Showing posts with label aaron tveit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aaron tveit. Show all posts

Monday, January 9, 2012

Imaginary Boyfriends of 2011

It's that time of the year again! Let's honor the hottest, most desirable and all-around attractive men, aka my Imaginary Boyfriends, from the past twelve months.

(And in case you are curious about my previous picks, check out 2008, 2009 and 2010).

Johan Akan
As soon as I saw a picture of Johan, my first reaction was, "Who is this guy?" He's one of those models who looks good clothed, naked, doing a serious shoot, an artsy shoot, a fun, personality-driven one or even one with the legendary Catherine Deneuve. In other words, Johan is the total package and one of the best new models around.

Douglas Booth
Some guys have it all. And a select few, like Douglas, manage to have it all at the ripe old age of 19. He's got the looks of a model, an impeccable fashion sense (or at least smart stylists) and a career on the rise, with both a Miley Cyrus comedy and the umpteenth adaptation of Romeo & Juliet in the works. I would hate him if he wasn't so damn attractive.

Dominic Cooper
I will admit that it took me way too long to warm up to Dom (I still blame that boner crusher Mamma Mia!). Thankfully, 2011 was the year I came to my senses and truly fell for the The Coop. It certainly helped that 2011 was also the year of The Devil's Double, wherein Dom stripped down in to his Speedo and then some. Repeatedly. Needless to say, it was a very good year for Dom's fans.

Leebo Freeman
A bit "out there" for my usual tastes in men, I'll admit, but there's something about that platinum blond hair, those piercings, the way he rocks sunglasses, his versatility in front of the camera and, of course, his body, that works for me.

Max George
One of my favorite pastimes these past six months has been getting drunk and then tweeting very inappropriate messages to Wanted frontman Max George. He hasn't responded back yet, which is probably for the best. But you can hardly blame me when he looks as good as he does, especially on his recent Attitude magazine cover; I'm pretty sure I tweeted him that if I was 14 years old, I totally would have masturbated to his photo shoot.

Ryan Gosling
The Occupy People Magazine movement, started after People picked Bradley Cooper over Ryan Gosling as this year's Sexiest Man Alive, had to be one of the funniest protests in ages. How those boneheads ended up going with Cooper, who isn't bad looking by any means but is really only mega famous because of The Hangover, over Gosling is beyond me. This past year will always be remembered as the one where Ryan Gosling went from respected to indie actor to full-fledged movie star, and as the one where the last stragglers finally fell under his charm. If that doesn't qualify you as the Sexiest Man Alive, I don't know what will.

Armie Hammer
I never rank my Imaginary Boyfriends because I feel that it's enough of an honor just to be mentioned (yes, I am that conceited) and it's a hard enough task narrowing the list down to this many people without having to rank them. With that said, I think we can all agree that My Man Armie would probably be my number one for 2011. I fell in love with his goofiness while making the press rounds for The Social Network, I died of happiness when I heard he was making out with a dude on film (even though said film was an Eastwood film and said dude was DiCaprio), I posed with his cover of Details magazine, I saw freaking J. Edgar at midnight on its opening day. If that doesn't qualify as obsessive behavior, I don't know what does. And you know what? I wouldn't take back a single thing.

Josh Hutcherson
Vanessa Hudgens tried to sink her nasty claws into Our Josh, but thankfully she moved on to someone no one really cares about. The year started off very well for Josh, as he looked perfectly adorable in his tux at the Oscars. Perhaps even more important, though, was his casting in The Hunger Games, which should finally launch him as one of the best young actors in Hollywood. I'm definitely Team whatever character Josh plays.

Max Irons
One of the most unbelievable sights in the movies this year was in Red Riding Hood where we are supposed to believe that the gorgeous Max Irons was somehow an undesirable suitor for Amanda Seyfried. On what planet is he not even competition for the equally attractive Shiloh Fernandez? Nonsense!

