QFest 2012 was a blur due to work stress. I was in the middle of a Project From Hell that fell apart right after the festival ended. I did manage to pull all my tweet reviews down thanks to a new “download all your tweets ever” feature on the Twitter site. Yay, data!
The Numbers
| Rating | Films |
| Excellent (5) | 2 |
| Very Good (4) | 5 |
| Good (3) | 11 |
| Fair (2) | 2 |
| Poor (1) | 4 |
| Films Seen: | 24 |
| Average Rating: | 3.0 |
The Reviews
EXCELLENT (5/5)
Nate & Margaret – Quirky, tightly written, well-acting, shows not tells. Odd couple plus coming of age tale is a must see.
North Sea Texas – Poignant Belgian love coming-of-age painted with a lush palette of coastline beauty and saturated 50s Americana.
VERY GOOD (4/5)
I Do – Well done issue film never feels preachy, gets points as a love letter to The Big Apple. Boy bander does good as adult!
Let My People Go – Screwball comedy works despite unexpected harsh moments and wrong turns because of its core family values.
Men to Kiss – German romcom with usual wacky characters has a strong first half but can’t keep up 5-worthy steam to the end.
Naked As We Come – All-around high marks for wknd family coming-to-terms film, more amazing for micro budget, < year dev cycle.
Vito – Doc about Celluloid Closet author is powerful but overproduced at times. Should be required viewing at gay film festivals.
GOOD (3/5)
Bear City 2 – Sequel improves on original but still lacks something beyond its parts. Brent/Fred subplot should have been main.
Beauty – Deliberate (euro) pacing, nuanced plot, no happy ending or tidy wrap-up. Do pay attention since a key plot point is subtle.
Cloudburst – Fun film. Dukakis is always watchable. Plot contrivances lost it a 4. Odd couple oddly like toons Muriel & Eustice.
Elliot Loves – Great first effort would be a 4 with some snipping; hangs together well despite being shot on weekends for a year.
I Want Your Love – Other than explicit sex & 1 actor, not sure why this & short share name. Both “halves” had *ahem* ups & downs.
Keep The Lights On – Otherwise interesting life & death of an NYC relationship loses me a little with heavy on-screen drug use.
Mixed Kabob – Competent film navigates gay/euro/Islamic plot tensions without major missteps but also lacks serious passion.
A Perfect Ending – Late-bloomer tale is strongest in artistic, stylistic visuals, weakest when more it’s Lifetime than L Word.
The Men Next Door – Screwball romcom starts out sting but has trouble switching gears for the second half. Strong writing, acting.
Turtle Hill, Brooklyn – Sometimes touching, lovely to watch. Falters when straying into political waters. Too many characters.
Woman’s Lake – This year’s German outdoors film looks great, is acted well but loses it’s way towards the end. OMG, that house!
FAIR (2/5)
Au Pair Kansas – Traci Lords in a fish-out-of-water tale starts quirky but turns aimless, inconsistent as plot progresses.
Tennessee Queer – Otherwise OK film gets trapped in its plot twists and bogs down the ending with too much speechiness.
POOR (1/5)
Love or Whatever – Harmless, not that raunchy sex-com with OK technicals didn’t make me laugh. Relentless product placement.
Our Paradise – French (in the bad way) Rope-meets-Trick is over-scored, pretentious, lacking in suspense. Plenty of penis though.
Saltwater – Destined for a 1 from cheesy opening voiceover. How’d I fail to dodge it despite usual suspects, other red flags?
Somefarwhere – Film quagmire where great idea gets murdered by bad writing, acting. Unlike war, some goers knew when to get out.