Gods and Monsters (1998)

Gods and Monsters (1998)

Director: Bill Condon
Scenario: Christopher Bram, Bill Condon
Genre: Drama, Biography
Country: UK, USA
Year: 1998
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 7.5/10

Actors: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, David Dukes, Kevin J. O'Connor, Mark Kiely, Jack Plotnick, Rosalind Ayres, Jack Betts, Matt McKenzie, Todd Babcock, Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy, Brandon Kleyla, Pamela Salem

Description:
Dugo sam ovaj film čuvao na hard disku jer naprosto nisam bio raspoložen da ga gledam. Ipak sam danas nakon napornog posla odlučio da ga odgledam i stvaim na bolg. Obično filmove koji mi se ne sviđaju ne komentarišem, ali ovaj me se doista dojmio!
Idu godine naprosto lete i što smo stariji to imamo više priča iz sopstvenih života. Vremenom će mo sigurno ostati sa svojim uspomenama i pričati svoje priče u nadi da će ih možda ipak neko zapamtiti.

Tako je i ovaj režiser James Whale, predkaraj života ostao da živi među svojim slikama, pričama i filmovima. Stvari ponekad imaju svoje posebno značenje, kada ih uzmemo u ruku ili samo pogledamo vrate nas u neku našu priču i makar na trenutak probude u nama emocije koje smo davno zaboravili.

Ova priča o režiseru, prvaku filmova o Frankeštajnu, me je podsjetila na jednog starca kojeg sam volio na jedan poseban način.Pričao mi je priče iz svog života, o ratu, o ljubavi o strasti, o ljudima.... Sve sam upijao kao sunđer i od njega sam mnogo naučio. Pričao mi o svom braku, djeci, razvodu, ljubavi prema muškarcu i o tome kako moramo uvjek naći način da poslušamo svoje srce. Jednom prilikom mi je rekao da mu mnogo značim jer zna da će ipak neko znati njegovu priču koju nikome nikada nije ispričao. Na žalost on nije više živ, ali mnoge stvari o kojima mi je on pričao prenosim i ja vama!
Inače ovaj režiser James Whale, je živio uvijek onako kako je osjećao da mora i može. Snimao je filmove, živio u svojoj imaginaciji, putovao, slikao... Pred kraj života upoznaje mladog čovjeka, nesigurnog u sebe i u njemu vidi reinkarnaciju nekog ko je davno nestao iz njegovog života!
Bil Condon nam na jedan poseban način prikazuje odnos ovejanog matorog homoseksualca i mladog heteroseksualnog baštovana.
Zaista sjajna psihološka drama!

VARIETY.COM
By DENNIS HARVEY

Ian McKellen's brilliant performance as 1930s director James Whale highlights "Gods and Monsters." Historical Hollywood fiction drawn from Christopher Bram's book "Father of Frankenstein" doesn't always convince, particularly in the last lap. But it's an engrossing, unusual, imaginatively executed bit of psychological gamesmanship nonetheless. Director-scenarist Bill Condon's first-class production will need good reviews and strong marketing to cross over beyond gay and arthouse auds.

Brit-born Whale's career took off brilliantly in the talkies' first decade, starting with the transcription of his stage hit "Journey's End," then including the first "Waterloo Bridge" and "Show Boat." His name was made, however -- to a certain personal chagrin -- by three witty, visually peerless Universal horror classics: "Frankenstein," "The Invisible Man" and "Bride of Frankenstein" (the latter much-excerpted here).

Such success rendered even his fairly uncloseted homosexuality bearable to studio heads, who kept mum. But once their drastic recut of an expensive '39 war pic, "The Road Back," flopped, his career was finished. He was found at the bottom of his Pacific Palisades pool in 1957, under "mysterious circumstances."

Story is set in helmer's final days, painting a portrait of a physically frail, socially isolated has-been who feigns contentment hanging about his tony digs under the watchful eye of longtime Hungarian housekeeper Hanna (Lynn Redgrave). Just back from a stroke-induced hospital stay, he's heavily medicated, clearly at rope's end with his mental and bodily deterioration.

