Christian and Oliver back in love

Is it stifling outside or what? ... And just when I thought June couldn't get any hotter, out comes Christian and Oliver once again heating up German daytime and putting other soaps (*ahem*) to shame ...

For those of you not familiar with the Christian and Oliver duo... well, it's kind of a long story arc. I suggest starting here and going on from Nana's amazing work over on youtube translating the storyline from start to current hotness.

Part of me kind of wants to see what happens next... but... after all this is a family show... (*rewinds the clip a little*)... Ok, on second thought maybe not . Nevertheless, superbly well done... These two honestly get into the role so well you'd almost think it wasn't acting .

It's the end of the world... and I feel fine

A routine stop at the barbershop for a shave and a haircut turns into a haunting melody about love... and a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger reading a newspaper about the end of the world? Honestly where do they come up with this stuff?...

...cause I want more ! Oh how I wish there were actually a movie instead of just a music video. But alas, I'll settle for the fantastic video... serene cinematography and all... (btw, the last photo above on the bottom right, I would as a wallpaper were it a production still... so utterly amazing...)

This video is for a song called End of the World, written and performed by a former school teacher turned musician named Matt Alber... Matt currently has an album out titled Hide Nothing which is available on Itunes and Amazon... You can also check out more of Matt's music over at his blog, myspace, and youtube pages. This beautiful video itself can be download over at itunes as well.

Tennis anyone?

A couple weeks ago I ran into a video of interest over on youtube featuring a couple scenes from various movies, cut together and placed with a soundtrack. Originally I was going to post that video, but I had no clue as to which movies were used to so I decided to hold off on it. One of the clips from that particular video did happen to catch my eye though, and I've been trying to figure out where exactly it came from ever since.

As luck would have it (strangely enough much like a lot of the finds on this blog) the video itself fell into my lap. This clip was taken from a short 1994 movie called The Disco Years. It was included as part of a triple set of short movies called Boys Life, and features a young Matt Nolan (as the role of lead character Tom) and Russel Scott Lewis (as the beautiful blond Matt).

The movie supposedly takes place in the 70s... although you wouldn't notice it considering the early 90s hairstyles and outfits. The overarching plot probably also wasn't the best (Russel Lewis's character specifically almost requires a suspension of disbelief), but these particular scene made the movie worthwhile. You can check out this short film in its entirety on the Boys Life 1 DVD.

A Prayer for Bobby

There are decent dramas which make you think, and then there are great dramas which make you feel... I think this particular movie is more of the latter. I honestly can't recall the last time I've seen a movie like Prayers for Bobby. Perhaps one of the saddest stories I've really ever seen portrayed. Mostly on account of the fact that there was in fact a time when I could've totally related to Bobby...

Prayers for Bobby chronicles the tragically short life of Bobby Griffith as he struggles with his sexuality and his attempts to gain acceptance from his ultra-conservative mother. The movie stars Sigourney Weaver as Bobby's mother, and a young 22-year old actor named Ryan Kelly (who btw does an absolutely amazing job as Bobby).

Prayers for Bobby is based off a book (of the same title) written by author Leroy F. Aarons. The movie is currently available on Itunes... but unfortunately not on DVD yet. One comment I have to make about this movie though... I'm not exactly the biggest softy on emotions and I don't think I've really shed a tear since I was 13. This movie had my eyes watered up by the end . Very tragic...

Chad Allen in 'On the Other Hand, Death'

My blogmate Kenneth recently featured a great post not too long back regarding a certain Chad Allen. Chad of course (as some of you might know) recently starred on General Hopsital's 'The Night Shift'... but prior to his small-screen role, he's been the face of the long running Here original feature, The Donald Strachey Mysteries.

Overall a really fantastic mini-series... Although maybe calling it a 'mini-series' isn't exactly the right term here considering each part is in fact feature length and have been airing one at a time since 2005.

Besides having a fantastic storyline (of which I won't give too much away), On the Other Hand, Death also features the gorgeous Damon Runyan, seen here attempting to seduce the good detective ...

You can check out my previous post on Chad and the Donald Strachey mystery series here... The DVDs for all four parts are already available, and yes, I highly recommend checking those out as well.

Jamie Bamber in his first movie

The year was 1994, the movie Shifting Sands, the actors... Dickon Edwards, and a very young Jamie Bamber playing in his (unofficial) first movie.

I say unofficial because this movie was so early in Jamie's career it's not even listed on his IMDb profile. Jamie took part in Shifting Sands while attending University at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. The movie itself was directed by a man named Simon Birkenhead, and has since been released (partially) on youtube.

Jamie was indeed gorgeous when he was younger... or better yet, he's been gorgeous his entire life. Such a great (almost) kiss... I suppose my bromantic fantasy involving Jamie will forever remain in fantasy land ... Kidding aside though, the DVD itself for this movie has also become available (I'd imagine it might have something to do with Jamie's meteoric rise in popularity these past few years)... You can order the full 60 minute length DVD for this movie at the Shifting Sands website.

Never aired Star Trek script comes to life

Imagine Captain Kirk had a nephew... Let's say we call him 'Peter Kirk' . And this Peter just happened to be both super-hot and engaged in a healthy committed relationship with another (male) crew member aboard Captain Jean-Luc Picard's Starship Enterprise. You think this could work as an episode in the early 90s Star Trek: The Next Generation Series?

