Yesterday afternoon I was eager to see the anticipated New York Times best seller turned Blockbuster hit “I Am Number Four”. I most recently finished the book and looked forward to see the story come to life on the movie screen. Unfortunately, not only did the movie fail to live up to the legacy left by its inspiration, the movie was slightly painful and awkward to sit through. I had a similar sensation when I went to the opening premiere of “Eragon”. Oddly enough, Eragon also begin as a New York Times best seller young adult fantasy novel and the movie too lacked the magic that drew audiences to the book in the first place. I remember convincing a few of my frat brothers – yes once upon a time I was in a fraternity … well a gay one, but none the less – to go see Eragon with me. Skeptical of talking CGI dragons and a dubious storyline, it took a few bribes, tons of begging, and an act of God to even get them into the theater. What ensued then was two hours of sheer embarrassment; I was embarrassed to be watching the movie and embarrassed that I convinced six other people to witness the devastation with me – six people who still haven’t let me forget about it

The movie was in general disappointing and at times boring. Alex Pettyfer plays John Smith, an orphaned alien on the run with his guardian, from a race of killer aliens. Though gorgeous beyond question, Pettyfer lacked any depth or emotional complexity. He spoke in the same monotone voice throughout the majority of the movie. Dianna Argon plays Sarah, the once cheerleader and former girlfriend to the quarterback, who realized her boyfriend and friends were shallow and decides to turn her focus toward photography and a life out of Paradise, Ohio. She played an exact copy of her GLEE character Quinn and brought nothing new nor original to the character. The best parts of the movie involved John’s adorable magically-transforming beagle and the sassy attitude of Number Six. Alex and Dianna’s on-screen romance was stagnant and inauthentic and audiences found themselves chuckling at the obviously clichéd lines. Perhaps that is why Alex and Dianna broke up in real life, no chemistry – that or they were mortified by each other’s on screen performance.    

So I am about to go on a geeky rant about the pitfalls of the movie. If you intend on seeing the movie and wish to be “surprised” then read no further and good luck, perhaps you will have a different interpretation than I.

In the book one of the first appearances of John’s power is a bright light that shines from his hands. Aptly named “Lumen”, meaning light in Latin, this is a typical first Legacy to inherit. Apparently in movie world a power like that translates into freaking laser beams and the ability to re-charge a fallen comrade. Similarly one of the coolest parts of having this perhaps seemingly uncool power is that it made John resistant to heat and fire, which the directors neglected to include in the movie.

Secondly, the Mogadorians in the book are a creepy and incredibly powerful race of super aliens. They were able to take down an entire planet full of people with super powers. In the book, the authors build tension and emphasize the importance of keeping hidden from the Mogs because they are so hard to kill. The movie makes them out to be a band of easily disposed of storm troopers. An epic moment in the book centers on John’s first encounter battling a Mog – a battle that zaps John of all of his strength and nearly kills him. John and the intrepid Number 6 were able to take down all of the bad guys – of which there were about 8 - in a matter of minutes in some sci-fi Rambo action flick. Umm excuse me, if these awful evil super aliens are so easily defeated … why are you running? Also, if you are a Mog and these children could be the key to your downfall, wouldn’t you send your entire army to ensure their demise, not a skeleton crew of idiots?

I understand that movies cannot entirely capture every element of the book, but seriously. Why, when you basically have a script in hand do you feel the need to alter important plot details such as, oh I don’t know, unnecessarily killing one of the main characters for dramatic effect. Henri, John’s grizzly alien protector, is anti-climatically killed during the end of the movie for no good reason. In the book, Henri was a protector who not only raised and loved John as his own son but trained and helped John hone his new powers so that he might one day be strong enough to battle the Mogs. In the movie, John acquired his powers with little or no problems or side effects, received no training on how to control his powers, and Henri served as the generally creepy man who found photos and videos of John on the internet and deleted them – way to cut out about 65% on the novel.

What is most troubling is that, aside from the Harry Potter series, very few teen fantasy novels have successfully translated from the text to the silver screen.  More often than not, directors rely on a hot blonde male lead and dazzling special effects to confuse audiences into thinking the movie is actually good.  Movie adaptations for critically acclaimed teen fantasy novels “City of Bones” – also starring Alex Pettyfer - and “The Hunger Games” are already in production. I just hope that they are even marginally better than “I Am Number Four” and Hollywood does not continue to butcher and distort these popular and loved books. 

Final recommendation is to wait until I Am Number Four arrives at Redbox and watch it then ... and even then approach with caution. If you are looking for answers to life, comedic relief, or a compelling and engaging story, then watch Dogma and forgo this movie experience. 