Yet a bit of leering prankishness remains alive yet, as demonstrated when Whale makes a fawning young film student (Jack Plotnick) shed a clothing article for each question answered.

A stronger lure is the new gardener Clayton (Fraser), a muscle-bound, rootless odd-jobber living in a trailer. Though suspicious, this unsophisticated hunk is flattered by the attention. Cat-and-mouse play ensues, as the elder uses his new, vehemently heterosexual protege by turns for leering amusement, companionship and possible fatal delivery from a once-dignified life ebbing toward undignified fade-out.

Whale's stroke-debilitated weavings in and out of reality provide vivid narrative punctuation. At times he recalls the working-class English childhood he'd fled (and falsified later for publicists); at others, scenes from his famed "Frankenstein" pics take on frightening immediacy. But the memory tugging hardest is of the great love he'd lost in World War I battle. That's one he'll take to -- and hopefully re-embrace in -- the grave, whether Clayton expedites matters or not.

Condon softens the harsher edges in Bram's novel. Latter painted Whale as too bitchily misanthropic to allow much sympathy, while the book's Clayton was an opportunist and quietly raging malcontent. Overall, changes from this cold playoff are to the good, making "Gods" more complex, more poignant than the "Sunset Boulevard"-style grotesque psychodrama it might have been.

Nonetheless, central character dynamic doesn't entirely work. One problem is that Fraser -- who's lent intelligence, sweetness and comic flair to even Neanderthal roles like "George of the Jungle" and "Encino Man" -- can't help but make Clayton's rudderlessness seem a bit improbable. We don't believe he'd be so easily manipulated, or that he'd fare so poorly with women (Lolita Davidovich plays a barkeep who gives him the brush-off). As usual, Fraser gives a polished perf, but he's miscast. He's also stuck with a poorly conceived, gratuitous coda.

McKellen, on the other hand, has seldom found such an ideal role. This Whale keeps a silvery, barbed wit sharp for his own entertainment -- in one memorable party scene, he embarrasses fellow gay helmer George Cukor in front of visiting Princess Margaret. Yet despair at his own helplessness, nostalgia and vague regret are ever-present. It's a bravura turn.

Redgrave does a rather broad job with the stern, loyal, disapproving housekeeper; at times she seems to be parodying Lotte Lenya. Support roles (including fleeting stand-ins for stars Boris Karloff, Elsa Lancaster and Elizabeth Taylor) are well handled.

Though the last 15 minutes or so falter, director Condon (best known for the cult pics "Strange Behavior" and "Strange Invaders") otherwise executes a demanding mix of intimate character drama and fantasy elements with imaginative grace.

Stephen M. Katz's widescreen lensing is tops; some B&W segs successfully mimic "Bride's" expressionist splendor, helped to no end by Richard Sherman's dexterous production design. Carter Burwell's score may be a tad earnest, but it does help ballast this curious story's reach toward pathos.

Antarctica (2008)

Antarctica (2008)

Director: Yair Hochner
Scenario: Yair Hochner
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Israel
Year: 2008
Duration: 110 min
Rating: 6.6/10

Subtitle: English

Actors: Dvir Benedek, Hana Coller, Yael Deckelbaum, Lucy Dubinchik, Liat Ekta, Adi Fain, Ofer Ein Gal, Alon Harari, Noam Huberman, Tomer Ilan, Yosefa Kimhy, Korin, Danni Lachman, Noa Lazar, Dina Limon, Yiftach Mizrahi, Rivka Neuman, Yoel Noy, Yuval Raz, Ofer Regirer, Dana Ruttenberg, Oshri Sahar, Shirli Salomon, Tamar Yerushalmi, Guy Zoaretz

