HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION #45:

Suppose your boss came up to you at work one day & said that there is a position open with a higher salary, but more scrutiny and the position itself is not viewed favorably by upper management – and might possibly be dissolved in a few yea.

However, your boss also mentions tgat another position *might* be opening up later down the road.

That job, while probably not as prestigious, sounds more like a career path that you might be interested in pursuing. 

What would you do? 

• Apply for the confirmed position with higher pay?  
• Or stay at your current job & wait for the other position to possibly open up?  

You cannot apply for both.

This is what I had to think over the past couple of days. 

GAY MOVIE REVIEW: Stranger by the Lake

Jeff & I had a ‘date night’ this past weekend & opted for a movie. There was a really sexy-sounding one playing at the Laemmle in Pasadena, so we saw that one: 

Stranger by the Lake

PLOT: This French film takes place in the summer at a nude cruising spot for men, tucked away on the shores of a lake. Franck falls in love with Michel. But one evening, after wandering around a little too late, Franck spots Michel holding a ‘trick’ underwater, drowning him in the lake.  Despite this, Franck continues to see Michel.  Their relationship becomes strained when the trick’s body is found a few days later & the police start questioning them both about what they know.

REVIEW:  First of all, I think I should mention that there’s a lot of full-frontal male nudity in this movie; it’s set at a nude beach, after all. There’s also several (hot) sex scenes & all that, so it pretty much delivers in that area. Both Jeff & I thought it was done extremely well, but couldn’t figure out the ‘point’ of the movie until the next day. At first we assumed it was a ‘cautionary tale’ of the dangers of anonymous sex but that doesn’t hold a lot of water because Franck *does* know who Michel is and stays with him anyway. Later, Jeff told me that the way it ends (Franck, hiding from a murderous Michel, finally comes out of hiding & starts calling for him – FADE TO BLACK) tells him that “Franck is so afraid of loneliness that he would rather call out to ‘his killer’ than be alone” which coincides better with some of the other character’s storylines in the movie (there is a an older guy that Franck befriends who doesn’t swim or sleep around in the film; he just sits there watching everyone else, probably because he’s looking for a friend more than sex).

On the downside, the film also has no soundtrack, making it a bit boring. And the ending is a little abrupt, which left us wanting more of a resolution. But otherwise I found this an interesting, yet subtle, film to watch. 

Here’s the trailer!  

GAY MOVIE REVIEW - Beyond the Walls

Had a few hours to kill (over the past week), so I figured I would watch a movie.  This one had some sexy-looking actors looked interesting (and I remember seeing it on the Outfest line-up last year), so…..!

Beyond The Walls 

PLOT: The French film follows Paulo, a young pianist, who meets Ilir, a double-bass player originally from Albania. It's love at first sight. Paulo is soon confronted by his girlfriend, Anka, & finds himself out on the street. Paulo moves in with Ilir, despite his misgivings. One day, when Paulo promises that he will love Ilir for the rest of his life, Ilir leaves the city and doesn't return. A few days later, Paulo finds out that Ilir is in jail, and the two lovers embark on an heart-breaking relationship.

REVIEW:  Considering that the crux of the movie is how Paulo & Ilir react to their ‘long-distance’ relationship, the first hour of this movie seems almost unnecessary. But I’m guessing that the director included it to show fragile & co-dependent their relationship (or Paulo) is. In fact, the movie doesn’t really tell us a lot about Ilir; it focuses more on Paulo & how he handles the role-reversal of having to provide & protect Ilir (with money & other things he can use for trade) in prison. In the end, Paulo finds a new provider and runs into (a weaker, more needy) Ilir once more. But Ilir’s attempts to reconnect fall short & Paulo leaves him behind after he (Ilir) fails to get back what they once had.

The ending of Paulo & Ilir’s relationship makes Paulo seem rather cruel & almost a leech who sucked Ilir dry, leaving him when he couldn’t provide anymore. Anyway, here is the trailer: