Reel Charlie’s Top Posts of All-Time

While I am on vacation, I’ll preload some fun posts related to the blog. In the past 15 years, several posts have risen to the top. However it took the fourth most popular post in order to get to something I actually wrote:

Home Page: 15,522
The home page shouldn’t really count, but it does.

The 30 Sexiest Gay Scenes in Film (Out): 6,428
From 2013, sex sells.

Babylon Berlin: Episode 2 – The Dance Sequence: 3,813
Nothing beats a crazy good dance number.

Star Trek: Into Darkness (Blu-ray): 3,541
Only gave this a 3 out of 5.

Charlie’s Angels (Blu-ray): 1,292
It takes until #11 to find a film review I rated a 5 out of 5

Statistics can be fun!

Reel Charlie Travels 2024 – Vertigo

Laura Linney as Mary Ann Singleton overlooking the San Francisco skyline in Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City (Netflix).

Thanks to only being able to carry over a small amount of vacation each year, I am taking a week off in April, May, and one more in June before our new fiscal year begins at the library. First up is a trip to the bay area with my sister Nancy to visit our eldest niece, Nikki and her family. Although we will be staying east of Oakland touring exclusively on that side, I can’t help but think of all the great films and television series San Francisco has been a location for over the past 100 years including:

The Birds
The Conversation
The Joy Luck Club
Looking
Milk 
Mrs. Doubtfire
The OA
Sense8
Sister Act
Tales of the City
What’s Up Doc?

Wait you say, aren’t you missing one very important film? Well actually I am focusing all of my attention on that one film, Hitchcock’s Vertigo. According to Curbed San Francisco, Hitchcock used 14 location shots around the city which offer viewers a glimpse into mid 20th Century architecture and life. 1958 never looked so good. How many times have you seen Vertigo? Need a refresher with no spoilers? Check out NY Times film critic A.O. Scott’s gushing review of the masterpiece. Who is your favorite character? Mine is hands-down Barbara Bel Geddes‘ Midge.

Dig deeper into Vertigo:
Vertigo (1958) (The Alfred Hitchcock Wiki)
‘Vertigo’ is still the best movie ever. Or the worst movie ever. Discuss (The Washington Post)
Vertigo (1958) (BFI Institute)
Vertigo rises: is Hitchcock’s dark masterpiece the greatest film of all time? (BFI Institute)
Vertigo review – still spinning its dizzying magic (The Guardian)

And of course, check out Reel Charlie’s glowing review of Vertigo, one of the greatest films from my favorite director.
Or explore all things Hitchcock on Reel Charlie.

Best Gay Male, LGBTQ+ Films and Television

BEST GAY	MALE	FILMS
The Angelic Conversation	I Am Not Your Negro	Rustin
Bashment	Ha-Buah (The Bubble) (f)	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Affirmations and Anthem (d)
Beautiful Thing	I Do	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Black is… Black Ain’t (d)
Before I Forget (f)	L’inconnu du lac (Stranger by the Lake) (f)	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Color Adjustment (d)
Bent	Le fate ignoranti (His Secret Life)(f)	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Ethnic Notions (d)
Blue	Lilies	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret) (d)
BPM (Beats Per Minute)(f)	Making Montgomery Clift (d)	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Tongues Untied (d)
Brother to Brother	Maurice (#1 of all time)	Sublet
Desert Migration (d)	Metrosexuality	Swan Song
Edward II	Moonlight	Victim
The Garden	My Beautiful Laundrette	Weekend
Get Real	Pain and Glory (f)	Where’s my Roy Cohn? (d)
Giorni (Days) (f)	Parting Glances	Wojnarowicz: F**k You F*ggot F**ker (d)
Gods and Monsters	Poison	Young Soul Rebels
God’s Own Country	Presque Rien (Come Undone) (f)	f= foreign language d=documentary