Description:
Ja volim jednog, taj me nece, drugi voli prvog, prvi voli treceg, treci voli drugog... i tako u nedogled. Svi izgleda vole pogrešnu osobu, niko nikog nece , a medusobno se svi pojebaše!
Tako je to na filmu, al cini mi se i u stvarnosti. Jednom sam upao u neko gay društvo u beogradu. To mi je bio prvi susret sa pederima koji se medusobno druže. Do tada sam uvjek nekako imao jednog muškarca pored sebe i curu! Al se nikada nisam susretao sa pravim pederskim društvom. I naivčina kakav sam bio, ja sve govorio istinu, od onog šta osjecam, šta želim , kako razmišljam itd A pederi namirisali novo meso pa sve oko mene, jedni druge ogovaraju , te ovaj je kurva, ovaj onakav, onaj ovakav....
U čudu se nadjoh, pa što se onda druže kada tako ružno jedni o drugima misle?! Kada neko gleda sa strane reko bi da je upao u skup ljudi gdje niko nikoga ne voli! A istina je da su se svi medjusobno kad tad pojebali. Na kraju kada su vidjeli da previše biram i da nikoga neću iz tog društva proglasiše me droljom koja se jebe po Adi Ciganliji u žbunju! He kada sam to čuo otrčao sam odmah u to nesretno žbunje da vidim šta se to tamo dešava! Al to je već druga priča.
Ovaj film me podsjetio na to! Svi nailaze na pogrešne osobe , al niko nekoga ne propušta! Bar po neki put da se pojebu pa da nastave potragu za nečim, a neznaju ni sami šta traže. Vikend sex sa nepoznatima je obavezna stvar! Valjda će preko kurca shvatiti ko je kakva osoba!
Pravi pederski film u režiji Yair Hochnera predstavlja nastavak Israelske gay produkcije!

Reyhan Harmanci, San Francisco Chronicle

Although "Antarctica" is far racier, less slapstick and of course not a television show, I couldn't stop thinking about "Friends" while watching the Israeli coming-of-age comedy. It has all the same elements: an outrageously attractive cast, somewhat wooden acting and a revolving bedroom door. The city of Tel Aviv seems to have shrunk to a population of around 10 people, with one street, one shop, one coin laundry, one library and, of course, the coffee shop.

"Antarctica" produces some nice moments between characters, but the artificial setup makes for many awkward, hollow interactions. What the film does have going for it are frequent and passionate sex scenes. These encounters have an honesty that the movie lacks - they do more for character development than the dialogue does.

The film opens with a series of split-screen encounters between one man (Boaz, played by Ofer Regirer) and a series of other men - shy dancer Danny (Yiftach Mizrahi), sexy journalist Ronen (Guy Zo-Aretz), comic relief character Miki (Yuval Raz), the eminently forgettable Eiten (Oshri Sahar) and the nerdy Omer (Tomer Ilan), who turns out to be the protagonist of the film.

The opening sets a brisk, if confusing, pace. Clearly, hook-up culture is as prevalent in Israel as it is in the United States. Names are seldom exchanged - hence the running joke about the slutty Boaz continuing to forget his encounters with Eiten until they meet again, in bed.

From that montage beginning, a title card announces that the main action takes place three years later. Omer, a good-looking gay librarian who is about to turn 30 (maybe the Courtney Cox/Monica character?) is clearly hungry for love. He goes on a blind date with the younger Danny (last seen shagging the much-older Boaz), which leaves both men feeling "eh." Meanwhile, Miki takes his Internet interactions offline with Ronan, who, most improbably for a journalist in this century, makes eyes at Omer at the library where he does research. He also, it must be said, looks much more like an underwear model than a reporter.

Omer's cute, lesbian kid sister, Shirley (Lucy Dubinchik), has some romantic troubles of her own - she was engaged to be married but longs to travel the world before settling down. At least, that's what she tells the older lesbian owner of the coffee shop, Michal (Liat Akta), whose over-the-top sexual innuendo toward Shirley seems more like workplace harassment than charming banter.

Like "Friends," these characters only seem to interact with each other. Perched on his stool at the library, the perpetually frowning Omer waits for friends to drop by. Ronan interviews a wacky author at Shirley's coffee shop and then later goes on a date with Miki there. Boaz, perhaps the least fleshed out character of the lot, runs into Danny, with whom he had a hot monthlong fling three years before, in a dance studio and pines for him (while continuing to sleep with many others.) And so on and so forth.

