31st Jul2021

The Surrogate (Film)

by timbaros
2-2A gay couple asks one of their best friends to carry a baby for them, but complications get in the way, in the new film ‘The Surrogate.’
Josh (Chris Perfetti) has been best friends with Jess (Jasmine Batchelor) for the longest time, they are more like brother and sister. When Josh and his husband Aaron (Sullivan Jones) decide they want a baby they naturally ask Jess to carry it. She is thrilled to be asked and says yes right away, but when early tests show that the baby will be born with health complications it raises questions and concerns that all three of them didn’t expect. It also pits her against the men as they want one thing and she wants another. This is all set against the backdrop of trying to accept and learn more about the condition and also coming to the realization that there is a way out.
’The Surrogate’ is a sensitive insight into the complex issues surrounding surrogacy. Directed and written by Jeremy Hersh, who does a very good job turning a joyous life event into a tension and dramatic-filled film, The Surrogate has received wide critical acclaim at numerous film festivals around the world, including SXSW 2020, São Paulo International Film Festival, and Gotham Film Festival. The cast are all perfect, but its Batchelors movie. She is simply amazing as the young woman who must decide what is best for her. Batchelor was nominated for a Breakthrough Actor award at the IFP Gotham Awards.

 

’The Surrogate’ is now in UK cinemas.
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31st Jul2021

Sublet (Film)

by timbaros

Sublet 1 John Benjamin Hickey, Niv Nissim. .A travel columnist from New York City goes to Tel Aviv to write about the city and sublets an apartment of a young good looking Israeli man but ends up drawn not just to Tel Aviv but to the young man himself.

Michael (John Benjamin Hickey) has a partner back in NYC and both are grieving over the loss of a child they had hoped to raise as their own. Tomer (Niv Nissim) really needs money and is happy to sublet his apartment – he struggles to earn a living as a filmmaker and is still trying to figure out what kind of films he wants to make. Tomer can’t imagine settling down and is into casual sex, avoiding anyone who wants to get serious.Michael hasn’t been to Israel since his Bar Mitzvah trip, which he didn’t enjoy much – his Jewish identity has never meant much to him. So Michael is surprised to find a city filled with fascinating contradictions and pulsing with life. Michael is also surprised to find that he it taking a liking to Tomer.They form an unlikely and intense bond as Tomer shows Michael around Tel Aviv, and also when Tomer shows Michael his playful side. But with a partner back home, and a deadline to meet, Michael needs to focus on both despite his growing affection for Tomer.

Director Eytan Fox, born in New York City and raised in Israel, really shows off Tel Aviv and the budding relationship between Michael and Tomer. While Hickey, an experienced stage and screen actor, really shines in his role, Nissim cant quite convince us as the struggling filmmaker and young stud. Nevertheless, Sublet is enjoyable and will make you want to go to Tel Aviv, next year.

In Theaters on June 11 and On Demand on July 9
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31st Jul2021

A Perfect Enemy (Film)

by timbaros
APE 9-1After having given a lecture, successful architect Jeremy Angust is approached on his trip to Paris by a strange young woman who will not leave him alone. She asks for a ride to the airport, coincidentally where is he going as well. But she leaves her luggage on the street corner, causing Angust to miss his flight. This leave him and the young woman trapped in the airport lounge where he is unable to get rid of her. She’s a pest, keeps repeating where she’s from, and won’t leave Angust alone. Although the meeting at first seems to be by chance, soon there is a turn that will transform the nature of their encounter into something much more sinister and criminal. ‘A Perfect Enemy’ is a suspenseful thriller with quite a few twist and turns.
 
