Countdown to the Grabbys Part 3
The Grabbys are only a few weeks away and it's time for our penultimate look at the nominations with the focus on the international categories and the more offbeat side of things. As a reminder, the Grabbys Awards Awards presentation takes place on Memorial Day Weekend in Chicago the same weekend as the International Mr Leather contest so several of the categories listed here tie directly into that.
BEST INTERNATIONAL MOVIE
It's interesting to see how this category has changed and evolved as more studios have gotten into producing movies with international performers and hiring many of them to appear in US productions. Plus you can't help but see that the nominees are almost global. There are some extraordinary movies here with some really sexually powerful scenes. That said it's almost a given that Men of Israel from Lucas Entertainment has the inside track here to win. In a way Men of Israel was a gamechanger aside from the fact that it's a very hot movie with some gorgeous men. Michael Lucas almost this movie his cause--to show the beauty of Israel and some of it's very sexy men.
BEST ETHNIC
You'll see some crossover from the previous category here but obviously we're looking at a group of nominees that are mostly US-based. Again as in the above category, it seems that one film is the favorite to win here: Blackballed 7 from Channel 1 Releasing. On star power alone this Chi Chi LaRue sexfest is probably going to take the prize but it's the intense performances that really put it on top.
BEST COMEDY
We wonder if there was a temptation to nominate any films here that weren't released as comedies but still had their share of unintentional chuckles. If so there are probably quite a few that would have made it into this category. That said, making comedies is not an easy task. In mainstream movies making a good comedy is a challenge. Combining humor & porn is doubly challenging which is why you don't see that many in this genre. This year two websites Randy Blue & Dominic Ford are nominated here for the first time which in itself makes this a category to watch. These two sites not only took on the challenge of making full-length features but they were comedies as well. Randy Blue's That 70's Gay Porn Movie and Dominic Ford's Whorrey Potter deserve to be nominated for these facts alone. We also commend the Jet Set feature 5 Easy Ways to Fuck a Straight Guy and Working Hard, from Dirty Bird. The first is well done and it's also a subtle commentary on the "gay for pay" issue in porn. Brent Corrigan does double duty as director & performer in Working Hard and does a damn good job in both departments.
When all is said and done we are undecided on this category and can't tell how the voting will go. Possibly a tie is in the making?
BEST IN TWINK
We'll freely admit it that this is a category where we are unfamiliar with several of the nominees. However we have noticed that the "twink" genre has gotten a bit more diverse in the past couple years. And from this genre we've seen several stars emerge and graduate to other "older" genres. Take a look a the Road Trip series from Jocks, Working Hard, and Channel 1's Cream Filled Twinkys and you'll find more than a few guys whom you'll be seeing elsewhere--if you haven't already. Curiously none of the Raging Stallion Twinks.com movies are nominated--and they should be.
BEST LEATHER MOVIE
Unquestionably leather movies have also evolved the past few years. Think about it. It used to be that all you needed to make a leather movie were chaps, vests, armbands, boots, a sling or two, a little bondage and a dark set. Nowadays you've got more elaborate sets, leather wear & adult toy designers contributing their product, and film styles that are almost artistic. This category has highly competitive field of nominees all of whom could easily stake a claim to the prize here. In particular we liked the way that Folsom Flesh and Skuff 4 breathed new life into their respective series with some very surreal scenes. The Steve Cruz/Leif Gobo XXX movie did the same thing but it went the opposite direction with totally stripped down and virtually non-existent sets and zero plot. Menace was a terrific entry from Raging Stallion but we also feel that The Trap should have been nominated--there was a lot of work that went into it. Taken seems to be the odds-on favorite here thanks to a huge cast in a dreamy setting with lots going on.
BEST FETISH MOVIE
Add a few kinky elements to a movie and you've got yourself a fetish flick. Definitely not a genre for everyone---and purposely so. If it was mainstream it wouldn't be fetish, right? Whether it's feet, tattoos, domination, bondage, spanking or certain golden bodily fluids the nominations here should have you covered. Again this is a hard one to predict but Folsom Flesh could win it especially if Taken wins in the previous category.
BEST FETISH EXTREME
Here the most prevalent theme is fisting and it's in almost every one of the nominees' titles as well as in the videos themselves. There's also the relatively newer "electro" theme in Shock Treatment. This Tony Buff feature could capture the prize if (no pun intended) the "fisting" movies split the votes.
