Being Gay on Film

It’s no secret that in the span of American film there hasn’t been the best representation of anyone who isn’t white and straight. When it comes to big blockbusters, you’re main antagonist is usually a white male with a girlfriend or looking for one, all while fighting off something or in the midst of some explosions. The independent films, which there seem to be a lot more of these days, tend to have a mix of some films about LGBT characters but the main choice tends to go with the safe alternative. The reason why I’m bringing this up is because a few days ago I decided to watch Closet Monster, a highly regarded independent film that was released in 2015. This independent film happened to center around an LGBT character, sure he may not fully be out, but nonetheless he’s gay. Like I said, from what I’ve read this is a pretty well received and liked movie. I will be 100% honest and just tell you that this movie was not for me, I did not love it. Now, if we flashback to 16 year old me who is struggling with their sexuality and doesn’t really know who they are, I might’ve enjoyed this a little more. But at the point in my life where I am now, this just didn’t do it for me. It probably doesn’t help that a lot of stories about gay kids revolve around coming out and their parents not agreeing or understanding, which has been a trope since the 90s. And while it is a universal subject with any gay teenager that is struggling to come out, I don’t think it needs to be the same type of coming out story for what seems like every damn movie. I guess what I’m really trying to say is why does every movie about some who is gay or lesbian have to be so depressing? If anyone reads this blog and knows me than they know that I absolutely love movies like Moonlight or Brokeback Mountain or Carol, they’re some of my favorite movies, but I really think it would be nice to get a comedy starring some specifically gay characters. Another Birdcage if you will.

Going back to Closet Monster, I didn’t dislike everything about it. There are little things like Isabella Rossellini voicing the hamster, Buffy, that were interesting and unique little touches. Our main character’s building relationship with his new coworker is interesting and intriguing. But unfortunately they couldn’t overpower my negatives for this movie. While I do understand what this movie is saying and what it’s doing, there are a lot of points in the movie that feel forced. There were certain stylistic choices for me that didn’t feel like they needed to be in the final cut and were almost distracting at times. And there were certain visual metaphors that felt so much like they were trying to be edgy that I was cringing to a certain degree. I completely understand why someone could like this movie, it’s not poorly made by any means; the writing isn’t necessarily bad even if it feels like it’s fueled by cliches at times, the characters are somewhat interesting even while being annoying, and there are little touches that don’t go unnoticed. It just makes me sad that we don’t have any gay comedies of quality that are being released today and I want more of that. Time after time we get big blockbusters and throwaway romantic comedies, I think it’s time we change that. I’m not completely sure why I decided to talk about this movie or this subject, but I do know that watching Closet Monster brought up the fact that there isn’t enough diversity in films today and it’s horrible.

Would I suggest Closet Monster? Probably not, but I wouldn’t completely dismiss it for the fact alone that I can understand someone emotionally connecting to it, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. If anything it’s worth watching for the Isabella Rossellini voiced Hamster. Thanks for checking out my briefly random post about gay movies?? Hope you enjoyed my brief rant and look out for what’s coming next!

The Race to Best Picture

The time has finally come, it’s here, tomorrow the Oscars are on. I’m aware it’s really not that big of a deal but for me it’s always something I look forward to when February rolls around every year. It’s somewhat of an event that I sit down and watch with my friends and scream at the screen about, you could even say it’s my super bowl if you want to reach that far. I feel as if the past few years of the Oscars have been good but nothing really surprising at all. Like last year, it was pretty obvious to most that Spotlight was going to take home the best picture Oscar, even though it was next to some pretty worthy competitors. This year is different. This year has a political wave that is expected to hit form most of the winners that take the stage and La La Land is expected to take home a lot of awards. Jimmy Kimmel will be hosting the big event this time around and while I don’t mind Kimmel by an means, I doubt he’ll be able to beat Ellen or Billy Crystal’s hosting jobs. He’ll be safe and offer a few jokes but I’m thinking it won’t be anything noteworthy. Now, I have talked about the Oscars in the past but I realized that I’ve never really talked about the nominations. I could sit down and discuss every person and movie nominated with you but I figured that would take too damn long (especially with the smaller categories that they whip through in the beginning of the show). So I thought it would be smartest to cut it down to specifically discussing the best picture nominees because really, isn’t that the category that everyone is waiting for?

