{"id":18,"date":"1996-11-30T22:31:40","date_gmt":"1996-11-30T22:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ultrasparky.org\/blog\/1996\/11\/30\/checklist\/"},"modified":"2024-11-28T02:34:08","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T07:34:08","slug":"checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ultrasparky.org\/blog\/1996\/11\/30\/checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Media junkie that I am,<\/strong> I naturally checked out a lot of stuff while I was in L.A. In the interest of passing on useful information, here are brief reviews of movies, music, and zines that came my way during my vacation. If you\u2019re one of those people who reads reviews to be up-to-the-minute, move along. These will all be hopelessly out of date by the time you read them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Forever Young<\/strong>
Directed by Steve Miner, 1991<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I came into this movie late, since it was on television when I was trapped in a Minneapolis motel room, but I think I got a pretty good sense of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the movie where Mel Gibson is a test pilot who was frozen back in the thirties and then defrosted by two kooky kids in the nineties. Basically, this is entertainment-lite. Not a fantastic flick, but soothingly bland. There are vast gaps in logic and plot scattered throughout, but Mel looks good, Jamie Lee Curtis gets to look concerned a lot, the young Elijah Wood gets to show that he’s a pretty good actor for a little kid (I don\u2019t think that little kids have to prove their acting talent by faking cancer or anything melodramatic; I\u2019m won over by believability), and the job is utterly mild overall. Beware, though: if you can\u2019t stand saccharine, heartwarming endings, stay away! You’ll blow all over the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Good Son<\/strong>
Directed by Joseph Rubin, 1993<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elijah Wood pops up again, if just to prove that Macauley Culkin is a gimmick, not an actor. This cinematic atrocity was forced upon me during a five-hour airplane flight, so I won’t take responsibility for choosing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a turkey. It uses every goofy cinematic gimmick to build predictable suspense and dull, anticlimactic action sequences. The only shining moment is watching Mac plunge to his death, dropped from a high, rocky ledge by his mother, who realizes that Elijah Wood would be a lot less hassle to have around the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blink<\/strong>
Directed by Michael Apted, 1994<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I caught this at a cast-and-crew screening, so there was a lot of excitement in the audience, since everyone there had their messy little hands all over it at one point or another. These people were applauding during the credits, if that puts it in perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This flick is worth seeing, though. The lovely Madeleine Stowe plays a violinist in an Irish rock band, blinded as a child by her loopy mother. After getting a cornea transplant to restore her vision, she sees a serial killer leaving the scene of a murder upstairs from her, but doesn\u2019t realize it, since her eyes are still adapting to being able to see again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing is, she has a rare condition where her brain processes information long after her eyes see things, so she keeps seeing this killer, and other wacky things, at totally random times. She\u2019s the only eyewitness, though, which forces misogynist, abrasive detective Aidan Quinn (looking a little puffy and over-the-hill, but still okay), who once mooned her in a bar when she was still blind, to stick around her until they catch the guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know this sounds like a hokey premise, and I guess it is, but it works. The optical effects are really nice, and the suspense is nicely crafted, with a few good twists near the end. All in all, my only complaint is that once again, a blind woman in the movies has impeccable taste in trendy clothes, skillfully applied makeup, and a fabulous apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philadelphia<\/strong>
Directed by Jonathan Demme, 1993<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not the definitive AIDS movie, nor do I think it\u2019s trying to be, despite the assumptions of its detractors. This strikes me as more of a portrait of the way different people react to AIDS, whether they are understanding and supportive of PWAs, terrified of the threat of the disease, or well-meaning but thoroughly homophobic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cinematography in this one deserves a note, since it seems a little affected and overdone at first, but eventually it drives the point home with incredible impact. This is an actor\u2019s movie all the way, relying on clear, direct performances with more emotion and reaction captured by the camera, rather than on witty or powerful dialogue. Two thumbs up for Tom and Denzel, and almost all members of the stellar cast, except for David Drake, who just couldn’t grasp the need to underplay his minor role for maximum effect. He makes Doug Savant, the master of the sympathetic reaction shot on Melrose Place, look like a stoneface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This movie really shook me up, largely because it doesn’t provide pat plot resolutions. Instead it forces the viewer to grapple with the issues it leaves open. My initial reaction to the movie was to bawl my eyes out as it reached its conclusion, but later, feeling a little clearer as my pal Ed and I picked apart what the movie seemed to say, I was able to articulate why it had affected me so much. Even though the battle lines and allegiances are very clearly presented from the outset of the film, everyone in it makes a case that someone could probably understand. As a workaholic gay man with a straight HIV+ brother, I definitely was pissed off by the attitudes of Jason Robards’ paranoid old-boys’ legal club, but I have to admit that they might not have been truly guilty of the crime with which they are charged. Denzel Washington’s unresolved homophobia seemed terribly small-minded, but you can see where it makes sense in the context of the film. Ed\u2019s politics pretty much agreed with mine, though homophobic persecution and AIDS panic don\u2019t hit as close to home for him, and he also saw the ambiguity that ran rampant through the film. This could play in Peoria and get reactions drastically different from ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any and all politics aside, this is a fine film, riveting and emotional without being too manipulative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spencer the Gardener<\/strong>
