LGBT Cinema

I thought this movie would be like a lot of other movies I've already seen: the dysfunctional family get-together, black-comedy division... but this one was REALLY intelligent and insightful. Anyone watching this movie can surely see themselves and their own families reflected albeit in a more characterized and humorous manner. Every character is engrossed in their own personal egoistic worlds and they clash when confronted by the egoisms of their siblings and other families members. It is a definite must see and sad that it has not received the critical acclaim it deserves.

this movie was BRILLIANT! Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey were both amazing. the soundtrack was pretty good, and the plot, extraordinary!!

This is not Hollywood crap. This is simply very good movie.

This film is truly a work of art. The cinematography is beautiful, the scenes are reminiscent of paintings from Caravaggio. The true strength of this film is the acting, especially from Juliane Kohler and Maria Schrader. But although I loved the movie, the book is ten times better.

perfect movie. there are so many things to learn here, like how fashion was in the 1970's and 1980's, Gia's lesbian crave, the drugs and the AIDS.

"All Over Me" is just a beautiful movie with amazing actors and a perfect soundtrack! I LOVE IT.

This movie is sooooo cute. I really love it.

amazing and sad.

I LOVE IT.

So sad and good film. Brilliant performances.

Fucking amazing!

this is just a gorgeous film full of tone and color and an absolutely perfect soundtrack. portraying an idyllic time in anais nin's life, the film works to highlight one woman's sensual/sexual exploration which just happens to include another infamous author. worth noting is uma thurman's striking portrayal of june miller. she is unmatched.

this is a good movie. i love almodovar.

This movie was fantastic. From the tongue in cheek references to gay and lesbian stereotypes to the sweet love story that developed as it went along, it's one of the best "queer" films I've seen in a while. It pokes merciless fun at the idea that homosexuality can be defined, categorized, rehabilitated, or otherwise contained, and brings the lesson that being comfortable with yourself, in and outside of the context of your sexuality, is what's going to make you happy.

Taking a break from his escapist run in the early '80s, Steven Spielberg directed Whoopi Goldberg in an adaptation of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple", about the desperate existence of an African-American woman in the 1930s. Watching Goldberg play Celie, it's incredible that this is the same woman who starred in movies like "Sister Act". This is the sort of movie that could easily be - no, make that SHOULD BE - part of the curriculum in Black Studies and Women's Studies. There's one scene that may be the most magnificent editing job that's ever been on screen (you'll know it when you see it). I can't believe that this didn't win a single Oscar; it may be Spielberg's second best movie behind "Schindler's List" (maybe even tied with it).

This isn't a film, nor is it a documentary. It's an adaptation of an incredible play, and it works beautifully. It has an amazing cast, but the real greatness of this movie is how close it stays to the play--and what's great about the play is how it uses the *exact* words of the people of Laramie. This isn't supposed to be a traditional film, and if you walk into it expecting that, you'll be disappointed.

This documentary just reinforces the current belief, in our new, "enlightened" century, that it is all right with the perverts...excuse me, I mean the conservative right--to show a heterosexual white man in a movie enjoying sex, and such films will get a PG-13 or R rating, but a straight woman...or two women...or two men...doing the same in a film will get an NC-17. What's more, violence with blood, guts and gore can get a PG-13. So the message is: it's all right to kill a (female, lesbian or gay) cop, but don't let her/him enjoy her/his husband/partner fucking her/him...haha. Anyway, this was an excellent expose of the hypocrisy that goes on when a group of people (MPAA) decides what is best for everyone else.

not cliche. love it.

Difficult to watch, but still an excellent film.

"My Summer of Love" is a very good movie about trust, faith, lies, disillusion, learning from our mistakes. It also talks about being free to love whoever you want and free to have sex with a person of the same gender. All actresses and actors are really really good. Although the story is very simple and it slowly takes us inside a strange world where these two young women are completely out of the reality of life. So that's also speaking about the fear of being just what you are and not a fake person created from one's imagination. (Blunt's part) What makes this movie so beautiful is its minimalist point of view through the way it was realized or directed. Many scenes are pure Art. And it turns up to approach poetry on screen and that's great.

