Toronto's Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ film festival wraps as Pride Month kicks off!

Happy Pride Month to all as we start off June!  

I am feeling even more proud than usual at the moment after having just seen a slate of decent queer films at the just-wrapped 2025 Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, a great event every late spring in our community. 

This year’s Inside Out festival did feel more like a community film festival again with films programmed to appeal to the audience, while not sacrificing quality.  As a paid member, Inside Out now offers six complimentary tickets to their screenings, which is a great bargain for a film lover like myself and an excellent way to promote memberships.  I grabbed 7 tickets overall as that’s all my schedule could handle and I am happy to give you my thoughts on some of them below.  

I missed the Brazilian feature flick Baby, which screened on the opening night of this year's festival, as I had some birthday celebrations to attend elsewhere that evening.  But this one is high on my list to hopefully catch soon as I heard a lot of positive word of mouth about it.  

Of the seven screenings I attended, I have to say that the Canadian documentary Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance by director Noam Gonick was the best and most rewarding.  A thoughtful, engrossing documentary, it chronicles using crucial archival footage the fights over the years by various segments of Toronto’s and Canada’s 2SLGBTQ+ community at resisting and overcoming societal and police oppression to become stronger and liberated - to eventually take to the streets proudly as we do every year through Pride parades.  First, the queers of the 60s and 70s fought back against constant police attacks, and used the experiences of the 1960s civil rights movements as inspiration.  One segment’s gains inspired another still oppressed segment, such as 2S individuals to also fight back and earn respect.  Toronto had its Stonewall in the early 80s after the community fought back against police raids of our bath house spaces.  These attacks on our community served to unite us together in solidarity, one of the key themes of the film.  

Parade: Queer Act of Love & Resistance

This film delicately, honestly and powerfully proves that firm activism willing to take risks and push ourselves out into the open has been an effective tool for winning over both public support and our own self-respect.  Conservatives are still taking aim at trans people the world over, and our fight for each other continues.  Solidarity is key.  

The final chapter tells the story of Black Lives Matter, when activists both queer and Black led the parade in 2016 and brought it to a halt to protest the presence of the very folks who’ve been our sworn oppressors: the police.  That action actually led to the ban on uniformed police officers in the Toronto Pride parade, an event originally founded as a protest against police oppression.    

Our community still gets targeted by regressive police, more interested as ever in protecting private property than they are for community safety for 2SLGBTQ+ people.  That ban needs to stay in place, and if certain conservative elements object, they need to take a history lesson.  Watching Parade: Queer Act of Love & Resistance would be a great start. 

Sauna

The Danish feature film Sauna stood out as my favourite narrative drama feature.  The wonderfully honest film chronicled an absolutely beautiful but less than bright young cisgendered man's touching and awkward romance with a trans man in unvarnished, modern day queer Copenhagen.  Played by Magnus Juhl Andersen, our cisgendered hero Johan says very little, letting the audience guess at his motivations as he, recently out of the closet, stumbles into the arms of William, a transitioning trans male student, played beautifully by Nina Terese Rask.  Despite a few dumb mistakes, Johan's heart seems genuine.  A lost soul trying his best to navigate what can often seem like a cruel, indifferent modern gay community, Johan's efforts to support his new love seem often misguided and naive, but ring true as deeply relatable.  

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking from the Philippines was a disturbing but touching story of four young men stuck at the edges of Manila where they typically trade off their bodies to make money and to survive.  After one of their friends overdoses, they struggle to deliver his dead body back to his family, eventually realizing only they are each other’s family, the ones keeping themselves alive, not the indifferent society in which they find themselves. 

The short narrative film Coming & Going was the best short I saw in the ‘I Know Who You Did Last Summer’ shorts screening.  Delightful, well-written and well-acted, I was hooked from start to finish watching a unique one-week romance blossom over its 23-minute running time.  

Other films entertained but were less stellar.  

