And then we danced (2019) rating: 9/10

A modern film about the country of Georgia, but about the traditional dance form and the young men and women training to be dancers of that form. 

There is embedded a gay romance.

Story is well done though in some ways not very novel for folks in the US, but groundbreaking for that country.

End of the Century (2019) rating: 9/10

Beautiful shots of the city of Barcelona. The first few minutes could serve for Board of Tourism. One lone traveler seems to be taking in the city alone. Another man catches his eye from the balcony of his Airbnb. He later sees the same man again at the beach. It seems serendipitous, but they don't connect. 

The story moves on from there. 

The two leads are attractive. 

You might be surprised that it was filmed in the course of less than two weeks, and that it is the director's first feature length film.

In a way it is an investigation of alternate universes.

Five Dances (2015) rating: 9/10

The modern dances in this movie are just astounding and beautiful. And the main actor is fairly stunning, has a great body and not a bad face. The movie is great to see just for the dancing alone. But also, there is a fine plot with gay interest and a sex scene, and a little love story. There is also just friendship, the tough boss, and family struggles.

Jess & James (2015) rating: 8/10

There is also a three way sexual encounter in this film (it is very dark and can't see it), but the story and characters at least here are very well developed as compared to "The Third One". I liked the characters, they are different and unique, though the two short/dark haired actors cannot be easily told apart physically. They almost seem like brothers (they are not in the story). Still, one nice thing is that there is the feeling of a real love story here. No messed up characters or sociopaths. It does make the movie less dramatic though, with less real conflict. Nevertheless, there is the un-accepting family dynamic. And in the case of all of the three main characters, the desire to remove themselves from very unappealing home situations and create something like a new family situation.

The Third One (2014) rating: 5/10

Poor to non-existent plot, this movie only gets a reasonable rating from others I think because of the 3-way non-explicit sex scene. The only character building is like one dinner they have before the 3-way encounter. It is kind of an advertisement for non-monogamous paired relationships which I think is ok, and not necessarily a bad thing to think about or consider.

Naz & Maalik (2015) rating: 8/10

Two young Muslim boys/men in Brooklyn make their way through life. They are friends and secret lovers. But the police/FBI find them as possible sources of information. Their interactions with law enforcement starts out innocent, but then becomes fraught with danger and suspicion.

Excellently acted by the two charismatic and attractive leads. The script is well done.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3385334

Xenia (2014) rating: 7/10

A young, eccentric Eastern European gay guy's mother dies, and he finds his way to meet his straight older brother in Athens. They have crazy adventures together to find their long lost father. On the way, they meet with their gay uncle who tells what he knows of their missing, but rich and famous father.

Like You Mean It (2015) rating: 6/10

A film about a cold sociopath/psychopath actor in a relationship with a nice guy singer. The sociopath should just tell the nice guy it's over, but he doesn't. He really doesn't seem to care. They go to therapy, but there is no relationship to salvage. The nice guy is kind of cute, I think this is why the film gets a 6 and not lower.

Dreams of Strangers (2015) rating: 5/10

Looks like about 15 minutes of content expanded to a 75 minute film. The 15 minutes of content are acted alright, but the script is nothingness as far as content.

The companion film on the DVD, Polaroid, is actually the right length, but also contains roughly nothing.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4456774

Carol (2015), rating: 8/10

I didn't know the story that the film is based on is from Patricia Highsmith. It is in fact her second novel; the one she wrote just before "The Talented Mr. Ripley".

The film shows a lesbian love story, wonderfully acted by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as leads.  Cate's character is in a loveless marriage with a wealthy man, but has a young daughter, who the becomes the object of custody fight. Viewing the love start and build, at first sight, in the shop where Rooney's character works, is spellbinding.

The custody fight gets more heated and threatens the new relationship. The screenplay is very well done and camerawork is excellent.

Stranger by the Lake (2013) rating: 7/10

Basically a porno mystery thriller, it doesn't get much more explicit in gay cinema than the sex here. The plot is pretty good. Camera work is fine. Protagonist is pretty okay to look at. A lot of nakedness and even some arousal (and perhaps shockingly to some, quite a bit more) shown which up until recently had been the realm of only porn and maybe the odd art-house flick.

