Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

To be honest, I really don't think that this 4 part BBC mini series needs to be documented here. Yeah, the main character was gay, but besides that the homosexuality angle is not really the core of this series. London, early 1960s. Harry Starks is a dangerous mobster, a club owner who loves money, rent boys, and Judy Garland. He's an East End gangster who, in grandiose Kray Twins style tradition, is not only prone to streaks of madness, depression and a violent temper, but homosexuality. His penchant for Spanish Inquisition style justice has handed him the Fleet Street moniker of "Torture Gang Boss". He revels in a nether world of minor celebrities, fund raisers, boxing, showbiz, gambling clubs and philanthropy, for the sake of public image. We witness story of Harry Stars through 4 main characters in his life Teddy's Story: Racketeer Harry Starks sees Teddy Thursby, an impecunious peer of the realm with a predilection for young men, as a means of joining the Esta...

Indie queer films have generally upped the game because audiences are not forgiving in todays day and time. So its especially surprising when a campy trashy film like this comes in 2020, with bad acting and direction where you have seen it all. There were a lot of cringy moments because of this, like the ending which was just one-liner after one-liner after one-liner, without any real end in sight. This I lay at the feet of writing and directing. Dwayne has just moved back to Providence after splitting with boyfriend and managed to get his job back as a bartender in the locally haunt Outhouse popular for drag shows. But within a span of 4 days, one murder after the other happens where gay men have been brutally murdered and their blood drained. No one is safe. Everyone is a suspect including Dwayne, the club owner Tony, the agin drag queen Gloria Hole and the new popular Janet Fitness and even the out of it, Tragedi. Gloria Hole is losing her place in the club, is agin and wants it all...

This documentary film is from way back 1998. It is always interesting and educating to see things that have happened in the past in the whole spectrum of various gay rights movement. There are so many stories out there and with every different documentary, you get to learn something new. Its my personal issue that I do not remember most of the stories (am I getting old?) , but these stories are worth telling and worth hearing. The primary story is about Kelli Peterson , a senior in high school in Utah, who was the first person to start a Gay Straight Alliance club in her school. What started off as a safe space for gay and lesbian people to be in their comfort zone soon turned into something that no one would have ever imagined. The event soon becomes political, where a small high school group becomes a national debate and before she realizes Kelli is fighting for her rights and eventually wins it. In between the main story of Keli, we are also told of stories of other very prominent h...

Quarantine gave film makers an opportunity to come up with novel ideas of shooting. The trend continues with this series as well which is set during the pandemic in Taiwan and the entire story is told through a series of video calls (think Gameboys), during which our protagonists meet, flirt, question their feelings for one another and take the next step till they finally meet in person. With 10 episodes of running time of 5-7 minutes, this is a very easy and pleasant watch where it never digresses from what it really wants to say. Bo Chun is a young Taiwanese university students who is into vintage cameras. Just when he is about to buy a camera online, it gets purchased by Sato, a Japanese writer, who wants to gift this to his ex-bf. Because of a mix up when Sato thinks he has messaged his ex for the camera, he ends up messaging Bo Chun instead who is now curious to get his hands on the camera. His uses his friend Liying's help for language and she starts liking Sato. Sato travels...

This is exactly the kind of films that get created from independent makers in the name of queer cinema that's total blasphemy, at least in todays time. This, ten years back, would still have been ok. But in the same of comedy, when trash is presented to you, in times when audiences' tastes have dramatically changed, I am not really sure, who is the target audience for the makers. I didn't even get a chuckle, forget laughing at this film. 2 failed cops are sent by their sheriff as DEEP undercover agents in a porn movie production. The cops have had complains about two porn stars who also hustle on the side, who have sex with Republican politicians and they make their videos to blackmail. These two 'straight' cops need to take up this job as they do not have any choice and even be prepared to have sex. While on the job, they realize the intentions behind them blackmailing the politician is a noble one and is to safeguard an old age home. IN fact, one of the cops, who ...

