Mysterious Skin

If you haven't seen Mysterious Skin, do so but its an intense movie, so be warned.  I may sit down this evening to watch it again because its been a few years since I saw it last.  Check it out!

~ Volker

Time to Leave

Yesterday evening I sat down to watch a movie (DVD) that I haven't seen for a while, Time to Leave.  Its about a young man, 31 years old, that is diagnosed with a rare, malignant form of cancer.  The film is about his actions in the last days of his life, how he reacts to life and others, and how others react to him.  Only his grandmother learns of his fate, the rest do not.  Check it out, its worth watching!

~ Volker

Xavier Dolan on Heartbeats

In this video clip Xavier Dolan presents some of his thoughts on his film called Heartbeats, on producing cinematic productions and why he makes these films.  It gives us some interesting background to his work.

~ Volker

romeos, the movie

Yesterday late afternoon before returning home from Vancouver I stopped by this shop to check out magazines and videos.  I found this movie called Romeos in German with English subtitles (well, I really don't need the subtitles since I can understand the German very well).  The film is about a female trans person that is introduced to the gay scene, but while keeping the truth from others has its pitfalls, Lukas (trans) is introduced to the cute Fabio.  The trailer is in German but I'm sure you'll get the idea.  If we hide who we truly are from others, how does that effect our relationships with others, especially those close to us?  Its worth thinking about and taking a deeper look at.  What do you think?

The movie, which is 94 minutes long by the way, is a Strand Releasing film and won an award at the Berlin International Film Festival.  Check it out if it sounds interesting to you.

~ Volker

shortbus

The subject of the film called Shortbus came up this evening and I thought I would post the trailer.  I have the DVD and have seen the movie at least a couple of times.  I plan to see it again this evening if I can find where I put the thing (I've got hundreds of DVDs).  One of the actresses in the film is from Vancouver (Sook-Yin Lee who won an award for her part in the film).  Check out the trailer, especially if you like stories of sexual expression ... - V

douches froides

Douches froides, or Cold Showers in English:  I have this movie on DVD and have seen it a number of times as I have quite a number of other films in my collection.  I personally love the French movies because they are so much deeper than those from North America.  If you don't mind the subtitles, check it out.  Of course, if you can understand the French language, then you don''t need to bother with the subtitles, do you?  To keep it short, the story starts with a couple of guys with interests in common.  When a third party becomes involved, the story starts to take a turn, and not for the better I would think, but you decide.  I don't like to give stories away, so I won' t say any more.  You'll just have to see it to find out.  - V

le Clan

Have you ever seen the French film called le Clan? Its available on DVD and gay-themed. I love the hang gliding scene. That's Salimand and Thomas above. It can be seen in French with or without English subtitles. Check it out! - V

les amours imaginaires - Heartbeats

This evening I heard one of the theme songs from the movie, "les amours imaginaires", on the radio (Radio Canada - Vancouver). The song is deeper and richer in the film. The version I heard on the radio wasn't anywhere near as good. I took the time to watch Xavier Dolan's film again this evening. In English its called "Heartbeats." Consider seeing it if you haven't as yet. Xavier is a young Canadian film maker from Montreal and certainly worth seeing where his career goes!
That's Xavier Dolan, Niels Schneider and Monia Chokri in the photo above. Xavier and Monia appear in some of the other images. Love the sweater and the hat! What about you? - V

James Franco

I've seen the movie, Tristan and Isolde, starring James Franco as one of the lead actors a couple of times, In fact I have the DVD. Its such a sad movie with an even sadder ending of two lovers that never get to marry the one they truly love! Nonetheless, check it out just the same!!! - V

I am number four Part II

I was able to watch this movie (I am number four) in its entirety this evening. Its not for everyone but it does have an important message we should pay attention to. There are even a few good shots of Alex Pettyfer's awesome physique. Alex plays one of the lead characters in the movie. Something worth seeing! A report is coming up as soon as time is available. - V

I am number four

I purchased the three disk copy of the movie "I am number four" starring Alex Pettyfer amongst others on my way home from work this evening. It included the Blu-ray plus DVD versions. I plan to see it later in the week when time permits. A report follows afterwards! Have an awesome week, guys!!! - V

raging sun, raging sky

I was in Vancouver Sunday afternoon. It was then that I could see how extensive the flowering of shrubs and trees was. Along the way I stopped to buy a couple of dvds, one at HMV and the other at Priape.