"The Truth About Jane" was a nice surprise for me. Very touching movie.

A classic!

Cool movie, but a little confusing.

weird and a little stupid, but still funny and enjoyable.

i love jill bennett and mariel hemingway, but this movie was very disappointing.

Hmm... I love this movie. A dyke classic. Haha.

Cute.

hilarious movie.

this movie was wonderful! the actresses were amazing and the plot... ehhh... the plot was just PERFECT!

this movie is unbelievable! I just love Jennifer Tilly. She is one of the most sexy and funny women in the 90's. Her work in the movie "Bound" is no exception. She plays her role as a bisexual vixen very well. The love scenes were done very tastefully and erotic. I highly recommend this one as a thriller. It is packed full of action. It is absolutely flawless as far as I'm concerned. Do yourself a favor and check this one out!

What an extraordinary accomplishment! Ang Lee presents us with something we've known about but we've never seen. Profoundly honest, stunning to look at, superbly acted.

After having watched so many lesbian films and being utterly disappointed with the majority of them, it was a relief to sit through "Loving Annabelle." The story touches the heart and is an incredible intro for Katherine Brooks into what I hope will be a long, fruitful career as a Writer/Director for feature films. She takes a controversial subject and handles it well without compromising reality. I am grateful for her courage not to take the easy way out. It sets a standard I hope other film makers are willing to step up to.The excellent cast and direction make this a very memorable viewing experience.

Very disappointing film. Not because it was bad, but because it had the potential to be very good and wasn't.

umm... not great, but not bad either. kind of cute romance movie...

I think the other viewers got it wrong when they said the movie suggested "who needs men?". This movie contains every kind of relationship combination imaginable-- the message was anybody can find love. People also have children under all sorts of circumstances in this movie. The characters are in a family like relationship to each other because in a lot of cases they don't fit in with their family or the norm. Not to mention it explores the relationship of a woman with her family--- her mother, her daughter and her granddaughter. This movie explores religion and atheism, namely the hypocrisy of religion and the emptiness and search for meaning when one doesn't have religion. This movie explores a lot of themes- love, life, death, good vs. evil, and meaning. If all a person got out of it was that it was anti-family and anti-religion and anti-male, then they have lived a pretty sheltered life and won't get "it" anyway.

This movie was somewhat interesting. The characters in it were well rounded, but the acting had a lot of room for improvement. This film revolved around dialogue and there was plenty of it. For the most part the dialogue was funny and somewhat interesting, but overall this film mostly felt like a dirty version of Sex and the City: Lesbian Edition. I did think it was interesting that the film included real depictions of lesbian women and didn't just have classically beautiful women in it pretending to be lesbians. It also wasn't afraid to show uncensored lesbian relationships, which a great number of people in 1994 would have found repulsive.

Wow! I really hope to see more short movies of Michelle Paradise. She's definitely a good writer, and a good actress too.

Good film about the hypocrisy of catholicism. Like it.

Fantastic movie.

itty bitty titty committee!!! oh hell yes!

Decent, but kinda wrong, I mean the cast is great, mainly Leonor Watling, but the plot is confusing and a little boring.

Oh well, what a surprise! ANOTHER coming out movie. I just can take this kind of movie anymore! UGH!

Greatest Musical I have ever seen! You'll either love it or hate it! I loved it, but if you don't have an appreciation for theatrics, this is not the movie for you.

This is a movie that you either hate or love, I have never heard anyone say they thought it was 'just alright'. I loved it.

Not as good as expected.

cool, but nothing new...