Steve Jones
The sexiest host on TV (sorry, Seacrest) made one of the most unbearable shows of the year almost watchable whenever he came on-screen, yelling at Nicole "Cunt" Scherzinger to make a goddamn decision already. I will never watch another episode of this God forsaken show ever again, but I still dream about Steve holding me backstage while my friend goes out and auditions for the judges and we nervous wait their decision.

Harry Judd
With their music career in limbo, what else was there for the McFly boys to do but get naked and appear on reality shows? Thankfully, none of the boys delivered on each of these fronts as well as Harry did. The boy has no shame, but with a body and a face like that, can you blame him? As if seeing GIFs of his performances on Strictly Come Dancing weren't hot enough, along came that Attitude cover. We've already seen Harry pretty much naked but that cover feels dirtier than anything we've seen him do before. A tip of the hat to you, Harry.

Zayn Malik
When One Direction was on X-Factor, I was a Liam girl, through and through. But then he came out with that horrible hairstyle, and I moved on to greener pastures. I didn't realize just how green those pastures were with Zayn Malik until I was a complete fangirl referring to myself as Mrs. Malik. I think Zayn is poised as the bad boy of the group (He has earrings. And he's gives good seriousface.), but whenever he smiles, his eyes light up the entire room, inspiring me to join thousands of other teenage girls writing fanfiction about how he spots me across the arena at his concert and immediately falls in love with me. Sigh. A girl can dream, right?

Chris O'Dowd
Chris can't really compete with the others on this list in the looks department, but he makes up for any (slight) deficiencies in looks with his personality and sense of humor. In Bridesmaids, he was the most realistic Prince Charming in a romantic comedy in years. As an added bonus, he doesn't look too shabby in a police uniform.

Anthony Perkins
I've always found Tony attractive--hello, Psycho--but 2011 was when my lust for him went into overdrive. I saw The Trial late in 2010 and, consequently, went on full-on binge of Perkins movies. With Tall Story and Five Miles to Midnight, most of them stunk to high heaven. But Tony was never less than super attractive, so at least I had his lean, lanky frame to stare at for the runtime.

Eric Saade
In a land full of gorgeous, sexy men, Saade stands out as one of Sweden's sexiest. He has the moves like Timberlake and the looks of a Greek god. You simply can't say no to someone this attractive.

Marlon Teixeira
Of all the male models in the world willing to get naked and show off (nearly) all the goods, do any do it as willingly and with such glee as Marlon Teixeira? I've seen more of his body than I have of some people I've been intimate with. Not that I'm complaining, mind you, as his body is absolutely bangin'. God bless those Brazilians, every one of them.

Aaron Tveit
I have been in love with Aaron Tveit ever since he guest starred on Gossip Girl as Nate's ultra preppy, Senate-seeking cousin, yet somehow I have never once included him on one of these Imaginary Boyfriends lists. For shame, Dame! In all honesty, it may have been the best to wait for 2011, as Tveit had what was perhaps his most high profile year ever. First, he starred in the musical version of Catch Me If You Can on Broadway, which produced a great soundtrack and the chance to see him perform at the Tony's (in a pilot's uniform!). Then, we saw him as a guest star on Law & Order: SVU as, much to my happiness, a former basketball star turned drug addict who was sexually abused by his childhood coach. He sings, he dances, he plays emotionally damaged boys; how can you not love this guy?

