Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Aah!! My obsession with these vertical dramas.. no end to it. I love the fact that I love to hare these micro dramas but secretly I continue to watch them, because guess what! They keep coming in. They all pretty much follow the same pattern which I have repeatedly mentioned with one mafia, a straight man repeating that he is not gay, an evil female vamp, some shooting, some drama and all is well that ends well. This is no different. A mafia boss Sable is being chased and gets shot. He is saved by a doctor Daymond, who, when he sees the ring on his fingers thinks that he is the same guy who likely killed his father in a cartel bust. The guy runs a gambling casino and it turns out that the doctor's younger brother has sufficient debt, which he is willing to forego if Daymond will become his personal doctor. Clearly Sable is completely smitten by him, and our doctor keeps making it clear that he is not into men. Daymond sees this as an opportunity to find out the truth about what hap...

The summary of the film says "A stone-broke gay actor and a privileged fuck up with a failing business cross paths on a winter night and join forces in a quest around London to find a meaning to their miserable lives, but when their unlikely connection turns into something deeper, fears and demons from their past come to jeopardize the whole mission." I thought this sounds interesting and should be a good watch, but oh man! was I disappointed! The execution of the film is so bland and uninteresting, it just feels like it's going nowhere.  Brash and cocky, Oliver enters an empty bar asking if someone could buy him a pint? Sitting at the bar nursing his beer is Lukas, who wants none of the entitled fratboy energy this loser is giving off. What Oliver doesn't know is that before he ended up drinking alone on Christmas, Lukas came dreadfully close to jumping off a bridge (which we find out much later). The two men happen to meet again in a bus a short while later. Oliver ...

This vertical mini series, stitched as a film was visually nice to watch, but I have to say that the stories are getting hard to believe now. It's like, anything is going on and as an audience you are supposed to believe it. This was one of the first ones where I was rolling my eyes more often. This latest mini series from DramaWave app going into the familiar genre of BL mafia. At a high-society party, Selena and Emma were targeted for revenge by an ex-boyfriend and found themselves in danger. Their respective bodyguards, Noah and Carson, worked together to save them, but Noah got injured in the process. Selena then demanded that Emma send Carson to serve at her house for three months as compensation. What neither of them knows is that Noah was saved by Carson many years back and since then Noah has harbored a secret crush on Carson and loves him. Carson works for Emma's brother Arthur Hill, who agrees to the 3 month arrangement because he wants to know the real identity of a ...

Watching this Korean film was like watching those Japanese Pink films with thin paper plot and 70% sex scenes, just in Korean setting this time. Soft porn for all practical purposes. Every single time I end up watching one of these, I am so pissed at having wasted my time and I wish someone told me to just ignore it.  The film starts with a photographer dreaming of sex with a guy he doesn't know. Th next day when his assistant is showing him the pictures of her boyfriend Gi-joon, he is surprised to see that the guy is the same who came in his dreams. He somehow convinces assistant to send him for a photoshoot. Gi-joon really doesn't want to go and clearly is very uncomfortable with the idea of being a model but he gives in. The photographer slowly seduces him during the photo shoot and next thing you know is they are kissing and having sex and an affair starts. Gi-joon is completely in love now with photographer but he was just playing I guess and he strongly recommends that he...

Set in mid 90s, this film set in Boston, follows a thirty-year-old gay man who attempts to get his life in order while living with his actress mother. It is a simple coming of age drama, that probably was quite novel for its time back in 96. The story itself is simple, with not much happening and a lot of it can just be watched fast forwarding quite a bit of content, because most of it is around our lead hanging out with queer artists and there is not much from a plot perspective. Rejected by numerous art schools and lacking romantic prospects, gay guy Andrew's life is going nowhere. He still stays home with his theatre actress mother. HIs close friend is his uncle, an artist and a confidant and is also gay. His closest friend is Lucy who works in the art studio with him and is lesbian but constantly bickers with her girlfriend. Andrew decides to enter a contest in hopes of winning a six month stay in Kenya. But neither of his family thinks it's a good idea. He find out about h...

I wouldn't call this series as a typical BL. This was actually a classic gang/revenge story between 2-3 underworld clans and just bit of romance thrown between the lead guy and the other boy. It was never developed, was never the focus. With 12 episodes each of about 55 minutes, I went into the show hoping for a gay love story, but I was disappointed. Having said that, if you watch the show for the grit and novel story that it says, it is actually quite good. But it's all about managing your expectations. Even this poster is soooo misleading. The plot centers on a young man named Sun, who is the son of a benevolent gang leader. After his father and best friend, Kong, are tragically murdered, Sun is wrongly accused and sent to prison. Once he is released, he works to expand his power and uncover the truth behind the deaths of his loved ones, his life becomes intertwined with Peach, a sensitive Korean artist. Unbeknownst to Sun, Peach is the son of the rival Korean gang leader, M...

