Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Gay Rights is an issue heard around the world, including Cuba. Free Havana paints a vivid picture of what it has been like to be gay in Cuba through the candid stories of six gay and lesbian individuals. Free Havana exposes the evolution of gay life from a time when homosexuality was considered a punishable crime to current efforts to promote a greater acceptance of freedom of sexual orientation. Honest in approach and poignant in content, the stories of the six Cubans will inform and inspire as they touch your heart. The six interviewees are interviewed one by one and tell their personal stories. First we have a guy who at the age of 17 was enlisted for 'military' but in reality was a group where all suspect LGBT folks were rounded up and taken to a village and were made to work non stop hours in a field, hoping to get cured. Then we hear from a guy who knew he was different and when his love letter o another boy was found, his father threw him out. But thanks to his mother...

I have to say that I absolutely loved this slow burning film. I feel some sort of connection with middle eastern culture, people, food etc. The film is slow burning, but it shows the endless possibilities of love and how communication and love is important in every relationship. The film is moving , its sensitive, its humane, its slow; but films like these are your cup of tea (which I will gladly admit that its not for everyone), you will love the film , like I did. Set in a traditional Medina in Morocco, we meet Halim and Mina, a couple in probably 40s or 50s running a store. Halim is more than just a tailor. He works lovingly and painstakingly, hand-embroidering silks so exquisitely fine they are like wearing air, while his wife attends to customers and takes care of all operations. Halim, with his sad eyes and melodic, minor-key voice, loves his wife deeply, but the couple live with the secret of his homosexuality – something Mina somehow knows and has come to accept. With occasiona...

I have a confession to make. Even though I am gay, my knowledge of gay pop culture, be it USAor UK or anywhere else, is pretty bad and horrible. I don't know much about pop icons, TV stars or film stars who were supposedly gay, or rumored to be gay, or who eventually became icons. So this documentary, as good as it might have been , trying to give an insight on the gay celebrities through TV history, I just wasn't able to appreciate it all, given zero context. It starts in 1952 after the Queen acceded to the throne and tells the story of gay performers and the role they have played in changing public perception of homosexuality and becoming national institutions along the way. From Kenneth Williams to Paul O'Grady, Larry Grayson to Graham Norton, Danny La Rue to Elton John, it will be a celebration of achievements and career highlights, as well as a history of how gay rights and our perception of gay performers has changed over the last 60 years. A stellar cast of contribut...

This little film from Philippines gracefully blends comedy and melodrama to make poignant observations around old age solitude, love and longing ness and an unexpected friendship with a cute stray dog. It may seem to be a simple look into the life of an old, gay, grumpy man but at its core is a story that has a lot to offer beyond its initial offering and setup. It may not be obvious at first glance but this is a very rewarding experience overall. Rene is an older man who is doing to terms with his homosexuality very late in life. He is generally grumpy and angry with all his neighbours despite them trying to be friendly with him. He has given up on life and just has death to look forward to whilst buying his coffin, making his funeral arrangements and writing and rewriting his will. His only companion is a stray dog Bwakaw, who unceremoniously has become part of his life and his closest friend. When Bwakaw suddenly falls sick and is diagnosed with cancer, Rene's life goes for a tu...

Wu Tsang was a 25-year-old art student when he and some friends decided to start a weekly club night at the Silver Platter, an immigrant gay bar near MacArthur Park. On most nights, dolled-up transgender Latinas swirled around a checkered dance floor, singing in Spanish and sipping $4 glasses of champagne. But Wildness, as Tsang’s Tuesday night party was called, drew a different crowd. Now each week, flocks of artists, queer punks and dance music junkies packed the bar for boundary-pushing performances and DJ sets. This collision of the two underground scenes and the unintended consequences of the party’s growing popularity is what this documentary tries to cover. We are introduced to a small town bar called 'The Silver Platter', a bar and beacon of sanctuary for the Trans community. We spend some time learning and appreciating how this small club has been a safe heaven for Latin trans members giving them opportunity to be themselves, perform on stage, hang out with people with...

How had I never heard or known about this? With a tagline that says 'Being gay is just the beginning', Being Brendo peers into the lives of five gay men, taking an in depth look at their lives, ups and downs, relationships, sexual escapades and daily living. Formerly known as "Queer as F**k" for the first six seasons, the show began as pilot project in 2010 to deliver sexual health promotion via short webisodes on Social networking sites to gay men, in a collaboration between the Victorian AIDS Council/Gay Men's Health Centre, Burnet Institute, University of Melbourne and X:MACHINE Productions. The project aimed to engage audiences in online discussion, to explore how social networking sites can be used to promote sexual health. The makers decided to rename the show to make it clearer and to name it something more original and less similar to the popular UK and US TV show of the same name (a little too late, IMHO) The show started with three friends Brendo, Aaron ...

