Gimmie Shelter
Lord of the Flies
We finally got to review the gay surf movie Shelter and the wait was well worth it. We reported our excitement last year when we heard rumblings about a gay surf movie that would be unlike anything we've ever seen... and they were right. We predict Shelter will be the best gay movie of 2008 and we're so sure of it we have free copies of Shelter DVDs to give to our viewers. [click for Shelter]


 Paranoia Will Destroy You
#Shelter From master filmmaker, Gus Van Sant, comes another super cool teen angst movie. Gus centers this adventure in the protective and secretive world of skateboarding and skateboard parks. Two young boys skate together but only dream of being able to eventually conquer Paranoid Park. But Paranoid Park has secrets. Secrets that could change the boys lives forever. [click for Paranoid Park]


Tigers I Have Known
The Gay Surf Report: Tigers I Have Known What's it like being a 13 year old teen whose mind and body starts to have the same desires as other kids the same age except you want someone of the same sex? This indie film does a great job telling the story of awakening, desire, curiosity, and friendships. Produced by the great Gus Van Sant. [click for Tigers]



Mr and Mr Robin Hood
The Gay Surf Report: Robin Hood Young, rich and in love. These two had it all and more... until they were caught. Coming from upper class families they still seemed to want for more and decided to use identity theft on their Johns as a means to bankroll their high-roller lifestyle. Hey maybe this was just a modern day Robin Hood adventure with a twist. [click for Robin Hood]



Gerry Meandering
The Gay Surf Report: Viewer Blogs Here's an indie film about two friends named Gerry who hike for days with essentially no real reason or destination. For a flick with no real plot, it sure seems to provoke a ton of emotion. Watch co-writers Matt Damon and Casey Affleck as they buddy around lost in the desert saying nothing but speaking volumes. [click for Gerry]




An Ungiving Life
The Gay Surf Report: James Nulick A new book by first-time author James Nulick, explores the relationship between a young boy and an older man. While reading you're swept away at how close the two are and what circumstances brought them together. But in the end you're asking yourself what was real and what was imagination. An interesting read and highly recommended.
[click for Distemper]




 The Slaughter Rule
The Gay Surf Report: Speedo Boy There's always that fine line between a coach and his star players love for one another. The Slaughter Rule does a great job of dealing with this issue and stars a young Ryan Gosling (before stardom) in one of his greatest performances as the QB for a fledgling team of misfits led by a has-been superstar coach.
[click for Slaughter]


Swimming Upstream
The Gay Surf Report: Speedo Boy A new swim movie based on the life of Australian swim champ Anthony Fingleton who was destined to win gold at the Olympics. Anthony tries in vain to please his dysfunctional alcoholic father and learns to take his own path through life. Swimming Upstream is a nice solid piece of Australian filmmaking.
[click for Swimming Upstream]


  Elephant: An Ordinary High School Day. Except It's Not
Justin Timberlake One of GSRs favorite flicks. Elephant goes inside an American high school on one, single ordinary day that very rapidly turns tragic. From phenom director Gus Van Sant, winner of the Palme d'Or and Best Director prizes at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. [click for Elephant]



Hollywood's Most Hated Website
Perez Hilton is Queen
Because this b tch is funny and this is SoCal, land of celebrities, right?



The Liam Show
Liam Show
...And this one's pretty funny too especially the 'shoes' video,
very L.A. (also available on youtube)







Bully Video Game
Rockstar Games: Bully The sorta new video that's all about having fun kicking some butt on all those bullies in school from the creators of Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas: Rockstar Games, automatically equals controversy. Apparently there's a same-sex smooch scene between two young gay guys that has all the conservatives in a tizzy which means this game will be more popular than ever. [click for Bully]



FUEL Channel
FUEL ChannelWhat's the best way to get siked for the coming surf session? Watching the FUEL channel, an entire channel devoted to surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, BMX, MotoX, oh and yeah; wakeboarding. This channel was made for us, the shows rock harder than any other channel out there and the variety is exactly what we want. Demand it from your cable provider.
[click for FUEL Channel]


Metal Mulisha.com
The Gay Surf Report: Metal MulishaHooray for Hollywood, well actually L.A. County. This dusty desert suburb of
Lost Angeles is turning out some hot MotoX junkies, and along with it this website full of fun, frivolity and hi-jinx. GSR's favorite is the F'D UP VIDEOS. Don't be gay, some of the vids are gruesome but in a humorous kind of way.
[click for Metal Mulisha]



