Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

There haven't been many queer or BL themed shows from Myanmar, so this Burmese mini-series was a welcome change. With only 3 episodes plus one special episode, the total duration is just under 50 minutes, so this is a very easy watch. The story is simple love story that finds its feel thanks to the supportive group of friends. Thingyan is. Burmese festival, where one gets to sprinkle water on others as a way of symbolically wishing them good luck in the coming year. It is believed that water can fix mistakes, drive out bad luck, and bring greater health and happiness. It usually lasts 3-5 days. Always celebrating this festival together are two very good friends. Nway Thit and A-Ta have been close since they were young and always celebrate the Thingyan festival together. Secretly, however, A-Ta is in love with Nway Thit but does not know how to tell him. So, when Nway Thit tries to confess and sprinkle water on the girl he liked, A-Ta thwarted his efforts and interfered at every sin...

The Heart Killers is a stylish crime cum romance BL drama. While the sho had a very interesting premise and the first few episodes kept me hooked, the excessive focus on the relationship side of things and the drama associated with it took precedence over the crime aspect and every subsequent episode started to feel tedious. There is a lot of skin and hookup scenes to add to the appeal of the viewers of BL shows. The show has 12 episodes and almost all of them are around an hour long or more and hence it really tests your patience. I am really not sure why the fascination for 12 episodes and that too so long. At least till a few years back, we used to get 12 episodes but with maybe 45 minute duration. The production houses are really pushing the audience patience IMO, and sooner or later that may backfire. Bison and his older brother Fadel run a burger joint with a retro diner vibe. Brother by soul, they wrestle raised by a woman and also their boss "Mother" who assigns them ...

Longing for unrequited love is the basic theme of this new Korean series. It is about the delicate thread that binds two friends who don’t quite know how to cross that final line. Sadly, with a nice story in their bag, the editing of the show is so clunky that scenes jump from one place to another in same timeline and occasionally keep going in flashbacks, it confuses you as a viewer. Also after a while you feel like shaking up the main lead and tell him that this is not the way about confessing your love. The show is 8 episodes of about 25-30 minutes each. Ji Hun and Do Ba U have been friends for years since they were kids. Do Ba U has feelings for his friend for a while and sometime in high school he even told him that he likes him, but Ji Hun didn't take that very seriously. When Do Ba U cannot takeout anymore, he suddenly announces that they should break up the friendship leaving Ji Hun in a corner, who will not give up so easily. Enter another character who is trying to write ...

Burrow (USA) Believing himself to be one of the last survivors left in the wake of human extinction, an ex-war soldier finds unexpected connection with the arrival of a weary traveler, forcing him to reckon with his long avoided sexuality or be left alone forever. It almost felt like an inspired story from Last of Us episode 3 of first season. Extremely high production values and a beautiful execution. Catboy (Spain) After scrolling through openly racist and femmephobic profiles and bios on a gay dating app, Marc gets a message from his friend Cacao who invites him to join her at a ballroom. Across the crowded room, he meets the attractive Leo, a contestant in the Catboy Sex Siren category that he can't stop staring at. What a stunningly beautiful male lead! It Was Love To Me (USA) A complex, intimate relationship brews between a 15 year old tennis player and the 18 year old prodigy he looks up to. The older guy has a. Girlfriend, but still the two boys connect over silly things an...

This Thai science fiction series was 8 episodes, each of about 50 minutes. Also this show came off more as a bromance than a BL really. There is absolutely no romantic tension till very last episode. You see friendliness, bot of pining and secretly crushing on someone but thats about it. The main story of the show is very thin but it was stretched beyond imagination and many unnecessary characters were introduced who can easily be eliminated. Good idea for a novel story but this would have been better if this was much shorter. Chun is a galactic civil engineer who is tasked to demolish Earth to make way for a new intergalactic expressway. However, on his arrival on Earth, Chun is captivated by the delectable homemade Thai dishes served by Chondan, the owner of a quaint Thai restaurant. Instead of going ahead with his world-ending plan, Chun secretly postpones it, lured by the promise of more delicious meals with Chondan, and decides instead, that if he ever grows tired of the flavours,...

