The Oscar nominations were revealed earlier this week and the actress categories are looking strong. It will be hard to predict who is going to go home with an Oscar this year but let’s take a look at the contenders.

• Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs

Glenn Close gave a brilliant performance as a woman living as a male butler named Albert Nobbs in 19th century Ireland. She portrays the simple yet heartbreaking butler perfectly and probably because she played Albert Nobbs in 1982 on Broadway. Glenn Close has yet to win an Oscar despite being nominated multiple times. Could this be her year?

Viola Davis for The Help

Viola Davis played ‘Aibileen’, a black maid who helped bring up countless white children in her time working as “the help” for ungrateful white people who couldn’t be bothered to bring up their own kids, while struggling to cope with the untimely death of one of her own. She gave a subtle performance that was true and believable but whether it will be enough to win an Oscar, we’ll have to wait and see.

Rooney Mara for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Rooney Mara’s name seems to be in the air right now. She’s the third actress to play The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth Salander. The American portrayal of the film has received some criticism but there is no denying that her performance was stellar, bad-ass and well worth the Oscar nomination she received. It would come as no surprise if  Miss Mara was crowned best Actress in a Leading Role.

Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady

Meryl Streep has previously received Oscars for her roles in Sophie’s Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer, but will she be third time lucky? The Iron Lady has been slated for being too soft on Thatcher and for skimming over her political career, which undermined Streep’s incredible performance. Has a poor plot-line ruined Streep’s chances at Oscar glory?

Michelle Williams for My Week With Marilyn

It’s been a year of big stars portraying iconic figures who have too much of a detailed life story to fit in to a two hour film. But if the rest of them took a leaf out of the My Week With Marilyn book, they’d do much better for focusing on one specific event in the lives of so many huge figures. Michelle Williams captured the spirit of Marilyn Monroe as if Monroe were possessing Williams herself. But will it be enough to secure a win?

• Actress in a Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist

The beautiful Bérénice Bejo stunned us all in her silent role  as Peppy Miller in The Artist, an absolutely incredible film reminding us of the brilliance of silent,black and white films before the talkies took over. The Artist is up for 10 awards, and Bérénice Bejo could be the winner of one of those.

Jessica Chastain for The Help

Jessica Chastain played a ditzy blonde married to a mostly absent but wealthy man in The Help. Unlike the rest of the white folk, she was not a bitch. Under her happy exterior was a traumatized woman who has had several miscarriages but hasn’t told her husband for fear he’ll leave her. Such a delightful character to watch on screen but Chastain is fighting for an award among heavyweights here.

Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids proved that women can create a film as insanely funny and full of hoemance as the bromantic The Hangover. Mostly because Melissa McCarthy was hilarious as the extremely butch Megan who, after getting food poisoning, has to empty her bowels into a sink. She deserves an Oscar for her Charlie Harper clothes and all the lols she gave us.

Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs

Glenn Close was no doubt amazing in Albert Nobbs, but Janet McTeer may have outshone her. Like Albert, she plays a woman disguised as a man but her performance was so charming and the way she carried her character was so believable, that it took me a few minutes to realize I wasn’t looking at a man, such was the standard of her acting. It’s one thing to upstage the lead and another when the lead is Glenn Close.

Octavia Spencer in The Help

There will be some tension with this category as Octavia Spencer faces off against Jessica Chastain for an Oscar. Octavia plays Minny a headstrong black maid with a take-no-shit attitude (or in her case give-them-shit attitude). She gives The Help a feisty heart and a deep soul, and plays a character who is full of dry humor. Jessica Chastain may have to watch herself as Octavia is a very strong contender for the title of best Actress in a Supporting Role.

• Which female Oscar nominees do you think deserve to take home the little gold man?

Related posts:

1. Albert Nobbs Given Fall Release Date
2. Globe time
3. Review: Albert Nobbs

Are you the kind of person who like a cinematic challenge? Who likes to chat about a film all the way home, reading new things into it as you listen to your pal’s opinion? If so, avoid Haywire, maintaining the distance of at least a roundhouse kick. This is junk-food in film form, grand while you watch it but you’ve forgotten all about it an hour afterwards.

It stars Gina Carano, who was our second Álainn or Appallin’ all the way back, and is a bit of a  heroine to our kick-boxing webmistress.

Gina is Mallory, literally a kick-ass agent for a shady government-hired company of mercenaries. Her boss, Ewan McGregor, realises that she’s bigger than the company and sells her out. Or he tries to. She pummels seven shades of shite out of the bloke who’s supposed to kill her (Micheal Fassbender) and goes on a Bourne buzz, trying to figure it all out.

Personally, I’m an action movie fan, so I loved it. Major pluses are the fact that it’s obvious that Gina is actually doing all of the ass-kickery herself, and the fact that the director (Steven Soderberg) is obviously loving it. The fight scenes are realistically ouchie and impressive in equal measure.

To add to that, a large section of the film is set in Dublin (that’s Connolly station, left), which is a great distraction. Don’t worry, the accents are all ok, and there isn’t a hint of a leprechaun. Quite the opposite, the continuity is spot on and when Mallory is running around Dublin, it’s all geographically accurate -- there’s no  turning a corner Temple Bar just to end up in the Phoenix Park.

The film hangs completely on Carano and she does ok. She looks gorgeous and fights like a pro, it’s just a pity she didn’t get a few more acting lessons. Any scene where she says more than one sentence is a step too far for her, but there are only a couple of them as Soderberg is aware of her short-comings and has her surrounded by excellent actors, including Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton and Antonio Banderas as well as McGregor and Fassbender.

Haywire is silly, but (wo)man is it fun. Here’s hoping there’s a sequel.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFV0Uvzpz0o

Related posts:

1. Going Haywire for Gina
2. Nine women you must see before the end of the world*
3. Review: My Friend from Faro

I’ve said many times on Gaelick how I love a good awards show, and none more so than the GLAAD Media Awards.  It’s an awards show and it’s gay, I mean come on, someone pass me the popcorn.  Over the last few years I have been stunned by the magnitude of the nominations.  Gone are the days when the nomination panel must have had to thrall through all of the LGBT movie festivals to scrounge for possible winners.  There are gays on TV now you know, and in movies and on talk shows, who knew?  I for one am delighted.  I attended many a film festival to watch 20 films and enjoy perhaps 2 of them, seriously.

