Oh I loved this movie, I saw it about five times, even had a Set if Off-poster in my bedroom :) I'm not sure if I still got that tape, but it's a cool movie.

http://www.youtube.com/LovelyLindaLog 

I have to say that I havent seen this movie, but I think I want to check it out now. Of course its fine to mention how hot Blair Underwood was/is! I used to have such a crush on him! I loved The Godfatheresque reenactments! Danielle, your voice was fantastic!

Looking forward to the Bound review. Theres definately plenty of the gay magic in that to get your teeth into..so to speak!!

Keep up the good work guys!

this is the best!!!!!

i love the reenactments.

im all happy now and have a smiley face =D

Lost and Delirious

I would love to hear what you ladies have to say. And as many of you know, it's way worth the watch.

Loved the God Father reenactments,  it's all about "Women and Washington's." I'd definetly agree. I would however, have to say I am not sure this film really qualifies as a lesbian movie - even though it has one gay character.

Looking forward to the Bound episode. That is the penultimate lesbian movie. Odd though that it was directed by two hetero brothers.

Now this is one of my favorite movies so of course I have some minor corrections.

*Cleo always wore gloves when she tossed out the c.ds. They didn't get her finger prints off anything, they were already in the system. She was brought in for a line after Luther was killed.

*They dont clean a bank, they clean a huge office building. Frankie's the one with the bank knowledge.

*Blair Underwoods character wasn't a teller, he was in management. 

If I'm wrong I don't mind if someone corrects me either.

Other then that I really enjoyed your review. This movie is heartbreaking but very well done. Thanks for including it in your line up. 

I second the request for your gay magic treatment of Lost and Delirious, even though it hasn't got the happiest of endings, as well as Loving Annabelle and of course the superb Heavenly Creatures! 5 out of 5 on the scale of gay magic for that gem, I think!

It's the 12th episode I'm watching and I am missing Caroline. I wish I get time to watch the movies that you folks review. However, I don't miss any of your vlogs and the 18-20 minutes I get to ogle at Danielle.

Please do more re-enactments. The more the merrier. 

nice vlog ladies.  I enjoyed set it off.  Not my favorite, but loved it when it first came out.  I agree with you Danielle in that it was great to see 4 talented women of color leading a movie.  Yes, not the greatest message, but still a strong movie.  

love the reenactments as well.  gotta love the marbles in your mouths!  I was cracking up!

As for Bound, can't wait to hear your take.  I love that movie, especially the first 20 mins! ;-)  Can't wait to hear Katie's review of the sex scenes.

Keep up the good work! 

    Once again, great fun watching your vlog. I haven't seen this movie, but it sounds like it's just a fun action flick.

    I always find it funny that you guys/gals usually want to see positive role models and positive messages in films. Granted, given the limited visibility of well rounded lesbian characters or lesbian relationships you want to seen the good. But if it's a good movie, I don't think you need positive anything : )

    Looking forward to your review of Bound. 

I saw this movie a few years ago and I can't remember the scene with the hot ass in it... Kind of a bummer. I also didn't see Watermelon Woman yet. I'm totally missing out on all the hot ass. 

Anyway, this movie is what it is. It was good and probably more true to life. It reflects the sociological position that minorities are almost forced into, so I can't really hate on it for not showing a more positive way to "fight the fight". Ultimately, they did meet an unhappy ending, so the message is still that crime doesn't pay. 

Anyway, I do NOT think Lost & Delirious needs to be reviewed. I'd rather see Loving Annabelle (sp?) reviewed or anything without Piper P. I feel like she doesn't represent us (or any non-caricature) well. Or maybe I'm just not into her. Either way... What about A League of Their Own, that was more powerful than L&D. 

www.myspace.com/lunakiss7

Set It Off,Another great movie. I was  in my late teens when Set IT Off was the word. On the day I went to see it with two other young womyn, the movie theatre was packed. It brough in some "Washingtoons" and "Benjs" big time.

 I don't qualify it as a "Lesbian" movie either.It does have two lesbian characters so I'm guessing that's th reason it was picked to be reviewed.  Bound,another great movie. Your review on  FGT  in Episode 11 was good too. 

