Reverend’s Reviews: Show of Pride

Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s 1984 crackdown on miners and other members of British labor unions has already been documented to some degree in such films as Billy Elliot and The Iron Lady. CBS Films’ Pride, now playing in Los Angeles and New York before expanding nationally next month, reveals an inspiring, little-known aspect of this historical episode.

Moved by the plight of striking workers in a small Welsh town for whom mining provided the local economy, a group of gay and lesbian Londoners led by HIV+ activist Mark Ashton (Ben Schnetzer, last seen in The Book Thief) began to collect money as well as donations of food and clothing to send to the miners’ families. The recipients were initially perplexed if not outright offended by the notion of “fa—ots” coming to their aid, but over time the town’s residents and members of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (as they came to be called) learn to appreciate one another.

In addition to passionate turns by young, relative newcomers Schnetzer, George MacKay and Faye Marsay as the support group’s founding members, the movie boasts a top-drawer roster of British actors including Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West and Paddy Considine. Irish-born Andrew Scott supplies what may be the film’s most affecting performance as a gay man who dreads returning to his homophobic home country of Wales, no matter how good the cause. Nighy and Staunton also have a nice scene together in which they bare their characters’ secrets while making finger sandwiches.

Pride marks the first produced screenplay by actor-writer Stephen Beresford as well as only the second film directed by Matthew Warchus, better known as the guiding force behind Broadway’s God of Carnage and the hit stage musical Matilda. Their shared inexperience with filmmaking results in a number of one-dimensional characters, especially where the women are concerned, and less-than-subtle directorial flourishes. Still, Pride won the Queer Palm award for best LGBT-themed entry at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and succeeds greatly on the strength of its cast and undeniably powerful true story. It’s a real crowd-pleaser, so show your pride by seeing Pride.

Reverend’s Rating: B+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend’s Review: The Twilight-of-Life Zone

Los Angeles’s esteemed Center Theatre Group (CTG) has a daunting task getting word out about their current, world premiere production of Marjorie Prime without giving away any of its considerable twists and turns. I’ll do my best not to reveal any major spoilers herein, but suffice to say Rod Serling would approve of this engrossing and ingeniously-plotted play by young Orange is the New Black scribe Jordan Harrison.

It starts out like a fairly standard-issue dramedy about an elderly woman in an assisted living facility, Marjorie, who is experiencing the onset of dementia with its attendant memory lapses and potential hallucinations. As the play begins, Marjorie (played by the great character actress Lois Smith) is engaged in conversation with a younger vision of her late husband, Walter (Jeff Ward, fresh from his Broadway debut in Orphans opposite Alec Baldwin). Their affection for one another as they recount past experiences, beloved pets and their two children is palpable. The audience gradually learns that it is also more tangible than initially suspected.

We also gradually discover via subtle bits of information distributed like tantalizing bread crumbs that the play is set in the future, approximately 50 years from now. I expect a fuller understanding and appreciation of Marjorie Prime in this regard, as well as its more philosophical musings, will result from additional viewings. Marjorie’s daughter Tess (Lisa Emery, recently seen on Broadway in Harvey Fierstein’s Casa Valentina) and son-in-law Jon (Frank Wood) visit and add more dimensions to playwright Harrison’s central exploration of mortality, past losses and memory.

Director Les Waters clearly has a handle on the play’s content, including its more Twilight Zone-esque aspects. Although Wood’s performance suffered a glitch or two (one of them possibly the result of or related to a technical/lighting issue) on opening night, the cast is on the whole exceptional. The amazing, 83-year old Smith’s career has spanned 60 years on stage, film (her first movie role was as the barmaid in the 1955, James Dean version of East of Eden) and TV. In the latter medium, she is recognizable to fans of HBO’s recently-concluded True Blood as Sookie’s grandmother, Adele. It is nothing less than a privilege to see her working live and in person on the Mark Taper stage.

Providing the actors fairly minimalist but essential support is Mimi Lien’s set design. Its broad, blank backdrop beckons like a page or canvas waiting to be recorded on while, in the foreground, comfortable furniture in muted color tones supply the requisite nursing home feel. During the play’s final scene, however, the action manages to rise above the play’s previous confines both literally and figuratively.