Arrival

It’s a shame that Amy Adams didn’t get nominated for her performance in this because she truly does carry this movie magnificently. I actually saw this one for a second time last night and loved it even more than I did when I first saw it. The way I viewed this movie reminded me of Inception in the sense that you really can’t get everything out of it in one viewing, you have to see it multiple times to really get it all. I love a movie that can do that, that has layers to it. I think a this point it’s really a long shot that this will win best picture but I wouldn’t be mad if it did. It really is a great film that I don’t think will be forgotten soon, even if it does seem like it’s in this category just as a placeholder.

Fences

I actually know a lot of people who don’t get this movie and they really didn’t like it. My sister being one of them, told me last weekend that “nothing happened, it was slow and there was too much talking”. I kind of shrugged at her and told her that she just didn’t get it because really you could look at it that way in a literal sense, but in a wider perspective it’s so much more than that. I’m not judging anyone who dislikes this movie at all, I’m just saying that it’s not that simple, this movie isn’t just a lot of talking with nothing happening, there’s so much more to it than that. The point of too much talking is exactly why I loved this movie, it was able to do so much with so little. Maybe it was because I knew walking into it that it was structured so similarly to August Wilson’s original play and I was prepared for it. Fences really reminded me a lot of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (another favorite of mine), in the sense that there was so little scenery/action and it was so focused on this family and their struggles. It’s really a force of a movie that won’t let you breathe until the second it ends. Like I’ll say with most of the films in this category, it won’t win best picture, but I’m sure that either Viola Davis or Denzel Washington (or both), will win for their performances, as they deserve to.

Hacksaw Ridge

Look, war movies just aren’t for me. I don’t get them and I just don’t understand the love for them. I can and do acknowledge the fact that these events did actually happen and they’re tragic, but that doesn’t mean I want to watch over 2 hours of it. I say all of this because Hacksaw Ridge is the epitome of a violent, gnarly war movie. Not only is it that, but take away those elements and I really don’t think this is a great movie. It also probably doesn’t help with the fact that Mel Gibson’s name is stamped all over this and I’m not particularly his biggest fan for various reasons. With all that being said though, I find it hard to believe that this will win best picture or really much at all throughout the night. to me it feels like it’s included for the sole reason of the academy letting everyone know that they still appreciate a Mel Gibson movie.

Hell or High Water

If you read my worst of 2016 list than you know that I didn’t really love it, but I acknowledged the fact that it’s a well made film. And to be fair, I’d much rather watch this again than Hacksaw Ridge for the mere fact that there is pieces of an interesting story here. I can see this maybe winning a few of the smaller awards but nothing big due to the fact that it’s so small and it’s up against so many others that have gotten more attention.

Hidden Figures

 I enjoyed this movie but I did not love it. I find the story that it’s presenting to be much more interesting than the actual movie itself. The way Hidden Figures tells it’s story is in such a inspirational tropey way that I found myself wanting just a little bit more rawness and realness to it. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae  are the true stars and the glue of this movie, there’s a shockingly big cast that pops up here and there but they’re what really bring the movie to life. It’s bigger than Hell or High Water but I think it will be similar in winning some smaller awards. I think it has a bigger chance in winning best picture than any of the other films I’ve mentioned so far but it’s still slight.