Kottonmouth Kings
Rockstar Games: Bully The King of all Kings when it comes to surf rap is the Kottonmouth Kings, their music is a mix of soCal rap mixed with white hip-hop tracks and not surprisingly their shite is funny as hell. This is the perfect music before a surf session or afterwards when you're hanging with your clique. Check them out...
[click for Kottonmouth Kings]



King Spade
King SpadeHey punks, here's more surf hip-hop beats coming straight off da streets of the OC. King Spade flips you some sick beats with lyrics better suited to the surf crowd then the ghetto, which makes it that much more fun. Check it out. [click for King Spade]




Paranoid Park
Paranoid Park, Gus Van Sant's new skate flick is appropriately structured like a ride on a skateboard: It swoops back and forth in time, hovers in midair, twists back on itself over and over again, then rolls into nothingness.

Based on a Blake Nelson novel, the film focuses on a teenage skateboarder who has no particular direction in life. Alex (Gabe Nevins) is called to his high school's office to meet with a cop about a homicide, a little foreshadowing shows a poster on the door he walks through advertising a forthcoming career fair at the school. It's obvious Alex won't be attending.

The cop grills Alex about a particular night when he and his friend Jared (Jake Miller) talked about going to Paranoid Park to skate. They both checked out the place earlier that week, but Alex said he wasn't ready for Paranoid Park. In an ominous tone, Jared says "No one's ever really ready for Paranoid Park."

On the night in question, Jared heads off to Oregon State University in search of a girl he knows leaving Alex to hit Paranoid Park on his own. He meets up with some other dudes, and something happens; a railroad security guard has been killed - cut in half by a passing train, but the autopsy reveals he was hit on the head first and a skateboard with DNA evidence on it has been fished out of the river.

The detective assigned to the case tries to low-key the conversation with Alex. He references his own youth, says he knows how it is, being young. For his part, Alex remains aloof, recalling stopping at Subway that night and ordering a 6-inch sandwich. He recites the ingredients one by one.

Alex writes everything that happens to him down. At the beginning of the film he says that the events won't be in order, but in the end, it will all make sense. He's writing it down because his friend Macy (Lauren McKinney) told him it was a good way of dealing with things that bother him. When she looks at Alex across a cafe table, she senses that something's happened. "Nothing's happened,", he says at first. A few seconds later, he changes his mind. Write it down, she tells him. After he's written it down, he can send it to someone, or give it to her, or burn it. It doesn't matter really.

Besides cute skater boys walking and acting cute, Paranoid Park is a film about guilt, paranoia, and about how something happens that may not have been planned, but it happened anyway and now you have to live with it. But guilt never rests easy in the heart or mind. Alex sleepwalks through his day, through the locker-lined corridors of his school, through the mall and the streets of Portland, his face is expressionless. His voice is similarly flat as he narrates what he's committing to his notebook. But, as Macy knew, Alex experienced something.

As the film plays out, the sequence of events becomes clear, and the audience increasingly feels every knot in Alex's stomach. As Grainy scenes shot in handheld Super 8 snake in and out of other footage in 35mm the tragedy becomes the story itself and pulls the audience along for a ride. In typical Van Sant fashion, the lighting cascades from overexposed whiteout to shadowy darkness. Alex struts at a normal pace down the long school corridor on his way to be interrogated, the film decelerates to slow motion. At Paranoid Park, skaters launch themselves into the air and the film speed slow-mos again: They hover mid air for a second and we think, will they land or slam into the concrete? (Will Alex land or will he crash and burn?)

In the hands of other directors, all of this imagery would be mere gimmickry. But now with Van Sant. The stylization mirrors what's going on in Alex's mind and also provides necessary context and perspective for the audience. Van Sant's vision is beautifully realized by the brilliantly freewheeling cinematography of Christopher Doyle and a fine cast of mostly unknown actors, many of whom were recruited through a MySpace page. The result is that most of the kids, and especially Nevins, seem worlds more real than kids in most commercial films. Even Taylor Momsen, who stars in "Gossip Girl," avoids making us think she's just another Hollywood star.

Paranoid Park won't be a big film, but it is well made and provocative and a ride to remember.

www.paranoidpark.com



Tigers I Have Known

Logan, soft spoken, lonely, and 13 years old, is a boy with a crush. Unlike his equally lonely best friend Joey, who obsesses over the sexual exploits of the slightly older, post pubescent boys, Logan is fixated on the boys themselves, particularly Rodeo Walker. Rodeo is the only one of the group of cool kids who shows any interest and curiosity toward Logan, meaning he doesn't go out of his way to make Logan's life miserable like the other hipsters. As Logan and Rodeo hangout more, they strike up a mismatched friendship, the kind that only works on walks deep into the forest behind their neighborhood, when no one else is around, Logan's infatuation with Rodeo inspires him to create a new phone persona named Leah. Leah and Rodeo grow close through whispered late-night pseudo sex calls, and when Leah agrees to meet Rodeo face to face, it is Logan who must finally prove that he can ask for what he so achingly wants from Rodeo.

