Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable

Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

ScoobyWell Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

johnm-38132 Been searching high and low for some good gay themed romance dramas, and it's really difficult to find any. Hollywood isn't exactly cranking them out and the Independents are more concerned with rehashing the same old. But "Shelter" is an engaging story about a young gay artist, played by Trevor Wright, living with his sister and her son and how he feels completely responsible for helping his sister take care of the kid. Trevor carries the whole movie. I think he's in every scene. He's a decent actor and proves capable of conveying complex emotions. He falls for a somewhat older gay guy, an acquaintance to the family, and has to choose between this budding romance and helping his sister raise her son. At the end there is a satisfying compromise. We get a glimpse of what it looks like to have two dads raising a son.

Irishchatter I have always thought that Zach was such a good role model for Cody like gee, he was just honestly caring. The little fella that played Cody was adorable with his cute long hair. I say he's not like that anymore unfortunately! Such a great little actor though!I loved how Shaun also took care of Cody. I'm so glad Zach found someone special to him. Life was so hard for Zach, due to his sister not being there for his nephew 24/7 and his father having health issues plus not looking after himself. Cody's father Allen seemed be such a dirt-bag and a selfish pig for not giving love to his own son. It's just awful to see this happening for Cody. I think it's a reflection of kids today not having to spend time with their kids as much as they should. It's very sad.San Pedro seemed such a beautiful city in the film with the ocean nearby. That'll definitely be my list of holidays to go to :DAlso I have something to say, this is the best summery movie I've ever seen, watch it dudes!!!!

Jason Shaw Shelter is an award winning 2007 debut feature by writer, director Jonah Markowitz, often dubbed the 'Gay Surfer Movie' by journalists and reviewers alike, in much the same way as Brokeback Mountain was labelled the 'Gay Cowboy Movie'. It is essentially a love story between a couple of guys doing what they love, surfing and spending time outside, and considering they come from California they have a lot of opportunity to do that. Trevor Wright plays Zach, an aspiring artist living in San Pedro, which is a pretty working class suburb of Los Angeles. He is essentially a nice guy, he has put his dreams of art school on hold for a while as he helps his family out. Taking care of his older manipulative sister Jeanne, his little nephew Cody and their disabled father takes up a fair amount of his time. To make ends meet he works in a restaurant cooking fast food and when he gets some free time he likes to paint, draw murals, surf, and hang out with his best mate Gabe. He also finds time to see his quasi-girlfriend, their relationship seems to be one of those off again on again off again affairs, both not quite ready to cut the cord completely and they really understand in an unspoken sort of way it is more friendship that relationship. All is sedate revolving and unaffected until Gabe's older brother Shaun comes down for a few weeks and as Zach and Shaun go surfing together a friendship grows and develops between them at thunderous speed. Shaun, played by the lovely Brad Rowe, encourages Zach follow his dreams a little more and take control of his life. Confusion starts to rage in Zach's mind, his emotions are all in a state of flux, which is only added to when one evening after an afternoon of surfing Shaun kisses Zach. Whilst it is a pleasurable experience for them both, Zach is not quite ready to expand and explore the feelings the kiss has given birth to. It takes a little while, but a little soul searching later their friendship soon morphs into a full on romance, all the while Shaun builds up a strong rapport with Zach's little nephew, Cody.There are some lovely comic moments spaced throughout the movie, for example, Zach and Shaun are in bed together after a bit of bonding, when they hear Gabe coming back from college, which results in a rapid hiding of Zach, which could have easily turned into loose farce had the scene pacing been carefully thought out. Sister Jeanne knows Zach has been spending a lot of time with Shaun, she warns Zach of Shaun sexuality and telling him to keep Cody away from him. This brings in the obligatory social pressure needed to further confuse poor Zach. Behind the scenes, Shaun has been a bit of a mischievous minx and secretly submitted an application to art school on Zach's behalf. This my darlings is the movies so....Zach an offer of a full scholarship. However, we are not quite at the happy ever after stage yet and there is more malarkey on the horizon to deal with. Jeanne's boyfriend, the rather nasty Alan gets a job in some godforsaken place; I think it is called Portland, which is so not within LA commuting distance. The film scored a slew of awards from various GLBT film festivals, including best actor and best cinematography at Tampa, best film at Dallas, best feature at Melbourne, best director at Seattle and GLAAD honoured it with an outstanding film award in 2009.It is a sweet and gentle romance with a heart and an interesting core whilst also not being too adventurous, left field or controversial. Some in the cruel light of a dank, drizzly English morning might proffer Shelter is as tame as an episode of In The Night Garden, so packed is it with typical clichés and soft soaping of the issues that it should stay as a teatime special on Hallmark or Really.Find out where this film made it in the Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time book, search on Amazon for Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time, or visit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007FU7HPO

madcardinal If you've been interested in watching a movie with gay characters but cringe in exasperation when you see guys dressing up as women, acting like tarts, courting death by way of promiscuity, taking drugs, feeling sorry for themselves or bathing in suicidal despair, then "Shelter" is the movie for you. Trevor Wright (who plays Zach) and Brad Rowe (playing Shaun) make this film very likable. They do not look offbeat or effeminate; they do not walk around singing Broadway show tunes; and they do not refer to themselves or other gay guys as "girl." They convincingly portray two healthy, regular American guys who just happen to be gay. In fact, they turn out to be intelligent, resilient and altruistic. Shaun is already well grounded in his identity and Zach is journeying toward his authentic self. This film is substantially more positive in tone than many gay flicks and contains no maddening goofiness or flippancy. Zach has to deal with some real-life choices - among them, choosing whether or not to realize that the most challenging homophobia does not come from an oppressive society but from within one's self. Throw in Zach's adorable little nephew - played by Jackson Wurth - and you have a movie that's pretty hard to resist.