Change Your Image
silvertron
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
The Sum of Us (1994)
Sweet and original
There aren't many movies that focus on adult fathers and sons who get along (I can't think if any others, actually)--so, the fact that the son in this movie (played by a young and adorable Russell Crowe) is gay makes the premise even more original. And Crowe's budding relationship with a possible love interest is also handled very well.
I especially like the fact that the two men are very sexual, yet also have things such as love and romance on their minds. (most gays in movies are either all about sex, or are nice and funny--but seem asexual) The father also is a well-developed character who embarks on a relationship of his own.
I'm not wild, though, about the talking to the camera bits--especially in a couple of instances when one character physically can't speak at all. That might work on stage (the film was adapted from a play) but it doesn't quite here. Still, if two of the scenes at the end--while not sad in tearjerker way--don't bring a tear to your eye, then your heart is made of stone!
Cabaret (1972)
My favorite movie musical
This was an amazing film. Probably my favorite movie musical of all time. But musical or not, it was a great movie. Liza Minelli and Michael York are perfect for their roles, and this is a rare musical where the characters and story comes first.
The songs--which include "Money, Money," "Maybe This Time," and of course "Cabaret"--are pretty great as well.
Director Bob Fosse does an amazing job capturing the era, and the screenwriter actually improves on the play by jetisoning some of the lighter elements and a few of the characters, while really getting to the heart of the Sally Bowles (Liza Minelli) character. A truly great film.
Eating Out (2004)
Disappointment
First the good: Scott Lunsford is fine as Caleb, the straight college student who lusts after Gwen. Besides being gorgeous (he reminds me a bit of Hugh Jackman), Lunsford gives a relatively solid performance. Emily Stiles also gives an okay performance as Gwen; sure, she's way over the top--but it mostly works in context of the film.
Now the bad: well, to be blunt, everything else. The plot is basically straight out of a bad sitcom, peppered with one-liners I mostly did not find funny. The sound and lighting were terrible; some of the dialogue was muffled and all the images had the same dull, flat look. Jim Verraros (who I'd never heard of) wasn't very good, and Ryan Carnes is cute, but did a mediocre job. The minor characters were uniformly bad--the worst being Caleb's parents and sister.
That being said, this will likely be big hit on the gay film festival circuit--but will probably get no audience outside that tiny group.
Before and after the film, when the director spoke, he seemed like a nice guy, and was certainly very cute--so, I wish him well in the future, but this is really bad first feature.
The Last Year (2002)
Pretty bad all around
As this an extremely low-budget movie, I can forgive the technical problems like awful sound, horrendous lighting, odd use of background music and choppy editing; but I cannot forgive the silly, predictable script, generally awful acting the and relentlessly dull direction. Mike Dolan, playing Alex--the new guy-- does some decent acting with the lines he's given to read, but some of the other actors--most notable the guy who plays Paul's roommate--are so bad and so unbelievable in their roles, it is hard to watch. The basic idea--homosexuality at a bible college--is an interesting idea to explore, but this movie is simply inept and just plain bad.
Stardust Memories (1980)
A little self induldgent, but brilliantly so
While this film doesn't get the praise and respect of, say, "Annie Hall" or "Manhattan," I think it is a brilliant look into the mind of a film director. How much of Woody Allen is Sandy Bates? Some, I'm sure, but I think it's more interesting to compare Sandy to Woody Allen's "persona"--that is, who the public thinks he is.
The structure of the film is also quite interesting to me. Allen had done a very non-linear story structure, mixed with occasional flights of fantasy, in "Annie Hall," but "Stardust Memories" does that and piles on a movie within a movie within a movie, and manages to both comment on all that, at the same time as he's telling the story of the brilliant, but self-absorbed Sandy Bates.
A great movie, that you probably should see more than once to appreciate.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Over-hyped and overwrought
Had the moral complexity of an after-school special. The usually great Ellen Burstyn overacts and makes an awful attempt at a Brooklyn accent, and the story is not remotely believable. I'm really at a loss why so many people loved this movie.
Eden's Curve (2003)
Self-important Bore
I saw this film at the NY Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and thought it was pretty bad. First and most distracting was the way much of it was shot; that is, a lot of slow motion and overly arty close-ups that seemed to have no point--story wise or aesthetically--other than to show the skills of the cinematographer (who I believe was also the director). This film seemed what a pretentious film student would come up with. The lead actor (Sam Levine) was certainly very cute, but was a mediocre actor at best; and the rest of the cast ranged from so-so, to bad. The story itself was mostly annoyingly predictable. I do have to concede that most of the audience seemed to enjoy the film; laughing and sighing constantly, but I disliked it a great deal.