larapha Reviews

Steel (I) (2015)

Ways to Find Resilience

[8/10 · 16 January 2017]

Steel is a good film. It tells the story of a well succeeded TV showman with a problem: he has the panic syndrome. That made him abandons a talk show very interesting, coming home in an inexplicable way. Things become better for he has known a boy very gentle, who keeps appearing in circumstances he badly needs someone for help. The film has lots of candy eye, but that doesn't seem to be a problem for an homophobic audience, since the plot development not is too aggressive, at least from my point of view. So, the film has a good plot, good actors, and twists in the final that will make us understand the whole film. I would certainly recommend it.

The Shadows (2007)

Plot inside Plot

[6/10 · 14 January 2017]

The shadows start with a plot well defined. A famous writer says he will finish his novel in two weeks. The problem is the first page, and he is blocked to go on. He searches for inspiration in a night ride, finishing by crossing over a guy. There things begin to get more mysterious when the ran over has the same surname of the writer. Who then reveals that is not his real name. From now on, we don't know where the plot of the film is and what is the plot of the novel he's writing. The film is dynamic, with constant turns-over between the reality of the film and that of the novel. It's well enacted. He gets involved with the boy, or is it his shadow. He loses all he has… to his shadow? It's not an easy film to watch, I myself had to watch it twice to get my idea of the film, but I think it worthies a try.

Pusong mamon (1998)

Predices and Resolutions in a Mixed Culture

[8/10 · 7 January 2017]

I found the then/twenty first minutes of Soft Hearts hard to Stand. The main female character behaves in a way that doesn't help, only trying to seduce the well resolved gay Ron( Albert Martinez) with low blows. Slowly we get to know that things are not that way. Annie (Lorna Tolentino) is just desperate to unwind, and finds in Ron a way to do so. But she is sensitive to Ron's feelings and soon discovers she is mixing up in a family already well structured. Then their come the second problem: everyone wants the future sibling, and the love for the future kid becomes more important than their romantic disputes. The film develops well, showing a resolution of all the mess Annie initially started. It is possible new family arrangements, conciliating love for the children and the romantic love all they search for. What a complicated family that will be. So the film is send to a positive image. With love all will be arranged

The Journey of Jared Price (2000)

Finally a Romantic Comedy

[10/10 · 7 January 2017]

TJJP is truly a gem! So fed up was I of films with bad endings, sad stories, awful developments, that to watch this journey was a real find. Everything is very simple in the tale, naiveté is the name of the game. I guess that if more gay films had these sensitivity audiences would flow. Nothing is forced in this simple story of a boy arriving in the big city and finding his way through it, having to decide between the eternal dilemma of love and money. Maybe what gave me such a good feeling in the tale is the protagonist, played by Casey Spears. He mixes such a great gentleness in a cute body you feel immediately sympathetic towards him. The fact that Casey made so little films after this is a proof that he was simply being himself, what adds to the film. The rest of the cast is not bad, having some highlights like Steve Tyler the spoiled son of Jarred patroness,. In the end, you will feel blissful after watching the Journey of Jarred Price, a film that deserves being watched multiple times.

Private Diary (2003 TV Movie)

Beautiful Males

[5/10 · 6 January 2017]

What would differentiate this film from the confection of 'Year Calendars' so common these days, having them as subject males or females? At first we have the people chosen. The photographer didn't want professional models, but people from the streets, of course beautiful males taken form their usual activities that make them tinseled bodies: from kite flyers to surfers, they are chosen among the most beautiful Spaniards he could find, of course with that Greek torso element that distinguishes them from the man in the streets, and also looking exceptional beauty faces, masculine faces that select what the Spaniards have of most handsome. As he puts out, characters show the simple, the most aggressive, the most singular faces. Another difference from male calendars is the background that the photographer, the bask Usabiaga, traces from their models. He tries to give different backgrounds from them, showing what they do in usual life, aspirations and way of living. He avoids telling us with whom they coupled. Being supposed mostly heterosexuals, there is no clue to their sexuality, leaving it in an air of mystery. Very few women appear, and they are shown in prevalent male activities, even when they fraternize in a barbecue. As a film, there is little to be said. It's a bit monotonous in their presenting of 15 young beautiful males, that have mostly to show that Spain do have cute men taken from the people.