Based on the book by Amelie Nothomb, ‘A Perfect Enemy’ stars Tomasz Kot, Athena States and Marta Nieto
 
‘A Perfect Enemy’ is currently now available on digital download on Amazon, Google & iTunes
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31st Jul2021

In the Heights (Film)

by timbaros
ITH_062419_0710.dngA dizzying array of colors, singing, dancing and the heat – oh the heat – is ‘In The Heights.’
Lin-Manuel Miranda – the uber talented creator of Hamilton, wrote the stage version of ‘In the Heights’ while he was in college in New York City in the late 1990’s. Eventually it became a hit Broadway show and now, 20 years later, hits the big screen. The film is a homage to Washington Heights – the neighborhood in the upper upper west side of Manhattan (North of Harlem), an area which is predominately Dominican and Hispanic.
‘In the Heights’ comes at you at a mile a minute with musical numbers that are larger than life. The story is what you would expect: a love story centered around a negibhorhood full of a very colorful cast of characters (only in the movies!). Unsavi (a charming and winning Anthony Romas) runs a bodega on a street corner, employing cousin Sonny (Gregory Diaz). Unsavi secretly pines for customer and aspiring fashion designer Vanessa (Kardashian look-alike Melissa Barrera) who works in a beauty salon owned by Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega). There is also Nina (Leslie Grace), who left the ‘hood to go to college at Stanford, but returns back back to tell her father (Jimmy Smits) that college is not really for her, falling back into the arms of Benny (Corey Hawkins) who works for her father. And there there is the matriarch of the neighbhood – Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz) – who raised Unsavi. So with all these characters there are lots of stories to tell, and lots of lots of singing. Filmed on a Brooklyn sound stage, the street of Washington Heights look very full of life – with everyone happy all the time. But at times the singing and dancing scenes become a bit too much – so many dancers in the dance scenes muddle the scenes – the camera can’t pick it all up, and it’s impossible to take it all in. Plus as the film takes place in the middle of a heatwave, with a pending blackout, their sweat becomes our sweat. ‘In the Heights’ is a film that needs to cool down and slow down. A dance scene where both actors dance on the side of the building is nauseating, and some use of animation is so out of place. Some of songs and themes of the film kept me thinking back to ‘Rent’, a show from the 1990’s that took place in NYC’s Lower East Side, and some of the songs in ‘In the Heights’ are a bit like the songs in “Rent.’ perhaps Miranda used “Rent’ as an inspiration to write ‘In the Heights.’
However, it’s a beautiful love story, and all the characters (there are many in this 143 minute film) have something to say. And the actors are all brilliant, with Ramos expertly holding and keeping the film together, and Barrera and Grace both bound for stardom. Director John Chu (‘Crazy Rich Asians) gives it his all, and then some. But as Daniela the salon owner, Rubin-Vega is perfectly cast. She originated the role of Mimi in ‘Rent’, and when it came time to make the movie of ‘Rent’ she was pregnant so was the only cast member from the stage show not to be in the film. Here she gets her revenge in a role that’s perfect for her.
‘In The Heights’ opens Friday June 18th in UK cinemas.
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31st Jul2021

After Love (Film)

by timbaros

after-love-01-1‘After Love’ is the powerful debut feature by writer and director Aleem Khan and is an extraordinarily moving drama that features a compelling lead performance by Joanna Scanlan, alongside French actress Nathalie Richard and newcomer Talid Ariss in his first major English language role. 

‘After Love’ tells the story of Mary Hussain (Scanlan) who converted to Islam when she married and now is in her early 60s, living quietly in Dover with her husband Ahmed. Following his unexpected death, she discovers that Ahmed had a secret life just twenty-one miles away, across the Channel in Calais. The shocking discovery compels her to go there to find out more, and as she grapples with her shattered sense of identity, her search for understanding has surprising consequences.

‘After Love’ was awarded the Cannes 2020 Critics’ Week label, followed by selection for Telluride 2020, TIFF Industry Selects and Rome Film Festival Official Selection. It had its UK premiere screening to much acclaim at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival. Aleem Khan was shortlisted for the IWC Schaffhausen Filmmaker Bursary Award in association with the BFI, presented during the festival. 

