Like a Moth to a Flame 2009
1h 25min | Thriller | 30 November 2009 (USA)
Storyline
An anthology film featuring three stories of closeted men and how their sexual obsessions lead to violence.
Directors: Toby Ross, Joe Rubin
Writers: Toby Ross (segment), Joe Rubin
Stars: Anthony Blaze, Rachel Cable, Johnny Carvajal
Snowtown 2011
1h 59min | Biography, Crime, Drama | 19 May 2011 (Australia)
Storyline:
Sixteen-year-old Jamie lives with his mother, Elizabeth, and two younger brothers, Alex and Nicholas, in a housing trust home in Adelaide's northern suburbs. Their home is but one of many sun-starved houses crammed together to cater for a disenfranchised society. Jamie longs for an escape from the violence and hopelessness that surrounds him and his salvation arrives in the form of John, a charismatic man who unexpectedly comes to his aid. As John spends more and more time with Jamie's family, Elizabeth and her boys begin to experience a stability and sense of family that they have never known. John moves from the role of Jamie's protector to that of a mentor, indoctrinating Jamie into his world, a world brimming with bigotry, righteousness and malice. Like a son mimicking his father, Jamie soon begins to take on some of John's traits and beliefs as he spends more and more time with him and his select group of friends. The protection and guidance that John presents to Jamie is initially welcomed however as events occur around him, including the disappearance of several people, Jamie begins to harbour deep suspicions about John and his motivations. When the truth is finally revealed to Jamie his hopes of happiness are threatened by both his loyalty for, and fear of, his father-figure John Bunting, Australia's most notorious serial killer.
User review:
I agree with the other people who have written reviews who say that it is good to get some background on the murders as I watched this without any and was confused in parts. What is interesting is that the film makers either assumed that you would have this knowledge, or accepted that the plot would only partially be known. In that sense we really are like witnesses who aren't let in on all the facts – in a strange way keeping some of the plot details leads to the sense of claustrophobia in the film.
Snowtown is an excellent example of the genre of gritty Australian realism which includes films like The Boys and Idiot Box.
My Sucky Teen Romance 2011
1h 17min | Comedy | 15 March 2011 (USA)
Storyline
In this witty comedy from teen director Emily Hagins, young Kate visits a local comic convention and falls for good-hearted vampire Paul, but her friends are worried when she suddenly starts displaying eerie, undead qualities of her own.
User review:
Saw this film at CONvergence the other day and it was the highlight of my weekend. The story is pretty simple: Teenage supermarket employees get bit by rocker vampire, and then arrive at a typical science fiction/fantasy convention ( I'm not going to spoil the rest). The fun of this movie lives in the detailed writing. At first glance it might appear this is typical Twilight type teen romance junk ( and in fact I think those fans might like this as well) but it is actually more in the style of a movie like Scream, in that it ponders the conventions of Vampires, and especially the movies they come from. Fun cameos, a great young cast, a couple good kill scenes (although I could have used a little more blood) make this a fast paced fun film. I would recommend this movie to fans of Troma to Twilight and I can't say that about many films.
Director: Emily Hagins
Writer: Emily Hagins
Stars: Elaine Hurt, Patrick Delgado, Santiago Dietche
I Want Your Love 2012
1h 11min | Drama, Romance | 1 May 2013 (France)
Storyline
After a decade of living in San Francisco, Jesse is forced to move back to his Midwestern roots because he can no longer afford the city. On his final night in the city, friends and ex-lovers gather for a going away party that promises to heighten Jesse's already bittersweet feelings about leaving.
User review:
If you like porn with a plot — I do! — then take a look at this movie. I was expecting an NC17 kind of movie, but when you include cum shots, sorry in my book that crosses over to porn. In that category, it might have been a 6 or 7 except for one small problem.
I am a typical American in very few ways, but I really, really, really do not like point in time stories with no beginning, climax or end. I think of this as a European / International genre. I always feel cheated because just when I am engaging with the characters — oops its over.
