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Showing posts from June, 2008

The Books of John

This is an apt case of a novel concept going horribly wrong for various reasons. Execution, acting, message conveyed.. just about everything. Plus the film was probably made on a very small scale and it could be seen. Among various sub plots, the main story is about Frank who loses his partner of 12 years John. After his death he realizes that John had been writing diaries ever since he was a kid. He starts reading the diary and decides to o and visit John's birth place to see if he can trace his roots. But no one there knows about John. Frank ends up meeting a guy called Trevor who lives with his grandmother in the small town since his parents are dead and they instantly get attracted to each other. Trevor offers help and says he will ask his grandmother who eventually also says she knows nothing. Time goes on . Frank and Trevor are getting more involved with each other and in the same time Frank is discovering things about John which he did not know including the fact that he ha

The Curiosity of Chance

I think my luck is being good these past few days or maybe I am more careful of what I watch these days. Few films in a row and I actually like all these movies. This film although is again run of the mill film about a teenage gay guy trying to fit in a society in 80s but the way they have showed this is hilarious and very beautiful to watch. This coming of age story of a guy named Chance Marquis is set in 80s in Belgium. A young awkward teenager, he is a transfer in the school and is trying to fit in. His father is was in military and he has a young sister who is very honest and blatant. He ends up making friends with Twyla, a girl who no one knows in the school and also a guy who is the photographer. Chance is assigned the job of interviewing the school football team but the captain Brad always bullies him for being fairy faggot etc. ALso in the team is Levi who also happens to be Chance's neighbor. They become friends but Brad doesn't like it. So he forces Levi to break off

The Ritz

I had no idea what I was getting into when I started watching this movie but Oh boy! was I glad I did. This 1976 movie is blatantly humorous wicked and filled with wonderful performances. I dont even know if I will be able to do justice by talking about the movie here. Terrence McNally's screenplay is the real winner Gaetano Proclo with his wife Vivian is present at her father's deathbed who does not like his son in law. Theirs is a gangster family and just before dying the father asks his son Carmine Vespucci to "get Proclo". Proclo takes the threat seriously and gets in a cab, asks him to take him to the last place where Vespucci might look for him. The driver takes him to the Ritz which a few minutes later we find out is a gay bathhouse. Thats where the fun begins. Proclo puts his name as Vespucci and enters the bathhouse where he is chased by a chubby chaser (very funny) who constantly keeps rejecting hot men because they are too skinny. He also Meets Chris who ki

Manay Po 2: Overload (Filipino)

I was so thrilled when I saw that there is a sequel coming to Manay Po. Having loved the first film, I definitely wanted to see the sequel. And I must admit that I was not disappointed. The film continues with the life of Luz, her boyfriend Gerry and her 3 sons Oscar, Orson and Orwell. The part 1 ended with Oscar and Adrian getting married. So now they live happily and Oscar and Adrian decide to have a baby. They hire a babymaker Bette and life is not the same. Bette is a weird girl who is doing this just so that she can make some good money. She along-with her boyfriend had tried to rob Luz and Gerry once. But Luz can't remember this. There are a whole bunch of hilarious sequences involving the entire family with Bette. On side stories, Orwell is shown struggling n his school with his sexuality and also the fact that how he is different from his brothers. He is not queeny, does not want to put makeup or put on a gown . Rather he is the school swimming champion. His flamboyant frie

Back Soon

I am so glad I saw this movie. There are some movies which just touch your heart. It can have various reasons. The fact that I got emotionally attached with the movie made me like it. Logan is selling his house after his wife Adrienne dies in a car accident. Gil is the guy who comes looking for the house and immediately buys it. Both Logan and Gil have this unexplained attraction for each other. They become good friends. Slowly Logan realizes that he is getting both emotionally and physically attracted towards Gil and Gil feels the same. Since none of them is gay, they are both surprised and dont know why this is happening but they give in. We later find that there are mystery elements involved. Apparently the day Adrienne died, Gil had a near death experience and now he feels her presence inside her. Logan and Gil are confused now because it is hard to explain whether this attraction is between Adrienne and Logan or between Gil and Logan. In all this confusion, Gil's past comes ba

Father Knows

This film is a bitter sweet comedy drama about family, relationships, personal quests over a span of 15 years. Made on a short budget and on a small scale, his film still manages to hold your attention. The story is told by Brad who has just finished his memoirs and it goes in flashback. Brad is good friends with Ira. Since Brad and his brother lost their father early, Ira's father George has been a father figure for him as well. On his 18th birthday, Ira comes out to his family and tells that he is gay. Brad is happy and now all he wants is to be with Ira and have a family. George is very understanding and talks to his son about general stuff. Meanwhile, on an exchange program, a young student Mansoor comes from Dubai to live with them. He is the comic relief. He is shown as a horn dog who would be ready to have sex with anyone at all. Ira for a while now is having doubts about his relationship with Brad. He wants to explore and look around more and tells Brad about it. Brad walks

Mandragora (Czech Republic - Czech)

If you read the synopsis of this movie, it sounds interesting but personally it did not do it for me. There were 2 things that I was not comfortable. It was too dark and after a while I thought it was just being stretched. Mark, a 15 year old village guy runs from him home after his father forces him to go to school. When he reaches Prague, he is followed by a pimp, Honza. Since Mark runs out of money, Honza convinces him to be his rabbit, a male prostitute. His first assignment leaves him beaten and bruised and then he meets a fellow hustler David. Together they form a team, get Hona to prison and start a successful prostitution racket. Hereon the film stats with characters coming in and out and how it affects their life. Each time the life gives them scars that grow more visible as does the threat of drug problems and AIDS. They eventually consent to embrace the lowest level of making gay porn where the cruel director forces Marek to be sodomized by David. They are raided by the poli

Cover

I had no expectations from this movie but when I started watching it, I was hooked to it primarily for 2 reasons. The whole black life style and the way they speak and "my husband". Now don't ask what that means. Just read it with the black accent. A murder happens on new years and prime suspect is Valerie and church goer and a home maker. The story then goes in flashback when she is narrating the story to the detective. Valerie and Dutch have moved to Philadelphia from Atlanta for work. Dutch is psychiatrist and has got a job here. Valerie is a photographer by profession. Dutch now works in the hospital of Kevin and Monica (a couple and his ex college friends). Things are shown in suspicion for the couple and it seems that Monica and Dutch have something going on. There is also a popular singer Ryan in the picture who happen to be an old friend and regular at these parties. After a series incidents Valerie starts suspecting of Dutch cheating on her. She gets help from h

Breakfast with Scott (Canada)

After a few disastrous movies, this movie was nice to see. There is nothing pathbreaking in the film but it was definitely not a film which is difficult to walk through. Agreed it was a little predictable but it was still fun. Sam and Eric are in a committed relationship. Eric a former ice hockey player now works or TV after he got injured 5 years ago. One day they find that they have to take care of a boy named Scot. Scot is son of Julie who was Billy's girlfriend. Billy is Sam's brother. As per Julie's last wish, Billy is supposed to take care of Scot but since he is in Brazil, Eric and Sam are held responsible for taking care of the kid. The kid is introduced and everything about him is gay. His clothes, interests, mannerisms and everything. Since Sam is busy at work, its upto Eric to take care of him and hang out with him most of the time. This is when we see how the relationship between Scot and Eric develop. How Eric being a celebrity goes through when people see him