Newcastle is a coming-of-age/family drama/surfing movie. 17-year old Jesse
lives in the shadow of his older brother Victor's failure to become surfing's Next Big Thing. Even when he's in his natural
habitat of magnificent surf breaks, his blue-collar future is brought home by the coal barges that constantly line his horizon.
Jesse has the natural skills to surf his way out of this reality and onto the international circuit but can he overcome his
equally natural ability to sabotage himself? A momentous weekend away with his mates that includes first love and tragedy
leads him to discover what's really important, and also to the performance of a lifetime.
Tan Lines
Dumb title but from the sun-drenched beaches of Australia comes this sexy coming-of-age romance.
Cute teen Midget Hollow (Jack Baxter) wanders through life riding big waves and partying with surfer boys. When Midget's
best friend's gay brother Cass arrives on the scene, the two quickly dive head first into a clandestine sea of sexual
awakening. As his lusty romance with the dark-eyed Adonis is soon discovered, Midget has to navigate between his friends'
reaction and his newfound love all while growing up during a hot summer of fun in the sun.
Shelter
This is a genuine story about gay love minus all the tragedy and shattered lives.
Which isn't to say there's no drama... Let's just say that some characters in the story have some problems, but mostly they're not a direct
result of the love story at the film's core. The acting is convincing, the kissing natural, and the sex scenes extremely sexy considering the actors
are all straight. The family setting provided a context that allowed one man's coming out story to be just one among many changes all families go through together while simultaneously putting
some evil homophobic stereotypes to bed.
L.I.E.
Fifteen-year-old Howie loses just about everything and everyone in the space of
a single week, but ends up finding himself in the process. His mother has just died. His father, a building contractor, can barely
keep tabs on his young girlfriend, let alone his own son. Thusly, the teen must navigate his adolescence virtually unsupervised.
Floating towards an ill-behaved existence, Howie and his crowd begin robbing houses in the middle-class neighborhoods off the Long
Island Expressway. Together, he and his best friend Gary break into a place belonging to an old guy named Big John, a local man who
is a respected pillar of the community. When Big John fingers Gary for the crime, Howie learns that his pal has been leading a secret,
dangerous but also alluring double life. Subsequently, we also discover that Big John has secrets of his own.
Elephant
A day in the lives of a group of average teenage high school students. The film follows every character and shows their daily routines.
However two of the students plan to do something that the student body won't forget. Based loosely on the Columbine massacre, this story takes the boyfriend rumor a bit further including
a great shower scene.
