Before I get into my review of "Shelter" I would like to explain a few things about me, movie reviews and critics.

I don't like nor do I read reviews about movies I am going to see maybe 99% of the time--the other 1% is if I am really sitting on the fence about seeing a movie. I primarily choose a picture to see on what the genre is: romantic comedy or drama, family drama, some history themes,etc. I, generally, stay away from horror, violent, crude, war, sci-fi or mainly special effect films.

Sometimes I will go see a film mainly because of who is in it or if it is based on a writer I admire.

I don't want to know what a movie is about as or what the subject and plot lines are; I would rather find out as I watch it. For this reason my reviews seldom have "SPOILERS" or tell too much about the movie itself and I have found that professional and amateur critics give too much away.

Now on to "Shelter"--this would have been a very good 'after school TV special" as it does need cutting. There are two too many surfer scenes, the beginning half hour drags and the emphasis would have been better if more concentrated on the 2 leads.

It is another 'coming out--who am I" story of which most gay themed stories deal with. I feel it is time that film makers dealt more with what happens AFTER a person comes out. It is also time for these same film makers to deal with the AIDS situation in America today. At the beginning of the AIDS epidemic there were some excellent films about how it was impacting lives at that time such as "As Is", "Long Time Companions", "An Early Frost", "Angels In America", etc.

There were also films such as "Making Love" that followed a man after he came out.

Basically, "Shelter" is about a young man with too many responsibilities who discovers feelings for his best friend's brother and the problems with his irresponsible sister whose child--his nephew--he becomes a surrogate father to.

There is a lot of chemistry between the two male leads, Trevor Wright and Brad Rowe, which makes the story believable even when things go wrong. Instead of all the surfing scenes the writer/director, Jonah Markowitz should have spent more time on the sister, Tina Holmes, and her neglect of her child for a man.

The love scenes are muted and handled in good taste though the scenes of Trevor's work as an artist are short changed.

And, yes, (this is not a spoiler) it ends 'happily ever after', as you know it will from the first time the two men get together--a lot more realistic than the 'couple' in "Brokeback Mountain."

The soundtrack is inaudible a few times but most of the scenic photography is stunning. Though surfing can be poetry in motion the many scenes of surfing in this movie become repetitious--you almost have the feeling it is the same scene being repeated again and again.

Do I recommend it?? It will be out in stores on DVD next week and it might be worth renting. I do suggest you fast forward the surfing scenes after the first one and skipping the many repeated scenes of the protagonist being 'moody' while sitting alone in his car--cut it to an hour and you will have a good film.