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Reviews
Little Witches (1996)
Fun and a bit scary but not phenominal
I usually say that Little Witches is Little Witches is the messy, promiscuous older sister to The Craft. The Craft shied away from the horror end of the spectrum ,was geared to teenage girls, maintained a grey area of good or bad in witchcraft, and Little Witches didn't do any of those things. A group of girls form a coven in a catholic school and are biding their time to essentially resurrect the devil, letting nothing get in their way (or the lead character Jamie's way. The rest are essentially followers who made unbelievably bad choices) . It is violent and the acting isn't that good BUT it was incredibly bold. It's a horror movie that you can watch and accept that it isn't good. It's a full on B-movie. I don't know if its even in print anymore. The last copy I saw was a vhs in a video store that's long gone and now sells hoagies. I never bothered to find it on dvd but at the same time, it stuck with me.
Stonewall (2015)
Such a wonderful movie (not a documentary)
This is not a documentary about the Stonewall uprising, and it doesn't pretend to be. It is, however, a powerful film inspired by the pioneers of the Stonewall uprising and gay rights movement. It's an important film that I wish more people would see because though it has a fictionalized main character and historical inaccuracies, it is a bold representation of the struggle for gay rights. I would even suggest watching the film and then following it with a Stonewall documentary so that you can see the spirit of the times but then be informed of the unsung heroes of the gay liberation movement. I was born in 1980 (in Mississippi, which didn't care about its gay residents then and I'm sad to say, still doesn't) and so I didn't see the early years of pride but I understand that living in a world where people like to pretend these things didn't happen is not only disrespectful, it's dangerous.
Little Women (2017)
Beautiful but flawed
Amy was played by a 20 year old actress playing a twelve year old child. She was obviously too old, yet they insisted that she milk her childish ways (can you tie my skate, marmie says I'm old enough to do my own hair, etc.) to the point where I was actually laughing at scenes that weren't intended to be funny. Drug store box bleached hair (it was a ghastly shade of yellow), not a fitting actress for the part in any way. Enough said, Amy was everything that was bad about this film, well, almost.. They completely skipped the plays and left Jo and Laurie full drama.
To those who say this film is to the book, I ask, what book did you read? Some say they should have used British actresses. Why would they do that for a tale that took place in Massachusetts during the Civil War?
Did. I love it ? Yes! I just acknowledge that there were parts I couldn't get past.
Though I thought Beth had a bit of overkill, I thought the actress was fantastic and clearly played on the directors vision. She is a fantastic actress. I preferred Claire Danes but this woman (let's face it, she's over 20) is a brilliant actress. I think that the actress that played Marmie was possibly the best of anyone that I have seen tackle the part. She pulled raw emotion from me in a way that Susan Sarandon didn't (even though I loved her in the part). The real show stopper was Maya Hawke, as Jo. She was everything that is Jo for me. It was like she had leaped from the page. I loved her on Stranger Things and have been a fan of her mother and father ever since I was a child.
I loved that they led up to Jos Boys. I think in all they did a fantastic job, but I think That they should have sucked it up and used 2 actresses for Amy, and not this one. She didn't fit the part.
Better Than Chocolate (1999)
I love it more now that I'm older.
When this came out, I was 19 and my family was "adjusting" to me coming out as gay, so in my 19 year old (what was I drinking) mind thought "This is a movie about a mother and daughter. Maybe I should watch it with my mom." Future generations, DON'T DO THAT. It was the most awkward hour and a half of my life. 2 words, bu++ plug, don't watch this with your parents.
Ok, onto the movie. It still takes me back, every time. Better than Chocolate has a strange combination of warmth, humor, and sexiness that isn't often achieved with such massive doses. It makes me miss living in the "gayborhood" and existing in a time where everything didn't have to be new. It's about finding yourself but not defining yourself. The more I've watched this little gem, the more characters I embrace. It blew me away the first time but has actually grown on me over the years. I hope it sticks around forever.
Gay cinema will always have tough critics. Everyone wants to be represented flawlessly, which is just not realistic in an area that we are so under represented. Please remember that when this was shot we had even less representation and gay filmmakers typically don't make much on their films. We are rarely represented on television at all unless portrayed in a way that makes straight people comfortable.
Orange Is the New Black (2013)
It was a fun 7 years
I kept my Netflix account because of Orange. The seasons had their high and low points like any show but once again, after Weeds, Jenji Cohen delivered a wild, funny, violent, yet thoughtful series. I think all the story lines ran their course and it didn't drag on too long. I loved the beginning, the ending, and most of the in between. What began as a show that quickly drifted so far away from Piper Kerman's story that it ceased to become any form of a true story, became an outlet for different subjects that needed to be addressed. They addressed problems in the prison system, they addressed the black lives matter movement, the pitfalls in immigration, and rape. They also delivered a ton of humor and a cast of colorful characters who were constantly developing, whether for good or bad. This show was responsible for a lot of people binge watching.