The science fiction community is all atwitter over Syfy's new supernatural drama "Being Human". The show, which premieres Monday January 17th at 9/8c, premiered as a BBC original program that followed the lives of three 20-something supernatural beings - a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost - as they attempt to navigate the complexities of life while dealing with their deep dark secret. At first, I must admit I was skeptical. Syfy is typically renown for terrible made-for-TV movies, an infinite number of "Stargate" reincarnations, and the odd WWE wrestling show. Syfy is not generally known for their quality programming. When I saw the previews, I assumed that Syfy- like so many parties at the moment - was attempting to cash in on "vampire" fever with this show.

However, after researching the show more and previewing some of the promos, I am actually extremely excited for this show. I am many things in life, but at my core I am a large nerd and it doesn't take much to entertain me. Start with some hot supernatural creatures in a remote Eastern United States coastal town, throw in some unrequited love affairs, and a flamboyant villain from time to time and I am happy. However it is a rarity for a sci-fi piece to engage me. Syfy is offering their own creative spin on some classic themes. 

The show is essentially a coming-of-age tale where supernatural beings are attempting to find balance in both of their worlds. Their trivial, mundane human problems allow us as audience members to relate to them as characters while simultaneously their other worldly experiences excite us with their foreignness.  Here are a few places though, in my opinion, that "Being Human" will break away from their contemporaries. In every piece of SCi-Fi that comes out at the moment werewolves and vampires are pitted against one another and established as mortal enemies often no rationale is given as to why this feud exists. In this show, the main vampire and main werewolf are not only roommates but co-workers as well and have a bit of a bromance relationship. I am excited to see this new development and intrigued to see where they go with the story line. Keeping in line with other TV/Movie vampires, Aiden - played by the hunky Sam Witwer - is tall dark and brooding, just the way I like my vampires. However Josh,  the werewolf in this show is not some butch, hairy, steroid-popping muscle man. Instead he is the adorable, slightly nerdy & awkward guy next door. Perhaps the biggest deviation from the norm is the incorporation of ghosts into the TV show. For all the supernatural shows/movies out there, ghosts often do not make the cut. Sally, the intrepid ghost of our show, demonstrates great promise. Due to the fact that ghosts are generally left alone, Syfy will have a lot of flexibility in how they develop the storyline of this character.

Not if they look like this .....

So a couple of days I posted a facebook status inquiring whether it was morally, socially, culturally wrong for me to have the biggest crush ever on Michael Bolton. Not-long-hair-hippie-looking-when-a-man-loves-a-woman Michael Bolton but the short haired gentleman caller Michael Bolton.

I was shocked by the amount of response I got from people that were not loving Michael Bolton. It got me thinking. I have always been attracted to the gentlemen in my life with a little bit of salt and pepper in their hair.

I think there is nothing wrong with being attracted to the confidence, stability, and experience that older men tend to exude. I also think that there is a difference between the silver fox that is Anderson Cooper and say the silver fox that Dick Cheney wishes he was. Also gentlemen of an older persuasion tend to have a little bit more meat on them than young toothpick twinks. I think another reason why I gravitate toward the older gentlemen callers is that deep down inside I am secretly Blanche Deveroux trapped in the body of an early 20s gay man … which might sound slightly redundant … but I still feel partly plays into my taste level. 

So I have decided to outline my favorite Silver Foxes that have grabbed the love, adoration, and sexual attention of women and gay men throughout the world.

Anderson Cooper, Michael Bolton, George Clooney, Sting, George Michael, Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Richard Gere (during his Chicago Days), Colin Firth, and Donnie Osmond just to name a few.

We love these men for their slightly grizzled features, the touch – or in some cases a little bit more than a touch – of gray that gives them a distinguished look about them. It gives the appearance of experience but not so much that you believe that they have been rode high and left out to dry.

So say what you want about my taste – or sometimes lack thereof – but I would choose a sophisticated, intelligent, mature mans any day. Also, liking men with a little salt and pepper in their hair guarantees that I will always be the younger one in the relationship ;)

.... and by God I mean Nick Carter.

Couple of nights ago I fulfilled an old childhood dream of mine - to see the Backstreet Boys in concert. My friend Jeanine, as a belated birthday present, booked myself and a few of our dear friends a center orchestra booth for the show.

We of course began the night with the Grand Sierra Resort buffet, a time-honored tradition of our group. Once again, it was made blatantly obvious that most people do not know how to navigate a freaking buffet. Like deer caught in some mother effing headlights, people walk into a buffet, and instantly stop moving. Here's some advice - DON'T STAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AISLE WAY. Yes I understand that the 12 different salad options can be a bit overwhelming, but seriously.