So lets have a look at some of the main categories and who might be walking away with the awards.  There are some mainstream, some independent films and some great documentaries, as well as some of the best TV shows around.

Outstanding Film -- Wide Release

Albert Nobbs
J Edgar
Beginners

Three great films. J Edgar is an amazing film and packs a real punch.  Beginners is just wonderful and Christopher Plumber puts in one of his best performances.  I want to say Albert Nobbs will win because it is set in my home town of Dublin and Janet McTeer is phenomenal in it, however, I think the sentiment of Beginners just might bring it over the line.  It’s a tough one to call.

Outstanding Film -- Limited Release

Circumstance
Weekend
Tomboy
Pariah
Gun Hill Road

I can’t remember ever seeing such a strong list of nominations in one year.  However, if I was to pick the winner it would have to be Pariah.  As much as Circumstance stayed with me for weeks and Tomboy was deeply moving, Pariah is just incredible and I’d recommend you take the oppertunity to see it when it comes your way.  Having said that, Weekend has won lots of awards around the festivals and Gun Hill Road is provacative, so time will tell.

Outstanding Documentary

Becoming Chaz (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
The Strange History of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (HBO)
The World’s Worst Place to be Gay? (Logo)
Two Spirits (PBS)
We Were Here (Red Flag Releasing)

I can’t say who I think such walk away with this one having only seen Becoming Chaz, The World’s Worst Place to be Gay? and We Were Here.   The other two are, however, top of my to-do-list.  Becoming Chaz is a great movie which chronicles Chaz Bono’s life as he transitions, it was followed up on OWN by Being Chaz.

We have all read about Uganda’s kill the gays bill but what’s it like to actually call it home?  The World’s Worst Place to be Gay? shows an openly gay reporter, who has never had to deal with homophobia in his own life, see for himself the devastation to every day people.

We Were Here is an intensely moving documentary which explores the AIDS crisis as it happened.  It is deeply inspiring and again I would recommend you see it.  Be warned though, it’s heartbreaking.

Outstanding Drama Series

Degrassi (TeenNick)
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family)
Shameless (Showtime)
Torchwood: Miracle Day (Starz)

So much lesbian goodness in the nominations this year, and yes, you read that right, TeenNick and ABC Family are among the networks with nominated shows.  For me this category will go to Grey’s Anatomy simply because it had a lesbian wedding on prime time.  To be fair however, Calzona aren’t centre stage on the show and I’d be inclined to hope Pretty Little Liars gets the nod, it’s overflowing with lesbo goodness.  I have watched all these shows and any one of them could win.

Outstanding Comedy Series

Exes and Ohs (Logo)
Glee (Fox)
Modern Family(ABC)
Happy Endings (ABC)
The Big C (Showtime)

Although I really want Exes and Ohs to win this one I can’t see past Modern Family.  It is the stand out among these five with Santana, Kurt and Blaine probably gaining a lot of favour for Glee.  Happy Endings and The Big C just aren’t in it for me but I could have my tail between my legs when it’s announced.

Outstanding Talk Show Episode

“Zach Wahls” The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated)
Chaz Bono” Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
“Children & Teens Caught in the Wrong Bodies” Anderson (syndicated)
“Coming Out on the Oprah Show: 25 Years of Unforgettable Guests” The Oprah Winfrey Show (syndicated)
“The Wedding of Scott Cronick & David Gorshein” Conan (TBS)

If you haven’t seen these shows then get yourself to YouTube this instant.  Talk shows are such a powerful way to get stories into people’s living rooms and I would be amazed if, for that reason, anyone other than the queen herself, Oprah, was given this important award.  Just look at the title and it says it all, Coming Out on the Oprah Show: 25 Years of Unforgettable Guests, say no more.  When I was young I ran home from school everyday in the hopes Oprah was doing an LGBT related show as it was the only, and I mean only, place I ever heard it mentioned.  Well done Oprah and thank you.

There are many other categories, individual episodes, blogs, music, comics as well as awards for journalism and even theatres.  You can see all the nominees here, or the highlights on this video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCPp9M_WskA

So who was left out and who deserves to walk away a winner?  Let us know in the comments section below.

There will be the usual three annual award ceremonies.  New York on March 24th, Los Angeles April 21st and finally San Fransisco on June 2nd.  We gays sure now how to make a party last.

Related posts:

1. GALECA nominees announced
2. GLAAD Awards 2011
3. Glee’s Naya Rivera Hosts 22nd GLAAD Awards in San Fran

In my never-ending search for the perfect lesbian film I have been both horribly disappointed and pleasantly surprised by two films lately. I expected The Kids Are All Right to not suck and I was terribly wrong. But, the other, the film that made up for the failure of The Kids Are All Right was Albert Nobbs.

WARNING: Here be spoilers!

Simply put, Albert Nobbs, with the eponymous character played by Glenn Close, is a film that tells the story of woman who is posing as a male butler in 19th century Ireland. But there is much more to the story than this.

For 30 years, since the age of 14, Albert Nobbs has presented himself as a boy and a man to the world. After an event that scarred him for life he decided it was much easier to survive as a man than live as a woman. Nobbs has been a man for the majority of his life and he’s so used to acting and dressing like a man that it feels more natural to identify him as one in the film.

When Hubert Page (Janet McTeer), a painter, shows up to paint Morrison’s hotel where Albert works, Page is told to share a room with Mr. Nobbs for the night. Naturally Nobbs panics at the possibility that Hubert will discover ‘he’ is really a ‘she’. When a stray tic itches Albert that night and in the midst of ripping off his clothes to get rid of the flea, Hubert wakes up to discover his secret. Of course, Hubert has a secret of his own.