What was I thinking! I wish I knew that the film is by Todd Verow, a director , clearly, whose films are meant for something thats not my cuppa tea. Sure there is a basic story idea but the execution is of a fun on sex display (nothing wrong with that), but in all the process , the basic plot gets lost somewhere and this film is no different. This story is the maker's interpretation of drug and sex in the gay community. Once you reach the sky, there is only downfall from there when it involves sex and drugs. We see multiple characters and their stories which eventually connect. After having. Lived a life of illicit drug use and unprotected sex in Manhattan, Dale has now moved to a small quaint town trying to keep his mind away from excitement of NYC. Mistress DaTina runs a sex and drug den. She opens up her place for gay sex and drug usage but only for as long as the guys strip down when they arrive and stay naked while there. Rob is homeless, gay and young and uses sex and drugs t...

Initially this feels like a collection of three unrelated short stories dealing with issues and problems  that trans-gender people encounter in society. Its only slowly that all the pieces start to come together. The film takes a very subtle approach than in your face drama and issues. We meet Saitan, an aging trans female who is just on vacation absorbing everything. She stops in a small town and soon she is flirting with a younger guy who is himself totally enamored by her beauty and charm knowing very well that she is older and trans. IN another story, a young boy's father catches his son dressed in his dead mother's clothes and dancing. He packs him off to go as a monk to a Buddhist temple. The kid is at first apprehensive, but when he sees a handsome young monk step out of the temple, something in him stirs, and the boy goes willingly. And then the third story shows us a young man returning to Thailand from abroad to oversee closure of his dead father's bar, which he o...

This funny little show debuted in 2012 with a six episode season 1, followed by 10 episodes in season 2 in 2013. Chronicling the lives of 4 gay men in 50s or reaching 50s, specifically focussing on their love and sex life through mini skits in each episode. An  an enjoyable farce about a group of middle-aged Gay guys toiling in the West Hollywood district of Los Angeles, this series doesn't pretend to be super smart or anything. The comedy wasn't over the top but realistic scenarios and tiny bite size episodes made it a fun watch. I think I would have enjoyed it a LOT more ten years ago, but even ow, I think this was a decent harmless fun. The series introduces us to its primary four characters coming together for Nathan's 50th birthday. Nathan is a talent scout, single and as you can imagine sad and depressed that he is turning 50. He introduces us to Muscles, a gym trainer on whom many men drool , but since he is looking for serious relationships and love, he hasn't h...

This indie film has its heart in the right place but the execution is slow and very amateurish at places. I felt myself yawning and hoping that the story move faster. Mind you, it wasn't boring or anything, but I attribute a little of that t o my personal situation as well. These days I am all about quick and fast stories, unless there is something very ethereal and blissful to spend lingering moments enjoying it. Ruben is a young guy taking a break from college to take care of his alcoholic father. His mother had died in a deadly hurricane that hit their town after which any of its residents have already left. Ruben has no friends, and so his father contacts his brother to give him some job to keep him busy. It doesn't take long to figure out that the uncle is in some kind of drug business. Ruben seems to strive with the business and not too long in the movie his best friend Jimmy from junior high returns to the town. They soon start hanging out and it feels they have some sto...

This film was probably made on a shoe string budget. Definition of happiness is different for people and the way we all deal with grief is also different. This film is about 2 individuals, who come together and somehow influence each other win ways more than either of them could have imagined. An overweight middle aged bank employee lives with his mother, suffering from Alzheimer's, taking care of her. While he works during the day, he gets help from a caretaker named Daniel. One day the mother locks Daniel in balcony and goes out of home. In the evening Sven and Daniel search for her together and this is when we see the first time Sven lightly flirts with Daniel. When Daniel returns home, his wife kicks him out because she thinks he is having an affair. He comes to Sven's home and the trio have a wonderful evening together. They platonically even sleep together. Next day the mother dies and Sven is all alone but a slow mysterious relationship starts between Sven and Daniel. Sv...

Touted as an inventive collage approach mixing reality and fiction, I am not sure what is it that this documentary was really trying to say or achieve. Twi sis one of the most basic, very random documentary who ha son idea if it wants to tell a love story between two men or make a commentary on refugee crisis. The title of the film Jaurès refers to a prominent underground station in Paris. A man and a woman are watching random video footage shot from someone's flat overlooking a canal. The footage has views of the street, the metro line running above it, buildings opposite and most prominently the Afghan refugees who have setup a make shift shelter at the two ends of the canal. Apparently the flat is of Simon, this man's lover whom he used to visit most nights. The documentary is a series of questions asked by the woman to this man Vincent watching footage asking him about his platonic gay relationship with the mysterious Simon while also looking at the refugees crisis. We neve...

The purpose behind this documentary is to explore the arguments for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people through the lens of religious, scientific, cultural, civil and legal paradigms. A spectrum of studies, opinions and interpretations are represented and discussed. We follow a day in the life of Christians, Rene Sugar and Kelly Smith, and their family and learn how they reconcile and live within a culture that is often prejudiced towards them. We tell fascinating stories from various world and religious mythologies that are, more often than not, inclusive towards LGBT like characters because of the value they offered their respective culture and humanity as a whole. Discover why these people think they are born equal. This was a very ordinary documentary in my opinion. The only one, and actually very significant difference here was the religious views from a lot of multiple religions and what they have to say. It was interesting to see representations fro...

