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Showing posts from May, 2011

The Opposite Of Sex

This movie is a mix of comedy, drama, satire, spoof and trying to be a little bit of everything, the film at some point in my opinion loses its whole point. Agreed maybe 13 years ago, when the film came out, most of it would have make sense but in today's time, it doesn't anymore. That does not mean that the film doesn't entertain you. It does but at the same time, some repetitive scenes and mostly one dimensional acting prevents it from becoming a better film.  16 year old Dede runs from her mother's home and goes to live with her half bother Bill. Bill is gay and is a school teacher whose partner Tom died of aids few years ago which brought Tom's sister Lucia and Bill very close. Lucia pretty much doesn't have a life outside Bill. Bill now has a new boyfriend Matt. Ever since Dede moves in, she tries to seduce Matt because he is hot and young and eventually succeeds. The affair goes on till Dede finds out that she is pregnant. She convinces matt that he might

Broderskab (Danish) [Brotherhood]

Now that was a complete surprise. A film that you would have not expected to go the way it did. It makes you think, you sometimes feel for the characters but you also feel repulsed by some of the acts they did. The movie was intense, it was gripping and it keeps you hooked throughout. You wanna know what is going to happen next. I was very pleasantly surprised with this film. Lars has just quit army because he could not get promoted to being a field sergeant. One day when he is hanging out with friends, he meets some people from a new-Nazi group who are all about just having pure white people led by Michael known as Fatty within the group. Everyone and everything else is against the nature. Initially, Lars distances himself from their ideology and methods, but fuelled by defiance against the system in general - and his parents in particular - Lars decides to join the group. Michael for some reason think that Lars has potential even though his right hand man Jimmy does not agree. Soon L

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

This is a glam rock musical made to a movie after a successful running on the broadway. This film might not be everyone's cup of tea but you can't ignore it. Considering is a debut of a director who also acts as the principal character of Hedwig makes you sit and take notice of him and the film. I had heard a lot about this film specially in the realm of queer cinema which of course raised my expectations over a period of time. We will have to read further whether the expectations were met or not.  The film is set in a mocumentary style where Hedwig is doing commentary and singing songs based on her life. Hedwig born as hansel in East Germany fled to US when he met a soldier in Berllin. he wanted to bring Hansel with him but for that he will have to undergo sex change surgery. The surgery goes bad and he is left with an inch of mass in his front and has to now live with it. Unfortunately, things didn't work out with the guy in US. He is now following this very popular rock

Meine Schwiegertochter ist ein Mann (German) [All You Need Is Love]

Thank God, after a series of watching really bad gay films (which seems to be the trend these days), I got to see a decent watch. In fact I was pretty surprised by the whole premise. What I loved specifically was it was a great blend of drama, comedy and social message. The gay characters are not just a walking collection of stereotypes, and the actors do their job well enough that you actually believe the characters love each-other.  The film starts with Katharina receiving a letter from her son Hans that he will bring Nicki with him whom he wants to marry in their small town of Bavaria. Katharina is very happy and tells her best friend and almost everyone in the small town. What she doesn't realize is that Nicki is a man. When Hans shows up with Nicki, she gets the shock of her life and immediately throws her son out. Initially they wanna go back to Berlin but Hans decides to stay and change people's mindset. Hans and Nicki check into a local hotel which again becomes talk of

Release (UK)

The heart of this film was in the right place but I cant even begin to describe how faulty the direction and editing was. The film was going all over the place between past and present and even just random scenes popping here and there. If the makers had kept the film linear and simple, it would have had so much more sense to the audience. As of now, this film was nothing but a huge disappointment. Father Gillie, stripped of his priestly garb and is marched through the recognisable process of being showered and dressed in prison clothes. Housed in his cell with a younger troubled man it doesn't take long before rumours abound that the Priest is really a paedophile. Now an easy target thanks to the insinuations he becomes hunted. Security comes in the form of a prison guard who befriends him and with whom love and an affair develops. When safely behind locked doors their illicit relationship blossoms and only then do we learn of the true crime that has put our priest inside. He he

Handsome Harry

This was an interesting thought. There are quiet a few things that we all do when we are young without even thinking of what repercussions it might have in our old age. What we might think of it and how it is going to affect us psychologically. Using this as a primary theme, this film takes us through the life of Harry Sweeney.  Handsome Harry as he is called by his friends is 52 years old, divorced and has a son who lives in Chicago. He is ex army servant and is carrying a secret with him. He also does not allow anyone to come close to him. He gets a call from his friend Kelly who is dying and who wants him to find out their friend Kagan and ask for forgiveness. Thirty years ago, these guys were a group of 5 friends in navy who always used to hang out together. In a drunken brawl all of the the group subjected Kagan to a beating because of homophobia: all of the men participated in the cruel act but one crushed the jazz pianist Kagan's right hand with an armature, destroying the h

Rückenwind (German) [Light Gradient]

This film was weird. It was just going nowhere. Looking at the poster, you might think that it might be somewhat like Summerstorm but it doesn't even come close. This is one of those really bad foreign / independent films where all that happens is bicycle riding. Trust me, thats exactly what they show for a good 30-40% of the initial time in the film. 2 young men Johann 7 Robin are on a train bound for some country-side experience. Half of the film just focuses on them and their adventures of biking in the woods. When their bikes get ultimately stolen, they look for shelter and find a 40s woman with her son. The woman is interested in gay men but her son is not. He is just used to being a bored teenage who just does random things to kill his time. Then random things happen. The 2 boys spent sometime with mother and son and then go back to woods. And then something happens in which one of the boy either gets lost or killed or something. It is not very clear. Trust me, the film was

Callas Forever

This film though might give an impression of a biopic, is really not. Its the directors fantasy that he plays on the screen around the idea of Callas starring in a film production of Carmen at a time where she was losing her command of her magnificent opera voice. Larry is a famous singer who meets Michael, an artist on one of his trips to France. They have an instant attraction and slowly start dating. remember that Larry is much older than him but that means nothing. Michael idolizes Callas, a very very famous opera singer. She is now losing her voice and confidence and prefers to live in seclusion. Larry used to be Callas' agent in her heydays. Larry proposes a film version of her famous opera Carmen to Callas so that the younger generation gets to see her work and see her perform which they have never had the opportunity to. Initially reluctant to star in a film that will use her old recordings dubbed on the film soundtrack, she ultimately gives in. The projects is launched an