Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

This beautiful film started off really well and I was quite into it, but somehow the second half felt quite disconnected, almost as if two different film makers had made the film. An honest depiction of teenage sexuality, the film is about coming out story of a 17-year old, overcoming bullying and a hate crime to find happiness and self-acceptance. The film doesn't specify the time period, but lack of phones and chat style on computer suggest that this was likely set in the 90s when the times were very different. Leo, a handsome Greek-Italian teenager lives with his parents and younger brother. His best mate is Boof and they are quite close doing all silly things together. Leo is sort of rushed into dating Monique, a girl from the class who really likes him and whose best friend is also Boof's girlfriend. But Leo can’t stop himself from stealing glances at red-headed Tom, a buddy of his younger brother. At a house party, when Leo is unable to have sex with Mo, he just goes out ...

This is a story told from the perspective of a closeted Samoan man, who returns home after 10 plus years haunted by a secret from his childhood. With his dead mother's ghost lurking around, he needs to embrace his truth and help his mother make peace.Told in 6 episodes of just 10 minutes each, this one is a quick and easy watch. It never goes into the too dramatic zone. I found this very interesting, because we normally get to see many queer stories from Pacific Islands. A young bride Hana is rehearsing for her wedding with all of her extended Samoan family when suddenly her older bog brother Moni arrives. Moni has been MIA for over 10 years and is rumored to be in London. Hana and everyone else is surprised and she is in no mood to forgive her brother, especially when he did not even care to show up for their mother's death few month. When Moni goes home, his mother's ghost is there to haunt him. He is the only one who can see her and this needs to be an opportunity for Mo...

It is a shame to see a series that started out so well has now become almost painful to watch and sit through with its latest season 3. Season 2 was also average, at best. The show, primarily about Adam, tried to mix humour and some heartfelt moments navigating through Adam's everyday life as a gay man. The writing here in season 3 has gotten weak, and some of the newly introduced characters were pretty bad actors. The dialog is long winded and often pointless, and the actors are clearly untrained and inexperienced, making many scenes difficult to endure. More on that later. This season has 7 episodes of about 18 minutes each. Season 3 has Adam has moved to Sydney for his work he does for Single, Out magazine. He is now visiting back home for few days. We are introduced to Ethan, Adam's 20 year old half brother who is an aspiring writer. The father asks Adam to see if he can get him some work at the magazine office. Surprised with the ask, Adam manages to get him a job, silentl...

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...

As much as I loved season 1 of this series, I am so sad to say that the season 2 just did not live up to the expectations. Adam was funny and his shenanigans in the first season made me laugh and smile many times but in this season it all felt forced. The series has 7 episodes of about 20 minutes each continuing for where we left off. The first season explored Adam realizing and acting upon his sexuality and season 2 finds him navigating the challenges, and hurdles, that every gay man goes through. Adam is now in a happy relationship with Gabe and is also working as a freelance photographer. When he finds an old picture of his ex-bf Josh he decides to have one last final meeting with him that stops up feelings for both and Josh ends up kissing Adam, which he deices to not tell Gabe. It doesn’t take long for that secret to come out a the duo decide to break up. Rather than dealing with his issues, Adam throws himself into a series of situations (and at a series of men) without really th...

This Australian coming of age series focuses on gay men and their need to be seen by everyone. Set in the remote town of Geraldton, during the time of the gay marriage vote in Australia; it centers around the feelings and emotions of guys with brutal honesty and integrity. These characters are mostly teen boys and as they form a tight-knit friendship, the boys find solace and support in one another, exploring their desires and identities in a world that often renders them invisible. With 10 episodes each of 30 minutes, I really enjoyed the show in more ways than one. We first meet Charlie, a rebel seemingly without a care who refuses to dye back his hair black is desperate to leave the town. He hasn't even told his best friend that he is gay but when a hookup with an older married man goes wrong, he announces his sexuality of Facebook live. We also see the geeky Zeke, the younger of the two siblings of an Italian family who is constantly bullied by the school jock Hammer. However h...

As expected a lot of films are being made set during the covid times. Taking the imposed restrictions around the circumstances of hotel quarantine, where when you travelled, one had to do a mandatory 14 day quarantine in a hotel, the film maker uses that as the story idea behind making this psychological horror thriller. I am not a big fan of horror and this wasn't really a scary horror film per se, but still at places it just felt to overstretched, which was bound to happen when you have a film which is almost just one character. Toby is an Australian actor living in US. He finds himself in a mandatory two week quarantine in a Brisbane hotel and is here to attend his father's funeral. He is trying to keep himself busy by doing online rehearsals for his play. Trapped inside this tiny room on his own, with no living soul in sight, Toby tries his best to stay on top of work and keep himself occupied. He also had to leave behind his boyfriend and it seems they are going through a ...

