We MAKE LOVE Stories | Border2Border Entertainment

Did you know... I can't share my documentary Sex Club 101 with you on YouTube but we have it up for you to watch on the following platforms! Give it a watch and let me know what you think with a comment on the trailer (which I can share with you on YouTube!)

Watch on Border2Border.ca/sex-club-101
Amazon: www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0DS2S5QB6?ref_=atv…
Tubi: tubitv.com/movies/543330/sex-party-101

1 day ago | [YT] | 3

We MAKE LOVE Stories | Border2Border Entertainment

WHAT I'M READING: That's Very Valentin of You: 1940 - 1941 by Edis Swann

That's Very Valentin of You captures the stolen moments of early gay exploration in a beautiful, slow-burn dance of shadows that pulls on the heart strings. The dalliance between high school senior Valentin and his 1st year college brother's best friend Felix is drawn out in delicious but fleeting tableaus where we wish more courage and confidence for them both.

The most compelling part of this period novel is its setting in German occupied Paris from 1940 to 1941 when Valentin's brother Paul and his small and trusted group of friends form a group intent in shifting minds to resist the occupying army through the writing and distribution of flyers which must be delivered to the neighbourhoods of Paris–an act of youthful defiance that helped the beating heart of France continue under Nazi rule.

There are interesting if brief touches on exactly what kind of new world Paul and his friends hope for and this vagary actually feels believable for 17 and 18 year-olds trying to comprehend, grow into and shape their future while under the fist of fate they never dreamed would be their reality.

Valentin likewise is starting to sample the work of Lennon, Nietzsche, and Freud and having been committed to a sanitarium for (spoiler), it's again understandable and plausible that ruminations in psychology, sociology and the architecture of mind, heart, and society are at the forefront of his contemplation, whenever he's not obsessing over how and when his next meeting with Felix may manifest.

The novel is not a conventional modern romance and likely won't satisfy those whose tastes prefer the predictable tropes and recipes that genre supplies in excess. For the adventurous reader looking to contemplate and empathize with life in wartime, life of gay people when it was considered a psychiatric condition - That's Very Valentin of You will leave you with lots to ponder. The visceral pining of youth and its ache to experience and make the world better will stick with me.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and review an advance copy from the author and Booksirens.

2 days ago | [YT] | 4

We MAKE LOVE Stories | Border2Border Entertainment

WHAT I'M READING: There's Only One Sin in Hollywood by Rasheed Newson

Beautiful book with parallel timelines exploring the interwoven lives of three men during the Second World War and pursuing careers in Hollywood.


I really enjoyed the detailed exploration of the romantic relationships between these men in settings and circumstances that did not tolerate homosexuality and barely tolerated racial integration into the military and media.

1 week ago | [YT] | 0

We MAKE LOVE Stories | Border2Border Entertainment

WHAT I'M READING: Wasteland by Becca Arbor
The writing is edgy, specific, and painterly in detail. Like the title, the author colours the city of Los Angeles and the cast of characters in this book as a pulsing, beautifully vivid but internally dead mass of bodies with no raison d'être but pursuit of personal pleasure.

They are void of empathy, humanity, virtue, and hold a code of conduct more interested in the 'right' brands and aligning their faces and bodies more closely to their IG filters. In a more succinct phrase - yuck.

There's little to latch on to in terms of likeability in the cast, and the main character energy embodied in Brendan Childs is at its most compelling when he is 'wide awake' to his ambition, however self-pleasing it may be. He is observant and beauty is what generally turns his gaze whether in architecture, fashion, or people. I appreciated the few cursory acknowledgements that he appraised female and male beauty, not equally but with curiosity, and diving into his burgeoning bisexuality would have been one way to make this Ken doll more interesting. Brendan is most vivid in sexual pursuit, but just like his big swinging dick–which he flatters in detail whenever he has the chance– even 9 inches of fun, free-flying commando or flauntingly floated like a pool toy while swimming au natural eventually bores when attached to a boar.

And a pig he is, wasting away in his own palace with no goals, no dreams, no ambition, no connection to the world or the people in it except in a surgical examination and dressing down of how everyone, even his closest friends, are in myriad ways lacking in style, stature, wit or wile compared to him.

Where villains like Dexter and Villanelle are coldblooded, there is a calculation in their killing that results in affinity for their audience. Conversely, Brendan Childs operates like an untethered rogue wolf where the motivation for murder is vague (in most cases) and so we have a harder time wanting to cheer on his haphazard horrors.

If this sounds like I hated it–I did, but in that way that you hate watch the basest reality TV and keep watching. Brendan Childs is so rich, so famous, so sculpted, so well presented and packaged, and so well endowed and proud that despite knowing that this much hard candy is bound to break our teeth, it's hard to resist biting.

Distinguishing between disliking the characters (which is the point) and liking the writing is important. Becca Arbor wields her words like sharp knives and just when we think things couldn't get more twisted, she turns the knife.

ARC Booksirens

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 2

We MAKE LOVE Stories | Border2Border Entertainment

Hey big stars, thanks for hanging out with me on my channel. I really appreciate you subscribing and for your comments, encouragement and support over so many years! It's a marathon building a community on YouTube and I'm so happy to have you part of my circle.

