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Maverick2014
Reviews
Pride (2014)
Targeted at a specific audience
To get one thing out of the way: I am a gay man and this review reflects that.
I really wanted to like this movie. I hadn't seen the trailer but I had read the description prior to accepting my friend's invitation to go see it. With Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton in it, what can go wrong? A lot, actually.
This is yet another gay themed movie written, produced, directed and acted by straight people for straight people. And that is the seed of all that's wrong with this movie. It makes no attempt to stay true to the original spirit of the facts nor does it try to portray realistic characters; instead, it takes all the narrative license to make this movie enjoyable by liberal straight people just to have something good to feel about themselves.
Argument number #1: how the majority of the women in the mining town get won over by the gays. During a council meeting, the conversation goes something like this: Woman A says "We don't want no gays in our little town". Woman B replies: "They are helping us raise money, they will be our guests". Woman A: "Oh, OK". The movie massively plays the stereotype that women naturally accept gays as their BFFs - regardless of whether it's 2014 or 1984 - and that is seen across the whole movie. Argument #2: how the majority of the men in the mining town get won over by the gays. During one of their first nights in the mining town, the most flamboyant gay asks the local band to play the gayest disco track to which he starts dancing like there's no tomorrow. The women scream in marvel, and the local straight men find a reason to befriend the gays: learn dancing tricks in order to get in the pants of more ladies. After that, it gets excruciatingly painful to watch. One stereotype after another paraded with nonchalance.
When I got home, I read more about the "real facts" on which the movie is supposedly based. The primary reason why the gays started to adhere to the miners' cause was purely political. The character of Mark Ashton, the young bloke who comes up with this idea, was a communist sympathizer; supporting the miners would have gained more visibility to the gays not to mention a probable ally in the miners' unions. This is only very briefly mentioned in the movie and, as a result, it never really explains LGSM's sudden interest in the miners' problems nor the pathos with which they raised the money.
After thinking Brokeback Mountain is the worst gay themed movie, this one tops that list!
Looking (2014)
It grows on you
Three quarters of the reviews here are based on the pilot alone. Every TV lover knows pilots are not the way to judge the overall quality of a series. This is a series that grows on you slowly and by episode 6 (the best of the season) you will be rewarded! Everyone who's seen Weekend (2011) by the same Andrew Haigh knows what to expect in terms of plot and pacing.
Someone commented how the amount of (alluded) sex annoyed them, how yet another series about gay men portrays them as nothing more than nymphomaniacs. While I can understand why one would form such an opinion when the very first scene in the pilot starts with a handjob in a park, that scene was chosen not (just) for the shock value but more to immediately present the character of Patrick as this boyish man too prude for his looks. After all, his first thoughts in those moments send him to his mother, a theme that is revisited in later episodes. Furthermore, the sex scenes are cooled down from episode 2 onwards.
Someone commented how the banality of the plot makes this series pale in comparison to the mighty Queer as Folk, often regarded as the magnum opus of all TV series about gays. While that series was groundbreaking in more ways than one, it hatched caricatures and does not stand the test of time. It was a show that allowed the creators and the viewers to unleash all of their fantasies and play out their frustrations. That is therapeutic but it does not make for quality TV.
I won't even start comparing Looking to Girls or Sex and the City. If you want to relive the glory of the latter look elsewhere; if you are afraid it stretches out the former by being shown right after it, have no fear!
Bottom line: this is a slow paced show that requires multiple episodes to fully get it but looking at only 8 episodes of 22 minutes each, the creators are not asking for much. Give it a chance!
Your gay friend.
Chronicle (2012)
A great movie about the coolest "superpower"
I will tell you upfront that I am biased about this movie. Ever since I remember, I have thought that telekinesis is the greatest superpower ever! So, naturally, when i saw the trailer for this movie i almost shat my pants! After three months of waiting Chronicle has arrived in the Netherlands and i just saw it in its first day. And i was not disappointed!
The special effects are great, which i assume is why most people will go see the movie. The acting never lets you down and the director makes you feel that you are in the middle of the action, right next to the protagonists, especially in the flying scenes. Like someone here said, the three characters use their powers to do the things that the regular Joe would try and do. This helps making a connection with the audience.
Bonus: the nice surprises! 1) I usually hate this "reality TV" style of filming but here they made use of the camera in an ingenious way: the main camera is most of the times flying by (yes, telekinesis) and some of the footage contains recording from other peoples' phones, video cameras or traffic cameras. These two combined build the "chronicle" narration and make it the closest thing to the classic, third-person omniscient narrative. 2) Someone here had commented that the ending was not as good as the rest of the movie. So i prepared myself for that because the end is what breaks or makes a movie. i was so relieved to witness that the ending did not disappoint and it seemed like the natural way to end this story while still leaving room for sequels without feeling stretched out.
Speaking of sequels, go see this movie! Even if box office will not convince 20th Century fox to make Chronicle 2, this is a great stand alone movie! But, in the rare chance they will make it, there are so many angles that they can approach the story! It's up to YOU to make it happen by convincing your friends to go see it.
Oh, and to all of telekinesis fans out there... This will be a sweet ride!