I somehow missed the fact that that season 2 of this rockumentary style show came back in 2021 and I only just now go try hands on it. I remember liking the short 10 minute skits about the doctors dealing with STIs in a Melbourne sexual health clinic, educating the general public at the same time. It's really hard to make a subject like this funny, entertaining yet educational. Season 2 continues from where it was left off with 6 episodes of about 25 - 30 minutes each, but this time rather than focussing specifically on the STIs itself, the show focuses on the characters, their growth, their insecurities while still keeping tabs on their patients's sexual health and awareness. In summary, Sexual health doctors Langdon Marsh and Steph Huddleston must do whatever they can to prove their worth and save their clinic – all during a sudden outbreak of sexually transmitted infections in Melbourne. A hilarious and heartfelt comedy series, ‘Metro Sexual’ is Australia’s first sitcom led ...

Coming out can be a normal experience for some, a secret side for others, and an issue for the old guard to embrace. Presenting yet another facet of stories of coming out, this Australian series was a knock out and a lot of fun to watch. This first season comprised of 6 episodes of each 20 minutes or so. The show focuses on the ups and downs that our lead character Adam embraces as he comes out, cultivates what he thought was first love, discovers the gay scene, feels the pain of a fast relationship crumble, and finds himself and the attraction that others have for him. While we see this, Adam's friends and family also explore their love and sex lives. Adam lives with his single mother and older heterosexual brother Clayton. In the first episode we see that Adam has a huge crush on his brother's friend Josh. One night when Josh is staying over, they do hook up (Josh considers himself pansexual). But Adam needs to be open and out about his sexuality if he wants his relationship ...

Each year, Melbourne’s ‘Same Sex Formal’ is attended by young people from across the state who have missed out on the one rite-of-passage most teenagers take for granted - either because their school explicitly refused to let them bring a same-sex partner, or because they just didn’t feel safe to do so. With breathtaking insight, honesty and humor, 12 LGBT teens reveal the highs and lows of their experiences with falling in love, coming out at high school and coming of age. This film is a moving and compelling film about queer students surviving high school and discovering the transformative power of community, acceptance and love.  In 2012, director Suzi Taylor came across a small news story about the ‘Same Sex Formal’ – an event held in Melbourne each year for same sex attracted and gender diverse students and their allies. It was an event for the kids who did not feel safe – or in some cases, had been forbidden – from attending their own high school formals and debutante balls. ...

Metro Sexual is an Aussie mockumentary comedy following the doctors Steph (lesbian) and Langdon (gay), who work at Metropolitan Sexual Health. As per the show's creator and actor also playing Langdon, the show is the story of the doctors, the staff and the patients in an inner-city Melbourne sexual health clinic and all the unknown struggles that these doctors sometimes face. Spread across 8 episodes in the first season, the exiles are about an average 10 minutes each. Over the course of these 8 episodes, the doctor duo takes us through the various STIs possibilities out there with their own quick ways. Langdon is the ultimate enthusiast, he's always coming up with 101 ideas to promote their little sexual health clinic. Whereas Steph is the typical prank player, who doesn't leave any opportunity to embarrass Langdon. The different episodes focus on different sexual issues like syphillis, cervical screening, crabs outbreak in a retirement community, a celebrity RJ, tough bik...

Summer Love is an Australian ensemble comedy series showcasing an 8 part anthology. The series sees eight very different sets of people rent the same beachside holiday house through the theme of love. Episode 5 of the show is about the gay couple Luke and Olly, who confront societal expectations of being gay men versus what they actually want as a happy couple. Even though the episode is just 0 minutes, I feel it was funny, and charming and worthy enough of its own post. Luke and Olly are going to a beach house to celebrate their one year anniversary, an event organized by older and richer Luke. Olly has got some kind of romantic dinner planned with a chicken hidden in an esky. Many funny incidents give us a hint of the wealth and maturity gap between the two guys including meeting a gay couple, a rich fancy beach house rental. Thinking of spicing things up, unknown to Olly, Luke has arranged for a guy for threesome from an app. The scene gets very funny, yet awkward and eventually the...

It feels like I have been watching a lot of AIDS related films/series of late for some reason, and they all impact you in different ways. This film specifically tells us what happens to the family and friends left behind after someone's death and how they cope up with it. Everyone has their own way of dealing with grief and sadness. It calls forth a sense of identification with each of the major characters in this story and makes us uncomfortable while providing avenues for insight and change. Gavin is dying of AIDS and is being helped day his close friend and business partner Anna and his caregiver friend Charlie. Also in the mix is Charlie's boyfriend Frank. It was Gavins wish for euthanasia to die with dignity, so the doctor is called and Gavin's mother, married brother Simon all show up. The euthanasia does not seem to be working and in desperation Charlie places a plastic bag over Gavin's head to hasten the requested death - a deed that will haunt Charlie and the r...

