Alright, this is from actual weeks upon weeks ago, but it’s worth getting out there and recounting some more of it made me feel very happy so hurrah:

By Jeff Walsh

"Shelter" is a sweet story of a young artist/surfer in southern California. Zach (played by Trevor Wright) works low-paying jobs, juggles his schedule with his sister to take care of her 5-year-old son, and when he's not doing those things he either works on his art of goes surfing. The movie opens in limited release, including San Francisco and Berkeley, this weekend and will debut on the here! Network next month.

Zach and his girlfriend have been in an on-again, off-again relationship. He doesn't see any way out of his entire situation, despite his dream of going to art school, which his sister dismisses as more trouble than its worth. Things change when he runs into his best friend's older brother Shaun (Brad Rowe, who you might remember from Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss), who is staying at his family's beach house for a while.

The two have chemistry together and, after a few beers, kiss one night. Things progress on a subsequent meeting. Eventually, Zach's sister has a problem with her son being around Shaun because he's gay, and this is before she even knows that he and Zach are dating.

By underdarkness

Having watched many gay-related movies, Keillers Park felt as though I had already seen it. We have a closeted gay man, Peter, who's engaged to a woman, and ends up being propositioned by a gay man, Nassim, in a park, they have sex and fall in love. Peter's fiance "discovers" that he's gay when he tries to penetrate her from the behind, because that is, apparently, a sure giveaway. Straight men NEVER have anal sex with women! Of course not...

It seems as though you're supposed to feel bad for the Peter, but he comes off as a bit of a jerk. The only thing that makes you feel bad for him is the fact that his family disowns him for being gay. Other than that, he isn't exactly likable. Though, as far as the story goes, it's hard to tell if it's an intended distaste or poor character writing.

I wouldn't call this movie entirely unoriginal, however. On top of this story line there is a shred of originality. The overlying theme is a murder mystery, and you're plagued with the question of whether or not Peter murdered his lover.

By dykehalo

When I chose to review Lesbian Sex and Sexuality, I had no clue what it was about other then the obvious -- lesbian sex and sexuality -- but what that really entailed and meant I hadn't the foggiest idea. This two-DVD set is a documentary of six different episodes that address different areas and subjects of lesbian sex and sexuality:

Porn Today: Pushing the Limits which is all about the lesbian porn industry and how it has and is continuing to evolve. In it they talk to a couple of the major porn directors.

For Your Pleasure: Erotic Dancers follows 3 erotic dancers through their daily lives and looks into the lesbian club and bar scene.

The Evolution of Erotica is a history lesson on the printed and video lesbian industry. It goes back to the roots of lesbian porn and was very interesting.

So I went and saw 10,000 B.C. at Edwards Theater in Brea. I liked hanging w/Johnny(from Myspace) and the other LAMBDA members. The only 'bad' thing was when guy Alex kinda stole my seat but I was able to move right next to me so it kinda didn't matter but still.

Like the title would suggest, what do you consider to be the worst movie of all time? What movie gets under your skin like no one's business?

please include

A) Title of movie

B) Brief explanation of movie if it isn't well known

C) What made this movie SO terrible

Yeah so here's mine

You know the drill. Some movie comes on the tv while you're friends are over and you bash the living hell out of it. And then, when it comes on in the middle of the night, you snuggle up and enjoy.

I'll start:

George of the Jungle. The live-action one they made in the mid-nineties. Yes, it is so very nineties. But the humor's cheesy and quirky at the same time and it's fun and mindless.

So the new year is upon us and with it, another year of blockbusters that are sure to be creating a bit of anticipation.

Are there any

A) movies you've recently seen and your review of them
or
B) movies that are due to come out this year and why you are anticipating it

By Jeff Walsh

Nina's Heavenly Delights is a Scottish Asian story about an Indian cooking competition, but the universal themes will satisfy the most discerning film lover's palette.

Over the opening credits, we see a very young Nina and her father cooking together, and witness the passion he brings to cooking. The movie begins as Nina returns home to Glasgow upon learning of her father's death. Her childhood friend Bobbi, who dreams of performing in drag in a Bollywood movie, picks her up at the airport.

Nina Shah moved to London after some family altercation, and there is obvious tension between her and the family she left behind. The Shahs have an award-winning Indian restaurant called The New Taj, of which a young woman named Lisa now owns half after Nina's father had lost half of the business as part of a bet.

As the story moves on, we find out that every member of the Shah family has a secret involving a hidden love, and each of them keep it hidden because of family obligation.

