teamgoon Reviews

12 and Holding (2005)

The characters are VERY real.

[10/10 · 13 August 2006]

I feel the last reviewer was a little out of touch with reality. They felt the movie was too 'extreme', but I was actually drawn closer to the characters because the writer portrayed them as VERY real and believable. If I was that age, and someone did what was done to the boy in the movie, prison would be the least of their worries. These kids, and ALL kids, are not the innocent 'Beaver Cleavers' most adults think (or wish) all kids are. I for one, remember when I was 12. I did things like these kids did, and more. I was sexually active in a same sex relationship with someone older, another issue is addressed in the movie, and could relate to it even though the relationship portrayed in the movie is heterosexual. It is VERY rare to see ANY reference to adult - adolescent "relationships" where the adolescent is the sexual aggressor, and NOT the adult. It may be an ugly subject, but it IS reality.

I give this movie an 11 on a scale of 1-10. I would also like to thank IFC Films for showing new releases on PayPer View so people who don't have access to theaters showing the films can see them. I wish ALL independent films were available in this manner.

Sugar (I) (2004)

A sad love story with REAL believable characters.

[10/10 · 10 August 2005]

I was blown away by this film.

So many of the characters reminded me of people I grew up with during my middle / high school years.. the drugs and all.

There is nothing "pretty" or "whitewashed" about this film, It presents the audience with an accurate look into the lives of gay street kids & their lives.

The way they live, love, and die...

This is the kind of film I was truly surprised that a major chain like Blockbuster would carry.

Wheither you're gay bi or straight, drug user, or straight-edger, there is something everyone can learn from SUGAR.