The first was a French film with English subtitles called L'enfance Nue, or Naked Childhood. Its about a child that is sent from one foster home to another which doesn't sound like an ideal situation. I'll comment more on that one once I've had the time to see it.

The one I have seen is the film by the Mexican director Julian Hernandez called Raging Sun, Raging Sky. This film is a winner of the Teddy Award in 2009 at the Berlin International Film Festival.

So basically, Kieri and Ryo, two young, handsome Mexican men fall in love. There's a unquestioning bond between the two. Then Ryo is abducted and Kieri begins a search for his soulmate. Its not an easy search as things are encountered to test their devotion to each other. The film is a visually stunning ode to the male nude and the power of desire. I'll explain more once I've taken the time to see this film again.

Meantime, enjoy your day and have a great week guys! - V

Alex and spy dramas!

I was in Vancouver late Saturday afternoon and stopped by HMV to look for the dvd, Stormbreaker (2006). As luck would have it, I managed to find one copy of the widescreen edition they had with the US title, ALEX RIDER, Operation Stormbreaker! The title is below the "widescreen edition" at the top but otherwise its the same.

When I got home, I had a light supper and then sat down to watch the movie. This was the first time I had watched it in English, since the last time was in French on Radio Canada, the French service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation [CBC], on cable 7. Since its an action, spy-thriller, it was easy to pick up what was happening the first time and I certainly got a lot more out of it the second time when I could understand every word that was said. I do have an understanding of French, just its not as good as my English.

I learned that Alex Pettyfer, the actor that plays Alex Rider was one of many that tried out for the role and its a good thing the director chose him. Also, they did a lot of their own stunts in the movie. The extras on the dvd will show you the details of that. Alex looks good on camera and that's another reason why they chose him. and I certainly won't argue with that one!

It was said that the film was a flop in the cinemas but perhaps that's debatable and a matter of interpretation as whether the movie is good or not. Its not quite James Bond stuff, there's more action and less subtlety but I think its a film in its own genre.

I'm looking forward to seeing Alex Pettyfer in his latest role in I Am Number Four (2011), a Sci-Fi movie. Anything that involves Steven Spielberg (through Dreamworks) has my undivided attention. Alex was 14-15 years old in Stormbreaker and he's now 20 in this latest role. This latest film is in the cinemas here on February 18. Look for it where you are! - V

more on Xavier and "Heartbeats"

I was in Vancouver late Saturday afternoon to take care of some errands. My supply of underwear is showing its age and need replacing, so my first stop was The Bay to get a start at replacing some of the older, worn out pieces. Then it was on to visit other venues.

While going about, I stopped in HMV to check out some dvds. I did notice that Xavier Dolan's "Heartbeats" had been resupplied. There were now three disks available for those interested. I hadn't seen any for a while but I'll check in occasionally to see how things are as far as sales.

Speaking of Xavier, I logged in at touscoprod.com to check how the funds situation is with his latest film project. Its up a bit but he does have another four months to accumulate the money required to start the project. A lot can happen in a very short time. We'll just see where this goes but Xavier's first two ventures went well, so we'll see where this takes us. - V

P.S. - The photo above is from a postcard sent to my mother back in the early 1960s. It shows the Basilica in Quebec City. The basilica dates from 1647 and is one of North America's oldest buildings. As far as dating the photo, you can tell from the vehicles shown that its from the early 1960s period. I've been to that city before, the Quebec Winter Carnival in 1973. I'll share some photos as time becomes available to scan the slides I took during that trip, a school trip! I just thought I'd share! Now I'm off to get the laundry done once again. - V

warm

Its been warm here today, even with some sunshine in the afternoon, but despite all that, the wind was a cool. The temperature got up to about 10 degrees Celsius today, balmy by Canadian standards since much of the country is in the grips of winter. That means lots of snow and cold temperatures, so I don't mind the warmth. That's one of many reasons why I came out here. The other is that I didn't want to shovel any more snow, at least for a while!

This afternoon I purchased Xavier Dolan's first film, "I Killed My Mother" or "J'ai tue ma mere" in French, online and should receive it later this month or early next. I cost me twice what I paid for "Heartbeats" but I believe its worth the price. I'll give you a bit of a commentary on both of Xavier's films after I've had a chance to see the first.

He's working on his third, "Laurence Anyways." We'll how it compares to the first two of his films. I've started investing in his third effort and plan to invest more. Good luck, Xavier! You seem to have found the secret.