The reenactment were hot! Funny at that!

Girl, you can say whoever you think is hot. This is your review no one else's. I think the roommate comment was quite interesting. I certainely have a Bi male friend that might agree with her.LOL.

Lookin' great ladies! I,too, miss Caroline. Bring that cutie back!

I'm certainly looking forward to the re-enactments in the next episodes ;)

Keep up the great work ladies!

Cheerio

Nice Skits! Very Entertaining!

Since Set It Off(and Waiting to Exhale) predates Sex and the City on film, one would say that Sex and the City is the happier verson of Set it off, (likewise, the European-American version of Waiting to Exhale).  Basically, the child resembles the parent, not the parent resembles the child, since the parent existed before the child existed....I think too much. :o) 

Ok three,

The Berlin Affair

check it out....

I thought Set It Off had very good acting and the action was well done, but parts of it were a little predictable. At one point I turned to my friend and said, "They're going to kill off the single mom first because it's the most tragic" and sure enough down she went.

The dollar bill reinactments were nicely done. For future films, I'd love to see Lost and Delirious or Chutney Popcorn.

Some recommendations for future reviews -

• Boys on the side
• Saving face
• High art
• Tipping the velvet (even though its not technically a film)
• Fingersmith (as above)
• Heavenly creatures (I know I have already mentioned it, but I love this film!)

I have to agree with you Rena, and say that there are a lot of issues within Heavenly Creatures that can't be thought of as positive - such as the murder, the mental state of at least one of the main characters and if they are even gay?? Would make for an interesting review I think.. 

here there are...:D

- Loving Annabelle (now I want to see some of those re-enactments ;D)

- Tipping the Velvet (same as above...especially some scenes from episode 2...yes, exactly those, that would be fun, he he  ;D)

- Imagine me & you

and although not a film:

- Sugar Rush

- The L- Word (maybe you could concentrate on certain characters' developments, eg. Bette & Tina; Shane and her many lovers; Helena and her lady pick ups; ...)

.. It would be interesting to see what scenes from Tipping episode 2 you guys would choose to re-enact..! I can think of a couple of scenes worthy of the R.R. treatment!!

Tipping the Velvet would be a great one to do.. I wonder if the two of you are thinking of the same scene I'm thinking about.. you know the one scene that you just can't believe they did.  I think Katie would have a ball rating that sex scene.  

Gosh so many lesbian films so little time.  We will definitely get to all of the requests.

Rina  

I'm pretty sure that we are all thinking of the same scene! I couldn't believe what I was watching when I first saw it!!

i love set it off. its been a while since ive seen it. all the leading ladies were hot as hell. aside from the hood stereotypes and the only option the women have being to rob banks i loved the sisterhood they formed.

hey, so I can't believe that I haven't even seen this film, yet! The skits were awesome. Rina, who knew you were such a  ham! And OMG, Bound. This time I'll watch in time for the review... it actually isn't my favourite lesbian film, I must confess. But Joe Pantoliano(sp?)'s performance is worth the re-watch.

Awesome job with the vlog!

While cleaning up this morning, I found out I actually own the dvd of this movie. How can I forget something like that?

http://www.youtube.com/LovelyLindaLog 

i saw the movie when it was released, and i agree with many of the things you ladies said. your skit with the 3 dollar bills was pretty hilarious, made me laugh out loud. actually, it points to the premise that this movie is, arguably, more about socioeconomics than about race.

here are some thoughts as i watched your review ...

instead of viewing the Set It Off characters' actions through *your* lens of experience, perhaps try viewing it through *another* person's lens. specifically, put yourself into these women's shoes, ostensibly far removed from your own (by comparison, far less hand-to-mouth) experience.

let's say ... instead of heading to college, you headed to a full time job right out of high school. you grew up in a family where mom works from 9-4pm as a housekeeper, and midnight-3am as a janitor. so, she's almost never home. and when she is she's asleep in her room. no unconscious feeling of status or pride in your parent's job, or your family's lineage. you're not even sure what that lineage is. don't know where your father is, don't remember him. mom rarely talks about relatives, never mentions any ancestors other than grandma. no dinners together, no discussions re future, school or higher education. the only comments re your future mom makes = Sweetie, when can you get a job and start helping out with the rent?

