10. MUSIC: "Elastic Heart," Sia
In the tradition of her music video for the 2014 smash "Chandelier," Dance Moms sensation Maddie Ziegler returns for another interpretive dance set to Sia's latest edgy pop single. But this time instead of Maddie fighting her demons in a dilapidated apartment, she's in a cage battling a half-naked and beefy Shia LaBeouf. The "Elastic Heart" video is beautifully bizarre and seemingly contains deeper meaning about the differences between younger and older generations, but mostly you'll find it hard to take your eyes off of LaBeouf's manly physique. -- Scott Ragan
9. BOOK: The Days of Anna Madrigal, Armistead MaupinFor those of you following along at home, this is Armistead Maupin's ninth installment in his Tales of the City series, following a group of friends through love, kids, businesses, and drugs, drugs, drugs. The series has been going on since 1978 and has essentially been unfolding in real time.
The Days of Anna Madrigal, out in paperback this month, will be the last entry in the much-beloved Tales.
Amazon.com --
Michelle Garcia 8. DVD: The Facts of Life: The Complete SeriesLong before slash/shipping fandom was a quick click away, LGBT fans were picking up on the chemistry between Jo and Blair on
The Facts of Life. Now the entire series is available on DVD in one spot with
The Facts of Life: The Complete Series from Shout Factory. This trip down nostalgia lane offers all 201 episodes of the quintessential '80s show as they were originally aired as well as a disc of bonus features that includes a 2014 Paley Center cast reunion event. Available on
ShoutFactory.com. --
Jase Peeples7. THEATER: Dame Edna's Glorious Goodbye: The Farewell Tour There is nothing like a dame by the name of Edna, and audiences in several North American cities will have a chance to enjoy her wit and wisdom during her farewell tour. The grand dame of drag, perhaps Australia's greatest entertainment export, will be at the Moore Theatre in Seattle January 15-18; the Ahmanson in Los Angeles January 24-March 15; the Orpheum in San Francisco March 17-22; the McCallum in Palm Desert, Calif., March 30-April 4; the Royal Alexandra in Toronto April 9-19; and the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., April 21-26. If we're lucky, though, her farewell tour will last as long as Cher's. Get all the info here. --
Trudy Ring6. DVD: The Case Against 8Watch history unfold in
The Case Against 8, an HBO documentary that follows Prop. 8 plaintiffs and couples Sandy Stier & Kris Perry and Jeff Zarrillo & Paul Katami as they march toward the Supreme Court decision that would restore marriage equality to California. Directed by Ben Cotner and Ryan White, the film is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at one of the most important legal battles for LGBT people in this century, and includes interviews with the plaintiffs, lawyers David Boies and Ted Olson, and Chad Griffin, the cofounder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which supported the plaintiffs. The film comes
out on DVD this weekend. Watch the trailer below. --
Daniel Reynolds5. FILM: MatchPatrick Stewart gives an unforgettable performance in writer-director Stephen Belber's moving film
Match. The movie, based on Belber's 2004 play of the same name, stars Stewart as the bisexual Tobious "Tobi" Powell, a master dance teacher at Julliard, who must face the painful decisions of this past when he is interviewed by graduate student Lisa (Carla Gugino) and her husband, Mike (Matthew Lillard). Opens Wednesday in select theaters and on VOD.
-- Jase Peeples
4. MUSIC: "Chapter One," Ella HendersonElla Henderson became an international sensation last year with the release of her single "Ghost," which the 18-year-old singer wrote in collaboration with One Republic's Ryan Tedder. The haunting video has accrued nearly 40 million views to date. This weekend, fans of the British songstress can hear "Ghost" and the other tracks from Henderson's debut album,
Chapter One. The record, which was produced in collaboration with some of the world's top hitmakers like Babyface and Al Shux, has already gone platinum in the U.K. and Australia.
Check it out on iTunes, and watch the "Ghost" video below.
-- Daniel Reynolds
3. TV: LookingThe action revs up in the second season of
Looking, HBO's thoughtful look at urban gay men seeking something more than Grindr and Tinder. Our three main guys are all a bit lost in the season opener (airing Sunday at 10 p.m.), with Augustin aimless and reliant on intoxicants, Dom navigating a new and not-easy relationship with a closed-off older man, and protagonist Patrick balls-deep in a hot affair with his partnered boss. It's not clear if show creator Michael Lannan and producers Andrew Haigh and Sarah Condon took the oft-heard "boring" gripe tossed against the first season to heart -- the first two episodes of season 2 feature no shortage of sex and drugs. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but we did experience a tiny
Queer as Folk flashback watching the goings-on.
QAF sure was fun, but it often substituted debauchery for character development. Hopefully, that's won't be the case with
Looking as the season progresses.
Anyway, keep an eye out for newcomer Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls), playing a hirstute romantic interest for Augustin, a bigger presence from gal pal Doris, and more background on Kevin, Patrick's sexy and slightly swarmy superior. Kevin, played by Russell Tovey, is a delight to watch (and not just because of that body). Any fan of the show knows that Patrick has another man in his life, the tough but sensitive Richie (Raul Castillo), who returns in episode 2, much to our delight. -- Neal Broverman
2. FILM: SelmaThere's been a lot of Oscar buzz around
Selma, a historical drama based on the 1965 voting rights marches, which were led by Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists. It's already received four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture. Directed by Ava DuVernay and featuring a star-studded ensemble that includes David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Oprah, and more, the film is a must-see account of one of the most important civil rights marches in American history.
Selma opens this weekend in wide release. Watch the trailer below. --
Daniel Reynolds1. TV: The Golden Globes The
Golden Globe Awards are a must-see, thanks to this year's nominations for a plethora of LGBT-related films and TV shows (including
The Imitation Game, The Normal Heart, Transparent, Orange Is the New Black) and the hosting skills of two of our favorite ladies, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, returning for the third year in a row, who can be counted on to make the ceremony livelier than any Oscar broadcast in recent memory. The show will air live coast-to-coast Sunday at 5 p.m. Pacific/8 p.m. Eastern on NBC, with a pre-show an hour beforehand. And be sure to build your anticipation by reading our
"8 Reasons Why the 2015 Golden Globes Are the Gayest Ever." --
Trudy Ring