craiglendyl

Based on Margaret Mitchell's epic bestseller, this film captured the imagination of a nation about to embark on a world war and saw itself in the indominatible Scarlett O'Hara played flawlessly by the beautiful Vivien Leigh in an Oscar winning performance. Scarlett takes viewers on a journey from skirt-swishing plantation flirt to the ultimate survivor, saving her family from poverty and starvation through sheer willpower. There's never been another like her. Clark Gable also proved perfect casting as Rhett Butler, Scarlett's equal, although she realizes this way too late. Hattie McDaniel won the Oscar for her indelible turn as Mammy, a slave but one who really runs the household and keeps Scarlett in line.

Maybe it's not the greatest film ever made and maybe, in this age of digital technology, the special effects are starting to look a little creaky, but GWTW remains sweeping entertainment. It is well-worth seeing and when returns are adjusted for inflation it remains the all-time box office champ.

Finally, the question that has been nagging cinephiles for two years has been answered -- will there ever be a film that's worse than Eating Out? The answer is an unqualified "Yes, Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds."

The script is completely predictable at every turn -- the opening even has two guys ripping at each other's clothing that dissolves into a fantasy sequence featuring one guy and his annoying girlfriend -- I didn't see that one coming. The direction by Philip J. Bartel is, well, sloppy and the actors appear to recite their lines of dialogue rather than deliver them in a believable manner that suits the characters. The sets look like they were put up an hour before filming and could collapse at any moment. Production values are nonexistent. The awful, awful director of the first film, Q Allan Brocka, even appears as an extra in this one in the scene with the nude male model. Brocka is seated right in front of him to get a good look at his genitals. Perv.

How do films like this get financed when there are so many good screenplays languishing on shelves? Avoid this at all costs.It's not even bad-movie good.

To say that Boy Culture, that latest film from Q Allan Brocka is a step up from his last, Eating Out, is like saying saying Hurricane Katrina is a worse disaster than the Northridge Earthquake. Eating Out, as many have noted, is one of the worst, most insulting gay-themed films ever made. It is a blight on the cinematic landscape. Boy Culture is mature step forward but I'm not sure how much credit goes to Brocka. The film about three displaced male hustlers is based on an acclaimed novel by Matthew Rettenmund and Brocka co-wrote the screenplay with Phillip Pierce. For the first hour, Brocka riffs on Trainspotting -- Brocka should have acknowledged Danny Boyle in the credits -- and the sloppy editing by Philip J. Bartell is a major annoyance. Most of what works here is due to the strong work by newcomer Derek Magyar, a stunning newcomer who invests his portrayal with insight and nuance not generally found in films like this. The other two young actors Darryl Stphens and Jonathan Trent are also capable, though Trent borders on caricature. One deterrent, however, is actress Emily Brooke Hands -- soooo shrill in Eating Out, here she's given less to do but she still has a nails-on-a-chalkboard screen presence.