‘After Love’ will be released in UK & Irish cinemas on 4th June 2021
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31st Jul2021

Port Authority

by timbaros

PortAuthority_5-1‘Port Authority’ is the New York City bus station on W. 42nd Street that is a dizzyingly hive of activity, both good and bad, and it’s also the name of a new film opening this week.

Directed by Danielle Lessovitz, In ‘Port Authority’ we first see Paul (Fiona Whitehead) who arrives at the bus station hoping to be picked up by his half sister Sara, but she never shows up. Paul, 20, got kicked out of his home in Pennsylvania, and is on probation, hence his escape to New York to start a new life. Outside there are a few ethnic youngsters rapping and dancing that catch his attention. But soon enough, with nowhere to go he’s riding the subways and gets beaten up by two thugs. Fortunately for Paul, Lee (McCaul Lombardi is sitting in the same subway car. Lee gets Paul a bed in his shelter and ropes Paul into working in his removals business. There is one black gay man at the shelter who Paul sees dancing in the stairway, and one late night Paul follows him to a place where a group of young adult are performing freestyle dancing. Paul also takes notice of Wye (Leyna Bloom) – and coincidentally they were the ones he saw outside the station on his arrival to NYC (too much of a coincidence). Paul is transfixed by Wyes beauty, and soon enough Paul is smitten with her. But he keeps his living situation in a shelter from her, while she in turn also harbours secrets she’s yet to tell Paul. They both lead doubles lives and must reconcile the truth before they can be together.

‘Port Authority’ is a special movie. The story is unique, the acting is perfect, and the underlying love story is very believable. Credit goes to Whitehead (previously scene in ’Dunkirk’) ) and Bloom (hard to believe but a complete novice to films) who light the screen on fire, together they are both emotional and raw. An original story also written by Lessovitz, ‘Port Authority’ played at Cannes Film Festival in 2019, and has been nominated for several awards internationally. Filmed in 2018 – ‘Port Authority’ is finally getting a cinema release it fully deserves.

Momentum Pictures will release ‘PORT AUTHORITY’ In Theaters on May 28th and On Demand and Digital on June 1, 2021.

 

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31st Jul2021

Stalker (Film)

by timbaros
Stalker.Roger Is Always Watching-1A film that looks like a ‘D’ movie turns out to be one helluva thriller – ’Stalker’ will make you think twice about your next Uber/taxi ride.
Andy (Vincent Van Horn) has left Texas after a 6-year relationship that ended in a bad way and has moved to Los Angeles to start a new life. Andy makes his living as a tutor, but otherwise his arrival in Los Angeles is very uneventful – and his mother calls constantly to check up on him and to discuss his just ended relationship. But one night in a bar he gets chatting to Sam (Christine Ko), a very beautiful Oriental woman with a perfect smile and personality. After a couple drinks Sam recommends they go back to her place. Sam calls for a car to take them to her home, and the driver (a creepy Michael Lee Joplin) lingers in his car after he drops them off, which leaves Andy with a strange feeling.
The next day Andy, along with his dog, ‘coincidentally’ bump into the driver (Roger) at a coffee shop. They chat, exchange numbers and make a plan to meet. But this is when things turn weird. Roger want to continuously hang out with Andy, almost all the time. But as Andy has strange feelings about Roger, these feelings turn into anger. And Sam, it appears, is quickly falling for Andy. But are things as they seem? Is Sam too good to be true? And why can’t Roger leave Andy alone?
Director and co-writer Tyler Savage sure knows how to turn up the tension as Andy and Roger first become buddies but then their relationship takes a turn for the worse. All leads are great in their roles – Van Horn is cool and calm in the beginning but we really start feeling his anger, then pain, as the film progresses. Joplin is perfect as thy psycho, while Ko is perfect in her role as the love interest in a calm and cool manner. But expect this to change, and not in a way you’d like.
Debuts May 21st on Cable and Digital VODS
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31st Jul2021