Strange Fits of Passion (1999)

A Confusing Way to Lose Virginity

[5/10 · 27 December 2016]

I found the film very confusing. Not for the plot itself, but for the way the main character behaves. She is determinate to lose her virginity, but at the same time is too afraid of the process. This is perhaps because she hasn't done it in a proper time, and finds the thing very difficult. At the same time, she is haunted by the writings she saw on a closet room door, stating that it only takes a prick entry to do the matter. The confusion is turned worse by the way the character wears, a mix of clothes not at all combining. The settings are also a mix of things confusingly sorted, as is the local where she works, a bunch of old books confusedly arranged. In a word, she lives in a mess. A little order is established by the way she relations with the gay characters of the film. In particular, what gives her confidence is her relation with Jimmy (Mitchell Butel) perhaps the most centered character of the film…up to a level. Jimmy believes in love, and tries to give She the same confidence. But in this confused movie, he too will be involved in the general confusion, and surrender. As a whole, I would recommend this flick, but be aware, for maybe you will be lost in all the mess it has.

A Nice Quiet Life (2018)

Love and Schizophrenia

[3/10 · 27 December 2016]

The film has the ingredients for a traditional romantic comedy: the beautiful boy divided between the love for a guy who cheated on him constantly and a new love, well resolved who, being a student on engineering, could assure him a good future. No problems of acceptance from parents concur for a blue sky in the young man's future. But everything changes when a problem is detected in the new boyfriend: he has schizophrenia. That could be a motive for great dynamics to the film. Could The main character, Jeremy, is played by Jordan Becker, a beauty, but of very limited acting resources. The same can be said for the supporting cast. Even the schizophrenic guy Scott, as played by Taylor Clift, doesn't give depth to the character. This makes the film boring and its 80 minutes or so more than one can get. Unhappily a flop.

In Bloom (2013)

Another gay film dealing with drugs

[3/10 · 26 December 2016]

I could hardly say I liked In Bloom. At first for its title: nothing is booming there. On the contrary, the main couple is in crisis. Another film showing gay lifestyle as aimless and linked with drugs. And more concerning: nobody does care that one of the main characters lives of this 'profession' as he goes getting High from one setting to another. The other person for the couple also lives a meaningless live, just working to pay the bills, as it seems. Nothing remotely romantic in the air. To complicate the things, there is a serial murder that is attacking young man, in a subplot never developed. The main characters also didn't convince me. They deliver their lines, for the most part of the flick. I couldn't see passion in their eyes, much less live. Ass a role, I found it a film hard to watch: no bloom, no love, no life.

C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)

Family Issues

[10/10 · 25 December 2016]

Crazy is a family film. To me, it has particular anguishing moments as I review it in a Christmas day. A day to be always remembered as a day of frustration. I can easily relate to the main character of the movie, being born in 1958 in a working class family just like him (happily not at Christmas time). The film can be as destroying as one wants of Christmas fantasies and family attitudes towards sexuality. Like the main character, I too delayed the internal coming out as much as I could, and it only sorted out with difficulty and pain. The relationship father son mother is, to me, splendidly shown. I fell like myself being described in the triangle where the mother protects the son from the furies and frustrations of the father, who wants to transform the son in something he isn't, an idealized version of himself. In the film it's even worst: none of the sons become the father's desire, all have their own trajectories, more or less developed, but all authentical. I wouldn't describe this as a 'gay' film, even though the theme is largely discussed. It's much more than that. It's the microcosms of issues that form a family, and it not always simple solutions.

For a Lost Soldier (1992)

Pedophilie or Love?

[10/10 · 17 December 2016]

At present times, it's impossible not to not to note the pedophiles connotations of the movie. After all, we have a young but mature soldier making love to a pubescent youth. But is it all? The relationship that develops between them is very sweet, and one couldn't say is not consensual. We know better that gay feelings are preexisting in many boys very early, and he must have felt very solitary before the emergence of the soldier. Our present legislation and morals wouldn't give a chance to the love of the two boys. But is that reasonable? Not for the morals of the film, who presents the relationship of the two as something quite natural. It's a polemic film, that can lead us to think as of present costumes in a dialectic way. Are we correct in judging as bad as we should such a tender relationship, coming out of the terrors of war, and which gave so permanent good feelings to the minor involved?