To be honest, I have no idea who Dwen Curry is. Sure, I know a little bit now that I have seen this film, so I am not sure if not knowing anything about the lead character is was a good thing or not. Anyway, I will be reviewing the film objectively now based on what I saw. This film traces Curry’s evolution from a young gay man grappling with drug addiction in the 1990s to financial crimes and Hollywood before finally embracing her identity as a transgender woman and Oakland icon. Starting in early 90s, when Dwen's mother sees how he is addicted to drugs, she sends him to Oakland to his uncle's house to get clean. He does get clean and in the process makes a few close friends in narcotics anonymous. These friends also help him get comfortable with his sexual identity as a possible trans woman and embrace it and he also comes out to his family. During this time, he also learns some insider tricks on credit card frauds and before you know gets involved in that. Prison soon follow...

To make sure that this show gets a proper release (given restrictions around BL content in China), the makers of this show partnered with A Singapore studio to get around the usual restrictions and censorship that would have otherwise been imposed on it. The core of the story are our two lead actors who play stepbrothers Gu Shi and Shen Nan, who face adversity after falling in love with each other. The show has 6 episodes of about 45-50 minutes each and a final 10 minute special episode after. The problem with the story is the ending, which feels incomplete or even worse makers not knowing what would be the best way. Anyway, more on that later. Shen Nan, a dentist by profession, has taken sometime off from work and is visiting his father. There he meets a woman whom his father is set to marry who has a son named Gu Shi. After initial head butting, the two boys warm up to each other and a special bond starts to develop between the two, almost an unrequited love, but soon Gu Shi dies in ...

Firstly I wouldn't call this a typical BL story. It felt more of a coming of age story than romance per say, but clearly the feelings of the two men that they had for each other was extremely string and in thier own ways they learn a thing or two from one another. Not every love is a forever love. They both knew at the beginning of their relationship that it wasn't going anywhere, so better not to really start. Also considering their ages, I think it was a good ending that left room for future possibilities. Also man, what a wonderful location and cinematography. The series is almost entirely shot in a national park, the trees, waterfall, animals and the whole environment is just so serene and calming. Plus the show had elephants, so I was already sold. With 7 episodes of about 50 minutes averaging each, it was a pleasant watch. Just don't expect a full on romance here please.  Fifa, is a young charming boy who has always wanted to go to Japan for further studies. He has be...

The first word heard in “Feeling Randy” is “boner,” which, when taken together with the film’s title, promises a salacious and raunchy comedy. Set in the Bay Area in the 1970s, “Feeling Randy” offers a humorous and sensitive portrayal of coming to terms with one’s sexuality. Although to be honest, I had a bit of struggle whether or not to classify the film in an LGBTQ+ genre, because audience is given a hint of the protagonists sexuality, but its never really said out loud or even put in your face. But it was the 70s, and it was likely hard for any young bot to admit to even himself that he likes other boys. The film is apparently a semi autobiographical project. The title is a clever play on both the main character's name and the British slang term for horniness.  Randy has three close friends and they are all obsessed with losing virgnity and getting laid. It's this hormonal obsession that drives them to take a road trip to The Kitty Ranch, a low-grade brothel in Nevada. They...

There was a time some of the popular BL series would come with a special episode of sorts to show what happens after the couple gets together. This show takes it forward by actually creating a 3 part mini-series as a continuation of "Your Sky". These three episodes are just fluffy fillers, which pretty much is in the same zone as its parents show. The episodes are about 40 minutes each. Teerak (Rak) and Fah are a very happy couple, now that they have declared their relationship with friends and their families as well. Teerak's birthday is approaching and Fah wants to surprise him. All the friends get involved in planning this surprise, needlessly complicating things for additional run-time and comedy. and eventually Rak gets a wonderful surprise. Then Teerak wants to get Fah a present for his graduation but he wants to do with some of his own earned money and not from his dad, so he tries his best while again keeping it a secret from Fah. But Fah wants to get more and big...

I had read good reviews about this show, so I was naturally looking forward to it. It's pretty much a love story as you would expect, but this time it's almost devoid of any drama barring in the first few episodes. The show focuses more on the positives of people and how the couple gets together and how it is important for them to be accepted by their families too. Sadly this straight forward love story doesn't have too much meat for 12 episodes. Each episode is almost an hour long and it feels like the makers had a contract or something that you have to do 12 episodes and therefore all we see for almost middle 8 episodes is the lead couple going through the antics of dating and relationship growing. As charming as the couple is, the cutesy romantic stuff can hold your interest only so for so long. Teerak is a cheerful university student and a people pleaser, filled with kindness and cannot say no to people. feels bothered when he receives a love confession from Oh, a wealt...

