Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

STARRING:
Josh Hartnett
Bruce Willis
Lucy Liu
Morgan Freeman
Ben Kingsley

PLOT:
A man gets mistaken for a friend he is visiting and finds himself a pawn in the middle of a gang war.

MY TAKE:
A polished tale of murder and revenge with enough twists and turns in it to keep even a jaded smartass like myself from seeing the end coming. That doesn't happen often. This film is well worth watching.

It does contain some sex and nudity, just so you know.

MY RATING: 9/10

IMDb page

Thriving Ivory (2008) [album]

ARTIST:
Thriving Ivory

LABEL:
Wind-up Records

PLAYLIST:
1. "Runaway"
2. "Angels on the Moon"
3. "Alien"
4. "Hey Lady"
5. "Twilight"
6. "Secret Life"
7. "Long Hallway With A Broken Light"
8. "Overrated"
9. "For Heaven's Sake"
10. "Unhappy"
11. "Light Up Mississippi"
12. "Day of Rain"

MY TAKE:
The lead vocals on this album blew me away. Such a unique sounding voice. The instrumentation isn't unique, but that's okay. Most of the songs are quite moving and memorable. So far I haven't noticed anything overtly sexual on this album. I definitely recommend it.

MY RATING: 9/10

Wikipedia page.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

STARRING:
Brad Pitt
Taraji P. Henson
Cate Blanchett

PLOT:
In 1918 a baby is born who is physically like an 80 year old man. As he grows he continually gets younger and essentially lives his life backwards.

MY TAKE:
This is a very touching film about seeing the world through the eyes of someone who is very unique. Benjamin wants to live a normal life but realizes that he can't and has to make some tough decisions. Many asexuals will relate to that element of the story. This isn't an asexual film though. There is plenty of sex involved in the story but fortunately it isn't graphically portrayed.

MY RATING: 10/10

IMDb page

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

STARRING:
Haley Joel Osment
Frances O'Connor
Sam Robards
Jake Thomas
Jude Law
William Hurt

PLOT:
In a future where global warming has sunk many coastal cities and childbirth is strictly controlled realistic looking robots known as mecha make a sizable portion of Earth's population. A team of scientists decides to create a child-sized mecha that can experience love and David is born. After problems occur between David and his adoptive family he is abandoned in the woods to fend for himself. Unfortunately, the imprinting in David's brain is permanent and he is driven by a desire for love from his adoptive mother. Believing that the blue fairy from the fairy tale Pinocchio is real he seeks her out so he can become a real and receive the love he desires.

MY TAKE:
Being a sci-fi fan I was hoping this movie would be much better than it is. The special effects are cool and the scenery is beautiful but the story falls flat.

MY RATING: 5/10.

IMDb page

Cat People (1942)

STARRING:
Simone Simon
Kent Smith
Tom Conway
Jane Randolph
Jack Holt

PLOT:
A New York fashion designer falls in love with and marries a typical guy. But she is afraid to get passionate with him because she believes she suffers from an ancient curse that will turn her into a panther any time she feels any intense emotion.

MY TAKE:
I have seen this film twice and really like it. The 1982 remake, which has a somewhat different plot and a new character, a brother, played by Malcolm McDowell is not nearly as good.

This film has no sex in for two reasons: the era in which it was made and the story itself. The main character's fear of passion keeps her from even kissing her husband and they sleep in separate rooms. As his desires go unsatisfied, the husband's eyes start to wander. Then we get to find out if the curse is real or not.

MY RATING: 8/10

IMDb page

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

STARRING:
Ryan Gosling
Emily Mortimer
Paul Schneider
Kelli Garner
Patricia Clarkson

THE PLOT:
An eccentric recluse purchases a Real Doll, a life-size doll designed as a sex toy, and treats it like a real person.

MY TAKE:
I expected this movie to be about a kinky sexual relationship but I was pleasantly surprised by the story. Lars doesn't have sex with the doll and instead has a very sweet and loving relationship with her. At first his family resists the idea of treating the doll like a real person but on the advice of the local psychiatrist they start to play along and then encourage the entire town to as well. It is in turns amusing and sad. Ultimately, the doll becomes his way of coming out of his shell and expressing his feelings about life and loneliness.

MY RATING: 9/10.

IMDb page

The Crying Game (1992)

STARRING:
Forest Whitaker
Stephen Rea
Jaye Davidson
Miranda Richardson
Breffni McKenna

PLOT:
A British soldier gets kidnapped by the IRA, who hold him for ransom hoping to exchange him for one of their own. He befriends one of his captors who promises to take care of his girlfriend after his death.

MY TAKE:
Back in 1992 I was still too conservative to watch this movie but when I saw it on the shelf at the library a few days ago I decided it was time to find out what all the fuss had been about. All these years I have been missing out on this little gender-bending gem!

I already knew enough about the story to not be fooled by Jaye Davidson in a dress so the one nude scene didn't surprise me. The rest of the story, however . . . now that did surprise me. I was not expecting to actually like this movie I was just trying to be more liberal in my film choices. This is one choice I'm glad I made.

There was no actual sex in this movie, aside from an off-screen BJ, but there was one brief moment of full frontal nudity. And the very androgynous Davidson is just plain fun to watch (sci-fi fans will remember him as Ra, the sun god in Stargate).

MY RATING: 10/10

IMDb page