CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

preppy-3 Failed filmmaker Zachary Wells (Charlie David) returns to his alma mater to be a judge in a film competition. One of the competitors (Richard Harmon)shares his real name--Daniel Reyes--and has entered a film that carries the same name as the film Zach entered years ago! Then things get strange:) This is one odd film. It mixes science fiction with drama, gay love (and sex) and redemption. It's hard to get a grip on at first (I considered turning it off more than once) but, if you stick with it, everything becomes clear at the end. It's well made and they use some interesting double images or lighting occasionally to push the sci-fi angle (but use it sparingly which is good). The acting varies. David is good and Sean Paul Lockhart (who once did gay porn as Brent Corrigan) is excellent. Harmon however is pretty bad and Tino Descamps (as Shane) is downright terrible. Still the story kept me watching. Also there's male nudity (back views only) and some passionate guy on guy kissing.On one hand I do like it for its interesting plot and views. On the other hand it leaves too many questions unanswered at the end. So I can only give this a 5. Not terrible but it feels unfinished.

GayFilmViewer The fantasy/sf genres are replete with stories of people going back in time to correct their mistakes or give advice to their past selves in order to have an effect on the future.But the problem with advice is that the smart don't need it and the stupid won't use it – and, as Booth Tarkington famously wrote in The Magnificent Ambersons, "Let me explain a little: I don't think he'll change—at twenty-one or twenty-two so many things appear solid and permanent and terrible which forty sees are nothing but disappearing miasma. Forty can't tell twenty about this; that's the pity of it! Twenty can find out only by getting to be forty." Philosophically, I am against this type of story because, in the end, we are defined by our choices. Danny Reyes/Zachery Wells doesn't have the courage to live with the choices he's made and build a better future having learned from experience. The idea of going back in time to talk to your past self and inform him of all the ways in which you screwed up your life is pure folly and an abdication of personal responsibility.However, I prefer to read the film as one generation of gay men giving valuable, fatherly guidance to another. An older gay man says to the twink, "Watch out, kid, gay life can be a minefield. Here's how to navigate it." Though the script provides a few cringe worthy moments in the first act, the solid direction and uniformly good performances make up for it. Sean Paul Lockhart proved to be a tremendous surprise; though his part was small, the former adult star turned in a performance with great emotional depth and sincerity. The kid isn't just a pretty face.This is one of the best gay titles I've screened in years.

sfdex-1 I had the chance to see Judas Kiss at the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco this year, and walked away very pleased. Rare is the gay film with fantasy elements that makes it into a festival, and I can certainly see why this movie has been making the rounds.Judas Kiss deals with time travel without going into the sci-fi aspects of it. In fact, you're not even sure it's time travel, but whatever it is, it gives the characters a chance to reconsider some decisions and what might happen if some things had been done differently.The acting in this movie is excellent. Charlie David and Richard Harmon as two sides of a coin are outstanding. (Harmon is someone to keep an eye on.) Sean Paul Lockheart is very good as the innocent boy pining for someone who doesn't notice him. And Julie Morizawa is the best pal everyone wishes they had. She plays the part with enthusiasm and just the right amount of self-aware amusement to be adorable.The cinematography is rich and lovely, and the direction is fluid, keeping the movie moving and entertaining. The visual effects are very subtle and exactly right for the kind of non-descript time travel elements of the story. Most important, though, is that the story is a great exploration of integrity, regret, and hope. Even after a few months after seeing the movie, I find myself thinking about the characters, the situation, and what if.

oaksong Sometimes we wait too long before we get serious about our careers. Sometimes we start with everything and fall into a hole. What if that happened to you and you had the opportunity to go back and change something in the past that would alter your future?While some people seem thrown by the premise, this is a fantasy and so it has it own rules which it follows scrupulously, if you watch closely enough to discover what they are.Zack returns to his Alma Mater to judge a film festival when his close friend Topher is unable to attend. There's a shimmer on the invitation when he opens the envelope that is barely noticeable. As he pulls onto campus he looks up and the clock tower shimmers for a moment.After settling into his digs for the weekend, a dorm room, he goes out to find the towns gay bar where he's attacked by a really cute boy, who sneaks out of his room in the morning. Later that day he is confronted by the same boy in the interview session for the film makers who are vying for this years prize.The actors are very convincing, particularly the two young film makers, Danny and Chris, as they explore a potential romance. Chris, portrayed by Sean Paul Lockhart, is especially convincing as a former innocent who doesn't want to get involved in a possible triangle.The underlying tension that revolves around who might win the festival and what will happen to Danny's film is particularly engaging. As the story develops we grow more concerned about the decisions Zach will have to make.This film has been enjoyed by many audiences across the country at this point, receiving a resounding ovation at the screening I attended.