Available Men

Perhaps the best entry in the anthology of short queer films, Available Men, is the droll Hello, Thanks, about a gay guy's experience with personal ads. (On DVD, viewers can pause to read all of the deadpan ad text). Likewise, Sissy Frenchfry about a queer, cheerful teenager should be annoying, but—like its tres gay hero—it's infectious. However, some of the shorts fall, well, short, of greatness. The title comedy is an only slightly amusing, if obvious, mix of double entendres and mistaken identities; the animated Tumbleweed Town is too long even at 8 minutes, and the documentary Irene Williams: Queen of Lincoln Road, seems woefully out of place in this gay dating collection. Yet hopefully Dave O'Brien, represented here by the terrific Straight Boys, will get a chance to make a feature, and with luck, Todd Downing (and Mike Albo) will produce a full-length version of his excellent The Underminer. Extras: Trailers. —Gary M. Kramer

Broken Sky

Broken Sky, Mexican director Julián Hernández’s look at an affair from hopeful beginning to rueful end, is an honest depiction of that vice grip first love can have on young gay men. Gerardo (Miguel Ángel Hoppe) and Jonás (Fernando Arroyo) are two university students who meet on campus and fall in love. They soon run through the usual gamut of emotions and feelings (jealousy, longing, rejection) that are associated with young gay romance. Eventually, the two young men are forced to redefine their relationship. While Hernandez has created some very erotic imagery and the two leads are attractive and well-cast, the languid pacing and the film’s length (nearly two and a half hours and long stretches with no dialogue) ultimately make Broken Sky a patience-trying experience. Extras: Promo reel and trailers. —Jeremy Kinser

Jesus Camp

Forget about the monthly remakes of ‘70s horror flicks that populated the multiplexes last year. For me, the most terrifying film of 2006 was Jesus Camp. Documentarians Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady take a frank and disturbing look at the indoctrination of children into “God’s army” by the evangelical right—specifically, Becky Fischer, a Pentacostal children’s pastor. The filmmakers follow a trio of preteens from their homes in Missouri to a summer camp near Devil’s Lake (no kidding), N.D. The children are asked to pray for President Bush to appoint "righteous judges" who will overturn Roe v. Wade. A debate between Fischer and Air America Radio host Mike Papantonio, a liberal Christian, makes for one of the doc’s most fascinating scenes. The film also features an anti-gay rant from now-disgraced evangelist Ted Haggard. Jesus Camp should scare the bejesus out of any rational-thinking human being, and it should be noted that reaction to this documentary brought about the closure of the camp last November. Extras: Deleted scenes and commentary by the director—all unavailable on the review copy. —JK

Phoenix

It is daring to reimagine a straight film as a queer romance, and it is even riskier to queer a classic like Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1960 L'Avventura. Yet writer/director Michael Akers, working with his partner Sandon Berg, has quietly transformed this story about two strangers—Dylan (Chad Bartley) and Demetrius (Jeff Castle)—who begin an affair after Ken (Gaetano Jones), the guy they discover they both love, goes missing. While Phoenix does not have the trademarks of Antonioni's masterpiece—the palpable alienation and despair that permeates every frame—it clearly lacks pretense. However, the acting is amateurish, and there are some glaring continuity errors. That said, the film boasts a cool retro vibe, a few laughs courtesy of an older gay couple, and some sexy moments featuring the often shirtless (and sometimes pants-less) hottie Bartley. Phoenix won't make viewers forget the original, but for anyone unfamiliar with L'Avventura, this modest if ambitious film has its charms. Extras: Trailers. —G.M.K.