I had hopes that season 2 will cover the huge flaws of season one and actually focus some of the much needed discussions that need to happen in industry and in general anyway, but even with season two, the makers haven't really improved much on things they should have focused on. Marco is still continuing his support for traumatized Bas, who is still very afraid of taking any action for the weird producer. He is too scared to get his career affected and is fearful of disappointing his parents. But luckily Marco manages a video of Tee trying to get funny with Bas again. But Bas is still too scared even contemplating suicide. Meanwhile James and Ait continue with their relationship. There is bit of jealousy from Ait when he sees Marcos confess his attraction o James but agrees to strictly be friends. When news of issues in the series comes out, the producers decide to hold a press conference and ask James and Ait to keep their relationship a secret, but James confesses and Bas also e...

A gay man and a single father, is in his 40s is going through all sorts of crisis in life. He shares a complex and intense relationship with his daughter for many reason. This film is about a crisis in a man's life and his continued downward spiral primarily arising due to his loneliness and his inability to find love and stick with it. Our protagonist is impulsive but in desperate need for love. The film starts with a gay orgy, where we meet our man Santiago who has gone there for some connection but doesn't find it. He comes back home next day to his angry teenage daughter Laila. They have a playful but love hate relationship. She is mad because he didn't let her go to party and she gets back saying to him that the best thing in his life was his ex Luis but he let him go too. He suddenly decides to show up at Luis's house with his mother and daughter hoping to rekindle his relationship with Luis but instead creates. Ruckus and drama. We are not clearly told what went ...

Is this really a queer film? Probably not! This film is more about self acceptance for being who you are, proud of being who you are and trying to do do the right thing. This is a story of a father who is torn between an unexpected love and the love and respect of his daughter. Ah Ming lives with his daughter Xiao Feng but they have a troubled relationship where the daughter doesn't talk to her father at all. Turns out her mother left her when she was a baby and Ah Ming has been taking care of her even though he is not his biological father. One day she suddenly disappears and through police he finds out that she was seen in Taipei. Turns out that Xiao Feng went there to meet her online friend, another guy but the guy who shows up is an older man. When Ah Mind finds them both, the old guy is rushed to hospital and now Ah Ming and Xiao Feng are both interested in finding the truth behind that man. With Unearthing the truth about the old man, Ah Ming also needs to confront and tell t...

I had really enjoyed the season one of this statical sitcom and was eagerly looking for season 2. The comedy, laughs and gigs remain intact. The four sis still on these 2 siblings and a little more on the mother as well this time. Chase has gone from being famous singer to just ok. Meanwhile their mother Pat has become a famous talk show host and really popular. Older sister Brooke feels she has perfect skills to b a talent manager and is scouring TikTok looking for the next ChaseDreams to advance her managing career, while older brother Cary has a suddenly semi-lucrative career as the token gay host on sites like BuzzFeed, Thrillist and BagelBitesTV. Neither Brooke nor Cary is exactly happy, but Drew has a boyfriend, which he thinks counts as happiness in the short term. Like its predecessor, each episode focuses on different aspects of these 2 individuals. And their growth, setbacks and positive movements in life. Brooke eventually becomes co-manager for her mother along with Scooter...

Mexico hasn't really produced many LGBT themed films and 20 minutes into the film and I was already hooked. There is something very poetic and something very magical and pure with the way this film is made. And you will be shocked to see that this film actually combines the documentary style film making very effectively with narrative style feature. It was only towards the very end that I began to wonder if the characters were real and sure enough they were. The story is about two boys Ivan and Gerardo. Ivan, who lives in Pueblo is stuck washing dishes in restaurant even though he has studied in culinary school and is very talented. He has a young son with an ex girlfriend or wife but is also secretly gay. Only is best friend from childhood Sandra knows his secret. One such night he meets Gerardo, who is openly gay and before you know they both madly fall in love. They both have had turbulent childhood where they were ridiculed for being gay by their folks etc. Ivan is so unhappy w...

