Jailbait

There is no limit to the number of prison movies out that describe the tough life behind prison bars.  The majority of these movies will include prison scenes of fighting, showering and rape, as a way of illustrating the degradation of the inmates to animals.  However, Jailbait's approach is far more cerebral in its delivery and this makes a refreshing change.

The majority of the film takes place in a single cell and involves the two cell mates.  The older, in for murdering his wife, dominates the younger, a 3 strike felon, from the second he enters the cell.  Through initial friendly chatter to gain his trust and later a domestic violence abuser cycle, the two enter into a pattern of psychological rape on a daily basis.  The look on the younger inmates face is telling of how this treatment is more damaging than the physical and sexual abuse he has suffered already.

This film serves as yet another reminder to me why I never want to go to prison.

Twilight Dancers

In the tradition of Macho Dancer, Midnight Dancers, and Burlesk King, Twilight Dancers is a modern day story of a young man navigating the complex world of the Manila gay bar scene.  However, there is a secondary character that is bar itself which is suffering a slow death as the gay word is becoming more mainstream and less confined to the bars alone.

Dwight (Tyron Perez), our spotlight dancer, is a young man who was raised in an orphanage and entered the bar scene through the help of his friend Allen (Allen Dizon).  Both men are suffering the long terms effect of their work and long to be in living a more stable and traditional life away from the skin trade.

The film has a combination of sensuality and story.  The sensuality enhances the story and provided a much needed release of the pressure building up in the movie.  However, for the more sensitive viewers, the second to last scene goes far beyond it s predecessors.

This movie is a fine successor to its forefathers and worthy of the time watching it.

Charlie's Angels

The original TV movie pilot for the television series that went on to spawn two remakes is the 1976 pilot of Charlie's Angels.  The original angels, Sabrina Duncan (Kate Jackson), Kelly Garrett (Jaclyn Smith) and Kris Munroe (Farrah Fawcett), gave the first indication that woman had power of their own -- even if they were for an unseen man.

The original story of the first three Angels is of a wine vineyard baron who mysteriously disappears after his second wife comes onto the scene and his daughter from his first marriage is out of the picture.  The Angels are sent in to find out who did what to whom and why.  The end result, the Angels saved the day and Charlie gives us a first glimpse into how mysterious a figure he will be in the series.

The pilot that spawned 5 years of prime time television and two motion pictures is no less in its significance than what has come after it.