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Reviews
American Beauty (1999)
Ameican Beauty
Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) lived a pathetic life in a pathetic home with his pathetic wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) and daughter Jane (Thora Birch). His life suddenly began to change, however, when he met Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari), his daughter's friend. His outlook on life gradually improves throughout the Best Picture winning film, "American Beauty.".
The script is one of the best in cinema. The story is dark and dramatic, while the way it plays out is comical and heartfelt. The emotion the characters bring to the story is nothing short of amazing.
Like the plastic bag floating in the breeze, American Beauty moves along at its own pace, documenting the loose correlations of isolated events at key points in the time line about these characters. The result is a quirky but rich American original!
Sideline Secrets (2006)
I like it!
After watching and favorably reviewing DARKER SECRETS - SIDELINE II, I decided to find a copy of the original which I had not seen. I have to say that I'm glad I saw Darker Secrets first. I love the dark tones of the story and quick pacing of Darker Secrets better then the original but Sidline Secrets wins in the charm department. I think if I had seen Sideline 1 first it would have clouded the way I viewed the sequel. Both are very good low budget films but I have to give the edge to Darker Secrets just because I love the dark decent of the lead character. These have always been my favorite type of character study.
Sideline Secrets is much more charming then it's hard edged sequel, and I loved the two male leads played by James Townsend and Alex Wilson, as well as some of the supporting cast. Brandon Alexander as Cliterissa Pink is clearly the stand out. At times Sideline Secrets feels like two different films. I think this is what makes if seem much bigger film then it actually is.
After viewing both productions I wonder why they didn't connect the Frisbee player In Sideline Secrets with the main character in Darker Secrets. They both are played by the same actor Rick Bolander. I think that was an opportunity missed.
Usually in a low budget gay film of this sort you get the feeling the director is merely there because somebody has to say action and cut! After watching SIDELINE and DARKER SECRETS both directed and edited by Steven Vasquez I get the sense that the success of both films is due largely to his sensibility, pacing and style. In other words it seems like he cares about these films while other directors in this arena seem like that could give a crap.
The slow pacing of Sideline Secrets would have killed Darker Secrets but was much needed here in order to give us time to care about the characters as we do. Again this shows the skills of a good editor. In Darker Secrets it's not the characters we particularly care about but only to find out where the story is talking us and how it will end.
I'm a fan of both films, still for me Darker Secrets has the slight edge. Sideline Secrets 3?
Superman Returns (2006)
Better then expected
What can you say. Hmmmm? Good, but could have been so much better... BUT it could have been worse, too. I liked the look and feel of the film and the new realizations of the familiar villains. On this they did a great job.
Brandon Routh being the new Superman reminded me a lot of a young Christopher Reeve. No real complaints there. The movie is nicely cut and filmed, but i felt a bit to long. My only real complaint is that they show so much of the history of Superman's arrival on earth, they should have used more time on why he has been gone. A small complaint. I look forward to the next Superman installment, when they don't have to use so much time, to tell the same old story, we already knew. .
Another Gay Movie (2006)
Oh please!
American Pie with Queers! Stay away, stay away I said. But being the sucker that I can often be, I jumped in this parody pool with both feet and came up not only wet but laughing my ass off! This parody delivers. Good production, good acting and great directing. To quote Miss America "It is subversive and albeit filthy and raunchy, but at the same time, believe it or not, is intelligent and skewers the best and worst of modern day gay culture and gay life. This is one of the best gay films I've seen recently. I will definitely recommend it to everyone I know that is receptive to this kind of film. The movie while being a spoof still has its own message and merits. See this movie if you haven't already!
Daydream Obsession (2003)
I don't know what to say but I'll try
Why do we stand for this kind of thing? Why don't people who pay good money to buy a movie rise up in spontaneous rebellion when they find they've been swindled? It's one of those mysteries of modern life. This is certainly the case of Daydream Obessions.
The film did not aspire to be much. Just a soft core gay romp going from one sex scene to another. This film even failed to make that uninteresting This is particularly sad because the film has better production value then a lot of the these low budget films. But not since Paul Vorhoevens Showgirls has so much sex been so boring.