Coming: The performances and individual achievements
BEST INTERNATIONAL MOVIE
It's interesting to see how this category has changed and evolved as more studios have gotten into producing movies with international performers and hiring many of them to appear in US productions. Plus you can't help but see that the nominees are almost global. There are some extraordinary movies here with some really sexually powerful scenes. That said it's almost a given that Men of Israel from Lucas Entertainment has the inside track here to win. In a way Men of Israel was a gamechanger aside from the fact that it's a very hot movie with some gorgeous men. Michael Lucas almost this movie his cause--to show the beauty of Israel and some of it's very sexy men.
BEST ETHNIC
You'll see some crossover from the previous category here but obviously we're looking at a group of nominees that are mostly US-based. Again as in the above category, it seems that one film is the favorite to win here: Blackballed 7 from Channel 1 Releasing. On star power alone this Chi Chi LaRue sexfest is probably going to take the prize but it's the intense performances that really put it on top.
BEST COMEDY
We wonder if there was a temptation to nominate any films here that weren't released as comedies but still had their share of unintentional chuckles. If so there are probably quite a few that would have made it into this category. That said, making comedies is not an easy task. In mainstream movies making a good comedy is a challenge. Combining humor & porn is doubly challenging which is why you don't see that many in this genre. This year two websites Randy Blue & Dominic Ford are nominated here for the first time which in itself makes this a category to watch. These two sites not only took on the challenge of making full-length features but they were comedies as well. Randy Blue's That 70's Gay Porn Movie and Dominic Ford's Whorrey Potter deserve to be nominated for these facts alone. We also commend the Jet Set feature 5 Easy Ways to Fuck a Straight Guy and Working Hard, from Dirty Bird. The first is well done and it's also a subtle commentary on the "gay for pay" issue in porn. Brent Corrigan does double duty as director & performer in Working Hard and does a damn good job in both departments.
When all is said and done we are undecided on this category and can't tell how the voting will go. Possibly a tie is in the making?
BEST IN TWINK
We'll freely admit it that this is a category where we are unfamiliar with several of the nominees. However we have noticed that the "twink" genre has gotten a bit more diverse in the past couple years. And from this genre we've seen several stars emerge and graduate to other "older" genres. Take a look a the Road Trip series from Jocks, Working Hard, and Channel 1's Cream Filled Twinkys and you'll find more than a few guys whom you'll be seeing elsewhere--if you haven't already. Curiously none of the Raging Stallion Twinks.com movies are nominated--and they should be.
BEST LEATHER MOVIE
Unquestionably leather movies have also evolved the past few years. Think about it. It used to be that all you needed to make a leather movie were chaps, vests, armbands, boots, a sling or two, a little bondage and a dark set. Nowadays you've got more elaborate sets, leather wear & adult toy designers contributing their product, and film styles that are almost artistic. This category has highly competitive field of nominees all of whom could easily stake a claim to the prize here. In particular we liked the way that Folsom Flesh and Skuff 4 breathed new life into their respective series with some very surreal scenes. The Steve Cruz/Leif Gobo XXX movie did the same thing but it went the opposite direction with totally stripped down and virtually non-existent sets and zero plot. Menace was a terrific entry from Raging Stallion but we also feel that The Trap should have been nominated--there was a lot of work that went into it. Taken seems to be the odds-on favorite here thanks to a huge cast in a dreamy setting with lots going on.
BEST FETISH MOVIE
Add a few kinky elements to a movie and you've got yourself a fetish flick. Definitely not a genre for everyone---and purposely so. If it was mainstream it wouldn't be fetish, right? Whether it's feet, tattoos, domination, bondage, spanking or certain golden bodily fluids the nominations here should have you covered. Again this is a hard one to predict but Folsom Flesh could win it especially if Taken wins in the previous category.
BEST FETISH EXTREME
Here the most prevalent theme is fisting and it's in almost every one of the nominees' titles as well as in the videos themselves. There's also the relatively newer "electro" theme in Shock Treatment. This Tony Buff feature could capture the prize if (no pun intended) the "fisting" movies split the votes.
Coming: The performances and individual achievements
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