Netflix Movies

 We watched a (Christmas) RomCom last evening on Netflix. We really should make popcorn when we put on a movie but I never think of it. 

Anyhow the movie was "Noel Diary".  Not a gay movie.

Justin Hartley as Jacob Turner, previously from the TV series This Is Us, isn't bad to look at. And the story is not awful. Sorry for the negative positives, but that is the best I can do given it is a rather typical RomCom. Of course the fact that it takes place in upstate New York, Connecticut and Vermont, our previous familiar territories, made watching it a bit more personal.

My main criticism is that something was just wrong about the winter/snow scenes. If anyone has lived in New England where the story takes place (or anyplace where there are snowy winters) one would know that when you put the heat/defroster on in the car or Range Rover or whatever, the snow and ice on the windows does eventually melt. I couldn't understand why the car windows were always frosted.

Some of the snow scenes looked authentic, and other just looked fake. Come on, movie makers, you can do better. The scenes in which you can see the steamy breath as characters talked - were they filmed in a meat locker or really outdoors in winter.

The other thing I found odd was that Rachel spent an awful lot of time standing out in the snow and cold on more than one occasion or sitting with Jacob's dog in a vehicle that was not running for what seemed like hours while Jacob and his dad put lights on a Christmas tree. 

Some of the plot twists were a bit of a stretch, not entirely believable. But it was worth watching on a cold winter night.

 

We also watched "Front Cover" a gay film about a Chinese American stylist (Jake Choi as Ryan) who is hired to work with a young male Chinese movie star, (James Chen as Ning). The movie explores the cultural beliefs and attitudes toward gays and juxtaposes the Chinese and Chinese American experiences. The writer and actors do a superb job with the material. 

The only thing I found confusing was why the young actor Ning needed a stylist to begin with - he was quite cool and stylish without any help from Ryan.

The pivotal scene was when Ryan and Ning go with Ryan's parents to visit Ryan's grandmother in a nursing home. Both the dialogue and what was not said was very revealing of the characters and was important to the rest of the story.

I'd recommend it.