Gus Van Sant has made a living by making movies about down-on-their-luck people, and he always does a good job. In "My Own Private Idaho", River Phoenix plays homeless Portland teenager Mike Waters, who hooks up with affluent Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves). Mike is often forced to be a male prostitute just to make ends meet. He and Scott hobnob around, but eventually, things don't work out.
We can pretty much always count on Van Sant to make really great movies (although "Gerry" was pointless as far as I could tell). "My Own Private Idaho" may have been his best movie ever. Either that or "Finding Forrester". But either way, you have to see this movie.

"I wanna be John Malkovich!"

This is a movie I will never forget, which is so rare. It is a diamond. The best Canadian movie ever. The best movie about religion stigmas and evolution of the occidental societies ever.

No words can describe this movie. It simply touches the soul. I did not know the back story on it so I needed to let it unfold before me on DVD. It had many twists and turns but still kept the story fresh and exciting. The acting by Elaine Cassidy was in a word Brilliant as well as Sally Hawkins. The storyline is rich with plausible occurrences as well as fresh ideas from the present.
I LOVED every minute of it.

Ughhh... ABSOLUTELY CLICHE!

old story, but with a new point of view. interesting.

I'm going to start off the review with a question: Where did they get people who can actually act this well and yet are still willing to get naked and have real, extreme sex in front of a camera? Whoever did the casting for this movie deserves a hell of an applause; the performances in Shortbus are absolutely top-rate and, wow, is there a lot of eye candy. As mentioned above, the cast is one of the best I've ever seen, which is sad considering I've never seen - any - of these people before. How is this possible!? I have to wonder if Hollywood would make better movies should they dip into this pool instead of handing lead roles over to talentless hacks with a 'Name'. Anyway... Each and every character in Shortbus has a story that can bring a sudden, unexpected humor to the movie only to later break your heart, or maybe pain you because it's ironically funny when it shouldn't be. These are all stories and issues we've all experienced and deal with sometimes on a daily bases. I admit, originally I rented this movie for shock value, and yet though there is sex aplenty is completely fades into the background; you stop noticing it because it's a small part of a bigger picture. I did not expect myself to be so immersed in the storyline or feel for these people so deeply. There's humor, angst, wit, and even bits of complete randomness that one can't help but laugh at (i.e., the guys that decided to break out in song at a particularly interesting moment) however laced with subtle depth they are. And oh, there is a lot of subtlety in this movie, which is ironic considering how bold it is. One should be warned, this isn't really porn star sex. This is sex between 2 or 3 or however many people that are craving - something - and looking for it in each other.
This is an incredible movie so worth the rent I ordered a copy to keep for my own. Highly recommended, but only for the mentally matured.

Smart, compelling and funny.

Lies, secrets, and human nature - just the way they are.

Horrible movie that reinforces the heterosexual male's belief that every lesbian can be straight if she just meets the right man. ARGH!!!

Cosa Bella is, as the title suggests, very beautiful, indeed! It is a sensitive, bitter-sweet short about the psychological and emotional struggles that two lovers face at a turning point in their relationship. Although the source of the primary dilemma (commitment) is very familiar to any viewer, how it gets played out is quite unique, poignant, and touching. How can a person, at one moment, declare her true love for her lover and fight for the relationship with all that she has and, at the next moment, be dancing and flirting with some random person or other on the dance floor, all the while ignoring her lover? If you'd like to know, please watch Cosa Bella! Fiona MacKenzie's writing and directing are beyond reproach and she produced the entire movie for a fraction of what its quality would suggest. All of the actors are tops (the two leads also appeared in 'The Devil Wears Prada'). I give this short my highest recommendation!

Not a perfect film, but I got a great feeling from it. I love movies about girls together, being strong and being friends. Not being intimidated and even laughing when the football team shows up to threaten them. Some of the things they did were not ideal, but they were kids, and they made mistakes. Legs was a cool character, and she meant well even when she was acting nuts. But it showed girls sticking together in the face of a "man's" world, the boys visiting their house in the woods, the boys attacking them and the girls commandeering the truck... dancing in the house, driving fast and music blaring... when girls are together, laughing and feeling great in their own skin, nothing else in the world matters, and no oppression can hold them. That's the feeling I got from this film.

