Initial release: July 19, 2013
Director: Ilo Orleans
Story by: G.A. Hauser
Screenplay: Wendell Lu
Music composed by: Leandro Gaetano, John Turner
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MOVIE INFO
The film is about two very ambitious men competing for the same job in an advertising agency. The first man called Steve Miller is a mature type, former LAPD, he quit his old job for a quieter life in anoffice. The second man called Mark Richfield is a younger and more attractive than the others in the office, in addition to having good communication skills type. Mark eventually wins the favor of the head of the office, and becomes the center of attention. After a crazy night in the Santa Fe desert, the two men share a night of passion that neither can forget. Steve is devastated to learn that he is planning to be married in a month's time. Meanwhile, Mark's life falls into a complete shambles as the wedding machine barrels full steam ahead and he no longer loves his increasingly demanding fiance. Torn between passionate love and passionate hatred, Steve and Mark endure agonizing decisions that will affect their lives forever.
Bộ phim kể về hai gã đàn ông đầy tham vọng cùng tranh giành nhau một công việc ở một hãng chuyên về quảng cáo. Gã đầu tên là Steve Miler, thuộc loại già dặn, vốn là cảnh sát trước đây ở Los Angeles; gã bỏ công việc cũ để tìm một đời sống bình lặng hơn trong một văn phòng. Gã thứ hai tên là Mark Richfield, trẻ hơn và quyến rũ hơn các gã khác trong văn phòng, lại thêm tài ăn nói uyên bác. Mark cuối cùng giành được cảm tình của cấp trên, và trở thành trung tâm của sự chú ý. Sau một đêm điên dại ở sa mạc Santa Fe, hai gã trải qua cùng nhau một đêm nóng bỏng mà cả hai không thể nào quên. Steve tan nát cõi lòng khi biết rằng Mark đang sắp kết hôn trong vòng một tháng nữa. Trong khi đó, đời sống của Mark cũng trở nên hoàn toàn uể oải khi ngày kết hôn ngày càng đến gần mà gã không còn thiết tha gì đến vị hôn thê ngày càng trở nên đòi hỏi. Bị giằng xé giữa tình yêu cháy bỏng và sự căm tức sục côi, Steve và Mark trải qua những quyết định đau khổ ảnh hưởng đến cuộc đời họ mãi mãi về sau.
REVIEW BY VIEWER
I think someone's enjoyment of this movie will depend on two things: one, how much you love the Gay For You trope; and two, how much you can tolerate cheating, as one of the main characters is engaged...to a woman. Myself, I love the former, but hate the latter, so my review of "Capital Games" will reflect that.
Steve is a laid-back, mellow type of guy. He left the LAPD and has been working in advertising for the last five years, climbing the ladder to success. Enter one Mark Richfield, new-hire, drop dead gorgeous with a sexy accent to boot and Steve knows his days as top dog in his firm are numbered.
Steve and Mark clash from the moment they meet. Mark is a pompous, arrogant know-it-all and Steve butts heads with him 24/7. When their boss takes the office away to a ranch for "team building" exercises, I think Steve would rather be shot than go. When a simple exercise goes wrong and the men get stranded in the desert together overnight, things turn heated. All that love-hate emotion finally bursts and they have sex. Both men claim neither is gay, and try to put it behind them, but Steve is falling in love with Mark and with Mark's wedding looming, something has got to give.
I've been renting/watching independent films since 1989. Quirky, avant-garde is my thing, so I was excited to see that an M/M author was having a movie made from one of her best-selling books. On one hand, "Capital Games" is a great movie, the cast is talented (sometimes with low-budget gay films the acting is sub-par, that is not the case here). On the other, I had some issues with the plot, which is why I did not rate it higher.
First, the good things.
The production aspects on this film are top-notch. It is beautifully filmed, the sound and editing are perfection. You do not normally see this level of professionalism in low-budget movies, but "Capital Games" has that and more. The sights around Los Angeles are gorgeous and the aerial shots sublime. (Yes, I took a few film classes in college.) Two stars for just the cinematography.