In Ashes

In Ashes attempted to show the depths of craziness that heartbreak can cause as one young man obsesses over and stalks his ex-boyfriend of a few months in a series of ridiculous actions that baffle everyone who knows him.   The downward spiral is sad to watch, but also one to which many can relate.  We’ve all been there, but perhaps hopefully behaved better than this!  The cop-out ending though where he simply finds another stunningly cute young man now devoted to him seemed more like a fairy tale than realistic.  I was hoping to see a message that promotes the notion that our obsession with relationships is what's driving us crazy.  

Sandbag Dam from Croatia was a touching, well-crafted ode to the impossible choices queers have to make between devotion to family and personal liberation.  

Ponyboi

Ponyboi from the U.S. has its strengths, including a strong performance by lead River Gallo as an intersexed person struggling to break free from cycles of violence and disrespect in their New Jersey life and reconnect with family.  All the acting was bang on and I’ve rarely seen as authentic a depiction of the Jersey vibe than here.  But the script was overwrought and sought to squeeze in way too much.  I’m all for character arcs, but did everyone need to have major life epiphanies all within the same 24-hour period depicted in this film?  This felt a lot like it was trying too hard to be some new queer, intersexed version of Pulp Fiction, and didn’t quite succeed.   Kudos though to the film for finally getting cutie Dylan O’Brien to show off his butt in one nice scene near the film’s beginning.  

Today's tonic: "Let’s drop the phoney Alberta versus Canada nonsense. The province has met the enemy — and it is them"...

Today's tonic: "Let’s drop the phoney Alberta versus Canada nonsense. The province has met the enemy — and it is them" by Jim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work in Vancouver.

 

"In 2014 the industry hired 128 workers for every million barrels of oil produced. Last year, thanks to self-driving trucks, automated facilities, and downsizing, that number halved to just 61.

 

 "So it’s no surprise residents of my home province are cranky.

 

 "Their economy produces more GDP per worker than any other. The economic pie they bake is bigger than ever. But the average Albertan’s standard of living is lower than a decade ago.

 

 "It wasn’t Ottawa that laid them off, cut their pay, froze the minimum wage, drove up electricity and insurance costs, and put their health care at risk. It was the enemy within.

 

 "Alberta’s oligarchs aren’t speaking for the province, they are speaking for themselves.

 

 "And the sooner the rest of the population can get past the phoney Alberta versus Canada narrative, the sooner they’ll start toward a genuine solution to their woes: namely, winning a fairer share of the abundant wealth they already produce."

Today's other tonic: "ANALYSIS: Did Mark Carney just shake up Ontario Liberal politics?"

Today's other tonic: "ANALYSIS: Did Mark Carney just shake up Ontario Liberal politics?

"In removing Nate Erskine-Smith from cabinet, the prime minister might have complicated Bonnie Crombie’s hold on the Liberal leadership," by John Michael McGrath.   

"Erskine-Smith’s sudden free agency would be the kind of thing that could cause Crombie-skeptical Liberals to crystallize and successfully demand a new leadership contest. But he has his own detractors in the Ontario Liberal Party as well (obviously, or he would have won the 2023 leadership race.) It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that there are three broad camps in the Ontario Liberal party right now: people who want Crombie to stay, people who want Crombie to go — and people who want Crombie to go but equally don’t want to see Erskine-Smith win the next leadership race. Which side of the question that third camp eventually aligns with may determine Crombie’s fate."

Today's tonic: "Mark Carney is already staring down a history-making decision"

Today's tonic (and similar posts, where I highlight important articles published elsewhere) is back. 

 "Mark Carney is already staring down a history-making decision," by Irwin Cotler and Sir Bill Browder.  

There are many sane voices still at work around the world despite the corrosive powers of Putin, Trump and several others.  