Wild Tigers I Have Known is an ethereal exploration of adolescent longing. Cam Archer's storytelling is unconventional, fresh and overflowing with the kind of heart that is touching and familiar to anyone who remembers middle school as a time of painful desire, confusion, and questioning. The well-crafted story, beautifully photographed, draws us back into this moody world of teenage isolation and eventual hope a world that, perhaps mistakenly, we think we moved past long ago.

Cast

Malcom Stumpf as Logan

Patrick White as Rodeo

Max Paradise as Joey

Fairuza Balk as Logan's mom

Kim Dickens as the Counselor

Tom Gilroy as the Principal

www.imdb.com



Mr and Mr Robin Hood

They were young, rich and in love.

Turns out the young jet-setters financed their high life on credit cards stolen from unsuspecting johns in their posh beach community in soCal's exclusive La Jolla, California.

Jake Kitsnap, 18, and Edward Andersson, 19, were arrested in their high end beachfront condominium and charged with identity theft, forgery, unlawful use of a computer and many other counts of related offenses. They started their scheme with an escort posting on craigslist. "We had every rich older guy in San Diego wanting us to be with them, we're talking guys with estates in La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe, driving $500,000 Porsche Carrera GT's and Aston Martin's, these guys loved us and would do anything we asked of them" says Jake. And from both their good looks, that's not really that hard to believe.

Jake and Edward met on myspace and hit it off from the very beginning. "Sometimes you find your soul mate and you just kick it, that was us. I don't even remember ever disagreeing about anything. We both went to Bishop's (a private Catholic high school in La Jolla) and surfed. That was the glue that kept us together, we were inseparable." Their fraud scheme, estimated at $875,000 this year alone, paid for trips to Fiji, the South of France and Indonesia and other luxury perks, including Jake's visit at a Newport Beach salon for $1,000 worth of hair and body pampering. "Hey when the money is rolling in and it's not yours and it didn't take much to get, why not?" exclaims young Jake.

"They were two young guys that were given many gifts in life like a good upper class lifestyle and solid family foundation, I guess they wanted more." said Detective Tim Swan, who spoke of the couple's supportive families and private schooling. "And the very best thing they could think of was victimize other people."

San Diego police started investigating last year after one of the couple's neighbors reported that he thought his identity had been stolen. A day later, the man heard from a local UPS store about a waiting package, although he had not ordered anything. Inside the package was 10 orders of Nixon watches and 12 pairs of Van's shoes.

Police kept an eye on the UPS store on Fay Avenue and arrested Jake and Edward when they walked in to pick up the package, detectives said.

A police search of the couple's $8,000-a-month condo turned up a cache of tech toys: four Dell laptop computers, two printers, a scanner and an industrial machine that makes ID cards. Police also found $97,500 in cash, dozens of credit cards and fake drivers' licenses, and keys to unlock many different homes and mailboxes with addresses in La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe. Police are still not yet sure how they got the keys.

The search also turned up a book titled, "The Art of Cheating: A Nasty Little Book for Tricky Little Schemers and Their Hapless Victims," as well as a newspaper article on "How to Spot Fake IDs." Witnesses have come forward to identify the couple as frequent customers to LEI Lounge in North Park and the Stingeree nightclub in the Gaslamp District of San Diego, as well as guests of the Ivy Hotel also in the Gaslamp. "They were a fun couple and were very generous and entertaining, I loved serving them" says one witness.

San Diego police believe the scheme dates back at least two years and involves victims beyond the men they met for escort services. A slideshow found on one of their computers shows the couple's high-flying travels: kissing on their surfboards while surfing in Uluwatu, sporting Prada suits at the Ritz oceanfront resort in Laguna Beach; and dining at Jake's restaurant Del Mar.

Records show Andersson recently quit his job as a marketing coordinator for an eye care website that had paid for at least his initial stay at another La Jolla condo, Lt. Onjka said. Kitsnap is a student at the University of California, San Diego.

Swan fears that police are not finished finding victims. So far, they know of five victims, one of whom was taken for $80,000. "Some of these men are high profile business professionals and/or married, so there's not a lot of reason for them to come forward and testify against these two."