The bond between Hubert and Albert is clear from the start and when Albert discovers Hubert leads a similar life to himself, he strives to find out more about this new and intriguing friend.

The uncovered fact that Hubert is married to a woman named Cathleen (Bronagh Gallagher) that knows he is really a woman, gives Albert hope and inspiration to make Helen Dawes (Mia Wasikowska) his own ‘Cathleen’ who will help him run a tobacco shop he plans to set up with the tips he has been saving.

Glenn Close is superb as Albert Nobbs and it’s her second time portraying the character. Unlike films that star big names like George Clooney and Brad Pitt – where no matter who they play you can never quite forget that “Hey, it’s Brad Pitt in a wig with a bad accent” – this is not the case with Glenn Close. You completely disregard her fame and iconic status and become immersed in the story of Albert Nobbs.

Although Close is undeniably brilliant, Janet McTeer gives a stellar performance. She’s confident as a man and there’s not a trace of the feminine about her. Even the female staff of Morrison’s find her attractive as Hubert Page.

And they’re right: her performance is attractive, charming and warm. You can see and feel the love she has for her wife Cathleen and when she says that Cathleen is her world and the love of her life, you know she means it. Having run away from an abusive husband and taking his painting gear and coat with her, she found a woman that completely accepts her for who she is.

Mia Wasikowska and Aaron Johnson portray a relationship full of turmoil and it’s clear that Joe Macken (Aaron Johnson) is slowly turning in to his abusive, drunken father with grand promises of moving to America that will never come to fruition. Johnson’s Dublin accent is spot on 99% of the time but Wasikowska’s could have been better.

Brendan Gleeson plays a small part as Doctor Holloran in Albert Nobbs but his character is savvy to the lies that are rampant within Morrison’s Hotel and towards the end he quits the place in search of a more truthful existence. Even the presence of Gleeson brings this film to another level.

Albert Nobbs is not a film about lesbians. It’s a film about what women have had to do to survive at the worst of times, and the strength and courage they can lend to each other, knowing they’re not alone. It’s also a film about struggling to accept ourselves and about how heavy the burden of carrying a lie can be. Ultimately, however, the film is about a quiet man called Albert Nobbs who made subtle but necessary differences to the lives of everyone he touched.

• Release date: 27th January next

Related posts:

1. Albert Nobbs Given Fall Release Date
2. Álainn or Appallin’: Glenn Close
3. Who will gain Oscar glory?

Prepare to put your brains in jars, people!

Released across the pond this month is Joyful Noise, where the worlds of Queen Latifah and Dolly collide.

It looks like hell on toast in film. I can’t wait to watch it!

It’s “a funny and inspirational story of music, hope, love and renewal,” apparently.

The promo blurb says:

The small town of Pacashau, Georgia, has fallen on hard times, but the people are counting on the Divinity Church Choir to lift their spirits by winning the National Joyful Noise Competition. The choir has always known how to sing in harmony, but the discord between its two leading ladies now threatens to tear them apart. Their newly appointed director, Vi Rose Hill (Latifah), stubbornly wants to stick with their tried-and-true traditional style, while the fiery G.G. Sparrow (Parton) thinks tried-and-true translates to tired-and-old.

Shaking things up even more is the arrival of G.G.’s rebellious grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan). Randy has an ear for music, but he also has an eye for Vi Rose’s beautiful and talented daughter, Olivia (Keke Palmer), and the sparks between the two teenagers are causing even more friction between G.G. and Vi Rose.

If these two strong-willed women can put aside their differences for the good of the people in their town, they—and their choir—may make the most joyful noise of all.

Whatevs, lads. Show me the movie!

No related posts.

The film is set in 1980, when Steinem profiled Lovelace in Ms. Magazine, fighting for recognition of the appalling abusiveness of the relationship.

Perez Hilton reckons this will be among “the most talked about movies of the year,” which reflects very positively on Hollywood’s priorities, and the film has already prompted a necessary conversation on the abuses and dangers of the porn and sex industries. Putting everything else aside, that the film is being made is very good news.

This week the internet has been all a-flutter with discussions over whether Moore is a good fit for Steinem (left). The directors are delighted with Moore, they feel they’ve found an “icon to play and icon.” Many feel that this role presents a great opportunity for Moore to reignite her career. It doesn’t hurt that she looks quite like Steinem too.

Not everyone is so supportive. The Guardian’s Marina Hyde even ranked the decision second in her “Top Five Most Amusingly Inappropriate Casting Decisions”. Obviously, Demi Moore can’t play a feminist.
Why? Well, she once posed naked on a magazine cover while pregnant, she portrayed a single mother working as an erotic dancer in ‘Striptease’, she stopped working for six years to raise her family of three. Those things could be presented as anti-feminist. Or, and tell me if I’m clutching at straws here, they could all been seen as valid and interesting explorations of female sexuality and motherhood.

This is the same Demi Moore who, with Aston Kutcher, established a foundation to oppose sexual trafficking and so plausibly has a real attachment to this film, and commitment to her role. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in a mini-series about a woman seeking a backstreet abortion in the 1950s. The Harper’s Bazaar interview, to which Marina Hyde objects so vehemently, is part of a show organised by Moore and Amanda de Cadenet, in which they have frank discussions with high-profile women. The aim is to give women space to discuss central issues in their lives.

Demi Moore is clearly a woman who cares deeply about women, like Gloria Steinem. And yet, even if she wasn’t a “good feminist”, since when do we expect actors’ personalities to correspond with those of their parts?

That Daniel Radcliffe didn’t have magical powers at all – we’ve been duped!

Related posts:

1. Review: Miss Representation
2. Gloria Table Quiz
3. What’s She Doing Now?

Best Motion Picture – Drama is between The Descendants, The Help, Hugo, The Ides Of March, Moneyball and War Horse. I confess I’ve only seen The Ides of March and Moneyball, both for which were ok, but nothing I thought was award-winning. This category sets the tone for the other nominations, though, it’s all the Hollywood big guys this year; The Descendants is Clooney, Hugo is Scorsese, The Ides Of March is Clooney again, Moneyball is Brad, War Horse is Spielberg. In their masculine midst is The Help, the only female-led film of the bunch.