Part of the movie's problem is its length. At almost two hours, the inevitable plot machinations grind slowly. Ronen and Omer finally hang out but are stopped by Miki's fling with Ronen. The coffee shop's open-mike nights provide music for the soundtrack - a particularly alarming choice by the filmmakers - which is supposed to underline the characters' emotions. But the locale doesn't offer any insight into the characters. The film could have been shot on a soundstage in Los Angeles as easily as the streets of Tel Aviv.

Still, "Friends" was a hit for a reason: It's fun to see attractive people get together and fall apart. "Antarctica" offers the same soap-opera-like rewards to the audience. It was refreshing, too, to see the entirely queer world of the film presented so straightforwardly (no pun intended). However, romantic comedies in general are hard to pull off, and although "Antarctica" doesn't succeed as a love story, it manages a few hot nights along the way.

In Hebrew with English subtitles

Death in Venice, CA (1994) short 30 min

Death in Venice, CA (1994)

Director: P. David Ebersole
Scenario: P. David Ebersole
Genre: Drama, Short
Country: USA
Year: 1994
Duration: 30 min
Rating: 7.0/10

Actors: Robert Glen Keith, Shirley Knight, Nick Rafter, Shawm Brydon

Ova kratka priča kojoj je uzor čuvena novela Tomasa Mana "Smrt u Veneciji" me je ostavila nekako zatečenog. Iako živim u svjetu zabrana za sve i svašta, često me nagon i emocije natjeraju da preskočim nametnute barijere. Naravno, sve to dobro sakrijem na samo meni dobro znanom mjestu na kojem piše "MOJE TAJNE! "
Dok sam gledao ovaj film , javio mi se jedan momak iz Irana. kaže da je ovaj blog u njegovoj zemlji zabranjen i kada bi ga uhvatili da ga posjećujemogao bi da nastrada. Kaže da u njegovoj zemlji zvanična politika tvrdi kako tamo ne postoje pederi. Pa kad ne postoje zašto brane posjete ovakvim sajtovima?! Momka sam učlanio u grupu i dobijaće sve moje postove u e-mail. To je maksimum koji mu mogu pružiti.

Inače ovaj film me je asocirao na jednog momka koji me je svojevremeno opsjedao. Čekao me ispred stana kda se vraćam sa posla,pratio sa kim se družim i kuda se krećem. Jako me je to sve nerviralo, posebno zato jer je momak imao samo 16 godina, a ja skoro 30. Uvjek sam bio ljubazan prema njemu ali na distanci. Jednom kada sam se vraćao sa posla, sretnem ga i pozovem kod mene da popričamo.
Pitao sam ga zašto je uvjek oko mene i šta ga to nagoni da prati svaki moj korak. Rekao mi je da me voli i da sanja o tome da ga zagrlim. Užasnuo sam se i rekao mu da je on još mlad, da treba da traži društvo svojih godina i da prođe još po neka godina dok postane zreo čovjek. Na to se on skinuo go ko od majke rođen i pitao me: Zar misliš da nisam dovoljno zreo muškarac! Zbunjen , rekao sam mu da se obuče i da fizički izgled nije mjerilo za takvu konstataciju već način na koji razmišlja i kako se ponaša. Na jedvite jade je izašao od mene, pri čemu mi je rekao da ako ga zagrlim da mi nikada neće smetati! Zagrlio sam ga 2-3 minuta i on je otišao.
Nakon 3-4 godine sam ga sreo, bio je u društvu cure. Obradovao mi se i ponosno rekao :Ovo je moja djevojka. Nasmijao sam se i rekao mu da nije ni svjestan koliko mi je drago da to čujem. Samo mi je namignuo!

U ovom filmu 17-gododišnji momak Sebastian, zavodi starijeg muškarca Carvera. Zaljubljuje se u njega. Ovaj, iako je opčinjen mladićem odbija da dopusti da stvari izmaknu kontroli i udaljava se od njega.
Da li je pogriješio? Nezahvalno je da ispričam film do kraja, ali volio bih da čujem vaš komentar. Šta bi ste vi uradili da ste na mjestu Carvera?

