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Showing posts from August, 2024

John

Inspired by the French. Neorealism style of film making, John tells the struggling story of LGBTQ sex workers in Hollywood, LA. It's a thought-provoking, emotionally charged journey through a world that remains largely hidden from mainstream cinema. Personally, I have never enjoyed. That style of film making and I am also not sure what really was the maker trying to tell us through this film. There have been many more better made documentaries that show us the plights of LGBTQ sex workers. John is an eighteen year old Latino male prostitute, living in the poorest area of Hollywood, L.A. He often steals condoms and medicine from the local stores to support himself, due to his inexperience in the hustling world. Peaches is a black trans prostitute, who often helps John financially. Miguel is an older hustler that teaches John how to please men. John often spends his night wandering through the street, looking for older men to buy him for the night. His clients, men who come from all ...

Stranger's Kiss (Filipino Series)

I must have missed watching this during cove times for some reason. And now when I watched this now, it feels so laughable to be honest. This is obviously a low-budget production that looks like it was sort of thrown together. The production frankly is just awful, and editing made it hard to follow the story. They certainly packed a lot in this short series like love, homophobia, trans rights, rich exploiting poor, made up friends etc etc. The show has 8 episodes of about 20 min each average. We have three main characters in the show - Nico, Prince and Julius. The series starts with Nico saving Julius in a motorbike accident. In a drunken state, Julius kisses Nico. Few months later, we now see that Nico actually moved to this place from his province and he left his younger brother to fend for himself after his parents died. Prince is his neighbor, who one days saves Nico when some local goons are trying to rob him. Two lonely individuals become good friends taking care of one another. ...

Amarelo Manga (Portuguese) [Mango Yellow]

“Mango Yellow” is a provocative tale of low-rent losers set in the coastal town of Recife, Brazil. Like characters out of some Carnival hell, a macho butcher and his born-again wife, a forlorn barmaid, a sinister sadist and the gay manager of a flophouse called the Hotel Texas run in and out of each other’s lives in a film as sloppy, sluttish, scruffy and vital as they are. Though the film struggles to reach a meaning beyond its own shock value, it has the kind of in-your-face transgressiveness that some critics look for in a film so that it can make festival rounds. This is definitely not a gay film at all, but one of the main characters is gay and we see a bit of his mindset behind doing things that he does. We have a sexy waitress running a bar who regularly has to shoot down advances from various men. Issac, is one such guy, lives at the Texas Hotel, where Dunga, a gay man, works as a handyman. Dunga is attracted to Wellington, a butcher who delivers meat to the hotel. Wellington, ...

Murder In Mahim (Hindi) (Web Series)

I have mixed feelings about this show. These days there are plenty of murder mystery shows and it's important to keep viewers engaged in the story. The show opens with the brutal murder of a gay sex worker in the toilet of Mahim train station and this is where the story begins. The show and story is good but the show takes forever to come to a point. There are so many side stories and every 5 minute conversation is starched into  20 min scene. The show tries to educate and empathize with gay community in India because still it is considered a big taboo in that society. The show takes a gritty yet empathetic look at gay life in the Mumbai underbelly. In the male public urinals of Mahim station, a mutilated body is found. The victim is discovered to be a young gay sex worker; soon enough, another sex worker turns up dead with clue being given on who the next target would be. IT turns out that two police constables are next in line. This will take expertise of Shiva Jende, an inspecto...

Kaze to ki no uta (Japanese) [The Poem of Wind and Trees]

I had no idea that anime films have been there for such a long time. This film came out back in 1987. The film is a very bizarre story of two male lovers, if you can call that, probably inspired by manga. A tragic romance between Gilbert and Serge,  two students at an all-boys boarding school in late 19th-century France. The film is set in late 19th century in France. Son of a viscount and a Roma prostitute (both deceased), Serge is intelligent, sweet, talented, and alienated by his family due to his heritage. Upon being sent to his new school, he rooms with Gilbert, a gorgeous loner of a boy who sells his body for reasons unknown. He is ostracized by the school's pupils and professors for sleeping with most men in the school. We are never told the reason. His promiscuity is the result of a lifetime of neglect and abuse, as perpetrated chiefly by his ostensible uncle Auguste Beau. The man has physically, emotionally, and sexually abused Gilbert since he was a child. His manipulatio...

Big Gay Wedding with Tom Allen (Documentary) (UK)

It was March 2014 that England and Wales legalized gay marriage and John and Bernardo became one of the first officially married gay couple. So for its 10 year anniversary and many gay weddings later, BBC One celebrated it with this documentary hosted by Tom Allen. He decides to a arrange and become wedding planner for a dream wedding for one couple – Adam Johnson and Dan Mackey of Brighton – and interviewing those who helped make it happen; while also recounting the history of how things were in the past and how did we come about to be where we are today. Adam and Dan have been a couple for ten years – the same time as equal marriage has been legal. Tom Allen opens his contacts book and magics up some celebrity help for wedding singer, celebrity baker from Bake-Off for a ten-tier cake.A personal stylist designs the outfits and a celebrated choreographer also helps the couple prepare for their first dance. Some beautiful flowers and bouquets are designed by florists. In between all thi...