Skip to main content

Hooked

This film has its heart in the right place but somewhere the makers lose the plot and the intention behind the film. Or may they try to focus on too many things. The idea to talk about LGBT youth, homelessness, prostitution and suicide is a genuine problem that needs to be addressed. Showing this in an engaging manner is not an easy job, and I think the film was going in the right direction but somewhere, something happened in the whole Miami section and the movie was very hurriedly brought to an end.

Jack is an 18 year old hooker in Manhattan. He lives in a hostel with his boyfriend Tom, an aspiring photographer who's nervous about Jack's criminal tendencies, and they're planning a future together. The couple is very much in love. After a few minutes enter Ken, a married man with a wife and a kid; who takes a sudden fancy for Jack. After playing hard ball, Jack finally gives in and agrees to go an all expense paid trip to Miami with him and an addition thousand dollars. Things change when he is in Miami and rather than asking for money, he wants Ken's help for him and his boyfriend. But the next day Jack, realizes that Ken lied about his wife and he loses trust in Ken and leaves his condo. Back in streets, he takes back to hustling to make money for the day but unfortunately gets stuck with an abusive client. Searching for Jack everywhere, Ken invites Tom to Miami where they save Jack just in time from the client and the lovers end up killing the guy.

As I mentioned above, the film tries to tackle way too many issues in its last 30 minutes. Drugs, crime, prostitution and even the fact that Jack may have some psychological issues. He is in very much love with Tom but the sudden switch from things going ok to Jack's outburst was random. The film makers had quite a few urgent topics on their mind, but trying to weave them all into one single narrative makes it feel bit contrived. The spiral downward is perhaps a bit too fast. The pacing in the third act can feel a tad rushed. . This lack of nuance undermines any core message that might be in here. The acting by Jack is very very good as per his character demands. He shares a very good chemistry with Tom and together they make for likeable teen couple. But the problem is as an audience you never reach a stage where you empathize with what's going on around them. Ken, on the other hand, when introduced, seems like an out and proud gay man but he is shown as a married man with a kid. Somehow the 2 didn't go well together. And I have to point about the OTT Date-rape guy whom Jack and Tom ultimately kill. He's over-the-top, hyperactive, horny, restless, loud and aggressive, almost to the point of sadism and makes me sick that people like that actually exist.

While the film is aesthetically pleasing with some stunning shots throughout, the narrative leaves some elements to be desired. These issues are forgotten in LGBTQ community and need to be talked and addressed but as a film, this is slightly disappointing. (4.5/10)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Shortest Distance is Round 3: Fallen Flowers

Continuing with the weird trilogy of "The Shortest Distance", I am so glad that finally I am done with part 3 and won't have to deal with this again in future. Thankfully, as of now the makers have not announced any further parts; which will save all of us on this earth from the embarrassment of watching this in near future. After the first 10 minutes are used in sort of recapping bits of first two parts, the story moves forward. Haruto is now starting to have feelings for Ruka, the mysterious pole dancer from second part. In a fit of rage, Ruka ends up killing the goat man and to save him and Haruto, Shibahara asks them to go underground. Meanwhile Shibahara continues the search for Seiya (the guy who had cut off Haruto's penis). It turns out Seiya is now also taking care of the original club owner from part 1. Both of them were released after they had informed Shibahara of Aoyama's secret location. Shibahara tortures Seiya's boyfriend leading to Seiya killin

One Summer Night (Korean)

I really wanted to like this film but for non native speakers, these movie leaves a lot to be understood and the way scenes were unfolding in front of me, I wasn't sure many times what was really going on. The story had potential button getting any back story on any of the characters limited my ability to empathize with any of these actors. Film starts with two North Korea military guys Yong Joon and Jae Sung having sex and they are caught red handed and they run. Three years later we see Yong Joon in Seoul leading a very mundane and poor life. He has a boyfriend Tae-Kyu, who is a weird guy. He is carefree, doesn't do any work and is completely emotional and financially dependent on Young Joon. In fact, even Yong Joon will go to any lengths to protect him , fend for him and taking care of him to the extent of even taking up prostitution. Suddenly one day Jae Sung appears in their life again. His motivation is not clear but it is obvious he wants Yong Joon back in his life, who

Ultimate masturbation: Shigoki no yama (Japanese) [The Ultimate Masturbation]

I would never know what was the point behind making this film. Was it supposed to be a comedy, cos it wasn't. It wasn't even porn. It was just a silly attempt at making something absolutely senseless and ridiculous. The story, as well as direction is equally shoddy. You could laugh for having seen something so bad, but I wouldn't call that comedy. An old man runs a camp about gay masturbation. The explanation given is that gays masturbate for pleasure unlike straight men, for whom the act is seen as shame or because they can't find a woman. One day a straight man shows up and wants to join the camp for his thesis. After discussion, he is allowed in. Rules include that you can masturbate together, you can masturbate one another, but there is no fellatio or anal sex. Some students of course breaks rule. The teacher then talks about 2 forms of masturbation which gives ultimate pleasure. He shows one without touching and then refuses to talk of the other. Somehow suddenly,