Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

One more DramaBox series stitched together like a film for audiences like me, making it easier to watch it all at Ince on iPhone. I am not sire how many gay web series like these have been released by DramaBox so far, but I think this is the fourth one that I am seeing. The show was cheesy, a bit unbelievable, but somehow still quite engaging, thanks to the short format and two handsome leads. At their grandmother's insistence, Andrew and Frank marry each other but never see each other's faces. The show starts with Andrew leaving for 1 year business overseas and handing his husband his credit card with a promise to come back and get divorced. One year later, Frank is interviewing for Personal assistant to his new boss William. William gets totally smitten by Frank's hot face and body and hires him and tries to seduce him. But Frank resists temptation for two reasons: One, in his previous job he was seduced by his boss who ended up putting blame on Frank since he was married...

Just the other day I was thinking of SOTUS series and how I never saw the two lead actors from that show again! And it was funny when I started watching the show, to my surprise, here comes the two leads on this brand new BL series from the good old production company. The show never really offers anything new or ground breaking but I believe that the idea here was to bank on the nostalgia and appeal of one of the beloved couples from back in the day. The average show, makes up for it by a very fun last episodes where they show some traditions from Thai culture of a very dreamy wedding. The show is 10 episodes of 45 minutes each. Phi is a well-known weather anchor on a TV show. However, he faces public disgrace after a live broadcast where he throws coffee at a colleague. His reputation suffers, and he gets suspended from his show. To save his career, Phi must work with a new producer, who happens to be his ex-boyfriend, Tam. Tam is calm and professional, having studied media abroad. T...

Continuing with watching DramaBox series, this is another series of multiple short episodes stitched together as a movie in vertical format so it is easily watchable on phone. As I might have mentioned before, these shows are total guilt pleasures and they beautiful fit within a 90 minute range (plus or minus) making it an easy watch. The shows starts with one mafia taking over another's business and agrees to let him love, as long as his son Pietro can get married to his daughter Alice. 15 years later, Alice's brother Augusto can't stand that Alice will marry to mob son Pietro. He finds. Loophole in the contract and instead says that he will marry Pietro. What Augusto doesn't know is that since they were kids, Pietro has always like Augusto and he changed the contract to have that loophole. So Pietro very much loves Augusto but he doesn't believe it. Also with this marriage, the entire mafia community goes against this bog mafia family because they don't accept...

How I wish this film stayed being a gay love story, bit instead the love story angle is a small part while the film is based on the harsh living of two Mexican boys to noir-ish crime thriller to social-comment drama. For me, it would have been so much better had the film stayed central to the love aspect and created some drama around it. I am not saying that the story being told here is bad at all, it is just my wish here. Miguel is a pretty young skateboarder from a middle-class family in Mexico City who is having a torrid love affair with the son of his family’s maid, a fellow skater Johnny. Besides the barriers of class and social status between them, tensions are also heightened by the bisexual Johnny’s ongoing relationship with a young girl, Adri, a dysfunctional love triangle constantly shaken by angry accusations and jealous tantrums. While this theme hovers in the background, the central theme is around how Miguel and Johnny have been making money with a petty criminal scheme w...

This is a badly acted and directed story of sexual deviance and forbidden romance between two tortured men - who like to act out by torturing others. The poster promoted it as two serial killers in love and a wife who is betrayed. Honestly, the story is novel and had a great potential to make one of this slashy horror romance kinda films, but this is so badly acted that I Was laughing at so many places. Andrew, a celebrated gay novelist, is married to Pauline. Their marriage is going through rough patch and Pauline has taken to alcohol. Andrew, meanwhile dealing with wrier's block, goes around paying gay hookers to suck him off but is still struggling. One day he sees a guy murdering someone and drinking their blood. He runs for his life but the killer soon catches him and kidnaps him. His name is Eddie and is a psychotic serial killer. After a few days of torture and sexual activities, Andrew convinces Eddie to let him go and that he will write a novel based on his life. For next ...