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 76

We MAKE LOVE Stories | Border2Border Entertainment

WHAT IF YOU COULDN'T DETERMINE YOUR BOYFRIEND FROM A MONSTER?
We watched Leviticus, have you?
In this episode of Spoiler Club, Charlie and Igor dive into Leviticus, the disturbing Australian supernatural horror film from writer-director Adrian Chiarella about two teenage boys, Naim and Ryan, growing up in a strict religious community.

But we’re not just here to talk about what happened.

We’re breaking down how Leviticus uses horror to explore repression, desire, religious intolerance, self-loathing, and the psychological damage caused by conversion therapy. We get into the film’s claustrophobic visual language, and the way its supernatural monster turns the boys’ deepest desires into something terrifying.

And then there’s the monster itself.

The entity unleashed by the church’s forced exorcism doesn’t simply hunt Naim and Ryan. It takes the form of the person they desire most — each other. So what happens when the thing you’re taught to hate about yourself becomes the very thing haunting you?

We’re digging into the film’s use of supernatural horror as metaphor, its portrayal of religious control, and the choices that make Leviticus so unsettling.

⚠️ FULL SPOILERS AHEAD. If you haven’t seen Leviticus and want to experience it without knowing what happens, watch the movie first. You’ve officially been warned.

Spoiler Club is where we watch what you tell us to watch, then tear it apart, talk filmmaking, argue about what worked, and figure out why we loved it, hated it, or couldn’t stop thinking about it.

What should we watch next?

Drop your movie, TV show, or book suggestions in the comments. You pick it. We’ll spoil it.

Welcome to Spoiler Club — where the spoilers are the point.

Instagram:
/ spoiler.club.show

1 month ago | [YT] | 3

We MAKE LOVE Stories | Border2Border Entertainment

CANREADS BOOK REVIEW
Bless This Hot Mess by Charlie David a.co/d/0iW1GJzv
A delightful homage to local ’90s radio culture, Bless This Hot Mess tunes into the camp, chaos, and community of life behind the microphone.

Full of unapologetic camp and many a pop culture reference, Bless This Hot Mess follows Rebekkah, Japheth, and Ronald as they step into their debut roles as hosts of WWJD’s weekly Trinity Radio Hour. The trio’s chemistry, faith, and talent are undeniable, but they soon find themselves at the centre of the turmoil threatening the small town radio station they call home. Between cease-and-desist letters alleging stolen music, WWJD’s mounting financial troubles, and the mysterious disappearance of the station owner’s parents, it’s up to their small, determined team to save the future of the Trinity Radio Hour.

Perhaps the strongest element of Bless This Hot Mess lies within its distinctive writing style. David’s writing is witty, clever, and quippy, making a vastly entertaining read. Smart, humorous wordplay drives much of the novel, while an original soundtrack gives the story an inventive, interactive dimension. With so many playful elements in motion, the novel could easily have felt overworked or uncertain in its intentions, but David keeps it grounded by weaving moments of genuine gravity throughout the surrounding chaos. The result is a reading experience as lively and unpredictable as the radio show at its centre.

That same creative abundance occasionally creates challenges with pacing and resolution. Some plotlines are introduced and resolved within a chapter or two, giving parts of the story an episodic quality, while others remain unexplained or lack the space to reach their full potential. Still, the memorable characters and central conflict provide a cohesive foundation amid the book’s many moving parts.

The novel finds some of its greatest emotional cohesion in its thoughtful treatment of faith. While religion plays a significant role in the plot of Bless This Hot Mess, at no point does the book feel as though it spirals into proselytizing. Instead, the novel takes its time to explore the diverse cast of characters’ beliefs, self-identification, and relationships with themselves and others. These explorations lend emotional weight to the otherwise lighthearted story and make each character’s journey feel convincing and satisfying. David’s ability to layer energetic camp with thought-provoking questions of faith and identity demonstrates an incredibly impressive command of tone.

Overall, Bless This Hot Mess is a fun, spirited comedy that captures the eccentricity and communal energy of a small-town radio station. Readers who loved Jennifer Crusie’s Charlie All Night will find much much to appreciate in its endearing ensemble, romantic complications, and behind-the-microphone mayhem. Hilarious, clever, and heartfelt, Bless This Hot Mess never misses a beat.
—CANREADS BOOK REVIEW

1 month ago | [YT] | 10

We MAKE LOVE Stories | Border2Border Entertainment

WHAT I'M READING: The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor

Sweeping and impactful. This beautifully written Canadiana novel is a welcome and important exploration of gender, chosen family, identity, and lore.

An opportunity to savour the simplicity of rural life while hauntingly affronted with the horrors of war and its ruthless separation of family, friendships, and the personal pursuit of life-building and aspirations in exchange for the desperate need of a nation and a world in desperate times.

Though this is fiction, (well researched) and set against the traumatic and larger than life shock and awe of the Second World War, it hits close to home and squeezes the heart in its urgency to remember the lessons of the past and be clear eyed about the dangers that await us if and when we choose to forget.

The exploration of family dynamics, of love's push and pull and the overriding hope that all will be well for these characters is a powerful pull drawing the reader through to the final page.

Thank you for this wonderful read.

1 month ago | [YT] | 16