"Seizing Russia’s frozen assets is not only legal, but is financially feasible, strategically sound, morally right, and popular among Canadians. It will strengthen international law by setting two important precedents. The first is that the right to human life and the obligation of states to uphold international peace and security ranks higher than the right for states to enjoy absolute protection of their property without accountability — no matter how else they might violate international law."

UPDATED: My Favourite Films of 2024!

Demi Moore in The Substance

UPDATED: I wanted to see a handful more movies before I published my annual list below, but today I'm ready.  (As I see more flicks from 2024 after the initial post, I will assess them accordingly, and if they break into my top list, I'll include them below.) 

As dear followers of my annual list already know, I like to pick great films that impacted on me the most this past year, films that left a deep intellectual, emotional or psychological impression on me, that spoke to my values or desires or fears in truly unique ways this year, movies I will never forget.

2024 was a truly great year for feature films with so many good projects bursting into my top ten, with many left out.  

This is not some objective, film critic list of the best of the best.  These are merely my favourites of 2024:

1) The Substance - Never have I seen a wilder, more hilarious, more brutally honest satire than this body horror comedy.  The post-Trump victory was the perfect time for this jaw-dropping exploration of female self-hatred to surge into the zeitgeist and devour its horrible male characters.  Just when you think it's gotten as crazy as it can, it amps up the crazy even more, beautifully telling a unique parable about the psychological and physical damage caused by a fading Hollywood starlet, played to perfection by Demi Moore, who experiments with a black market drug that promises to transform her into the body of her youth.  It doesn't go so well.  It's supremely bloody and totally bonkers by the end, but I loved it.  I wouldn't normally pick a movie filled with this much female nudity as my top pic, but all of it is completely appropriate and serves the narrative perfectly, and in fact enhances the experience.  And yes, there is at least one uber hot man's ass in close-up in this too, so it's fair on that scale as well.  Directed by the brilliant French director Coralie Fargeat, this masterpiece puts a very big mirror in front of modern society and it looks pretty darn horrible and disgusting.  

2) Anora - Girl meets boy and gets swept off her feet.  But this time, the girl is a street smart sex worker living in New Jersey, and the boy a wayward son of Russian oligarchs.  As the hot young couple's brief paradise unravels in tragically hilarious fashion, one can't help but forgive the leads for daring to try to break away from the empty nonsense that is their lives.  Of course, the slightly funny tone of the piece is a decent cover for the harsh realities that undermine the road to a happy ending.    

3) Dune: Part Two - Mesmerizing, engrossing re-telling of the classic book, with an emotional resonance and excellent acting that was missing somewhat from Denis Villeneuve's first part of this trilogy.  

4) Wicked: Part One - It's all here: the characters, the music, the storytelling, the colourful sets and costumes, the deep emotions, the superb acting and singing, this film hits all of the right notes and then some.  I can't wait for Part Two.  

5) I'm Still Here - Fernanda Torres carries this quietly devastating Brazilian drama about a wife and mother coping with her husband's unjust arrest by military police during that country's dictatorship.  The immense inhumanity of the violent authoritarian regime's actions against its citizens, ripping an innocent family apart, is laid bare in fine detail here.  I truly hope this one wins Best International Feature at the Oscars in March. 

6) Monkey Man - I finally caught this amazing gem recently after missing its initial release back in the spring.  I was blown away by the frenetic energy, pace, and the extreme but beautifully choreographed violence in this shockingly good directorial debut by Dev Patel, who's never looked hotter in the lead role.  This isn't some sweet retelling of Slumdog Millionaire, that's for sure.  This brutal satire / thriller shatters the racist hypocrisies of Modi's India.

7) Challengers - Sexy and fascinating exploration of a troubled throuple consisting of two mostly straight and very hot young men and the female object of their desire.  All three share a passion for tennis, and their pursuit of that passion from their teen years to early adulthood acts as an appropriate metaphor for the setbacks and triumphs they inevitably face.  