So I was definitely not the biggest fan of the series when it came. I remember it getting excellent reviews around sleek production, money spent, racing cars and what not, but somewhere I felt with too many characters, the overall plot was too convoluted. Sadly even in second season, the problem persists. There are way too many characters, each of them have some story in parallel going on. The plot points start to get repetitive, the pace is slow and almost all over the place and the misunderstandings between main couple were just to much to sit through. With 13 episodes, each of 50-60 minutes, it's not like it doesn't ask for your time. It is a significant time investment and sadly the return is not at all satisfactory. Babe and Charlie are now in a committed relationship and they are still surrounded by a plethora of friends and colleagues. Babe still races and is top of the game. However a new boy Willy arrives and soon becomes a threat to Babe. For some reason, he also majo...

I am not sure how I feel about this film to be honest. A sort of love story of an aging drag queen. ON paper the story is interesting and to an extent it really is, but I thought the film was stretched way beyond it should have been, plus there are certain elements of the film that it could have easily done without. The film starts in bleak darkness where we see two soldiers first fighting and then leading to gay sex and accidentally stumbling upon a house where two trans women live. One of the soldiers then kills the other because he makes some comment. Change scene and we meet agin drag queen Tonia. She is head over heels in love with Rosario, a gay man half her age, who makes her dresses. Rosário is a drug addict, a thief, and a generally abusive partner – but as the film progresses, the sheer volume of interaction between the pair begins to wear you down. You wonder why is Tonia so much in love with this toxic man, but you stop asking questions. Eventually you're forced to beli...

I have mixed feelings about this film. At every point it talks about 'going with the flow', let your heart experience new things, make yourself open and explore new things, but the way it has been setup is quit contrived. It is definitely an interesting story to tell but besides a totally random ending, even the way two men come together wasn't completely established. The one good thing about the film is that they shot in the beautiful city of Taxco, Mexico; which is now added to my bucket list of cities I Want to visit in Mexico. Josh, a white American is visiting Taxco with his Mexican girlfriend of few years. They are very much in love and she can't wait for Josh to experience her childhood memories. On their first day, they see a guy proposing to his girlfriend, a very loving scene but in a stark contrast, they both having a huge fight in the evening leaving the couple apart. They both laugh it off and continue with their life. Next day when the girlfriend gets an u...

Jonathan Agassi, one of the world's most successful gay porn stars, splits his time between Berlin and Israel. Agassi built his fame and success on what is globally considered a taboo, yet still pleases millions around the world. This film offers a rare and intimate look at the world of porn and escorting, as well as at unique relationship between a mother and son who courageously redefine familiar family concepts. This is a film about a lonely person who seeks love and meaning, but is condemned to a destructive lifestyle, understanding that the extreme fantasies he chases are not necessarily his own. Filmed over eight years, we see Jonathan being close to his mother, his father abandoned them when he was young. He rose to fame in the gay porn industry while working a side hustle as an an escort. The fly-on-the-wall approach chronicles Agassi’s swift, awards-laden ascent to the top of the industry, from his native Tel Aviv to Berlin where he also finds work as an escort. But his ri...

This film definitely takes on a very interesting premise and tries to weave a thriller around it. Set in the 70s, it weaves the fascinating lives of cisgender men embracing their female alter egos under Izabel's guidance in a secluded retreat, offering a unique glimpse into Brazil's history and societal nuances with warmth and depth. There is a secluded house in middle of nowhere, called 'Casa Izabel', where cis gendered men come, disguise as women and spend their time. These are all socially well to do men and they live out their fantasies while no one judges them. It is a temporary escape, allowing them to become the glamorous women they desire to be. They don wigs, make-up, gowns, and aliases to live openly for their short stay — tossing back champagne, dancing, and even hunting wild boar in their pumps. This setting, managed by the transvestite Izabel, becomes a sanctuary for their unique escapades. But Izabel is extremely old now, so the things are managed by a car...

