By Jeff Walsh

"Clandestinos" is a Spanish film that goes down a different path than a lot of gay films. Three boys break out of juvenile prison and flee to Madrid, where Xabi, the leader of the three, tries to make contact with the leader of a Basque terrorist cell. The other two boys don't know as much about the mission from the start, but one of the boys eventually helps him practice making bombs in an abandoned apartment, with the goal of doing something public and visible to bring the cell leader out of hiding.

To fund his terrorist exploits, Xabi robs johns that pick him up in a shopping mall. One of his johns, from whom he stole money and a gun, is a cop, who doesn't take being robbed easily and tries to track him down.

By Jeff Walsh

"Dog Tags" is an interesting movie, in that it plays with a lot of parallel structures without sacrificing a satisfying story. The movie starts with Nate getting his head shaved by his fiancee before his recruiter comes to pick him up.

Andy is younger and trying to find his way in the world. He comes from privilege and is rebelling with his black clothes and eyeliner. In flashback, we see the guy he's still trying to get over, a soldier wearing dog tags.

Nate joined the Marines to have a better life for both her and his mother, who all share a run-down house together. Between boot camp and being sent to war, Nate goes to buy her a ring. As he's walking down the highway towards the city, he gets picked up by a guy who tells him the ring store requires you to put half down, but if he needs some money...

By Jeff Walsh

"3-Day Weekend" puts the premise right in the title, a group of gay friends spend all of their holiday weekends in a beautiful cabin. But, since it's been the same guys telling the same stories for so long, they decide to mix it up, and every gay guy invites a single gay friend up for this weekend.

The movie tries to beat you to the punch quickly, though, mentioning this is like the set-up for "Love! Valour! Compassion!" before the audience thinks it. Of course, it's always dangerous to mention a good, similar movie, since that means you're setting a bar you better be able to clear.

Of course, we get a lot of archetypes invited. The computer geek someone works with. The centered, connected naked yoga teacher. But the biggest head turner is the last invited guest to arrive, the sex worker. Introductions aren't necessary with him, as three of the guys surprisingly call out his name at the same time when he walks in. It's almost like a sword-swallowing Breakfast Club.