29th Nov2020

Stage Mother (DVD)

by timbaros

JackiWeaver_StageMother-2Jacqui Weaver is memorable as a mother who mourns the death of her son – a drag queen – in the terrific new film Stage Mother.

Maybelline (great name), married to very conservative Jeb (Hugh Thompson) who never quite accepted the fact that he had a gay son, goes to San Francisco to discover the life her son Rickey (Eldon Thiele) led. There she is met with scorn by her son’s lover Nathan (Adrian Grenier) who knew how Rickey never did quite get along with his parents. But she is also thrown aback to discover that her son owned a gay/drag bar, a bar that Nathan manages and which includes a bevvy of drag queens, among them the fabulous Dusty Muffin (Jackie Beat) and Tequila (Oscar Moreno).

Maybelline is lucky enough to be put up by her son’s friend and neighbour Sienna (a fierce and sexy Lucy Liu) with her adorable baby. It’s no real surprise and shock where the story takes us as the queens (including Mya Taylor – who was fantastic in Tangerine) warm up to Maybelline, who transforms their show (Maybelline is a choir director back in Texas) while at the same time transforming their lives. Will Maybelline sell and go back to her boring husband and life or will she add a bit of spice and magic to make the bar her own?

Weaver is wonderful as Maybelline – it’s a part that seems was tailor-made for her – it’s a perfect fit. At a bit over 90 minutes, there is a lot jam-packed into the film – smoothly directed by Thom Fitzgerald.

To say it’s a gay old time is an understatement. It’s instead a grand old time, and get ready for a very emotional ending.

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29th Nov2020

Dedalus (Film)

by timbaros

DedalusSelect3-copy-2cee7b06‘Dedalus’ is a fictional triptych portraying community, love, and loss.

It’s a film that deals with homosexuality and age, with three very different storylines. And while one of them is a bit confusing, it’s a very good piece of work by a first-time director.

 
A goodlooking young man (newcomer Alexander Horner, a natural) is a bit lost in life, always struggling to make ends meet, going from couch to couch. But he knows what he likes – he enjoys the ‘company’ of older men. He also needs food and shelter during a cold winter in New York City. He is also sexually attracted to older men. And even though a young woman takes him in, nothing satiates his quest for love then older gay client. He meets a succession of them, most of them wealthy, and lonely. They all, of course, take a fancy to him. But he falls for an anxious lawyer  (Thomas Jay Ryan) and can foresee a relationship with him, but the lawyer has other things in mind. This second of the three stories in this film is the most hard-hitting and unforgettable.
 
Directed by Jonah Greenstein, an independent filmmaker, the other two stories deal with a fathers mortality which compels him to leave his home in Los Angeles and move in with his daughter, and the other story takes place in rural Iowa, a grocery cashier watches helplessly as classmates conceal their act of sexual violence against his teenaged step-sister. 
 
All gorgeously directed by Jonah Greenstein, an independent filmmaker. He’s worked with some big names (Rami Malek, Michelle Wiiliams, documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras), but it’s this debut, which laces loneliness. beauty and mystery, to create a film that is both startling and memorable.
 

Now on on Streaming Platforms including Apple TV, Amazon Prime, OVID.tv & Kanopy

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22nd Nov2020

The Nest (Film)

by timbaros
A marriage is on the verge of collapse in the new film ’The Nest.’THE+NEST+STILL+5
Set in 1986, in an era before mobile phones, ’The Nest’ follows young couple Rory (Jude Law) and his beautiful wife Alison (Carrie Coon) in their move from suburban America to Surrey. Rory, a cocky businessman, takes up a new role in a small firm in the City of London, so he has uprooted his family (which includes a teenage daughter and a younger son) to live in the sticks – Surrey that is – where he has rented a mansion in the middle of nowhere (and paid the rent upfront for a year). Rory has big dreams for him and his family, he also has a big mouth and exaggerates all the time. Having grown up in England, he has outgrown his birth family and hasn’t spoken to them in years. But his ego, and big head, get the better of him, and a deal that he assures Alison will yield a big pay check is not forthcoming. Alison, meanwhile is happy at home tending to her horse and their two children. But who knows what Rory has up his sleeve next, and when he asks her to borrow money from Alison she knows something is terribly wrong with their finances. And so do we. Their marriage starts to unravel, as does Rory’s career, and it all comes crashing down one night where the tension and drama explode like a runaway train.
1986 was two years before the Wall Street crash, and in ’The Nest’ we see how bankers assumed it was easy to make a lot of money in banking. But the crash instead collapsed dreams and expectations – and that being very wealthy would not transpire for many. Law is just about perfect as a man who has visions of grandeur, while Coon (A Gillian Anderson lookalike who has starred in ‘Gone Girl’ and the television show ‘Fargo’) matches Law scene-by-scene. And while the finale might scratch a few heads (why does Alison try to dig up her dead horse from it’s grave?), ‘The Nest’ is a very well-acted and gripping film.
’The Nest’ is now available on VOD.
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22nd Nov2020

Bare (Film)

by timbaros

BARE_still04Dozens of men audition for a dance project, the catch is that it will involve not wearing any clothes.