Terry and Julian is a British sitcom that aired on Channel 4 in 1992. The show had only one season with 6 episodes of about 22-25 minutes each. Unusually for a sitcom, Terry and Julian breaks the "fourth wall" by recognizing the studio audience and viewers, and employs use of audience participation. I was quite surprised to see how they used this method back in the day by inviting at least one audience member, making them part of the skit midway and sending them back with flowers. Flamboyant Channel 4 television celebrity Julian moves into a flat with geeky well-meaning Terry, completely transforming his life and home and repeatedly upsetting Terry’s pint-sized moustached policewoman fiancee, Rene. Julian transforms Terry’s ugly flat into a Barbara Cartland-ish nightmare and takes over Terry’s life to the point of marrying him. The script consist of a lot of double meaning dialogues that are quite witty. Episode one is when Julian moves in and completely redo carets the flat....

This film made no sense at all, and not because it is a musical. We will talk about that later but the script was so flimsy thin (if there was even a script). I watched and watched trying to make sense of what was going on but the characters kept coming in and out singing their heart out for what, I have no idea. If you do not believe me, read the synopsis summary below and let me know what you think. Peter, a freudian psychiatrist married to a Finnish actor, David, a young British gay living in Banyoles, addicted to Grinder, and Coco Lamour, a Parisian French actress. Peter is a friend of Maria, also a Freudian psychiatrist, and Betsy, David's mother, living in Cadaqués. Maria prepares a trip to spend some days with Betsy. David works at a computer company in Girona directed by a very talented young Indian, Usha. David has a great crisis with his partner, Daniel, a Mallorcan living in Barcelona. Albert is a famous British writer retired in Begur passing the mourning for the loss o...

I am quite sure that this film likely got popular just because of Gal Gadot. I was also quite excited to see it but sadly she is just as much a prop in this film, as in many films the actresses are. A sports comedy film, it tells us a story of a popular soccer player who is forced to pretend to be gay and everything that happens after that. Honestly the film neither evokes laughter nor does it really address the issue of homophobia. Soccer player Shushan is the dream of Jerusalem team. One night when he tries to flirt with a girl Mirit, he has no idea that she is an unwilling moll for ruthless gangster Mr. Black . To save face, Mr. Black tells Shushan that he must publicly announce that he is gay, if he wishes to live. Of course the guy has no choice. Right after the announcement, he set how homophobic his team players are and also the management of the team does not support him. The worse is that even fans give up on him and start calling him Shoshana. Rest of the film is about his Sh...

Sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is a topic that has long fascinated film makers and we can find plenty films in this zone from various countries. Manipulations, suicide, fear and the shame are some things that these priests often use to lure kids and get the kids in doing things they don't want to. I remember having seen a few already (full length and documentaries both), but there are many more to follow. It's always a dilemma on whether or not to add these films on my blog and review them, but here we are. Gabriel, an adult now is reminded of his childhood when he hears a catholic school's now famous choir cd. Through flashbacks we are told how he was admitted in the school run by Father Vincey. He was mesmerized by Gabriel's voice and soon he became close to the priest. A couple of students are a bit abusive to him but Gabriel soon realizes that something is off between another student and a priest. That student died in a car accident. We see how systematical...

Set in Limerick city in Ireland, Cowboys and Angels depicts the growing friendship between two very different men and looks at the anxieties and challenges faced by young people trying to establish their identity in a modern city. It came almost 22 years ago, so of course in today's time the visual aesthetics feel quite dated, but it is a good mix of sexual freedom and youthful energy, friendship, drug, criminal presence during that time. 20 year old Shane, has just got anew government job and kinda. New roommate in Vincent, a gay fashion student. The duo slowly warm up to each other and niece friends where Vincent tries to make the shy Shane come out of his shell slowly by taking him out clubs and enjoy the vibrant night life in the city. Shane starts to like this barista girl, who happens to be Vincent's best friend but she is not much interested in Shane. Vincent wants to move to New York after studies. One day by accident Shane discovers some drugs in his apartment building...

