In real life, she's an actress, supermodel, fashion designer and singer. On screen, she's played Joan of Arc,

a genetically enhanced zombie-killer,

and a Fifth Element.

What challenge could there possibly be left to tackle? … continue reading

The cool female character in Resident Evil 5 (Sheva Alomar) is modeled by Australian actress Michelle Van Der Water (pictured). Van Der Water was brought up in Oz, but moved to LA a few years ago to become an actor. She's also a former model and, judging by her filmography, this may well be her biggest role to date. (Side note: another Australian actress Anna Torv who will play FBI agent Olivia in the upcoming Fox series Fringe, stars in the PS3 title Heavenly Sword. She also played a rather hot lesbian in the miniseries Mistresses.) That's some great female representation!

Iwata says next gen Nintendo hardware is "in development"

Don't go throwing away your Wii's yet — it could be in development for ages (and may be the new DS we'll cover further on). Iwata was quoted this week as saying ,"We are always preparing for the next hardware. We are under development,". He also said unlike Sony, there can be no definitive replacement date (i.e. a six year turn around), it should be replaced when developers can no longer innovate on the present system.

More survival horror for Wii
Cursed Mountain is a survival horror game produced exclusively for Wii developed by Deep Silver. The game is set in the late 1980s and players take on the role of a fearless mountaineer as he (of course, he!) climbs the Himalayas on a quest to find his lost brother. As he ascends the mountain, he encounters an ancient curse: The souls of the people who died in that region are stuck in limbo, caught in the Shadow World. Sounds spooky, but yet another male hero. … continue reading

The tech folks over at MSNBC.com recently compiled a Sexiest video game characters top 5, in a quest to find the few characters with “the complete package: looks, brains, confidence – and that mysterious element the French call 'je ne sais quois'” that do it for us gamers. Yeah, I bet that was easy. In fact, I bet that the good folks of Tecmo had those exact characteristics in mind when they developed Dead or Alive Extreme Beach Volleyball.

Right? Anyway, everybody knows sex sells, so it’s quite normal to have a few babes (male or female) appealing to the gamers. Still, this unusually short list has a couple of interesting (and odd) choices, which focus on a lot more than just a nice pair of … pixels. For example:

Lara Croft (Tomb Raider series)

What? Lara Croft is intelligent and … stuff.

OK, seriously now. It’s obvious that no sexiest video game characters list can be credible without “the queen of virtual babes”: Miss Croft. Since Tomb Raider's original release in 1996, Lara has become an Eidos Interactive goldmine, both in the video game industry and in Hollywood. Whether it’s the looks, the guns, the attitude or the accent, no one can resist Angeli — er, Lara Croft.

Jade (Beyond Good & Evil)

Now this is an interesting choice. Jade is one of the few leading ladies in video games, but she’s not your typical eye candy: she’s actually smart, talented and, all in all, a pretty nice role model. Kudos for choosing her. Also, did you notice that hair and that attitude? Quite ... ambiguous. Just ask our friends over at LesbianGamers.com.

There are also two men on the list: Agent 47 (Hitman series) and Dante (Devil May Cry series). The choice of Agent 47 is odd. Sure, Agent 47 wears nice suits, but … he's scary. But I have to agree with the choice of Dante, who is very stylish and, seriously, isn't he a bit lesbianish?

Dante (Devil May Cry series)

Look at that nice hair. Pretty lesbianish man, if you ask me. OK, maybe it’s just me. But hey, he’s very good looking and can kick some serious butt. Also, Devil May Cry is fun. … continue reading

Ashanti graced the cover of Rolling Out last week, with an interview and pretty, pretty pictures.

On the heels of Resident Evil: Extinction and anticipating the release of her first new album in a couple of years, The Declaration, Ashanti sounds like she's just enjoying her current success. In the interview, she speaks to both projects. But first, let's take another look at her Nurse Betty.

… continue reading

Now that's what I call a quality caregiver.