La La Land

This seems to be the obvious winner for best picture of this year. There’s a chance that just maybe Moonlight will steal it away (which as much as I loved La La Land, I’m really hoping will happen), but I have a feeling that won’t happen. Even though I will stand by the fact that I think Moonlight is actually a better movie and really has become an all time favorite for me, I do really love this movie. Similar to what I said on my best of 2016 list, it has a magic to it that brings me back to being a kid. It brings me back to the feeling of loving something for it just being magnificent and wonderful. People complain that it’s too simple of a movie and there isn’t much to it, but I don’t think it needs to be anything else. La La Land is simply a movie with musical and dance elements in it that wants you to have a good time and I really bought into that in the best way. It’s kind of set in stone at this point that Emma Stone is going to win best actress and I would really be fine with that because she was glorious, was it her performance in Birdman? No, but it’s worth mentioning. There’s a possibility that Ryan Gosling will also win but as much as I loved him I would really like to see Denzel win in that category.

Lion

I didn’t see this one in time to put it on my best of list from last year, but if I did I surely would’ve put it on there. This is a fantastic movie that I really loved. The middle chunk of the movie is what keeps it from being perfect for me and I think is really the only bit of the movie that could’ve been worked on a little for me. I would love to see Dev Patel win for this but it’s highly doubtful just knowing that he’s in the category with a bunch of others that are more likely (Mahershala Ali especially). I don’t really know if this will win anything but I would love to see it get some sort of recognition.

Manchester By the Sea

This is a tough movie for me to love because it’s just so dark and really hits you in the saddest ways. It’s one of those movies I would never watch again because it is just so depressing and has layers of sadness to it (there is a reveal halfway through that I was so shocked by I couldn’t catch my breath), and it’s hard to watch. As someone who has and still does suffer with depression, I do think this movie captures the feeling of being deeply depressed almost as perfectly as a movie can. Casey Affleck really gives his all in this and it’s definitely my favorite performance from him that I’ve seen. Michelle Williams is in it very briefly but she definitely leaves her mark, especially in one specific scene towards the end. I actually don’t think this one will win much. Both of the actors I mentioned have been nominated and while it looked like Casey Affleck was going to win for a while, his chances seem to be smaller now for some reason.

Moonlight

I have beat readers in the head with how much I loved this movie in the past few posts, but I can’t help it, I just really am in love with this movie. I’ve seen it 4 times now and every time I watched it I saw something new and felt a new emotion for it. It’s art, it’s poetry, it’s a painting brought to life, it’s beautiful. It’s surprised me how much this movie has risen up in the past few months from being a small indie movie that wasn’t really playing anywhere to now being a lot of people’s favorite and choice for best picture. Like I said before, there’s a slight chance that this could steal the best picture award from La La Land but it’s a small on in my eyes. I do think that there is a definite chance that Mahershala Ali will win for supporting actor though because he was just so brilliant and amazing in his small yet effective role. Naomi Harris was also really great and is nominated for supporting actress, but I don’t really see her taking that one home unfortunately. I really hope Moonlight takes home some of the smaller awards too like cinematography and score because it really deserves it.

Thanks for reading! Hope you watch tomorrow night, let me know you’re thoughts down below.

 

Those 10 Movies from 2016 that I really loved

So here we are, it’s the last day of January 2017 and I’m just now getting my best of 2016 list out there. Yes, I know I’ve been really late with my lists this year and for those who read, it might be annoying, but I guess better late than never right? Anyway, let’s put my lateness aside and get to what I think are some of the best movies of 2016. 2016 was an interesting year for movies, it had a lot of surprisingly good ones, a lot of subpar ones and a lot of shit (which isn’t unusual for any year). I realize now that I probably say this at the end of every year and probably said the same kind of thing last year when I posted this list, but I think the world is growing and the world is changing so every year we have different experiences with movies and we have different emotions with them. Either way, I think maybe I should stop rambling and get to this list, here are my top 10 movies of 2016.

10. Love & Friendship

Kate Beckinsale is a great actress and she rarely gets her time to shine. She’s in what seems to be an endless amount of Underworld movies, which are fine for what they are but aren’t really the best movies quality wise, and every now and then gets a smaller movie like Love & Friendship where she can really show her talent. Love & Friendship has my favorite type of Kate Beckinsale character in it which gossipy and witty with a slight touch of bitchiness mixed in there. There was a little bit of that in her last collaboration with Whit Stillman, Last Days of Disco, but it’s not nearly as great of a performance (or movie), as the one present. But let’s not shy away from all the other great performances in this movie, it’s filled with wit, class and funny little jabs that the characters throw at each other which I love. Love & Friendship was one of the best times I had watching a movie in 2016 and I would highly suggest to check it out if you haven’t seen it yet.