Best Actor in a Drama This one is like a Top-5 of the most gorgeous men in Hollywood; George Clooney for The Descendants, Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar, Michael Fassbender in Shame, Ryan Gosling in The Ides Of March and Brad Pitt for Moneyball. There is a wee bit of LGBT interest in this one as J. Edgar Hoover was a mo, although there is no news yet about how obvious they are about this in the film.

Best Actress in a Drama This is a surprisingly interesting category with all of the roles jet-black serious, full-on acting. Glenn Close looks like the obvious winner for Albert Nobbs, but never write-off Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady). Viola Davis’s nom for The Help is a nod to the success of the film and Tilda Swinton scared the bejeesus out of everyone in We Need To Talk About Kevin. The surprise inclusion here is Rooney Mara for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, queer-tastic!

Best Movie – Comedy or Musical Again, I must apologise for my lack of knowledge on this one. I actually haven’t seen any of them. For shame! We have 50/50, The Artist, Bridesmaids, Midnight In Paris and My Week With Marilyn. The Artist is a shoo-in. This is the thing about awards ceremonies, you don’t even have had to see the films to know who’ll win; it’s all politics and media.

Best Actor – Comedy or Musical Usually this category is full of hilarity, but these roles are actually very poignant; Jean Dujardin in The Artist, Brendan Gleeson for The Guard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 50/50, Ryan Gosling for Crazy, Stupid, Love and Owen Wilson in Midnight In Paris. I’d love to say that our Brendan will win this one, but again this is all about The Artist.

Best Actress – Comedy or Musical For this one, who effing cares who wins? They’re all epic actresses and no one could begrudge any of them. Check out this list of talent; Jodie Foster in Carnage, Charlize Theron for Young Adult, Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids, Michelle Williams for My Week With Marilyn and Kate Winslet in Carnage. You just know Kristen Wiig has no speach prepared.

Head here for the rest of the nominees. Who do you think will win? Do you care?

Related posts:

1. Who will gain Oscar glory?
2. GALECA nominees announced
3. Emmy time

Over the weekend I did one of my favourite things, I went to the cinema.

I love it: the big screen, the darkness, the pick ‘n’ mix! This time I settled in to see a woman who can only be described as the seminal actress of her time: Meryl Streep.

Her resumé needs no introduction: Sophie’s Choice, Kramer vs. Kramer, Silkwood -- the list goes on and on, and I challenge anyone to find a significant flaw in her work. This time around I was there to see The Iron Lady and I must admit to going with some trepidation in the pit of my stomach.

The film centres around the life of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and although she was a strong woman who rose to the top, I have nothing but contempt for her legacy. I was afraid the film-makers would try to make her a sympathetic character based on the fact that she was the first female to head a major political party in the UK and also Britain’s first female PM. It turned out my fears were warranted.

The film shows her life in the form of flashbacks, and Streep’s ability to take you with her is immense. We see an elderly woman finding it difficult to let go of her past, and we are brought right back to where it all began: the daughter of a grocer who was always politically engaged and never willing to settle for the traditional role of a woman.

That’s where my empathy with her ends, I’m afraid. Even though I admire a driven person not willing to give up on what they believe is right, I find it impossible to understand someone who is completely unable to hear anyone else’s opinion, and that side of Thatcher is illuminated brilliantly. The fact I disagree so fundamentally with her politics doesn’t help either, to be fair.

Thatcher went from Education Secretary to Leader of the Opposition to Prime Minister in less than a decade and in the process she had to deal with being the only woman in many a room. She also had to change her voice and leave her kids, not easy. However she was so conservative I remember my mother using a naughty word to describe her when I was a kid, to this day the only such word I have ever heard my mother utter.

The film deals with historical moments in Thatcher’s life, including the Falklands war and the miners’ strikes, as well as the IRA attempt on her life at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. The narrative falls short, however.

I found myself increasingly annoyed that they didn’t actually delve into these political issues. If you didn’t already know about the hunger strikers, for example, you’d be none the wiser. They also included the Poll Tax riots; but again if you had no prior knowledge, the whole thing would pass you by. Some important aspects are omitted altogether, like Section 28 for example.

I have every sympathy for any elderly woman trying to hold on to her past, but I found myself squirming in my seat and wanting to ask the writers why they decided to skimp on the details.

I went to see the film with my mate who, as soon as it was over, started asking me all about the history of it. You’d think having just seen the film she’d have more answers than questions but, alas, no. The movie didn’t delve into anything: it gave you a list of headlines, but nothing meaty.

Overall, I found the acting superb but the script lacking. This was a genuine opportunity to show the life of a woman who changed the face of politics in the west. Love her or hate her, you can’t deny her impact.

Unfortunately that chance was lost. Streep may well get an Oscar, and she certainly deserves to be on the nominations list. This film will not make the list of top 10 Streep classics, however, not by a long chalk.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf5qHuRJG1Q

Related posts:

1. Review: Albert Nobbs
2. Who will gain Oscar glory?
3. Review: She’s a Boy I Knew

It’s great. We watched the first couple episodes of Breaking Bad and the quality was great, even on our pokey broadband connection.

So after that, I decided to show my wife all the films they have on offer. Sure, it’s limited, but I’d had a browse on my PC earlier in the day and I was excited to show her the Gay & Lesbian category.

Except it wasn’t there.

The Nintendo Wii interface isn’t exactly straightforward, so I tried several times to find it. I tweeted, and had some helpful advice. I checked to see if “Parental Controls” were active on my Wii (even though we don’t have children). I checked my settings on my Netflix account.

There was nothing amiss. The category Gay & Lesbian was still visible on my PC, but not on my Nintendo Wii.