Description:
Multiple award-winning short film DEath In Venice, CA evokes the memory of Thomas Mann’s novella in order to tell a tragic parable about repression, obsession and the haunting threat of catching one’s death through falling in love. Starring British actor Nick Rafter, two-time Academy Award-nominated actress Shirley Knight and introducing Rob Keith as 18-year old Sebastian, Death In Venice, CA centers around the summer vacation of Mason Carver, a scholar of romantic love who finally finds the passion he has studied but never known. Will Mason discover the courage to match Sebastian’s passion for life- -to embrace this last opportunity to become the man he might have been? Or will he retreat back into the security that comes with an interminable existence of measured out unhappiness? As Mason says in his narration, “When a man finds himself asking such questions, he is doomed to find out the answers, whether he wants to or not.”

Written by {jhailey@hotmail.com}

Mason Carver is an academic suffering from stress. His wife arranges for him to spend a summer lodging at the Venice home of one of her relatives, Mona Dickens. Mrs. Dickens has a 17-year old stepson, Sebastian, a muscular, moody, and seductive young man who soon captures Carver's fantasies. Carver wants to resist, but temptation is strong. As Carver tries to summon the resolve to turn away from the boy, and with the rough trade of Venice's beach, board-walks, and public toilets at hand, it becomes clear that Sebastian is playing with fire, too. Is there a way out for Carver that also helps Sebastian find a safe passage to adulthood?

La Mujer de mi Hermano (2005) Aka My Brother's Wife

La Mujer de mi Hermano (2005) Aka My Brother's Wife

Director: Ricardo de Montreuil
Scenario: María Eugenia Argomedo, Jaime Bayly
Genre: Drama
Country: Argentina, Mexico, Peru, USA
Year: 2005
Duration: 89 min

Subtitle:English
Rating: 6.4/10

Actors: Bárbara Mori, Christian Meier, Manolo Cardona, Gaby Espino, Beto Cuevas, Bruno Bichir, Angélica Aragón

Description:

U mom životu ima već i previše priča o pederima koji su se oženili zbog blokada koje su sami sebi nametnuli. Uticaj naše konzervative sredine, tadicionalistickog vaspitanja i želja da budemo kao i drugi samo su neki od mnogih razloga koji mogu natjerati pedera da se oženi! Neki u tome vide samo način da prikriju svoju homoseksualnost. Uživaju u svom porodičnom domu, a koriste svaki trenutak da se iskradu i drkaju po javnim WC-ima, parkovima i sličnim mjestima. Malo vještiji koriste internet i gledaju da se na svaki nacčn docepaju kite! Pri tome žive u neviđenom strahu da im ne spadne vješto izrađena maska kojom kriju svoju pravu prirodu.
Vremenom svi trpe i nesretna žena koja ima sve manje seksa i nesretni peder koji doživljava noćne more u strahu da mu đeca ne saznaju da im je tata kurcopušac.

A kada se sve to uplete i još jedna veza, nastaje priča za film. Ne jedan nego stotine filmova. Nekako svo vrijeme koegzistiram sa pričama na tu temu. Valjda zato jer me privlace jaki i muževni muškarci, a zbog moje potrebe da sakrijem svoje homoseksualne nagone najrađe izaberem oženjenog čovjeka! Možda zato jer mislim da će čuvajuci sebe, sačuvati i mene. I tako vremenom upadnem u mrežu ispletenu od sopstvenih laži da bude momenata kada jedva raspletem put do istine!
Svaki ukradeni trenutak kada se vidim sa voljenom osobom smatram darom od boga i budem zahvalan za to! A kad ostanem sam u četiri zida trudim se da ne razmišljam o tome koga grli kada mene nema!

Druga priča je kada se nesretnik koji je zasnovao porodicu i ima djecu zaljubi u muškarca. Na šta je sve spreman da udovolji svom srcu?! Koliko rizikuje time? I šta na kraju može očekivati od te veze?

Treća priča je žena! Vremenom osjeti pomanjkanje strasti , vidi kod muža neku osdsutnost a ne zna u čemu je problem! Kasnije nauči da je to tako u većini brakova i sve pređe u naviku.

