A River Made to Drown In

A River Made to Drown In was the first film released after Richard Chamberlain came out of the closet.  The story is of an older gay man Thaddeus (Chamberlain) with a penchant for young gay hustlers who returns to spend his last days with one of his favorite boys.  

Allen (Michael Imperioli) has no idea that the return of Thaddeus, and his favor to find the young Jaime (James Duval), will force him to not only deal with his past life, but with his current feelings for Thaddeus.

Allen and Jamie serve as book ends to Thaddeus's very tortured life.  By returning to die with Allen and committing suicide with Jamie at his side, Thaddeus hopes to leave the two great loves of his life to take care of each other after he is gone.  Neither are ready for the responsibility and the film leaves you wondering what will become of them together and individually.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

I do not remember the how or why I became fascinated super hero stories.  I know it is common for all kids to like it, but as you get older, you either out grow it, or become a geek and still love it until the day you die.  I am the latter I think, but like I said, have no idea when or how that happened.

My earliest memory of the Fantastic Four was of a board game - The Amazing Spiderman and the Fantastic Four.  I think there were variations with the Incredible Hulk and others as well, but the Spiderman version was the one I remember best.  I saw the first Fantastic Four on DVD with a friend.  Since it was so much better than I had expected it to be, I had decided that I was going to see Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in theater this time.  Unfortunately, that did not happen.

I found this sequel to be the epitome of what a sequel in this genre should be.  It was simply a further adventure with the existing cast.  There was no attempt to complete a cyclical story, no attempt to lead into a further sequel, two traps often found in this genre.  Instead, this movie was a firm, stand-alone piece that did not demand that the viewer know anything about the prior film or really anything about the lore of the Fantastic Four.  

To me, this is what makes a sequel in this genre great.  it really is too bad more are not made on this very simple premise.   Could be a lot more big screen comic book features if they did.

Spiderman 3

I have seen childhood photos of me from one of my 2nd or 3rd birthday holding a crap load o Spiderman paraphernalia, including a doll, van, and gun.  So it is not surprising that I of course was tickled once Sam Raimi started releasing new versions of the classic icon from my childhood.  I actually own the first two, but missed Spiderman 3 when it was in theaters this summer and just found time to watch it on DVD.  

I have to say, I thought this movie was a lot longer than the earlier ones or at least it was seeming that way this evening.  I can only describe this movie as a classic Id, Ego, Super Ego allegory.  Venom of course is the Id, Peter the Ego and Spiderman the Super Ego.  The only other comment I can make about this movie is that it very neatly wrapped up nearly every single loose end that was trailing from the first two movies.  

Normally this sort of trite convention irritates me, but since I am tired of movie franchises being worked into the ground, I was thrilled that this franchise had a sound, coherent conclusion, without leaving lingering questions tat just serve no other purpose than to lead into another installment.

boys life 6

I love shorts collections.  They offer you some of the best of the best shorts from the film festival circuit and in some cases can be a test for a film about to jump into the full length feature arena, e.g. Just One Time.  Boys Life 6 is the latest in a series of collections that enlightens, entertains, and often times  makes you uneasy at the images before you.

No film in this collection is more descriptive of this than the lead off shirt Bugcrush.  This short is a story of the gay semi-closeted geeky kid who has an unhealthy attraction for the bad boy.  The price paid for gaining the acceptance of the bad boy is physical and sexual abuse and temporary paralysis by an unknown caterpillar.  Losing one's dignity and sense of personal safety, a small price to pay for high school social climbing.

Doorman follows the traditional tale of the intermingling of the social classes and what happens when the masters start playing with the servants.  The rich college kid felt an itch that only is doorman can scratch.  But when the doorman tries to cross the line from fetishistic toy to boyfriend, he is dismissed.  The doorman does have the last word after giving into the rich college kid's ultimate desire, which has just less impact than the doorman;s final words, "You have a good day sir."

Davy and Stu is a classic tale of first love in which the lovers are polar opposites and heading in completely different direction, but fight to hold onto what they have just a bit longer.  One intellectual, one jock, one urban, one rural.  The story is quaint and cute and the ribbon on the package is when Davy (the intellectual) thanks Stu (the jock) for showering after school before coming to meet him.  A little gesture, that means so much, is the best way to seal the deal in young love.

Heartland is a sad story of a gay boy forced to return to his small town from New York to take care of a family and farm he never wanted to be part of in the first place.  While there he is outed by his best friend and makes out with the former high school football star who is also in the same situation.  A good use of parallel characters, but the story to me was not very engaging, simply due to its simplistic and formulaic nature.

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.