And that just makes me sad. Because it seems like a good service. It even recommended my somewhat obscure favourite film to me after doing my “taste profile”, so yeah, well done. But I’m not giving my money to a company that feels it’s more comfortable to get rid of my words.

PinkNews reported yesterday that the iPad and PS3 versions of Netflix also exclude the category. Wii and iPad exclude the HD category as well because the devices don’t support true HD playback. They also apparently don’t support queer film categories. Weird hardware flaw, probably.

So either Netflix have removed this category themselves or Sony, Nintendo and Apple all decided to do it independently of each other. You guys have any guesses?

No related posts.

• We bring you another super duper article from our new writers, Jen Gore. Happy Friday!

There’s no denying that over the past year the majority of film buzz has been about Batman, Superman and Spider-Man. But 2012 is the year where women reclaim their title as Holywood’s biggest badasses.

Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady (6th Jan)

Meryl Streep plays the first and only female British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. The film gives us an intimate – and somewhat controversial – look at one of history’s most influential political figures.

We see how Margaret Thatcher struggles and succeeds to come out on top in a world dominated by men.

Mallory Kane in Haywire (18th Jan)

Gina Carano, even before landing this ass-kicking role, is a confirmed badass. She’s a mixed martial arts fighter, she previously ranked #3 as a 145-pound world fighter and has been said to be the face of women’s MMA.

Her character Mallory Kane is a covert operative. When a mission goes wrong in Dublin and she sees she has been betrayed she sets out for revenge. You do not want to double cross a black ops super soldier.

Selene in Underworld Awakening (20th Jan)

The stunning Kate Beckinsale returns in the fourth instalment of the Underworld series. The Vampire and Lycan clans have always been at war with each other but now the humans have discovered their existence and Selene must lead this supernatural war against the human race.

You can see Kate Beckinsale and all her blue eyed, black leather glory in 3D this time round.

The Evil Queen in Mirror Mirror (16th March)

We will be treated to two extremely different versions of the Snow White fairytale in 2012 and first up is Julia Roberts‘ portrayal of the Evil Queen.

The flame haired beauty shows us her wicked side when she takes control of what should be Snow White’s kingdom. But it’s not long before Snow White seeks help to reclaim what is rightfully hers.

Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games (23rd March)

The excitement leading up to The Hunger Games film has been palpable. If you’ve yet to see Jennifer Lawrence in X-Men: First Class as Mystique then make sure you do. You’ll be excited with her acting talents as well as her half painted/half glued on prosthetics costume.

Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss Everdeen, a girl who volunteers to take the place of her sister in The Hunger Games where 24 contestants face deadly challenges, live on TV. Only one will survive and Katniss will do anything to be the victor.

Black Widow in The Avengers (27th April)

Scarlett Johansson played Black Widow briefly in Iron Man 2 and she left a trail of bodies in her wake.

Now, the fiery Black Widow returns as the only female member of The Avengers to save the world from Thor’s brother Loki and the team of bad guys he assembles.

Snow White in Snow White and The Huntsman (1st July)

If you hold a grudge against Kristen Stewart for her whiney, if-you-leave-me-i’ll-jump-off-a-cliff-again character, Bella, well it’s time to get over it.

Kristen Stewart stars in Snow White and the Huntsman where she is anything but useless. When the huntsman is ordered to kill her in the woods they team up instead. The huntsman trains Snow White up in to a fully fledged badass so she can kick seven shades out of the evil Queen Ravenna.

Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises (20th July)

Selina Kyle returns to the Batman franchise in Christopher Nolan’s final Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. Anne Hathaway plays Selina Kyle a.k.a Catwoman and instead of wearing a skimpy Halle Berry-esque cat suit, she appears in an appropriate, leather body suit.

But she still manages to retain her feline sexiness while being completely mysterious and dangerous.

Princess Merida in Brave (17th August)

Pixar’s “Brave” had to be included in the list because it looks so incredible. Damsels in distress need not apply for this film. The Scottish Princess Merida sets out to make her own destiny when she refuses to take part in an age old tradition. She’s a highly skilled archer and it’s up to Merida to defeat a beastly curse.

Finally, an independent and strong animated Princess to be proud of.

What femmes fatales are you most looking forward to seeing on the big screen this year?

* Gaelick accepts no liability if the world does or does not end in 2012, and we blame the Mayans entirely.

Related posts:

1. Review: The Iron Lady
2. Snow Flowers film addresses Nepal taboos
3. Who will gain Oscar glory?

The film follows a teenage girl, Atafeh who hales is from a wealthy family, her mother is a surgeon and her father a music professor.  Atafeh’s brother Mehran returns to the family home having overcome his drug addiction, however it becomes apparent that he is getting dangerously obsessed with the more extreme elements of his religion.

Thankfully Atafeh has a best friend, Shireen, who lives with her aunt and uncle and who is far less financially secure.  The relationship between the two becomes romantic, however, they find themselves in trouble with the law, and their families, as they rebel against the circumstances they find themselves in.

The film shows Atafeh’s fear of her brother’s growing fundamentalism, however, I found myself more scared for Shireen, the writers brilliantly illustrating her disempowerment due to her economic status.

For me this film was all about comparisons.  Whilst Mehran can be forgiven for his drug taking, his sister Atafeh can not be allowed similar social acceptance.  Whilst she has options based on her parents open mindedness and financial backing, Shireen is left with few options.

Towards the end my housemate signed dramatically and declared “this isn’t going to end well for anyone, is it?”.  I won’t ruin the ending on you, but her comment does illustrate how sucked in you get.  You just want to send them the money to come live in your spare room!

It’s a wonderful piece that pulls you in and leaves you emotionally drained, I heartily recommend it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH_KkmHDxO4

Related posts:

1. Review: Miss Representation
2. Review: The Wedding Song
3. Review: The Iron Lady

The film begins with an ultrasound image of Jennifer’s little girl and the writer immediately draws us in as she worries about the world her little angel will grow up in.  The piece moves from young girls in school through to women like Rachel Maddow, Katie Couric, Gloria Steinem and Condoleezza Rice.