More than a few of my fellow theatergoers didn’t quite know what to make of Marjorie Prime at the conclusion of its opening night performance. An older gentleman across the aisle stated bluntly “I didn’t understand it,” but “that was interesting” was a more common reaction. I noticed many people discussing it animatedly as I left the theatre, while my companion and I dissected it appreciatively during our drive home.

Marjorie Prime is playing at the Taper in LA now through October 19th. Tickets are available by calling 213-628-2772 or visiting the Center Theatre Group website. Those hungry for more thought-provoking, provocative theatrical fare should not miss it.

Reverend’s Rating: B+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend’s Reviews: The Naked Truth

As we learn watching I’m a Porn Star, the new movie from actor turned documentarian Charlie David, pornography in its various forms generates $13 billion in sales each year. This makes the porn industry more successful than the music industry and nearly as successful as the mainstream film industry. I’m a Porn Star (available now on DVDand streaming from Canteen Outlaws) exposes — pun intended — several of the popular names behind current gay porn.

David kicks things off with a brief but masterfully edited (by Diego Gomez) history of gay porn, which actually began in the 1920’s with a bold French film that depicted men having sex with other men as well as with women. This doc within the doc also notes the contributions of Bob Mizer, Kenneth Anger, Andy Warhol and Wakefield Poole, as well as the challenges presented to the industry by the AIDS pandemic and the more recent rise of pornographic websites, of which there are currently more than 300 million.

Viewers are then introduced (well, at least those not previously aware of their, ahem, talents) to Colby Jansen, Johnny Rapid, Rocco Reed and Brent Everett. Graphic highlights of their work including “money shots” are featured, but it is their personal backgrounds and stories that I found most revelatory. Jansen was a college undergraduate in physics, served in the Marine Corps (and admits to having killed people on behalf of the US) and worked at the Pentagon before starting to work in porn. He considers himself straight and is married to post-op transsexual porn actress Gia Darling. When not filming, Jansen is currently studying for his MBA.

Rapid is also straight and has a committed girlfriend. However, he defines himself as respectful and open-minded and has burned up many TV and computer screens as bottom to his frequent co-star, top Rafael Alencar (whom we learn is a dentist by day). Reed, meanwhile, defines himself as bisexual after first appearing in straight porn but eventually finding stardom as a gay porn bottom. Unlike most performers in the industry, Reed studied acting after discovering theatre while in high school although he first wanted to be a professional basketball player. Jansen, Rapid and Reed all comment on the “overwhelming number” of heterosexual men who do gay porn, though the obvious draw is that their producers typically pay more than straight porn producers. Plus, as Reed says with a chuckle, “Everyone’s a little bit gay.” A psychiatrist also weighs in on what draws men and women to do porn. (Editor's Note: both Jansen and Rapid have said they are bisexual in other interviews, while Reed infamously stated "I am not or never have been gay" upon his retirement from the porn industry last year.)

The film’s fourth subject, Brent Everett, deserves kudos for not only being the one self-proclaimed gay man featured but for also being the only performer who told his parents he was doing porn without them first accidentally discovering it for themselves. As a younger performer, his openness largely reflects his generation. Everett also reveals that his parents are swingers and more open-minded themselves. Impressively and amusingly, his are the only parents to date who have accompanied a performer to the annual gay video awards, of which Everett is a recipient.

I’m a Porn Star paints a generally rosy picture and avoids going into the more unpleasant aspects of the industry like the risk of HIV transmission, drug abuse and performer suicides. I have no doubt though that this documentary will find an eager audience.

Palm Springs’ Cinema Diverse Film Festival, taking place this weekend, marks the end each year of California’s LGBT fest circuit. As such, it largely screens movies that have already premiered at other festivals but it will have a few unique offerings. Among these are the world premiere of Matthew Ladensack’s Saugatuck Cures, which is presumably set in Saugatuck, Michigan, one of my fave gay getaways.

Also being screened is the dark thriller Violence of the Mind, which I was able to view in advance. It follows the exploits of attractive thrill killer Max (Jon Fleming) and his cute young protégé, Sebastian (Ryan Kibby, who rather hilariously but probably unintentionally goes cross-eyed whenever he “dies” during the film’s numerous fantasy sequences). After a few tentative efforts, the pair regularly begins to recruit hustlers online to have sex with and murder, not necessarily in that order. “I think it’s so hot that we’re exploring this together,” Sebastian excitedly confesses to Max, as if their actions were merely some light kink between the two of them.