In the new documentary film ‘Bare,’ these men are whittled down to eleven who rehearse and perform the premiere of Belgian choreographer Thierry Smit’s new dance piece ‘Anima Ardens.’ Director Aleksandr M. Vinogradov’s captures the auditions, and rehearsals, in this documentary that is both revealing, sexy and fun. Filmed in Brussels, the men, all presumably professional dancers, jump at the chance of working with Smits, a well-known choreographer who set up his own company in 1990, and who has created over 30 dance performances. His dance pieces are contemporary, with fusions of pop, queer and often provocative aesthetics included.
The eleven men have no problem getting naked. One, during the early stages of the audition, raises the question as to why the camera is in the room. The explanation is that a documentary will be made about this process answers the question, and the show goes on. However we really don’t get to know any of the dancers individually, and Smits, front and centre, also remains an enigma. But combining Smits with the dancers in their daily struggle to get the dance moves correct, with Smits not quite knowing exactly what he is looking for, brings mystery and drama into play. All the dancers are very sexy, of course especially when naked, but after a bit the nudity becomes almost invisible (but not quite) and it’s the performance piece they are rehearsing that takes center stage, because it’s unconventional. All the dancers appear to be very comfortable with each other, and near the end they are all very playful in the showers as they clean up after a day of rehearsal. And ‘Bare’ cleverly ends as the first performance of ‘Anima Ardens’ begins. Lucky for us, just a quick Google search will lead you to see the actual dance piece in its entirety. ‘Bare’ is indeed bare; it’s sexy, raw and in your face.
 
‘Bare’ held it world premier at Hot Docs and has also been featured at Cinema Diverse, Doc NYC and DocEdge. Look for it hopefully at UK film festivals in 2021.
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17th Nov2020

Dating Amber (Film)

by timbaros
DATING AMBER-12Fionn O’Shea and Lola Petticrew are just about perfect as a young couple who pretend to fall in love in1995 Ireland in the new film ‘Dating Amber.’
 
But they are not an actual couple. You see Eddie (O’Shea) is Gay (though he won’t admit it), and Amber (Petticrew) is a Lesbian, and both are on the cusp of finishing their last year of high school. Amber, who lives with her widowed mother in a trailer park, has dreams of moving to London after she graduates. Eddie, meanwhile, plans to go into the military to follow in his father’s footsteps. But to survive their final year at school, and to ward off name calling and bullying from their fellow students, they decide to pretend to be a couple (this is after a failed attempt on Eddies part to woo a blond girl, though he fails to grab her boob during a groping session). Eddie and Amber go through their charade and actually make a perfect couple; Eddie is shy, very cute and adorable, while Amber is aggressive, knows what she wants, and has all the best lines. However, after a night out to a gay bar in Dublin where Amber meets someone, and Eddie still not quite ready to accept that he’s gay, the pressure is on for him to take charge of his life, to appease his father (Barry Ward) and very understanding and knowing mother (Sharon Horgan), alongside his know-it-all younger brother (Evan O’Connor). 
 
This coming-of-age comedy is a poignant, honest and funny look at the highs and lows of teenage life, while growing up in a conservative environment where young people who are different don’t seem to fit in. Both leads are just absolutely perfect, the feel of mid-90’s Ireland comes through the screen, and the funny script make ‘Dating Amber’ the one of best romantic comedy and growing up films of the year.
 
Now available on Demand and Digital
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12th Nov2020

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (Film)

by timbaros

oliver-sacks-slide-2-updatedThe late Oliver Sacks was a very fascinating man. Learn more about him in the upcoming documentary ‘Oliver Sacks: His Own Life.’

Sacks was not just a scientist and neurologist, he also wrote dozens and dozens of books including best sellers, was a master in his field, greatly respected, became a celebrity later in life, and he was also gay.

Sacks grew up in an upper middle class family in Cricklewood, London. Both his parents were doctors – so it was almost a natural that he’d be a doctor. But it wasn’t until his older brother Michael was diagnosed schizophrenic, an illness that affected the whole family but Oliver more so, that Sacks future was sealed. Going to medical school in Oxford, then to America where he took up residency in San Francisco is when his true self came out – a man with a motorbike dressed in head to toe leather. But while he was taking care of patients with severe neurological issues (stunning footage shows him with patients with neurological diseases and oddities) – Sacks never really found love or romance. His mother vehemently objected to his homosexuality but she also turned into a champion of his while he spent a summer writing a book at his childhood home. But her death affected him greatly, and after he turned 40 he remained celibate for the next 35 years.