The film’s tag line “you can’t be what you can’t see” is a powerful synopsis of the influence the media has over how women see themselves and how men see the women around them.   Very rarely are women seen in positions of power in the media and more often then not they are mere sex objects.  The film shows how women are judged on how they look and not on the content of their character.  Even women who do make it into powerful positions are dogged with questions over plastic surgery and their dress sense.

This is one of those films that affects you, you start to realise that you’re not alone in feeling totally miss represented and that there is nothing wrong with being motivated to try to change the perception of what it is to the a woman in our society.  When you look at the houses of power, be it in the states or over here, you see a male dominated environment where women’s views are not being heard.  That’s at least half the population, and it needs to change sooner rather than later.

I despise those games where you get bonus points for killing a prostitute and lord knows what else, surely something can be done to stop these images from reaching children?  What on earth does it tell young boys about how to view women?  Having seen this film, I’m motivated to try to do whatever I can to halt this perception and to demand a more round and full image of women in the media.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gkIiV6konY

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We meet Mia during what has to be one of my least favourite gay film staples -- the straight sex scene. She’s after getting engaged to a lovely man, Tim, who is enjoying the rumpy as well as the pumpy much more than she is. Engagement ring tightly ensconced, they head off to Mia’s Dad’s birthday party. It’s clear fairly early that dad and daughter aren’t exactly best buds, but they get along ok.

In one of those blended family brain-melts, Mia meets her pop’s partner’s daughter, Frida at the party as well as catching up with her own brother, who is a cutie-pie. Frida is gorgeous and funny and warm and why on earth is Mia being so emo? Man, she just got engaged, is hanging with a cool family who love her and should be the happiest woman on earth. But there is uno problemo. Have I mentioned that Frida is gorgeous (left)? Hmmmmm……

Frida also happens to be a homo of the sexual and it doesn’t take Mia long to cave into the inevitable.

This is when things get interesting. Instead of a montage of handy-holdy running through waves and hand-grabby squeezing during sex, we get an actual relationship in bloom. Emo Mia suddenly becomes happy Mia, who actually smiles and laughs. It’s all super-duper until reality sets in and they both go back to their lives. But can they get over each other? I wouldn’t mind getting over (or under) Frida.

It’s all satisfyingly angsty and sexy, but what makes Kyss Mig one to watch out for is the acting. Usually gay films have good stories with crap acting, this is nothing of the sort. The leads are all spot on, drawing you in along the way. You won’t roll your eyes once, I promise.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL0up-CNCHg

Related posts:

1. Review: The Iron Lady
2. Review: Gigola
3. Review: Miss Representation

Snow Flowers, the first film from Nepal to depict a same-sex relationship, has completed filming and is due to be released in early 2012. AFP’s bureau chief in Kathmandu, Frankie Taggart, recently spoke with the film’s director and lead actors.

The below excerpt is reproduced with Frankie’s kind permission.

Kiran wanders aimlessly, oblivious to the traffic and wiping tears from her bloodshot eyes as struggles to take in the devastating news that the love of her life is about to marry someone else.

The poignant vignette is not real life but one of the final scenes to be filmed in a new love story due to hit cinema screens in Nepal next year. But this is no ordinary melodrama, for the object of Kiran’s desire is a woman.

The affair plays out in Snow Flowers, a breakthrough lesbian love story already being dubbed “Brokeback Everest” and set to be the first feature film to deal with the taboo subject of gay relationships in the 60-year history of Nepalese cinema.

With filming having wrapped on schedule in Kathmandu ahead of the international festivals circuit and a general release in spring, the only question is whether the public in the deeply-religious nation will be ready.

The movie, directed by Paris-based film-maker Subarna Thapa, stars two of Nepal’s leading actresses, Dia Maskey and Nisha Adhikari, in a story of two women tormented by their feelings for one another.

“It’s two individuals falling in love and facing all the controversy and restrictions, and mental, emotional and physical traumas of being a lesbian in Nepal,” Adhikari said.

“It’s a simple love story with a lot of complications.”

• Continue reading at Frankie Taggart’s blog, here.

• A version of this article was first published by AFP on November 16, 2011 and can be found here.

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2. Where’s the Service?
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Lesbians! Bifolk! Transpals!

As promised, here it is: our fabulous competition for tickets to OutLook, the strand of LGBT films at this year’s Cork Film Festival. We’re talking some hilarious, intelligent, hot lady-films.

So, without further ado, here are the details:

What’s the prize?

We have a pair of tickets to see Married In Spandex (Sat 12th 6.30pm Triskel Christchurch).

And we have a pair of tickets to Jamie And Jessie Are Not Together (Sun 13th 4.00pm Triskel Christchurch).

How to enter:

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below – be sure to include a valid email address so we can contact you if you’re a lucky winner! (Your email will be kept private, and will not be used for any other purpose.)

The competition runs from 7am today (9th November) and will end at 4pm on Friday (11th November).

After that, we’ll pull two names out of the hat – the first will win the two tickets to Married in Spandex; the second will win the two tickets to Jamie and Jessie.

Voilà!

(P.S. – If you comment more than once, we’ll just count one entry. So no messin’, yiz langers!)

About OutLook:

OutLook, part of the Corona Cork Film Festival, is Ireland’s longest-running LGBT film festival.

Running each winter, the festival provides the LGBT communities of Cork and further afield with the best of Irish and international LGBT filmmaking.

The Festival runs from 6th to 13th November.

• Our front page lead image “Cork Film Festival” (c) Donncha O Caoimh. Reproduced with kind permission.

Related posts:

1. OutLook competition winners!
2. OutLook competition coming tomorrow!
3. OutLook: LGBT films at the Cork Film Festival

On Saturday, we previewed some of the films appearing as part of the OutLook programme in this year’s Cork Film Festival.

Well now we’re delighted to announce that the lovely people at the festival have offered us a couple of pairs of tickets to see some real treats this weekend.