PRIDE is a six-part documentary series chronicling the struggle for LGBTQ+ civil rights in America from the 1950s through the 2000s. All running around 45 minutes, these films, together, attempt to tell the story of LGBTQ life in America in the late 20th century through the early 21st century. It’s an earnest goal, met with talent, ingenuity and seriousness of purpose. Each pf the six different episodes running at about 45 minutes each focus on a different decade right fro the 1050s to the 2000s. Some of these devices are more effective than others, as all come from a place of deeply earnest, searching curiosity and tenderness. We see the 50s where apparently being gay or lesbian wasn't as frowned upon as it later began to be. People were lot more tolerant util in the 60 the more conservative states started going up with laws. 1960s relies mostly on archival footage and the 1970s episode is a personal love letter to film-maker Barbara Hammer and poet Audre Lorde. As expected the 80...

A drama that explores the sinister and exploitative side of the acting industry , especially in the BL world. The drama sounds amazing on paper, but it is unbelievingly badly executed. The first 5 episodes are wasted in a wishy washy love story, whereas they could have easily gone to the main crux of the story. By the time the meat comes, the season one ends in a limbo and now we will have to wait to check what happens in season 2. James is an upcoming director who gets hired to direct a new BL show starring Ait and Bas. Tee, an older guy runs the production company, who is a very unfriendly person and very strict rules on how the new BL couple should behave. His company was recently in news when the lead actor quit. During their introductions, James is surprised to learn that Ait has been forced to get a nosejob, while Bas is on a restrictive diet to maintain his physique. Ait develops a huge crush for James, who eventually reciprocates the feeling, despite repeated warnings form the ...

Acceptance of LGBTQ folks in India is still a huge issue and is something that's considered a very western thing. For a substantial population, when it comes to honor, they would rather their child be dead than come out as gay. The film maker tries to deal with that thought here in this film. Lakshmi is a school principal and a single mother to Varun who is in his first year of college. The two live in a coastal town on an island in their happy space with Varun's cousin living with them after his mother's death. Soon Varun starts to feel he is getting attracted to male masculinity and I this quest to find answers he does a few sessions with a psychiatrist who eventually then introduces him to his gay son Kartik who is also an activist. Slowly the two boys start coming closer. Varun is envious of how supportive Kartik's family is. But all hell breaks lose when he is outed to Lakshmi. She doesn't take the news well and throws her son out of home declaring that he is a...

This series had some really positive feedback in general, so I was looking forward to watching it. Also, Korean shows have been a decent bag and recently they have definitely upped their game. Unfortunately, though the series was good, it never managed to rise above good and show up something new, something that we have not sen before. With 16 episodes ranging from 20-30 minutes, this is a significant investment of time. 18 year old Tae Kyung is a shy loner boy who has never had any friend. When he reaches 11th grade, one of his teachers mentors him and asks him to join the student council consisting of three members which will help him navigate school and make friends. The president Da On is like the perfect guy who is charming and can never do any wrong. HIs best friend is this happy go lucky person and finally we have Shin Woo, somebody who comes as a very cold and distant guy and needs time to open up to people. When Tae joins the group, Shin Woo is initially reluctant but it turns...

This is not about a gay story, instead its a gut wrenching and a very heart warming story of a refugee's life who happens to be gay, which makes things even more complicated for him than others. This need of the hour film made with a blend of animation and archive footage tells an immensely powerful tale of a gay Afghan survivor. We meet Amin, who his telling his story for the first time ever to his film maker friend Jonas. This is something that he has not shared with anyone. The story of his fleeing his home country Afghanistan and how he made his way in Denmark eventually. You expect the narration to be harrowing but thankfully its also very humane at the same time. Amin is a kid growing up in Kabul, when he along with his family have to flee in 1989 after the civil war. He, along with his elder brother, two elder sisters and the brother manage to reach Moscow to seek refuge.  Amin, through his conversations with Jonas, talks about his attempts to get out of Moscow with the pers...

When the movie starts with cards that say "This really happened. Then we added dancing and singing.", you know you are in store for something special. A strong idea and hopefully an equally string execution. Apparently based on a true story of Jamie, a 16 year old drag queen, that first surfaced as a BBC documentary and then a musical which apparently still plays in London.The story is new to me and I wasn't aware of the details, so here I started watching the film recently released on Prime video. Set in Sheffield, England, 16 year old Jamie lives with his mother and aspires to become a drag queen. Even though he is out and comfortable with it at school, it doesn't stupor him from occasionally getting bullied by other his classmates or by a very conservative teacher. But with support of his best friend is Pritti and his very encouraging mother, he keeps going. Jamie wants to go to school prom in drag but knows nothing about it. Enter an older drag queen, and now Jami...

