要有兩人以上推薦即算），算是當作「有機會一定要找來看」的List。不過每個類別都至少有兩位以上的清單，完全對得我老眼昏花（做完才想到有搜尋這種功能...Orz）


The Best in Books 2005 （2人名單）

完全推薦的有1本，而且兩個人都在前兩名內推薦了這一本，想辦法收一下好了～
不過似乎是直接出paperback的樣子，嗯...

《Clearcut》 by Nina Shengold

This lush, romantic story of a ménage a trois relationship set in the Pacific Northwest plunges the reader into its dark, deeply felt emotional currents.
(Aaron Hamburger, 2/5)

A messy, complex, and surprising love affair in the forest is told in such rich language and detail, it’s a true disappointment the book has to end.
(Matthew Breen, 1/5)


The Best in Film 2005 （3人名單）

完全推薦的有1部，不用猜也猜得出來是【Brokeback Mountain】，超～想看（握拳）。
2/3推薦的電影有3部，看得出來【Capote】的確是【Brokeback Mountain】獲獎路上的勁敵之一。

【Brokeback Mountain】 by Ang Lee

If the phrase “gay cowboy lovers” doesn’t send you racing to the nearest cineplex, check your pulse. The Canadian Rockies (doubling for Wyoming) didn’t stand a chance with scenery like Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Stetsons and spurs. Ang Lee’s remarkably faithful and poignant adaptation of Annie Proulx’s acclaimed novella qualifies it as one of the best gay-themed films ever produced.
(Mark Griffin, 2/10)

Heath Ledger’s fantastic turn as a gay cowboy in this absorbing film is as valid and important as it is that Hollywood has produced a gay cowboy film.
(Gary M. Kramer, 3/10)

It’s all been said before. But this is what every gay movie should aspire to be. Ironic that it was made by a bunch of heteros.
(Jeffrey Epstein, 1/10)

【Capote】

As Faye Dunaway channeled Joan Crawford, Philip Seymour Hoffman summons up the spirit of literary wunderkind Truman Capote. Not a full-scale biopic but an exploration of Capote’s In Cold Blood period, Bennett Miller’s portrait plays it close to the vest where queer content is concerned and the author’s relationship with fellow writer Jack Dunphy (Bruce Greenwood) is only skittishly glimpsed. Hoffman’s portrayal of Capote is eerily on target and whets the appetite for next year’s all-star Capote flick, Have You Heard?
(Gary M. Kramer, 3/10)

In playing Truman Capote, Philip Seymour Hoffman could easily have descended into parody. But Hoffman’s dead-on take as Capote following the story that would eventually become In Cold Blood left me wondering if the actor wasn’t channeling the author from the beyond.
(Jeffrey Epstein, 3/10)

【Mysterious Skin】

Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a miraculous performance in Gregg Araki’s astonishing adaptation of Scott Heim’s novel about child sexual abuse.
(Gary M. Kramer, 2/10)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt turned in a chilling performance as a queer hustler in this story of the long-lasting effects of sexual abuse. Out director Gregg Araki makes his most accessible film yet, while remaining true to his personal style.
(Jeffrey Epstein, 7/10)

【Transamerica】

Who knew that Felicity Huffman—she of Christmas With the Kranks and Quicksand: No Escape—had it in her? Kudos to director Duncan Tucker for pushing the envelope that much further.
(Gary M. Kramer, 6/10)

The unlikely, surprisingly funny story of a pre-op transsexual woman (the astonishing Felicity Huffman) who takes the queer hustler son she never knew she had (Kevin Zegers) on a cross-country drive made for a refreshing new look at the “road trip” film.
(Jeffrey Epstein, 5/10)


The Best in TV 2005 （3人名單）

完全推薦的有1部，2/3以上推薦的有4部，果然鋒頭很健的就是那幾些。

【Lost】挾帶著帥哥的威力橫掃全場，果然落難的帥哥就是惹人疼惜啊！但家庭主婦的威力也是很可怕，有兩人都把它選在第一名，偏偏小爺對【Desperate Housewives】很難感興趣，雖然有可愛的和帥氣的...。而【America’s Next Top Model】大概是美國近年來最棒的實境節目之一了，這一季最主要因為有出櫃的蕾絲邊，所以加進來攪局。它可怕的程度甚至連小爺Lab裡的學弟妹都會開始批評起「那幾個看了就覺得很賤的女人喔...」，完全傻眼（呵呵）。而美版【Queer As Folk】終於在眾多粉絲的依依不捨下結束。可惜的是，因為官網檔非美洲ip，加上小爺是英版愛好者，對BJ配就...（摸頭傻笑）