Sequin in a Blue Room (Film)

by timbaros
SIABR_Image1‘Sequin in a Blue Room’ is the story of a young teenager, appropriately named Sequin (Conor Leach), who is exploring his sexuality (like most 16-year olds) but winds up addicted to the life of casual hook ups, anonymous trysts, and risky behaviour that puts him in danger.
Sequin lives with his father (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) who is very accepting of Sequin’s lifestyle, yet Sequin remains very uncommunicative with him. And like all teenagers, Sequin looks at his phone constantly, which includes being addicted to a gay app called Frnd. Sequin finds himself at a party called the Blue Room – it’s a club where anonymous encounters take place, a place bathed in blue light that makes everyone look good. Sequin also hooks up with other men from the app, including a man who is the age of Sequins’ fathers (Ed Wightman). They see each other more than once, but after one encounter Sequin, for whatever reason, takes his mobile phone, which leads the older man to track Sequin down. He even shows up at his school, and home, much to the anger of his father. So Sequin has nowhere to go, so he winds up at the home of a professional drag queen (Anthony Brandon Wong) to escape his father, and his stalker. But all along love is staring him in the face in the form of high school mate Tommy (Simon Crocker).
‘Sequin in a Blue Room,’ which is Samuel Van Grinsven’s first feature (and was his graduate project at film school), won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Sydney Film Festival and has played to wide acclaim around the world, including Outfest and Toronto International Film Festival. ‘Sequence in a Blue Room’ is beautifully filmed and acted, very stylish, and Leach is a real find. Van Grinsven is great at telling the how young gay men are living life not just through their phone but also through apps – not an ideal and safe way to find love which seems to be the message of this film.
 
 
On DVD, Blu-ray & On-Demand 17th May 2021
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31st Jul2021

Undergods (Film)

by timbaros
Undergods 0121592In a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world, K and Z roam the streets on the lookout for corpses and something even more valuable – fresh meat. This is the premise of the new film ‘Undergods.’
Following its world premiere at Fantasia last year, the film went on to celebrate its UK premiere at Glasgow Film Festival in February. Since then, Undergods has gone on to receive two British Independent Film Award (BIFA) nominations. 

From May 17, Undergods will be released day-and-date; in select cinemas nationwide and On-Demand simultaneously. A limited-edition Blu-ray and vinyl soundtrack are also planned for later in the year.

Undergods stars Kate Dickie (The Witch, Game of Thrones), Ned Dennehy (Mandy, Peaky Blinders), Geza Rohrig(Resistance, Son of Saul), Burn Gorman (Pacific Rim, Enola Holmes) and Tanya Reynolds (Emma., Sex Education).
 
Undergods will be in UK Cinemas & on Digital Download from 17th May, 2021.
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31st Jul2021

House of Cardin (Film)

by timbaros
Pierre Cardin in HOUSE OF CARDIN (Blue Finch Film Releasing) (02)A rare peek into the mind of the design and business icon Pierre Cardin, House of Cardin offers exclusive access to archives and unprecedented interviews with fashion’s elite, documenting how one man became a fashion empire.
 
With his pioneering use of geometric shapes, avant-garde styles and bold colours Pierre Cardin cut a unique path through the fashion world. Through endless experimentation he was at the forefront of cutting-edge innovation; freeing women from figure-moulded clothes, advancing trends in unisex designs and in overseeing the transition of haute couture into ready-to-wear designs.
 
Featuring contributions from fashion and music icons and collaborators including Naomi Campbell, Sharon Stone, Alice Cooper, Dionne Warwick and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and with extensive interviews with Cardin himself, House of Cardin offers unparalleled insight into one of history’s greatest fashion designers. And the documentary spends a great deal of time with the man himself, so we get know, from his own words, what makes him tick, what made him start his company, and how, when he went to Paris for the first time, how he ask a stranger for directions to a particular shop and the man he had asked was the man he was going to see. This meeting sealed his face, and Pierre Cardin’s life would never be the same again. 
 