Up for grabs: a pair of tickets to see Married in Spandex (on Saturday evening) for one lucky winner, and a pair of tickets to see Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together (right, on Sunday afternoon) for another (yes, a second!) lucky winner.

We’ll be running our competition tomorrow, so check back to find out how you could be in with a chance to win.

Excitement!

Related posts:

1. Win tickets to OutLook!
2. OutLook competition winners!
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When we meet George as a romantic 18 year-old, she bounces into her tutor’s office to tell her that she has passed her exams. Apparently, this means that George can go to medical school and the two of them can be together.

Hmmm…teacher and pupil. Is this were we’re headed?

No sooner had the thought entered my head than we’re two years later and George is dropping out of college, no sign of the ex-teacher.

Then, boom, another year later and Gigola is living at the centre of the arty/drugged-up crowd in Paris’s Pigalle area. She is a tux-wearing butch who buys women off pimps in the disingenuous belief that she is freeing them. When we see her living this life first, she is the “daddy” of Dolly, a nutzo older cabaret artist who thinks her doll is her daughter. Gigola then meets a young prostitute on her way to becoming an alcoholic and pays off her pimp so she can transform this Dany woman into someone Gigola would like to be with.

Gigola knows that this life as a creature of the night, can’t continue. She’s lonely, her cool is turning to cold and she is convinced that there has to be more. Add to this a father who is addicted to gambling and a mother who is hoping Jesus is on her side, and something has to give.

It’s all gorgeous to look at and so completely French that you should get a string of garlic free with the DVD, but there is one huge problem with this film: the main character is completely unlikable.

I tried to like her, I really did. I was cheering on a butch in men’s clothing until she turned out to be more misogynistic than any of the men and, considering one of them is a pimp, that’s saying something.

It comes to pass that the teacher she loved as a young woman killed herself and this is used as the reason Gigola has had to become hard; to protect her heart. Sorry, but it’s too weak an excuse for so strong a woman.

Plus, her butchness is camped up to the nines. She has a monocle (that we don’t see thank god), she wears a cape and cummerbund and carries around a cane with a silver cobra head that she uses as a dildo.

There is something soulless about Gigola, the film and the character, it’s all substance and no heart. Even the earth-shattering decisions she makes at the end of the film are completely selfish and you feel zero sympathy for her.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oA3_KxrW0Q

Gigola is available to buy from PeccaPics

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2. Review: A Marine Story
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People of Cork, I envy you.

The Corona Cork Film Festival begins on Sunday, 6th November, and as part of the schedule several LGBT films comprise the OutLook programme.

Here are a few that have caught my eye:

She Monkeys (Apflickorna) | Sun, 6th Nov at 2pm
Also screening: Flyers

Distributed by our friends at Peccadillo Pictures, and directed by Lisa Aschan:

Aschan lifts the lid on a group of girls for whom gender is both a weapon and a toy, pushing the boundaries of political correctness to breaking point. Emma is a girl who likes to be in control. When she tries out for the local voltige (equestrian vaulting) team, she meets Cassandra, a strong, attractive and vivacious girl. As they get to know each other, they share a sense of wicked fun and quickly become best friends. But feelings of jealousy, competitiveness and sexual attraction have them pushing each other to their limits.

In Flyers, for one woman, a street flyer leads to a surprising discovery.

Hold On Tight | Thu, 10th Nov at 2pm (screening with Our Lips Are Sealed)

Hold On Tight is a short documentary directed by Anna Rodgers, who you may remember from her production work with director Aoife Kelleher on the Growing Up Gay TV series, and from BeLonG To’s Stand Up! campaign video which was co-directed with Aoife Kelleher and produced by Zlata Filipović.

When it comes to same sex relationships, showing your love outside of the home is sometimes a complicated personal choice. Filipović and Rodgers have teamed up again with Hold On Tight, which moves between the public and private spaces in which lesbian and gay couples live, and explores small gestures of human connectedness.

The film was screened as part of this year’s GAZE film festival, and subsequently throughout Ireland and abroad. It was honoured at the annual Iris Prize, and has been viewed by Sarah Waters. The Sarah Waters.

Go see it.

Married in Spandex | Sat, 12 Nov at 6:30pm
Also screening: And I Am Me

Directed by Allison Kole and Devin Gallagher, Married in Spandex gets is European premiere at OutLook:

Amanda and Rachel are determined to make their wedding day a unique and memorable affair. But, at a time when every same-sex wedding is seen as a political act, will everyone be cheering Amanda and Rachel’s offbeat nuptials?

The film’s directors will be attending the screening.

The short film, And I Am Me from the USA, is an honest portrayal of the relationship between a lesbian mum and her adopted Ethiopian son.

Jamie and Jesse Are Not Together | Sun, 13th Nov at 4pm
Also screening: Lust Life

Note #1: Hawt chicks alert.

Note #2: Didn’t we tell you this would be one to watch this year? Yes, we did:

“A queer romantic comedy (with musical numbers!). Jamie is moving from Chicago to New York hoping to become a famous actress. Her best friend and roommate, Jessica, isn’t happy about it, because she is losing more than a friend. Jessica is not-so-secretly in love with Jamie. Although Jamie doesn’t feel the same way, she has gotten used to Jessica’s attention. As moving day gets closer, Jessica tries to make Jamie jealous (and get her to stay in Chicago) by sleeping around with other girls. But Jessica’s plan backfires, in a way she could never imagine.”

Plus, there is Lust Life, a short by American director Lynda Tarryk, where a woman discovers that letting go of a painful past relationship helps her move forward.

How’s that for getting value out of your euro? So high-tail it down there!

Honourable mention:

Not an especially lesbian/bi/trans* offering, but highly acclaimed with one rave review after another, is Andrew Haigh’s Weekend, which has its Irish premiere on Wednesday, 9th November at 6pm. The director will also be in attendance.

Check out the festival websites for up-to-date times and locations!

• OutLook (web)
• OutLook (fb)
• Cork Film Festival (web)

Related posts:

1. GAZE 2011: Dublin International LGBT Film Festival
2. OutLook competition coming tomorrow!
3. OutLook competition winners!

