Sexiest Man Alive: Channing Tatum

After pretty much fast-forwarding through the dreadful 2009 flick "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," I didn't give much thought to newbie sex symbol Channing Tatum.

But after watching "Fighting" last night, the gritty rough-and-tumble movie released before that stinker, I cocked a brow. The 28-year-old Tatum was pretty convincing as a New York City street hustler, made more interesting by director Dito Montiel's portrayal of a current-day NYC closer to its persona in the 1970s: dangerous, dirty and dark. The fight scenes also hold decided homoerotic appeal, as Tatum's character Sean Arthur eyes his foes with a certain "come hither" intensity, before grinding around the floor with them, body parts locked together.

But let's get to the meat of the matter: Tatum's biceps, those pouty lips and dreamy blue eyes. He's not quite at the level of previous Smoking Nun bulls-eyes for Sexiest Man Alive William Levy, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kellan Lutz, Edison Nascimento, Chris Pine, Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ or Evan Wadle... but he's definitely on the radar now.

Next up on Tivo: his "serious" drama/romance with Amanda Seyfried "Dear John," which I suspect is going to return him to the stinker category. At least he spends most of the film with his shirt off.