Sadly, we'll never find out considering the script itself was shelved before it was ever put to use...

That is until now at least ... This clip originates from a Star Trek web-based fan series called Star Trek Phase II. It's actually based completely off the original tossed script written by long-time Star Trek screenwriter David Gerrold. Actors Bobby Rice and Evan Fowler play the roles of Lt. Peter Kirk and Alex Freeman respectively, and the episode itself was directed by David.

I think they did an awesome job of bringing the script to life ... And I don't know about anyone else, but Bobby definitely has a young Jake Gyllenhaal look going (which is a good thing). You can check out the entire episode here, and download Phase II's web-based series here. Also, special thanks to Rob from Wayoutwest for giving me a heads up about yet another internet gem .

Ice Men

In keeping with the current 'frigid weather' related mini-theme for this batch of posts, I figured now would be as good a time as any to repost yet another clip which (unfortunately) was thrown out with the bathwater following my youtube purge a couple months back. I'm not exactly sure who came up with the concept for this scene, seeing as it kind of comes out of left field in the movie... (I'm assuming director Thom Best might have had a good hand in it ), but yeah ... It wouldn't be far off to say this scene from 2004's Ice Men is perhaps one of the top 5 hottest scenes I've ever witnessed in a feature length film... easily...

Someone's fantasy apparently made it past the cutting room floor... of course, not that I'm complaining . Ice Men is no longer available on torrents, but you can still check it out in full length on Amazon and Netflix.

Olivier and Oliver = Hot

Speaking of adorable... Reminds me of perhaps the hottest soap pairing I can recall...

At least the hottest soap pairing for a brief flash in the pan... If memory serves me right, I did manage to re-upload one of my all-time favorite scenes a month or so ago (following that unfortunate incident involving my non-functioning former youtube account getting wiped out ).

It's really such a shame Hollyoaks in the City didn't manage to last past its first season. Oliver Lee and Philip Olivier would've made such an outstanding couple. Perhaps this show was ahead of its time? Maybe so... considering the 'trend' that followed for a number of soaps just about a year two later.

Even worse concerning the demise of this show was the fact that they failed to release a season 1 DVD. Talk about killing it off for good. Thankfully the entire series itself is still available on youtube (separated in clips). I'd love to get my hands on a real version though...

The Line of Beauty

Luxury, wealth, beautiful men, and untimely tragedy... The line of Beauty is one of those rare gems that gets you by surprise and leaves you wanting for more.

Originally airing on the BBC as a three part mini-series back in 2006, The Line of Beauty presents a view of 80s British upper-class opulence during the Thatcher era... through the eyes, of course, of an outsider struggling with his sexuality and general lack of direction in life.

Drugs, sickness, betrayal, and ultimately the downfall of a prestigious political family all make for setting The Line of Beauty up as one of the more compelling films I've watched in a while. Gorgeous Actor Dan Stevens brilliantly plays the role of protagonist Nicholas Guest, as he spends a four-year time stint as a lodger in the home of fellow Oxford graduate/secret crush Toby Fedden (played by Oliver Coleman).

The Kat is definitely 'volatile' (in every sense of the word ) Actress Hayley Atwell almost single-handedly steals the show in this movie (almost)... That said, I highly recommend this film for anyone looking to spend a couple hours lost in a great drama. It ends somewhat on a downer, but I still overall enjoyed it. There are no full torrents available (as of yet), but you can rent the three part set on Netflix, or purchase the DVD online. Also the entire series is available in clips on youtube.

Girls who like guys who like guys for the girls?

So the age old question... do girls really like guys who like guys for the girls?... Well, I'd imagine were we to switch around the terms 'girls' and 'guys' in that previous question the answer would be an obvious affirmative. I'm not a girl so I'd never be able to answer for sure whether the opposite is the case... but Dinorah aka Drewsfangirl's video here seems to be making quite an interesting case ...

Awesome vid... almost inspires me to go back to making one or two of my own... That Grande École clip at the end seems rather enticing ... Anyway you can check out this clip, along with a few more Drewfangirl's music video over at her page on youtube.

Generation Xcessive Male Bonding?

Ok, here's the thing... I have a lot of straight friends... or should I say 99% of my male friends are straight. I have never in my life seen guys get drunk like the Sandbach Rugby players featured in this documentary, Generation Xcess. Unbelievable...

Generation Xcess aired back in the summer of 2007 (I believe)... and basically featured random 'young people' being followed around by a camera as they drank excessively and did random drugs throughout the night (hence the namesake). One such group that was followed were a group of Rugby players from the town of Sandbach. Suffice to say these kids drank, and drank and drank some more... resulting in some rather unique 'displays' of 'straight' male bonding. The pictures speak for themselves, and so does the video (Note: Video contains nudity here and there...)

Keep in mind, these guys are 'straight'... well, most of them are at least. I won't exactly vouch for that team captain ...

(sigh) Playing a sport during the day and getting to lock lips with your 'straight' teammates at night? Where do I sign up ?... Seriously though, representing their team nationally the way they did on this documentary probably wasn't exactly the brightest move to make... especially considering there were a few repercussions to follow the airing of this show... Nevertheless it made for great TV .

Generation Xcess itself is almost impossible to find at this point. Trust me, I've tried... if you're interested in getting this clip in full though, it's available here.