I must say that I'm a big fan of this type of low budget gay fare but even in this genera there are really good films and really bad ones. I usually have nothing to say about the bad ones, I figured I wasted my time watching it why spend another moment writing about it. I felt the need to unload on this one because this film had potential that all went to waste. I give this a generous 2 stars only for the overall look of the production. Warning. Even if you're just looking for cheap thrills. Look elsewhere.
Eating Out (2004)
EATING OUT is worth STAYING IN for!
Eating Out is a very good looking film with sexy guys who look great on camera. They also turn in very credible performances. The females in the cast did a very good job also. This film is one of the best low budget films I've seen. They hide the fact that it is low budget very well. It's amazing what decent lighting and nice camera work can do! After reading some of the horrible reviews I was expecting the worst. I was pleasantly surprised. It's a funny, light, and just a fun tale of boy-wants-girl-who-wants boy-who- wants-boy. Very reminiscent of the teen comedies of the 80's and 90's, but of course with a gay twist. The film had some great memorable one liners and witty observations that kept me smiling throughout the film. Definitely worth a watch!
Star 80 (1983)
Better with age
I remember not liking Bob Fosse's Star 80 upon first viewing at the theater. First I couldn't get past the actress Mariel Hemingway playing Dorthy Statton. She just didn't do it for me. Secondly I hated the character of Paul Snider played by Eric Roberts. He gave me the creeps from the start and I felt the film just had a heavy weight of doom throughout. Being a fan of Caberet and All That Jazz, both dealing with less then happy subjects I felt Star 80 was a bit over the top. Then I saw it in the 5 dollar bin at a best buy and gave it a watch.
Wow was I wrong. While not as great as the near flawless Caberete and All That Jazz, Star 80 really is an underrated film. Eric Roberts again made me hate him from the beginning but now I realized that what I felt the first time, maybe I was not mature enough to understand. The best part of his performance is that you actually feel sorry for him in the end unlike Hemingways portrayal which still left me empty and wondering if this film would be a great film with a more suitable actress. Imagine Joel Grey co starring with a lesser talent then Liza ? The results i'm sure would not be the same.
Star 80 is a very good film and I'm glad I gave it a second chance.
Darker Secrets: Sideline Secrets II (2008)
Promises little but gives a lot.
When ever I rent a DVD of this type, in this case purchased, I always know what to expect. No name actors with no name directors going from one sex adventure to another with very little plot or plan. Pretty much the box covers say it all But every once in a while you find one that mixes the sex, (and hey isn't that the only reason you would watch such a film anyway!), with a good plot. I found this in Darker Secrets II, a very entertaining little movie.
Short at about 65 minuets, This movie had me pretty much lost most of the time but very entertainingly comes together nicely , if sinisterly, in the end. One thing that's always irks me about low budget gay films are the often long and drawn out scenes. You won't find any of those here. The imagery is flashy and at times so much is going on that you forget you're watching a low budget soft core film. The editing is what made this film for me. It was very well done and it gave the film a more main stream feel. I was never board and the story was intriguing enough for me to keep my hands off the fast forward button.
I have not had the opportunity to watch the first film SIDELINE SECRETS so I can't compare the two but if its anything like Darker Secrets then I look forward to watching it in the future. The lead Rick Bolander did a fine job playing a cop given the job of looking though video tapes of nude boys trying to find a missing person. This is a far stretch from some of his gay porn work he did for Miami Studios as Bobby Wilson! In the end you never find out what happened to the missing boy but by then you don't really care. You just sit back and enjoy looking through the cops eyes as he turns his attentions elsewhere and commits blackmail for sex. Darker Secrets hits its mark
ADDITION- In response to Gordon from Hong Kong. I was confused a little too, but that's what made this obvious no budget film much more interesting to me and anyway it all tied up nicely in the end. I also was a bit confused by the man stopping another guy from killing himself and then having sex with him. Especially since we already knew the man was dead! In the end it was just a nightmare dream sequence. Nothing wrong about that!
The most interesting thing Mr Gordon said was that "The whole film is just made up of unconvincing excesses to get the actors naked" Did he happen to see the DVD cover or bother to flip it over. What would one expect? That remark is like renting a musical and then complaining that the the producers just found excuses for the actors to start singing! I still like Darker Secrets if for no other reason that it knows what kind of film it is and then goes the limit.