A Separate Peace (2004 TV Movie)

What is Friendship?

[5/10 · 16 December 2016]

After watching the film, a bitter felling comes from what is friendship, after all. Regardless the merits of the book, which I didn't read, one comes to the real hatred that can develops from one side of a friendship otherwise quite strong, coming in our terms to a bro bond, where sex isn't involved, but a real link can be developed between friends. At least, from one side of the fellows. The behavior of one of the 'friends' remains a mystery if we don't go to Freudian explanations of love and death. The performance of principals is mediocre, according to a TV movie. We can't see inner motivations that make Finny (Toby Moore) behaves as he does, and Gene(J Burtons) is perhaps a little too innocent is his movements. As a hole, a watchable film. But don't wait for a masterpiece.

A Lower Power (2009)

How difficult can life be?

[7/10 · 14 December 2016]

A very sensitive film, it deals with the difficulties of coming of age. Besides the main character is gay, this little or nothing influences in his choices, for his parents are very liberal in the matter. The problem here is Thibodeaux (Mattew Lotto), the principal, who wants to find a prince charming and even doesn't accepts when he sees one. I found myself greatly identified by the movie, it has feelings that are very similar to mine, although I can hardly say I had parents even near his one. The performance of Thibodeaux is quite sensitive, That of Steve (Willian McChaell) quite sure, the gentle cock that accepts the difficulties of his partner. Together, they are a pair of dreams. All in all, it's an agreeable film, with little action and tending more to a drama-comedy that entertains, and leave the smelt that good things can come out of little.

Sam Fooi (1999)

A Simple Love Story

[4/10 · 10 December 2016]

The plot surrounding FLOP is rather simple. A middle age teacher attracts one of his felloes by the proposition of a gay book to read (Maurice, by J.M.Foster) while maintaining some distance of him, in views of their differences in expectations of live and age. And the film doesn't go very away from this plot, giving little, if one, intrinsically movements of why this relationship is faded to fail. Both actors perform not very well. The Teacher (Edmond Strode) is constantly trying to be though; the student (Alex Wong) fells, or pretends to feel, the pains of first love. And so they go through the film, giving a boring conflict of generations. As a hole, the film doesn't need more than the 50' attributed to it. It can lead to some reflection of the problems of love with such a difference of age, but that won't last a few minutes after the film is closed. Very boring.

Beyond Love (2014)

Up to where can friendship goes?

[7/10 · 9 December 2016]

Beyond love is a good film. It has rhythm, plot and certain doses of simplicity, that help us feeling sympathetic towards the film. It has some moments of soap opera, something we Brazilian loves. The come and goes of the story can maintain the viewer attempt to what is happening. I found the bond between the two main characters, one gay and another lesbian, somewhat exaggerated, but that doesn't destroy the film.

Stefano (Marco Gandolfi Nannini), the gay hunk that that helps Marina (Jessica Resteghini), the hot lesbian, may go too beyond the limits a person in helping his friend, but it helps the development of the story, and make us reflect up to where should a friendship goes. As a hole, I would say the film functions, and is a good entertainment mixing emotions, happenings and reflection a quick pace.

Bashment (2011)

Music, Instrument of Hate?

[8/10 · 3 December 2016]

The starting point of Bashment proposes an intriguing question: Can music be an instrument of Hate? At a first look, yes. The rap battles of MC JJ (QQQQQ) seems to lead to the aggression of his beloved Orlando/Ollie (Joel Dommett). But, as the film evolves, we see different questions been aroused. Music is also an instrument of liberation of our instincts, however closeted they are. It's difficult to attribute to music the sources of violence, they are presented inside us, and music can even be a ways of sublimate these feelings. Of course, for some it will be interpreted literally. But does this allow to censorship of this glorious way of liberate our most hidden instincts. From this point of view, the film has a lot to say. The first part leads us to think music should be censured, in profit of the whole and as a meaning for being politically correct. But as the film evolves, we see a more complex the question. Even those who should fight some kind of music tend to be lenient to its calming and directional effects, and, by the end of the film, the feeling towards music, however blatantly aggressive it may seem to be, are changed. We can understand the calming and congregational function of music. Alas, I'm a supporter of some directional music, at least in what concern lyrics. Apology to crime must be investigated.

