Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from December, 2009

Parting Glances

Saw this movie few weeks ago and completely forgot to review it here. SO here it goes. Although I have seen the movie a couple of times, it still can be ranked a one of the better movies amongst a whole bunch of crap that is out here. Michael and Robert are a gay couple living in New York. Robert is about to move t Africa for 2 years for work assignment. This is causing a bit of rift between the couple because Michael doesn't want him to go but he has to deal with the reality. One of their closest friends throws n a surprise party for the couple. Quite a good section of the film is spent in introducing the new characters in the arty and how the couple goes about making new friends. In the process Michael also discovers what is the real reason behind Robert taking up the job. We are also introduced to Nick who is Michael's bestest friend and they used to date years ago. Nick is now living with Aids and Michael takes care of him as and whenever it is possible. It is sometimes ...

Un amour à taire (French) [A Love To Hide]

Set in 1942, at the time of rise of Nazis in Germany and France, this is a beautiful and poignant film that encourages you to wait for the arrival of the hero and the redemption of the evil only for neither to happen. Marvelous acting and a story that spans a few years, it is an emotional roller coaster that leaves you sad and shocked to see the kinds of ordeal gays had to go through during those years. Jean works at his fathers laundry service and they serve all people include Nazi in Germany. Jean is his father's idol and his brother Jacques is in jail for a year for trafficking. Enter Sara, a Jewish girl who is running for her life since her entire family is killed. She is Jean's childhood friend and somehow managed to run and come to Paris. Jean takes her in, gives her a job in the laundry, and arranges for her to live with Jean's lover of four years Philippe. Jean and Philippe understand the dangers of hiding a Jew: Philippe also understands the conflict of Jean's ...

Metrosexuality (UK)

Metrosexuality is a British television drama, which aired on Channel 4 in 1999. The show, a short run series in six episodes, depicts the interactions of a racially and sexually diverse group of friends and family living in London. Kwame is seventeen; sexy and unswervingly straight with his hormones raging like a forest fire. He has gay dads who are now divorced. The story revolves around these characters. One of his best friend, a young twink i madly in love with his dad. His other dad now has a new boyfriend but Kwame wants both his dads to get back together. His other friend is a big romantic who is in love with a bear and has proposed to him 4 times overtime to be rejected. Then there is the family counsellor who feels love lost between her and her husband and decides to move in with her girlfriend's rick millionaire father. There are other characters also in the mix who lend supporting roles to each of these creatures. The feature focusses on the days and problems and issues ...

Aaron... Albeit a Sex Hero

Oh My God!! This was such a baaaaad film and what is even more surprising are the reviews that you get to read online say on imdb or tla website. This film is unbelievingly bad. Aaron is a tour guide in Texas and is having a bad day. He wants to quit his job and join another one but his boss wont give a good recommendation. On his last tour, there is a new bus driver and Aaron and him dont start on a good note. Aaron finds him hot but gets the idea that Jesus, the driver is against homosexuals. In the night, he sees some illegal activity going on in the tour bus and dashes for run because now his life is in danger. Most of the rest of the movie is in jungle him trying to save himself. Later Jesus tells him that he is an undercover agent and is trying to nab his tour owner for illegal activities. The two men also get involved in hot steamy sex whenever they can get time because they are so attracted to each other. In the end towards the morning, everything is fine and bad guys are caug...

In My Life (Filipino)

Having watched a couple of Flipino gay movies, I kind of like their style of humour and the stories that they present. Family values are high, comic timings are good and they just generally focus on keeping the viewers entertained. This film also did the same for me. Its not as great as say a 'Manay Po' but this one still has its moments. The film although could be edited to reduce some of the really emotional scenes. Shirley, a librarian in Philippines is a single mom who is very dominating. One of her daughters already moved to Australia, her son i sin NY and other daughter lives with her. She wants her mom to sell their property so that the daughter can have better life for her kids. This makes Shirley mad and upset and she suddenly decides to go to NY and stay with her son Matt. Matt is gay and lives with his boyfriend Noel who is trying to find a girl to marry him so that his stay in US can become official. Shirley although knows everything but still doesn't like Noel....

Redwoods

Sometimes intentions behind a movie are sincere but somehow somewhere the soul goes missing. Something similar I think happened to this film. The film could have been a simple love story, but somewhere it wasn't made very evident of what the problems between the couple were, why would they not work it out and what was it that made the 2 guys attracted towards each other. Set in Redwoods, Everett and Miles have a comfortable, non-passionate 7 year old relationship. Together they are raising Billy, a learning disabled boy, who takes up much of the loving and attention in their home. On one weekend, Miles and Billy go off to visit the grandparents and leave Everett to work in peace because that is what Everett wants to do. He wants some time alone by himself. There isn't even a kiss shared between the two men before the departure. Shortly after they leave, Chase, a wanderer and a writer stops his car at Everett’s house and asks for directions since he is lost. There is an instant...

The Reception

This film is a very low budget film mad with just 4 characters and their personal interactions with each other. The movie covers a lot of issues like race, alcoholism, homosexuality, AIDS, hate, pride, and defeat. A lot of people think it was a good movie but either I missed the pint but I didn't find anything extra-ordinary in the movie. Is my taste changing? Jeannette is an aging divorced French 'writer' who has moved to upstate New York to a beautiful home to drink, lives with an HIV-positive African American painter Martin, a disillusioned gay man who has retreated from the artistic and emotional pains of Paris. The two care for each other. Into this snowy scenery enters Jeannette's daughter Sierra, whom she has not seen in years having left her with her father at the time of an early divorce. She comes with her African American husband Andrew, a law student from a wealthy family. Jeannette demands they stay until the weekend when Jeannette will throw a big recepti...