Imperdonable (El Salvador) [Unforgivable] A ruthless hitman for the 18th Street gang deals with his sexuality inside an evangelical Salvadoran prison, where he is not just guilty of crimes, but of an unforgivable sin under God and gang: being gay. Broken Youth (China) Li Yang has been the victim of campus bullying since the news of him falling in love with the class leader is revealed. A kind boy Feng steps forward and helps. The two became good friends who talk about everything. The appearance of Feng rescued Li boy from the abyss, taking him to the light. The Only Gay on the Estate (UK) First time director Michael Ogden's journey back to his roots as a closeted gay teenager on the Wythenshawe estate in Manchester, and to find his childhood best friend, David, a boy he bullied for being gay. Michael quickly discovers that it’s not the past he needs to confront, but the present - his family still doesn’t know he’s gay. Find You in the Crowd (China) A young teen is madly in love wit...

This was not only a silly film but also quite bad actually. It started off decent but pretty soon , it was all over the place. It was trying to cram up way too much into its short 90 minute duration. Gay, straight, jealous fiancé, career, mafia, news reporting etc etc. Story is simple. Two life long friends are in their early 30s and are not doing well in life. Ricardo is a wanna designer and Frederico is a massive failure with a younger brother to take care of. One day Fred sees an article in a paper providing grant for young businessmen. They decide to partner to open up a fashion house, but pretty soon they realize that the grant is open for only couples. Because of intervention by newspaper director (who is closet gay himself), they decide to pretend to be gay. Ricardo's girlfriend freaks out and meanwhile an investigative journalist starts falling for Frederico. Soon their secret is out, but an emotional speech by the director, their grant stays and the two friends soon become...

I think I saw this way before I started writing my blog here, so it was a bit nostalgic to watch it again, but also good in a way since I pretty much didn't remember anything at all about the film. I think some of these older films have a certain charm to them. They are not very complicated, easy to keep your attention and have something fun and meaningful to say to us as audience. The film is light, funny and not stupid. Jean-Pierre is a college professor who is in a relationship with Armando, a cuban masseur; but due to his status and his work with charity organization, he is not out to his friends and work, but still most people know about him. One day suddenly by luck of draw the court appoints him as guardian for an underage troubled kid Antione. He is. very upset and wants to contest the application. Also it turns out that he was once married to a woman, who he has not divorced. He asks her to come back to his life, much to the jealousy of Armando, because JP thinks that once...

The film started off well but it really didn't have much to say in the first place. With an incoherent storyline, the film loses its steam half way. The only saving grace is some good performances. So keep your expectations really low with this film, which is a mix of all sorts of genres with a lot of LGBTQ focus thrown in. Andres and his gay brother barge into a construction site to steal money for Donalds' adoptive mother Pacing for her kidney operation. The plan goes wrong and they are now on a run with a girl Adriana, the secretary there. They go to Donald's ex boyfriend's house Martin to lay low for sometime. Through flashbacks we are told that, Pacing is a trans woman who has been adopting gay street kids who could get abused and provide them with shelter and food. So years ago, when brothers were on street, she took in Donald but not Andres. We also get to know a little about Adriana, whose military father and brothers keep her locked in, so this is her way of es...

This was one of the most fascinating documentaries I have seen in a while. Although, this is not at all queer related, but when the central theme is penis, and we all know as gays, we are all about that, it only deems fit for me to put in a quick short review of this documentary here on my site. Siggi, founder of the Icelandic Phallological Museum, admits that the project began as a joke. Many many years into his dream, he runs the world's largest museum which has almost every penis of every species that is there to be. But his dream is to have the most important human penis. This one thing has evaded him for long. Fortunately, a volunteer arrives in the form of Pall Arason, a famous Icelandic adventurer and well-known womanizer. He I she sort of candidate that will be amazing for the museum. To Siggi's surprise, another man from USA, Tom, a swaggering, well-endowed cowboy who refers to his penis as Elmo also wants to immortalized and wants to be “the world’s first true penis c...

