MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
Comwayon
A Disappointing Continuation
Ezmae Chang
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Zlatica
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
pslust
This was a film that deserved more than one viewing as this film was quite intellectual, definitely soul-searching and soul-search-able, was quite the thought provoker, AND the actors were quite cute to boot. Speaking of actors, the actor playing the main character was definitely someone that Jonathan Frid, he played Barnabas Collins in an old television series, would have been quite proud to see to join the Brotherhood of Vampires; the actor as the main character was that serious, that cold, that vulnerable, AND yet still very human. This will definitely be one film that I will add to my permanent collection, and one that I look forward to watching again. Compared to the other "gay" films I have seen to date, this one stands out. Why? Simple: it brought you in with its puzzles, with human interactions from a very gay-oriented perspective, and you had to stay to the very end to see how this movie ended.
will_hughes
Summarily: Soft porn with interjections of a message about the porn industry and safe sex.The movie could've almost been bashing itself. The badly shot and cut footage makes it completely unrealistic. The actors/models never actually lose their underwear, even for the tamest of shots. The movie completely fails to question or explore preconceptions / boundaries / taboos and exists entirely within the limited scope of an outdated cultural paradigm. It's almost like the story was written by some bastion of moral fortitude, with limited experience of gay culture, let alone sub-culture. It's almost entirely acted out, like a melodramatic fantasy, dreamed up by a gossipy virgin, straight from the Midwest USA. We can at least surmise, that the writers aren't Catholic, as evidenced by the ever present, "wear a condom" message. Which brings me to another point. Anyone pushing the views of the AID$ industry, should be considered either malicious, funded or ignorant. I'm assuming that the constant references to condoms and then PEP (Post Exposure Prophylaxis), highlight an even deeper lack of research or understanding and complacently reinforce the status-quo. Though full of opinions (like mine), the internet does detail the fraud and misconduct findings, surrounding our beloved Dr. Robert Gallo (the father of HIV). Since the late 90's, we have documentaries like AID$ Inc and House of Numbers (also reviewed on this site) to help communities understand the industry and it's associated scandals. It appears that few of us have even slowed for breath, instead of doing a little cultural or scientific fact checking. Perhaps in this respect the movie is quite realistic, everyone blithely ignoring facts and living in a World that doesn't appear to contain one heterosexual, or a woman (I am absolutely not putting myself through that again, just to check). All that being said, these people are doing something to produce a movie that has some specific relevance to gay culture. I would however, like to see something that was less dependent on flesh and had more mind expanding backbone.
davidacting
~~"The story is ludicrous." Of course she was referring to the porn film playing in 'The Big Lebowski'. Hell, if you are English, you are SIMPLY not aloud to be a terrible actor. Not even in a movie like this one. The lead has an expression throughout the film that is so blank, one can only think of a piece of paper. Poor kid. Maybe the director was telling them on the set to 'do nothing', or 'play it down'. Either way, he comes off emotionless. No one has any training in this film, evidenced by the way they garble most of the dialog. BUT, all being said - I watched this with a girlfriend - at least tried to... we could only get through 45 minutes...for gay men I am sure the faces were pleasing to look at. I am hoping someone out there liked it. I still have to say bravo for Netflix putting this on streaming. I experienced something normally I wouldn't have watched, and it is always good to see all sides of the equation. Still, don't watch for plot, execution, acting, mise-en-scene, or really anything I guess, unless you are gay and you like a certain type of guy (I guess), that looks a certain way. There has to be better gay movies out there. I'll let my girlfriend decide (ha ha ha)..BUT at least they did it. They shot it, edited it, and completed it. For that, I give the team who made this film some credit.
philip-1
Seeing Heaven is a very artistic film that certainly has a unique and often hypnotic aesthetic. The depiction of the gay porn sub culture is rather plastic and not very believable, but that is not what really defines the film.The bizarre visions that the lead character has while attaining orgasm is really the main focus. The fatal mistake here is that director Ian Powell lingers on these nightmarish visions and repeats them with little variation, over and over again until the viewer just loses patience with the entire project. They certainly are intriguing at the beginning of the film, but when one sees the same collage of clips reoccurring throughout, they become annoyances that only hold up what little story there is. Ken Watanabe's constantly repeating music adds to the ever increasing monotony of the entire proceedings.Actor Alexander Bracq is believable and beautiful to look at, but his understated, almost sleeping-walking like presence adds to the gradual boredom that sets in for the viewer. There is plenty of steamy sex and attractive bodies in the film, but frankly, if this is what you're looking for you might as well watch a real porn film rather than an artistic miscalculation about the porn industry.With a faster pace, a better editor, and a more interesting script this might have been a really great experience. As it is, I'm glad to have seen it, but certainly would never return to this unsatisfying picture.