We then slowly filtered our way into the theater amidst the gaggle of screaming pre-teen girls, the screaming women that were pre-teens a decade or so ago, hyperventilating gay boys, and the straight boys who seemed to have been dragged along by their girlfriends. Although, I am of the opinion that the straight boys actually wanted to be there. Deep down, I believe that everyone has a special place for boy bands in their heart.

The show had one opening act - somebody named ChristianTV. ChristianTV was a tall giant with a long mullet who hopped around the stage like one of those German jumper dancers. It's not that he was bad .... it's just that the best part of his act was the noticeably hot DJ wearing a fashionable gray suit and skinny tie. Apparently the crowd shared my sentiment, as only three girls stood up and cheered the mullet-loving, cheetah-print-wearing, hipster wannabe. Perhaps I am being critical, but only because he was standing between me and the Backstreet Boys.Also his hit song "When she turns 18" did not sit well with the target population of the audience. 

Finally the moment had arrived and the Boys took the stage, It was only 4 of the members - Kevin Richardson was not present ... but who really cares, no one really comes to a Backstreet Boys concert to see him, unfortunate, but true.

It was an incredible concert. Time has been good to the Boys. Though their hair was thinning a little and AJ was a little thicker, they still retain their dreamy good looks and I certainly would have pummeled everyone in my path to get to them.

They delivered a fantastic concert that did not disappoint old and new fans alike. I sometimes hate it at concerts when they don't play all of their hits and try to trick us and throw in some of their new material. NO, just give us what we want, then and only then, is it acceptable to send new material our way. When they broke into "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" I literally burst into tears and sobbed like a little girl. It felt like a strange religious experience. This is what it must feel like when people find Jesus in their peanut butter tin. As they were singing, a rising sun background crept up the screen illuminating the gorgeous and chiseled features of Nick Carter. In the immortal words of my friend Nicole "I think one of my eggs just dropped!" It was a wonderful trip down memory lane to a time where the biggest debate of the day ws whether NSYNC or BSB was the best. I of course, being an equal opportunity employer, wanted both at the same time!

I hope that everyone has a fantastic 4th of July weekend!!!

In celebration and appreciation of my future husband of life Zac Efron and him coming out with a brand new movie in a month - Charlie St. Cloud -, I attribute my happy Zen moment for the day to him .... for very obvious and bulging reasons. It's kind of painful how hot he is.

Google Imaging Alexander Skarsgard and seeing this picture pop up makes me feel better. I have spent all day biking around the city of Reno looking fo gainful employment. With a few moments of peace before rehearsal tonight, I decided to read the latest installment in the Sookie Stackhouse Series - DEFINITELY DEAD - and started wondering: what is going on with the 3rd season of True Blood?

I have seen advertisements for the show more frequently thus informing me that the premiere is shortly upon us. The first episode of the season premieres June 13th, 9:00pm on HBO. A number of photos, miniepisodes, and trailers have been leaked over the past couple of weeks. The major introductions of this season are going to Werewolves - Alcide is a delicious burly football player of a man - and the King of Mississippi. In the book, the King of Mississippi is supposed to be this flaming queen of a King so I cannot wait to see what they do with his character. Here is a link to some spoilers for the first three episodes of the Season if you are interested.

So after a day of answering grueling questions, it was nice to come home and stare at Alexader Skarsgard and imagine all the beautiful above average strawberry blonde children we would have together. I am thinking of starting a new segment on my blog entitled "Ginger's Future Husbands". An exhaustive list, Alexander ... and of course Zac Efron ... would be at the top of the list.

Grey's anatomy is working on wrapping up the 6th season of their epic series. I remember when Grey's Anatomy first come out and avidly watched it like it was crack cocaine and I was Whitney Houston. I remember Addison, the Bomb Episode, Songs by the Fray, Denny dying, Burke getting shot, and of course the ridiculously hot men that parade around Seattle Grace. Then I had the realization that the only reason that I still watch Grey's Anatomy anymore is on the offhand chance that Eric Dane - Dr. McSteamy - will find himself without clothes on. I realized that McSteamy helped me survive Seasons 5 and 6 when all I wanted to do was thrown in the towel and be done with it. Now, Jesse Williams is on the show - as Dr. Jackson Avery - as a hot resident with a famous family. 

I watch the shows now pretty uninterested and apathetic to the plot lines, I no longer cry at the drop of a hat, and pretty much only watch hoping that some day Dr. McSteamy and Jackson engage in some primal animalistic passionate gay sex affair.

That being said, I will probably continue watching Grey's Anatomy to its bitter end just because I have devoted 6 years of my life to this show and what's a few more. Also, for closure's sake I need to know how everything ends and pans out. And with that ... MORE PHOTOS!!!

