Two movies open this week in limited release with themes of sexuality, race, and politics ... and they couldn't be more different if they tried.

A Jihad for Love
This intimate, fascinating, and troubling documentary follows the lives of a handful of gay Muslims dealing with various degrees of persecution in their homelands and abroad. Some have fled after having been imprisoned for being gay or from threat of execution, others are trying to reconcile with their religion or nation, and others live quietly and in fear, praying for Allah to change them. For a Western audience the degree of intolerance present in these communities may be staggering, but the brave wills of the film's participants cannot help but inspire. The differences between countries with national religion and those without (many gays and lesbians flee to Turkey, for example, which is largely Muslim but does not criminalize homosexuality) is fascinating, and the film's most compelling story - that of four gay friends in exile awaiting asylum - is harrowing enough to feel unreal. But the incredible support that these men and women provide one another, support that their religion and communities do not and will not offer, is a testament to the strength of love under even the most dire circumstances.

Postal
Hands-down the worst movie I've seen in years, supposed "satire" Postal starts in the cockpit of one of the 9/11 planes and actually goes downhill from there. Claiming to "send up" contemporary American life, this lazy, stupid, and utterly pointless collection of bad jokes and worse acting is the brainchild of Uwe Boll, a German-born filmmaker known for ruining several other video game adaptations (yes, this is based on a video game, somehow) and challenging his critics to boxing matches.

Zack Ward (left) & Dave Foley in a scene from Postal

What's gay? Well, aside from a few crude gay jokes, a lead character (a sham cult leader played by Dave Foley, who should have to perform Kids in the Hall skits for free in Times Square for the next 10 years for appearing in this) randomly makes out with a man about to shoot him and comes out as gay right before he is gunned down near the end of the movie. It's one bad joke in a sea of far worse, and while it's really not that offensive and one of the more thought-out gags of the film, I would have rather there had been nothing gay whatsoever in this mess. Thank God this disaster didn't get the wide distribution that the producers were hoping for, because mean-spirited, poorly-made idiocy like this is the last thing we need polluting our theaters. Avoid at all costs.

A Jihad for Love, an award-winning film about the lives of gay Muslims, opens in NYC this week

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• American Idol roundup: Here's out pop star George Michael's performance of "Praying for Time". Defamer asks what exactly it was that Robert Downey, Jr. did to Jack Black aboard that Midnight Train to Georgia ...

• And this video of Freak Show author James St. James riling up the fans waiting outside last night's American Idol finale is the last thing we'll say about the show today. Because really, someone telling a teenaged girl that she's a "child molester" for having a crush on David Archuleta is pretty much the last word on the matter.

• The UK Fire Minister is launching a program to recruit more gays and lesbians for the fire bridage. One, this is fabulous and not anything I can even imagine happening here in the States. And two, I have your solution: hire Michael Biserta.

• "I've come to wish you an unhappy birthday ..." (Morrissey turns 49 today)

• The NewNowNext boys sat down with Jason Preston (Marc Jacobs's on-again, off-again boyfriend) to set the record straight. (They're off-again.)

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• I don't know which news is more exciting: that Scissor Sisters are heading back to the studio to record their next album (which may feature a collaboration with Kylie Minogue) or that Jake Shears has been working for a year on the numbers for a musical version of Tales of the City. Seriously, how perfect is that?!

• Instinct mag's cover touts the first openly gay Chippendales dancer. Uh ... from the looks of it, he's also the troupe's first demon. What's with the eyebrows, dude?!

• The documentary A Jihad for Love, which explores the lives of gay Muslims, has been picked up for U.S. theatrical and DVD distribution by First Run Features, who last year released the similarly themed For the Bible Tells Me So.

• Counterfeit Skin, a new play about modern gay love by Jason Charles, opens next week in London. Not to be confused with Mysterious Skin, The Skin of Our Teeth, or No Skin Off My *ss.

• David Hyde Pierce fans take note: the Tony-winning out actor will be appearing on Good Morning America tomorrow at 8AM EST with his Curtains castmates to promote the Warm Coats and Warm Hearts drive.
  

• Michael Petrelis has a piece up looking at some of the gay media response to the UCSF's sensationally-headlined staph infection report ("Sexually active gay men vulnerable to new, highly infectious bacteria" ... as are schoolchildren, people who go to the gym, your mom, etc.), which was picked up across the country, including in the NY Times.