Mel is an intimate documentary about Mel Daluzyan, one of Armenia's most talented weightlifters, a once beloved champion who has won medals and broken world records, but whose fame transformed into infamy when his transgender identity became public knowledge. Today, under asylum in the Netherlands, his dream of gender transition is finally within reach - but how much must he sacrifice for it? Mel Daluzyan was, at one time, a national treasure to the people of Armenia when in 2006 he became the first female from the country to win a medal in the World Weightlifting championships. Having been born with higher levels of testosterone than an average woman, Mel had a noted advantage over his competitors. He would continue to see further success until the 2012 Olympics when he was unable to set a total. Mel now has a girlfriend Lili and when the threats become too much in a conservative society, he seeks refuge in Netherlands.  As time moves by, Lilit feels the pressure of not only leavi...

This is an experimental queer musical film that uses opera/documentary and other styles to explore gay relationships and polyamory in a contemporary Arab context. The film’s artistic, nonlinear narrative incorporates a combination of live action, animation and music video-style sequences, along with more than its share of sexually explicit sequences. Even though I found the style and experiment quite interesting, including the narratives but overall I wasn't sure why this was made. In the sense that it had interesting representation of urban gay life and relationships but it was very confusing and one of those art for art's sake pieces. A glance leads to a smile, a smile to a rendezvous: every love story begins the same way. At the center of it all, from what I understood, this Arab love story is about a group of men trying to navigate a polyamorous relationship. Three men in a relationship and what each oof them thinks about it, how they got into it, how the meetings happened,...

When the show started, I thought this was going to be a nice feel good no-nonsense show and to be fair, for the most part, it stayed true. But somewhere the whole concept of jealousy, manipulation etc just took away the straight forward fun that this show could have even us. With just 12 episodes of about 16-20 minutes, this was a light humorous and easy watch with some very good looking leads. There was also a longer version of episode 12 showing us the eventual culmination and happy future for all.  We meet Yuha, a young boy who does odd jobs here and there to keep afloat. He lives with his older brother Taeha, who runs a bar. He is not his real brother but they were both alone as kids and grew up together with Taeha taking good care of Yuha. Yuha wants to become independent. His odd jobs include nude modeling, toilet cleaning and pretending to be someone's lover. During one such incident, his paths cross with Min U. The guy works in a IT company and is tired of his family connec...

This film is an ambitious costume drama with a very interesting storyline at its hand. Sadly, the low budget is very evident and for some reason, it takes away the fun because of it. I can totally see stuff like this happening in olden times when, just a. Whiff of homosexuality could land you in all kinds of troubles. Once you look past the budget, this film is actually not at all bad. Penelope is learning piano and has a crush of sorts on her teacher, but she doesn't control her destiny. She is married off, by her parents, to a shy and introverted Jonathan. They move into his family’s empty estate where not a great deal happens because of Jonathan’s hatred of social occasions and he generally prefers quiet life. The duo haven't even consummated their marriage and day by day Penelope's frustration grows. To her shock, one day when Penelope discovers that her new husband is having an affair with George the Butler, she finally understands Jonathan’s reclusive personality. Geo...

This documentary is about the life of the Brazilian transsexual singer Linn da Quebrada. Coming from an impoverished region of São Paulo, where she has to face many prejudices, among others, for being black. Her funk music sounds like a "gun" against machismo. With a really strong and daring stage presence, she constantly seeks to confront and fight paradigms and stereotypes. The titular star and her stage partner Jup do Bairro openly discuss what challenges they face from transphobia and racism growing up in the favelas of San Paulo, exploring how they use their music to give voice to the marginalized communities they fight for. The film shows her in performance, in the studio, reflecting on the nature of identity, hanging out with friends, and also affectionately chatting with her mum in the apartment where she grew up, arguing about the community’s defeatist habit of romanticizing poverty. She aligns the experience of being trans with the marginalization involved in having...

