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Star Trek: Horizon (2016)
Very Enjoyable
As a Star Trek fan, this was a very satisfying film. It enlivened the universe of the Star Trek: Enterprise show without seeming weighed down by history as Enterprise was. It beautifully referenced the STNG show which featured Iconia.
The plot had a lot of action balanced with human relationships in the finest Star Trek tradition. We had a sense of established relationships among the crew of Discovery. The Captain was an interesting character, with a balanced yet strong approach to command.
In a good way, the film left me wanting more. I'd like to have seen the events leading up to the film and the events following the film with the Romulan War.
For min brors skyld (2014)
Brutal, compelling film
This is a riveting film that I had difficulty tearing myself away from and am having difficulty forgetting. It starts with a young boy being rented to his father's brother to be abused and doesn't get any brighter, except for a couple of episodes where the brothers are interacting. The actors are all excellent, particularly the young man playing Aske, at the center of the film.
The whole film has a sense of inevitability, as though Aske has no way to change his circumstances. The change that does come is fleeting. The world of the film is unforgiving with only small moments of kindness and love.
Rabbit Fall (2007)
Town with a past
This was an excellent two seasons, with no drop in quality the entire way through. There are a lot of characters and a lot going on. Tara is unraveling corruption in the town of Rabbit Fall, where people have gone missing or died under mysterious circumstances. She is also confronting spirits of the past which loom large in the town's difficulties as well. All the supporting characters are well-rounded, and each episode is a quick pace with lots going on. I would like to have spent many more seasons with the characters and the town. There were a lot of secrets worth exploring. Spoiler-wise, I would say the ending was quite abrupt but fit well with a series that never dragged for a second.
Kapgang (2014)
Coming of Age but beyond the usual
This is a lovely movie about a transition to adulthood. Martin goes through the typical elements of it including friendship, love, sex, death, and seeing his father and other adults as people with flaws and weaknesses. He experiences his first romantic disappointment and takes in a lot of experience to process but keeps going. As an American, I kept waiting for the things that might typically happen but the movie never strayed into the trite. It's amazing in its running time how many characters that we get to know. Part of me wants to see more but part of me loves the feeling that we are left with, not of resolution but of Martin greeting the joys and challenges of adulthood and the sense that he's going to be just fine.
Vil romance (2008)
Strong Characters
I liked this movie. Roberto is a young gay man who seems to accept what life gives him. He isn't living with his mother and sister, who are featured having sex with two men in the front window of their home as Roberto watches. He sleeps in a wrecked truck at first, then meets Raul in a park and goes home with him, ultimately living with him. Raul is violent and controlling, but Roberto is able to talk about his dissatisfaction with their arrangement. Raul is also a gun dealer. Roberto sleeps with a guy to satisfy sexual needs Raul won't satisfy. This guy gets a bit obsessed with Roberto and comes to Raul's attention. Ultimately tension gets to the point where there is violence. The setting of the movie has a very realistic sense. The actor playing Roberto has a lot of charisma. I don't see any other film rolls on IMDb for him, which is too bad.
Team Picture (2007)
Well-observed setting
I enjoyed this. It's a quiet film where there isn't much obviously happening. The dramatic tension lies beneath the surface. In some respects I had the sense the lead character was in a state of depression...not really interested in anything, not motivated to want anything, not wanted to work or engage the world. The movie captures the state of his life and you have a sense of the currents underneath the surface that are going to move him onward with his life.
What really struck me about this film was its strong sense of setting. Much of it happens outdoors, whether in the wading pool out in front of the house or in the park in Chicago and, particularly in the visit to Arkansas with that walk across a field with the grasshoppers. The film will on occasion let everything fade into the background except for the natural sounds.
Hold Your Peace (2011)
Unpretentious and Pleasant
The movie surprised me. At first I was prepared not to like it--the plot looked to be obvious, things that were going to happen were telegraphed very plainly, the acting more measured than I would have expected from a romantic comedy. So how did I end up giving the movie a 6? I think it was intentional--the movie wasn't trying to be ground-breaking in terms of plot or character. It simply brought to life a particular set of characters in a particular situation. While I didn't necessarily like all the characters, I enjoyed seeing them go through the process laid out at the start of the movie. The world has really changed when we can have gay cinema that doesn't have to be ground-breaking.
Nate and Margaret (2012)
Lovely movie that rings true
This is a really nice little movie about two people who have a deep friendship at stalled points in their lives. Nate is an incredibly shy film student who is trying to explore life as a gay man. Margaret is a woman with dreams of being a stand up comic who has not learned to speak her own truth. Their friendship is the spark for both of them to move forward in their lives, not without conflict, pain and difficulty. Still, it remains a sweet, light-hearted and hopeful film. Nate's story arc in particular has a very genuine feel. There is really nothing in the movie that feels forces or shoved in for moving the plot forward. Everything flows out of the characters.