That Man: Peter Berlin (2005)

The beginnings of Soft/Hard Core

[8/10 · 24 November 2016]

The cinematic biography of Irving Berlin is a diving in the beginnings of erotic gay male cinematic world of the seventies. I myself remember him as an Icon of the times, even though he didn't engage in proper hard core films. That's perhaps why he was spared of AIDS epidemics, and can give a live presence in this doc. The film is interesting in many aspects, the most important of them being to give the ambiance in which gay people then lived. It was not necessary to be explicit to be erotic, and the film explores that. The testimony of Berlin is a high point for the film. He's a completely free soul, living from the grace of his friends and entering his sixties still with sex appeal. We are introduced to the main films he recorded at the time, very ingenuous for today's standards. All in all, it's a pleasant memoir to watch.

Skin and Bone (1996)

A Harsh Travel to the World of Male Whores

[8/10 · 24 November 2016]

A very dark film. No glamour is to be seen in this story of Hustlers, not completely aware of their position. Trying to sell themselves as actors, they slowly penetrate in a world of sex and abuse. And what a terrifying world this can turn into. The 'agency' to which the main characters become linked deals with the most sordid of sex desires, depraved sex of sadism and masochism, where clients demand daily more aggressive aspects of sex encounters. Lured with the prospects of getting jobs in the main film industry, the supposed actors complain. I found the actors of the film most effective. Beside the beautiful bodies they keep showing to the camera, they have good acting and let us feel the anguish with it they accept their abusive parts, always believing it will come to a better assignment. In particular, B. Wyatt and Alan Boyce give poignant interpretations, making you feel sorry for them and hoping they can get out of that hell. But little hope is to be expected for those involved in this hard core sadistic industry, where people are little more than meat to be served to the lions.

A Wedding Most Strange (2011)

Common Ideas, Bad Achievement

[4/10 · 23 November 2016]

The idea is quite common: In order to inheritance, a man must wed. The new fact here is that he is gay. Out of this idea there could be good achievements, but this wasn't the case. The film is so boring, maybe because of the script, maybe because of the main actor, maybe because of the direction, maybe because of all this and something more. The fact is you'll have difficulty in getting linked to this movie. There are some scenes that are actually funny, but there isn't much more than it. As a whole, this isn't the kind of entertainment I would recommend for someone looking for a good gay rom-com. It can only be a passing time for someone that already have seen all good things in stock, and isn't willing to re-watch some of them.

Pride Divide (1997)

Many Reasonable Placements

[7/10 · 20 November 2016]

This documentary is full of common places. However, most of them seem reasonable. I would agree with the main topic, that the fight of gays and lesbian for reconnaissance and equal rights just touch in this aspect: both are linked by same sex desires. For the rest, there are worlds apart. The center subject of AIDS, for instance, is a matter only for male gays: lesbians are the least affected group, in sex terms. And the film recognizes that gays do have little notions of what lesbians do in bed. That I can see in my personal experience as well as in gay films where lesbians appear. There is one point that still I have to see: lesbians are a group more interested than others (say female heterosexuals) in caring for gays with AIDS. Well, the film is from 1997, and the disease passed through many social developments since, but I wouldn't state lesbian care is bigger than other social groups. All in all, there are good prepositions in the film, some that we should incorporate as to think whether gay men should be more concerned about lesbian fates and desires, and, I can't say to which extend, vice-versa.

Défense d'aimer (2002)

Slow , but Effective

[7/10 · 20 November 2016]

The aspect that most attracted me in this film was the turmoil through which the character of Bruce (Rodolphe Marconi) goes. Is he in love or not? Is his friend somewhat in love with him or not? That's something awfully common in our lives, where love seems to be always in the wrong place, being corresponded to a certain level, but only to a certain level. It's also interesting to see the boys pretty out of preconception towards their feelings. They don't ask themselves whether they are gay or not. They simply are, and let their feelings flow. But the movie is awfully slow. We have to deal with sentiments that are going to be shown by gestures, actions, very little by words. And love is something that can bring great anguish. That's what happens here. As a hole, I think it's a film that will let you enter in a world where people in their twenties will have already dealt with, and most people will be related to. I found the ending a bit out of the film, inexplicable. But lead me to a lot of thoughts.

