Recently Added Films

	Date Added/ Length	Ratigs IMDB/ MY	Genre/ Tags	Plot	Notes
The Meaning Of Life Details	12/4/2020 11:28:17 PM/ 107 mins	7.5 8	Comedy; Musical	Life's questions are 'answered' in a series of outrageous vignettes, beginning with a staid London insurance company which transforms before our eyes into a pirate ship. Then there's the National Health doctors who try to claim a healthy liver from a still-living donor. The world's most voracious glutton brings the art of vomiting to new heights before his spectacular demise.	A wonderfully funny (and profound) essential film of my younger years. A foundation for my world and religious views. Sad ... isn't it?
Muscle Details	12/5/2020 11:15:05 AM/ 110 mins	7.0	Comedy; Horror; Queer Themes/Interest; Thriller	An unhappy office worker's life is gradually taken over by Terry, his new, very hands-on personal trainer.
Keith Haring: Street Art Boy Details	12/7/2020 6:41:59 PM/ 89 mins	7.5 6	Biography; Documentary HIV/AIDS; art	In the 1980s Keith Haring blazed a trail through the galleries and nightclubs of downtown New York's art scene. Rebellious and ingenious, Haring chose to operate both inside and outside the art world. Inspired by the city's graffiti scene, he made New York's subways, tarpaulins and walls his canvas. This new feature documentary blends stunning archive and an edgy soundtrack, with tender and candid first-hand accounts of Haring. It tells the extraordinary story of an artist who lived and created with a boundless energy, throughout the social, cultural and political counter-revolution of the 1980s.	While IMDB records the film length as 89 minutes, the All*Arts/PBS version is only 52 minutes long. Obviously, much has been left out. This severely trimmed version seemed very superficial. We learn little of Haring's personal life. I was left with the feeling that his frenzy to paint was perhaps pathological. The DVD version available through Amazon appears to be this All*Arts version.
Neon Boys Details	12/10/2020 8:48:40 PM/ 30 mins	7.4 4	Drama; Queer Themes/Interest; Short	Unable to find a job after spending time in prison; Shawn takes work as an erotic dancer to support his daughter, and falls in love with a man for the first time.	It's 2020. Why are they still making such crap! Another film of gay self-loathing., with the easy ending of a writer who has nothing important to say.
Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse Details	12/12/2020 12:03:07 AM/ 105 mins	7.8 8	Ballet/Dance; Biography; Documentary	She came to the New York City Ballet as a teenager from Ohio and captured the heart and soul of the great Mr. B, inspiring the seminal ballets of her era and setting off a star-crossed love triangle as fevered and bizarre as anything in THE RED SHOES. As the greatest ballerina of her time looks back on her amazing career in Anne Belle and Deborah Dickson's intimate portrait, the on-stage triumphs and backstage turmoil come to vivid life.	A very well done biogaphical documentary of the great ballerina Susanne Farall and George Balanchine. It felt very real with a respectable intimacy. I liked it very much. For me it showed these artists as real people, not just of the cultural elite (which of course they also are). While it is available as a DVD and other media, it's pricy ranging fom around $50 used to $200 new. While I watched this film on YouTube (or an abridge version), I have not been able to find it subsequently. Perhaps it has been subsequently removed? Much disappointed!
Twelfth Night Details	12/19/2020 11:43:26 PM/ 134 mins	7.2 8	Comedy; Drama; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance	Shakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.	Wonderful. Great acting. Understandable Elizabethan English. Entertaining.
A Night At The Ballet Details	12/21/2020 12:11:07 AM/ 56 mins		Ballet/Dance		“A Night At The Ballet” will only be available to view on YouTube from 12/17/20 - 12/20/20
Meet Me In St. Louis Details	12/21/2020 4:14:41 PM/ 113 mins	7.6	Comedy; Drama; Family; Music; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas	In the year before the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, the four Smith daughters learn lessons of life and love, even as they prepare for a reluctant move to New York.
Home For The Holidays Details	12/21/2020 4:21:40 PM/ 103 mins	6.6	Comedy; Drama; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas	After losing her job, making out with her soon to be ex-boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson has to face spending the holiday with her family. She wonders if she can survive their crazy antics.
The Family Stone Details	12/21/2020 4:31:03 PM/ 103 mins	6.3	Comedy; Drama; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas	An uptight, conservative businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family's annual Christmas celebration and finds that she's a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life.