Friday, July 1, 2011

Half-Way Report for 2011

Top 5 Films
05. Source Code (Duncan Jones)
The tepid reviews really watered down any expectations, so I was surprised to find a fine mix of a great gimmick, intelligent action sequences and an achingly beautiful and unsentimental romance. Source Code had me under its spell the entire runtime, a spell that even a horribly botched ending couldn't completely break.
04. Scream 4 (Wes Craven)
Instead of phoning it in, Craven & Co. deliver another excellent installment in this horror franchise. Bonus points: will I have this much fun at another movie this year? I haven't been so giggly in a theatre since I saw Secretariat and my friend Sammi kept shouting "Oscar! Oscar!" at all of Diane Lane's big Moments.
03. Downton Abbey (Julian Fellowes)
Witty, absorbing and intelligent with a great ratio of serious and silly, Julian Fellowes' expansion of his Gosford Park was one of the most surprising things I've seen all year. And who says Masterpiece Theatre is only for old geezers?
02. Bridesmaids (Paul Feig)
This film had me at Kristen Wiig in raunchy female comedy. But who would have guessed just how funny and real it was going to be?!
01. Hanna (Joe Wright)
As you are all well aware, action films are not my favorite genre, but when you have an ace stylist like Joe Wright who knows how to construct images and scenes with a distinctive visual flair that don't feel gratuitous (unlike a certain other French Canadian director everyone is so crazy about), a bombastic score from The Chemical Brothers and a hard-as-nails lead performance from one of the only decent under 18 actors around, you have the very best film of the year so far. And I can't imagine not loving this by year end either.

Top 5 Performances
05. Michael Fassbender, Jane Eyre
Sex sex sex sex sex sex. He's practically dripping with testosterone and hard, angry lust in all of his best scenes in Jane Eyre.
04. Saoirse Ronan, Hanna
Who would have guessed that the same girl from Atonement would also be a total Ellen Ripley? Kudos to her for balancing the pathos with the ass-kicking.
03. Maya Rudolph, Bridesmaids
She obviously the straight woman to Wiig's whacked out nutiness, but she kills in her own comedic moments. Plus, Rudolph adds a touch of sweetness to the bawdy comedy surrounding her.
02. Dame Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Dame Maggie plays Dame Maggie here--a crusty old grandmother who won't stand for foolishness or foreign ideas--but no one does Dame Maggie like the legend herself. Her wonderful comedic timing ("What is a weekend?") punctuates and accentuates what could have been a dry melodrama.

01. Kristen Wiig, Bridesmaids
The fact that she plays a desperate, single maid of honor who can't hold a job, gets involved in sexual relationships with idiots who don't deserve her, likes to partaaaaaay and makes lots of penis jokes sounds like it was tailor-made for me. But, despite all the major (and deserved) guffaws, Wiig plays Annie with a sense of realness and legitimacy often ignored in comedies of this nature.

Top 5 Rentals
05. Europa Europa
A Holocaust film about survival from a different angle than you're accustomed to seeing. This one blew me away and not just because the male lead went full frontal in the first five minutes. (My review here)
04. Female
Without a doubt, the Pre-Code era was one of the most liberating for actresses. This film with Ruth Chatterton as a powerful CEO whose career is her life and men are just sexual playthings is one of the best from that period. It's not-so-subtle approach to sex will baffle audiences who think old films are all chaste and wholesome. (My review here)
03. The Last Command
Josef von Sternberg's tale of a former Russian general exiled in Hollywood as a silent film extra appears a tad farfetched on paper, especially when you consider that he begins work on a film directed by a Communist he personally sent to prison. Unbelievable or not, it's a great film, a fine example of the type of complex dramas Hollywood was able to crank out like clockwork in the Golden Age.
02. Billy Liar
Tom Courtenay is often forgotten among British New Wave heavies like Albert Finney and Richard Harris. A shame since many of his films and his performance hold up far better than any of Finney's (especially from this era). Billy Liar is a surprisingly funny and unself-conscious film for the period with Courtenay as our plucky hero, a working class chap who spends his days escaping his dreary existence through his own fantasy world. Julie Christie, of all actresses, lends support as his quirky and fun friend/possible love interest who encourages his fantasy.
01. The Prince and the Showgirl
This Laurence Olivier directed comedy about a stubborn, conceited prince (Olivier) and the vivacious, smarter-than-she-looks showgirl who falls for him (Marilyn Monroe) really should have been a disaster. The man who won an Oscar for Hamlet acting against Hollywood's most notorious "dumb blonde" bombshell? Get out of here. Somehow, by the grace of Oprah, it all came together in one of the most charming and funny romantic comedies of the 50's. Olivier is great playing the pompous cad, but Monroe is the real story here. Her umpteenth take on the showgirl role is one of the cleverest performances of her career, only outclassed by Some Like It Hot and The Misfits.