The body count piles up, the script (by Daniel Rhyder) gets monotonous and the whole, very bloody film (directed by Alex Pucci) is pretty pointless in the end. It is set in LA/Hollywood but cuts awkwardly, for those of us in the know, to numerous Palm Springs locations like (the highly-recommended) Trio restaurant. What makes Violence of the Mind slightly worth recommending is its cast, which includes some familiar gay indie faces, and the unusually high quality of the acting for the gay horror genre. True, Kristian Steel, seemingly emulating Bronson Pinchot’s Serge from the Beverly Hills Cop movies, is an embarrassment as Max’s nosy, gay Latino neighbor but Shoniqua Shandai is refreshingly acerbic as a sassy co-worker of Sebastian. The film becomes truly and winningly engaging whenever she is onscreen, however briefly.

Speaking of sassy but moving from movies to music, we encounter singer-actress Isabel Rose. Her new album Trouble in Paradise, just released on CDand iTunes, is a cocktail party-ready treat. Working with an impressive array of Grammy winners like Chris Lord-Alge and Al Schmitt as well as popular remixers Frankie Knuckles and Eric Kupper, Rose channels 1960’s Las Vegas via opening track “Lot of Livin’ to Do” (from the musical Bye Bye Birdie), “Never Satisfied” and the Peter Gunn theme (who knew it had lyrics?). She covers more recent/contemporary songs including Neil Sedaka’s “Love Will Keep Us Together” (popularized in the 1970’s by The Captain & Tennille), “Reflections” and “Miracle,” the latter written by Michael Buble collaborator Alan Chang. Trouble in Paradise is definitely worth a download or purchase, and be sure to also check out Rose’s terrific YouTube video co-starring drag divas Hedda Lettuce, Ivy Winters and Paige Turner!

Reverend’s Ratings:
I’m a Porn Star: B
Violence of the Mind: C
Trouble in Paradise: B+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend’s Reviews: Death Becomes Them?

Suicide, sibling abandonment, adultery and pedophilia might seem like awfully heavy subjects for a movie starring Saturday Night Live vets Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig plus Modern Family’s Ty Burrell. Meet The Skeleton Twins, now playing in US theaters. Hader and Wiig play the title characters, whose actual names are Milo and Maggie Dean. Their adolescence damaged by their father’s suicide and Milo’s sexual abuse at the hands of one of their teachers, Maggie and Milo have spent ten years apart on opposite coasts basically giving each other the silent treatment.

After Milo (who is gay) attempts suicide, however, Maggie flies to LA and reunites with her brother. She invites him back to their hometown in upstate New York to live during his recovery with her and her devoted husband, Lance (the always likable Luke Wilson). It doesn’t take long for trouble to start brewing between Maggie and Milo again, especially once Milo resumes a sexual relationship with the disgraced instructor (Burrell) Milo considers his first love. But by film’s end, the twins come to a new appreciation of their ultimately unbreakable, warts-and-all bond.

The screenplay by Craig Johnson (who also directs) and Mark Heyman is generally sensitive and heartfelt. Those viewers who may be attracted to The Skeleton Twins expecting a load of laughs will be disappointed. Even I found it darker than expected with all its suicides and suicide attempts (there is another before the film is over), and this unfortunately prevented me from fully enjoying or loving it. I was impressed though by all the performances, especially Bill Hader’s. His unapologetically gay Milo is also nicely nuanced, especially when compared with the flamboyant, hilarious Stefan character Hader occasionally played on SNL. All in all, it is good to see this usually comedic cast do some truly dramatic work.

Agatha Christie couldn’t have concocted a more intriguing 1930’s-set murder mystery than the one spotlighted in Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller‘s The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden. Now available on DVD and VODfrom Zeitgeist Films, it is one of the best-made documentaries of the year as well as one of the most intriguing.

This stranger-than-fiction saga begins in 1929, when Dr. Friedrich Ritter and his mistress, Dore Strauch, abandoned their native Germany to begin life anew on the remote, initially uninhabited Galapagos island of Floreana. Fortified with little more than the clothes on their backs and inspired by the self-actualization theories of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, the vegan pair carved out a decent life for themselves from their environment’s flora and fauna.

