Yes, summer doesn't officially begin until June 21, but the folks in Hollywood like to start things off early, so the summer blockbusters season is officially beginning. Last year, movies like Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Transformers, Ocean's 13 (and many others) took a lot of people to the movies, with total ticket sales amounting to almost $10 billion. This year, the grand total may not be that much, but with a little help from the following movies, it's likely to come close.

Here are the blockbusters you should watch out for, starting this week:

Speed Racer (May 9)

The cartoon series Speed Racer was a very successful adaptation of a Japanese anime originally called Mach GoGoGo. Still, I wouldn't make a movie out of it, but the Wachowski brothers thought it was a good idea. I really liked watching the show when I was a kid (seriously, how gay am I?), so I'm curious as to how they're going to adapt it. I'm also curious to see Trixie (Speed's girlfriend), played by Christina Ricci. Go Speed Racer, go!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (May 22)

Indiana Jones (and Harrison Ford) is finally back for the fourth film in the series. No, Indy doesn't have a cane yet, but we'll meet an older version of the character, obviously. However, the character I'm most looking forward to meeting (as are you, probably) is Agent Irina Spalko, the evildoer played by the lovely Cate Blanchett. Actually, she'll play a Soviet Union agent. How hot is that? Yeah, not much, I guess. But not so bad either, in a sexy dominatrix kind of way (see the pictures and you'll know what I mean.) They can certainly count on my 10 bucks! … continue reading

It’s that time of year again. Now celebrating its 22nd birthday, the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival will screen at the British Film Institute on London’s South Bank from March 27 to April 10, offering queer-themed shorts, documentaries, and feature films from around the world.

The Chinese Botanist's Daughter

You can view a complete list of the films on offer here. Among the ones reviewed or mentioned by AfterEllen.com are the romantic tragedy The Chinese Botanist’s Daughter (pictured above), the American TV pilot Don’t Go featuring Guinevere Turner, and the Oscar-winning short documentary Freeheld, about the fight of dying lesbian policewoman Laurel Hester to see her pension go to her partner Stacie Andree.

There’s also the Taiwanese romance Spider Lilies, the German drama Vivere, the French coming-of-age film Water Lilies, and the South African period romance The World Unseen.

The World Unseen

There’s the 1996 American documentary It’s Elementary — Talking About Gay Issues in School, and its 2007 follow-up, It’s STILL Elementary — The Movie and the Movement. And there’s the HBO film Life Support, starring Queen Latifah as an HIV-positive charity worker (although unfortunately her character isn’t a lesbian).

A program titled "The Face of Another: Imagining Lesbian Desire" offers a chance to see Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring fall in love in Mulholland Dr. It also includes films that explore female relationships but are not so overtly lesbian-themed, like Ingmar Bergman’s Persona and the Madonna–Rosanna Arquette flick Desperately Seeking Susan. … continue reading

OK, I'll admit it: I gave up on The Sarah Connor Chronicles after the third episode. For me, Lena Headey's hotness just couldn't make up for the convoluted story lines and John's terrible acting. But I know I'm in the minority, and plenty of people love the show.

Tonight's two-hour season finale has a very tantalizing description: "Sarah enters into a business deal with a mysterious partner." If only Piper Perabo were playing the partner.

Meanwhile, if real-life showdowns are more your style, there's another finale tonight: the women's college basketball Big East regular-season title game. UConn takes on Rutgers at 7/6c on ESPN2.

And there's one more face-off tonight — probably the most dramatic one. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett give female bonding a new meaning in Notes on a Scandal at midnight/11c on HBO2. The film polarized lesbian audiences (at least here on AfterEllen.com — see my take and Malinda's for examples), but no matter how you feel about it, you'll probably be fascinated.

 

Break out the bullwhip and dust off the fedora. Indy is back. And the lovable old coot has some great gals with him along for the ride. The teaser trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released last week, and while it may not show us a lot, it sure brings up a lot of nostalgia.

Well, gosh, that looks fun. Twenty-seven years after the first Indy adventure and nineteen years after its third and seemingly final installment, the franchise is back with a couple of new faces and a welcome old one. The teaser trailer gives us our first look at Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and Indy’s Raiders of the Lost Ark love interest Karen Allen in action. While the plot is rather hush-hush, the film is set in 1957, and Dr. Jones is up against Russian Cold Warriors, including Cate’s character, Agent Irina Spalko.