Kitsnap's father arrived from Winston-Salem, N.C., to post his $55,000 bond Sunday. Andersson, who hails from Washington state, posted bond Monday, police said.


Gerry Meandering
Shelter
Plot outline: Friendship between two guys is tested to the limits when they hike in the desert, get lost, and don't bring any water or food with them.

Plot dialogue: Gerry: What are you doing on that rock? Gerry: Looking for you. Gerry: Why didn't you just go to the spot? Gerry: I did. You weren't there. Gerry: I've been there. I was just sitting there. Gerry: Dude, that's not the spot. The spot is like a half of a mile that way. I was at the spot. I was waiting for you forever. I was yelling your name. And I just came walking up here, and I saw this rock. I crow's-nested up here to scout-about the ravine 'cause I thought maybe you Gerried the rendezvous. Sure enough, that's not the spot. Gerry: All right, my fault.

And so goes the story of two friends, both named Gerry, who follow a wilderness trail in search of what they call "the thing". After hiking a bit and not saying much, they decide to turn back towards their car, but can't agree which way is back to the car. The following day after walking towards the direction they think leads back to the car Gerry 1 (Casey Affleck who has always been much hotter than his brother Ben) gets stuck some how on top of a giant rock, and must be convinced to jump down. Without much dialogue you still get the sense that both figure out a solution to a problem and move on. Metaphor? We think so. After more hours of walking, they attempt to follow what they believe to be animal tracks that could lead them to water. They improvise a map in the dust which is based on nothing but the position of the sun at different times of their journey. No animals, no water. They spend another two nights in the desert, still without food or water, their health deteriorates. On the fourth day, they both stumble and collapse. Gerry (Matt Damon) invokes his survival instincts and moves on. Do either of them survive? Was it just a dream? You'll need to watch the movie to answer your own questions and we guarantee you'll get more from this movie then just answers to those questions.

You might be thinking -- sounds pretty awful, but somehow it's not. A film like this could be tagged as just a flamboyant masturbatory exercise for the director and actors, but you can't really say that about Gerry, because Damon and Affleck don't have a chance to do much of anything except walk and sweat. The needless dialogue that usually spews in these types of movies isn't to be found here. Instead of bantering philosophically about a whole lot of nothing, the dialogue is restricted to things such as Damon relaying an incident about a particularly inept contestant on Wheel of Fortune. But there's more than meets the eye, or ear for that matter.

Like the characters in this movie, the actors were actually working without a compass, with none of their usual charismatic tricks to rely on. Even their facial scruff exists only to measure time, like the vivid yellow star on Affleck's jumper which becomes increasingly dulled a reference to the treatment that director Gus Van Sant is doling out to his own 'stars'. Hollywood actors live for close-ups, but in Gerry the camera's attention becomes punitive, closing in on their roasted faces like a magnifying glass frying ants on a sidewalk. In the blurred tracking shots, the two Gerrys become indistinguishable from one another, adding to the impression that they are separate facets of the same person.

In the absence of character story, the eye reads narrative and meaning into the landscape, photographed beautifully by Harris Savides. Using time-lapse images of speeding clouds rolling in like smoke the film achieves disorientation along with the absence of dialogue. One of Van Sant's most effective methods is to allow the scenery to loom on screen long enough for its magnificence to be slightly depleted a mottled mountainside, bunched into folds and creases in time-lapse splendor.

The dawn carries sinister connotations, bringing with it promise of obliteration as well as salvation. A sequence of the two men plodding across salty arid plains in the half-light provides the most crucial and uncomfortable moment, and not only because Arvo Pärt's minimalist music score lends an erie tone. This salty flats sequence, gradually lit by a slowly rising filtered sun, represents one of the few instances in cinema when you can find yourself recoiling from illumination, praying for the darkness to continue.

What makes this film work, unlike so many others like it, is that it doesn't deal hopelessly in abstracts. The stakes of this film are life and death, and that is a very basic concept. Because we so completely understand the consequences the characters face, Gerry always feels like it's going somewhere. This also allows Van Sant to be able to get away with a minimum of character development.

Shot in Death Valley, the Salt Flats of Utah and Argentina, the locations are something to behold. Van Sant uses the scenery to compose some beautiful shots, which has always been a strength of his. Who's had a more hit and miss career than Van Sant? Even before he became a hotshot unknown director (Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester), his indie career was marked with some amazing high points (My Own Private Idaho, Drugstore Cowboy) and some incredible lows (Even Cowgirls Get the Blues). What will the future hold for Gus Van Sant?