（不過，【America’s Next Top Model】倒讓我懷念起【Man Huntter】了。為什麼男生的就是這麼不成功呢？我想看精壯結實的肉體和年輕俊美的臉孔啊～，唉...）

【Lost】

There’s not much gay here (although I have my suspicions about Michelle Rodriguez’s character, Ana Lucia), but I would be happy to be deserted on this wacky island as long as I could stare at Jack (Matthew Fox) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) all day long.
(Jeffrey Epstein, 2/10)

Rescue me. On second thought, don’t bother. As if being stranded on an island with Lost’s gorgeous cast members Matthew Fox (Jack), Evangeline Lilly (Kate), and Josh Holloway (Sawyer) every Wednesday night wasn’t enough, sexy tough girl Michelle Rodriguez (Ana-Lucia) washed up on the beach in 2005.
(Christine Champagne, 2/10)

What’s not hot about alpha males running around a deserted island, their clothes in tatters? And with lesbian-licious Ana-Lucia (played by the always-welcome Michelle Rodriguez) thrown into the mix, the isle just got hotter.
(Bryan Buss, 4/10)

【Desperate Housewives】

With five fabulous, fierce females fronting this guilty pleasure, the show couldn’t have a gayer sensibility. (We all kinda feel like clumsy Susan, yet wish we were confident Edie.) Out creator Marc Cherry also gave us a first in queer television: a gay teenage sociopath with a raging libido (Shawn Pyfrom). It sure beats the asexual best friend.
(Jeffrey Epstein, 1/10)

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t live for Sunday nights and Desperate Housewives? The campiest show on television is well into its second season and gay creator Marc Cherry has yet to run out of wild and crazy plotlines for the fabulous fivesome of Bree, Gabrielle, Lynette, Susan, and Edie.
(Christine Champagne, 1/10)

【America's Next Top Model】

Lesbian contestant Kim Stolz didn’t win the Cycle 5 edition of America’s Next Top Model. But this smart, sexy girl’s showdowns with the judges (could Miss Jay have been any harder on her?) and make-out sessions with a supposedly straight competitor helped her to come out on top in my book.
(Christine Champagne, 6/10)

Out lesbian Kim Stolz made it to the Top 5 and learned how to merge her tomboy with her inner femme. And she even got to make out with one of her straight competitors in a limo!
(Bryan Buss, 3/10)

【Queer As Folk】

Love it or hate it, Queer As Folk was a landmark series for frank portrayals of gay life on TV (whether it was your life or not). I, for one, will miss the drama between Brian, Justin, Michael, Ben, Emmett, Lindsay, Ted, Melanie, and PFLAG mom Deb.
(Jeffrey Epstein, 6/10)

I wish Queer As Folk had ended its five-year run when—after the bombing at Babylon—Brian (Gale Harold) finally admitted to Justin (Randy Harrison) that he loved him. That, to me, was the capstone of the entire series. Still, I was happy to soak up every last minute of the final season and was truly sad to say so long to the gang from Liberty Avenue.
(Christine Champagne, 7/10)


The Best in Music 2005 （4人名單）

音樂還真是主觀啊！4人眾裡面完全沒有一張是全部的人都推薦的，連3/4的也沒有。只有剛好過半的專輯3張。其中以Sleater-Kinney的專輯最為出色，有兩人都將它點在前3名。


【The Woods】by Sleater-Kinney

The trio from Portland, Ore., channels their inner Led Zeppelin and come out swinging. Bombastic, challenging, and chill-inducing, The Woods is possibly this accomplished band’s finest moment.
(Mikel Wadewitz, 1/10)

Ex-girlfriends Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein (along with ace drummer Janet Weiss) trade in their angular punk moves for a collection of eerie, classic rock–inspired songs about things that go bump in the night.
(Brian Dillard, 2/10)

【I Am a Bird Now】by Antony and the Johnsons

A gender-bending, genre-busting artist, Antony’s riveting cabaret-inflected piano ballads are like little stabs to the heart. You feel each and every one, and yet you can’t move out of the way.
(Mikel Wadewitz, 2/10)

From Peter Hujar’s haunting deathbed photo of Candy Darling on its cover to the delicately tortured art-songs inside, Antony’s super-queer aesthetics are as finessed as they are severe.
(Barry Walter, 4/10)

