Gay-Friendly Blu-rays (2 Viewers)

[Matt Hough]

Zac for Perkins, Colton Haynes for Tab Hunter?

 

[Mark-W]

Zac for Perkins, Colton Haynes for Tab Hunter?

Back when Colton was deeply in the closet, threatening to sue folks for sharing the modeling photos of him French kissing another teen male model (which appeared in a magazine as part of an editorial spread, not paparazzi shoot.), there were images of him hanging out with Quinto during the Heroes days. It was alleged they were dating.

I wonder if that ended amicably?

 

[Will Krupp]

So I recalled stating that I thought the Anthony Perkins romance with Tab Hunter would make a good basis for a film or play, and it turns out it is becoming a film being produced by J.J. Abrams and Zachary Quinto

My first concern when I read this was, uh-oh, "how does Tab feel about this?" This, however (emphasis mine):

Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and his Star Trek collaborator Quinto are producing, along with Allan Glaser, a studio exec turned producer who is also Hunter's longtime partner, and Neil Koenigsberg, a legendary publicist who is the founding "K" in the PR firm PMK.

lets us know that Tab is on board, so I'm IN!!

 

[Will Krupp]

there were images of him hanging out with Quinto during the Heroes days. It was alleged they were dating.

I wonder if that ended amicably?

Who HASN'T dated Zachary Quinto at this point? He's like the gay Taylor Swift!
I know we're supposed to love him, but he gives off a creepy vibe I can't seem to get over. I'm seeing him in BOYS IN THE BAND on August 11th so I'll let you know if it translates!

A blond Colton Haynes would actually work...

 

[Jason_V]

Who HASN'T dated Zachary Quinto at this point? He's like the gay Taylor Swift!

Me. I know that was a rhetorical question, but I couldn't resist.

I will also put a recommendation in for Tab Hunter Confidential.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Me neither. (just another thing Jason and I have in common!)

 

[MatthewA]

Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the closet.

 

[Mark-W]

Hello again, everyone!

A quick review and other news.
Netflix premiered Alex Strangelove on June 8th, and it was showing up enough on my Facebook feed that I decided to give it a watch today instead of stapling down the weed cover in the backyard (Thanks also in part of Portland's current, changing-every-few-minutes weather: sun, rain, clouds, sun again, then really wet...all in a few hours).

Link to trailer:


Alex Strangelove has been called a raunchier, R-rated version of Love, Simon, and because this was on Netflix, I had assumed this was also going to be a many-episodes-long show and not just a 90-minute film, which would also distinguish it from Love, Simon. (I was wrong about it being several episodes.)

Craig Johnson, who directed the wonderful and amazing The Skeleton Twins also directed this, so I was on board.

Well, I just finished it and it is perfectly middling on all counts. Yes, it deals with sex more overtly than Love, Simon did, but the tone is uneven, and Alex's story, while unique to him, is not unique in the coming out genre, and this felt like something I had seen before, done better in Edge of Seventeen.

When HTF'er Matt Hough said he tends to stay away from films set in high school, films like this are a perfect example of why. It is about being a seventeen-year-old who is still not sure what his sexual orientation is and Alex Strangelove does not have a bigger message or theme than that. Love, Simon worked for me because it knew it was being a John Hughes film with little changed other than the central character being gay, which is what made it fresh and fun, and at times moving and even (for me) retroactively healing, filling a void created 35 years ago.

Edge of Seventeen works because it is an independent, R/unrated-rated film that does not shy away from the leads first sexual encounters with men and tells a very specific, honest and accurate story about Eric and his coming out process in Sandusky, Ohio, in the 1980s.

Alex Strangelove treads some awkward middle ground between the two types of films and suffers for it.

The ending also left me feeling very underwhelmed. I was hoping for more from a coming out story with an R-rating in 2018. Skip this one and watch Johnson's The Skeleton Twins instead.

In other news, Rupert Everett completed a pet project of his, The Happy Prince, about the last years of Oscar Wilde's life. I hear it is both brilliant and bleak, so I will be saving that one for the winter months.
Link to an article about the film.:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jun/10/rupert-everett-oscar-wilde-film-the-happy-prince

Cheers!