... rent is $650 in a small paint-peeling, doors-creaking, moldy and dusty, 1-bedroom house in a crime infested neighborhood. it's the only neighborhood within your budget. some people call this area the "projects", but you call it home. you live with cockroaches, ants, and the occasional mouse scurrying across the kitchen floor. you've seen them so often it no longer surprises you. mom earns $975/month with her two minimum wage jobs. after rent, utilities, car payment, toiletries, supplies, medicine, and taxes, there is $100 left over for gas, and food, per month, for you *and* your sister. mom drives a 1993 Honda Civic that makes a loud screeching sound every time it starts up. she hopes every day it won't break down. you? take the bus.

... you have no health insurance, don't really know what "primary physician" means, no idea that people get yearly checkups. you think people only go see doctors when they're really, really sick, because that's how it is in your family. you've only been to see a dentist once in your life when a toothache got so bad you couldn't chew food. afterwards, your mom grumbled for weeks about how much that visit cost her ($200 = 4 months savings). when your period first came, your mom said, 'I have to get to work, sweetie. here's $5 for you to buy some pads at the corner market.' your mom encourages you to eat at friends' houses, so she can make ends meet. buying a couple of brand new outfits for school at Wal Mart is a splurge done only once a year. if you want any extra clothes, you know the drill: go to Goodwill and pick out what you can afford with the money you got from grandma's yearly $40 birthday gift. you don't eat breakfast or buy lunch at school except for a $1.50 bag of doritos a few days/week. you say you're watching your waistline, but spending $5 for lunch/day will deplete your savings in about a week.

... after graduation, you have no idea what the words "Stafford Loans," "U.S. News Rankings," or "Phi Beta Kappa" means. your overarching plan for the future is a job at the local fast food place, so you can start saving for your own used car. you have your eye on a 1991 Ford Escort for an affordable $500 that's been parked outside someone's house for a few months. you'll have to save for at least 2-3 months for a down payment. but at least no more bus waiting for you. your aspiration is that you earn enough to buy it, before someone else does.

to a person chanced to be born into a socioeconomically poor family, $3,000 = very large sum of money. even in 2008. when you belittle the sum of $3,000 you mostly display and confirm your own class status.

any thought re 'investing' money to make it last -- for the main characters in Set It Off -- would not only be unusual, but like suddenly speaking a foreign language.

the order of human priorities: #1 survival; #2 bread & butter; #3 relief & distraction from helplessness against hopelessness; #6 morality or legal issues; #97 investing for the future.

i think you ladies have your hearts in the right place, and it makes me smile to see young women discussing social/philosophical issues with the earnest idealism of senior-thesis analyses. so, i thought i'd join in with my own senior-thesis analysis. :)  the fact that the movies you select have either feminist &/or lesbigay value, is great. perhaps though, try to see and judge others based not on your own frames of reference, but by the context of those you're judging. by casting your perspective a little bit wider, you'll see even more in future.



http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19961108/REVIEWS/611080304/1023

You make some really good points.  There is definitely a lot to be said about the need to survive versus changing your economic state.  God knows as an immigrant I am very aware of the need to survive.  All of the retro reviewers come from very different socioeconomic backgrounds, so I think that our different backgrounds can balance each other out.  

Also, because of my background I am very affected by negative representations of minorities.  My main issue is I'm upset at seeing so many of my younger cousins turning to a life of crime or dropping out of school because they are upset with the system and feel let down by it.  Granted I'm also aware that I'm a white person of color which makes me blend into other socioeconomic communities much easier, but doesn't take away my passion for my community nor does it make me immune to the struggle to survive.  

I guess I'm mainly interested in how filmmaking can change these communities for the better.  That is the riddle for me.  

Set it off is a great movie because it really does show that struggle to survive and that desperation.  Again, thanks for the comments.

 =) Rina