Top 5 Songs
05. Katy Perry "E.T."
An unusual but ultimately beautiful love song. Who would have guessed that after "I Kissed a Girl" Katy would have something like this in her?
04. Rihanna "Man Down"
The Rated R Era officially comes to an end with this reconciliation of that album's dark, violent imagery and the Loud Era's more commercial tendencies. The result is a brilliant synthesis of the two Rihanna polarities.
03. Eric Saade "Popular"
So gloriously over-the-top and manic how can you not love it?
02. Nicole Scherzinger "Don't Hold Your Breath"
My personal anthem for 2011. For serious.
01. Nicki Minaj "Super Bass"
It has become my main goal in life to learn all the lyrics to this song. I'm getting pretty good, for a white guy, anyways, which is especially encouraging since this is one of Nicki's faster raps. Everything about this song is pure joy. I've listened to it 60+ times in just a month and a half and I haven't even come close to getting sick of it.

Top 5 Bonus Tracks, B-sides, Remixes & Other Assorted Non-Singles
05. Le Kid "Mr. Brightside"
The reason I don't dismiss every cover song on the planet is because of covers like this, a fun and bouncy reconfiguring of the Killers' big, somewhat dark pop anthem.
04. Beyoncé "Run the World (Girls) (Dave Audé Radio Edit)"
I'm not normally into remixes except in instances when they improve the original (and don't go on for 8 minutes at a time). Why Beyoncé hasn't done a full-blown dance album yet is beyond me.
03. Andrew Rannells "I Believe"
It's all about one lyric: "And I believe that in 1978 God changed his mind about black people (Black people!)"
02. Rihanna featuring Britney Spears "S&M (Remix)"
Slutty Britney is still my favorite Britney, so I can't tell you how excited I was to hear her inimitable voice moan out "Na na na come on" in the beginning. I know a lot of people either violently hated or shrugged their shoulders at this remix but not me. It's dumb and ridiculous and slutty and exactly the way a song called "S&M" should be.
01. Selena Gomez "Who Says (Dave Audé Radio Edit)"
A vast improvement over the midtempo original. Why this wasn't done as a dancefloor inspirational jam in the first place beats the hell out of me.

Top 5 Albums
05. Alexis Jordan, Alexis Jordan
A fine debut from a rising star. Nothing especially groundbreaking but it has become a compulsively listenable album in the months since I first heard it.
04. Original Cast, The Book of Mormon (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Everything you would expect from a Matt Stone and Trey Parker skewering of the Mormon religion and then some. Even non fans of South Park would get a kick out of this.
03. Same Difference, The Rest Is History
Everyone's favorite slightly incestuous brother-sister pop duo Same Difference is back and all grown up this time. The glorious key changes are ditched in favor of sleeker, sexier dance pop. A refreshing and worthy follow-up to their fantastic debut.
02. Selena Gomez & The Scene, When the Sun Goes Down
In the matter of 18 short months, Selena has gone from Disney's fourth largest commodity (after the Brothers Jonas, Miley & Demi, obviously) to one of the brightest beacons of hope for the future of pop music. One of the album's key tracks, the killer "Whiplash," was co-written by the Queen herself, Britney, and it almost looks like a way of her passing the torch and giving approval to her eventual successor...

01. Britney Spears, Femme Fatale
...That is if Britney was ready to go anywhere. Twelve years into her career and Britney only gets better, constantly surprising us with the directions she is taking her music.