At Club Lingerie<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spencer the Gardener is a band from Santa Barbara who do a nutty mix of pop, country, and Latin music for the sake of fun, fun, fun. Every song they performed was pretty jumpy and accessible, either lyrically or at least musically, depending on whether it was an English funk\/pop tune or a salsa
two-step. Ed claimed they were a lot like Chucklehead since they had a horn
section, but aside from their devotion to fun, Spencer’s sound is definitely their own. My only criticism would be for Nate, their moody trumpet player: get a little spunk, man!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben Is Dead<\/strong>
Summer 1993, \u201cModern Transmission & Sensory Overload.\u201d
Published and edited by Darby Romeo. Letters to: Ben Is Dead, P.O. Box 3166,
Hollywood, CA 90028.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been hearing a lot about Ben Is Dead<\/i> as I\u2019ve gotten deeper into the zine world, but I\u2019d never stopped to pick up a copy until I grabbed this issue from a sleazy newsstand somewhere in L.A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the people behind BID<\/i> are more famous for their I Hate Brenda<\/i> Newsletter. The tragedy of this is that BID<\/i> is a fantastic effort in its own right. The writing is both extremely intelligent and laid-back witty. Darby and her assistant editors Kerin Morataya and Michael Carr (aka Kitty Lu Kemia) have a lot of fierce attitude about what they think and what they like, yet are still willing to explore and to flesh out new ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This particular issue features scientific explanations of the human senses, a bawdy interview with Duran Duran, an expos\u00e9 of The Jane Pratt Show, a discussion of the limits of copyright law, and interviews with the publishers
of bOING!, bOING!, Future Sex,<\/i> and Mondo 2000, <\/i>among lots of other goodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BID<\/i> has a very slick four-color printed cover and decent web printing, although the design and layout is a little Mac-happy. Luckily, they have the budget for actual photographs and some neat computer graphics, so the overall look is pretty good. Even if you\u2019re a design snob like me, though, you should get this publication. These people really kick some serious butt!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TeenMom<\/strong>
Vol. 2, No. 1, \u201cBirthday\/Holiday Issue.\u201d
Published and edited by NB. Letters to: TeenMom, 2211 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
#306, Los Angeles, CA 90068.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one nutty zine. Factsheet Five<\/i> places TeenMom<\/i> in its queer section, but I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s really appropriate. Granted, the editorial tone vacillates between gay camp and fun-loving feminist satire, but even if it is a covert fag rag, it\u2019s very limiting to look at this as a queer zine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TeenMom<\/i> is a very wacky parody of teen heartthrob magazines, with a lot of black humor, pop culture awareness, and photos of beefy guys. The hook is that it\u2019s supposedly written from the point of view of giddy adolescent moms. This particular issue features tips on grooming your offspring for teen stardom, choosing the genetically right TeenDad, a suspicious \u201cinterview\u201d with Juliette Lewis, and TeenMom\u2019s Turkey Baster Award to Antonio Sabato, Jr., for being the year\u2019s biggest stud with the most promising sperm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am also quite fond of their clip\/found art illustrations and their color laser copy cover. It\u2019s a low-budget job that uses the means at its disposal quite well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ooze<\/a><\/strong>
Vol. 1, No. 1
Published and edited by Matt Patterson, Ed Schmidt, and Joe Wagner. Letters to: Ooze, 1553A Baxter St., Los Angeles, CA 90026.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ooze<\/em> is a smart, subversive humor mag put out by three lunatics I know in L.A. This is an outgrowth of similar publications the guys made at Vassar, and in high school before that. The jokes in Ooze are rife with pop culture sensibility and a disdain for the editors\u2019 mainstream suburban upbringing. It\u2019s a little bit April Fool\u2019s Day and a little bit \u201cKids in the Hall.\u201d It\u2019s a little bit country, and a little bit \u2019n\u2019 roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first issue features a games page, suggestions for alternative prom themes, medical advice for the lovelorn, and a treatise on the merits of acting stupid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The design right now is fun, with lots of clip art and Photoshop experiments. They also do an electronic version with sound available via Internet (at drbubonic@aol.com<\/a>). These guys are hoping their alma mater will give them a grant which will allow them to do a slicker job with Ooze.<\/i> But even without the extra dough, it\u2019s definitely worth a peek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Duh<\/strong>
Published and edited by Geoff F.
Letters to: No Duh, P.O. Box 921, Allston, MA 02134<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It figures that I would have to travel all the way to California to discover this nifty little zine published right here in Boston, more specifically in my old neighborhood, Allston \u2014 the B.U. student ghetto and the zip of Zoom<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The editorial content of No Duh<\/i> is fairly standard alterna-teen personal experience and travelogue with articles about Providence, cheap beer, Seattle, and historical zines. Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2014 I really like the writing in this. It\u2019s pretty smart, very honest and anecdotal, and definitely entertaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real kicker, though, is the look of No Duh.<\/i> I bought it for its packaging alone, a plain gray paper cover with a scooter illustration, all sealed in a clear plastic bag with a tiny sticker describing the contents. Very minimal and stylish. I was glad to see that the insides didn\u2019t let me down. Although the design isn’t really sophisticated, Geoff draws from an apparently encyclopedic collection of mod-era advertising art, thirties clip art, and old sundry ads and visuals for a really witty, fun-lovin\u2019 package. Even handwritten pieces, of which I am usually very wary, are used to good effect here. Kudos!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While tooling around, I also got lots of old records and whatnot, which
I’ll just list for the sake of brevity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n