Get Your Stuff

Watched this movie second time today. Its a cute premise and interesting story which I remember I thought great things about after first viewing. BUt after watching films like Patrick 1,5; this film takes a few points down but still is one of the entertaining films that you can watch one evening. Phil and Eric are a gay couple of 6 years who have applied for adoption. While they wait for adoption approval, they are approved for foster parenting in the meantime for 2 grown up kids. After coaxing and a little blackmail, hey agree to keep the 2 boys just for one day. 8 year old TJ is hopeful that if they behave nice, these guys might keep them but elder Brian knows the reality. He wants nothing to do with Phil and Eric until their case worker, Gloria, talks them into working the couple to make themselves more appealing. One day after another leads to a few days like that. Phil who is a counsellor is more accommodating of this change but Eric feels loss of their privacy. Time passes and e...

Johns

This is a metaphorical story about people's dreams as they search for themselves and some meaning to life. Unfortunately, not much of those metaphors were interesting enough to hold my attention. It seems like people enjoyed this movie but for me, it didn't do much.  Its Christmas Eve and John, a male prostitute has a plan for Christmas which also happens to be his birthday. He wants to make enough money so that he can stay in a luxurious hotel for one night. John works on a street in Santa Monica Blvd in LA trying to make money. One of his close associates is a friend of his barely 18 who left home because he was gay. Interestingly John is not gay. He has a girlfriend. Throughout the film we meet his clients, his friends, his enemies, and we are a voyeur to the problems he faces in his line of work. He's a likeable chap. In al this he also has a $300 dollar loan that he has to pay back to a drug dealer. The film continues to show us what happens in the life of John in that...

Simon (Dutch-Netherlands)

Another one of those movies wherein the first few minutes, you are not too sure about what this might turn out to be, but towards the finale leaves with you nothing but pleasant memories. Wonderful acting by principal cast and a beautiful story-line helps this movie capture audience interest for the entire duration.  Simon is a drug dealing, swearing, unemployed guy, who cheats on his girlfriend. Yet, you cannot dislike him! He is charismatic, funny, good at heart and completely original. His friendship with Camiel is somehow weird and odd. Through circumstances they meet and strike a friendship. Simon knows right from the start that Camiel is gay. Simon has a girl and a daughter from his ex-Thai wife and he goes once in a year to meet them in Thailand. Simon has another best friend and his wife who works with him and also now has a full time girlfriend. Simon and Camiel share great chemistry but Sion doesn't leave a chance to make gay jokes on Camiel but thats because it is the wa...

Trage Liefde (Dutch) [Lazy Love]

Sometimes there are films that have nothing spectacular about it but they still manage to leave some kind of impression on you. This movie specifically was slow, had very little dialogues but somehow just the interaction within the principal characters and the way story unfolded with minimalist drama and stuff immediately caught my attention. And to top that, a very handsome lead actor only makes the proceedings spicier. Felix lives with is grandmother and work as a waiter/cleaner in a restaurant. His mother died young and he never knew his father. At some point he realized that his parents had a very small (2 month) fling which resulted in his birth. The father Johan , who runs a jazz cafe has absolutely no idea about even the existence of his son. Felix wants something from life, He wants love , longing and wants to identify himself. He starts frequently visiting the cafe but for inexplicable reasons Johan is always mean to him. W find out that Johan used to have a boyfriend who does...

Idol

Another one of those really bizarre movies. Well it was actually a mocumentary style film rather than being a full fledged feature film but it still failed to hold my interest. Parts of it were funny but overall the film did not leave any big time impression on me. Espionage, the first action show to feature a lead gay character, is hotter than ever as it enters its fifth season. And then, tragedy strikes: Lance Hardcastle, the popular star, meets an untimely death! Faced with finding a replacement, the network selects a complete unknown, Kerry Mitchell, chiefly because Kerry is openly gay. Kerry is suddenly whisked into a world of press junkets and photo shoots, and he is even followed around by a documentary film crew. But, Kerry is hiding a big secret that might very well change everything. The story unfolds with interviews and snippets from various people involved in the entire sequence: the make up man, the publicist, the producers, models, advocate, sponsors, lesbians etc. Anyw...

Shiner

This one was a completely messed up film and it didn't take me more than half an hour to completely breeze through the film and denounce it outrightly. It became so hard to bear the film and the ridiculousness that was going on in the film. Shiner describes sado-masochistic love relationships. Three couples who are deeply in love explore consensual abuse as a means by which to express the depths of their passion. The heterosexual couple are never really developed and they ultimately disappear. Despite they're fleeting attempts at some pain/pleasure play, nothing much happens and they are utterly forgettable. Then there are the gay bashing buddies whose leader gets sexual satisfaction before he bashes. Eventually, the lead basher discovers a rare sexual thrill in getting beat up, and the two "straight" pals become almost gay partners in their bizarre quest for sexual fulfillment through beating each other up (more often than not in the nude). Then finally there is a ...