Full marks for novelty to set a BL romance in a Thai prison. This gritty environment allows the series to explore meaningful themes. Sadly the screenplay and the execution is so jarring and random and sudden that half the time it doesn't make any sense. Apparently this was released as a 20 episode series , but the version I saw was 5 episodes where first 4 were 30-40 minutes each and the last one was 80 minutes. Jed owes a lot of money to people (we are later told he borrowed money for making a film), so he gets arrested. Even though he spends just one night in jail, it's his first time in such an environment. He's crammed into a tiny cell with numerous other inmates. Bible, a young prisoner on volunteer duty, is tasked with guiding new inmates. He somehow takes a liking for Jed and protects that first night from getting bullied. Jed gets bail next morning and Bible asks him to never come back again. Three months later his cheque fraud eventually lands him in a longer priso...

Exploring the romantic relationship between two childhood friends, Loy and Kaew, this series features themes of forbidden love, social class differences, and the struggle against prejudice in rural backdrop in Thailand countryside.Unfortunately there are way too many characters and a very soap opera kinda feeling and direction made this show a bit boring for me. The series is 6 episodes of about 40 minutes each. Loy, is a kind hearted son of a widow, whose father died and they have big loan to pay and then we have Kaew, who comes from a more nobler family. The setting is rural Thailand where farming is the way of life. The dup have been extremely close friends since they were kids. Both are strikingly handsome, natural leaders & pillars of the community, and are desirable by a lot of eligible females in this rather small community. One day they kiss each other (happens in the very first episode) but the leaves both of them confused. A few days later it happens again and they realiz...

This show should be avoided completely. Firstly, the show is clearly left midway after 6 episodes. There is no proper conclusion and as audience we are left with a lot of questions. I read online, that the makers did not pay the actors because of which they left the show midway and hence the so called 'incomplete' show. Which Actually might be a blessing in disguise, because the acting and direction of this show were so ridiculously bad. But then you never know, the makers may hire a new crew and make season 2 for all you know. For now this series was 6 episodes of 50 minutes each. Nerdy student Nu is told by an astrologer that once he encounters three mishaps, he will find a sexy hot man as love of his life. While walking to college, he is almost hit by Sun who was driving his car. Sun a second year medical student. Once he goes to college, he meets Chain, a senior on his faculty who seems to like Nu. Since Nu is a nerd, he is unable to make many friends, and Chain introduces ...

Ricky Martin - A Loco Life documentary has got to be one of the laziest and lukewarm documentaries ever made. When you have an enigmatic subject like Ricky Martin, you expect all sorts of details to be known, hear from friends and family and what not, instead what you get here is a Siri-like voice reading an essay of sorts on the life of Ricky Martin, with zero emotions with visuals of pictures and video snippets. What's worse, the only interview we hear is of some random lady who is supposedly a pop-historian who gives her views of Ricky's life. I mean, what the hell!! Why even make a documentary if you do not connects to even a single person associated the actual person you are talking about !! Anyone who has ever been a fan of Ricky Martin knows exactly what happened. From being a part of all boys band under 18 called Menudo to how he became the global phenomenon is very quickly walked through in this documentary. We see how he becomes a teen heartthrob, takes a short break,...

Like me, if you are stuck to your phone half the time, you have likely seen the videos and reels from comedians Michael Henry & Tim Murray. They have some really hilarious videos out there and in recent times they almost became a phenomenon of sorts in short comedy reels and darling of gay internet. So when I heard about this 6 part (23 minute each) doc-series with these two in the lead , I was naturally looking forward to it. The show follows the performers and friends as they travel across middle America in an attempt to connect with audiences, in parts where being gay is not that 'common'. Sadly this OUTtv series was so badly made and the comedy just fell flat for me in almost very single episode.  The doc-series starts with Tim and Michael reaching out to drag queen Trixie asking for a standalone show of their own. Trixie informs them that they are not ready yet and they need to understand middle America better. They need to prove that they “can make flyover state gays ...

To give the credit where its due, you cannot deny the fact that the concept of the show in extremely unique. Over the years, I have realized how big of pageantry industry it is in Philippines. Taking that as the base and creating a BL around male pageantry was a fantastic idea, sadly the makers are bogged down by the over ambition. The show drags on for ever and ever adding and creating more characters, more sub-plots, making t all dull, chaotic, crowded and just plain uninteresting. With 13 episodes each of about 45 minutes, it needs significant time commitment. Had they focused on the 2 main couples, the show could have been a real novelty with some tight editing. Our main character is Jack who has just won the Mr. Royale Universe Philippines and has to now fulfill his obligations as a winner while also preparing for the global Mr. Universe contest. Jack comes from a very poor financial background, so this is huge for him. But his manager Lemuel is evil personified. He is there to ma...

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,...

An atmospheric drama that tries to delve into joys of being alive, what could prompt folks to end their own life and is there a way that we can remind people on how precious the life is. Sounds good, isn't it? Sadly the execution of the subject leaves lot to be desired. For a sensitive subject like this, it is important that you connect with the characters and feel empathy, but for me, that did not work in this film. Evan is on his way to a beauty spot in the middle of the night. Suicidal, he intends to kill himself there (since he lost his boyfriend a year ago and cannot get over it), but when his car breaks down on a bridge en route, he is stopped from jumping from it instead by the enigmatic young Léo, who was just passing by. In place of talking him out of it, Leo agrees to drive him to his intended destination. Along the way, romantic tension ensues as the pair reckon with traumas of the past, conflicts of the present and the potential of the future – together or apart. They m...