 

[Jason_V]

Thanks Mark. A trusted friend said basically the same thing about Alex Strangelove. I still want to watch it, though my enthusiasm is a bit dampened now.

 

[Will Krupp]

Alex Strangelove has been called a raunchier, R-rated version of Love, Simon, and because this was on Netflix, I had assumed this was also going to be a many-episodes-long show and not just a 90-minute film, which would also distinguish it from Love, Simon. (I was wrong about it being several episodes.)

Craig Johnson, who directed the wonderful and amazing The Skeleton Twins also directed this, so I was on board.

Well, I just finished it and it is perfectly middling on all counts. Yes, it deals with sex more overtly than Love, Simon did, but the tone is uneven, and Alex's story, while unique to him, is not unique in the coming out genre, and this felt like something I had seen before, done better in Edge of Seventeen.

I'm sorry to hear you say you didn't care for it, Mark. We usually don't disagree on many counts, and it may have been my lowered expectations after reading your post, but I loved it. I thought it was well produced, both funny and heartbreaking (more on that later) and with VERY appealing performances all around (both Daniel Doheny as Alex and Madeline Weinstein as Claire are standouts with great chemistry, I thought.)

I think it's to the film's detriment that it premiered so soon on the heels of LOVE, SIMON and with a very similar ad/marketing campaign, not to mention a vaguely similar looking "hero." It shares little with the theatrical release in terms of tone and people expecting it to (lured in by the artificial comparison) are bound to be disappointed. You're quite right when you say it's more a soul sister to EDGE OF SEVENTEEN (though without the patina of nostalgia layering that one.)

I hope it's not a spoiler to say that Simon Spier "figures out" his sexuality before LOVE, SIMON even begins and the bulk of that movie concerns his attempts to find love and the reaction of his friends and family to what he's already worked out. Alex Truelove, on the other hand, doesn't have the same luxury. He doesn't "come out," even fully to himself, until about 3/4 of the way through. It's less about the "reactions" and more a story of his relatable inner combat (but with laughs!)

Spoiler

My heart absolutely broke when Claire, finally wise to the irrevocable truth, asks Alex what he's afraid of. His response "I was afraid of losing you" is so simple and honest, a fear and emotion we've all felt when losing the battle before coming out, that I admit I blubbed

EDGE OF SEVENTEEN may be a better, more dangerous movie, with more at stake for Eric Hunter's coming out in the mid 1980's, but that's a testament to the times in which we live and I don't fault this story for not being that. Even though it's not the big deal on the richter scale that it was (Alex's friends barely react), people still have to come out and aspects of that war with yourself are timeless.

If anything, I think the comparison/contrast to EDGE is fascinating because kids today would never even think of the outside-in transformation Eric Hunter attempts in order to "fit in" with his new (cough cough) "lifestyle." Sadly, we don't get anything tantamount to the parking lot rim-job in the new movie, however (more's the pity!)

All in all I absolutely loved it, though.

I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on this one! *


*

Spoiler

Though I will admit the finale does seem "tacked on" and contrived, as though it's trying hard to give us that "John Hughes moment" that LOVE, SIMON seems to achieve so effortlessly. It's a weak point that feels rushed.

Thanks Mark. A trusted friend said basically the same thing about Alex Strangelove. I still want to watch it, though my enthusiasm is a bit dampened now.

Again, I'm sorry to hear that your friend didn't like it much. I hope you like it better!!

 

[Jason_V]

Again, I'm sorry to hear that your friend didn't like it much. I hope you like it better!!

I think I will, or at least, I'll stand a better shot of enjoying it with the right expectation. Now I just need to find the time.

 

[KeithDA]

I caught up with the Sense8 finale earlier this week and enjoyed it as a guilty pleasure. As a 2½ hour ‘wrap everything up’ piece, it delivered. It was fun seeing how nearly every minor character over the two seasons popped up somewhere to help out and become part of the series arc. The plot itself was a bit thin, possibly as a result of having to stuff so much in to the time available, but as a way to explain each thread and provide a satisfying conclusion, it was OK.