【Confessions on a Dancefloor】by Madonna

Not quite the disco extravaganza this was hyped up to be, the enduring goddess nevertheless generates her gayest music in ages, particularly on “I Love New York.”
(Barry Walter, 8/10)

The rest of this disc is so good that it’s easy to forgive Madonna for rhyming “New York” with “dork” on the one weak track, “I Love New York.” (Then again, at least it’s not as bad as using “super-duper” and “Mini-Cooper” in a rap rhyme.)
(David Ciminelli, 5/10)



The Best in Theater 2005 （3人名單）

完全推薦的戲有1齣，2/3推薦的5齣，讓人找得頭昏腦脹的list。偏偏這完全是列表用。窮到都脫褲子的我怎麼可能跑去看戲嘛！（哭倒...）

雖然平均名次不高，但由非裔美國女作家（兼民權運動活動者）Alice Walker小說改編的作品【The Color Purple】應該是可以一看，這本書一共有電影和音樂劇兩種版本，也曾入選紐約公共圖書館（NYPL）為了慶祝100週年，於1995年5月20日至1996年7月13日所舉辦的「世紀之書」展覽（Books of the Century，以1895～1995之間出版的圖書為限），屬於「提升女權（Women Rise）方面的經典著作」類別。中文翻成《紫色姊妹花》，由大地出版社於2003年出版；音樂劇則是在2004年由Alliance Theatre所演出。感興趣的可以在這裡看到清楚的版本比較。

值得注目的是【Doubt】，雖然差了一票，但投給它的兩人可都是將它圈點為第一名呢！其它像是【Altar Boyz】和【Sweeney Todd】，也都是拿了兩張前三名的票，值得注意。

【The Color Purple】

Yeah, it's too long (especially in the second act) and its score isn’t exactly memorable, but a tip-top cast lead by LaChanze more than made up for the deficiencies of this Alice Walker–based musical that, because of its lead producers, some people are calling “Oprah-homa.”
(Brendan Lemon, 10/10)

OK, yes, it’s not perfect, but name the last commercial Broadway musical to dramatize a full-on lesbian love affair. Yeah, after Falsettos, you’re stumped, aren’t you?
(Eddie Shapiro, 5/10)

Celie really gets to be a lesbian in this lively musical retelling of Alice Walker's novel. Felicia P. Fields belts it out with gusto as the strong-willed Sofia.
(Mekado Murphy, 5/10)

【Doubt】

For once the Tony award for Best Play was deserved. This drama, set in 1960s New York, about a Catholic priest suspected of pedophilia, featured a tough performance by out actress Cherry Jones as a nun wrestling with her beliefs.
(Brendan Lemon, 1/10)

Yes, we know we’re cheating since it premiered off-Broadway in 2004, but the Tony-winning Broadway run opened in ’05 with the entire original cast staying as fresh as ever and the play, even after multiple viewings, still managing emotional wreckage.
(Eddie Shapiro, 1/10)

【The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee】

William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin took a subject loaded with cutesy-pie pitfalls—a kid’s spelling contest—and made it the warmest show on Broadway.
(Brendan Lemon, 7/10)

With tongue planted firmly in cheek, this awesome musical depicts all the mania, tension, and sexual politics that a local spelling bee can offer.
(Mekado Murphy, 1/10)

【Dirty Rotten Scoundrels】

Some people complained about the tinny nature of the score, but this show based on a 1988 movie about con men on the Riviera showcased genuine star turns by John Lithgow, Sherie Rene Scott, and (especially) Norbert Leo Butz.
(Brendan Lemon, 8/10)

Not just a perfectly cast, delightfully scored, fresh improvement on a mediocre film, but a truly hysterical riot with a large helping of that endangered Broadway commodity: wit!
(Eddie Shapiro, 4/10)


【Altar Boyz】

Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker’s musical about a Christian boy band featured a sensational performance by Tyler Maynard and sly songs like “Girl, You Make Me Wanna Wait” and “Jesus Called on My Cell Phone.” Wonderful, synthetic fun.
(Brendan Lemon, 3/10)

Backstreet Boys meets passion play with hilarious results and showstopping numbers. Praise God for camp.
(Mekado Murphy, 2/10)

【Sweeney Todd】

Just when you thought you never needed to see another Sweeney along comes this stunning, gripping, and downright scary chamber version to prove you wrong. The sight of Patti LuPone on tuba is enough to justify the admission price.
(Eddie Shapiro, 2/10)

Patti LuPone makes beautiful music (and not so beautiful pies) in this scaled-down revival of one of Sondheim's best.
(Mekado Murphy, 3/10)