It's always nice to see Chicago in a movie as well. It's a location with a lot of character that doesn't get utilized enough.
Mambo Italiano (2003)
Charming comedy
I can't really call it a romantic comedy, unless learning to value yourself can be considered romance. This is a very sweet movie which takes no mis-steps. The family characters are all entertaining and well done. It's really about the journey of Angelo towards learning to take pride in himself and not live a lie. It's the lesson he needs to learn before his life can come together. It doesn't have the feel of a coming out movie, or coming-of-age. It feels more like a journey towards knowing and embracing oneself as a whole, not as a particular role of being a gay man or an Italian or the picked-on kid. I would recommend it highly to anyone.
Black Mirror (2011)
Truest Heir to the original Twilight Zone
I found this series extraordinary. It made me feel like I did very young when seeing The Twilight Zone for the first time...a world like ours, but tilted slightly, an engaging story and often a twist at the end. Should you find the subject matter the first episode to be a bit too much, I would suggest skipping it. However, it is a terrific episode and well worth viewing. All of the stories include a tweak in the current world, often in the nature of technology. Be Back Soon has elements of romance to it, while other episodes are more thriller or political in nature. They all belong together but each have their own feel. There are cameos by characters in one episode in others, but it's done as a fun thing to spot, not meant to illuminate the stores, which is why this is definitely episodic in nature. Highly recommended.
Otto; or, Up with Dead People (2008)
Terribly sad under the surface
I watched this movie for the second time today. It had been a couple of years since I had seen it. I liked it the first time, though you never know how well a film will age with years and repeated viewings. I liked it even more this time. The first time I enjoyed being puzzled by the film-within-a-film and by wondering if this were a real zombie movie, a documentary-style horror movie, or (finally) a look through the perspective of a schizophrenic young man. This time around I enjoyed the cinematography as things changed from the black and white to brightly colored scenes. I felt terrible for Otto's father, and frustrated with Otto's ex-boyfriend who dumped him after Otto had an onset of mental illness. The first time I watched the movie I was rather shocked by the first gay zombie sex scene on the apartment floor. This time around the sex scenes were just a part of the milieu of the movie. I also appreciated the excellent music of the movie and also the sound, especially when we are looking at things from Otto's perspective. The movie seems to have a wide range of ratings--I think your experience of it may depend on the extent to which you empathize or sympathize with Otto.
Wrecked (2009)
Downward slide
I thought the movie demonstrated that sort of unaware slide that can take people out of their lives and into addiction. We have a young man in the lead character who has a lot of potential in his life, whether a career acting opportunity or the obvious affection of a nice young man interested in photography.
His downfall is his inability to say no to a young man with a drug addiction who is very skilled at getting what he wants from people then moving on. The explicit sex is needed to establish the attraction, because there isn't a lot to that young man without it. I found it a good movie that sort of lulled me along with the main character.
Blackmail Boys (2010)
An un-tense film
A young man is in art school in Chicago. He has turned to prostitution after his parents disown him when he comes out so that he can continue to afford his apartment and also pay for his education. His boyfriend of three years comes to visit, notices that one of the tricks is an anti-gay celebrity author, and the two concoct a blackmail scheme to get enough money to get married and allow the student to stop turning tricks.
I was excited to see this film after enjoying the brothers' first film, Wrecked. While it was enjoyable, topical, and had a good storyline, the film lacked the dramatic tension that would have made it memorable. We hear about the family disownment but miss the opportunity to it; we get a summary of the turn to prostitution but don't see the process that led him there; we see the boyfriend told about the prostitution the evening after he proposes and he hardly bats an eye other than asking if there's any other job he can get; there's a hint that the lead character may be jealous of his boyfriend's supportive family, but that doesn't come out in the drama either; we hear about the blackmail target's potential for violence but don't feel or see it, and this doesn't really give a strong personal motive for the lead character to engage in the blackmail; the ending of the story seems a bit too "and they lived happily ever after" with the wife bringing the bag of money, the hypocrite changing his public positions, and a happy marriage.
I thought the explicit sex had an un-erotic quality, which was perfect in the prostitution scenes, but I wanted to see the passion in the relationship with the boyfriend in their scenes, whether it was sexual passion or not.
I don't see any projects coming down the line for the brothers when I do an Internet search. I hope to see more than them, and hope they will take more advantage of opportunities to build dramatic tension in their films. The sort of lack of dramatic tension in their first film worked with the plot, but that can't translate to other situations effectively.
