The Real O'Neals (2016)

I identify with Kenny

-spoilers from the first two chapters- I love this series! As a gay man my coming out of the closet to my family so many years ago (In a country not as progressive as the US) was very much like Kenny's was. His mother telling him to "try with a woman" or that "it is just a phase" is typical father homophobic response. Adding on top of that that the O'Neals are an actual conservative catholic family puts on top of that a pressure over Kenny with all the church morale. I love that the core of this show is about a gay boy born in a homophobic family being raised with religious century old rules, and trying to find himself in the world. The fact that it is loosely based on a real gay person's life is what makes it so real and allows for gay people to identity with the main character, and even more so, putting a comedic spin on all these situations is so good! I wish I had seen this show when those stuff were actually happening to me. It is not easy to cope with all the family and community pressure to go back to "being normal". Other shows have tried to make this but when they go the Drama way, like Desperate Housewives or Glee did, it is very good for people outside of that situation but for the actual gay kid it is more depressing for people on those situations. This show instead treats those things with humor and shows that deep down, Kenny's family still loves him, and at the end of the day they are beginning to accept him. It is an unexpected and welcome message that this first homophobic reaction from his parents is not the end of the world and that the rebuilding of the relationships with his family are not as hard as they seem to. All young men coming out as gay should watch at least the first three chapters of the show. It will teach these boys coming out that whatever they are going through, it will get better, which is the message of the It Get's Better campaign, whose founder is the person this show is based on.

By the way some reviews just jump to one star and homophobic remarks pretty much shows that this show is doing something right. Those religious conservative homophobic people are as ridiculous as Kenny's mother is and I applaud that a show is willing to show on regular TV that their speech of hate is something we must change with love and (as this show does) with laughs. Thar hatred for gay community is what drives so many gay young men to suicide. We need to change that.

Other reviewer said it could go without the imaginary bits but I'm saying otherwise, for me they are the best part of the show, specially that on on chapter 3, because those imaginary bits really compare how we think things are going to be in contrast to how things really are, and comparing with other shows and musicals where things seem more easy. In real life, those flashy things don't happen as much as we love to, but instead we have the little moments.

Pompeii (2014)

Why DID I like this film?

Many people are out there saying it's "historically inaccurate", it's "a remade of gladiator WITH A VOLCANO!" and a very cliché film. but I'm saying it is a really good movie on it's own, considering that this IS A DISASTER MOVIE. And in many aspects this is better than 2012, Volcano, or other movies like these. For starters, there is an actual plot to the movie before the volcano erupts.

Other things I liked:

• The gladiatorial theme is well presented. You can see people who hate being a gladiator, people who are just waiting for their freedom, people who believe they are gods in the arena, and so on, and you can watch how the majority of Romans loved these shows, but some didn't. You can make yourself an idea of the weather of that theme.

• The romance is believable. I mean, it happens very fast, but it's not Disney's "Real Love" They are just two people who LIKE each other caught in the massive chaos of a volcano, not much more.

• the special effects are plain awesome! Not only the gigantic explosion and lava bombs, and tsunamis. Also the small things, like the views of the city in the background, and the aerial shots.

• The city was amazing. People complain "Pompeii is not a port city" Well, actually it WAS, but the eruption changed the shape of the coastline. And the fact that THAT city shown in the movie WAS Pompeii. They actually shoot in place and then recreated the city out of the remainings using CGI. So the grid shape, the walls and everything is in place just as it was 2000 years ago. Archaeologists have in fact praised the director for his recreation of the city

• the volcano. It's the star of the movie without a doubt. It seems to have almost a personality. The way the eruption happened was very close to what actually happened. Some artistic liberties were made for the sake of entertaining. You won't be seeing any clichéd lava river because Mount Vesubius doesn't work that way.

• The ending. It was amazing. I can't spoil it for you, but making it in any other way would have damaged the quality of the film.

• The acting. It was really good for what I was expecting. Milo surprised me a lot, because I could really believe him as a lead man. The girl also. She seemed so plain in photos, but once the movie started I could say she nailed the part perfectly and was by no means just "miss fanservice", as girls in these kinds of movies tend to be. The real surprise was Atticus. The actor totally stealed the movie for himself in every scene, something that was perfect for an invicted champion in the peak of his gladiatorial career.

What didn't I like? The fact that the other famous city in the vicinity of Vesubius(Herculaeum, I think it's called) wasn't showed in the aerial shots. I mean, obviously the movie would be to complicated if we include it in the plot, but an aerial cameo of this other city would have been a fine addition to the movie, and would have improved the accuracy of it.

Azul y no tan rosa (2012)

Great movie

I'm not very fan of Venezuelan movies, basically because most of them are about the same people and have the same plot: Crime in Caracas' poor zones(barrios).

This one, is one of the few jewels of Venezuelan cinema that shows another face of the life in this country. Miguel Ferrari takes a risk in writing and directing a movie about gay love (as his first movie) in a country which is divided in its opinions about the whole "gay" subject and which is pretty more traditionalist and conservative than other Latin countries, like Mexico or Argentina, where they actually debate the topic of gay marriage. Venezuela is pretty years away from having a serious discussion of the "gay rights" topic on a governmental level. At street level it's the same: Hate crimes against gay or transsexual people are quite common and other types of discriminations are always present in every level of life. Miguel Ferrari writes and directs a story about just that subject: Gay love, discrimination and hate crimes, even knowing that it would shorten its public, but he does it in such a way that achieves to get the topic in everybody's mouth.

The art direction is great. So is the music score. As soon a the very first scene hits the screen you realize you are about to see quality material where the sound, music and photography is taken care of. The characters are well drawed and believable in every possible way. The tone of the movie is very challenging for viewers used to fast-action films, but the director achieves in creating slow moments that can get to your heart and avoids the "boring effect" that slowly-pased movies tend to cause.

The secondary topics of the movie (Transgender, domestic violence, anorexic people and people not pleased with their bodies) are also well portrayed with humor, drama and a message to the audience. But as one chartacter of the movie points out by saying "I'm going to talk about diversity" This movie is actually about diversity, and the different types of love one feels in one's life: The love to your friends, the love to the family, romantic love, love for your job and the love to yourself.