The final message on the screen - ‘for the fans’ - sums the whole enterprise up. As I said earlier, the whole thing has been fun and a guilty pleasure. More of this inclusive, adult Sci-Fi please!

 

[Joel Arndt]

I caught up with the Sense8 finale earlier this week and enjoyed it as a guilty pleasure. As a 2½ hour ‘wrap everything up’ piece, it delivered. It was fun seeing how nearly every minor character over the two seasons popped up somewhere to help out and become part of the series arc. The plot itself was a bit thin, possibly as a result of having to stuff so much in to the time available, but as a way to explain each thread and provide a satisfying conclusion, it was OK.

The final message on the screen - ‘for the fans’ - sums the whole enterprise up. As I said earlier, the whole thing has been fun and a guilty pleasure. More of this inclusive, adult Sci-Fi please!

I was able to catch the Sense8 finale last night and you summed it up well Keith. A very enjoyable guilty pleasure indeed. In its 2 and a half hour time frame it did seem a bit rushed and I thought there was quite a bit of padding in the last half hour, but overall a satisfactory conclusion tying up loose ends. If they ever plan a reunion film I'd be all over that. Now on to Alex Strangelove.

 

[Mark-W]

I'm sorry to hear you say you didn't care for it, Mark. We usually don't disagree on many counts, and it may have been my lowered expectations after reading your post, but I loved it. I thought it was well produced, both funny and heartbreaking (more on that later) and with VERY appealing performances all around (both Daniel Doheny as Alex and Madeline Weinstein as Claire are standouts with great chemistry, I thought.)

I think it's to the film's detriment that it premiered so soon on the heels of LOVE, SIMON and with a very similar ad/marketing campaign, not to mention a vaguely similar looking "hero." It shares little with the theatrical release in terms of tone and people expecting it to (lured in by the artificial comparison) are bound to be disappointed. You're quite right when you say it's more a soul sister to EDGE OF SEVENTEEN (though without the patina of nostalgia layering that one.)

I hope it's not a spoiler to say that Simon Spier "figures out" his sexuality before LOVE, SIMON even begins and the bulk of that movie concerns his attempts to find love and the reaction of his friends and family to what he's already worked out. Alex Truelove, on the other hand, doesn't have the same luxury. He doesn't "come out," even fully to himself, until about 3/4 of the way through. It's less about the "reactions" and more a story of his relatable inner combat (but with laughs!)

Spoiler

My heart absolutely broke when Claire, finally wise to the irrevocable truth, asks Alex what he's afraid of. His response "I was afraid of losing you" is so simple and honest, a fear and emotion we've all felt when losing the battle before coming out, that I admit I blubbed

EDGE OF SEVENTEEN may be a better, more dangerous movie, with more at stake for Eric Hunter's coming out in the mid 1980's, but that's a testament to the times in which we live and I don't fault this story for not being that. Even though it's not the big deal on the richter scale that it was (Alex's friends barely react), people still have to come out and aspects of that war with yourself are timeless.

If anything, I think the comparison/contrast to EDGE is fascinating because kids today would never even think of the outside-in transformation Eric Hunter attempts in order to "fit in" with his new (cough cough) "lifestyle." Sadly, we don't get anything tantamount to the parking lot rim-job in the new movie, however (more's the pity!)

All in all I absolutely loved it, though.

I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on this one! *


*

Spoiler

Though I will admit the finale does seem "tacked on" and contrived, as though it's trying hard to give us that "John Hughes moment" that LOVE, SIMON seems to achieve so effortlessly. It's a weak point that feels rushed.

Again, I'm sorry to hear that your friend didn't like it much. I hope you like it better!!

Will,
Not to put a love fest in here, but I adore you, and that respect and admiration for you is very strong, so I am never afraid of the times we agree to disagree on the merits of a film because it would be, in part, dull in here if we did not at times think and feel differently about films. Now back to me being excited that Edward II Blu-ray shipping.