50 Ways of Saying Fabulous 2005
1h 30min | Drama | 8 September 2005 (Canada)
Storyline:
Set in New Zealand in the summer of 1975, 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous is the story of 12 year-old Billy, who is about to discover that growing up is a lot more confusing than he could have ever imagined. He is a farmer's only son who is out of step with the other boys at his school. He feels they only want to fight and play rugby and while he tries to be the same, he feels he was never cut out to be a farmer or a rugby player. Instead, he prefers to dream about an imaginary life in outer space. In this world, a turnip paddock becomes a lunar landscape and a cow's tail a head of beautiful blonde hair which transforms him into "Lana" the heroine of his favorite TV show. With the arrival of Roy, the class freak, and Jamie the sexy young farm laborer Billy's world is changed forever. As he learns about his sexuality, everything he knows is called into question, including his lifelong loyalty to his best friend, tomboy Louise, whose world is changing alongside his. Set in New Zealand's Central Otago landscape.
User review:
Not as true to the book as it could have been. Some of the more feminine moments in the book ended up on the cutting room floor. However congratulations to the young male actors for very brave performances. The golden colours appear too contrived at times and this was unnecessary because the landscape is awe inspiring anyway.
At screenings in Wanaka this last week I am told the audience is clapping at the conclusion of each screening. Well done to all involved particularly given the budget the film enjoyed.
The Unspoken 2015
1h 31min | Thriller | 28 October 2016 (USA)
Storyline
In 1997 the Anderson family vanished from their home without a trace. No bodies were ever found. For 17 years the house has remained undisturbed… until now.
User review:
I recommend this movie absolutely, which is a HORROR movie and not only a thriller. The type of the movie is not correctly declared in IMDb like some other movies. There are similarities to other movies like Amityville, which is also cited in the movie. The director and at the same time writer of the movie must be a fan of Amityville movies just like me. The opening is very good and very promising, so that it makes you curious for more. The acting is good, Neal McDonough is the sheriff and the main actress Jodelle Ferland is known for The Tall Man (2012). Before I watched it, I thought it's about a ghost house. Was I right? It was not only this. By the way the special effects are also good. Altogether it is a 6.2 or 6.3 movie for me.
Director: Sheldon Wilson
Writer: Sheldon Wilson
Stars: Jodelle Ferland, Sunny Suljic, Pascale Hutton
Summer of 42 (1971)
1h 43min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 9 April 1971 (USA)
Storyline
Silent as a painting, the movie shows us day-dreamer Hermie and his friends Oscy and Benjie spending the summer of '42 on an US island with their parents – rather unaffected by WWII. While Oscy's main worries are the when and how of getting laid, Hermie honestly falls in love with the older Dorothy, who's married to an army pilot. When her husband returns to the front, Hermie shyly approaches her.
User review:
This movie captivated me beyond my expectations. Not being a movie-goer or a TV-watcher, I had not yet seen (or read about) the movie, its excerpts, the original book, or the cast, although I had heard references to the summer of '42. After an intense work week, I had tuned into the PBS channel on TV to watch 30 minutes of a business news program, at the end of which, PBS showed that "The Summer of '42" was next. I thought of watching it only for a few minutes – not really being interested in seeing a story from 62 years ago in a movie made 33 years ago. PBS played the movie without a break, and I sat through all of it – totally captivated. I don't think I can explain the reasons with a typical technical analysis. I think it held me in a trance, because it reflected my own coming of age. Even though I grew up in a different era, country, culture and society, there were many parallels to the drugstore episode, the furtive readings of the book, the carrying of the grocery bags, the storing away of the boxes, and the attempted "fooling around" inside the movie theater.
I like a production (movie; theater; music) that reflects the reality one experiences in life. This movie was one of those rare productions. I felt it was quite artistic in its balance – the way it assimilated simple elements from everyday living, with a simple, but enchanting, musical score. The movie did not need any dazzling stage effects – Jennifer O'Neill was enough; and, even in her, the art and beauty was in her being so natural.
House of Boys 2009
1h 57min | Drama, Musical, Romance | 20 November 2009 (Luxembourg)
Storyline
A glamorous, colourful coming-of-age story that follows the dramatic journey of Frank, a high school kid in 1984, through an exciting world of sex and music, where his deep new passion is suddenly turned into a struggle for courage facing a new disease – the "gay cancer" – and becomes deep, true love in the expectancy of his friend's horrible death and beyond.
User review:
Some viewers, unfortunately, will pass on this film as the cover of the DVD makes it appear to be a gay sexploitation waste of time. It is anything but that. Written and directed by Jean- Claude Schlim (with assistance from Christian Thiry and Robert David Graham) this is one of the finest films about the early days of the AIDS pandemic and long with 'Longtime Companion' is probably one of the more important films for the public to understand the inception of the disease that still hovers darkly over the globe. The cast is rich in talent and the method of unfolding the story is superb.