This 2012 docu-drama focuses primarily on two transgender friends from Kolkata, India. The director follows their life over the course of a few years, documenting their life, their struggles as trans people, poor social backgrounded how they have to resort to being a sex worker. Chiranjit and Bubai are two young transgender friends from Kolkata. Hailing from poor and uneducated families, they confronted social castration from a tender age. However, it helped strengthening their bond as friends. Bubai, often mistreated in his family, seeks love and care outside. He falls in love with a boy only to be dumped for a 'real' girl. Chiranjit, an only child, is relatively accepted by his parents. He wants a good job. But nobody wants a feminine boy in company. In 2009, they joined Manas Bangla, a non-profit organization working in LGBT advocacy and HIV awareness. Their job is to generate consciousness amongst high risk youth and bring them in for blood test. Months pass and now  Bubai ...

This film was apparently Dominican Republic's official entry for 2013 Academy Awards. The film wasn't bad actually. The screenplay was quite tout and the film moved at a god place without any unnecessary drama, but still I feel there was something missing. The motive behind the crime wasn't strong enough, at least in my opinion, for anyone to go through the lengths that the perpetrator does in this film. David is the well-known host of a popular fictional game show, “Jaque Mate” (Checkmate). The show has a segment in which he answers calls from audience members. One day he receives an anonymous call, telling him his son and his wife have been kidnapped. The kidnapper threatens him with killing them if he doesn't follow his instructions, making David play his game on live television to reveal some of his secrets. The cops show up at television station and at David's home too to control the station, but the kidnapper manages to broadcast live feed even from David'...

Our leads are charming but I feel the direction of the film here is so half hearted, that you fail to connect at any given point. The story of friendship between a 'stud' lesbian and a gay man and their navigating through life in London could have made for a very exciting story, but sadly the execution lacks fitness and maturity. JJ is a black lesbian, ‘Stud’, who is best friend with the gay boy Sen and together they work as wedding photographers. Their clients are wide, weird and wonderful. JJ and Seb are both looking for love but in the wrong places. So, when JJ falls in love with the beautiful and mysterious Elle, JJ and Seb’s friendship is tested for the first time. Seb fully believes that Elle is ‘bad news’. Meanwhile Seb keeps rejecting the flirtatious advances of their local drug dealer because he is too busy lusting after a straight-acting man, whom he found online. JJ and Seb’s relationship is pushed to breaking point, and JJ herself is pushed to breaking point when sh...

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...

When the film starts, we are told that even though the film is released in 2012, it was actually made back in 1994. The movie had disappeared and was found and completed and eventually released. Its a true blue gay romantic film, which surprisingly is as relevant as today as it was probably in 2012 or even 1994 when it was originally made.  Peter is a pianist working on his new piece. After just one date, he falls in love with Bill. Peter has had many relationships in the past, but Bill is also harboring a secret. He was very close to his friend once, who came out to him as gay and eventually died. Bill has been unable to move past this and Peter wonders of Bill is in fact gay or he just thinks he is. He becomes determined that Bill choose the right way for himself to live and to love. When a young woman, Jill moves into their building, Peter puts his plan into effect. At the same time Bill is trying hard to make his relationship with Peter work and is unaware of the plan that Pete...

Wow. This was a surprising collection of stories. Sometimes that little bit of tease, sexual tension is all that takes to get one going. This collection of six stories take us through an erotic ride of scintillating experiences of men in various forms of male bonding. Ari A young man who heads to a tattooist for the first of a series of appointments to create a design on his stomach. The intimacy of having another man’s hands on him stirs things and he starts to fall for the tattooist, but does the other man realize what’s going on? It’s a neat little short that doesn’t add up to an awful lot, but certainly manages to create a sense of sexual tension. El Primo [The Cousin] When a guy visits his friend for summer, he finds himself getting attracted to his friend's cousin, whose bulge seems to be constantly on display, but tries to keep his feeling to himself. In terms of creating sexual tension, this is probably the strongest of the six and I could feel it in my bones. It intriguing...

This film is adapted from a Japanese manga. The story is definitely controversial and will be met with a lot of mixed reactions, mostly negative, in my opinion. It's also funny for me to see how anyone can even come up with a story line where rape could even be remotely considered ok. A large group of people are  part of Fujimi Orchestra. One day, out of blue, a musical genius Tounoin Kei shows up at the orchestra as the conductor of the group. The concert director of the group is Morimura Yuuki, who is in love with a female musician in the group. But turns out, she suddenly falls for Tounoin, which upsets Yuuki and he leaves the group. Tounoin takes him to his home to talk, but forcibly ends up raping him constantly saying that he loves him. The next morning, Yuuki is disgusted by the whole turn of events and avoids going to practice. The female musician invites Yuuki for a drink and confide in him that she knows he has been raped. She knows because Tounoin told him so, since they...