Archives for November 2026

Morgan 2012 film review ACOMSDave — some films don’t need flashy effects or huge budgets to leave a mark, and Morgan is proof. Directed by Michael D. Akers and released in 2012, this heartfelt drama follows Morgan Oliver, played by Leo Minaya — a young cyclist left paralysed from the waist down after a racing accident. He’s lost, angry and convinced his life is over — until a chance meeting on a basketball court brings Dean Kagen (Jack Kesy) into his world, and slowly, tentatively, something real begins to grow between them.

 

What works best here is how grounded it all feels. This isn’t a glossy fairytale — Morgan pushes people away, struggles with his self-image, and makes choices that aren’t always wise. When he sets his heart on entering the very race that caused his accident, competing in the wheelchair category, even Dean worries he’s pushing too hard. That tension — between proving yourself and risking what matters — gives the story real weight.

 

The chemistry between Minaya and Kesy is quiet and genuine; you buy their connection from the start. The film also handles disability with honesty, never reducing Morgan to his chair but showing exactly how much every part of daily life has changed. It’s not polished in every scene — the budget shows, and some moments could do with tighter editing — but that rawness actually strengthens it. This is human, imperfect storytelling.

 

At its core, Morgan is about learning you’re still the same person, even when everything around you looks different — and that the right people will see that, too.

On Air,  Blushroom short film review ACOMSDave — there’s something quietly brilliant about a story that does more with less, and On Air delivers exactly that. Released June 2026 from Blushroom, this seven-minute short, written and directed by Adante Watts, follows a reserved audio engineering student who pairs up with a classmate to record a podcast project — only to find the “test interview” turning into something far more real, vulnerable, and undeniably magnetic.

James Ent V and Gabe Dillon carry the whole film with natural, unforced chemistry that never feels overplayed or forced. You believe every glance, every pause, every moment where one is about to say something important and then holds back. The story unfolds in three tight chapters — setting the stage, a tense interview, and a mid-interview break — and that simple structure works perfectly: it keeps the focus exactly where it belongs, on the two of them and the connection growing between them.

Visually it’s clean and intimate — Keelan Bearden’s cinematography lets the performances breathe without fuss, and the sound design matters here more than most shorts because sound literally is half the plot. BRADEN ALL CAPS’ track “U & I” weaves in beautifully, hitting just at the right emotional beat without taking over.

If there’s anything to nitpick, it’s that you’ll wish it kept going — seven minutes is just enough to get fully invested, and then it ends. But that’s also its strength: it’s concise, heartfelt, and leaves you with a warm, genuine feeling that lingers.

This is a lovely, thoughtful piece of queer storytelling — honest, tender, and completely relatable. Blushroom are consistently turning out quality work, and On Air stands among their best. Highly recommended.

⭐ Rating: 8.5/10

• Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ_gasyQWlA

• Oranges [2004]