“Sex Love Venice” is a film has been promoted as "a tender exploration of love, intimacy, and self-discovery, set against the awe-inspiring backdrop of Venice. This touching, mesmerizing, and unforgettable film will resonate with anyone who has ever longed for a deeper connection, both with others and within themselves." Sadly, for me, this felt like a film makers vanity project where the director gets into overindulgence of whatever it is that they are trying to project not audience in the name of art. There are many indie gay films that are bad. Add one more to the list, where our lead is so shallow that his entire world solely is centered around him and his need to find romance in life. Michael is semi-depressed. His boyfriend of many years turned out to be a sociopath and he robbed Michael of his wealth and left him. Now searching for love, Michale engages in a lot of hook-ups hoping to find a meaningful connection with someone but most guys are interested in sex. His bes...

Let's start with giving full marks to a very novel idea. A love story between a robot created using AI and a rich spoilt heir. Now on paper that does sound very interesting since this would be an interesting mix but sadly for me, after a promising first 3 episodes, my interest in the show kept dwindling after every episode. More on that later. With 12 episodes, each averaging to about 30 minutes, this does take sometime to watch and absorb. The more logic and brain you try to put in, the more you keep getting lost in the story, and not in a good way. I was watching a Taiwanese series after a while and my hopes were high. Maybe thats where things went wrong. The story is straight forward. We meet a rich spoilt heir to a rich father who cannot seem to control and keep his son in check. He hires and AI robot Ever 4, to be his son's personal butler. Ever 4 advocates for robot rights while revealing his quirky personality beneath a calm exterior. As Ever 4 bonds with his human compa...

Finally I finished watching this really long series. 24 episodes each of about 50-60 minutes is not an easy watch and definitely you cannot binge watch either. Also, I don't usually like to wait for weekly episodes, but yes this took me a good 10-12 days to finish the series. Perfect 10 Liners follows three couples navigating love and college life and it focuses on each couple for 8 episodes.While the premise isn’t groundbreaking, and at  its core, it’s another university-set BL with pretty faces, peer mentoring, lovey-dover moments, but the show makes up for its predictable structure with something far more valuable—charisma. The talented charismatic cast holds this show one notch higher than the other ones in the crowd, even though sometimes the story itself feels stretched thin and you wonder why they had to make such a lengthy show that gets done almost in 6 months. Set in an engineering college, "Perfect 10 Liners," is a group comprising extraordinary students from v...

Yet another coming of age film where a 16 year old teenager decides that it's time to come out. Otto’s family try to be supportive at all the wrong moments of his journey to find himself, with hilarious timing, making some of those moments awkward for the teen. The best part about the film is that there are no sad moments, just a vibrant, exciting, endearing tale with funny moments from the entire cast. Yes, some may feel that the film is full of cliches, but I had a good time with a smile on my face. No one is saying that this is great cinema, but hey, films like these still help teenagers at grasping and understanding their own sexuality especially for those who are struggling with it. 16 year old Otto has massive imagination and he always dreams of how a particular situation could play out. On his birthday he decides to come out to his family. His sister is very supportive and unexpectedly so is his father , but his mother needs some time. He goes to school and wonders if he sho...

4 bite size love stories is what this anthology series is all about. Spanning eight episodes in total, each story unfolds across two episodes, each around 10-14 minutes. Keep your expectations low, since these stories are simple, fluffy, and cozy romantic. An easy breezy watch overall, with just enough time spent to capture the vibe and give away those warm fuzzy feelings without dragging things out. Riding a Bicycle - This is the quintessential ‘friends to lovers’ tale. Two friends have just finished school and are looking forward to university life at different places. The two friends spend the night and next morning together, cycling along the Han River and it's pretty obvious they are smitten with each other and want to be more than friends. This one feels like a slice of life captured in soft light, no big declarations, just two adorable friends slowly leaning into something more. I loved all of the caring and sweet moments. The actors were very cute. I would gave preferred t...

This low budget BL series comes from the small indie company OxygenZ Station from Cambodia, a country not traditionally known to bring in many BL series. This is a hapless story of a young man named Phano who is anchored in the knowledge that he is gay but is tormented and discriminated against because of it. The series is only 4 episodes, where the first three episodes are 35-45 minutes long while the last episode is only 20 minutes. Phano is a young boy, who discovers that his boyfriend Toy has been double crossing him and has also been secretly dating a girl. When Phano confronts him, he insults him saying that no one would ever wanna love such a femme gay guy and that he has been using him only for fun. The same day he finds out that he did not get a job and that his final assignment in college was also rejected. Thinking of this as the worse day ever, dejected and heart broken he goes and sits in a cafe, where a new barista guy Prince takes pity on him and befriends him by giving ...