By Hans Pedersen, November 2016 Issue.
Hurricane Bianca
On DVD Oct. 18 | 84 minutes | Unrated
If you caught feisty Bianca Del Rio on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” you’ll remember her razor-sharp tongue, her sassy quips and superb timing. The actor under the wig, Roy Haylock, plays Richard, a teacher who moves from New York to Texas for a small-town teaching job and then gets fired because he’s gay. Faster than you can say Mrs. Doubtfire, voila! He returns to the school disguised as Bianca Del Rio, educator extraordinaire. RuPaul and a couple of her girls, Willam Belli and Shangela, co-star in this cheeky heart warmer with Alan Cumming, Margaret Cho and Rachel Dratch.
Certain Women
Available on iTunes/Amazon Oct. 21 | 92 minutes
A female ranch hand is attracted to Beth, a law student (Kristen Stewart) in one of three insightful tales that examine the lives of women in the northwest. Beth enjoys meals with the enamored woman, who soon wants more than a friendship. Michelle Williams plays Gina, a wife and mother who faces obstacles trying to build a dream home. And, in a stunning performance, Laura Dern portrays Laura, a lawyer facing a hostage situation with a disgruntled client. In each of the intersecting stories, directed by Kelly Reichardt (Meek’s Cutoff), these women face men who are dismissive toward them as they imperfectly blaze their trails.
King Cobra
In theaters Oct. 28 | 107 minutes | R
Billed as the Boogie Nights of gay porn, this edgy crime drama is based on chilling true events. When young and attractive Sean Paul Lockhart meets the head of Cobra Video, he's dubbed "Brent Corrigan" and starts having sex on camera for cash. But an ex-military brute and a former youth church leader who run a competing porn business try to lure him away, and the conflict between the purveyors of porn leads up to a brutal murder. The movie, directed by Justin Kelly (I Am Michael), stars Christian Slater, Molly Ringwald, Keegan Allen (“Pretty Little Liars”) and James Franco, who's no stranger to gay porn as he co-directed and appeared in the explicit indie Interior. Leather Bar.
Moonlight
Nov. 4 | 110 minutes | R
With a gorgeous palette of blues and purples, this film about discovering oneself focuses on Chiron (Ashton Sanders), a young man growing up in a dilapidated Miami neighborhood that's rife with back alley drug deals. Three major events in the young man's life define his character as he tries to get in touch with both his sexuality and masculinity – and come to terms with his feelings for his best friend. Written and directed by Barry Jenkins, this slow-burning, realistic coming-of-age tale, co-starring Mahershala Ali, dissects identity politics, and chronicles Chiron's effort to find joy in a painful world.