Paradise would too soon be lost, however, as word of this new “Adam and Eve” (and possible nudists to boot) got back to Europe. Other settlers arrived on Floreana and neighboring Santa Cruz, which was 60 miles away, within a few years. Some of them were fellow Germans fleeing Hitler and the impending World War II. The most colorful and contentious of Dr. Ritter and Dore’s new neighbors were Baroness Eloise von Wagner and her two attractive “servile gigolos,” Robert and Rudolf, both of whom she slept with at the same time. The baroness quickly declared the island her property and even starred in a movie made about her exploits, footage of which is included in the documentary.

In 1934, von Wagner and Robert inexplicably disappeared amidst Rudolf’s allegations that they were abusing him. Most suspected Rudolf of murdering the pair and disposing of their bodies. Rudolf subsequently left the island with a Norwegian sailor but they never reached their destination. Dr. Ritter himself fell ill and died soon after while Dore, afflicted with multiple sclerosis, returned to Europe.

The filmmakers’ use of archival footage is masterful, and is further brought to life through readings from the principal players’ journals by the starry likes of Cate Blanchett, Diane Kruger, Connie Nielsen, Thomas Kretschmann and Josh Radnor. Interviews with several still-living subjects as well as modern-day social anthropologists are also well employed. From these, we viewers gain such educational pearls as “you can’t leave civilization without being punished” and “Paradise is not a place; it’s a condition.” Richly observant (including of the unique wildlife that calls the Galapagos Islands home) and absolutely engrossing, The Galapagos Affair should not be missed.

Reverend’s Ratings:
The Skeleton Twins: B
The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden: A-

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend's Interview: Julian Walker Soars in Blackbird

College student and inexperienced actor Julian Walker turns in a terrific lead performance in Patrik-Ian Polk's Blackbird as Randy Rousseau, a young and devout Christian coming to terms with his homosexuality. This thoughtful yet sexy drama by the creator of Noah's Arc will screen in Long Beach, California on Saturday, September 13th as part of the 2014 QFilm Festival. Walker recently chatted with Reverend via e-mail about his film debut.

CC: Congrats on your great work in Blackbird! What was the experience making it like for you?
JW: Hey, thank you so much. Making this film was one of the best experiences of my life. Working with such a talented cast and crew on my first film ever made the days go so smoothly.

CC: Were you familiar with Larry Duplechan's novel on which the film is based or did you read it during your preparation? If so, how does the movie differ from the novel, in your opinion?
JW: I wasn't familiar with the novel before filming. Once I found out about it I quickly wanted to learn more information about Randy and his friends so I went to find it. In the book, the time frame (the 1970's) is much different and it takes place in California (the movie is set in Mississippi). I'm happy Patrik brought the story to the south with a modern time period.

CC: I understand you auditioned online for the part of Randy. Tell me about the audition and casting process.
JW: Yes, I did audition online and I didn't really know how it do it so Patrik and I agreed that it wasn't the best audition video out there (laughs). One of my friends informed me about the part and emailed me the link to send the video to. My best friend and I sat down on my Mac and recorded myself doing the lines. Luckily, after Patrik saw my video he gave me pointers and what I should do differently. Thankfully, he gave me a chance!

CC: What was your reaction when you learned you got the part?
JW: I found out I got the role maybe four or five days before filming began. Patrik gave me a script and told me to constantly study it all day, everyday, a week before finding out. I was speechless, nervous and in shock. I thought I was just going to be this little rookie on set and everyone was going to say "Who is this kid?", but it wasn't that way at all.

CC: In what ways is the character of Randy similar to you, and in what ways are you different?
JW: I related to Randy on so many levels. We've all had that one high school crush who we thought was the "love of our life." Also, being a gay young man I understand the denial and the cost of not facing the truth. I'm happy that my mother isn't as strict as Randy's mom and my father wasn't as absent as Randy's father.

CC: Were you afraid or intimidated at all while playing some of the more intimate or revealing scenes in the film?
JW: Yes! Patrik told me from the beginning what was going to take place and his vision. I was thinking "OMG, everyone's going to see me doing stuff," (laughs). So, I didn't think about it until I absolutely needed to.