Ali Larter, lately known for her Resident Evil: Extinction success, as well as her role on an obscure television show you may have heard of (let's call it Heroes), is featured in the October issue of that highly esteemed home of journalistic integrity, Cosmopolitan.

… continue reading

In the interview, Larter notes, "I told my boyfriend after three weeks that I wanted to marry him and that we could do it tomorrow." Well, I for one enjoy knowing that Larter is more or less living the heterosexual version of the age-old lesbian stereotype (or tradition, depending on who you ask).

With so many interesting new fall TV shows debuting now, Lori and I decided to structure our vlog a little differently moving forward. Rather than a lengthy review of each show, we're just going to hit the highlights of the week in TV and film, organized into the following categories:

Rapid-fire Reviews (kinda like The McLaughlin Report, but gay)
Gaying up Primetime (the best lesbian moment that wasn't)
Who thought that was a good idea? (the rant)
The Casting Couch (cool new film or TV casting news)
AfterEllen.com Soundbites (funny comments on the site about TV and film)
What to Watch (our pick of what's coming up on TV and at the theaters)

Among the TV topics we cover this week are the premieres of Top Model, K-Ville, and Survivor: China; our love of Bones; the revamped Bionic Woman pilot; and Gossip Girl's lesbian moment that wasn't.

We also discuss Zoe Saldana in the new Star Trek movie, what's wrong with the trailer for the upcoming movie The Kingdom, and why Lori plans to see Resident Evil: Extinction (opening this weekend).

… continue reading

Plus, a special appearance by Sydney Bristow, and Lori gets in trouble for revealing how much I like the cheesy ballet movie Center Stage (2000).

Life is not fair. And if you ever forget that, just take a look at Milla Jovovich and get a quick reminder.

Discovered for her striking looks at age 11, Jovovich embarked on a modeling career and has worn some of the world's best-known designers. But here's more of the unfairness: She's actually becoming better known for her own fashion designs, rather than just the way she wears others'. Her clothes have even been seen on quite a few Hollywood trendsetters. Now, in a move that makes you think, "No, she can't be beautiful and creative AND realistic and understand the budgets and shapes of most women — can she?" she has recently signed an agreement to design and produce a lower-price capsule line of clothes for Target stores. (Gosh, I'm hoping the red bullseye logo will not be on the back of each item. That would really limit how one accessorizes.)

Jovovich and business partner Carmen Hawk (also a model, also unfair) launched their small line of Jovovich-Hawk women's clothing in 2005 after working on designs as a hobby since 2003. Since then, the vintage style and look have captured not only the spirits of those who can afford the $400 items, but also the interest of other designers and those who follow the ins-and-outs of the fashion world. When reviewing the spring 2007 collection, Vogue magazine wrote that Jovovich and Hawk have in a very short time established "the kind of girl-about-town cult status that most designers spend years trying to achieve ... the label has the kind of superior in-crowd status that leaves regular, over-exposed It-girls far behind." Now that's a favorable review if I ever did read one. You can view Jovovich-Hawk's entire line here.

Jovovich seems really excited about the opportunity to bring her look to the masses: … continue reading

A while ago, I blogged about the poster and teaser trailer for Resident Evil: Extinction. I just watched the full theatrical trailer, and I have to say, this movie might kick zombie butt. Rather, Milla Jovovich might (let's just say "will"):

Having sweated through all of the Resident Evil video games, I'll admit I'm compelled by the idea of a biochemical weapon that turns people into zombies. The whole military-industrial complex angle always fascinated me. It seems particularly timely now, but maybe I'm just paranoid.

Anyway, never mind the social commentary: Look at all those zombies! … continue reading

When I went to NewFest (New York's LGBT film fest) last month, one of the gayest things I saw was the Resident Evil: Extinction poster in the lobby. I mean, hello:

I'm not a big Milla Jovovich fan, and I don't even know if I'll see this movie — I'm still getting over the death of Michelle Rodriguez's character in the first Resident Evil flick. But I do enjoy the posters. Here's another, just released last week: … continue reading