       Hmmmmm Not quite sure what was going on at this party but I am sad that my invitation was lost in the mail. Again not making any assumptions about his personal life, but he would make a great addition to the home team & and look how comfortably and naturally he fits in ;) Although I think if I actively tried to convert Matthew Morrison my straight girlfriends would probably hit me down and beat my ass with a bedazzled wand and destroy all my tiaras.

Here on the left, he is in a production of Million Miles - a new off-Broadway show. He looks a little bit like Gyllenhaal - right around the Jarhead period. He just looks so manly and rugged in these photos and the pickup truck that he is standing on - and invariably singing on as well - completes the whole picture.

Then on our right we have the sensitive and thought-provoking shot of him. Look at him dreamily staring at the camera, hmmmm to quote the immortal Blanche Deveroux "I'm jumpier than a virgin at a prison rodeo!!"

GLEE came into my life an a very important juncture in my life. The High School Musical trilogy had come to a close and I was desperately seeking upbeat breakaway pop hits and flashy musical numbers … and then GLEE entered the picture. It was safe to say that all my friends and I were addicted from the second the show begin. Of course, the defining moment for us was the final number – Journey's Don't Stop Believing. The rendition brought tears to my eyes and promptly my roommate and I rewinded the episode on our DVR 15 times or so to watch the epically moving and awe-inspiring performance. From then on the show has read my mind and has transformed some of my favorite jams into show stopping numbers leaving me all sorts of verklempt. Everything from “No Air”, “Somebody to Love”, “Endless Love”, “Don't Rain on my Parade”, and of course “Defying Gravity”.

Ecstatic, would be an understatement, for how I felt about the premiere of GLEE. Too long I had gone without new GLEE numbers to add my itunes. In some ways it's scary how much the producers of GLEE are specifically tailoring the song choices in the show to fit MY needs. I swear it's some weird mind connection bullshit, where they see the most played songs in my itunes library and then redoing them in a more perfect way. For example, this week's episode had Mercedes and an entire cheerleading squad belting Christina Aguilera's “Beautiful” - I nearly fainted from the flood of emotions.

I was doing some research online to find out the songs that were featured in this week's episode of GLEE entitled “Home”. Guest starring Kristen Chenowith, the show featured a beautiful perform of Kurt singing “A House is Not a Home” and a duet between Chenowith and Morrison to “One Last Bell to Answer”. As I was doing research online I came across news that the release of the 3^rd album the GLEE enterprise is set to unveil in mid-May. the CD is entitled “SHOWSTOPPERS”. I immediately had the gay gasp and frantically began perusing the songs they have coming up for the rest of the show. Here is the lineup:

1) Hello, Goodbye
2) Gives You Hell
3) Hello
4) A House Is Not A Home
5) One Less Bell To Answer / A House Is Not A Home
6) Beautiful
7) Home
8) Physical
9) Total Eclipse of the Heart
10) Lady Is A Tramp
11) One
12) Rose’s Turn
13) Dream On
14) Safety Dance
15) I Dreamed a Dream
16) Loser
17) Give Up the Funk
18) Beth
19) Poker Face
20) Bad Romance

My gay little brain was not physically, spiritually, nor emotionally prepared to review this disc's set list. I saw that the one and only miss Idina Menzel is singing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Mis as well as Poker Face, Jonathon Groff is redoing Bonnie Tyler's “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, and Neil Patrick Harris performing “Dream On”. Just when I thought that GLEE could not become any gayer, fabulous, or generally uplifting they freakin break out Bonnie Tyler, Olivia Newton John, and Lady Gaga – these producers are not playing around.

If this alone did not fulfill my humble but sometimes ridiculous gay dreams, this certainly will. As I was having an epic day of GLEE research I came across photos of Matthew Morrison that not only fulfilled my gay dreams but created a few new ones of their own. However, I swear all I want to do with Matthew Morrison is get married – where all the GLEE cast members would be invited and as a present for us would perform an entire concert that had no less than three duets between Matt and myself – , oh and he will be married in this outfit ---------------------------------->

I just be saying and shit. Similarly, we would try to have four children that would have a long and illustrious career in Broadway and musical theatre. Matthew would of course wear the same outfit to that as he did at our wedding ;) Whether or not Matthew Morrison is gay or not is of little concern – hasn't stopped me in the past – and even though he says things like he has a girlfriend and likes vagina I am willing to hold out. I waited years for Ricky Martin and I could wait even longer for Matthew. Otherwise I will have to vicariously live my life through GLEE. However from now on, I am going to rewatch every episode imagining Matthew Morrison in his little yellow and orange booty shorts. I feel that this change will enhance the overall character and provide more depth to his arc …. or something like that.