9. Nocturnal Animals

Of the two Amy Adams movies to come out this year, this is the more dark and haunting one. With A Single Man in 2009 being his debut, Nocturnal Animals marks Tom Ford’s sophomore directing effort and I’d say it’s even better than his first. One of the things this movie does so beautifully and so effortlessly is the way it’s able to go back and forth from reality to this world of fiction. As we get to experience what Amy Adams’ character is reading we get to feel the dark pain along with her, especially as we come to see what has happened in her past with her ex husband. I wouldn’t say this is for everyone especially since it can be brutal at times just with how dark and menacing it can get, but man if it doesn’t hit you right in the gut. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Shannon have to be my two favorite parts of this movie as the avenging husband the officer by his side, they add something to the movie that I don’t think could’ve been made as great without them in the parts. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s a dark affair and I ate up every second of it.

8. De Palma

This is a documentary about a guy just talking about what he loves to do, and that’s why I love it so much. My dream is that in the future the same filmmakers get other directors to sit down and talk about their long spanning careers because I could watch movies like these 24/7. I knew a little about Brian De Palma before going into this. I knew the basics that he directed, stuff like Carrie, Mission Impossible, Dressed To Kill, Scarface but I never knew about most of his other films and how long his career has been going on for. One of the things I always loved about him as a director is the split screen effect of course but also how much he uses these long takes. There’s nothing more that bugs me in a movie than a bunch of quick cuts, I love long drawn out shots and that’s what De Palma did in a lot of his movies. I wouldn’t go into this movie expecting a full documentary about this director because that’s not what it is, it’s literally just this guy talking about his movies and the experiences he had while making them, along with some great editing of the footage from those movies. It’s a simple little movie and that’s why I loved it.

7. Green Room

Nocturnal Animals may have been dark and brooding but this is the more brutal and tense side of things. The build in this movie is insane and unlike anything I’ve seen in a long time. It’s hard to put this movie in any specific box because I wouldn’t say it’s horror necessarily but I also wouldn’t just call it a thriller either, it’s a suspenseful movie with moments of intense insanity. Similarly to what I said with Nocturnal Animals, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. The deaths in this movie feel painfully real and don’t give you a second to catch your breath, it really adds to the brutalness of the movie. The late great Anton Yelchin is fantastic as what is pretty much the lead along with another great performance by Imogen Poots. Patrick Stewart is only in a few scenes but he also is amazing as always and will send shivers down your spine. This isn’t the easiest movie to sit through but I definitely think it’s an experience that’s worth your time.

6. Arrival

Amy Adams has two great performances in 2016 and doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for either of them, that doesn’t make much sense. Yes, Amy Adams has been snubbed and it’s sad but at the same time it really isn’t what matters, what matters is that these movies are great and she is at the peak of her career right now. I do have to say that I think Arrival is the better movie of the two, even though I did love Nocturnal. Adams breathes and lives this movie, it’s her movie, it’s her platform. There’s something that happens in the last third of this movie which I guess you could call a twist that really changed this movie for me. Before it got to that point I was enjoying it and was genuinely interested in where it was going but wasn’t sure what I was going to get out of it. But once that thing happens towards the end the movie comes full circle and it’s really beautiful. I will say that there is one scene that just has some of the worst CGI on Adams but it’s nothing that will ruin the movie, it’s just something that I noticed and thought I should point out for some reason. Arrival is a beautiful and emotional experience of a movie and it’s definitely one of the better “alien movies” in the past decade or so, even if they’re not the sole point of the movie.

