James Ruga's Open Salon Blog

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Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:01:58 -0500

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MILK

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:11:29 -0500

Tonight was the opening nite at the Castro theater for the first commercial showing of "Milk", the story of Harvey Milk and his contribution to the gay civil rights movement. The film was nearly 2.5 hours in length, and when I entered the theater my biggest fear was that the film would be nothing more than a docu-drama. I was more than pleasently surprised.

The film opens with a series of vignettes chronicalling Harvey's road to political office. Then gives way to the story of how Harvey actually used his position to make a difference to gay civil rights nationwide, and ultimately how this led to his assasination on Nov 27, 1978. It definitely leaves you wondering what might have happened had he not been assasinated.

I found it very interesting that so much time was spent at the beginning of the movie on who Harvey was, but then as I looked around at the audience I realized more than half of the people in the audience weren't old enough to remember these events. It's even more striking to think that this one film was likely the first time many of them had ever heard of Harvey Milk! I find it quite sad to think that gay history has to be presented in the form of popular film, while other civil rights struggles are part of everyday classroom cirriculum in schools across the nation.

Sean Penn gave a remarkable and unexpected performance, portraying with great attention to detail the man that Harvey Milk was. I found him to be totally believable, and right from the beginning I completely forgot I was watching Sean Penn and was drawn in to the story. It was really interesting at the end during the credits to see Sean Penn's portrayal side by side with live footage of Harvey Milk. This was actually done for each actor, showing footage of the real person along with the actor in context of the movie.

I was also relieved that the film did not sensationalize the 70's, but rather portrayed life in Castro in a very "matter of fact" way. While there are references to sex, its not used to carry the story, nor is it used to tell the story. There was a lot of "to-do" when the movie crews moved into the Castro and turned back the clock by restoring the old facades and reworking the interiors of the shops to do their filming. For a four week period, it was like stepping back 30 years in Castro and people were definitely reviving the 70's on the streets. It seemed as though the hedonism of the wanna-be extras on the streets of the Castro might spill over into the film, making it feel more like a 70's revival nostalgia piece. That certainly didn't happen in the final cut.

I also felt that there was a balanced presentation regarding the animosity between Dan White and Harvey Milk. It was presented in a way that demonstrated the very real human pressures of the time on Dan White, but also at the same time it didn't try to excuse him of the crime he comitted. There was actually no reference at all to the "twinky defense" except in the closing of the film. There was no build up at all indicating that Dan White was in any distressed state of mind when he comitted murder. The only thing I found a little disturbing is the implication that the SF Police department in some way was complicit with the assasination, which seems to be conveyed with Dan White having a "closed door" meeting with members of the police force the day before he kills Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone. I'm not sure how factual that scene is - but I presume that this film attempts to recount events closely with reality.

Of course, all the "boo and hiss" moments are present in the film. Every time Anita Bryant or Senator Briggs was on the screen I couldn't hear the audio because of the audience participation factor. It was interesting to watch protrayal of the Briggs/Milk debate that was staged in Fullerton, an event I actually remember.

I would strongly recommend this film as the "do not miss" film of 2008. I think it is required educational material for gay men and women under 30 who have no recollection of these events. I think it is required viewing for those of us who were too young to participate in the political activism that was happening at that time. I think required viewing for those who actually lived through these events and need to find their activist voice again. I think it is required viewing for any who support the gay civil rights movement.

I would caution that this was an extremely emotional and inciteful movie. For many, the film will touch on some very painful memories of the time it portrays. It is definitely a film that will bring a tear to your eye, and a film that I hope will help bring some renewed energy to the continued fight for gay civil rights.

"Milk" the movie

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:09:54 -0400

So this winter the buzz around San Francisco was that Gus Van Sant was filming a movie here in town about Harvey Milk. So of course out of complete narcism, and curiousity I spent my free time showing up when ever they were filming around the Castro. Of course, so did thousands of other people... so I don't really expect to see the face of any one I actually know on the silver screen anytime soon. :)

Today I actually saw the first trailer for the movie. Its really intriguing to see the way the trailer presents the movie. It seems to be portrayed as an ongoing adversarial relationship between Dan White and Harvey Milk. Since I'm not entirely up on the full details of the time (I was only 10 at the time, and the gay rights movement wasn't anywhere on my radar), I wonder if the makers of the movie are intending to portray an accurate depiction of the interaction between the two men.

It's interesting to me how Hollywood shapes our views and opinions of the world around us. And how Hollywood colors our view (and memories) of what happened in history. I hope that this movie is executed in a way that portrays acurately Harvey's life and the events leading up to his death. I really look forward to seeing it!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/milk/index.html

Daddy meets Mummy, meets Boy?

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:10:58 -0400

Alright, casting directors should really be supervised. I went to see the third installment of "The Mummy" series tonight, "The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor." It was everything I expected in a sequel that has passed its uniqueness hey-day.

I was completely annoyed with the casting in this movie. I hated "the new" Evie... Like WTF, that chick isn't his wife? And then there was his "son", lik what the hell with Luke Ford as Alex?! Who are they kidding? Really? The entire movie I was thinking this "boy" looks like he's older than his daddy! Not mention he half-acts his entire role and is just not convincing at all as the college drop out, rebel against your parents womanizing child. Someone should also tell this guys agent that "Luke Ford" is also a notable gay porn producer in the USA, and that the actor should really consider changing his stage name here. I saw his name in the opening credits and nearly spewed popcorn all over the row in front of me!

The plot was intriguing, good premise to start. The potential for a great movie was in there somewhere originally. The actual execution, was a C+ grade at best. The special effects as expected were top notch, clearly they spent money there instead of on writers. The overuse of the effects in the last 30 minutes of the movie, clearly was meant to compensate for lack of a really good ending for the story.

It's a movie to take the kids to next time you want to drop them off at the mall and have the theater babysit. However, if you're looking for interesting plot twists and never-seen before effects -- don't bother, wait for the video.

For those of you who are Brendan Fraser fans (from back in his "Gods and Monsters" days before he started losing his hair), there is one tiny little ray of interest about the middle of the movie -- we get to see daddy with his shirt off for about 5 minutes. Daaaaaayyymmmn! He's clearly been working out! And he is looking *fiiiiinne* for forty-something! I only wish they had put another 20 or 30 minutes of him running around shirtless. It would have made it worth the 8 bucks for this flick.

Batman was da' bomb

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:07:14 -0400

Heath Ledger rocked as the Joker! - a truly evil Joker.