Havan_IronOak

In what will most likely become his opus, Guillermo Del Toro takes liberties with the original book adding a level of terrible splendor to an already chilling tale.

While he makes changes to the original tale, they seem to have been well thought out and almost always add sophistication, added character development, and even a moral significance to what was already an amazing story.

This gothic horror masterpiece is made even more terrible in the ways that it comments on our humanity and our failings to be humane, in addition to the author's intended caution about scientific advancement outrunning ethical development in our species.

While Netflix has done an amazing service to the entertainment industry by getting this made, it has done a disservice to the movie-going experience by releasing this to home-streaming so quickly after its big-screen debut. This opulent film must be experienced in a darkened room with many others on a large screen and with a good sound system for its true magnificence to be experienced.

When I watched this understated film I was pleasantly surprised. I've had the hots for Matt Dallas since the Kyle XY days. It was oddly funny to hear them mention "Kyle" in the dialogue at a few spots - the hapless "villain" in this piece was named Kyle.

I never see myself in drag, but I have the utmost respect for those who enjoy it and are brave enough to be themselves; both those who go for the glamour and those who enjoy doing the comedic schtick.

This piece is simultaneously sweet and fierce. The rustic background just seems to accentuate the feelings between the main characters. The imagery with the locals and the dead fish is a continual reminder that it's not always as safe to be yourself in rural areas (like where I grew up) as it is in the urban areas (where I've generally lived lately).

The unrequited love here is palpable. The ambiguity about both Declan's and Chris's feelings is strangely riveting. This piece is (at best) bittersweet, but there is a hopeful, irrepressible air about it as well. I especially liked the scene in which Declan and Leo find some unexpected allies.

In some ways this film reminded me a bit of Beautiful Boxer (2003) what with the pretty boys throwing punches. There are parallels but for me at least, this one felt "closer to home" and in some ways a bit "truer."

Before watching I knew of Matt's 2 year marriage to another guy. Having seen a few of the couple's you-tube videos I'm convinced that Matt should try to stay in front of the camera. As beautiful as he is, he's got a compelling, goofy quality that I find fascinating. On a sad note: Whilst googling for some images for a social media post about the film , I learned that the couple split and wondered how the kid they adopted together was doing.

Based on the book by Christopher Isherwood, this film centers on George, a college professor, who was lucky enough to met his mate and then the young man died in an accident. Colin Firth plays the college professor. He's so much more able to show his acting chops here than he did as Darcy in Pride & Prejudice. Jon Kortajarena's plays a hustler that George seeks some comfort from. The beautiful young man ,Nicholas Hoult plays one of the professor's students who also has some romantic interest in our grieving main character.

I'm generally of the book was better than the movie crowd but it had been so long since I read the book (which I recalled being somewhat disappointed in) that I thoroughly enjoyed the film. But then again, I seem to recall that my interest in the book stemmed from an excerpt from the young man's POV.