What? Ten years and no other five-star reviews? Is the whole world nuts?
Added 5/22/2009
I couldn't believe it when I got ready to do this and saw NO other five-star reviews! Am I THAT peculiar? This is one of the best collections of short films I've ever seen, in any genre.
The first film on this DVD, about the clubbing teens, is pretty trite, except for Milo Ventimiglia and the ending. It's the only one of the four that's a typical (but not bad) "gay" movie. The last three films are unusual, each in its own way, and they're all outstanding.
Matt McGrath's performance as the son in DadShuttle is some of the most beautiful acting I've ever seen anywhere, speaking words so realistic and unmovielike that they'd have sounded pretentious spoken by anybody else. Coming from him they're sublime and profoundly moving. (Only mediocre actors become big stars. The truly great ones, like McGrath, never do. It's crazy.) I'm glad Trevor was taken out of this collection and issued separately. If it hadn't been, I'd never have seen DadShuttle.
Alkali, Iowa feels like great literature presented with lovely restraint and grace. I liked it a lot. The real surprise in this set, though, is Vincent D'Onofrio and Eileen Brennan in the hilarious dark comedy about a tough gay Italian cop and his mother. Every second of that film is pure delight.
This collection is much better than the first Boys Life (I'm watching the series in order), which surprised me because reviews trend the opposite way. Maybe it's because the three great films in this set are about and for adults, more intelligent and creative than most. They don't fit too comfortably under the "boys" banner, though. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the series plays out.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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What happened to the Trevor short?
Added 7/21/2008
When I saw this collection at the theater, I would have sworn that it included the award-winning Trevor! Why did they remove it from the DVD release? Comments welcome!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Not half as good as its predecessor
Added 1/11/2003
Of the four shorts on this DVD, only one Alkali, Iowa, is worth seeing. The other three have none of the emotional resonance of the three short stories of the first Boys Life trilogy. The acting in Must Be The Music was pathetic and the story almost non-existent. Nunzio's Second Cousin also lacked a purpose, and The DadShuttle was simply annoying. Rent this to see Alkali, Iowa but I wouldn't recommend wasting money buying it. I was disappointed.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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My father, was he one of us?
Added 12/4/2002
None of the 4 shorts on display are bad, but MUST BE THE MUSIC isn't very inspired, just 4 teenagers out clubbing and that's it. THE DADSHUTTLE is OK, featuring a conversation about mundane things between a father and son. Lots of words left unspoken there. Too long, though.The standouts are ALKALI, IOWA, a novelettish subject worthy of Checkov given subtle treatment by Mark Christopher. NUNZIO'S SECOND COUSIN is an actor's dream, Vincent D'Onofrio hamming it up something wonderful as a gay Chicago cop out cruising, being harassed by gaybashers. Eileen Brennan as his chatty Italian mama
has a jolly old time, as well. This is worth buying, for ALKALI, IOWA alone.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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I had a real tough time understand these short films. The difficulty I had was understand why they were made. There was really no point to them. I'll start with "Must Be the Music." Some friends go to a club. One friend ends up getting the pager number to one guy he meets there. The end. Did I miss something? Is that supposed to be entertaining? Next is "Nunzio's Second Cousin." Two gay men walk out of a club. A bunch of guys plan on gay bashing them. One of the gay guys pulls out a gun and threatens to shoot them all. He lets them all go except one. He invites him over to have dinner with his mother. After dinner, the gay guy forces the boy to kiss him and then pushes him down on the ground. The end. Is the point of this to teach a lesson to a gay basher? Why have dinner with him? It's stupid. And the acting of the gay guy is horrible. He is just obnoxious. Next is "Alkali, Iowa." A gay boy finds out his dead father was gay. The end. Last, and my favorite, is "The Dadshuttle." There's not much that goes on here except a rather long and hard to follow conversation between a father and son. The son is gay and I think he has HIV. The father doesn't want to talk about it so he just rambles on about pointless things. He's funny though. After it was all over I let out a big yawn and took a nap. I'm glad I only rented this.
2 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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What? Ten years and no other five-star reviews? Is the whole world nuts?
Added 5/22/2009
I couldn't believe it when I got ready to do this and saw NO other five-star reviews! Am I THAT peculiar? This is one of the best collections of short films I've ever seen, in any genre.
The first film on this DVD, about the clubbing teens, is pretty trite, except for Milo Ventimiglia and the ending. It's the only one of the four that's a typical (but not bad) "gay" movie. The last three films are unusual, each in its own way, and they're all outstanding.
Matt McGrath's performance as the son in DadShuttle is some of the most beautiful acting I've ever seen anywhere, speaking words so realistic and unmovielike that they'd have sounded pretentious spoken by anybody else. Coming from him they're sublime and profoundly moving. (Only mediocre actors become big stars. The truly great ones, like McGrath, never do. It's crazy.) I'm glad Trevor was taken out of this collection and issued separately. If it hadn't been, I'd never have seen DadShuttle.
Alkali, Iowa feels like great literature presented with lovely restraint and grace. I liked it a lot. The real surprise in this set, though, is Vincent D'Onofrio and Eileen Brennan in the hilarious dark comedy about a tough gay Italian cop and his mother. Every second of that film is pure delight.
This collection is much better than the first Boys Life (I'm watching the series in order), which surprised me because reviews trend the opposite way. Maybe it's because the three great films in this set are about and for adults, more intelligent and creative than most. They don't fit too comfortably under the "boys" banner, though. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the series plays out.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
What happened to the Trevor short?
Added 7/21/2008
When I saw this collection at the theater, I would have sworn that it included the award-winning Trevor! Why did they remove it from the DVD release? Comments welcome!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Not half as good as its predecessor
Added 1/11/2003
Of the four shorts on this DVD, only one Alkali, Iowa, is worth seeing. The other three have none of the emotional resonance of the three short stories of the first Boys Life trilogy. The acting in Must Be The Music was pathetic and the story almost non-existent. Nunzio's Second Cousin also lacked a purpose, and The DadShuttle was simply annoying. Rent this to see Alkali, Iowa but I wouldn't recommend wasting money buying it. I was disappointed.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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