IMDb - Films


Gimmie Shelter
Although San Pedro is not what one would consider a pretty part of Los Angeles, California, the movie Shelter opens with cinematic views of this forgotten land of lost dreams and throw-away families. The camera follows as Zach zips along on his skateboard zooming the battered sidewalks of his home town neighborhood, and actually doing a very convincing job of a true skateboarder. Unlike some gay films, the actual surfing and skateboarding turns out to be after-thought, Shelter plays it true to form. We like.

With a dynamite soundtrack, excellent cinematography and outstanding performance from a well chosen cast of up-and-coming actors, Shelter sets itself apart from other gay films that tend to use surfing and surf culture as a backdrop to a usually weak storyline. Shelter is different because it actually has a message, in fact, quite a few messages, and it really captures the essence of what it means to grow up in the Southern California beach culture knowing you might be different than everyone else, everyone you grew up with and love. And I hate to admit it, but I believe this film will actually be more popular with the straight MTV/Indie crowd than gay audiences because it's not a surfer-beefcake movie and there's probably not enough flesh shown for gays to get excited about it. We actually like that the director made that decision because it empowers this movie as something relevant, the messages transcend gay audiences and it makes the film a contender for best breakthrough gay film for 2008.

Passion/Dreams

As Zach skates through his vacant wasteland, he still seems to keep a smile on his face as he stops to photograph images he finds interesting and beautiful, even in his desolete corner of industrial LA. Being an aspiring artist, he stops to tag his graffiti-art, leaving his mark, letting everyone know he's a resident here, that he means something and won't be overlooked. Watching Zach's flowing skateboard style, you can't help but become completely affected by his easy going manner. Zach's character exudes sexuality without showing much flesh. Awesome, nice touch and the reason we all fall in love with Zach.

Self Sacrifice

Zach has become the man of the family by default. There's not much background but it seems his mother has died and his father is a non-entity spending his days passed out on pain killers on his lazy-boy chair. He also lives with his older sister, a hard working, hard partying mom that really doesn't have time for her five-year old son Cody. Zach is not only the uncle but also the surrogate father for Cody. Zach's entire world revolves around making sure Cody has a good home, even if it means Zach needs to give up a full scholarship to the prestigious California Art Institute in Pasadena (Cal Arts). Giving up such an opportunity would make most 20-somethings bitter but not Zach, he makes the best of it continuing his art and making as best a life as he can for his 'family'. I don't even know anyone that would sacrifice so much for something they're not really responsible for and maybe that's why you fall even more in love with Zach, he's beautiful, on the inside as well as the outside. Oh and he surfs...

True Friendship

As Zach drives with young Cody through the gritty parts of San Pedro, on the horizon you glimpse the tall palm trees LA is so popular for. Just a bridge ride away is Palos Verdes, the epitome of SoCal beach life, big homes and even bigger egos. How Zach knows anyone in snotty Palos Verdes is never established but his best friend, Gabe, lives in a beautiful beachfront mansion and goes to the University of Santa Barabara. Gabe has a full ride to UCSB (SB for short) and parties hard the entire way knowing once he graduates his dad will help him get a high paying job at one of the better companies in LA. Gabe is the exact opposite of Zach yet they find common interests among each other. How this develops as the film progresses is one of the best messages the film delivers; how boyhood friends from completely different backgrounds can still find a deep love and respect for each other no matter what type of adversity gets thrown their way.

Relationship

Zach has a girlfriend, Tori (sigh), but they've been together since they were kids and things are getting old. They've agreed to take a break but still see each other because they're still close friends but hanging out seems to strain the relationship even more. Life seems to be sorta falling apart for Zach but at least he has Cody to distract him from all the world's pressures.

Brotherhood/Bonding

Zach needs time away and paddles out to surf. Being out in the ocean calms everything down and puts a perspective on everything that's complicated. When Zach picks up his board at Gabes house, Gabe's older brother Shawn appears. Shawn writes screen plays up in LA but apparently hasn't had success lately and to top it off, his relationship has fallen apart and now he's back home in Palos Verdes to get in touch with his beach culture roots. Shawn and Zach hit it off talking about old times growing up as kids surfing together and paddle out to enjoy the sport that always takes them back to where they're from. This is where the writers got it right, once a surfer, always a surfer and you can always go back and surf your break (beach) again and all your old bros welcome you like you've never left. It's like coming back from a long journey knowing that your boys will always keep your board for you in anticipation of the day you'll return to surf with them once again.