8) Alien: Romulus - Finally, a terrific, tragic and scary Alien movie, a wonderful tribute in some ways to the best originals (1979's Alien, and 1986's Aliens), and a much deserved addition to the franchise.  This one is probably the third best of the franchise, if you ask me.  

9) Nosferatu - This brilliantly crafted, beautifully shot new vampire horror classic took my breath away.  From the first moments of the young heroine's plight to the stunning conclusion, I was riveted throughout. It also helped to have beautiful actors Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson to stare at.

10) A Real Pain - A quiet, engrossing journey shared by two Jewish-American cousins played by Jesse Eisenberg (who also wrote and directed) and Kieran Culkin (in a hilarious turn well-deserving of the acting accolades) who've grown apart in their adulthood as they take a historical tour of Poland on their way to see the house where their late grandmother used to live.  It often had the same vibes as Before Sunrise, one of my favourite movies, as the characters explore the surprising sentiments and memories the experience evokes.  

11) Nickel Boys - A beautiful exploration of the friendship between two young black men incarcerated in a brutal reform school for alleged delinquent boys, based on the historic Dozier School, a reform school in Florida that operated for 111 years and was revealed as highly abusive.  The film's style of oscillating between beautiful POV shots from the perspectives of the two main characters is compelling and really helps the viewer become engrossed in their experiences.  Ultimately, I found this story about racial injustice and wrongful imprisonment to be slightly more accomplished than the similarly-themed Sing Sing.

12) September 5 - A superbly made and true-to-life depiction of the ABC Network sports journalism crew covering the 1972 Munich Olympics that was forced to switch gears to broadcast live news coverage after terrorists took the Israeli Olympic team hostage.  That live TV coverage became the first "breaking news" event ever, seen by more people than the 1969 moon landing.  As someone who has worked recently in media including in the technical backrooms covering the Olympics, it was a real hoot for me to watch the authentic workflows and retro-technology at play here amid the tense drama.  

13) Sing Sing - A modern day, non-homophobic, deeply moving new version of Shawshank Redemption, in some ways.  Colman Domingo and the whole cast of mostly actual male prisoners explore the joys of being fully realized human beings while incarcerated.  This is a radical reminder that all people, not just those who have managed to stay out of the American injustice system, are deserving of basic human dignity.   If you can see beyond your right-wing prejudices, you might enjoy it.

14) Conclave - A well-done, well-acted, earnest story about a secret meeting of Catholic cardinals struggling to decide on the future of their entire faith.  The spectre of its mostly male cast playing politics and manipulating each other to earn the papal crown irritated on some sexist levels amid the political climate we're now suffering through, but this film's surprise ending proved most cathartic and satisfying. 

OTHER FILMS I SAW IN ORDER OF APPRECIATION:

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Fierce, violent, colourful, engrossing, perhaps not quite as accessible as its Mad Max predecessor.  Anya Taylor-Joy does almost as good a job as Charlize Theron did in the same role.)

Gladiator II (Liked it better than the original, and Paul Mescal is a hero for the 2020s (ie. he's not an asshole like Russell Crowe has turned out to be.))

On Swift Horses (A surprisingly resonant and sexy queer film that nicely explores the struggles of both queer men and queer women in its bygone era.) 

The Last Showgirl (Pamela Anderson blows it out of the water with this heartfelt performance as an aging Las Vegas showgirl who's taken immense pride in her work even as the world around her abandons her.  There are some very touching and occasionally sad moments in this little gem, especially the relationships with her female showgirls and her adult daughter who resents her career choices.) 

A Complete Unknown (Timothee Chalamet beautifully (what role could he not play beautifully) captures the spirit of Bob Dylan and may be on his way to winning his first Academy Award in March.) 

La Chimera (Little known gem spoken mostly in Italian explores a sexy English archaeologist played by Josh O'Connor who joins a collective of grave robbers trying to find fortune and maybe some long lost love by looting Etruscan tombs in central Italy.) 

Piece by Piece (A wonderful documentary about Pharrell Williams that just happens to be told beautifully with stop motion Lego.). 