 

[Mark-W]

With the Kino / Lorber site sale, I did a big order and then realized they had a cache of LGBT films that I had been unaware of.
Link to Kino titles within gay (okay, it includes Marcia Gay Harden. LOL!)
https://www.kinolorber.com/search?q...&dvd=on&bluray=off&bluray=on&result_view=list
One that looks very "never seen anything like this before" is The Wound:
https://www.kinolorber.com/film/thewound


What their site says:

Brimming with sex and violence, The Wound is an exploration of tradition and sexuality set amid South Africa’s Xhosa culture. Every year, the tribe’s young men are brought to the mountains of the Eastern Cape to participate in an ancient coming-of-age ritual. Xolani, a quiet and sensitive factory worker (played by openly gay musician Nakhane Touré), is assigned to guide Kwanda, a city boy from Johannesburg sent by his father to be toughened up, through this rite of passage into manhood. As Kwanda defiantly negotiates his queer identity within this masculine environment, he quickly recognizes the nature of Xolani’s relationship with fellow guide Vija. The three men commence a dangerous dance with each other and their own desires and, soon, the threat of exposure elevates the tension to breaking point. The Wound had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, was the opening night selection of Berlinale Panorama, and won Outstanding First Feature at Frameline in San Francisco.
​

I am odering it along with several silent films including Different From The Others while the sale is going on.

Cheers!

 

[MatthewA]

Link to Kino titles within gay (okay, it includes Marcia Gay Harden. LOL!)

Oh, didn't you hear? She actually has a gay son.

 

[cinemiracle]

I was able to catch the Sense8 finale last night and you summed it up well Keith. A very enjoyable guilty pleasure indeed. In its 2 and a half hour time frame it did seem a bit rushed and I thought there was quite a bit of padding in the last half hour, but overall a satisfactory conclusion tying up loose ends. If they ever plan a reunion film I'd be all over that. Now on to Alex Strangelove.

Is SENSE* a gay series? I am am thinking of seeing it but need to know more about it.Thanks

 

[cinemiracle]

With the Kino / Lorber site sale, I did a big order and then realized they had a cache of LGBT films that I had been unaware of.
Link to Kino titles within gay (okay, it includes Marcia Gay Harden. LOL!)
https://www.kinolorber.com/search?q...&dvd=on&bluray=off&bluray=on&result_view=list
One that looks very "never seen anything like this before" is The Wound:
https://www.kinolorber.com/film/thewound


What their site says:

Brimming with sex and violence, The Wound is an exploration of tradition and sexuality set amid South Africa’s Xhosa culture. Every year, the tribe’s young men are brought to the mountains of the Eastern Cape to participate in an ancient coming-of-age ritual. Xolani, a quiet and sensitive factory worker (played by openly gay musician Nakhane Touré), is assigned to guide Kwanda, a city boy from Johannesburg sent by his father to be toughened up, through this rite of passage into manhood. As Kwanda defiantly negotiates his queer identity within this masculine environment, he quickly recognizes the nature of Xolani’s relationship with fellow guide Vija. The three men commence a dangerous dance with each other and their own desires and, soon, the threat of exposure elevates the tension to breaking point. The Wound had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, was the opening night selection of Berlinale Panorama, and won Outstanding First Feature at Frameline in San Francisco.
​

I am odering it along with several silent films including Different From The Others while the sale is going on.

Cheers!

The Kino titles are all old releases. Have seen most of them-some are great and some are not. It depends on the viewer.
Have ordered THE WOUND from the UK.

 

[Will Krupp]

Thank you Mark, I feel the same!

Now back to me being excited that Edward II Blu-ray shipping.

I see what you did there, you cheeky monkey!

 

[KeithDA]

Is SENSE8 a gay series? I am am thinking of seeing it but need to know more about it.Thanks

Not specifically, but it is very inclusive with a male/male couple and a female/transgender one... and then there’s Max Riemelt....