CC: What was it like working with Academy Award winner Mo'Nique and Isaiah Washington (who play Randy's parents)?
JW: Mo'Nique and Isaiah were so amazing. Wow! I was so afraid to meet them but they welcomed me with open arms. They were so loving and willing to give me any advice I was curious about. I love them so much and am so thankful for not only them but everyone on set. They were all so talented.

CC: Were you familiar with Noah's Arc or Patrik-Ian Polk's other work before Blackbird? What have you learned from him about acting and/or directing?
JW: I was a very big fan of Noah's Arc. Me and my close friend stayed up all night watching both seasons. I wasn't as familiar with Patrik but I knew what he's done in the past. He's taught me so much about this acting world, especially what to look out for and how to make a proper audition video. He's such a great mentor and friend. I thank God he has placed Patrik in my life not just for this role but the encouragement, love and drive he has given me. He believed in me more than I believed in myself at times.

CC: Are you working on something new? What are your long-term goals?
JW: Currently, I'm finishing my last year of college so I'm beyond excited about that. I also have some engagements coming up soon so I'm excited for what's to come.

Interview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend's Preview: Premieres & Award Winners at QFilm Fest

One can think of this month’s Long Beach QFilm Festival as coming at the tail end of the LGBT fest circuit, or one can think of it as kicking off the annual awards-consideration fest circuit along with the concurrent Toronto Film Festival. At any rate, the 21st Long Beach event will take place September 12th-14th at the historic Art Theatre and adjoining LGBTQ Center on 4th Street’s famed “retro row.” Festival passes and individual film tickets can be purchased now at the QFilm website.

The QFilm Fest annually offers a diverse mix of national and regional premieres, films already receiving acclaim at other film festivals and potential award winners. Several movies that will be making their Long Beach premieres have already won awards at Outfest and Berlinale, two of the largest film festivals in the world. These don’t-miss gems are Appropriate Behavior, an NYC-based comedy about the romantic misadventures of a bisexual Iranian-American woman; The Circle, an inspiring docudrama that explores one of the earliest international gay organizations and the enduring love between one of its founding couples; and the documentary short Families Are Forever, depicting a young gay man’s coming out to his Mormon parents. QFilms’ jury could potentially contribute additional awards to these filmmakers’ mantels.

A number of features to be screened in Long Beach have not been seen in California or even the US before. Prominent among these is Happy End?!, a winningly unpredictable comedy-drama from Germany that will be making its US premiere. It is about two women, the young and naïve Lucca and a worldly musician named Val, who cross paths at a hospice home for the terminally ill. They grow close during a perilous road trip they embark together on to honor the last wishes of a recently-deceased patient. The women are aided in their quest by a cute gay dance student who identifies himself as “Germany’s Billy Elliot.” Happy End?! will screen the afternoon of Sunday, September 14th and should not be missed.

Making its Southern California premiere on QFilms’ opening night is a similar crowd-pleaser, My Straight Son. This Venezuelan film, known in its native country as Azul Y No Tan Rosa or Blue and Not So Pink, carefully balances deep emotions (you will want to have tissue handy) and hilarity. Much of the latter is provided by a trans character who longs to be a TV talk show host. Its central story concerns a gay man struggling to bond with his heterosexual teenaged son from a previous relationship with a woman. The film won Spain’s coveted Goya Award for Best Spanish-Language Foreign Film.

Two revealing documentaries will be having their West Coast premieres during the fest. Shunned, screening on Saturday the 13th, examines the challenges faced by gay and trans men in the Philippines as told through personal accounts and musical interludes. Meanwhile, Power Erotic is a no-holds-barred look at the appeal M on M dominance and submission hold for some gay, bi and even straight men. It will screen on Sunday the 14th.

The inclusion of trans characters and subjects is increasing in LGBT films and festivals, and this year’s QFilm Fest is no exception. In addition to My Straight Son and Shunned, trans men and women are prominently featured in Boy Meets Girl, which will be making its Los Angeles area premiere the night of Saturday the 13th, and the documentary Transvisible: Bamby Salcedo’s Story. A festive Sunday brunch for pass and ticket holders will take place on the 14th prior to the 12:30 screening of Transvisible, and all youth under 21 will be admitted to this documentary for free.