The Brutalist (Super accomplished and ambitious, this masterpiece explores the tragic search for success and acceptance in America experienced by a genius architect and later his suffering wife escaping post-war Europe.  I liked it but found it slightly empty emotionally.) 

Unstoppable (Inspiring, feel good biopic about a one-legged champion American wrestler played to perfection by Jharrel Jerome.). 

Nightbitch (Amy Adams goes a bit nuts while isolated with her newborn baby in this nicely entertaining comedy-drama.) 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (An excellent and fitting sequel to the strange, quirky original.).  

Babygirl (Nicole Kidman does her usual intense thing, but ultimately I found this story of a dissatisfied woman's rebellion from her boring marriage and sex life rather timid.  The setup didn't quite deliver the radical payoff needed to make this more than a simple story about a woman who walks a bit on the wild side before coming back.)

Queer (Daniel Craig chews up the scenery here and is fascinating to watch from start to finish.  While the film is beautiful from an art direction perspective, the narrative is empty, and we simply don't care much about this drug-addicted man, and we care even less about his superficial and mostly silent boy toy who accompanies him for reasons never explained.  The nudity in it was certainly exceptional, I can definitely attest to that.) 

Juror #2 (Nicholas Hoult finds out he may have played a major role in a tragedy in this decent moral tale by director Clint Eastwood.). 

Fly Me To The Moon (Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson entertain in this frothy, simple tale of faking the 1969 moon landing for the masses.)

Maria (Angelina Jolie is great in this role, but the movie is a bore and not nearly as interesting as I think the filmmakers and star assumed it would be. )

The Idea of You (I liked the idea of older and still beautiful Anne Hathaway having an affair with a much younger boy band star played by the super sexy Nicholas Galitzine, who's also excited me in recent years playing gay roles including in Red White & Royal Blue and Mary & George.)  

Killer Body Count (A better than most horror centring around a teenage girl's struggles to explore her perfectly healthy and horny sexuality while surrounded by a bevy of super hot young men at some kind of a Catholic anti-sex intervention camp.  Of course, this being a silly horror, any one who reaches orgasm soon finds themselves massacred by a mysterious killer.  The unique and radical angle here: it's the young men who all without exception strip naked and let the camera ogle their smooth physiques before they perish, while ladies are mostly spared.  If you've been waiting your whole life to see some anonymous naked young hunk show off his ass in a horror movie while being sliced literally in half, this is the flick for you.  An entire industry of genre movies did the same thing to women for decades, so to finally see this one give the boys a taste of their own medicine was a thrill.)

The Program (A compelling documentary that explores the alleged U.S. government program designed to study the multiple sightings of alleged Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) or UFOs in parts of America, including groundbreaking congressional hearings into the subject in recent years.  This doc is fair and raises several compelling questions without crossing over into wacko territory.)

Saturday Night (Not many funny or joyful moments here, and a whole lot of filler - who would've thought the last 90 minutes before the first Saturday Night Live broadcast would be so boring?  I do love Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, but I'd love Gabriel LaBelle in anything.).  

Damsel (Mildly entertaining, but not enough to recommend.) 

The Exorcist (Oh my God, please avoid this horrible, totally unscary and ill-conceived film that shows Russell Crowe has no idea how to identify a good script before signing on.)

 

OTHER FILMS I WANT TO SEE ASAP, IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE:

The Room Next Door

The Life Of Chuck

The Apprentice

We Live In Time

Hard Truths

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Emilia Perez

Heretic

The Order

Rumours

The End

Scoop

Kraven: The Hunter

The Piano Lesson

Inside Out 2

The Return

Memoir of a Snail

The Wild Robot

All We Imagine As Light

A Different Man

Blitz

Megalopolis

Lee

Twisters

Poolman

Small Things Like These

Despicable Me 4

Red One

Argylle

The First Omen

Oh, Canada

Y2K