A very interesting story about the peppy romance between a young queer man’s first brush with love with his friend's older brother, this film was quite charming. A story split between two decades, its the kind of film which will remind one of films like 'Weekend' which are about short lived love stories suspended in time and how it can make or break herts in ways that you can't imagine or think. And this is my second Australian feature within a few days of each other. The film starts with a frenzy very fast paced scene where the film is set in 1999. High schooler boy Kol finds himself in a frenzy when his dance partner Ebony wakes up stranded near a beach after blacking out. In a mad dash not to miss the big competition, he rushes to pick up her red-fringed gown hitches a ride with her brother Adam, who according to Ebony is the only person available to help them out and who has a car. Adam's presence has Kol both on edge and at ease. A few years older and already o...

A coming of age story about loneliness and inherent guilt. Merge that with a very honest and sexually frank look at gay culture in the era of online hook-ups. At one point the film does try to ask whether notions of romance and connectedness are being lost in a period where sex can be used as a balm to cover emotional wounds. But also in the undercover, the story is more about wounds that take time to heal and the survivors guilt that it leaves you with where you have no problems being treated like shit sometimes. It's a fascinating story with some very very explicit sexual imagery, a bit of which was probably necessary. Casey, a country boy, is trying to escape his upbringing decided to visit Sydney. He is penniless, hungry and it is established that he is gay in the very first scene. He crashes a party to steal some food. Using Grindr, he meets a guy Tib, who invites him over for a threesome. Not knowing rules post sex, he just hangs out with Tib. Both Casey and Tib are hiding th...

In the late 1980s and early 1990s a series of violent murders took place near Sydneys famous Bondi Beach. Three innocent men were attacked and thrown to their deaths from a cliff top. The murders were part of a much wider wave of violent hate crimes as gangs of youths roamed Sydneys inner suburbs randomly bashing and killing gay men for sport. This series, Crime Investigation Australia is an Australian true-crime series, in which one of the episodes featured these gay killings. Among the victims at Bondi was Wollongong television newsreader, Ross Warren, a gay man who disappeared while visiting friends in Sydney in 1989. Ross Warrens case was dismissed by police as a probable accident. But his mother conducted a long campaign to have her sons disappearance finalised. Then, some ten years after he was first reported missing, Ross' police file finally came to the desk of one courageous investigator who started to dig a little deeper. Detective Sergeant Stephen Page quickly realised t...

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 ...

Kids being raised by same-sex couples are growing in numbers worldwide. But what do they think about having same-sex parents? And do they face different issues to other kids? At a time when the world is debating marriage equality, these questions are more pertinent than ever. Told from the perspective of the kids, Gayby Baby is intimate and sometimes humorous account of four children and their families. We meet Gus, a boisterous youngster who is heavily into WWE wrestling, but is also exploring his masculinity, although his two mothers fear that he may be a little too violent when it comes to playing. Matt seems very mature for his age, and he is wrestling with doubts over both religion and politics, as they seem to emphasize ideas that are in contrast to the beliefs of his two mothers. A high point for Matt though comes when he attends a dinner with Prime Minister Julia Gillard with his two parents as they discuss marriage equality. Ebony is interested in pursuing a musical career, an...

This comedy documentary follows two young Australian gay comedians, Joel Creasey and Rhys Nicholson, as they put on a show in a rural Australian town Colac known for its homophobia. In fact, last time Joel was there, he was chased to his car by a group of 20 teens hurling anti-gay abuse at him. With Rhys for back up, Joel is heading back to the town to live there, sell some tickets, get to know the locals and work out how homophobic this town really is. When Joel had the incident, the mayor of the town of Colac city against accusations of homophobia, which is one of the reasons that Joel along with Rhys decides to give the town one more chance. They reach the town and meet the new mayor who welcomes them into the town and admits that smaller towns often need a while to “catch up”. Then the pair travel around the town, trying to sell 700 tickets to their upcoming show. Most of the people they met along the way were very welcoming. During this time, they try out working at a factory, bar...

This Australian film is all over the pace. Centered around a group of friends and their issues and challenges,  the film focuses on unrequited love, generational discourse, sexuality and HIV and the existential angst that seemingly dominates and transcends generations.  Four, twenty something share a house in Sydney. Kat, our lead female actress also gives shelter to her teenage cousin Nate, who is thrown out of the house in the middle of night for being gay. The film starts on a very simmer note. But soon we get intertwined in the lives of multiple characters. We meet Blake, a lesbian who works in a non-profit. Kat and Blake occasionally have sexual encounters while Kat thinks she definitely prefers men. Blake, meanwhile is definitely in love with Kat. We also Sam, a gorgeous guy who is dating a very popular drag artist. Sam soon finds out that he is HIV positive and has to come to terms with what it really means to live with the stigma in today's day and age. Nate is struggl...