Blackbird, the new film by Noah’s Arc creator Patrik-Ian Polk, was shown once in Los Angeles earlier this year but QFilms will serve as this exceptional film’s second Southern California screening on Saturday night. A coming of age tale set in the southern US, it stars Oscar winner Mo’Nique (Precious) and Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy) as the parents of a young gay black man struggling to accept himself. (See our interview with lead actor Julian Walker next week.)

There is truly something for everyone at this year’s fest, including some films that can’t be seen anywhere else currently. Terrific receptions precede or follow virtually all the screenings as well. All net proceeds from QFilms support the non-profit LGBTQ Center of Long Beach’s numerous, needed programs. Be there and feel like an award winner yourself!

Here is the complete 2014 QFilm Festival schedule. Please note that Q&A talent availability is subject to change.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12th
7:00pm - Appropriate Behavior (Long Beach premiere) at the Art Theatre.
8:00pm-10:30pm - Opening Night Party at the Center.
9:15pm - My Straight Son (Southern California premiere) at the Art Theatre preceded by short film No No, Homo.
11:15pm -1:00am- After Party at the Center.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th
12:30pm - Letter to Anita at the Art Theatre preceded by short film The L Riders and followed by Q&A with filmmakers and cast members.
1:15pm - "Queer Shorts" Short Films Program at the Center featuring How Do You Know,  But I’m a Genderqueer, Jackie, The Falceto Jazz Club, To Sit With Her, Rad Queers: Payasos L.A., Spankin, You’re Dead to Me and Aoi Oni Nekyia. Followed by Q&A with filmmakers and cast members.
2:30pm - Cupcakes (Long Beach premiere) at the Art Theatre preceded by short film If We Took a Holiday and followed by Q&A with If We Took a Holidayy filmmakers and cast members.
3:45pm - Shunned (West Coast premiere) at the Center preceded by short film To Sit With Her
5:00pm - Out in the Night (Long Beach premiere) at the Art Theatre.
5:45pm - "Boys in Briefs" Men’s Short Films Program at the Center featuring Barrio Boy, Spooners, City of the Damned, Foreign Relations, Sex Date, Families Are Forever and Word of the Day. Followed by Q&A with filmmakers and cast members.
7:00pm - Boy Meets Girl (Los Angeles area premiere) at the Art Theatre.
8:00pm-10:30pm - Saturday Night Party at the Center.
9:15pm - Blackbird (Long Beach premiere) at the Art Theatre.
11:20pm -1:00am- After Party at the Center.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14th
11:30am-1:00pm - Brunch at the Center (free with festival pass or ticket to Transvisible).
12:30pm - Transvisible: Bamby Salcedo's Story (Long Beach premiere) at the Art Theatre preceded by short film Jackie and followed by Q&A with the filmmakers (Note: All youth under 21 will be admitted to this screening free of charge).
1:30pm - Mama Rainbow (Long Beach premiere) at the Center.
2:45pm - Happy End?! (US premiere) at the Art Theatre.
3:30pm - "Women in Shorts" Women’s Short Films Program at the Center featuring Nancy from Eastside Clover, Lesbian Language Camp, Eyes That Don’t See, Shameless, Through the Window, Chaperones, You’re Dead to Me and Sandrine. Followed by Q&A with filmmakers and cast members.
5:00pm - The Circle (Long Beach premiere) at the Art Theatre.
6:05pm - Power Erotic (West Coast premiere) at the Center.
7:30pm - Tru Love (Los Angeles area premiere) at the Art Theatre.
7:30pm-10:30pm - Closing Night Party at the Center.

UPDATE: See the comments section below for the winners of this year's Long Beach Qfilm Festival.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Monthly Wallpaper: September 2014 - Let's Hear It For the Boy

Let's hear it for the boy this month with the September Calendar Wallpaper from Movie Dearest!

Our salute to popular boy characters from some of our favorite movies stars such future leading men as Christian Bale, Jamie Bell and Roddy McDowell and features such familiar names as Andy Hardy, Mowgli and Harry Potter.

All you have to do is click on the picture above to enlarge it, then simply right click your mouse and select "Set as Background". (You can also save it to your computer and set it up from there if you prefer.) The size is 1024 x 768, but you can modify it if needed in your own photo-editing program.