I am not sure that to think of this film. The subject of polygamy and throttle in gay relationships has been handled with sensitivity in the past. Sadly this film leaves a lot to be desired. While the main subject could have been thought-provoking, the story's structural and narrative choices reveal numerous weaknesses. The film's first significant flaw is its rapid, superficial storytelling. Characters lack depth, and the conflicts between them are largely confined to shallow conversations. More on that in the detailed review later. Thankfully the film is just under 50 minutes. Paul and Marlon are a couple and the film starts with Marlon bringing in the idea of a throuple. He gives some really stupid arguments about why a throttle is better, including the fact that a new person will spice up their sex life> Paul reluctantly agrees (and we later find out that Paul cheated o Marlon few years back and since then there has been a dent). Marlon had met a guy Jeremy in a club who...

One of the many problems with this series is that attires to do too many things in little time. It wants to ta all BL tropes and add them all to this series. There is no real character development, shallow characters and motives, total lack of depth and many such. I think had I seen this 4 years ago when it came out, I might have thought of it a little better, but watching it today when there is so much evolution in asian BL, this just comes off as laughable.  A cafe owner has just been dumped by his girlfriend. He passes out but he bumps into this ‘girl’ who helps him get home and they end up having sex. He somehow cannot get her out of his head. The reality is that girl is actually a boy who occasionally dresses as girl to make online content o make extra cash. Incidentally, through his 2 other gay couple friends, he ends up getting a job as a waiter at the same cafe owned by the boss. We discover that this cafe owner is quite ‘lascivious’ and really treats females merely as sexu...

Had I seen this BL back in 2021 when it came out, I might have a slightly more appreciation for the show than what I have right now. And to be honest, as of today, I don't really have much to say about the show. It just made me realize how basic were the stories that were being told in BL context from most Asian countries and makes me appreciate how we have grown both in terms of storytelling and the production efforts that are going in every year to make these stories bigger and better. This series was 6 episodes of about 25-30 minutes each and honestly was all over the place. The basic premise is between Phuc and Tung who share a on-again-off again relationship. Phuc is staying with his cousin in countryside. When Tung visits his parents who are neighbors, they are not home so Tung ends up staying with Phuc. They were likley boyfriends or had feelings before, but Tung is a bit envious and jealous by nature. He once saw Phuc hugging another boy, who was Tung's brother and sinc...

Silent Sparks is a Taiwanese movie about two gay gangsters and their secret relationship. But more than a gay film, I feel this film was more focused on probably the cons of being just aging member na dhow there is no getting out of it. This slow-burn film moves too slowly and takes forever to come to a point. From uneventful scenes to mundane chats, I was mostly bored. The gay romance also takes too long to develop. By the time there's a spark, the movie ends. Whatever the film tries to show could have been better achieved by a short film, which essentially shows two gangsters trying to hide their feelings from one another and everyone around them. Pua is a warehouse worker struggling to make ends meet. In addition to his regular job and odd gigs, he takes on gangster work as an underling. His mother is always worried about him. He has just come out of prison and again doesn't hesitate to break the law to make ends meet. His boss pretends to care about him. We then meet Jimmy,...

This is BL show from Myanmar, clearly inspired heavily from the Thai BL shows that are based in university and schools. The ending felt a bit open ended and something that I was not expecting and also I am not sure what the makers were trying to say, but at least the world of BL is expanding. With 9 episodes each of about 10 minutes, the show moves slow even though there is a proper story, I feel like the screenplay and direction lacks finesse, but good for the attempt I would say. Also what's up with the name? Should it be 'My Heart' looking at the heart on posters? The show starts with a girl being killed in a bar and fast forward one year later. Thu Kha is a young boy studying in school. He has some heart condition but is overall ok. A new student Nay Thit joins the same school after getting expelled from previous school. He becomes friends with Thu Kha and his friends and soon enough the two have some spark going between them, despite rumors around Nay Thit having anger...

OMG! This film was such a boujee film and what a drag!! Showing us the daily life of a gay couple who has already gone through the great storms and who now lives in calm, with all its contradictions.The hook of this film is that this couple have supposedly created their version of perfection, only for it to be called into question by the inevitable developments of life. I am not sure, but even if thats what it was trying to say, the film was so boring, monotonous that it ends up becoming one big snooze fest. I mean this film can easily be summarized as one 15 minute short film. Juan and Mariano are a gay couple who have been together for many years. Recently they decided to leave their city life in Buenos Aires and move to countryside with more open space, less stress to be more in contact with Nature. Juan is an established writer so from a work perspective it will be fine for him, while Mariano dreams of opening a nursery and making pots. While they are settling in, their best friend...