Second, the acting, as I said, is above-average. Eric Presnall won me over as the sexually confused Steve Miller. He's so cute and his acting so believable I wanted to eat him up with a spoon! I see this guy's career taking off big-time. And while I did enjoy Gregor Cosgrove's performance as Mark, his British accent left a lot to be desired, so if you can get over that, you will probably like his Mark Richfield. Plus, the chemistry the two men shared on screen was burning hot. The nailed the enemies-to-lovers trope perfectly. I added another star for just them. The casting department really hit the jackpot with these two.
Now, we have to move to my reservations. While I loved the directing and acting in "Capital Games," the screenplay felt unfinished and disjointed which is why I couldn't rate it higher than 3.5 stars. I read the "Capital Games" book many moons ago, so I had a vague idea what the movie would be about. And while it does follow very closely to the novel, the movie does leave out what I felt were some of the most important aspects of the book, namely Mark's relationship with Jack, his roommate, and Steve's dysfunctional dynamic with his bigoted father, a former LAPD cop himself.
With only 97 minutes, I know a movie cannot cover everything in a book, Stephen King's novels are a great example of that. But if I were just viewing the movie, never knowing about the book, I would have a hard time following the plot. There were many inconsistencies that were never fully explained and characters who were never developed (Jack). At times I was very confused about what was going on. For example, in a flashback scene, you see an older man pull a gun on Steve and his ex-girlfriend in front of a coffee shop. That is not explained until towards the end, when its revealed the "older man" was Steve's dad! Now I know from the book, that action got Steve's father an early retirement, but the whys and hows were never explained in the movie. It just hung out there confusing me.
Another example was after Mark and Steve slept together in the desert, Steve becomes this Edward Cullen-like stalker of Mark. It was a tad creepy and made me want to tell Mark to get a restraining order against Steve. Hey, I like Insta-Love plots, but this was one hand-job...not sure how you can go from that to: "I love you, leave your fiancee." In one scene, Mark is telling Steve to leave him alone, stop touching him, then in practically the next scene they are making out in their work elevator like the previous conversation never happened! Continuity-wise those scenes did not flow together properly, so viewers who have not read the book I think would go: WTH?
Plus, Mark had some huge mood swings in this movie and while the I-want-you-I-don't-want-you can be entertaining, this push and pull was too schizophrenic for me. Mark yelled a lot and then kissed Steve, pushed him away, yelled some more, then kissed him again. I think you get my point. It was a little too soap opera-ish for me.
Now, I did say the movie had some hot sex scenes and it did. Mark and Steve should get an MTV Award for Best Kiss in a Movie. I do believe some tongue was involved. The sex scenes are not for the prudish. Yes, we've all seen simulated sex on screen, some bad, some good; but Capital Games took it to a new level by showing Mark and Steve kissing, caressing, then cut away scenes to actual simulated sex. (I had to re-watch it twice to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. For research purposes, of course).
Hey, I did say it had hot sex scenes! So, depending on what you are comfortable with, this movie strays into the NC-17 arena. I admit I gave the movie an extra .5 stars for delving into risque territory. It felt very "9 1/2 Weeks" to me.
My last niggle was the ending. I don't want to give it away, but it does end exactly like the book. So if you enjoyed that, you will like this. But that ending was the main reason I didn't love the book. Yes, with a love triangle, someone is going to wind up alone and hurt, but I think that could have been avoided by editing the end of the movie to portray Mark as a more caring, compassionate individual by not doing what he did!
So, overall, I did like many aspects of "Capital Games." I think fans of Ms. Hauser's Action series will love this movie. But for the average gay-themed movie watcher, there are some niggles. Not enough for me to advise against renting/buying it, but still some reservations that makes the movie not join my Top Ten Gay-Themed Films list.
Reviews by Jessewave
DVD Review - Capital Games
I hadn't heard of G. A. Hauser, but apparently she is the author of over 80 books. Most of which are gay romance novels.
Capital Games is about former Los Angeles Police Department officer Steve Miller. The film opens with Miller, a tall, gorgeous, well-built blonde with blue eyes, played by Eric Presnall, running shirtless through the streets of L.A., as he experiences a series of flashbacks. To the hardcore Hauser fan who has read her most recent books, bells will ring, particularly if said person has read Miller's Tale, a prequel novel explaining the flashbacks. Miller's Tale tells prior to the start of Capital Games how Miller caused a stir with his conservative family and racist LAPD father when he started dating a black woman whom he rescued from a burglary.