Top 5 Music Videos
05. Rihanna "S&M"
Rihanna is not really a music video artist, which is a shame because it's an area she should be excelling in. "S&M" is one of her rare videos that deviates from the "I'm just gonna stand around and look pretty" norm. I love the bright colors of the mise-en-scène and the way Rihanna goes balls the wall with the S&M imagery. If it wasn't for the hyper kinetic editing which distracts more often than it should, I'd say it was her masterpiece.
04. Britney Spears "I Wanna Go"
"Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. You're cool. Fuck you. I'm out." As if Britney could be any more legendary. Has Britney ever had this much fun in a music video?
03. Hurts "Sunday"
A glorious reinterpretation of the Orpheus myth which builds on the well-established persona of Hurts as the most depressing, dapper duo in music today.
02. Beyoncé "Run the World (Girls)"
01. Robyn "Call Your Girlfriend"
I'm pretty sure I've said all I need to say about these two videos.

Top 5 Obsessions
05. Kylie Minogue's Discography
After Christmas, I randomly picked up a used copy of Kylie's Fever album and fell in love with it. Having such a major success with that one, I downloaded another. Yet again a corker, so I downloaded another. And the cycle went on and on until I had all of her studio albums in my possession. If anything, I'm grateful for this little jaunt of mine for making me realize the absolute brilliance that is "Your Disco Needs You" and, especially, "What Do I Have to Do".
04. Michael Fassbender in Jane Eyre and X-Men: First Class
He is the walking sex. I can't even. How did those actors get through their scenes without dropping their pants and bending over in front of him?
03. Brideshead Revisited
How did people watch miniseries before the invention of the DVD?  I don't know how I would have waited a week between installments of this popular British miniseries from 1981, starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews. I was like a carnivore as soon as that red Netflix envelope came in my mailbox, tearing it to shreads and rushing to put the DVD in the player. This series was so good, y'all, especially the first half with Andrews as the drole, alcoholic, guilt-ridden Sebasitan Flyte.
02. Tom Courtenay
I've become such an uber fan of Courtenay's in the past couple of months I watched Doctor fucking Zhivago again just for him and his Oscar nomination. Yes, I re-watched a bloody David Lean film for him. If that isn't love, I don't know what is.
01. Random TLC Shows
Extreme Couponing. Toddlers & Tiaras. My Strange Addiction.  The best programming in all of television is on this channel. And to think I once dismissed TLC as the channel where every show is about midgets and obnoxiously large families.

Top 5 Hot Guys
(New/recent obsessions since this list would otherwise be all Michael Fassbender)

05. Marlon Teixeira

04. Eric Saade

03. Josh Hutcherson

02. Aaron Tveit

01. Armie Hammer

Top 5 Blog Posts
I'm still in mourning.
In which even my lovely 84 year old grandma realizes that I am Liz Lemon.
My analysis of one sex scene that haunted me in Blue Valentine.
Is this really how I'm gonna win my Oscar? Lord I hope so.
Goodbye, my beloved show. It was a great run while it lasted. Here's hoping the lovely cast finds much success afterwards (especially once this So Random! thing ends).

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

So the Tony Awards Happened Sunday Night

Believe it or not, I'm actually not too big on Broadway and modern musical theatre. I find it hard to care about shows I'll never get to see starring actors whose only exposure outside of the theatre appears to be Law & Order: SVU. So how did I find myself watching the three-hour live telecast of the Tony Awards on Sunday night if I don't know anything about Broadway? Randomly, for very different reasons, I had recently found myself listening to and loving the cast recordings for The Book of Mormon, the night's big winner and brain child of South Park creators (and my heroes) Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Catch Me If You Can, starring the sexiest man in musical theatre, Aaron Tveit. I loved these cast recordings so much, and because I had nothing else better to do, I decided to turn on the ceremony. Well color me surprised, the Tony Awards telecast turned out to be one of the quickest, wittiest, sprightliest awards ceremonies of the past couple years. Neil Patrick Harris proved to be an amazing host; his opening musical number and his duet with Hugh Jackman were easily two of the night's highlights. While most people focused on the nominated shows, I, obviously, was focused on the hot singing and dancing men.


