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otterman47
Reviews
Crocodile Tears (1997)
You'd do well to avoid this DVD like the plague
I had seen this DVD on the shelf of my local video store for a few weeks now and since the premise seemed kind of interesting I decided to give it a chance on two for one Tuesday rental. I was released by Q Connection (or something like that); one of those independent companies that put out primarily gay themed films (I've rented a fair amount of them in the past and usually wind up wishing I hadn't...unfortunately this time was no exception). It tells the story of a gay man who writes the devil asking for some career help. Satan shows up, grants he requests (while exacting some sort of return favor to be discussed at another time) but with a twist. He's now telling homophobic jokes and the (straight of course) audience is laughing and lapping it up. Some other stuff happens but overall none of it was very interesting and the best thing I can say about it is that it finished in under 90 minutes. The acting, sets and production values were all OK so I guess it was the execution I had a problem with (and I usually like movies where Satan has a starring role). I'd have given it one star but as bad as it was it still didn't deserve to be on the same level with "Gerry". View at your own peril.
Denied (2004)
Seemingly straight man has hots for seemingly straight roommate
I thought "Gerry" was the worst film I've ever seen but after watching this piece of crap on DVD yesterday morning I'm not so sure. The only thing good about it is the handsomeness of the two lead male characters (very nice looking average guys) but it stops there. Most of the movie is underlit; some scenes just have one table side lamp on or just the light from the TV. The sound is also lousy; they either mumbled or just didn't speak loudly enough most of the time.
Two young guys (Troy and Merrick) live together in an apartment and it seems like Troy has the hots for Merrick but also has this girlfriend. The y sleep together once or twice and it sort of looks like they have sex (but due to the editing you can't be sure). Maybe it's mostly about unrequited love but its just plain dull and annoying.
Daydream Obsession (2003)
Like porn without the sex
From the description of the DVD box I thought this would be an interesting movie to watch: closeted young man falls in love with one of his roommates(on the cover there's a photo of the roommate tied to a chair and blindfolded).
It's starts off with the roommate "Brian" tied to the chair and after a couple of minutes goes back 2 weeks with the main character "Clayton" making an entry into his video diary about how he think he might be gay and how he has intense feelings for Brian.
Next, Clayton goes to brush his teeth in the bathroom where one of his other roommates is taking a shower (in a clear glass shower stall so nothing is left to the imagination). This is where the movie turns to softcore pornville as the camera makes love to the guy in the shower for about 5 minutes while cheesy electronic music plays in the background. These sort of interludes happen a few more times as his spies on his other roommates while they're naked. They're nice to look at but after a while it get kind of tedious. At one point he orders up a hustler (for $300.00!!) to come over; he does a strip tease but Clayton has him leave through the window when he roommates come home. Not too much happens. The ending is sort of ho hum (and there's an alternate ending on the DVD that just like the original except for some fancy footware).
So if you like looking at naked men rent porn and just pass on the odd hybrid.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
boy finds girl, girl erases boy, yadda yadda yadda
I wish I could say I had liked this film more than I did because it had a lot going for it. Interesting concept, good performances, creative casting and better than average special effects. But after having watched it I wasn't all that impressed (maybe it has something to do with not having been in love for a long time). I did however wish I could erase the memory of everyone I've ever been in love with.
I recently finished watching the extras on the DVD and while they were informative they did nothing to enhance my enjoyment of the movie but I thought the music video was really good.
So, I wasn't bored but I was captivated either.
Gerry (2002)
Boredom, thy name is "Gerry"
After seeing this film I looked it up on www.FilmThreat.com (it got two stars and I thought that was being kind). I gave it one star and wish there was an option to give it none (though maybe it deserved at least one for the cinematography...but hey, how much talent does it take to make nature look good?)
The plot: two young men go out in the desert and get lost (if only hilarity had ensued). They walk, they hardly talk, time passes...not much happens besides this and yet this film gets a 6.0 rating on this site. How so many people could be positively effected by this time waster is mystery to me (and I read a lot of comments pro and con before writing this). Even the ending was as dull as the beginning (and I had to read the comments to find out what was really going on at the end because I thought it was something completely different. This was based on a true story and rarely has truth been made to look so dull.
On the cover of the DVD box ARTFORUM is quoted as saying "One Of The Year's 10 Best Films". In my opinion it's one of the 10 worst I've ever seen and wish I had read the reviews first (could've picked out something else).
Lost in Translation (2003)
The best thing I can say about it is that it wasn't more than 90 minutes long
I thought this film would be a lot better than it was and would not recommend it to anyone. According to the DVD box cover it got over 80 four star reviews. On the back Roger Ebert gave it a thumbs up and Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said it was "flat out hilarious!"
Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth. I found it for the most part dull and tedious and not the least bit funny. I can't figure out what all the fuss was about.
It starts off slow and never picks up. The acting is OK but nothing to write home about.
This is one of the few films I've seen that I wish I hadn't wasted my money on.