I have to send a huge thank-you bouquet to whoever listened to my pleas and put Cate in uniform. See, it never hurts to ask. Also, with her severe bob and order-barking attitude, I get a little dominatrix vibe off her Agent Spalko. Oh, and then there is her skill with a sword. Hello. … continue reading

The nominees for the 80th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning. The big question, though, is whether the Oscars broadcast will happen at all. It's slated for Feb. 24, which is, like, 5 minutes from now in writers' strike years. And the stakes are very high. As Lynette Rice of Entertainment Weekly puts it, "If putting the kibosh on the Globes put the hurt on NBC and made the world pay attention to the strike, imagine what stopping the 80th Annual Academy Awards would do?"

I hope they find a way for the show to go on. Meanwhile, here are the Best Picture nominees:

Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

That's right, Juno! Woo hoo! I still haven't seen Atonement. I liked Michael Clayton well enough, but not more than Juno. And I won't be seeing those last two very male-oriented films. So, yay, Juno!

Several other AfterEllen.com favorites nabbed some nods. Here are the actress categories: … continue reading

The writers' strike certainly made an impact on the Golden Globe Awards this year. No glitz, no glamour, no stars, no oops-Christine-Lahti-is-in-the-bathroom moments. Shots of the red carpet were replaced by shots of those red-and-black WGA picket signs. But, as cohost (and pinhead) Billy Bush noted, the winners still deserved recognition, so some sort of show had to go on. Here are some highlights of last night's Golden Globes Winners Special on NBC. (Images are from the press conference rather than the broadcast, but you get the idea.)

MOVIES

Best Actress, Comedy or Musical: Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose

Best Actress, Drama: Julie Christie, Away From Her
Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There

Best Actor, Comedy or Musical: Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Best Actor, Drama: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Best Picture, Comedy or Musical: Sweeney Todd
Best Picture, Drama: Atonement
Best Director: Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

TELEVISION

Best Actress, Drama: Glenn Close, Damages
Best Actress, Comedy: Tina Fey, 30 Rock … continue reading

Over the weekend, the National Society of Film Critics announced its 2007 honorees. Here are some of the winners:

• Best picture: There Will Be Blood
• Best director: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
• Best actress: Julie Christie, Away From Her
• Best supporting actress: Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
• Best actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
• Best supporting actor: Casey Affleck, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
• Best foreign-language film: Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days
• Best nonfiction film: No End in Sight
• Best screenplay: Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

These aren't exactly blockbusters. (Not a peep from Sweeney Todd, and no awards for Old Men either.) In fact, I've seen exactly one of these films: Away From Her. I'm glad Christie won for her mesmerizing performance.

And even though I'm not sure about I'm Not There, I do want to see Blanchett as Dylan: … continue reading

Yesterday ... er, two days ago (see, I'm still in a post-holiday fog), I posted the first half of what I watched over the break. Here's the rest.

8. Little Children

As a Kate Winslet fan, I was really looking forward to this one. But by the end, I was disappointed and even a little annoyed. The characters seem to create their own problems and not really learn anything from their experiences. And I'm not sure Winslet was the right choice for the role — not that I minded seeing her naked!

Here's a clip of Winslet shocking the other moms at the playground: … continue reading

Is it Monday? No? It sure feels like it. So here's some eye candy to help while away the day.

1. Annie Leibovitz snaps Cate Blanchett on the set of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:

I need that picture to be much, much bigger. (From Vanity Fair — see more here.)

2. All you need to know about Lost in 8 minutes and 15 seconds (ha): … continue reading

The nominations for the 2008 Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning, and there are many AfterEllen.com favorites among the nominees. Here are the highlights:

MOVIES

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama

• Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
• Julie Christie, Away From Her
• Jodie Foster, The Brave One





• Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
• Keira Knightley, Atonement

I'm thrilled to see Jodie on that list (especially considering the lukewarm reviews for The Brave One), but I'm even happier about Angelina's nomination. A Mighty Heart deserves a bigger audience, and Angelina deserves much more credit for her performance in it. I thought it was some of her finest work yet. Meanwhile, I can't wait to see Atonement — everybody's raving about it. … continue reading

On Mondays, I find it easier to look at pretty pictures than put together sentences. So here are some movie posters for your visual pleasure. (You could also call this a preview of 2008, which isn't looking great so far ...)