The Hours follows the lives of three women in three different periods in time. The novelist Virginia Woolf in 1923 as she writes "Mrs. Dalloway", Laura Brown, a typical '50's housewife' in L.A. in 1951, and Clarissa Vaughan, a publisher living in 2001 New York. The movie follows one day in these three women as they deal with the life-and-death situations they face. The movie was very well-done, and what a great cast!

Intense.

Not as bad as claimed, but not very good either.

I just hated this film! ARGH! A good portion is filled with sex scenes which would keep viewers from thinking too much about the non-existent plot. As a film where two people from separate relationships come together to have sex, you would probably expect a bit of back-story to establish it as cheating. But it virtually started out with unfaithfulness as a premise, thus making the cheating emotionally empty - why would they be so worked up about it then? And then there's the "love" that apparently developed between the two leads. It really seemed nothing close to it, as they rarely conversed and mostly just "got together." So maybe I'm wrong about it. As a drama, it really really sucked. As erotica (for a lesbian audience), I guess it would be quite passable.

Lili Taylor is a mysterious actress, gifted and almost chameleonic. She plays manic so well that you cannot tell if it is real or pretend. Of course, you see her in a "normal" role and she is perfectly normal. So you have to determine that the woman is just gifted beyond what talents actors normally have. Would I say that Taylor is underrated? No, she receives raves for the work she does. Does she choose to appear in every movie that comes along? No. She appears to be extremely selective about her projects, which is why, to this day, half the people I ask, will have no idea who Lili Taylor is.
This film, though, is definitely a one woman show. There are peripheral characters (and even a stunning turn in drag for Stephen Dorff as Candy), but Taylor as the progressively more troubled writer and feminist Valerie Solanas IS the movie. The performance is both repulsive and compulsive... and compelling. I found myself sickened with Solanas's life as portrayed in the movie. She begged on the streets, prostituted herself, and lived on the edge of poverty because she did not believe in working. She wrote and wrote and wrote. And she pestered. This endless and manic pursuit of people-the pestering-is what bothered me most. I don't want to have people in my face bothering me, and this appeared to be Solanas's specialty. She somehow managed to endear herself to the bizarre Andy Warhol, and although the rest of his crowd could have done without Solanas, Warhol (at least at first) took a liking to her. Once he and his fickle friends tired of Solanas's intensity and-maybe-insanity, they ignored her. But Solanas was never one to be ignored. This, ultimately, is probably why she shot Andy Warhol. She did not kill him, but she did indeed shoot him.
The film is quite well done, and the acting from Taylor is superb and makes the film quite worthwhile.

Amazing German movie. Beautiful acting.

cliche!

Milk isn't a terrible movie--it's not even a bad movie--but it's nowhere near the level of gay masterpiece I hoped it would be. It's a conventional, unambiguous rallying cry with no real impact.
Gus Van Sant has done some very original, highly stylized, downright weird films in the past decade. My Own Private Idaho was Shakespeare's world populated by gay prostitutes, with still life sex scenes and split screens and over-the-top dialogue; Psycho was a more surreal (and more scandalous) shot-for-shot replay of the Hitchcock original; Elephant was a hyper-realistic photograph of teenage violence starring no-name high school actors; and so on. His most conventional film was Good Will Hunting, but that at least was moving and had momentum, as well as a terrific soundtrack. Milk is just plain standard. Each character--though based on real people--can be summed up in a simple sentence, such as Emile Hirsch's Cleve Jones, the tenacious queer who... well, I don't even need a full sentence. That's about it.

This movie is incredible. I love everything about it.

Really enjoyed this film. Sensational portrayal of the plight of transvestites from undeveloped countries who emigrate to developed countries to earn a better living.