gayfilm

"A Wild Ride." So Says Premiere Magazine. Yeah, right. The movie starts off well enough and does a good job drawing the viewer into the story. There is a creature (a wolf?) terrorizing the French countryside in the 1800's or thereabouts.

In then gets WAY too complicated, even if you watch it with the subtitles. Fronsac (a handsome Samuel Le Bihan) and his sidekick Mani (Mark Decascos) are sent by the king to see what is happening and kick some wolf ass. Now if you are wondering where the 'gay film' part comes in, so was (am) I. This film was advertised to me as gay interest, but there really is none. Fronsac and Mani definitely have a Lone Ranger and Tonto type friendship and are 'blood brothers,' but I can't tell that they ever shared anything more than that. They both have sex with women during a party at a castle and sleep in separate rooms. Sigh.

Oh yeah, so Sylvia (Monica Belucci-Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions, Irreversible) shows up and Fronsac bangs her. She plays her usual mysterious, mystical Character, but is she responsible for the beast? Oh yeah, so Fronsac bangs her but he REALLY likes Marianne the sweet, young, aristocrats daughter. She has a wigged out brother, Jean-Francois (Vincent Cassel-is this where he met real-life wife Belucci?) who acts weird all the time. Is he responsible for the beast? Oh yeah, so they all pal around with Thomas d'Apacher (Jeremie Renier) and try to track down the beast. So you know one of them is not going to make it. They find the lair of the beast and his keeper, and discover it is all a consiracy and a cover-up! gasp! So many twists and turns. Too many for a movie set in the 18th century.

The ending is way too long and anti-climactic and we discover that this is all being told in flashback from one of the above mentioned characters who a large angry French mob is waiting outside to kill. So, um, why, if this person is about to be lynched is he or she remiscing about a creature hunt from 30 years before, and why, just out of curiosity is he or she about to be lynched? I guess I missed that part. I think they would have done better to leave out some of the confusing and unnecessary twists and try to tell a better story. The best parts of this flick are the French countryside and the few good special effects, and in my opinion, there is no 'gay interest' to this film.

my rating
rent it if you are bored

bs

I loved this film. A definite must see for gay guys, especially those into bodybuilding. The film is based on the life of Bob Miser, the man who founded and ran AMG (The Athletic Model Guild). If you are not familiar with AMG by name you have probably seen their work. They made many of the old black-and-white films of men posing in straps and horseplaying. The AMG was in part responsible for launching the careers of Joe Dallesandro who went on to appear in a few Andy Warhol films (Flesh, Trash, and Heat) and many other male b-movie stars.

The film weaves a partly fictionalized biographical account of Miser's life starting with his childhood fascination with the naked male body and photography, actual AMG footage, and interviews with AMG models including Dallesandro and Jack Lalanne. The transitions between these three different parts of the film flow very naturally and all of the major cast fit right into 1950's America. The film spends a lot of time in the 50's and 60's and shows the difficulty Miser when confronting a 'conservative' society with nude male erotica. He was arrested at least once and had to appear in court to face pandering charges. Miser's mother plays as big part in the film as she no doubt did in real life. That she was able to tune out the homoeroticism and Miser's homosexuality until forced to confront it, is interesting.

The film also interviews people who helped Miser in his work and those who have studied it. Miser allowed many of his models to 'live' in his AMG compound near Los Angeles in exchange for participating in his photo shoots, and the viewer gets to see firsthand what life at AMG was like. I found the way the film interlaced black-and white photos and footage of the models back then with current day interviews in color very compelling. They all seemed to have fond memories of Mr. Miser and the AMG, and a few definitely long to go back.

My recommendation
must see movie


recommendation scale:
must see movie
pay full price
good, but not great
maybe matinee
rent it if you are bored
don't bother

Hello all,

I just saw Urbania. Alan Cumming is always a treat to watch. Very organic in his acting and always believable in his roles. In 'Urbania,' we follow him around as he relives a life changing event. The story plays around with urban legends similar to the movie 'Urban Legends,' but unlike that film, they are not actually THE story. They act more as bridges to entertain or transition from scene to scene.

Mr. Cumming relives his 'event' in flashback. As we progress through the film, it gives us more and more information, and the flashbacks we see foreshadow that 'the event' is not a positive one. The presence of the urban legends also tells us that.

Is Mr. Cumming a stalker, and what is so special about the apparent object of his affection? To tell you that would be to spoil the whole thing. Just be prepared to sit down and watch the whole movie. As with any film told in part through flashback, if you miss even the smallest part, you may have trouble putting the big picture together.

My recommendation: good, but not great


recommendation scale:
must see movie
pay full price
good, but not great
maybe matinee
rent it if you are bored
don't bother

Hello!  This is Blogstud, and this is my gay film blog.  I have collected quite a few gay themed DVD's, most of them independent releases.  It is very hard to find good reviews of these films so I will review them myself here.  Thanks for reading this.