By Jeff Walsh

"Kurt Cobain: About A Son" (now playing in select theaters) is sort of an oral autobiography played over a Pacific Northwest travelogue. While Kurt narrates his growing up, interest in music, and reaction to fame, we see scenes of the cities he talks about. It is definitely an interesting presentation, in that there is no title up front mentioning Cobain, barely any photos of him during the entire film, save for some live concerts where he's hard to make out, and only a handful of portraits at the very end. Theater-hoppers who show up to this movie late won't know what the hell's going on, with a disembodied voice talking about growing up, while visuals of a lumber yard and other assorted segments show underneath.

I'll come right out and state upfront that I am a huge Nirvana fan. I heard Nevermind when it debuted on the local college radio station, rushed out to buy it the next day, and bought the only copy the store had in stock, a month or so before it would start getting airplay. I got to see them live two nights in one week on their In Utero tour, the week before they recorded their famous Unplugged set. I even have a Kurt Cobain "action figure" on my Amazon wishlist. So, when I heard this movie was edited from more than 25 hours of audio interviews Cobain did with Michael Azerrad for his book "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana," I was more interested in when an audiobook of those interviews would be made available than in the 90-minute movie.

By Jeff Walsh

Naked Boys Singing is coming out on DVD just in time for the holidays, so if you weren't aware you still have time to adjust your gift lists. Alternatively, it makes for a good item to put on your own list if you want that extra shove to make your Mom ask you directly.

Now, I just reviewed this movie back in September, so little has changed since that time. The bulk of the review is there.

However, the DVD also includes a documentary on the making of the movie that plays almost as long as the movie itself. It was actually an interesting watch, just to see the insanity they put themselves through to make it. You learn that the movie was shot in less than four days, that some cast members didn't know they planned to film in front of a live audience, and also cast members freaking out about doing the nudity (which you'd never suspect from seeing the finished product).

By Jeff Walsh

Alan Cumming does it all well: actor, screenwriter, director, novelist, singer... hell, he even has his own fragrance. I got the chance to sit down with Cumming (that's my hand on his shoulder) when he was in town for the showing of Suffering Man's Charity at the San Francisco gay film festival back in June.

As these things often work, the interview is done in the afternoon on the day the movie is screening, so you basically interview him about a movie you haven't seen, and then once you see it, he's out of town. I was holding the interview to time it with the long-passed DVD release of "Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple In All The World," which never seems to show up in my mailbox. So, I figure, we'll just run the interview on Thanksgiving, since Alan is someone for whom the community is thankful.

In Rick & Steve, Cumming plays the elderly, HIV-positive Chuck, who adds a lot of un-PC color to the amazingly funny proceedings. Back when I reviewed that, a few of you did the math regarding his four-year relationship with his 19-year-old boyfriend, and were rightfully appalled. Hopefully LOGO goes for another season of Rick & Steve, which is just amazing work from queer cinema wunderkind Q. Allan Brocka.

Of course, like a true theater queen, I start the interview with the Cumming that I know best, the one who injected an amazing amount of fresh energy into Cabaret for its restaging on Broadway a decade ago. His Tony-winning role as the emcee ratcheted up the role's sex appeal and the good news (possibly an Oasis exclusive?) ... he might be hitting the boards again for the show's anniversary:

by Jeff Walsh

Wow, I was completely surprised by the Filipino movie "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros," which stars a 12-year-old as a very feminine gay boy (trans girl?). It is such a charming movie, although the sexuality/gender identity of Maxi is really one element of this multi-faceted story.

Maxi is pretty much running the now-motherless household that also includes his father and two older brothers. He cooks, cleans, patches up their clothing, but more like a spunky housewife than Cinderella. His sexuality is just part of who he is, although his brutish family do refer to him jokingly as female, although given his outfits, hair accessories, and demeanor, he definitely seems more like a girl than a feminine boy.

Maxi lives in a poor part of Manila, where his father sells stolen cell phones in their stand on the street as well as running betting pools and other illicit things.

See, a few days ago my mom asked me if I could help out at the book fair at my siblings' elementary school. (My school has a year-round calendar, and I'm on break right now, so I'm available.) She looked really flustered and stressed. Apparently, they need someone to dress in a giant Curious George suit on Tuesday (AKA tomorrow). Why? Beats me. Entertainment for the little munchkins, maybe?

by Jeff Walsh

In "Times Have Been Better," Jeremy is a 33-year-old, successful banker who is moving into a new loft with his boyfriend. To mark the occasion, he decides to finally tell his parents that he's gay.

Unlike most movies where the gay character and his journey would be the main focus of the movie, Times Have Been Better shows how Jeremy's revelation rattles the very foundation upon which the family relationships have been built. Once the family members get a taste of honesty, they start questioning their own lives and the relationships they maintain out of convenience.