Realization

As Zach and Shawn spend more time together building their friendship, Zach seems to become more distant to everybody else and at the same time becomes more fascinated with Shawn. Shawn seems to get inspiration from hanging out with Zach (shouldn't all friendships/relationships trigger success from within?) and eventually both Zach and Shawn can't get each other out of their heads and use surfing as their excuse to hang out and and learn about each other more.

GSR isn't exactly sure of the sexuality of any of the actors in Shelter but they play really convincing gay characters, very convincing, and the excellent acting is another reason that makes this movie so great.

Conflict

When Jean decides that Shawn isn't really a good person for young Cody or even for Zach to hangout with, emotional strife begins to tear apart the family Zach has inherited. Along with rejection, denial and trying to ignore Shawn, mentally and physically, Zach tries to understand his feelings while learning how to deal with his new found sexuality and how that fits in with his current lifestyle.

Acceptance

Therein lies the storyline of what Shelter is all about: Living within a safe 'shelter' and learning how to break free to grow and accept who we are and who we want to become in this life. What sets Shelter apart from other gay movies dealing with sexual awareness is the excellent writing, acting, and music. This movie will become a classic and it will crossover to mainstream audiences as well as gay.

We here at GSR got the opportunity to review this movie courtesy of the promotional company associated with Shelter and we thank them. We feel so strongly about this movie that we've been given copies of the brand new Shelter DVD and will award them to the first five viewers that email us with a short blog why they think they should win a free copy of the Shelter DVD.
Shoot us an email at: thatkidchris@gaysurfreport.com.

If you do one good thing this summer, watch this movie...STAT!

 

Click for more Shelter Movie info


An Ungiving Life
James Nulick - Distemper
Drew Estrada is a young teacher employed by a private academy for boys in Central Phoenix. When he suddenly finds himself the legal guardian of a popular student, his life spirals into a vortex of lust, desire and depravity.

Tre and Drew spend their nights discussing Hitler and Eva Braun, Marilyn Manson, Andy Warhol, Kafka, the mysterious art of beekeeping, drum machines, the possibility of dosing the municipal water supply with LSD, and the lull of the bottle for lost and loveless truck drivers.

Does Tre Warner really exist, or is Drew suffering from schizophrenia?

An excerpt from the book: "I like boys. They must be between ten and twelve to be of any interest to me. I don't even know why I'm like this, but it's always been this way. Even as a young man I felt attraction to younger people. I don't understand it, but I recognize the symptoms and the denials, the rationalizations peds use to justify their actions."

A testosterone-fueled response to Nabokov's Lolita, Distemper is haunting and hallucinatory, a disturbing rush toward the acceptance of death. It is ultimately a contemplation of the illusory nature of love, and what it means to give yourself over to something completely. Distemper is an unsettling ghost story that will leave you chilled long after you have turned the final page.

Amazon.com


The Slaughter Rule
The Slaughter Rule
This independent, Sundance award film, takes place back in high school, in rural Montana. A band of misfits on a football team without a coach decides to recruit an odd, lonely ex coach, who had a shaky reputation in town, who reluctantly agrees to coach these teenage boys and shape them into the men they are about to become. Although coach had a great winning reputation, word around campus was that he was renowned for doing "cup checks" on his players. In the film the contact between coach and players is fleeting -- but haunting.

As the football season moves on, players and their families both feel ashamed of their readiness to believe the worst about this man, a man who was going out of his way to help kids out, and who suffered at their callous & callow reactions. The character of coach Gid, is of a man at odds over his ability to connect with the players, but also his desire to be more intimate with them simultanously. And Roy (Ryan Gosling) is a child braver than most kids his age, one willing to allow Gid to get close enough to him to matter. To trust. To understand, possibly to love -- and as is often the result of love-- to harm.

Truly an amazing film touching on subject matter that probably goes on at a lot more playing fields then anyone realizes. What is the boundry between the love of a coach and the player he finally gets through to perform at his ultimate athletic peak, and how far does that love go before both sides realize they have to let go of that love because of the harm it does to each other.

www.imdb.com


Eating Out 2 - Sloppy Seconds
The Gay Surf Report: Eating Out 2: First Season American Idol Finalist Jim Verraros is reprising his starring role of Kyle in the upcoming sequel Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds. Verraros, who delighted audiences as the endearingly awkward underdog, returns in the comedy that has been making a splash at film festivals across the country.