1. Hellboy II, starring Selma Blair:

I didn't see Hellboy, and even if I had, I probably wouldn't feel compelled to see the sequel. But Selma is mesmerizing in this poster. So I might reconsider. Her eyes, they follow me everywhere!

2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (the poster was just released today): … continue reading

The folks at Entertainment Weekly like their lists. And their latest list is a big one; so big that it warrants the cover of the print version. Declaring that “It's not about power anymore,” EW has presented us with “The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.” And guess what? Men are a lot smarter than women. Or, at least, there are a lot more smart men than women in Hollywood. Now, I'm not confident that I counted correctly because, you know, math is hard, but here are the numbers: There's exactly one woman (10 percent) in the top 10, two (8 percent) in the top 25 and 13 (26 percent) in the entire 50.

Meryl Streep, at No. 6, is the smartest woman in Hollywood — because she's managed to have a vibrant career after age 50.

The other 12 women are: 15. Amy Pascal, 26. Stacey Snider, 30. Jodie Foster, 31. Kathleen Kennedy, 32. Thelma Schoonmaker, 33. Angelina Jolie, 38. Diablo Cody, 39. Mary Zophres, 43. Beth Swofford, 45. Cate Blanchett, 47. Amy Powell and 49. Sarah Polley. (You can find the full list with explanations beginning here.) … continue reading

Earlier this week, Film Independent announced their nominations for the 2008 Spirit Awards. I'm still puzzled by last year's decision to curtail the name (originally the Independent Spirit Awards), and I always have trouble fathoming the cost of film (these particular budgets have to be under $20 million, which seems simultaneously huge and meager), but I appreciate that the nominations provide a relatively reliable guide to indie work worthy of recognition.

This year's most-nominated films are I'm Not There, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Juno, but it's an altogether strong crowd, including some films popular with AfterEllen.com readers.

Along with Julie Delpy's Best First Feature nod for 2 Days in Paris and the heartbreaking and well-deserved acknowledgment for Adrienne Shelly's Waitress screenplay, there are such usual suspects as cool-straight Cate Blanchett for her turn as Bob Dylan, wacky-straight Parker Posey (Broken English), and reportedly now-straight Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart). … continue reading

Covers of The Advocate are a tricky business. When I first came out in the late 1980s, the covers always featured men in kind of porn-y poses. The Advocate began featuring women sporadically in the early '90s and eventually moved to a sort of equal balance in recent years. Still, with the exception of 2005, most women featured on the cover of The Advocate are straight — or at least ostensibly straight. (This year, there hasn't been an out lesbian on the cover since February.)

When I got my most recent Advocate in the mail, however, I was not unhappy with the straight woman featured on the cover.

It seems that The Advocate has declared Cate Blanchett (also known as No. 48 on the AfterEllen.com Hot 100 list) the Coolest Straight [Person] of 2007. And I'm not going to argue with that. (AfterElton.com gave a sneak peak of this cover a while back.)

Except for Todd Haynes' gushing (“She's just so cool she calls 'straight' completely into question ... and you can quote me on that.”) about Blanchett's gender-bending turn in I'm Not There, it's not really clear why she warrants specific consideration by The Advocate. … continue reading

For reasons that have been lovingly discussed already, I've been looking forward to Elizabeth: The Golden Age. But for me, Cate Blanchett wasn't the only attraction; I've also been anxious to see Australian actress Abbie Cornish in action as she takes on her highest profile project yet. Some of you may know her from one film that she showed up in — or more accurately, disappeared in — the lesbian-themed The Monkey's Mask.

The last time I was in Australia, I caught part of Somersault, the coming-of-age film that won Cornish acting awards and international notice. I sort of remember Cornish playing a sixteen-year-old girl on a sexual journey (and that it was not a fun one), but what I most recall is being struck by Cornish's beauty and vulnerability on screen. These are qualities she brings to Elizabeth, in which she plays Bess Throckmorton, Elizabeth's favorite lady-in-waiting. … continue reading