House of Cardin is from the directors of Mansfield 66/67 and producers of Room 237, P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes, also features Sharon Stone, Naomi Campbell, Alice Cooper, Dionne Warwick and Jean Paul Gaultier, all speaking about the man simply known as PC (his initials engraved on most of his products). Cardin sadly passed away late last year at the age of 98.
 
Blue Finch Film Releasing presents House of Cardin now available on Digital Download.

 

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09th May2021

Cowboys (Film)

by timbaros
Sasha Knight and Steve Zahn in Cowboys (Blue Finch Film Releasing) (1)The must see film of the month is a small film called ‘Cowboys.’ 

It’s small because it doesn’t have huge stars in it and also it’s small in length – 85 minutes – but it packs an important and timely punch into a heartwarming and memorable film.
Sally (Jillian Bell) and rebel bad boy hippie Troy (Steve Zahn) used to be married but are proud parents of their daughter Joe (Sasha Knight). However, Joe doesn’t feel right in a girls body – Joe insists, firstly to Troy, the she’s a boy who prefers to wear button down shirts and trousers with a big belt buckle. Her mom Sally would prefer Joe to wear little girl dresses with her hair styled very feminine. To say that Sally doesn’t approve of Joe being transgender at such a young age is an understatement. Troy, who has always been very close to Joe, tells Joe that it’s no big deal snd they will work around it. But Sally is still not on board with the idea, and after a bust bust up between her and Joe, Troy and Joe hatch a rescue plan that will enable them to escape and do their own thing. But Troy does not have full custody of Joe, and once they sneak off into the night Sally claims her daughter has been kidnapped, so the the local police and the local townspeople start looking for them. But they’ve escaped into the mountains and are hoping to cross the border into Canada where they’ll hope Joe can have a shot at a normal life.

The performances in this small film are superb. Zahn, who has previously been seen in ‘Captain Fantastic,’ has never been better – unshaven and in full daddy care mode. Comedian Bell is fine as the mom who doesn’t quite get what her daughter is going through, while Knight is simply amazing as the conflicted Joe – Knight gives a sensitive and memorable performance. Director and Writer Anna Kerrigan surely got this film right – exploring a timely topic that is presented beautifully. A must watch. 
Cowboys is now available on Curzon Home Cinema and Digital Download
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08th May2021

Wild Mountain Thyme (Film)

by timbaros
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John Patrick Shanley, director and writer of the memorable ’Moonstruck’ bring us ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ – memorable in a different way. It’s a romantic comedy set in the Irish countryside with two main characters who don’t realize they are meant to be together. Rosemary Muldoon (Emily Blunt) has been in love with her neighbour Anthony Reilly (Jamie Dornan) since they were 10 years old. Rosemary is aggressive and brash and dedicated to her farm, Anthony is shy and appears to have no clue that Rosemary has liked him all these years. Everyone in their farming community know they are meant for each other — except Anthony. Of course by just reading this you know how this film will end, but you have to sit through a lot of manure before.

Anthony has spent his entire life working on the family farm alongside his father Tony (Christopher Walken). The ageing Tony blindsides Anthony with his plan to sell the farm to Adam (Jon Hamm), his wealthy handsome successful nephew from New York City because Tony doubts Anthony has what it takes to run it. But when Adam comes to visit, his obvious interest in Rosemary complicates the situation further (what, there are no available women to date in NYC?). And when Rosemary goes to NYC for one day (yes, one day) to visit Adam it looks like Anthony might have missed out.