Too Cool for Christmas Details	12/21/2020 4:43:56 PM/		Comedy; Queer Themes/Interest Christmas	"Soap opera staples George Hamilton and Donna Mills star in this Here! TV produced flick about a spoiled teen who would rather spend Christmas skiing than with her family. Of course, she learns the True Meaning of Christmas over the course of the film’s runtime in a predictable fashion. What makes the film interesting is that the 16-year-old heroine is the daughter of two gay dads. Lifetime runs a censored version of the movie, which subs the gay parents for reshot scenes with straight parents. Avoid that version (dubbed A Very Cool Christmas) at all costs." [Queerty]
The Star Wars Holiday Special Details	12/21/2020 5:06:05 PM/ 97 mins	2.1	Adventure; Family; Musical; Queer Themes/Interest; Science Fiction Christmas	Luke Skywalker and Han Solo battle evil Imperial forces to help Chewbacca reach his imperiled family on the Wookiee planet - in time for Life Day, their most important day of the year! "Otherwise known as the weirdest Christmas special of all time, The Star Wars Holiday Special has never had a commercial release, though it shows up frequently on sites like YouTube. Broadcast once in 1978, the special features the cast of Star Wars (yes, including Harrison Ford, gay icon Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill) trying to help Chewbacca get home to his Wookie family in time for “Life Day,” the Star Wars analog of Christmas, in a musical adventure. The camp factor alone makes the Holiday Special worth watching at least once, as do the celebrity cameos, including appearances by gay icons Diahann Carroll as a pornographic hologram (yes, really), Bea Arthur as a cantina bartender, and Harvey Korman as an alien chef. George Lucas has reportedly said he wants to destroy every copy of the special. That the statement comes from the man who created JarJar makes The Star Wars Holiday Special something that needs to be seen to be believed." [Queerty]
A Diva's Christmas Carol Details	12/21/2020 5:59:41 PM/ 120 mins	6.4	Comedy; Drama; Fantasy; Musical; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas	A remake of the Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol" featuring a very nasty pop singer who gets a reality check by three Christmas spirits.
White Christmas Details	12/21/2020 6:05:37 PM/ 120 mins	7.6	Comedy; Musical; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas	Two talented song-and-dance men team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. In time they befriend and become romantically involved with the beautiful Haynes sisters who comprise a sister act.
Mrs. Santa Claus Details	12/21/2020 6:11:09 PM/ 90 mins	6.8	Comedy; Family; Fantasy; Musical; Queer Themes/Interest Christmas	Mrs. Santa Claus is a 1996 American made-for-television musical fantasy-comedy film starring Angela Lansbury in the title role as Mrs. Claus, the wife of Santa Claus. The film was billed as the first original musical written for television since Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella in 1957. It was originally broadcast as a Hallmark Entertainment presentation on CBS on December 8, 1996. "Leave it to Angela Lansbury to make an almost laughably dated premise into an endlessly entertaining romp. It also helps that she collaborates again with composer Jerry Herman, the openly gay musician behind Mame and Hello, Dolly! It helps too that the movie has a talented gay screenwriter in form of seven-time Emmy winner Mark Saltzman. Mrs. Santa Claus becomes more than a standard musical telefilm, subtly confronting issues like bigotry, sexism, interfaith marriage and overzealous capitalism. It gets away with it all thanks to the frothy touch of Herman’s music, and an irresistible performance by Lansbury. Originally airing in 1996, Mrs. Santa Claus speaks with a wink and a nudge and should have become an immediate holiday classic." [Queerty]
Rupaul's Christmas Ball Details	12/21/2020 6:25:37 PM/	6.0	Comedy; Music; Queer Themes/Interest Christmas	Variety special featuring guests from the downtown New York club scene to stellar artists including Nirvana and Elton John. "Ok, so it isn’t a movie exactly, but what’s not to love about America’s Favorite Drag Queen donning some gay apparel and hosting a holiday extravaganza? The sketch comedy special, which features cameos by Latoya Jackson, Taylor Dane, Elton John, Nirvana, Belinda Carlisle, Boy George and–of all people–Eartha Kitt, channels retro-MTV anarchy and the holiday spirit. The two tastes shouldn’t mix, and yet, RuPaul’s Christmas Ball has an undeniable, if unique, appeal. Besides, Ru has never looked better than in the show’s closing number, which features him decked out in a white sequin holiday gown and sporting a white fur muff. The holidays don’t get much more bonkers than this." [Queerty]
Let It Snow Details	12/21/2020 6:39:45 PM/ 92 mins	5.8	Comedy; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas	In a small town on Christmas Eve, a snowstorm brings together a group of young people.
