Boys Briefs 2

Rating:
Summary: New and Improved Briefs!
Review: "Boys Briefs 2" is a collection of six non-USA gay-oriented short films from 1999-2002. The movies and their framing introductions are much better than in the first "Boys Briefs."

If one plays all the movies through, they are each given a hotter and less wordy introduction (this time by Danny Roberts of MTV fame) than happened in the first "Boys Briefs." One can play each movie separately without any introduction. There are substantial skin scenes in all but "Chicken". There are English subtitles for the films from Spain and Germany; the rest are in English already.

"Doors Cut Down" ("En Maias Companias"; Antonio Hens; Spain; 17 minutes) shows 18-ish Guillermo as a skilled predator in a the bathroom of a Madrid-area mall. Guillermo casts his net a bit wider and attracts the attention from the police and his parents. Still, things have a way of changing and working out too. This was the most fun feature and had a catchy thematic beat.

"Chicken" (Barry Dignam; Ireland; 3 minutes) shows two guys between the train tracks and the beach trying out each other's courage and affection. Effective for the time spent.

"Back Room" (Guillem Morales; Spain; 13 minutes) is a dark, anonymous place upstairs from a Spanish gay dance club that five major (and several background minor) characters go for quick sex. There's a first-timer, a punk, a hottie, a hunk, and an older man. They go through their motions, but the audience gets to hear their much less mechanical thoughts along the way. I liked the movie maybe too much; I found myself redoing parts and thinking about how to embed it in a longer movie that would show the characters before and after.

"Breakfast" ("Fruestueck"; Alexander Pfeuffer; Germany; 14 minutes) has romantic, Berlin newcomer Boris (Nico Link) trying to keep a hold on impulsive, promiscuous Till (Tobias Schenke). Till's friend, Giselle (Anna Thalbach), offers breakfasts. Can they help? This is a nice, romantic comedy.

"Touch" (Jeremy Podeswa; Canada; 27 minutes) is the most serious and, for me, the most memorable of the six films. A boy is locked in a basement and abused from the time he is eight years old until he is sixteen. When the doors open, the boy is free to leave. Upon leaving a hospital, he is given a name and lives with foster parents. Not given any further treatment, his past continues to drive his future. Brendan Fletcher gives an amazing performance as the sixteen-year old "Richard". The grainy photography fits well with the deadened sensibility and the shadowy faces used. Daniel Janke's dissonant music for violin and prepared piano fits perfectly and is performed well by pianist Janke and by violinist Mark Fewer. Five stars out of five.

"Take-Out" (Jean-Francois Monette; Canada; 37 minutes) was sponsored by Quebec and features road signs in French, although the characters all speak English. High school student Rory (Gianpaolo Venuta) delivers chicken dinners for Chalet Bar-B-Q. One day he delivers to Pete (Daniel MacIvor), a lawyer in a big house and with time on his hands. Rory keeps being asked back, and the tips keep getting bigger. Fellow worker Enzo (Benjamin Plener) and Pete's wife(?) Virginia (Kaya McGregor) are starting to ask questions. Rory has wandering eyes in the school shower and is looking at some interesting magazines in the rack. What happens next? This was the most finished looking movie of the lot and had fine acting throughout. There were parts worth reconsidering on repeat viewings.

The biggest drawback to the DVD was that there were no director's commentaries to any of the movies. I enjoy commentaries as a way to learn about movie-making and about how other cultures handle matters. Another annoyance was that the first three movies do not show linkages between the actors' names and the parts they play; one can try to guess by who appears first or speaks first or is the most important.

Still, this is a very enjoyable collection of films from outside the USA.

Rating:
Summary: New and Improved Briefs!
Review: "Boys Briefs 2" is a collection of six non-USA gay-oriented short films from 1999-2002. The movies and their framing introductions are much better than in the first "Boys Briefs."

If one plays all the movies through, they are each given a hotter and less wordy introduction (this time by Danny Roberts of MTV fame) than happened in the first "Boys Briefs." One can play each movie separately without any introduction. There are substantial skin scenes in all but "Chicken". There are English subtitles for the films from Spain and Germany; the rest are in English already.

"Doors Cut Down" ("En Maias Companias"; Antonio Hens; Spain; 17 minutes) shows 18-ish Guillermo as a skilled predator in a the bathroom of a Madrid-area mall. Guillermo casts his net a bit wider and attracts the attention from the police and his parents. Still, things have a way of changing and working out too. This was the most fun feature and had a catchy thematic beat.

"Chicken" (Barry Dignam; Ireland; 3 minutes) shows two guys between the train tracks and the beach trying out each other's courage and affection. Effective for the time spent.

"Back Room" (Guillem Morales; Spain; 13 minutes) is a dark, anonymous place upstairs from a Spanish gay dance club that five major (and several background minor) characters go for quick sex. There's a first-timer, a punk, a hottie, a hunk, and an older man. They go through their motions, but the audience gets to hear their much less mechanical thoughts along the way. I liked the movie maybe too much; I found myself redoing parts and thinking about how to embed it in a longer movie that would show the characters before and after.

"Breakfast" ("Fruestueck"; Alexander Pfeuffer; Germany; 14 minutes) has romantic, Berlin newcomer Boris (Nico Link) trying to keep a hold on impulsive, promiscuous Till (Tobias Schenke). Till's friend, Giselle (Anna Thalbach), offers breakfasts. Can they help? This is a nice, romantic comedy.