I think that these stories have closed but I also think with the world we live in and everything that's going on it we need a reboot.
American Horror Story: Final Girl (2019)
Fantastic closure
This season is one that I will have to revisit. It did not appeal to me at all. I almost stopped at episode 3 and then a friend of mine said that she quit after 3 so I had to keep going. There is so much backstory but instead of going back and forth, like they do often in AHS, they made like 4 episodes of gore and seemingly empty characters. Its kind of like on episode 5 Ryan Murphy said to himself "oh crap, I forgot to introduce the characters" and then they all came flooding in in 4 episodes.
This, on the other hand could have been the episode that the entire season could have been built on, and it was, except we didn't have a clue for over the first half of the show. I think that they tried to pack in a lot of slasher films and could have split it between the nods to Halloween and most importantly Friday the 13th. What can I say, this episode actually made me want to watch Friday the 13th (except lets face it, Lavenia is a lot more lovable than Mrs. Vourhees). I didn't know how I would feel about this season but as for the finale, I watched it twice. Remarkable.
For anyone just starting this season and not liking it, give it time. Is it Ryan Murphys best work? no
There are a lot of unnecessary characters that wrecked the flow and some wonderful characters that had sadly too little screen time. He did not make good choices, but this ending was stellar.
The L Word: Generation Q (2019)
I love it
I think people are being entirely to hard on the show. If it mirrored the original show I don't think I would have stuck with it. I watched the original show. I rewatched it and re re watched it. Safe to say I moved on from it. It's all a matter of opinion though. I like the new characters that they've brought into the show. It's going to take a while, but I'm I'm looking forward to season 2. I think that bringing back only Bette, Alice, and Shane was a good move. I love that they kept the remembrance of Dana in there. She was one of my favorite characters in the original show. I'd like to see more of Tess. Jamie Clayton's fantastic.
All Over Me (1997)
I miss movies like this
All Over Me was a movie with a message. Ultimately a sweet girl with bad self-esteem issues decides to venture outside of her little fishbowl after accepting the advice of a kind new neighbor. She slowly realizes she's worth more than the manipulative and abusive friendship she's been in way too long.
It's full of 90s subculture: the music, the clothes, the whole package. It also includes the two things that were truly terrifying about growing up gay in the 90s, the huge wave of drugs that hit during the time period (that wiped out more than its fair share of musicians in the process) and the overlooked but rampant (and violent) homophobia.
This was my generation. When it came out, movies about gay characters were few and far between. I saw it when I was 17 and it just blew me away. Also if there are any L Word fans out there, it gives you the chance to see a very young Leisha Hailey, from back in her Murmurs days.
Blown Away (2019)
loved it
I believe that art is a lasting medium of freedom of speech and I think that Deborah exercised that.
I love art, I have my whole life and it is my major. I love art that says something, in particular. I remember being 16 years old as an art show and there were like 10 or more paintings of ducks and the only difference was the use of color.
I loved the clear piece Alexander made of his dog that had passed. I think he deserved the scholarship and would have been content if he had have won. I loved the cups that Leah did to represent poverty.
I agreed with pretty much every decision that was made. I didn't like to see Leah go but they specified functional and it wasn't functional. Personally I think that in that case it should have been the guy whos was less functional and the water wine went everywhere (Janusz). The final decision, in my opinion, Janusz wasn't creative enough.
You take a family man who everyone expects to win who has 3 wins against a woman from new york whose focus is mainly dealing with gender politics who also has 3 wins, both of which have been blowing glass for 30 years. His message to me didn't have much original thought. the reason the symbols of air and water identifiable is because anyone who's seen the fifth element has seen them used to represent that. She put a ton of thought into color.
Speaking of which, some people have commented on how rude she was. She snapped off one time toward the very end at an assistant, which she apologized for. However, there was 60,000 dollars and a residency on the line so she did what she had to. She was very supportive of her competitors.
Janusz snapped off plenty. His first moment of arrogance was in the very beginning standing in front of the glass to pick his colors and telling the entire cast "get out of my way". He acted totally entitled.
Deborah tapped into some controversial subjects which was bound to rub some people (not the judges) wrong. It was bound to do that. The same could be said about political artists during World War II(degenerate art).
I think everyone expected him to win, including Janusz.
By Hook or by Crook (2001)
Dodge and Howard Have you wanting more
great movie.. i caught it on sundance a good while back.. waiting for next month, then i can get it on its release. harry dodge is amazing.. i caught her on Cecil B. Demented. Check out By Hook or by Crook you wont be disapointed..