With a screenplay by Wendell Lu and directed by Ilo Orleans in his feature debut, Capital Games makes it clear by the end of the first reel that Miller and his black girlfriend Sonja Knight, played by Paula Ray, have broken up and Miller is now by himself. The reasons she left are only clear in retrospect but Miller also left the LAPD, currently putting him to work at Parsons and Co., an advertising agency. He's been there for five years. He's very competitive and ambitious and has worked his way up, dressing in very nice suits and driving a Mercedes-Benz, but he wants more.
At the agency, there is an account, the Foist account, that is gone up for grabs. Miller wants it, which would not only prove him the alpha dog but also net him a lot in commission. Yet, on the day that he goes for it, appealing to his boss, Mr. Parsons, a new ad executive arrives at the agency.
The new ad exec is Mark Richfield, a British transplant who rivals Miller for the Foist account. Richfield is played by Gregor Cosgrove in a not always convincing British accent. Before even properly meeting, Richfield upsets Miller by taking his parking space with his sporty and way more fun Pontiac Solstice, a convertible roadster. Richfield is also dressed more impeccably and comes with more confidence, manners and ability in ad work.
The rivalry between Miller and Richfield amplify when Parsons decides to take everyone at the agency to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for a company retreat for the weekend. Miller and Richfield are forced to live together in a home in the desert. The retreat is meant for team building, but it only makes Miller's competitiveness that much worse.
During the retreat, the agency's employees participate in three exercises or "games" meant to bring them all closer together. It brings Miller and Richfield together but in unexpected ways. Richfield criticizes Miller at almost every decision he makes, as Miller makes it clear that he wants to be the sole person making the decisions, revealing how Miller is way too macho and Richfield way too pampered.
Aside from a couple of moments that mirror the Oscar-winning 2005 film, Capital Games is not Brokeback Mountain. Evidence of this is the fact that it's not about exterior homophobia or homophobia that comes from any real, outside threat. A possible threat exists in Miller's conservative family, but Lu's script never makes use of that threat.
The only, other threat is Richfield's pending marriage to Sharon Tice, played by Corinne Fox, a New Mexico native. There's also a question of Richfield's relationship to openly gay lawyer Jack Larsen, played by Shane Keough, the former baseball player and model, but Lu's script fails to explain what the dynamic is between Richfield, his future wife and Larsen who is currently Richfield's roommate. One scene has Richfield come home and see both his fiancée and Larsen sitting in his living room, and one wonders about their history.
Nevertheless, the absolute fun of this movie is watching Miller doggedly pursue Richfield and do whatever he can to seduce Richfield. It's almost like a cat-and-mouse game, a predator going after its prey. It helps that Miller is former LAPD because it's also like a cop going after a suspect, a suspect with whom he wants to have sex, making the movie more about the tension and passion that heavily breathes between the two men.
The film premiered at Philadelphia's Qfest 2013. It was made available on DVD through Amazon via an "on demand" basis, but now Breaking Glass Pictures is giving it a proper DVD release on February 25.
Four Stars out of Five.
Not Rated but for contains male full-frontal nudity and sexual situations.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 37 mins.
Let the games begin. Former Los Angeles Police officer Steve Miller has gone from walking a beat in the City of Angels to joining the rat race as an advertising executive. He knows how cut-throat the industry can be, so when his boss tells him that he's in direct competition with a newcomer from across the pond for a coveted account he's not surprised.then he meets Mark Richfield. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth and fashion-model good looks, Mark is used to getting what he wants. About to be married, Mark has just nailed the job of his dreams. If the determined Brit could just steal the firm's biggest account right out from under Steve Miller, his life would be perfect. When their boss sends them together to the Arizona desert for a team-building retreat the tension between the two dynamic men escalates until in the heat of the moment their uncontrollable passion leads them to a sexual experience that neither can forget. Will Mark deny his feelings and follow through with marriage to a women he no longer wants, or will he realize in time that in the game of love, sometimes you have to let go and lose yourself in order to really win.
ERIC PRESNALL
Actor
Born: September 26, 1989 (age 26), El Dorado County, California, CA
Movies: Capital Games, Another Life
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