Love, Victor, Out and A Secret Love

My Top Three This Week PRIDE EDITION

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. The winds of change are blowing. Maybe not fast enough but there is power behind it and hope for a better more equal way of life that we can be proud to share with each other.There are so many options for Pride 50. Most of them virtual. Take advantage of all the Pride programming on Apple TV+, Hulu and Netflix. One of my top favorite films is available for streaming on several platforms -Big Eden, the original Love, Simon and check out the movies and shorts for Frameline Film Festival.

1) Love , Victor a Hulu Original  from the people who brought us the classic Love, Simon is a story set at the same high school Simon attended,  Creekwood High School the setting for the Simon's love story has a new student- Victor Salazar and he is struggling with issues of self identity at school and with his chaotic family life. He becomes friends with Simon who has since moved away and they begin a correspondence that informs who Victor will become. Victor is attracted to Mia and Benji and not sure how to handle his feelings. Michael Cimino is engaging as the young Victor and his mother Ana Ortiz( Ugly Betty) is perfectly cast. Great performances from George Sear as Benji and Bebe Wood ( The Real O'Neals) and Rachel Hilson as Mia. This is a sweet story perfect for Pride Month .   

2) Out a special Pixar  animation short  on Disney + is my favorite thing I have seen this year. A nine minute short featuring a young gay man who has yet to come out to his parents and introduce them to Manuel his boyfriend. In a Freaky Friday twist Greg switches minds with his beloved dog Jim after he wishes he were a dog. Alternately funny and heartbreaking, this poignant tale is for anyone who has hidden their true selves from loved ones.  The cast includes Kyle McDaniel as Greg , Caleb Cabrera as Manuel  and Bernadette Sullivan as Mom. What made this even more special is our very own Matthew Martin as Gigi the magical cat. Matthew is a San Francisco treasure.

3)  The minute the opening credits rolled for A Secret Love, a new Netflix  Original documentary the tears started and didn't stop until after the ending credits. That is because this is a 72- year -old love story that was hidden from the world for 65 years. Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel fell in love during a time when they couldn't even go out for fear of being put in jail , living together as best friends to their mutual family members while maintaining a work/life balance only out to a select few friends. This fascinating view of two women who survived through decades of homophobia and hate to come out to their family after 60+ years is an inspiration to how far we have come and how far we have to go.

Bonus: Lazy Eye on Prime Video is a not a brand new movie but I felt it was a realistic story of dealing with an ex. Dean a graphic designer in LA finds out he is losing his eyesight and decides to take time off to drive to his place near Joshua Tree. He has just started up a correspondence with his ex of fifteen years Alex and he invites him visit him for the weekend. Rekindling and revisiting the old flame to see if it still burns proves to be harder than it should have been. Beautiful location shots and great performances from Lucas Near-Verbrugghe  as Dean and Aaron Costa Ganis as the gorgeous Alex. Bonus is hilarious Michaela Watkins in a cameo as his boss.

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Defending Jacob, Dirty John and Snowpiercer

My Top Three This Week 

Greetings to all my semi-constant readers. If you like my picks for the  week ( or any week for that matter) please feel free to share on all platforms. I feel we are in that in-between stage of still sheltering and wanting to go out into the new normal world. Although it is summer many of us are still trying to find new entertaining content.

1) Defending Jacob  a limited series on Apple TV+ is the perfect binge watch this week. An assistant district attorney is faced with a heartbreaking dilemma of defending his son Jacob after a brutal murder of one of his classmates when an array of evidence points to him as a prime suspect. This is an excellent limited series with Chris Evans in a stellar performance as Jacob's dad Andy and Michelle Dockery is fantastic as Jacob's mother who is starting to believe that her son is a serial killer in the early stages of his psychopathic rise. Jaeden Martell gives a letter perfect performance as Jacob in some chilling scenes. Some other great actors in this series include the national treasure J.K. Simmons as Andy's estranged father and the wonderful Cherry Jones who makes acting seem effortless.

2) Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story  on USA Network is a twist on the previous installment and some of us that haven't watched the other versions of this story are waiting to see how it all plays out. Based on a true story of a wife who is pushed too far and snaps back is the perfect tale for the anthology series. Amanda Peet and Christian Slater as Dan and Betty Broderick the perfect couple with a houseful of children and a love affair that everyone envied. But a darker more insidious discontent continues to manifest itself in Betty's eyes as her spirit gets trampled with each success that her husband achieves. Peet was born to play this part and it is apparent with each unravelling that she inhabits Betty in every way. This is a slow burner so keep watching.

3) Snowpiercer a TNT series from Bong Joon Ho who  directed the 2013 film of the same name also starring the lovely Chris Evans is going to come under a lot of fire for the comparison to the beloved cult film. But it needs to be judged on its own merits . This is a dystopian film and the premise is that the last of humanity who could afford it -has moved to a permanent home- a  1001 armored train traveling around the globe  while the frozen tundra outside is uninhabitable. There is a class system on the train and the wealthy patrons who can afford it have train grown fruit and vegetables and every whim  catered to (well, there is a car for that) and those who made themselves stowaways in the back - they are called "Tailies". The Tailes are all herded in the  back cars and receiving dubious rations of food while each car on the train is dedicated  to the hedonistic fetishes of the moneyed folks. But then another grisly murder occurs and a former detective ( Daveed Diggs -Hamilton) is pulled from the back to solve the murder while his people are fighting to break through cars to find freedom. There are many stories being told with the luxury of having time to spread them out. Jennifer Connelly as the Trains' hostess and the "voice" of the train has enlisted Diggs to help bringing him into the luxury as the mystery deepens. some great acting and I am hopeful that people give this show a watch.

Bonus: Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich on Netflix is disturbing and a train-wreck . Hard to watch and hard to stop watching. Multi billionaire Epstein can buy anyone he wants and what he wants are underage girls every day. This pedophile has gotten away with his pleasures and trafficking these young girls to his wealthy cronies, cruising the high schools for new victims. His charisma, glamour, money made him a magnet for the A list of Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton among others who visited his private island.  Then his perfect Ponzi scheme starts breaking apart as women start coming forward about his abuse and gates open up. We know how it ended but to see it unfold it chilling. Watch something light hearted after this to un clutter the dark images.