Beautiful People (2008)
What a lovely show
I really enjoyed this show. Young Simon is vivacious and funny. His best friend is a great foil. The family and neighbors and classmates are all excellent characters. The '80s setting hits the right notes of nostalgia but is really used as a backdrop for a celebration of people. The musical and dance numbers that drop in here and there are really entertaining. The attention to details in mining the humor in the various situations says to me that this was a work of love by those involved. I came of age in the '80s and went through the Reagan Revolution and the beginnings of AIDS in Midwestern America and actually watched Boy George perform at a Stop Clause 28 rally in London in 1988. I really empathized with the older Simon in wishing his younger self could know that it was all going to be OK. Often with shows I like I watch them through as quickly as I can. This one, I spaced out so I could savor them as I saw them all for the first time.
Mulligans (2008)
Summer movie with drama and some humor
I liked this movie--the relationship between the son and his friend is a really nice one at the beginning. The mother is a little quirky and amusing, as is the little sister. The father does a good job of showing that odd place in life where one realizes one left things behind due to choices that need to be revisited, i.e., him being gay.
I would have rated higher if the ending had felt a little more satisfying. Clearly the son, sister and mother are all making peace with the dad being gay and getting on with life. Our two gay characters seem to be left with a very uncertain future ahead of them and they don't seem to have any reason for optimism. I don't think it had to be a happily-ever-after ending, but I didn't have a sense of closure with the two characters with whom I identified the most. Still, I did enjoy this movie and would recommend it.
Melancholia (2011)
Lovely Film
I hadn't read much about the film going into it, so was expecting something with more or a sci fi feel. I was confused by the opening, but was drawn in once I started getting to know the characters. It seems to me to be a film about connecting to another person. The first sister tries but fails as she tries to wed, to become more successful in her job, to connect with her nephew in "building a cave," to reach out to her mother and her father. As she achieves connection at the end of the movie, having built the aforementioned cave and connected at last with both her sister and nephew, it is at the same time Melancholia physically connects with and destroys Earth. It was this left left me with a sense of a happy and uplifting ending, odd though that may sound.
Noah's Arc (2005)
Funny and entertaining
I had vaguely heard of this show before but had never found out what it was about. Now that I've seen it, I can say it is an excellent show. The episodes go by very quickly as these likable characters work their way through their lives with humor. I have seen the show compared to Sex and the City. I understand those comparisons in terms of the two shows being about relationships, both romantic and friends. The characters deal with their romantic relationships while always maintaining the firm base of their friendships. The episodes include an incredible variety of situations, from workplace to marriage to parenting to masculinity, and give a broad perspective on both black and gay cultures. When I think of the show, though, those things seem secondary to me to the warm humor that arises from the interactions of the friends.
Holding Trevor (2007)
Honest and heart-felt
The experiences of Trevor and his friends felt very real to me. I enjoyed experiencing their friendship and banter and found the three main characters very likable. Though Trevor's romantic relationships are central to the film, it felt much more as though it was about a point in Trevor's life where he needs to find a way to grow and move forward. The music was excellent. I thought the director made some nice touches, in particular with the scene involving looking at the lights and the good-bye party at the hospital. Overall, the emotions of the film rang true to me, the characters were people I found I cared about, and the humor unforced and good-natured.
A Lower Power (2009)
Resonated with me
This film resonated with me more after watching than it did during. It was a little bit episodic in nature, and a little less building from scene upon scene. It was cloaked in the trappings of a gay coming of age story, but the character was already out of the closet and in a very supportive environment. He has difficulties with the people in his life, but over time and repeated frustrations, it becomes apparent that he has not yet learned to be honest with himself. The way this keeps repeating again and again is what makes the film interesting and satisfying to me.
Beyond the thematic elements I enjoyed, the actors are very likable, the humor provided by the parents and situations, the requisite eye-candy and titillating scenes done nicely.
Joshua (2007)
Oedipal variation? I didn't get it
I watched the whole movie, waiting and waiting for something to actually happen. Maybe it's my fault for expecting evil and horror instead of psychology? Is it a weird re-telling of the Oedipal myth: I want to kill my father and mother and marry my uncle and compose musical theater with him? I didn't understand why certain plot elements were even present: why was the construction upstairs, why was there that big stairwell with a perfect spot for someone to fall to their doom if no one was actually going to do so, why have the scenes at all with the father at work, why have such a nice kitchen if you're only going to eat takeout, why would the boy want to be baptized and the parents be the ones to resist instead of the other way around. I see lots of good reviews for this movie...has my taste been corrupted by going up with 70s b-movies and old sci fi flicks?