Collection of five short films set mostly in the darkness of the night. They delve into heart-pumping escapades varying from the intensely erotic to the ultra-violent to the warm-inside feels. The night has never looked so inviting. Of the 5 films here, I had already seen 2 before and reviewed. Spiral (Sweden) Two hours before Karim and Dan are going on a trip to Argentina, Dan leaves their apartment and disappears without any trace. Karim, suspecting that Dan has been gone too long, must dive into the underbelly of nightlife in Malmö in order to find Dan.This film is about obsession, sadism and the weird end of the male gaze. Very odd and weird film. Floating Melon (China) Two gay men make passionate love in a flat, aided by drugs. After waking up host finds the other guy presumably dead. The left-alive guy turns to two female friends for help, and a few further events take place, leaving us at the finale with a what-the-fuck? moment of a not-quite-complete-visual of which to make sen...

This 2008 film is more about coming out, longing and desire rather than a full on gay themed film. Made probably at a very shoe strong budget and a hand help camera, even though the film feels amateurish in its direction and camera work at a lot of places, but there is a narrative, a story and a should behind all this. Teenage Antonio lives along with his mother. They are making their ends meet while the father sends money from Dubai and is probably never returning. Antonio is trying to discover his sexuality and his first sexual experience happens overnight with his friend and sadly he freaks out and avoids him. His other best friend from childhood is more supportive of Antonio probably being gay. One day his uncle (father's brother) Jonbert visits. Them and needs to stay with them for few days. The two boys share a room. The uncle walks around naked sort of teasing Antonio. Then one rainy night, he begins to touch his uncle while the latter is sleeping. The next day Jonbert tells...

I wanted to take a break before I started to watch the next in series of Ossan's Love and I am glad I waited. The eventual premise is still pretty much the same, but I have to say that I enjoyed this series lot more than the original one and its movie sequel. The OTT acting is slightly toned down here (don't get me wrong, its still very much here, but controlled) and the characters here get more depth, meaning and its somehow a feel good show. It's not comedy just for the sake of it. The interactions, love stories and everything is there for a reason and sends some good message while making you laugh and keeping you entertained.  The story here is slightly more complicated. Haruta is a flight attendant starting his new job at Tenku Peach Airlines. Currently in his mid-thirties, he was recruited into this airline by his old school friend Hina. Before we realize Hina has a crush on Haruta. Kurosawa is a senior pilot who realizes that he has a massive crush on Haruta. He gets ...

This film feels very intimate, something personal (I Hope its not). With just under an hour of run time, the film interestingly explores relationships. Bond between two people related by blood vs two strangers anyhow sometimes it can feel very similar. Selim is a very handsome young man of Algerian descent who has some sort of strained relationship with his father, especially Ince his mother's death. He longs for love and acceptance form his father which he rarely gets. Selim, along with his closest friend Luise, are hustlers, who go out at night drinking looking for clients and mostly going as a couple. One night when they find an older customer who takes liking for Selim, things change. That man provides love and warmth of the kind he was expecting from his father. Selim saves enough money through his work to help with his father's surgery but he refuses to accept his son's money. When he gets bashed for homophobia, he ends up overdosing himself and dies in his hotel room...

OMG!! Lets just say as it is. This film is soft gay porn (or maybe more than soft since we do have ample dick shots), masquerading to be a romantic film. Its like 100 minutes long. This film is an absolute no-no. The plot, if you can call it that, is wafer thin. A guy has recently come out but still hasn't had sex with any boy. His friend tells him that he recently met a masseur and he was cute and gay. Our man meets him, feels a connection but doesn't act on his impulses. He feels that Massage with happy ending feels like prostitution. To test the masseur, all other friends book massage with him, but he never makes advances with anyone. Eventually our man calls him again and they start dating. As you can see, there is nothing really in this. Almost 80minutes of the film are devoted to slow motion full on massage sessions with like 5-6 different guys. Its not full on sex, but titillating enough to be called as soft porn. I mean, we have to say as it is. The production quality i...