With everything that’s important to him about to slip through his fingers, Anthony has to move quickly to move in and sweep Rosemary off her feet (though he can barely put two words together in the meantime). But a series of losses and his own certainty that he is unlovable leaves his future with Rosemary in doubt. Drivel such as this should’ve been made into a television movie. ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ has no drama or suspense, especially in the last ten minutes of the film – a rain-soaked over-dramatic and over-the-top scene that cements (unfortunately does not drown) Anthony and Rosemary’s relationship. There’s so much rain I was kinda hoping they would wash away. Now that would’ve been a suspenseful and dramatic film!

WILD MOUNTAIN THYME is available to rent on all major digital retailers NOW.
#WildMountainThyme 

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08th May2021

Tu Me Manque (I Miss You) (Film)

by timbaros
TMM-D06_0238A father takes a trip to New York City to understand the life his son led in the new film ’Tu Me Manques’ (I Miss You).
 
Argentine Actor and Theatre Director Oscar Martínez is brilliant as the father – Jorge – a Bolivian businessman who appears to never have really known his only son, Gabriel.
 
In New York City, Jorge confronts Sebastian (Fernando Barbosa) – Gabriel’s boyfriend. While Jorge struggles to accept the life of his son, Sebastian channels his grief into a bold play honoring his lost love.
What makes this film so different and unique, besides that it is based on a true story, is that the Director and Writer Rodrigo Bellott, who adapted the story from his play of the same name, uses 30 actors to perform the role of Gabriel, a gimmick that is mimicked in the film’s flashback sequences, which rotate in different performers as Gabriel. It’s a gimmick that doesn’t quite work, but this does not lesson the powerful storyline and the amazing performances. 
 
Sebastian and Jorge warm up to each after after a very bumpy introduction when Jorge arrived in New York City unannounced. Sebastian proceeds to tells the tender love story, in flashbacks, of how he initially met Gabriel, who initially said he was straight, and how they fell in love and moved in with each other. What ‘Tu Me Manques’ does not quite convince us is why Gabriel took his own life – by jumping off a building in Miami to visit his sister on his way back home to lead a life his parents wanted him to lead, and not the life he wanted for himself.  Sebastian continues to blame Jorge for his sons death as it was Jorge, and his wife, who would not accept Gabriel’s sexuality. The film culminates in scenes from the play that pay honor to Gabriel’s memory. It packs an emotion wallop. 
 
 
‘Tu Me Manques’ selected as the Bolivian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominate
 
Rodrigo Bellott’s Tu Me Manques, (I MIss You) Official Selection of Bolivia for the Oscars, releases in theaters and on DVD and Digital this Spring.
 
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02nd May2021

Into the Labyrinth (Film)

by timbaros

DSC01937_1Double Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman is back in the new mystery thriller ‘Into the Labyrinth.’

‘Into the Labyrinth’ is a film with a very strange, and at times confusing plot. A young woman is kidnapped by a rabbit in a van on a road that leads into a very large city. What has happened to her? Who is this rabbit that kidnapped her? These are the questions that are raised in the beginning of the film. But then the young woman – Samantha is in a hospital, bruised and battered, physically but also emotionally and mentally battered. Samantha (played by Valentina Belle) is being overseen and counselled by Doctor Green (Hoffman). He is very concerned about her well-being, and wants to better understand the horrific ordeal she experienced at the hands of an unknown captor (the rabbit?). Samantha was locked up in a labyrinth where she experienced all sorts of emotions, mostly fear and hunger, in an underground bunker with no way out. Samantha was teased, taunted, punished and more in the labyrinth. Also investigating Samantha’s case is Detective Bruno Genko (Toni Servillo), who is a debt collector but takes on the case of the missing Samantha where he  has nothing left to lose. But as the drama and mystery ramps up, Bruno’s investigation takes one too many twists and turns that it gets to be a bit too much to follow, while Doctor Green may or may not be the man he says he is. As the thriller intensifies, it leads to a conclusion that may or may not make a whole lot of sense.
Into the Labyrinth, written and directed by Donato Carrisi. Now available on DVD and Digital download.
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