His mother and father almost stop talking to one another. His mother befriends her bitter queen of a co-worker and rejects the friendships she's maintained for years. His father cringes at every question about his son's sexuality, and at the homophobic comments his friends make that never bothered him before. And his brother finally gets undesired attention now that the successful, older brother in whom the family had rested their hopes isn't seen as impervious anymore.

by Jeff Walsh

When Brad Pitt and Geena Davis won their top acting awards, one of the people they were sure to thank was their acting coach, Roy London. London, who died of AIDS in 1993, had been a successful Broadway actor, playwright, and character actor, but he really found his passion in life teaching other actors.

This DVD is an oral biography, told through the people who knew London best: his students, lovers, and friends. He never allowed his acting classes to be recorded, never wrote down his acting methodology, and, save for two brief interviews shown within the documentary, his legacy only lives on in the hearts and minds of his students... and now this DVD.

It is telling that when describing London, the interviewees (featuring Patrick Swayze, Geena Davis, Sherilyn Fenn, and Garry Shandling) can barely come up with similar basic information about London, such as his height or weight. It becomes clear during the film that his method was about being the teacher each student needed him to be and gladly inhabiting that role to watch them grow as people and actors.

by Jeff Walsh

The Masseur intercuts between two extended storylines. In the first, we see Iliac as a 20-year-old masseur that is having a session with a slightly older gay man. The other storyline in the movie focuses on the death of Iliac's father, which occurred on the same night, and he goes back to his small hometown in the Philippines for the funeral.

While sex work is always a dramatic backdrop for gay films, it does seem that we are missing a normal view of what gay life is in the Philippines. The guys working in the massage parlors always seem to be smart and mature, and their clients lonely and needing intimacy, but most of the time I am left wondering why he can't make money as something other than a sex worker, and why his client can't find a relationship.

I'm not extrapolating here. Iliac doesn't seem to enjoy being a sex worker, and his client does talk about wanting a relationship. But is it because there are no jobs for Iliac in Manila? Is there not much of a gay life there, which prevents his client from exploring his sexuality elsewhere? These are the questions raised that don't really get answered.

by Jeff Walsh

Punish Me is an interesting title to be reviewed on Oasis, merely due to the fact that its "gayness" is apparently due to a sadomasochistic affair between a 16-year-old boy and his 49-year-old female probation officer. The movie, whose distributor's tagline promises "movies from a gay perspective," pretty much gives us heterosexual S&M here, so I was a bit confused by that.

The basic rundown is we see him on the basketball court get knocked over for not passing the ball. In the shower, he lovingly strokes the bruise on his back, and we know he likes the pain. He gets saucy with his probation officer, to the point where she finally slaps him across the face. He likes it and, in a surprise to her, she does too. And so it goes…

So, just a quick review to point this out, given the fact that the DVD box art seems to only show a hot guy with the words "Punish Me." The press materials note that the lead actor was in a popular gay film before, and the female lead is an out actress. And I'm not saying it is necessarily a bad film, just be forewarned, there's nothing gay to see here…

by Jeff Walsh

Naked Boys Singing.

Whatever thought pops into your head when you think of that phrase, it's probably a good idea to pay close attention to it.

If the notion of a bunch of naked theater boys singing phallus-centric songs for 90 minutes makes you smile, then you'll probably want to give this movie a tumble. If it sounds like torture, it probably won't win you over.

I must confess, I did see the live stage show twice, once in Los Angeles and once in San Francisco. As soon as I heard there was a Naked Boys Singing movie, my fear was they were going to try and reinterpret it for the screen -- a ghastly, incomprehensible idea. Thankfully, the movie (which is playing major cities this fall and coming to DVD in December) is just a filmed version of the stage show in Los Angeles. But it does bring up an interesting issue.

by Jeff Walsh

The odds are stacked against them from the moment they meet. Noam is a part-time Israeli Army checkpoint attendant. Ashraf is Palestinian. Soon thereafter, Noam lets Ashraf stay in Tel Aviv illegally with his roommates: Lulu, a female clothing designer, and Yali, an openly gay restaurant manager.

Their relationship tries to exist outside of politics, a place that doesn't really occur in Tel Aviv. They find out they actually grew up near one another, but segregation of Arabs and Jews kept them apart when they were young, and that sentiment has only gotten worse since they were kids. Noam's roommates do their best to accept Ashraf into their circle of enlightened left political friends, but the foundation is always shaky.

Director Eytan Fox (Yossi and Jagger) sets this modern, gay Romeo and Juliet right at the biggest cultural, religious rift in the world, but keeps the story at a human level with its small cast of characters. While the weight of reality constantly applying pressure, they still try to share joyful moments together, fall in love, make love, and dance.