5. Fences

Something that stuck out to me about Fences was how much it felt like a play, and that’s what drew me to it. Originally a stage play, Fences is adapted to the screen in this but still feels like it’s living it’s life on a stage, which maybe a turn off for some but it was a plus for me. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis are the driving forces of this movie, with monologue after monologue they own this movie and are the reasons to see it. Like a lot of the movies on this list, it can be a tough movie to sit through at times and you don’t always get a lot of room to breathe, but that’s what this movie is, that’s what the writing is. August Wilson’s writing in the original stage play is so beautifully heartbreaking and it seamlessly transitions to the screen. Like I said before, Denzel and Viola are the sole reasons to see this movie and I think it’s an important one, especially considering the times we’re living in right now.

4. 20th Century Women

This movie blew me away when I saw it and I’m actually still thinking about it. With Beginners and now this, Mike Mills might be one of my favorite directors in the last few years. I could make it simple and just tell you that Annette Benning is the star of this movie, which she is, but I just can’t do that because every performance in this movie is outstanding. With Greta Gerwig in all her lovliness, Elle Fanning in what’s probably my favorite performance by her to date, Billy Crudup as the cool kind of hippie dude and Lucas Jade Zumann in one of the better teenage roles in the past year or so, the cast is undeniable. The characters in this movie are insanely complex and they’re all so interesting to watch, none of them get thrown to the side or are forgotten about, they’re all present in the moment. 20th Century Women is definitely one I’ll be watching again and again.

3. Blue Jay

I’ve seen Blue Jay twice now and fall in love with it more and more every time I see it. Sarah Paulson and Mark Duplass are the leads and really the only people in this little black and white indie film. With themes of coming back to your hometown and rekindling old flames it all just works so well. You can tell every acting decision was thought out so well and even improvised some of the time, or a lot of the time who knows. As much as I do love Mark Duplass and think he’s amazing in this I do have to say that Sarah Paulson is a bright star for me and just brings an extra layer of emotion to this movie. I’ve loved her since her early days in American Horror Story and anything that she’s been in after, but this really put my love for her in stone. It’s a simple movie about love and longing that I would really suggest to anyone, it’s so so great.

2. La La Land

I’m going to keep this short and simple, this is a magical film and it’s wonderful. I feel like this movie has become a victim of winning all the awards and therefore it becomes “overrated”. Sure, maybe it doesn’t deserve every award out there and others deserve it more but that doesn’t stop me from loving this movie. It seems like the second the oscars or any of the award shows come around a movie that gets any type of recognition or love in these awards is automatically not that great, but I just can’t and won’t let that happen to this movie. I had a giant smile on my face the whole way through this movie. Sure, it’s not the most complex movie ever and it’s not anything groundbreaking, but it’s fun and I think it knows that. Another complaint is the fact that the two leads can’t sing that well or don’t have strong enough of voices which is another thing I just won’t let happen. I really found nothing wrong with either Ryan Gosling or Emma Stone’s voices. Yeah neither of them have big voices for broadway, but that is not what this movie is trying to bring you, it’s bringing you a story about two dreamers in LA that fall in love and that’s that. So if you haven’t seen La La Land yet and are skeptical about it based on some of the negative things you’ve heard, I’d say fuck it. Go see this movie! It’s a spectacular time and it’s undeniably charming.

1. Moonlight

This is the best movie of 2016 and is undoubtedly become one of my favorites of all time. Moonlight spoke to me in a way that I never thought it would. Now, it is true that I am not someone who is black or from Miami so I can’t relate on that level but I can relate to being gay and feeling like you are lost in the world because I am gay and I have felt that way. The way this movie chronicles Chiron’s life in three chapters is so seamless it’s something to see. All the actors who play Chiron in the differnt stages of his life (Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes), are really great and somehow are able to make it feel like you’re watching the same person throughout the movie, which isn’t an easy task to feat. Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali and Andre Holland are three other people in this movie that are out of this world great. There’s not much else I can say about Moonlight other than that it’s a beautiful piece of art and that if you haven’t seen it, for god’s sake go watch it!

Thanks for sticking around for this list! Hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you thought below! Till next time!