BEST	LGBTQ+	FILMS
The Adventures of Felix (f)	Gods and Monsters	Parting Glances
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert	God’s Own Country	Poison
Adored: Diary of a Porn Star (f)	Ha-Buah (The Bubble) (f)	Prodigal Sons (d)
All About My Mother (f)	Hannah Gadsby: Douglas	Rafiki (f)
American Experience: The Stonewall Uprising (d)	Hannah Gadsby: Nanette	Reaching for the Moon
Angels in America	Happiest Season	Rustin
The Angelic Conversation	Hard Pill	Save Me
Bad Education (f)	Heartbeats (f)	Saved by the Belles
Bashment	Holding the Man	A Secret Love (d)
Beautiful Thing	Hollywood Je t’aime	Sex in an Epidemic (d)
Before I Forget (f)	How to Survive a Plague? (d)	Sex Positive (d)
Bent	I Am Not Your Negro (d)	Shortbus
Blue	I Do	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Affirmations and Anthem (d)
Blue Citrus Hearts	I Killed My Mother (f)	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Black is… Black Ain’t (d)
The Boys in the Band (both versions)	The Imitation Game	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Color Adjustment (d)
BPM (Beats Per Minute)	The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Ethnic Notions (d)
Bridegroom (d)	Interior. Leather Bar	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret) (d)
Bros	Jongens (Boys) (f)	The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs: Tongues Untied (d)
Brother to Brother	Keep the River on Your Right (d)	Single All the Way
But I’m a Cheerleader	The Kids are All Right	Soldier’s Girl
Cambridge Spies	The Killing of Sister George	The Sticky Fingers of Time
Carol	L’inconnu du lac (Stranger by the Lake) (f)	Sublet
Clapham Junction	Latter Days	Swan
Chris & Don: A Love Story (d)	Law of Desire (f)	Tab Hunter Confidential
Circus of Books (d)	The Legend of Leigh Bowery (d)	Tangerine
Cloudburst	Lilies	Test
The Cockettes (d)	Love, Simon	The Times of Harvey Milk
Come Undone (f)	Making Montgomery Clift (d)	Tom of Finland
Desert Migration (d)	Maurice	Undertow (f)
Dolor y gloria (Pain and Glory) (f)	The Man I Love (f)	United in Anger (d)
Edward II	Mary Lou (f)	Victor/Victoria
Far from Heaven	Mayor Pete (d)	Victim
Le fate ignoranti (His Secret Life) (f)	Metrosexuality	The Watermelon Woman
Fire Island	Milk	Weekend
Fit	Mine Vaganti (Loose Cannons) (f)	We Were Here (d)
Five Dances	Moonlight	Where’s my Roy Cohn? (d)
Free Fall (f)	My Beautiful Laundrette	Wilde
The Garden	The Normal Heart	Wojnarowicz: Fk You F*ggot Fker (d)
Gaudi Afternoon	Nuclear Family (d)	Women Who Kill
Get Real	Outrage (d)	Young Soul Rebels
Giorni (Days) (f)	Paragraph 175 (d)	XXY (f)
Go Fish	Pariah	Zero Patience
	Paris was a Woman (d)	f= foreign language d=documentary

BEST	LGBTQ+	TELEVISION
Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City (PBS)	It’s a Sin	Queer as Folk
Armistead Maupin’s More Tales of the City (Showtime)	Husbands	Sex Education
Armistead Maupin’s Further Tales of the City (Showtime)	Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York (d)	Somebody Somewhere
Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City (Netflix)	A League of their Own	Sort Of
Bonding	Looking	Special
F to the 7th	The L Word	Transparent
Fellow Travelers	The Normal Heart	True Blood
The Fosters	One Day at a Time	Ugly Betty
The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo	Orange is the New Black	The United States of Tara
Glee	The Outs	The Wire
Hollywood	Pose

Updated: 2/2024

Reel Charlie Update: Best of Pages

Reel Charlie’s updating many of the “Best of” pages for 2024 with new content. Earlier I updated Favorite Music and 100 Favorite Films. Next up, I’m publishing a new, and hopefully better organized Best Gay Male and LGBTQ+ Films and Television page. Look for that in just a few minutes.

I will continue updating books, directors, holiday, television, and HIV/AIDS pages as time permits. Feels so good to have the first three done. The Gay/LGBTQ+ page was a huge task.

Enjoy.

Happy Heart Day 2024

Husbands, wives, partners, lovers, soulmates, best friends, copains, companions, comrades, amis, dates, valentines, live-ins, the greatest loves of all. There are so many words to define a relationship between two humans. The previous sentence merely scratches at the surface.