The first is, obviously, the amazing Aaron Tveit. How one man can be so gorgeous and talented is beyond me. And he looks absolutely smashing in a pilot's uniform. You can only imagine the amount of bad sexual puns--"I want him to fly me", "Prepare for landing on me", etc.--that ran through my mind during his performance. I just love him so much. The second man is Andrew Rannells, star and Tony-nominee for his performance in The Book of Mormon. You already know I have a thing for hot Mormons, so Rannells was an absolute delight in the looks department (He can covert me any day, etc.). And he's quite talented in the vocal department as well. Check out his performance from last night's show, singing "I Believe." And then watch Aaron Tveit and Norbert Leo Butz perform a medley of songs from Catch Me If You Can. I would have been more devastated that we only got about one minute of Tveit singing if it hadn't been for the fact that Butz sings my favorite song from the entire show, "Don't Break the Rules."


Saturday, June 4, 2011

Vanessa Hudgens is Stealing All the Men


First she dated Zac for what felt like ten million years. Then she started "hanging out" with her new co-star Josh Hutcherson. Now she was spotted backstage with former co-star Aaron Tveit after a performance of his show Catch Me If You Can. Enough is enough. We need to keep this unfortunate harpy away from all the hot men. Who's next, Vanessa? Are you gonna pull a Victoria Justice and pretend you are dating Nicky Hoult? I hear Michael Fassbender is into younger women. But, oh no, what's to stop her from only preying on the straight guys? She may be concocting a rumor as we speak that she has turned poor ole Joe McElderry straight. His singles flopped harder than Floptina's and he got dropped by his record label; hasn't he suffered enough?! Drastic measures need to be taken to stop this madwoman from ruining these men. Mothers, lock up your hot sons--no need to worry about the ugly ones--and protect them from this horrible, horrible succubus known as Vanessa Hudgens. If ever we needed Obama to unite this country on one issue, this is it. Yes we can stop Vanessa. Yes we can.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Run Away With Me

I downloaded Howl the other night, aka the movie where James Franco makes out with Broadway hottie/Gossip Girl hottie Aaron Tveit in cute glasses, and have been on a Tveit kick ever since. Since I haven't had time to actually watch the movie, I've been looking for some bits of Aaron to tide me over until then. First of all, I downloaded the Next to Normal soundtrack, the Broadway show that gave Aaron his big break. The show is so massive--the music takes up two discs on its own--that I only got through half of it the other night, but I like it so far and Aaron's voice makes my heart melt. So when I stumbled upon a video of Aaron singing a song called 'Run Away With Me,' it was almost like he was doing everything he could to get me to fall in love with him. Honestly, he can take advantage of me anyway he likes and I wouldn't complain, but it's still nice to be wooed every now and again. Anyways, I listened to Aaron sing this 'Run Away With Me' and, gah, it was so bloody perfect. The song is about this guy asking a girl to basically stop everything and run off with him to some unknown future. Excuse me, is this even a question? If Aaron Tveit asks you to run away with him, you just go, no questions asked. He's beautiful, sings like an angel and did I mention that he is gorgeous? Watch this clip and judge for yourself, but I'm 99.5% sure you will be swooning by the end.



While trying to stop drooling over that performance, I noticed that Youtube recommended another version of 'Run Away With Me' sung by actor Michael Arden. Even less well-known than Aaron, I mainly know Michael for two reasons: he was the one bearable thing about the miserable romantic comedy Bride Wars as Kate Hudson's gay assistant and as the boyfriend of Sebastian Stan's Prince Jack, he got to smooch him on the unfairly canceled Kings a couple years ago. I listened to his rendition and, I'll be damned, but it was quite amazing in it's own unique way. Michael can't compete with Aaron in the looks department, but he sure as hell matches him when it comes to emoting. Have a look for yourself:



Sigh. Now we have some major questions that need answering: Who on Earth do I run away with now? Am I allowed to pick both of them? And, most importantly, who would you run away with if given the chance?