Dealing with sensitive subjects in films is never easy. The film makers here take a muted, almost ambivalent stand on the subject, which show sis the questionable relationship between a 29 year old man with a 15 year old boy. As a film, it is a pretty straight forward execution without much drama trying to show as 'matter of fact' events and what/how happens. I guess it is left to the audience to make their own morality decisions. (Although looking at the film's dvd poster, which features only the younger male, rather than the duo which should have been the case for a film whose title has names of two protagonists) Eban returns to his hometown Christmas from Seattle. He is a bit vague about the reasons he has come (which we later find out). Killing time growing through local shops, he sees a young 15 year old handsome boy Charley and rather insistently strikes up a friendship on the pretense of swapping lessons about guitar and being lonely etc. You can tell that Eban likes...

For a change, the lead trans character in this sitcom, is a self-centered, easily bored agent of chaos; unlike what we usually see as a serious subject. Inherently lazy and a person who doesn't hesitate to use friends and is constantly lying, this was indeed a different cast of trans character that I have seen in recent times. The sitcom is an easy watch with only 6 episodes each of about 22-23 minutes. This workplace comedy set in a supermarket packs its pacy storylines with plenty of gags, and from all sorts of angles and slapstick humor. Supermarket manager Simon is trying to have the most inclusive workplace having launched an accidentally transphobic advertising campaign. A female dwarf, Millie, and a tall, black woman, Beefy don’t cut the mustard, so he thinks the answer is to look up “transgenders in the area”. He remembers that his employee Tim has a trans roommate Olivia, who is inherently lazy. Tom emotionally blackmails her to join the job. Simon assures her “We want you...

The backdrop of the show is quite interesting. A whole BL series centered around boxing is not easy to make, so kudos for that. The problem is that the things strata to get repetitive very soon. Problem arise, someone fixes it, there is amount of happiness and the craziness starts again with one more layer of bad guys now joining in. It happens multiple times with our lead couple always at the center of it all. Also, another problem is that there are way too many characters to keep your focus on and they keep coming in. So, for a series that started off quite well. I found myself losing interest by the time 6 episodes were done and then I just wanted it to end sooner than later. The show has 12 episodes plus one special of about 50-65 minutes duration. Keen is a young boy who suddenly loses his cop father in a mysterious death. Left alone, his father's friend offers shelter in his boxing club. Loan sharks are after his life and they wont leave him alone, so he has no choice but to ...

This 4 episode (45 minutes each) mini series is tThe intriguing true story of King Gustaf V, Sweden's first gay king. It looks at the clandestine affair in the 1930s between a Swedish king and a male restaurateur, in a captivating portrayal of love against the odds that uncovers the homophobia and human rights abuses of those times. A love that had to be kept from the public at all costs, but eventually got out, leading to one of the worst miscarriages of justice that Sweden has ever witnessed. The year is 1932, and in a final attempt to save his restaurant, ex-con man Kurt Haijby appeals for a private audience with King Gustav V of Sweden. To his wife Anna’s great surprise, he is granted one. What starts off as a formal encounter between the restaurateur and the King soon turns into a romantic evening filled with passion. But when the fling turns into a secret relationship, the King’s advisors do everything to stop the affair. Haijby is railroaded, repeatedly by Governor Nothin, w...

I have mixed feelings about this film. My problem is that the more I see films that likely made their debut in international film circuits, the more I am realizing that these art house or "different" film makers end up going so different in treatment of their subject that sometimes it fails to connect at various levels. This film seems more concerned with shock value than telling a compelling story. Johan is an openly gay man working at Copenhagen’s only gay sauna. When he’s not pursuing the sauna’s clientele, he’s hooking up and having one night stands with random men at the bars. One night of browsing Grindr leads to Johan meeting William, a trans man, at his home. But Johan is so sexually motivated that he doesn’t even realize that William is trans until they begin having sex, which leads to an awkward uncertainty. Nevertheless, Johan finds something exciting about William and pursues him. They start seeing each other and a casual romance evolves. When Johan takes William ...