Incredibly soft, easy to kick back with, and authentic to the queer experience, Greg Berlanti's 'Broken Hearts Club' is, somehow, a hidden gem. Beyond its frank, optimistic portrayal of life as a gay man in America at the turn of the millennium, there isn't anything particularly remarkable about Berlanti's debut feature. That however, in and of itself, is a pretty remarkable thing for a film that feels as mainstream as they come despite its very unapolagetically queer storytelling. I can't…
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Crimes of the Future 2022
Decidedly of the present, David Cronenberg's latest ghoulish descent into the pit of the basest essence of "humanity" is a provocative, obtuse, and labyrinthine exploration of body autonomy as vice. As a gross, disturbing vision, 'Crimes of the Future' is a fine return to form for Cronenberg who once again delights in presenting a world where our enmeshing with technology has led us into the land of mundane depravity. That the director has delved into similar areas before doesn't detract…
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To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar 1995
"Sometimes, it just takes a fairy."
Joyful, almost preposterously so, 'To Wong Foo' is a warm, forward-thinking comedy that resonates, moves the soul, and tickles in the best ways. Despite appearing to be an all-out road trip romp, 'Wong Foo' wisely turns a detour into the resurrection of spirit its queer life-affirming characters espouse and in so doing, lifts those of its viewers. Patrick Swayze is incredible in this and his chemistry with everyone, especially Stockard Channing, makes this as lovely as it is.
Scavenger Hunt 87 - #3 - Watch a film featuring actors in drag.
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The Black Phone 2021
Hope is a remarkable thing. Even a flicker of it, appearing right when you most need it, can mean everything. In that flicker is a possibility and if you hold onto that possibility, it can become a roaring flame untempered by the darkest hopelessness around it.
'The Black Phone', bleak as it appears to be, is every bit a fiercely hopeful film. Shrouded in menace and continually reminiscent of the modern horrors endured by children in places where their safety…
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C'mon C'mon 2021
Pardon the Joker reference but this is what happens when an insufferable child character meets an insipid screenplay. Joaquin is first rate all the way through but even he couldn't make me stop longing for this stretched out 15-minute short to end.
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Cyrano 2021
Peter Dinklage somehow overcomes the ocean of shockingly awful writing and plotting around him to resonate far beyond the film's dull limitations. I really enjoyed him as well as Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Ben Mendelsohn's mustache-twirling villain (as I always do). Let me reiterate my first point though: these performances, especially Dinklage's, are the ONLY thing holding back what is otherwise a nice-looking but overwrought and flat-out boring musical plagued by stuffy, head-scratching decisions.
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French Kiss 1995
Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan can cure any level of depression, they just need a script worthy of their flawless peak 90s charms to do it. Watched this the way it was meant to be watched: while sleepy on a long train.
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Fire Island 2022
🏳️🌈 Happy Pride Month! 🏳️🌈
Most comedies face an uphill battle to claim legitimacy as a groundbreaking work. Fair or not, conveying the bittersweet melange of life with a light touch is tough work. You wouldn't know it from watching 'Fire Island' though. Joel Kim Booster's honest, relatable and, yes, groundbreaking observations from a queer person of color in America are delivered with a sharp wit honed through years on standup stages (if you're not familiar with his work, you're…
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Dance of the Forty One 2020
Visually impeccable with production and costume design to wow at and told with grace and soft affection, 'El baile de los 41' is fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. Especially as a window into a rarely explored period in queer history, it longs for its stewards to run with the creative license they approach the story with. Performances are strong with Alfonso Herrera (who can currently be seen stealing scenes from, among others, the legendary Laura Linney on 'Ozark) making…
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Unstoppable 2010
Let me just take a moment to relish this cast. I'm always in the mood to awe at Denzel's magnetism. I love Rosario Dawson in every single role she plays. And Pine is fresh off his debut as Young Kirk here. They rule and this thing moves. My only gripe with this film is that the score blatantly rips off the Joker motifs from 'The Dark Knight' and it lowkey drove me (more) insane.
Scavenger Hunt 86 - #11 - Watch a train movie.