Season Of Love Details	12/21/2020 6:45:24 PM/ 105 mins	7.4	Comedy; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas; lesbian	A queer lady holiday movie that follows the lives of three very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set right before Christmas through New Years.
Batman Returns Details	12/21/2020 6:53:09 PM/ 126 mins	7.0	Action; Crime; Fantasy; Queer Themes/Interest Christmas	Having defeated the Joker, Batman now faces the Penguin—a warped and deformed individual who is intent on being accepted into Gotham society, with the help of Max Schreck, a crooked businessman, whom he coerces into helping him run for the position of Mayor of Gotham, while they both attempt to frame Batman in a different light. Batman must attempt to clear his name, all while also deciding just what must be done with the mysterious Catwoman slinking about.
Happiest Season Details	12/21/2020 7:02:35 PM/ 102 mins	6.7	Comedy; Drama; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas; lesbian	A young woman's plans to propose to her girlfriend while at her family's annual holiday party are upended when she discovers her partner hasn't yet come out to her conservative parents.
Christmas On The Square Details	12/21/2020 7:08:07 PM/ 98 mins	5.2	Comedy; Drama; Family; Musical; Queer Themes/Interest Christmas	A rich and nasty woman returns to her hometown to evict everyone but discovers the true meaning of Christmas thanks to the local townsfolk – and an actual angel. Features 14 original songs with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton!
The Christmas Setup Details	12/21/2020 7:15:12 PM/ 80 mins	7.3	Drama; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas	The story of New York lawyer Hugo who heads to Milwaukee with his best friend Madelyn to spend the holidays with his mom Kate, who is also in charge of the local Christmas celebrations. Ever the matchmaker, Kate arranges for Hugo to run into Patrick, Hugo’s high school friend and secret crush, who has recently returned after a successful stint in Silicon Valley. As they enjoy the local holiday festivities together, Hugo and Patrick’s attraction to each other is undeniable and it looks as though Kate’s Santa-style matchmaking is a success. But as Hugo receives word of a big promotion requiring a move to London, he must decide what is most important to him.
Dashing In December Details	12/21/2020 7:24:59 PM/ 85 mins	6.0	Drama; Queer Themes/Interest Christmas	When Wyatt returns home for the holidays to try to convince his mom to sell their family ranch, an unexpected romance with handsome ranch hand Heath may throw off his plans.
The Christmas House Details	12/21/2020 7:29:50 PM/ 84 mins		Drama; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas	Working through some difficult decisions, Mitchell family matriarch Phylis and patriarch Bill, have summoned their two grown sons – TV stars Mike Mitchell and Brandon Mitchell – home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house, will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community.
I Hate New Year's Details	12/21/2020 7:35:57 PM/ 78 mins	5.3	Comedy; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance Christmas	Rising music star Layne heads home to Nashville for New Year's Eve to break her writer's block, but sometimes you find inspiration - and love - where you least expect it.
Revelations Details	12/21/2020 10:38:47 PM/ 32 mins		Ballet/Dance
Testament Details	12/22/2020 12:51:27 PM/	8	Ballet/Dance	See the world premiere  of  Testament  by Matthew Rushing, Clifton Brown, and Yusha-Marie Sorzano, plus a conversation among the choreographers about the work’s creation. Weaving together deep personal experiences and an original score by composer Damien Sneed, Associate Artistic Director Matthew Rushing, Company member and Assistant to the Rehearsal Director Clifton Brown, and former Company member Yusha-Marie Sorzano present Testament—a tribute to Alvin Ailey’s  Revelations  that follows a community of people turning pain into power and lament into hope.	A good effort, but not high on my list of favorite American Dance Company pieces. While I think "dance" of the Alvin Ailey ilk can be shown well on film, I suspect it is hard for choreographers accustomed to the stage to get it fully right. Hopefully we'll see more of the effort moving forward.
Revelations Details	12/22/2020 3:44:20 PM/		Ballet/Dance	Join AileyCamp participants in an interactive workshop taught by former Company members Nasha Thomas and Michael Thomas to learn movement from the “Wade in the Water” and “Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham” sections of Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. All ages and experience levels are welcome. Afterwards, enjoy a performance of Revelations by the Ailey company.
Matthhew Bourne's Edward Scissorhands Details	12/23/2020 10:05:15 PM/		Ballet/Dance		Videotaped in performance at Brooklyn Academy of Music Howard Gilman Opera House, Booklyn, N.Y., as part of the 2007 spring season, on Mar. 30, 2007. Copy in catalog at the New York Public Library. DVD video : NTSC color broadcast system. Premiere November 2005, Sadler's Wells Theatre, London.
Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet Details	12/24/2020 12:03:27 AM/ 91 mins	9	Ballet/Dance; Musical	Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet is a passionate and contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare's classic story love and conflict. The tale is set in 'The Verona Institute' in the not too-to-distant future. Mysteriously confined against their will by a society the seeks to divide and crush their youthful spirits, our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together.	Another amazing masterpiece by Bourne. The Romeo + Juliet story has been told and retold many times -- a romance between two very young protagonists with raging hormones opposed by societal forces. Bourne's plot loosely mirrors Shakespeare. "But without exterior agents to propel the plot, and with the variables of mental trauma as motivation, the greater resonance of Shakespeare’s tragedy are sacrificed. There is no real causality between the deaths of Mercutio and Tybalt and the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, no sense of the everlasting inability to let go of hatred and fear. Then, in the final scenes, Mr. Bourne takes a disconcerting departure from Shakespeare that changes our sense of the story from tragedy to accident, and of the protagonists from courageous rebels to tormented victims." [NY Times. Read full review] No matter. That I didn't get all the nuances of Bourne's story doesn't really matter. It's the imagery of the dance itself that excited me. I do admit to a twinge of disappointment. The costuming lacked eroticism, and the set was short on inspiration. +4/5 Review: Guardian [Lyndsey Winship 11 August 2019] +4/5 Review: Guardian [Sarah Crompton 18 Aug 2019] + Review: NY Times [Roslyn Sulcas Aug. 11, 2019]
Goodbye Mother Details	12/26/2020 4:11:06 PM/ 100 mins	7.5	Comedy; Drama; Queer Themes/Interest; Romance	Văn comes back to Saigon from the US with his boyfriend Ian to visit his mother. Being the male heir of the family, everyone expects him to take a wife soon. And to top it all, his grandmother, who has Alzheimer, mistakes Ian for her grandson…
Nationtime Details	12/26/2020 10:47:03 PM/ 80 mins	6.9	Documentary Race; black experience; black culture; Civil Rights	A report on the National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972, a historic event that gathered Black voices from across the political spectrum, among them Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Coretta Scott King, Richard Hatcher, Amiri Baraka, Charles Diggs, and H. Carl McCall. Best known for his avant-garde meta-documentary Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, William Greaves (1926–2014) was also the director of over 100 nonfiction films, the majority focused on African American history, politics, and culture. Nationtime is a report on the National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972, a historic event that gathered black voices from across the political spectrum, among them Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Coretta Scott King, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Richard Hatcher, Amiri Baraka, Charles Diggs, Isaac Hayes, Richard Roundtree and H. Carl McCall. Narrated by Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, the film was considered too militant for television broadcast at the time and has since circulated only in an edited 58-minute version. This new 4K restoration from IndieCollect, with funding from Jane Fonda and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, returns the film to its original 80-minute length and visual quality.	An essential film of the black civil rights movement
Holiday Heart Details	12/26/2020 11:07:16 PM/ 100 mins	7.6	Drama; Queer Themes/Interest Christmas; black experience; black culture; child sexual abuse	A drag queen takes in a drug addict and her daughter and helps raise the daughter.
Your Name Engraved Herein Details	12/26/2020 11:24:37 PM/ 118 mins	7.0	Queer Themes/Interest; Romance	In 1987, decades of martial law is lifted in Taiwan and two schoolboys, A-han and Birdy, are about to enter an illicit love affair after meeting in the school band led by a Canadian priest named Oliver. While the whole country commemorates the late president, the two boys bask in each other's presence as A-han's affection for Birdy is awakened. However, society is homophobic and the threat of violence and social shaming enacted by adults and their fellow teens causes the two to come into conflict as they edge closer to physically enacting on their passions for each other. Birdy pushes A-han away by pretending to fall in love with a girl and this misunderstanding separates them. In desperation, A-han confessed to Father Oliver about his sexuality, only to be cut off again but love knows no bounds and the boys are meant to be together - Inspired by real events, the film is emblematic of the changes in Taiwan which became the first country in Asia to legalise gay marriage.
Wonderfully Made - LGBTQ+R(eligion). Details	12/27/2020 1:25:11 PM/		Advocacy; Documentary; Queer Themes/Interest	The film explores the challenges and aspirations of LGBTQ+ people of faith, with a focus on Catholics, as they try to reconcile and in many cases powerfully embrace their beliefs despite institutionalized religion's and the Catholic hierarchy’s ongoing rejection of them.