Rock Haven

4250Movie Title: Rock Haven
Release Date: 21 June 2007
Director: David Lewis
Writer(s): David Lewis
Principal Actor(s): Sean Hoagland, Owen Alabado, Laura Jane Coles
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 78 minutes
Format: DVD
Reviewer: Roger Howell
Blurb: Brady (Sean Hoagland), who will shortly be going away to college, is a shy, introspective 18-year-old, who moves to the coastal seaside town of Rock Haven with his overprotective, widowed mother Marty (Laura Jane Coles), who is setting up a Christian school nearby. He spends a lot of time on the beach, either reading the bible or staring at the waves crashing on shore, until he meets a neighbor’s free- spirited visiting son, 19-year-old Clifford (Owen Alabado). There is an instant attraction to each other, even though homosexuality conflicts with Brady’s devoutly Christian beliefs.

Review: I went into this movie not really knowing what to expect. All I had read was the short synopsis on the jacket cover of the DVD I rented from Netflix. Brady is a shy and introverted 18-year-old boy. He is also devoutly Christian. Then he meets Clifford and his worldview becomes turned upside down. Clifford is totally out the closet. Bradley has to start dealing with his emerging sexuality and feelings, which to him are a conflict with his religion. He also has to deal with telling his mom about his feelings at one point in the movie. The anguish and torment occurring to Brady is something all emerging gays go through and it was really believable.

As for the plotline the movie seemed slow throughout. Maybe the director intended this to happen to give time for the relationship to build but it seemed to leave something lacking in my honest opinion. The actor portraying Brady did a great job in portraying the struggle homosexual Christians have in mixing their sexual identity with their faith. Clifford as his best friend trying to help lead him through the crisis was fantastic as well. All in all, the movie ended on a great note.

Oy Vey! My Son is Gay !

81UtVnETG0L._SL1500_Movie Title: Oy Vey! My Son is Gay!
Release Date: 24 Dec 2010
Director: Evgeny Afineevsky
Writer(s): Evgeny Afineevsky, Manahem Golan (as Joseph Goldman), Martin Guigui
Principal Actor(s): Carmen Electra, Lainie Kazan, Saul Rubinek, Bruce Vilanch, Angelo Ferraro, John Loyd Young
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Format: DVD
Reviewer: Roger Howell

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Oy-Vey-My-Son-Gay/dp/B00J925RX0

Synopsis: A romantic comedy featuring a Jewish family who struggles coming to terms with their son’s non-Jewish and gay boyfriend. When the gay couple adopts a child and it makes headline news, their families come to defend them and realize how much they love them.

Review:  This movie had me in stitches almost throughout the movie. I will grant there were a few serious moments. Lanie Kazan and Saul Rubinek as Shirley and Martin Hirsch were great as a couple trying to come to terms with their son being gay. John Loyd Young as their son Nelson was fantastic as well. Watching Martin interact in the gay bar was hilarious.

Nelson tries so many times to come out to his mom I think he was about to give up. The expression on his mom’s face is priceless when he and his partner are holding hands during the marriage scene. You have to give Nelson’s parents credit. Especially his mom as she is struggling to come to terms with her son being gay. Nelson and his partner Angelo wanting to adopt a baby hits the news and a protest ensues at the courthouse. Both sets of parents are there to support the young men. The moment when Shirley speaks to the reporter is what really makes the movie for me. It about brought me to tears as I vividly recalled the moment my mother accepted me for who I was as a person and a human being.

I would recommend this movie to anyone that wants a feel good comedy to watch. I would give it a four of five stars.

Brokeback Mountain ~ Movie Review

brokebackMovie Title: Brokeback Mountain
Release Date: 13 January 2006
Director: Ang Lee
Writers: Annie Proulx (Short Story), Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana (Screenplay)
Principal Actor(s): Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger
Genre: Drama/Romance
Running Time: 134 Minutes
Format: Blue Ray/DVD
Buy Link: http://www.brokebackmountain.com/
Reviewer: Roger Howell

In full retrospect, Brokeback Mountain is a very raw & powerful story. Two men, both cowboys, meet while shepherding. In turn they form an unorthodox but enduring life-long bond. In the vast wild countryside of 1963 Wyoming, these two men come to love each other and the story follows them through their lives.
The entire plotline is riddled with angst and in turns guilt. On the one hand, Ennis has always had to be responsible for his own survival. On the other, Jack has had a family his entire life. But still the love is not there for Jack from his family. It’s the catalyst that ignites the love and romance for both Ennis and Jack. Each man searching for love and acceptance and find it in each other. These are two men, as the story progresses, that can be seen to be fully in love with each other. Jack is the more self-assured man knowing that he likes to have sex with men. Ennis is conflicted most of the time in the movie. He’s done the right thing by society’s standards, married, and had kids.
But as I watched the movie, I could see that he yearned for true freedom and really wanted to be with Jack for life. Brokeback Mountain with powerful acting from Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal took me on a full emotional rollercoaster and I deeply recommend it as a movie to watch. The ensemble cast in the form of Michelle Williams as Alma Del Mar and Anne Hathaway rounded out a fantastic movie that should have won Best Picture.

Brokeback Mountain Trailer