Geography Club (2013) rating: 6/10

There is a book by Brent Hartinger and a movie based on that book. This review is about the movie. There is an attractive actor playing the protagonist. I think the ending is very anti-climatic. I didn't like the way it leaves Kevin and Russell's relationship on a very down beat matching the book. I think the film adaptation could have come up with a more dramatic and watchable storyline. The production quality and acting are pretty good for what I'm sure was not a high budget film. There are I think better movies on this theme, though again this one is fairly watchable for Cameron Deane Stewart playing Russell.

See also: LA Times Review

Out in the Dark (2013) rating: 8/10

The technical details of how Palestinians can receive passes to visit Israel, and how some are 'recruited' to spy on other Palestinians by the Mossad is actually fascinating, but all of this happens in the middle of a slowly burning gay love story between a Palestinian and an Israeli. They leads are attractive, story is engaging, production values high. Worth seeing.

August (2012) rating: 8/10

An ex-boyfriend, Troy, shows up again after an abrupt and devastating breakup. However, Jonathan, the ex-lover is like an addict, still wanting to get back with him despite having moved on and now getting serious and almost living with his current boyfriend.

For what is probably a low budget film, there is some very good acting and dialog. The story is full of romantic angst and drama.

Middle Eastern music throughout a movie set in LA is odd. The motivation given later is when the characters visit the hooka bar, but otherwise it sort of feels too intentional as a way to the film seem more serious.

Still I did like it as a realistic study of human nature. Plus the actors are not bad to look at. There are some sex scenes, too.

North Sea Texas (2011) rating: 9/10

This movie has nothing to do with America and Texas. The author and director are Belgian. The movie is set in a Flemish seaside town. A quiet young gay boy with a neglectful single mom finds refuge with a neighbor and her children. Yes, it is a coming of age tale, full of innocent love and love lost. The boy protagonist is nearly silent which makes anything he says full of emphasis. The older actor (still only 14 years old) playing him does a good job portraying his growing up.

Here is an excellent interview of the director, Bavo Defurne, about the film.

Albert Nobbs (2011) Rating: 7/10

I learned recently from a natural history museum that human males have a more prominent brow than females. I think this is one of the subconscious cues which caused me to never seriously consider Glenn Close as a male despite all the movies attempts to make this plausible.  While this lack of believability detracted from the movie, I did still very much enjoy the drama of the story.  As well, I applauded the prominence of the lesbian aspect of the story.

Dirty Girl (2010) Rating: 6/10

A lightweight movie about a somewhat slutty teenage girl who doesn't know who her father is and an overweight closeted gay teenage boy whose father is onto him. They get teamed up on a school assignment and things spiral out of control from there. Script is okay and acting serviceable.

"Selda"/The Inmate (2007) Rating: 7/10

I'm being a little generous here.  This Philippine movie has a reasonably interesting and believable plot about inmates who become intimates.  One of them might even be straight.  It's unclear.  Acting is much much better than any other Tagalog movie that I've seen to date.

J. Edgar (2011) rating: 8/10

I confuse J. Edgar Hoover a bit with Joseph McCarthy who was sort of his contemporary and also is currently seen as gay. But in my view McCarthy is observed as a greater hypocrite in that he actually attacked homosexuals while being gay himself. On the other hand, Hoover's discreet acquisition of secrets about Presidents is presented here as political self-defense of his position and his new bureau. In this movie, his motivations are shown as attempts to protect the country against communism, and his racism is shown out of context, such that we're not sure whether to fully believe them true of the man.

So the movie does a fairly effective salvage job with Hoover, meanwhile in his personal life showing him having an intimate, but non-physical relationship with Clyde Tolson. I agree with other reviewers that DiCaprio's accent is a bit intrusive. In their old makeup, DiCaprio and Armie Hammer are at times convincing and at others not really with DiCaprio moving his arms and long fingers far too fast for a fat old guy.

Victim (1961) rating: 9/10

While homosexuality was a crime in England, gay men cowered when blackmailed with pictures taken with a telephoto lens.  But one stands up to take the blackmailers on.

Surprisingly well done argument for repealing of the law against homosexuality wrapped in a kind of action film.  Pretty astounding for a film of 1961.