Jim Verraros as 'Kyle' in Eating Out

In 2005, Verraros released his highly-anticipated album Rollercoaster, which received rave reviews by critics and fans alike. The indie debut of the album received an Out Music Award for Outstanding Male – Debut before it was picked up for limited distribution by Koch Records.

Verraros' first single, “You Turn It On” steadily climbed the charts to #21 on the Billboard Hot Club Play/Dance Chart. Verraros' second single, "You're Getting Crazy," received promising reviews: "Follow-up 'You're Getting Crazy' treads in similar territory [as 'You Turn It On'], stirring the beats into a simmering frenzy... with a video showcasing Verraros' pretty-boy looks and slick moves, 'Crazy' could hit its mark." (Chuck Taylor, Billboard Magazine).

Verraros wrote and recorded the album in Los Angeles with singer/songwriter Gabe Lopez, who also produced the material. Fellow AI Finalist Angela Peel co-wrote four of the album's songs. The trio appear together on an upcoming compilation tentatively titled Idols & Icons that features two new songs by Verraros. The compilation, which also features Lopez, Peel, and other renowned artists, is slated for a late 2006 release, while Verraros’ follow-up to Rollercoaster is due in early 2007.

Verraros was undoubtedly one of the most talented and talked about contestants to ever appear on the hit Fox TV show American Idol. He won the hearts all across America as a featured performer on the 2002 American Idols Live Tour and as Kyle in Eating Out. Out Magazine's, Gary M. Kramer says, "Maybe it's damning with faint praise, but the adorable Jim Verraros (of American Idol fame) gives the film's best performance as a fourth side to this quirky love triangle." (Out Magazine, March 2005.)

Verraros is known for releasing music that features well-crafted, pop hooks similar to the recent work of Justin Timberlake. Verraros' voice would have you mistake him at times for a young George Michael. For more information, visit JimVerraros.Com

www.imdb.com


FUEL Channel
Rockstar: Bully
FUEL TV is the only 24/7 action sports cable and satellite network in the U.S.

FUEL TV's programming covers the lifestyle and culture of skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, BMX, freestyle motocross, and wakeboarding.

Through its original and commissioned series and specials, short-form content, films, and prestigious event coverage, the channel features action sports athletes - in motion and in exclusive interviews - emerging musicians, celebrities, and breaking news.

Signature original shows include The Daily Habit, The Weekly Update with Boost Mobile, and Firsthand. A unit of Fox Cable Networks, FUEL TV was launched July 1, 2003 and is seen in 22 million U.S. homes.

FUEL TV is viewed in 54 countries including the UK (FX UK); Australia (FUEL TV Aus), and Latin America and Brazil (FX Latin America). To subscribe to FUEL TV call 877-4-FUEL-TV. For program times and other information, visit www.fuel.tv.


Rockstar Games: Bully
Rockstar: Bully
One superstition I remember my mom telling me about was that you would be plagued by seven years of bad luck if you broke a mirror at home. If that holds true, Rockstar must have lost count of the amount of mirrors they must have broken as these guys are just ploughed by bad luck ever since they tasted success with the GTA series.

After the hot coffee scandal died down, they faced flack for Bully, their free roaming high school sim that put you in the shoes of a young boy named Jimmy Hopkins whose sole aim was to survive a year in Bullworth Academy, one of America’s worst boarding schools. Just when they thought their game wouldn't be released, lady luck smiled upon them and the game did get released in America after judge Ronald Friedman ruled in favor of this game.

And just when they thought they could take it easy, they're screwed again. Why? Maybe it's because they involved 'boy-on-boy' action in a Teen rated game? Ok, so it's not that graphic. But in the game, when Jimmy Hopkins approaches a tall, blond boy with some flowers, the boy says, "I'm hot. You're hot. Let's make out." This move has made a lot of gay communities fans of the developer, but it's sent a lot of parents into a frantic tizzy. Here's what one disgruntled parent had to say on site Gamespot.com, "I can't have my kids playing this game. This is morally reprehensible. GTA (Grand Theft Auto) is a real man's game, Bully is a disgrace."

Will the game be sued by half of America? Will this game be taken off stands? Will it get an 'M' rating now? Stay tuned...

More information about this and other games from Rockstar can be found by clicking Rockstar Games



F'D UP VIDEOS
The Gay Surf Report: Metal MulishaThis here story is about one of my favorite websites to watch when you got a bunch of your close gay friends around and want to laugh about videos showing dumb ass people doing stupid ass things.