I još milion prica, ispricanih i ne ispricanih. Svodi se na trougao u kojem svako ima svoj cošak i sa teškom mukom bar na momenat prede u susjedni.
Ako se otkrije zabranjena posjeta, trougao se raspada i postane predmet pogleda ljudi kojih se u biti to uopšte ne tice!

U ovom filmu, nesretna žena ima avanturu sa muževljevim bratom sa kojim na kraju ostaje trudna. Pri svemu tome i muž ima svoje tajne, a kako se sve završava kada istina rasplete laži vidite sami. Nemojte ocekivati mnogo, nema nekih seksi scena i velikih romansi! Ovo je samo još jedna u nizu mnogih prica.

Medju linkovima imate i titl na engleskom jeziku. Na žalost na Ex Yu jezicima ga još nema!

La Mujer de mi Hermano Aka My Brother's Wife

By PETER DEBRUGE

A Lionsgate release of a Lionsgate, Panamax Films and Stan Jakubowicz presentation of a Shallow Entertainment production. Produced by Jakubowicz. Executive producers, Jakubowicz, James M. McNamara, Benjamin Odell. Co-producer, Jaime Bayly. Directed by Ricardo de Montreuil. Screenplay, Jamie Bayly.

Zoe Edwards - Barbara Mori
Ignacio Edwards - Christian Meier
Gonzalo Edwards - Manolo Cardona
Boris - Bruno Bichir
Cristina - Angelica Aragon
Padre Santiago - Beto Cuevas

If you strip "Unfaithful" of Adrian Lyne's touch or filter Kubrick out of "Eyes Wide Shut," they remain provocative looks at adultery. But, if you deprive desperate-housewife yarn "La mujer de mi hermano" of helmer Ricardo de Montreuil's polished approach, all that remains is a tawdry Telenovela. Soapy melodrama and a small-screen cast undermine the first-time director's efforts to dress up screenwriter Jaime Bayly's adaptation of his novel about a sexually unfulfilled married woman who beds her hubby's brother. Successful South-of-border run suggests Latin interest with limited crossover potential if Lionsgate positions the pic properly.

Although Uruguayan-born beauty Barbara Mori, a Spanish-speaking TV star, could easily cross over to English-language roles, this revealing lead perf does more to showcase the skills that landed her in the January 2004 issue of Maxim than those needed to put her in competition with Salma Hayek or Penelope Cruz.

The way Mori plays it, the title phrase -- which translates to "My Brother's Wife" -- conveys the same off-limits appeal reflected in the word "MILF."

Zoe Edwards (Mori) grows tired of her rich husband Ignacio (Christian Meier) and finds passion in the arms of his spontaneous younger brother Gonzalo (Manolo Cardona).

For at least the first half hour, pic sustains the illusion of artistic ambitions thanks to an elegant opening-credits sequence in which fallen leaves and doomed insects float adrift on water. Those images correspond to Ignacio's routine of cleaning his designer swimming pool, going out of his way to rescue a drowning beetle.

The pool provides a symbol (so does the impressive modern "glass house") as de Montreuil tries to bring class to a story destined to drown in its own suds.

Viewers needn't wait long for the hanky panky to commence: Things are already tense between brothers Ignacio and Gonzalo, while Zoe resents that her disinterested husband can't have children. There's little to suggest why Zoe and Ignacio are together in the first place, much less how they have lasted for nearly 10 years of marriage.

She is, as her gay best friend Boris (Bruno Bichir) suggests, far too beautiful to be ignored.

This daytime-TV-caliber setup favors shallow titillation over deeper psychology. The lovers are perpetually on the brink of discovery, but it's Zoe's inevitable pregnancy that thrusts everything out in the open.

For a modest South American melodrama, "La mujer de mi hermano" manages to tackle everything from adultery to incest to abortion and homosexuality, spanning roughly a year in the lives of its characters in 89 overcrowded minutes. A mesmerizing score from Angelo Milli ("Secuestro Express") and polished cinematography by d.p. Andres E. Sanchez (who also lensed de Montreuil's award-winning short "Amiga") give Zoe's marriage an almost chlorinated feel, but heat up when Gonzalo is around.