"Touch" (Jeremy Podeswa; Canada; 27 minutes) is the most serious and, for me, the most memorable of the six films. A boy is locked in a basement and abused from the time he is eight years old until he is sixteen. When the doors open, the boy is free to leave. Upon leaving a hospital, he is given a name and lives with foster parents. Not given any further treatment, his past continues to drive his future. Brendan Fletcher gives an amazing performance as the sixteen-year old "Richard". The grainy photography fits well with the deadened sensibility and the shadowy faces used. Daniel Janke's dissonant music for violin and prepared piano fits perfectly and is performed well by pianist Janke and by violinist Mark Fewer. Five stars out of five.

"Take-Out" (Jean-Francois Monette; Canada; 37 minutes) was sponsored by Quebec and features road signs in French, although the characters all speak English. High school student Rory (Gianpaolo Venuta) delivers chicken dinners for Chalet Bar-B-Q. One day he delivers to Pete (Daniel MacIvor), a lawyer in a big house and with time on his hands. Rory keeps being asked back, and the tips keep getting bigger. Fellow worker Enzo (Benjamin Plener) and Pete's wife(?) Virginia (Kaya McGregor) are starting to ask questions. Rory has wandering eyes in the school shower and is looking at some interesting magazines in the rack. What happens next? This was the most finished looking movie of the lot and had fine acting throughout. There were parts worth reconsidering on repeat viewings.

The biggest drawback to the DVD was that there were no director's commentaries to any of the movies. I enjoy commentaries as a way to learn about movie-making and about how other cultures handle matters. Another annoyance was that the first three movies do not show linkages between the actors' names and the parts they play; one can try to guess by who appears first or speaks first or is the most important.

Still, this is a very enjoyable collection of films from outside the USA.

Rating:
Summary: Different, but good because of it.
Review: All together I thought the stories on the DVD were good; the most noteable, (and in my opinion the best story) being Doors Cut Down. The lead actor Israel Rodriguez was outstanding and more than believable in the role.
The Pizza Delivery story was also good, as well as the short Irish story that just begins to take shape and then ends for no apparent reason. I know it was a short movie, but hey three minutes just didn't cut it.
Danny Roberts of MTV Real World fame who hosted the movies got better as the stories moved along but he seemed a little uneasy throughout, better luck next time. All in all I would give the DVD 4 stars based mostly on the strength of the first story Doors Cut Down.

Rating:
Summary: Some Good Some Bad
Review: All together I thought the stories on the DVD were good; the most noteable, (and in my opinion the best story) being Doors Cut Down. The lead actor Israel Rodriguez was outstanding and more than believable in the role.
The Pizza Delivery story was also good, as well as the short Irish story that just begins to take shape and then ends for no apparent reason. I know it was a short movie, but hey three minutes just didn't cut it.
Danny Roberts of MTV Real World fame who hosted the movies got better as the stories moved along but he seemed a little uneasy throughout, better luck next time. All in all I would give the DVD 4 stars based mostly on the strength of the first story Doors Cut Down.

Rating:
Summary: Better than average compilation
Review: I like to buy the various compilations of short gay films because you get a variety of perspectives and ideas. Unfortunately all too often the selections are uneven, with only one or two standouts per. This collection is one of the better ones. Artistically, the films are each pretty well done, adopting a style and point of view and following it through. The content of these films, though somewhat varied (although connected by the theme of "first lust")was pretty consistantly good. I enjoyed the whole collection. I won't go into details, as the other reviews take care of that, but I will recommend this DVD.
The introductions by Danny Roberts (and I really do like you, Danny) were pretty weak. The scripts are flat, as is Danny's delivery (why do people think they have to be unnatural when acting?). But it was fun to see him in various states of undress and away from that Real World crowd.

Rating:
Summary: Synopsis
Review: Much like its predecessor, BOYS BRIEFS 2 is a compilation of five short foreign films that that focus on gay first love and sexual awakenings. DOORS CUT DOWN (Spain) is about a day in the life of a 16-year-old boy who frequents the bathroom of a local mall. BACKROOM GUILLEM MORALES (Spain) is an eye-opening tale of what men could be thinking while cruising the backroom of a dance club. BREAKFAST (Germany) takes a look at the conflicting mindstates of two possible lovers. TAKE OUT (Canada) focuses on a teenager's brief encounter with a middle-aged man. In CHICKEN BARRY DIGNAM (Ireland), a game of dare tests the boundaries of a friendship between two boys. Each film is introduced by two fictitious characters as they go on an adventure of their own.

Rating:
Summary: Different, but good because of it.
Review: The stories in "Boy's Brief 2" fairly different from what I've seen in various gay short film anthologies (Boys Life 1-4, etc.) I really liked "Doors Cut Down", "Back Room" and "Breakfast", though "Touch" is by far the most poignant (a story of 8-year abuse as told by the survivor). I rented this and will likely purchase because these stories feel real and are portrayed in a very engaging way by the various actors. "Chicken" was a waste of film and time, and "Take Out" was interesting but perplexing by being diliberately vague about what's real and what's imagined. All in all, a collection of unique shorts on topics not normally discussed, must less filmed.