In opening credits we see an apparent carefree young lad running through sunlit cornfields – perhaps reference the path to Oz: where that goes is revealed at the end of the film. It is 1984 and a gay high school lad Frank (Layke Anderson) escapes his rigid parents by moving to Amsterdam where he lands a job as a bar boy in a gay dance club, the House of Boys run by a man referred to as Madame (Ugo Kier) who keeps everyone in tow as well as performing in drag on stage. Frank is assigned a room with a straight boy Jake 9Benn Northover) who is the club's most popular dancer and who makes considerable money participating in passive physical gratification for the gentlemen who frequent the club. Jake has a girlfriend who sneaks in through the window of their room at night for trysts with Jake: Frank must then move in with transgender Angelo (Steven Webb) and raunchy mohawked dancer Herman (Oliver Hoare) for the night. Frank is talented and wants to leave his job at the bar where he assists the gentle lovely Emma (Eleanor David) and become a dancer. In the meantime Frank has fallen in love with the unattainable straight Jake but the two become close friends. Jake has been saving his money as a dancer and as an escort to run away with his girlfriend, but when his savings go missing he realizes his girlfriend has taken the money to abort Jake's baby. Jake is decimated by this but at the same time he leans on Frank for succor. The two boys realize their friendship has turned to being lovers. Jake introduces Frank to his way with clients and in the process falls through a glass tabletop sustaining cuts the require sutures. Frank takes Jake to the hospital where they encounter Dr. Marsh (Stephen Fry) who ultimately discovers that Jake has no T cells – and the mystery and cruel head of AIDS arises. Jake is fired form the club by Madame who fears for the reputation of this new plague and Frank and Jake move in together, compliments of Emma. From this point Jake has obvious Kaposi's sarcoma and the rest of the film is how Frank and the friends of the club are supportive. The unique aspect of the story is that it is the straight boy receiving passive sex from clients is the one who becomes infected. The beginning of the film is repeated with the full story at the end.
American Romance 2016
1h 26min | Thriller | 23 October 2016 (USA)
Storyline
A series of horrifying murders, the victims, always couples, staged in bizarre collage dioramas with cardboard cutouts and scribbled, childlike messages about the corrupting power of love. The killer's on the loose, and the FBI is looking for a truck driver. Emery Reed is a long haul trucker disillusioned with the American Dream after an accident left his wife paralyzed and took the life of their son. Newlyweds Jeff and Krissy are having the time of their lives until their car breaks down on a rural road in the middle of nowhere. When the love birds collide with the forlorn truck driver, a wild ride leaves everyone questioning the true value of love and American Romance.
Director: Zackary Adler
Writers: Wes Laurie, Mei Melançon
Stars: Nolan Gerard Funk, John Savage, Daveigh Chase
Keep the Lights On 2012
1h 41min | Drama, Romance | 27 July 2012 (Taiwan)
Storyline
It's 1998 and New York City is in a state of intense flux when documentary filmmaker Erik Rothman (Thure Lindhardt) first meets Paul Lucy (Zachary Booth), a handsome but closeted lawyer in the publishing field. What begins as a highly charged first encounter soon becomes something much more, and a relationship quickly develops. As the two men start building a home and life together, each continues to privately battle their own compulsions and addictions. A film about sex, friendship, intimacy and most of all, love, Keep the Lights On takes an honest look at the nature of relationships in our times.
User review:
What a trip this flick is!
Director/writer: Ira Sachs really brings to the screen a story about obsession and pernicious behavior between the emotionally needy Erik and the psychologically baleful Paul. In this story you will go through three stages in what you think of Erik – impatience, because Erik can't see the obvious before him with Paul, – sympathy, because Erik is obsessed with Paul and Erik is truly a nice guy while Paul is nefarious, – relief, when Erik finally get beyond his hang-up with Paul.
Kids 1995
1h 31min | Drama , Romance | January 19957 (USA)
Storyline
Disturbing, dark, low-budget independent film about teen-agers in New York City. The story focuses on Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick), a teen who has a goal to de-flower as many virgins as he can. When one of his old encounters discovers that she is H.I.V.-positive, after only one encounter with a guy, Telly remains undaunted.