Quite a bit of footage of Sacks is of him in his West Village apartment surrounded by staff, friends, etc. His personality comes through in these moments like a bright red sunset – with his charming laugh, unique British accent and sparkle in his eye that will win you over. He won Bill Hayes over – at age 75 Sacks and Hayes (20 years younger) remained together until Sacks death in 2015 at the age of 83. It’s a happy relationship to the end of an amazing life led by a man who changed medical science and at the same time opened our eyes to it. Director Ric Burns really captures the life and times of Sacks, especially of his final years of being with Hayes.

Now playing on https://filmforum.org/virtual-cinema/ and https://kinomarquee.com

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01st Nov2020

Summer of ’85 (Film)

by timbaros

ETE_85_Photo_3©2020_MANDARIN PRODUCTION_FOZ_France 2 CINEMA_PLAYTIME PRODUCTION_SCOPE PICTURES copyRemember your first romance? It probably took place during the summer. The new film ’Summer of ’85’ beautifully tells the story of one young man who experiences his first romance – in the summer of 1985.

The opening song ‘In Between Days’ by The Cure sets the era for the film (yes, you know it if you were around then). ‘Summer of 85’ is set in a Normandy, France, seaside town where Alexis Robin (a memorable Félix Lefebvre) lives with his parents and is in the gap period between school and college. Alexis enjoys being the near the water, so much so that one day he takes a small boat out to sea but gets caught in a storm. He is rescued by the all too dashing Benjamin Voisin (David Gorman). Benjamin makes sure Félix is fine and takes him to his home to take care of him, where his mom (a very good Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) undresses Félix for a hot bath, and admires his manhood). This leads to a quick relationship where Alexis has his first real crush (and love) with Benjamin. But it’s all too fast and furious, and when Benjamin’s mom (who was recently widowed) asks Félix to work in their nautical shop full time, it’s might be too much too soon for the perfect pair. And when Brit Kate (Philippine Velge) enters the picture the boys relationship is put to the test. Will it pass or fail? And then an unseen tragedy, typical in French films, dramatically changes the tone of the film.
 
Directed and co-written by the master François Ozon – the creator of so many great and memorable films (recent films include ‘By the Grace of God’ and ‘L’Amant Double’) scores another winner here with a superb choice of actors, location, and songs (’Sailing’ by Rod Steward and Bananarama’s ‘Cruel Summer’ tells the story in their titles). Though the film goes a bit off the charts by having Félix dress up as a young woman in one silly scene (reminiscent of ’The New Girlfriend’), ’Summer of ’85’ is still a very memorable and charming film about young love. It’s a film that will take you back to your first summer love.
Summer of 85 is in cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema
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01st Nov2020

Buyer & Cellar (Theatre)

by timbaros

Image 19-10-2020 at 00.06Take a tour through Barbra Streisand’s underground shopping center – in her home – in the new play ‘Buyer & Cellar.’

Is the shopping center real? That’s for you to decide, but in this brilliant production you’ll get a bit of insight into the woman who is the most talented, respected and perhaps loneliest biggest celebrity in the world.
Now playing at the Above the Stag theatre (until November 8th) in a show that never had it’s premiere as it was scheduled to open in mid-March, ‘Buyer & Cellar’ is now here and it’s your chance to go see it in a socially distanced theatre which is perhaps one of the cleanest around!
And Aaron Sidwell is brilliant as Alex More, an out of work actor who gets hired for a mysterious job, it’s a job that no one knew ever existed – to run the shops beneath Barbra Streisand’s Malibu home, shops that are full of her memorabilia. But when Alex encounters La Streisand when she enters the basement, he treats her like any other customer in shops where there will be only one customer – HER. And when she wants to buy a doll, Sidwell cleverly and quickly jumps inter her character, and he effortlessly does her throughout the show. Eventually Alex feels like he and Streisand are forming a bond each time she comes to the shops, and he yearns to know whether she sees him as a friend or just another employee. As the lines get blurred Alex maintains his composure until he’s invited upstairs to see the house, and he’s hoping this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
In this 100 minutes plus show, Sidwell who holds your attention and masters the dialogue, and draws us in to his world – and Barbra’s basement shopping mall. It’s a one-man show – with a larger than life celebrity at its center, but Sidwell getting the applause.

 

Now at https://abovethestag.org.uk
Category : Theatre
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