Finally, I managed to clean the hard drive on my laptop of unneeded files and get a defrag completed. Now I'm ready to install the software that came with the photo scanner. Then the real work begins, and I promise some interesting surprises. Come back for more! - V

in the rain!

All the snow we had earlier in the week melted as the temperatures warmed up and with the warmer temperatures has come the rain! So, we're back to normal winter weather around here.

Despite the wet stuff, I'm off to Vancouver for a few hours. First stop will be Chapters followed by HMV where Ill try to find a copy of Xavier Dolan's first film in dvd format (I Killed My Mother). Considering that he was only 19 years old when that one hit the screens, I think it'll be interesting to see as far as seeing a progression in his work. I'll let you know more later.

Meantime, have an awesome weekend regardless what you have planned, guys! - V

Zeb cover

Well, guys, this is the cover of the recent French magazine, Mmensuel, featuring model Zeb Ringle by photographer Scott Hoover. The link to Scott's website is in the right-hand sidebar. Just click on the photo in the margin to see some of the rest of his work.

While I was in Vancouver late this afternoon, I managed to find a copy of the film "Heartbeats" on dvd (French: "Les Amours imaginaires" and the film I mentioned in Friday's post), purchased it at HMV on Burrard Street and returned home after buying a few groceries at Marketplace IGA. I'll give you my impression of the film in a day or so.

Model hunting will have to wait for a few days. I left downtown Vancouver for home because I wasn't feeling well and I didn't want to take my chances by staying longer. I'll leave that for a weekday when I'm in Vancouver's downtown working anyway. I ended up seated next to a tall, good-looking dude with shortish, dark hair for a couple of stops until he got off. He was standing at the door opposite me for a stop until we managed to get a seat and you've got to be fast to snag an empty seat before its gone. Its something about the dark hair and fresh, reddish skin from being out in the cold night air that I find appealing. What about you?

Anyways, more later. Have a good night, guys!!! - V

"Like a Brother"

Today I was watching a few dvds I hadn't seen in a while. The most recent one was the film, "Like a Brother" or "Comme un Frere" in French. It is in French with English subtitles and available from Water Bearer Films. The two lead characters are Roman, played by Thibault Boucaux, and Sebastien (a.k.a. Zack), played by Benoit Deliere. Check out the film's trailer here! I really don't want to give the story away but all I can say is its worth watching if you like to understand more about relationships, gay or straight! Relationships can be complicated, regardless of the sexual orientation, especially when we don't understand ourselves. Let me know what you think. - V

Merry Christmas and all the best!!!

Merry Christmas and the best of the season to all!!! Enjoy a safe festive season as we come to a close of yet another year. My how fast the year has gone!

Today, as on many of my days off, I slept in. After showering and getting cleaned up, I had a leisurely breakfast. In the afternoon I took the time to watch a dvd after getting caught up on my emails. The movie I watched was "The Bishop's Wife" (1947) starring David Niven as the bishop, Loretta Young as the bishop's wife and Cary Grant as the "angel." Its a lovely film but I don't want to give it away. I'm a big Cary Grant fan! Check it out if you have the chance!

After a short snooze this evening, I got back to checking out emails plus posting on Facebook and my blogs.

Merry Christmas - Frohe Weihnachten - Joyeux Noel!!!

less than a week

Its less than a week till Christmas. I took it easy yesterday (Saturday) by recharging my laundry card (smartcard), having a light lunch and so on. I slept in until nearly 11 am. Supper consisted of spaghettini with tomato sauce along with some artichoke hearts added. Nothing too fancy. Otherwise, I sat down to watch some tv, in this case, Great Canadian Rivers on Knowledge channel. Check out knowledge.ca if you'd like to know more.

I also sat down to watch a French film called "Douches Froides", or Cold Showers in English. It stars Johann Libereau as Mickael, training for judo, who befriends Clement, played by Pierre Perrier. There's a lot more to this movie, so I don't want to give it away. Check out the trailer and then the movie itself if it sounds interesting to you. Its available on dvd.

After that, I watch a murder-mystery (British) before heading off to bed for the night.

Today, I slept in again ( I can only do that on my weekends or when I'm off work) with a late breakfast and then got laundry started. Now that its out of the dryer and folded, I plan to put it all away and then get off to the grocery store before dark.

The sun has even pulled a surprise by showing itself through the clouds. If there had been more sun, I'd have been out taking photos. Howe Sound has been in my mind lately. I hope you've had a great weekend, guys!!! - V