User review:
Larry Clark has broken the boundaries with this film. Not only is it one of the realist depictions of our nation's youth, but it also brings the fear of the AIDS virus closer to home. This is not a piece of fictitious work, this is brutal honesty in its rawest form. While many will knock this film because of the pornographic nature, I saw past that and witnessed the birth of the next plague. Writer Harmony Korine has taken the world of our children and transferred it to the big screen. I never once saw this as a shock film or disgusting, I saw honesty and truth behind every scene. This is really what is happening in our backyards. Kids are not as young as they used to be, and are growing up in a world with more possibilities and distractions than ever before. This is the modern world, and these are the newest leaders.
While this is not what happens with all of our youth, it does paint a beautiful picture of just a handful. This is not just a story about NYC, it is a message for every city. This is happening all over this country. In the wealthy, poor, and everything in-between, our children are experimenting without any form of education or realization of their actions.
Lost Wilderness 2015
1h 41min | Family
Storyline
Four would-be siblings on an outdoor vacation are encouraged to bond by their parents. The four adventurers journey out of bounds into the wild on their ATV's in search of a family relic. They soon find themselves lost in the woods and ill equipped to deal with not only the rugged terrain but each other. This is a story of hope and overcoming, full of humor and fun. Its a coming of age tale not only for kids but for parents as well.
Directors: Garnet Campbell, Wes Sargent
Writers: Garnet Campbell, Andre Harden
Stars: Connor Beardmore, Artine Brown, Emma Lindsay
King Cobra 2016
1h 31min | Crime, Drama | 21 October 2016 (USA)
Storyline
This ripped-from-the-headlines drama covers the early rise of gay porn headliner Sean Paul Lockhart a.k.a. Brent Corrigan, before his falling out with the producer who made him famous. When Sean decides he'd be better off a free agent, a cash-strapped pair of rival producers aim to cash in by any means possible.
User review:
The still very much active Sean Paul Lockhart, aka Brent Corrigan's career and the scandal associated with it is the subject of the film King Cobra. Disney twink actor Garrett Clayton plays Corrigan and I'm sure Clayton probably has a limited future with the Magic Kingdom. He joins a list of players like Shia LaBoerf, Miley Cyrus, and Lucas Gabreel who've appeared in less than wholesome projects. I don't see any more Teen Beach movies in Garrett Clayton's future.
Subsequent to the story told here, Sean Paul Lockhart has gone to mainstream entertainment and gay stories of the non-pornographic nature. I know a few gay adult film stars who have other lives and have diversified their interests and entertainment roles like Lockhart in order to survive. A lot don't survive for one reason or another.
December Boys 2007
PG-13 | 1h 45min | Drama , Romance | 20 September 2007 (Australia)
Storyline:
An adult nicknamed Misty is narrating a story about one summer in his life when he was an adolescent in the late 1960s. He was living in a Catholic orphanage in the Australian outback. His best mates were the "December boys" – Maps, Spark and Spit – the four of them so named because they were the boys in the orphanage born in the month of December. With a recent windfall, the orphanage decided to give each of the boys a group vacation for each of their birthdays, the December boys the first to go. Their vacation was to Lady Star Cove on the Australian coast, to stay at the home of Mrs. and Mrs. McAnsh – Bandy and "Skipper". Their relatively carefree Christmas vacation took a turn primarily from three events: learning the reason the McAnshes hosted the boys specifically at this time; Maps, the oldest in his mid-teens, exploring his sexuality with a girl named Lucy, who was also visiting Lady Star Cove for the summer; and Misty secretly learning that a young couple in the cove, Fearless and Teresa, were thinking about adopting one of them, the couple who were unable to conceive a child of their own. Beyond the dreams of especially the younger three to be adopted by a loving family, Fearless had the extra wow factor of being a stunt motorcyclist as his profession. Misty, the youngest, tried the hardest to be the one chosen, even initially keeping the fact of Fearless and Teresa thinking about adopting one of them from the other three. Misty concludes his story with the reason why he is telling it at this stage in his life.
User review:
Set in the late 60s, December Boys is a beautiful, poignant tale of adolescence and abandonment with the vast, awe-inspiring Australian outback as a backdrop, unraveled in the same vein as Stand By Me.
"What's the big deal about having parents anyway?" Maps (Daniel Radcliffe) retorts to his summer fling Lucy (Teresa Palmer). Maps is the eldest of four orphan boys who get sent for a seaside holiday with an elderly couple. Misty (Lee Cormie) is the youngest and the artistic one of the brood. Sparks (Christian Byers) is good with mechanical things, while Spit (James Fraser) is so named for what he does best.