Sunday, December 01, 2013

Sex, Lies and Video tapes, 1989, R



This is an excellent film about lies and sex. Each actor plays a different side of the drama. One woman wants much more sex while her sister wants none. One man wants much more sex but cannot get his body to cooperate. This drama centers on the videotaping of the women telling their sexual desires and fantasies. They are promised that the tapes will never be seen. Steven Soderbergh is the producer of this award winning film. This is a must see. It is thought provoking and profound

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Don’t Look Down, 2008, UR

There are so few quality erotic films. Many of the erotic films on Netflix are rated 2 stars or below and are marketed to adolescent boys (even if their age is 35). Elisea Subiela’s Spanish film “Don’t Look Down” is clearly an exception.

I am not a fan of Tantric sex that is design to withhold an organism. However, this film has tastefully and erotic Tantric sex but without the zealot tones of some new age philosophy and certainly not for a minute is it lewd or rude.  As far as delivering the essence of sex merged with spiritually, it is delivered with humor and balance. The photography of the many sex scenes is wonderful. This is many times more erotic than adolescent “tits and ass” films, however I would of liked to of seen some frontal male nudity along with the many frontal female scenes. Nonetheless, as one Netflix reviewer wrote, “The film has lightness and humor, Latin American magical realism, and utterly engaging and empathetic characters. There is the interplay of life and death, and love and surrender/loss. There is the sense of being a whole person with one's eroticism, of bringing a sense of spiritual eroticism into every part of life, rather than hiding it away out of shame or embarrassment.”

The storyline is one of a mature lady teaching a younger man the joy of sex without pressure and without the need to climax or even end. I highly recommend this film and it can be seen on Netflix. 11-01-13

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

The Unbearable Likeness of Being. 1988, R

For those who wonder if Abraham Lincoln ever had a sex life, I would recommend the film The Unbearable Likeness of Being. Daniel Day Lewis, the star of Lincoln (2012) the movie, is also the lead in this excellent and award winning film. Lewis is not (of course) sexual in Lincoln but is very sexual in Likeness of Being. The film is an epic story of a couple’s struggle against Communism in their home country of Czechoslovakia, but maybe even more a epic struggle of marriage fidelity. The film is brilliantly edited to include real news film clips edited to include the actors. Remember this is 1988 before digital editing. The film has plenty of nudity and numerous wild sex scenes. However, my recent re-viewing of the film left me feeling the themes and drama are current and the film has not aged. 2/5/13

Now & Later, 2009, NR

 Philippe Diaz directed this very erotic and interesting film. Philippe Diaz is noted for provocative documentaries centered on economic inequalities as a result of colonization. This is not particularly the resume’ expected for erotic drama. Nonetheless, he takes these same themes into this sensual story of a beautiful Nicaraguan lady who befriends a white collar criminal and capitalist banker running from the law. Yes, I am not making the storyline up. The odd fact is that the storyline works. She teaches the gentleman to live for NOW rather than LATER. The film is very explicit with not just nudity but graphic scenes of love making. The photography is beautiful and the dialogue is genuine. A strong recommendation as a couples film unless you are a member of the tea party or turned off by socialism. 2/5/13

Take This Waltz, 2011, R


Michelle Williams provides yet another outstanding performance as Margot in this excellent film. Williams continues a career where she delivers films that explore sex and the complicated relationships surrounding sex. Her credits in this area include Brokeback Mountain, If These Walls Could Talk, Mammoth, My Week With Marilyn and Blue Valentine. The storyline of Take This Waltz has been told many times; married woman chooses erotic affair, leaving devoted husband. The storyline in this film is less important than the complicated nuances’ in this drama delivered by Williams and director Sarah Polley. These scenes include a shower sequence of 8 nude woman ages 30-70 discussing the pros and cons of taking risks in relationships, an underwater swimming pool dance of Margot and her lover that abruptly ends with a touch, a heartbreaking multiple shot sequence of husband’s reactions upon hearing of his wife’s affair and the erotic lovemaking scenes of the couple as (yes) they invite others to join them in their bed. The story may be simple but the drama is complex and the outcome unclear. 2/5/13