I got turned on to the site by my motoX friends up in LA county, where the only thing the have to do there is play in the dirt and I ain't hate'n 'cause it's all fun and games and they're all cool with my gay scene and all but it is a different lifestyle from surfing but at least it has some energy to it and the guys are uber masculine and I doubt there's one gay guy out there that does motoX but hey, I could be totally wrong and it's still fun chillin' with these guys so don't be gay and do yourself a favor and watch these video clips!

So back to the website, It's called Metal Mulisha.com and it started out small exactly like the GSR website and grew into a $5 million dollar a year business, so you have to admire that. I like it 'cause it's got good graphics and pretty comprehensive information about the sport, the players and events. Oh and yeah, the pictures sure are pretty...

So when the site first pops up on your screen you press enter to enter the site and then you can roam around like I do and just check things out, read some stories, check some pics and then when you're ready click on the button on the very bottom right-hand side titled 'F'D Up Videos'.

It'll default to the first vid, Helicopter Kills, which is lame and sucks ass.

Use the pull down menu and select the next video 'Formula1 Frantic'. This is a foreign vid so you know the laws and regulations we have here in the U.S. probably don't apply. Watch as a race car runs out of gas and two complete dumb asses run across the raceway to help the stalled race car. One guy doesn't make it, suffice to say he gets clipped by another racecar doing probably 100+ mph, or kph considering it's foreign, and you can say good by to his body as it flies and stretches to unbelievable lengths before it rests on the side of the speedway in a glop like mess. Good times.

Next vid is Dumb Cop. How this guys functions in society I can't imagine but he literally shots himself while teaching a class on proper gun safety. How classic is that?

Next up: Dumb Chick. One of my favorites, I like making the vroom vroom noise of the motorcycle with narration as this vid rolls along just knowing she's saying to herself the entire time 'What the F am I doing? I'm out of control, I'm an idiot'... plop. And then she even has the gumption to pose for the camera post face-plant. AttaGirl.

Death Jump. Black & White oldie motox jump from back in da day. Guy does an ok jump but the damn carnival roadie didn't hang the net right and it sorta catches him but then he slips down and bounces a couple times as he belly flops back down to earth. If you play it a couple of times I think you can hear his neck snap... gruesome.

And now: Couch Racing. My personal favorite video from the website and I can't really explain why but maybe it has to do with the spectators and victims all thinking they're out for a sunny day of fraternity hi-jinx. Surprise, surprise, what was supposed to have been one great race turns into a spine snapping head-over-heels spectacle with bodies flying 20 feet and more. Awesome, simply awesome [applause].

Coming Up Short On A 50. zzzzzzzzzzzzz, huh what? Skip this rubbish.

Cars Don't Dance. Another personal favorite. Stunt drivers are a rare breed and most of the time they laugh in the face of death, not this time. The best part is when the stunt driver gets out of the car and acts like this is the best show ever, and then bam, the car swallows him whole AND THEN the pit crew picks the car off of him with super human strength. Good for a couple of rewinds, that's for damn sure.

The last two are crap and stupid and the person that submitted them should be tied up to some railroad tracks [relax, just kidding].

So there you have it, one of my favorite websites with some of my personal favorite videos. Ain't life grande?



Elephant
Elephant by Gus Van Sant
In the DVD ELEPHANT directed by Gus Van Sant, Van Sant explores what it is to be young and searching for a place in the world, an identity that feels true. He takes these inquiries into new terrain, working with real high school students to create a portrait of teenagers in today's volatile f cked up world. Elephant starts on any ordinary day, filled with class work, sports, gossip and socializing. The film observes the comings and goings of each of its distinct characters from a gentle remove, allowing us to see them as they really are. For each of the students the film introduces, high school is a different experience: hyper, social, traumatic, lonely, suck. Beautiful and magical - yet very disturbing - Elephant shows high school life as a complex world where the vitality and incandescent beauty of young lives can shift from light to darkness with super fast speed.

It's a beautiful fall day in bucolic Portland, Oregon, and golden leaves skitter ahead of the wind across green lawns. Walking through the park on his way to class, Eli persuades a punk-rock couple to pose for some digital pics. Nate finishes football practice and goes to meet his girlie Carrie for lunch. John leaves his pops's Mercedes keys in the school office for his bro to pick up. In the cafeteria, Brittany, Jordan and Nicole gossip and complain about their moms' snooping. Michelle spaz's out to the library, while Eli snaps some photos of John in the hallway, does he have a crush? Does either of them care? John walks out onto the lawn, crossing paths with Alex and Eric. And best of all the best erotic shower scene between the two gunmen with no actual porn or sex shown but still the hottest scene in the movie.

An ordinary high school day. Except that it's not.


























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