 

Here are Reel Charlie’s 2024 favorite LGBTQ+ love stories in film:

Beautiful Thing
Bros
Carol
Cloudburst
Fire Island 
Freir Fall (Free Fall)
Giorni (Days)
God’s Own Country
Go Fish
Ha- Buah (The Bubble)
Happiest Season
I Do
The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls in Love 
Jongens (Boys)
Maurice
Metrosexuality
My Beautiful Laundrette
Parting Glances
Reaching for the Moon
Single All the Way
Weekend

And if you want a lot of pain and heartache in your long-term relationship, along with understanding how destructive homophobia and the closet are to humans, check out the incredibly brilliant, must-see limited series, and yes there is a mountain of love between these two men:
Fellow Travelers

History of the Sitcom

CNN creates these series on media and culture such as their decade shows. In 2021, they produced History of the Sitcom. From Wikipedia,

…an eight-part CNN documentary television series that traces the development of the American situation comedy show from the 1950s to the 21st Century. The show features 184 interviews with creatives, actors and directors including Norman Lear, Mel Brooks, Yvette Lee Bowser, Marta Kauffman, and Carl Reiner (in his last recorded interview).

I enjoyed the series. Nothing earth-shattering, but certainly organized and presented in a logical way. And entertaining. Anytime you get to hear people discuss Mary Tyler Moore’s Chuckles the Clown funeral is a good day for me. 3.5 out of 5.

CNN’s History of the Sitcom currently streams on Max, YouTube, and Sling TV.
For a deeper dive into all things queer and sitcom, check out these outstanding books I’m lucky to have in my collection:
Hi Honey I’m Homo by Matt Baume
Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television, 1930s to the Present by Steven Capsuto (2020 revised edition)

TCM’s The Plot Thickens Podcast: Season 4 – Here Comes Pam

Looking for a great film actor podcast? Turner Classic Movies Season 4 podcast, The Plot Thickens focuses on the career and life of actress Pam Grier. From the podcast’s website,

Welcome to The Plot Thickens, a documentary podcast about the movies and the people who make them. Our fourth season is Here Comes Pam, the story of Pam Grier as only she can tell it.

I really enjoyed the 7-episode season. I knew Pam was the Queen of Blacksploitation films, and knew she made a comeback in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, but I will admit the only part of Pam’s career I actually saw was her featured role on The L Word as Kit Porter. I was thrilled to have it be a small part of the final episode. The big takeaway for me was Pam’s work ethic and staying away from alcohol and drug use. She dodged a lot of bullets given the men she got involved with and the Hollywood scene in general. The podcast is a fun ride and worth the time. Pam’s one of Hollywood’s underrated actors for obvious reasons – race and gender, and lack of broad character parts due to race and gender. Still she thrived, survived, and led the way so other’s could do what they’re doing today. 4 out of 5.

Find TCM’s The Plot Thickens on your favorite podcast platform.
Coffy currently streams on Amazon Prime, Tubi, The Roki Channel, and Pluto.
Foxy Brown currently streams on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Pluto.
Jackie Brown currently streams on Netflix.
The L Word currently streams on Showtime and Paramount+.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2024

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2024, Reel Charlie gathers favorite posts from the past few years by and about African-American people:

Rustin – must-see, Colman Domingo is amazing
Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over – trailblazer
The Watermelon Woman on Criterion
The Light We Carry – Michelle Obama’s book tour on Netflix
Nope – essential
Sound Barrier: Sylvester – always remember
Rothaniel – young voice
The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs – documenting

TV Addict: Lifelong Edition

This proves I have been addicted to television long before the latest golden age. I got a perfect score on this quiz, which seemed too easy to me. I guess this is a filler post. Enjoy.

Click here to take the quiz.

 

Best of Reel Charlie 2023

Before we enter the futuristic year of 2024, read on for Reel Charlie’s favorites in books, music, podcasts, film, and television from 2023.

Books (links to Goodreads)

Another great year of reading thanks as always to Goodreads for keeping me focused, my colleagues at work and book-loving friends for keeping me open, and my Kindle Paperwhite for making it fun to obsess over books. I became the co-chair of our One Book One Town (OBOT) in Fairfield, CT. We will be announcing our book selection on January 11, 2024. Very excited about our reading committee’s choice! Personally, I read 51 books this year, and here are my favorites:

The Bell in the Fog (Andy Mills #2) by Lev A.C. Rosen – wonderful new mystery series – book 2
Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter: Growing Up with a Gay Dad by Alison Wearing – exactly what it says it is and wonderful
Grandad’s Pride by Harry Woodgate – picture book and my first hate mail on Goodreads (badge of honor)
I Keep Trying to Catch His Eye: A Memoir of Loss, Grief, and Love by Ivan Maisel – our 2023 OBOT selection
The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government by David K. Johnson – essential non-fiction reading
Liebestrasse by Greg Lockard – graphic novel about gay love during Nazism
The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama – essential
Mississippi River Mischief (Scotty Bradley #9) by Greg Herren – one of my favorite gay male PI’s gets a new book
Mona of the Manor (Tales of the City #10) by Armistead Maupin – my favorite series of all-time gets a tenth book releasing March 5, 2024
Ms Davis: A Graphic Biography by Sybille Titeux de la Croix and Amazing Améziane – graphic novel brilliance
Murder in the Arts District (Chanse MacLeod #7) by Greg Herren – the end of an era with Chanse MacLeod
No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister – after a book is written, who reads it
Notes on Complexity: A Scientific Theory of Connection, Consciousness, and Being by Neil Theise – my dear friend Neil makes a splash with an outstanding book on complexity theory and so much more
Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley – YA thriller about a Native American teen girl

Music

Dance music and in particular disco continued to rule my charts in 2023. I venture less and less into new music territory. See my favorites below:

Top Songs (Spotify)

Top Genres (Spotify)

Top Artists (Spotify)

Jake Shears: Too Much Music – new music from the Scissor Sisters lead
And finally on MixCloud my favorite DJ is also my namesake: Phil Lovedisco from Lisbon. Every new mix he drops contains a little piece of heaven.

Movies & Television (links to Reel Charlie reviews)

This list may be a bit smaller this year. I am going to try an experiment and only list the media I gave a perfect score. In the past, I have listed great 4’s as well as 5’s. This year, only the 5’s. Here are Reel Charlie’s favorite films and series from 2023:

Documentaries (including podcasts and stand-up):

2023 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song: Joni Mitchell – a perfect tribute
El Dorado: Everything the Nazis Hate – LGBTQ deep dive world history
Framing Agnes – history and the trans community
The Light We Carry – Michelle Obama’s book tour
No Straight Lines – queers in comics
Reel Charlie Speaks – my podcast continued in 2023 with 12 new episodes
A Remarkable Fierce Journey Being Victorious During the AIDS Crisis (Queer We Are) – me being interviewed for Queer We Are podcast
Roberta Flack: American Masters – a legend
Sam Smith: Love Goes – Live at the Abbey Road Studios – gorgeous
To Scale: TIME – a look at the history all humans

Film:

Past Lives – Greta Lee magic
Rustin – essential
Woman Talking – Sarah Polley magic

Television (including limited series):

Dead Loch – crazy Australian perfection
Fellow Travelers – no words
The Great British Baking Show: Collection 11 – perfection
Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York – docuseries scary stuff
Somebody Somewhere: Season 2 – looking for her life
We’re Here: Season 3, Episodes 5 & 6 – drag heals

Take Two (watching beloved film and television again):

Downton Abbey: A New Era (take 3) – always in the mood for more Downton
Everything Everywhere All at Once (take 2) – my favorite film of 2022
Fire Island (take 2) – more, more, more
Hollywood (take 2) – let’s make up our own story
Howards End (Classic Literature On Film Blogathon) – Merchant Ivory perfection
Mare of Easttown (take 2) – amazing and my home state
The Remains of the Day: 4K – 4K release
Sex and the City: Favorite Episodes – Murray and a fall
Somebody Somewhere: S1 (take 2) – small town perfection

Special Posts from 2023:

Can We Talk About Drag – Reel Charlie editorial
Chasten Buttigieg in Conversation with Harvey Fierstein & Richie Jackson at The Ridgefield Playhouse – great night out
Daisy Davidson-Bahr: 2010 – 2023 – we miss you baby girl
David Berlin Eye: 1960 – 2023 – goodbye my dear friend
Favorite Music: Disco – added a new page for my favorite dance music genre
Hitchcock’s Silent Thriller ‘The Lodger,” Featuring Dorothy Papadokos on the Organ – a perfect cinematic evening
Jean 9/102 – still miss my Mom
One Book One Town (OBOT) 2023 Library Podcast – great interview with the OBOT author and spouse
Welcome Langston: November 10, 2023 – the future

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What were your favorites in 2023? Thank you for continuing this journey with me. I love reviewing film and television on Reel Charlie. In 2023, the blog garnered 9,772 page views for 182 posts. Onward 2024, another year of incredible film, television, music, podcasts, and reading! And another election to save our lives, country, and planet. Enjoy the year, and in November: VOTE!