In June, I reviewed Break My Fall. The film, set in Hackney, follows Liza and Sally as their relationship falls apart, taking dignity, boundaries and friendships with it. Writer and Director Kanchi Wichmann was kind enough to answer a few of my questions in time for Break My Fall to be released on DVD.

Break my Fall feels really intimate, the way it explores a dark kind of relationship that doesn’t look dark to anyone else. What made you want to tell that kind of a story? Despite being a fascinating film, it was hard to watch parts. Was it hard to write and film?

The way I see this film it is zeroing in on a small moment in the protagonists’ lives and magnifying it, kind-of stretching it out. I often say in Q&A’s when asked about the structure that these events would be 15 minutes of a more conventional film, but in mine they form the whole film. So yes it is intimate as we are really going in to their world almost minute by minute in some parts and that can also make it hard to watch because we as cinema goers are not used to that level of naturalism.

It wasn’t hard to write or film – well not more than any film is to make – but what was hard was convincing people to go with this story. I have actually toned down the abusive dynamic in their relationship a lot from earlier drafts and again in the edit because people were scared that it would be too much. So it’s actually very subtle and maybe that also makes it harder because you are not being hit over the head with the abuse and the violence, but you are shown it as something almost ordinary, which I personally feel is true to life – that they fight and then they go record shopping, but again maybe that makes it hard to watch because there is not the judgement we are used to being given in a film – like she is the bad guy and she is the victim, it’s actually pretty ambiguous.

The music in the film almost feels like a character itself (along with the Hackney location). Was it difficult to find the music that set the tone you wanted?

No, I always had a very clear idea about the music, and if you take the songs away from the film and play them in sequence like a kind-of mix tape they follow the emotional journey of the film. Plus they are all bands with girls and queers in which was important to me to reflect Liza and Sally’s world on another level.

I found it interesting that almost every character showed some kind of sexual fluidity in the film, and then were faced with the older lesbian they met in the bar who ranted about bisexuals. Do you think your characters transcend the traditional labels?

When I was writing the film strangely the whole sexual orientation labels thing just didn’t occur to me, but this is something that lots of (particularly lesbian) viewers have picked up on. That Sally shags Vin at the end and Kat tries to kiss Jamie are more evidence of their isolation, their desperation and their lack of boundaries, than of any change in sexual orientation.

In Break My Fall the two girls are not shown as belonging to a lesbian community as such, so therefore when they freak out and turn to those closest they happen to be boys. In terms of Mo (the older lesbian) we cut that scene down alot in the edit and I think she comes across as more stereotypical now than was my intention. Her purpose in the story is as a mirror to Liza’s character, which Liza in her emotional state fails to recognise, so Mo’s like a kind-of warning sign to Liza.

The person playing her is someone I know and those scenes are based upon my personal experience – when I was first going out on the gay scene as a young ‘outsider’ dyke I was often cornered by older butch women who would tell me all this personal stuff whilst taking drugs together. That scene is kind of like the arrogance of youth, that Liza thinks she’s better than this person, but by the end she’s fallen pretty hard herself. And also I love older butches, and I intend to shoehorn one into every film I make somehow. I think we should see more of them on screen than we do.

I’m dying to know, what do you think Liza had planned at the end?

Well, I see the end of the film as being the ‘beginning of the end’ of Sally and Liza’s relationship. After they’ve been to Liverpool Sally will go back to the flat and Liza will still be there and they will probably fight and fuck a few more times, but ultimately Liza, by getting out of the car, has said “OK I need to get out of this situation” and she has started to walk away. The film is about a break-up, but as I said earlier we only see that moment when it changes, not the whole break-up (which in typical lesbian fashion will probably go on for months!). I certainly don’t see Liza and Sally going to counselling and sorting it all out and living happily ever after, that’s not their story.

Break My Fall is out on DVD through Peccadillo Pictures; you can buy it from Amazon here

Related posts:

1. Review: Break My Fall
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Some of the clips I have seen are that of him walking with his partner, Jenny, and I am always amazed at the level of ignorance the people shouting questions have.  Things like what beer will you drink now you are a man and what strip clubs will you go to now -- Jesus Christ some people really are think as shit aren’t they?

One of the best interviews was on Oprah of course.  Winfrey’s new network, OWN, bought the rights to the documentary and Bono was interviewed on her show in May of this year just before it was aired.  After seeing this interview I was more determined than ever to see Becoming Chaz but I had tried to get it several times and failed.  Then to my delight it appeared on the programme for the Gaze film festival and I was all set.

The film was on in the Project Arts Centre in Dublin.  I love this venue although why the room was about a million degrees on this day I don’t know and why I wore a jumper I’m not sure either, but I had a packet of strawberry sherbets tucked in my bag, so I was alright!

The film was very personal and honest, I don’t just mean for Chaz himself but for everyone in his life, his partner, his friends, his mother, they all wore their hearts on their sleeves and you just have to admire them for that.  Chaz himself let the cameras follow him to the hospital for his top surgery and also to his home where he and Jenny had to take some time to get used to his new moods.  The whole thing was very understandable and you empathised with them both.  (clip from oprah.com available here).

You also see him working with young trans people and that was wonderful to see.  I must admit I hadn’t seen work like this before and it was incredibly uplifting to see the parents of these young people talk so openly.  We see him getting ready to go to court to have the gender changed on his documentation as well, at each step you are filled with happiness for this guy who is just trying to live his life in truth.

I don’t think this film ticks every box but to be fair I don’t think it tries to.  Chaz simply knew he couldn’t transition in private, being who he is, so he decided to go all out and show his story.  He is not claiming to represent anyone but himself and he does so with quiet dignity.  I would recommend this film as in the end it’s the tale of a man’s journey told sincerely, and that is always worth respecting.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLUy2L3PjQU

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1. Bono Dances Up a Storm
2. GLAAD Media Award Nominations 2012
3. Review: My Friend from Faro