Leaving Metropolis (2002)

Few remarkable moments

[7/10 · 19 November 2016]

I came twice to watch this film in a lapse of more than ten years. What motivated to write a review was the recall I had from it, when the character David (Troy Huptash) the painter, curses his best friend Kryla (Lynda Boyd) Faghag. That shocked me, coming from a gay man. And that was one of the few memoirs I had from the film. Seeing it a second time just showed I was right: it has nothing remarkable. In particular, I still have the feeling that Huptash acting has nothing profound – he seemed to read his lines. I would say that Matt (Vincent Corazza) character is deeper. He really shows he's torn between this wife and his new found lover David. Besides, Corazza is a piece of a man, well build developed and a good actor. Overall, it's a film to be watched, perhaps even twice as I did. Another predicate is to say it aged well. The conflicts shown are undying and worth reflection from the viewer.

SoulMaid (2007)

Very Silly

[2/10 · 14 November 2016]

Forget any thoughts you may have had on seeing the front cover or title of this film. Don't be fooled by the hunk presented at the cover, he never appears. At maximum, the start of the film is about a guy that cleans houses in his underwear. Punkt. The rest of the plot is somewhat confusing, and certainly not well developed. As it's been stated in other reviews, there is a lousy plan of transforming gay men into heterosexuals, using for this a…sponge! And helped by a priest, the main character wants to stop this, meanwhile regaining the love of his life. It's poorly acted, poorly developed, poorly presented. I just gave it two stars because of some gay films I've watched, that doesn't deserve one! One point in favor, at least for me, I have for the film. The actors presented are fairly handsome, but hot that much. They are regular guys. Had they acted better

Be Mine (2009 Video)

A Fairy Tale, With no Evil Witch

[10/10 · 6 November 2016]

I don't understand why some users are so critic about 'Be Mine'. It's just what it proposes, a fairy tale, with the most delicious ending. The fact is we are so much used to bad endings, and the life as it is thing, that such a proposal seems superficial, when it is not: it's in the root of our never ending dream. But we must receive such good endings in a transvestite way, as if it isn't possible that a simple thing such as receiving a valentine card from someone we dreamed of can't be true. What a bad world is this one we live in. To me, I've taken this little tale as a gift, a way of passing a good day, of thinking that our wishes can come true, if we only let them be. Of course it won't always happen that way; but couldn't just for once this be true?

Holding the Man (2015)

Holding The Love

[10/10 · 2 November 2016]

Perhaps the good felling I felt when watching Holding The Man is the intense acting of Ryan Corr. He gives the film such a radiance that not even the dark events of AIDS can destroy. It's because of him I would rate the film so high. Not that the other actors are bad. It's simple because we don't feel bad during the screening; we simply accept the facts with a painful smile. Corr is so good in portraying an immensely lovable person we assume the facts as they are. The AIDS crisis won't destroy love, it simply turn it more intense. As we move back and forward through the film, we go on learning the power of love. The film doesn't tell us what the characters do for a living, but we understand they have very little, as when they show the parting of the belongings of the one who is dying, but that doesn't matter. They are full of life in that environment of death at stake. It isn't properly the story that holds us on, but Tim's character that never leaves a moment of sorrow. I'd highly recommend it, if only for showing that AIDS isn't the worst. The worst is lack of love, and that abounds in the whole movie.

Rainbow boy... Rung tua thii paet khawng khwaam rak (2005)

Usual Difficulties of Coming Out

[7/10 · 11 January 2016]

The movie presents three students in different levels of coming out. The first is a complete Sissy, accepted by his mother in his flamboyant way of living. The second, friends to the first, has a tranquil acceptance of his homosexuality, but still hasn't had the nerves of discussing the matter with his family. As for the third, a successful basket player, we have a complete closeted case. The three meet, almost to the dismay of the closeted case, at an encounter of the rainbow group, where coming out strategies will be discussed by the members. The meeting will have healing effects for the three of them, specially the closeted one, for it will open ways of disclosure The film has the merit of showing a situation set in Thailand, where we are shown that things aren't significantly different from what is seeing in the west. Including, the novel in which it's based is American. It's a good film, acted with little artistry by the leading actors.