13 June 2015

Coming Out (2013)

coming-out
FROM TRIPLE THREAT WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER MATHIEU BLANCHARD comes a twelve episode series following the explosive lives, loves and losses of an intermingled group of Montréalers are explored as they confront the subject of difference. Managing a modern relationship can be a mess. Single? Attached? Married? Divorced? Open? Closed? The most common answer is ‘It’s complicated.’
Get ready to come out with these characters as they negotiate acceptance, prejudice and just how much they’re willing to risk in the pursuit of love and happiness.

Genres: Drama Series
Country: Canada
Language: French, English
Duration: 2 hours 3 minutes
Year: 2013
WATCH SEASON 2 here! vimeo.com/ondemand/comingout2


Coming Out Episode 1: Coming Out from Border2Border Entertainment on Vimeo.

20 May 2015

A Little Comfort (2004)

justereconfort_dvdgfA Little Comfort (2004)
"Juste un peu de réconfort..." (original title)


Director: Armand Lameloise
Writer: Armand Lameloise
Genre: Short movie
Country: France
Duration: 38 min 
Year: 2004




Stars: Arthur Moncla, Rémi Bresson, Élodie Bollée







Someone deserves more comfort............A lot more...
Author: arizona-philm-phan from Arizona - IMDB


juste-un-peu-de-reconfort-Armand-Lameloise-outplayfilms-film-gay_08All you romantics out there can take your own little comfort in this great short feature. It's one that can make us all feel young again (oh, gosh, do we really want that?).
Poor little Arnaud, he's a real sweetie. He pretty much knows, sexually, who he is and what he wants, but it's the desire for the who-he-wants that's giving him problems. And, unfortunately for his peace of mind, the "hotness" of that desire manifests itself.....even during sleep (though Mom is very sympathetic at a time like that, does she actually realize the problem's cause........hmm, perhaps more than we know).
Arnaud, of course, must make one of life's first common mistakes, one which so many of us make: choosing the wrong object of desire, the wrong person to fixate on. And, here, this reviewer's interpretation of Guillaume's role in Arnaud's life is at polar opposites from the opinion expressed by another viewer/writer on this site. In my eyes, G. is the epitome of the "mixed-up kid" (and, perhaps with good reason, considering his family/home situation). He's a tease, concerned primarily with his own gratification, and, in the end, is someone who can relate to our sweet little hero only if pretense is involved (the nature of that pretense you'll easily discover with your own eyes.....er.....uh.....I mean, ears).
In concluding this little reflection of mine on teen life (a life-period which often needs more than the title's little comfort), let me say we can only hope that the angel of a cyclist who appears at film's end is there to provide much more than just 'a little comfort' to our Arnaud. He deserves it.
PS--Pulling us right into the scenes with him, Arthur Moncla does a great job with his character of Arnaud.......especially considering he was only about 17 at the time (yeah, more like 17 going on 40).

18 May 2015

D'Agostino (2012)

ccD'Agostino (2012)



Director: Jorge Ameer
Writer: Jorge Ameer
Genres: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Language: English
Duration:  124 min





Stars: Jorge Ameer, Michael Gordon Andricopoulos, Angus Malcolm





Looking for WTF? Look no further!
23 September 2013 | by Greg Goodsell (Bakersfield, CA USA) – IMDB

1The films of Jorge Ameer always entertain. They're not always good, but they always entertain. His early feature THE SINGING FOREST (2003)was notable for a reincarnation plot involving Nazi concentration camp victims, featuring well-fed prisoners and very uneven, hand-drawn Swastikas on armbands. In the supernatural drama THE HOUSE OF ADAM (2006), the characters freak out if a front door unexpectedly swings open but remain calm and collected when encountering a man tied to a chair for torture.

3In D'AGOSTINO, Ameer raises the bar very high. Dissatisfied American yuppie Allan Dawson (Keith Roenke) lives with his fiancé Sylvia (Torie Tyson) in London. She is quite a bit older than he, which may explain his sudden outburst heard at the film's beginning – "What do fat and ugly people think they look like?" Things are mundane and boring until Sylvia says, "Your grandmother left you some property." Did his grandmother die? She doesn't say. "Your grandmother left you some property in Greece." So Allan jets over to Greece. The "property" is a very nice candle-lit apartment. Allan takes some time to sight-see, and then returns to the apartment that night. Looking behind a heavy oaken door, Alan discovers a disgusting human male (Michael Angels) covered in feces tied up in a tiled room. Slamming the door behind him, Allan takes a hot shower … goes back to sleep … wakes up the next day … does some more sight-seeing … has some lunch … Yes, none of it makes any sense, but perhaps it's not supposed to. Allan doesn't TELL anyone about the horror lurking in his apartment, in what amounts to a twisted agenda. Later that night, Allan showers his new-found friend off, notes a dog collar that lists his name as D'Agostino and checks his trusty laptop. "I see that you're a secret clone bred for organ harvesting," the smug Allan says – as if this would be posted online – from a dog tag that has no URL address. The barking, yelping D'Agostino has the mentality of a newborn baby trapped in the body of a young man, and Allan seizes the opportunity to put him on a leash and teach him a few, uh, "tricks." It's exactly what you think it is.

2Very little, other than nonstop mental and sexual degradation of the title character continues for the rest of D'AGOSTINO's two-plus hour running time. Other than a pushy landlord (played by director Ameer himself) seems to interrupt the two mens' sadistic idyll. The viewer continues to watch the film as if to ask themselves, "why am I watching this?" Why ineptly told, D'AGOSTINO hammers home a classic fable of all the horrible things that happen when a human being considers another human being as being less than such.

4It falls apart at the end when D'Agostino symbolically eats from "the tree of knowledge," i.e. Allan's laptop for an ending straight out of an EC horror comic book. Allan gets his comeuppance, but its not what the ending COULD have been.


D'AGOSTINO calls to mind such favorites as SALO: 120 DAYS OF SODOM (1975). It also recalls, with its minimal cast, single setting, Greek locale and sadomasochistic games the cult favorite SINGAPORE SLING (1991) and art house favorite DOGTOOTH (2009). In either case, D'AGOSTINO is the rare kind of movie that I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone – knowing full well that lots of them will ABSOLUTELY hate it. See it – it's not a good film, but remains a highly unique viewing experience.

10 April 2015

Fawns (2014)

fawns
Fawns (2014)
Director: Thanasis Tsimpinis
Writer: Thanasis Tsimpinis
Genre: Short movieCountry: Greece
Duration: 3 min
Year: 2014
Site: Facebook, Vimeo
Stars: Orestis Karydas, Alexis Fousekis


FAWNS from Thanasis Tsimpinis on Vimeo
Greektv.com
Fawns is a very particular short film that balances between sensation and sensibility, innocence and loss, love and pain. It is rare to find a short film that encapsulates so many emotions in its small form and it still leaves you asking for more! The film was a Vimeo Staff Pick during St Valentine’s week, it won a Best Cinematography Award in the 20th Athens International Film Festival and it is already featured in numerous international online magazines, gaining a lot of attention for its director.
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