- My Schedule
- My Reviews
- My Twitter Feed: @thecorefiles
- The Festival on Twitter: @qfest #qfest
- QFest 2013 Official Site
- My Ratings System
Schedule
Sunday, 21 July
| Capital Games | 12:00 | RE2 |
| Born This Way | 14:15 | Bourse |
| The Way of Kevin | 16:30 | RE2 |
| Hot Guys with Guns | 19:15 | RE1 |
Monday, 22 July
| In The Name Of | 18:00 | RE2 |
| Violence of the Mind | 20:15 | RE2 |
Fell Through The Cracks
- Breaking Through – Unresolvable scheduling conflict due to increase in single-showing films this year.
Reviews
| Rating | Films |
| Excellent (5) | 3 |
| Very Good (4) | 9 |
| Good (3) | 11 |
| Fair (2) | 3 |
| Poor (1) | 6 |
| Films Seen: | 32 |
| Average Rating: | 3.0 |
Excellent (5/5)
The DL Chronicles Returns – Maybe less DL than before, but not less funny, sexy, touching. Shamelessly pulls all the right strings.
Gore Vidal: The U.S. of Amnesia – Solid documentary about a great American writer, wit, Free Thinker. Definite Kindle fodder.
Solo – Sexy thriller snatches 5 from pacing problem 4 in last scene by handling its twist in a way that Truth could learn from.
Very Good (4/5)
Boy Meets Boy (Avg: 4.1) Spain ruled the shorts this year and takes best short with Scaffolding and a close second, Caip. en Ipanema. Edit: Barry’s Bespoke Bakery is another close second.
C.O.G. – Sedaris-inspired feature has some expected NPR humor, quirky characters, introspection but also much darker moments.
Five Dances – Artfully done; perhaps better as 3 acts; dance isn’t my thing, so those parts dragged a little.
Four – More-than-its-parts play adaptation thrives off characters’ flaws & snapshots their collisions on a July 4th evening.
The Happy Sad – Shines with moments quirky & honest; more of those and less open relationship twists would be an easy 5.
The Invisible Men – Follows gay Palestinian men illegally in Tel Aviv for fear of murder at home; competently told and moving.
Lose Your Head – Flawed thriller inexplicably works; kept me interested and left me smiling. No idea why!
Out in the Dark – Well-shot story of border-crossed lovers doesn’t go quite as far as The Bubble and benefits from the restraint.
Where The Girls Are (Avg: 4.0) – Lesbian shorts aren’t a shutout this year but still represent well. Best Short: F to 7th: Tweener
Good (3/5)
Before You Know It – Traditional doc follows 3 older gays, accidentally covers NY gay marriage passing, ends up being best part.
Beyond The Walls – Too-French last 3rd lost my interest after being invested in developing, doomed romance and its tragic turn.
Cruising for Sex (Avg: 3.2) – Controversial “Chaser” takes top spot due to tight writing, strong performance, and no agenda either way.
Free Fall – German tragic romance is well produced with attractive leads but follows too-predictable trajectory and lands poorly.
G.B.F. – Not quite G-Clueless: Uneven but generally funny, it’s kinder-gentler heart skips a few beats with some flat characters.
The Go Doc Project – True indie; strongest when sticking to premise; falters as things progress; over scored; great 1st effort.
In Bloom – Strong in quirky moments; better than average scoring; watchable, but story meanders to an unsatisfying conclusion.
Interior Leather Bar – Franco’s meta film about Cruising is interesting but unsatisfying–lacks figurative or literal money shot. EDIT: There is a clue late in the film about just how meta it really is when Val reads what’s he’s doing on the reality cam right from the script. This all reminds me of an X-rated version of Adult Swim’s The Greatest Event in Television History where they remake the opening from Simon and Simon.
Israel Undressed – Competent doc unapologetically shows positive side of gay life in Israel today + full-frontal Q&A with Lucas.
Pit Stop – Despite being strong on all the basics, this deliberate indie failed to pull me in completely like less-perfect Four.
Truth – Thriller channels Norman AND Cathy Bates; falters later, edging on camp; suffers from some weak dialog, off-key score.
Fair (2/5)
Animals – Can’t hate it for taking risks, but it fails to pull off all its (ahem) edginess.
The Deception – tries some plot twists just beyond its reach. Its 3 is the fest’s first casualty of singer/songwriteritis
Meth Head – Way-after-school special struggles with tone and perhaps tries to cram too much real life in the time allotted.
Poor (1/5)
Big Gay Love – Others laughed, but fell totally flat for me: Weak writing, bad timing, contrived and superfluous plot points.
Birthday Cake – Starts strong; falls apart after 1st big tone change; kitchen-sinks in too many jokes/skits; uneven production.
Cal – Inexplicable hot mess lacks guilty pleasure of its predecessors; perhaps bad economy affected more than just characters.
It Had To Be You – Wanted to like homegrown film but too distracted by production issues, awkward dialog, plot gear-grinding.
The Last Match – Achingly slow; grinds to predictable halt with old-school ending; last scene was last straw for its rating.
Silent Youth – Bleak, slow, confused, washed out, off-key; no reward, visual or narrative, after enduring their awkwardness.