Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

To be honest, I really don't think that this 4 part BBC mini series needs to be documented here. Yeah, the main character was gay, but besides that the homosexuality angle is not really the core of this series. London, early 1960s. Harry Starks is a dangerous mobster, a club owner who loves money, rent boys, and Judy Garland. He's an East End gangster who, in grandiose Kray Twins style tradition, is not only prone to streaks of madness, depression and a violent temper, but homosexuality. His penchant for Spanish Inquisition style justice has handed him the Fleet Street moniker of "Torture Gang Boss". He revels in a nether world of minor celebrities, fund raisers, boxing, showbiz, gambling clubs and philanthropy, for the sake of public image. We witness story of Harry Stars through 4 main characters in his life Teddy's Story: Racketeer Harry Starks sees Teddy Thursby, an impecunious peer of the realm with a predilection for young men, as a means of joining the Esta...

Indie queer films have generally upped the game because audiences are not forgiving in todays day and time. So its especially surprising when a campy trashy film like this comes in 2020, with bad acting and direction where you have seen it all. There were a lot of cringy moments because of this, like the ending which was just one-liner after one-liner after one-liner, without any real end in sight. This I lay at the feet of writing and directing. Dwayne has just moved back to Providence after splitting with boyfriend and managed to get his job back as a bartender in the locally haunt Outhouse popular for drag shows. But within a span of 4 days, one murder after the other happens where gay men have been brutally murdered and their blood drained. No one is safe. Everyone is a suspect including Dwayne, the club owner Tony, the agin drag queen Gloria Hole and the new popular Janet Fitness and even the out of it, Tragedi. Gloria Hole is losing her place in the club, is agin and wants it all...

This documentary film is from way back 1998. It is always interesting and educating to see things that have happened in the past in the whole spectrum of various gay rights movement. There are so many stories out there and with every different documentary, you get to learn something new. Its my personal issue that I do not remember most of the stories (am I getting old?) , but these stories are worth telling and worth hearing. The primary story is about Kelli Peterson , a senior in high school in Utah, who was the first person to start a Gay Straight Alliance club in her school. What started off as a safe space for gay and lesbian people to be in their comfort zone soon turned into something that no one would have ever imagined. The event soon becomes political, where a small high school group becomes a national debate and before she realizes Kelli is fighting for her rights and eventually wins it. In between the main story of Keli, we are also told of stories of other very prominent h...

Quarantine gave film makers an opportunity to come up with novel ideas of shooting. The trend continues with this series as well which is set during the pandemic in Taiwan and the entire story is told through a series of video calls (think Gameboys), during which our protagonists meet, flirt, question their feelings for one another and take the next step till they finally meet in person. With 10 episodes of running time of 5-7 minutes, this is a very easy and pleasant watch where it never digresses from what it really wants to say. Bo Chun is a young Taiwanese university students who is into vintage cameras. Just when he is about to buy a camera online, it gets purchased by Sato, a Japanese writer, who wants to gift this to his ex-bf. Because of a mix up when Sato thinks he has messaged his ex for the camera, he ends up messaging Bo Chun instead who is now curious to get his hands on the camera. His uses his friend Liying's help for language and she starts liking Sato. Sato travels...

This is exactly the kind of films that get created from independent makers in the name of queer cinema that's total blasphemy, at least in todays time. This, ten years back, would still have been ok. But in the same of comedy, when trash is presented to you, in times when audiences' tastes have dramatically changed, I am not really sure, who is the target audience for the makers. I didn't even get a chuckle, forget laughing at this film. 2 failed cops are sent by their sheriff as DEEP undercover agents in a porn movie production. The cops have had complains about two porn stars who also hustle on the side, who have sex with Republican politicians and they make their videos to blackmail. These two 'straight' cops need to take up this job as they do not have any choice and even be prepared to have sex. While on the job, they realize the intentions behind them blackmailing the politician is a noble one and is to safeguard an old age home. IN fact, one of the cops, who ...

I had hopes that season 2 will cover the huge flaws of season one and actually focus some of the much needed discussions that need to happen in industry and in general anyway, but even with season two, the makers haven't really improved much on things they should have focused on. Marco is still continuing his support for traumatized Bas, who is still very afraid of taking any action for the weird producer. He is too scared to get his career affected and is fearful of disappointing his parents. But luckily Marco manages a video of Tee trying to get funny with Bas again. But Bas is still too scared even contemplating suicide. Meanwhile James and Ait continue with their relationship. There is bit of jealousy from Ait when he sees Marcos confess his attraction o James but agrees to strictly be friends. When news of issues in the series comes out, the producers decide to hold a press conference and ask James and Ait to keep their relationship a secret, but James confesses and Bas also e...

A gay man and a single father, is in his 40s is going through all sorts of crisis in life. He shares a complex and intense relationship with his daughter for many reason. This film is about a crisis in a man's life and his continued downward spiral primarily arising due to his loneliness and his inability to find love and stick with it. Our protagonist is impulsive but in desperate need for love. The film starts with a gay orgy, where we meet our man Santiago who has gone there for some connection but doesn't find it. He comes back home next day to his angry teenage daughter Laila. They have a playful but love hate relationship. She is mad because he didn't let her go to party and she gets back saying to him that the best thing in his life was his ex Luis but he let him go too. He suddenly decides to show up at Luis's house with his mother and daughter hoping to rekindle his relationship with Luis but instead creates. Ruckus and drama. We are not clearly told what went ...

Is this really a queer film? Probably not! This film is more about self acceptance for being who you are, proud of being who you are and trying to do do the right thing. This is a story of a father who is torn between an unexpected love and the love and respect of his daughter. Ah Ming lives with his daughter Xiao Feng but they have a troubled relationship where the daughter doesn't talk to her father at all. Turns out her mother left her when she was a baby and Ah Ming has been taking care of her even though he is not his biological father. One day she suddenly disappears and through police he finds out that she was seen in Taipei. Turns out that Xiao Feng went there to meet her online friend, another guy but the guy who shows up is an older man. When Ah Mind finds them both, the old guy is rushed to hospital and now Ah Ming and Xiao Feng are both interested in finding the truth behind that man. With Unearthing the truth about the old man, Ah Ming also needs to confront and tell t...

I had really enjoyed the season one of this statical sitcom and was eagerly looking for season 2. The comedy, laughs and gigs remain intact. The four sis still on these 2 siblings and a little more on the mother as well this time. Chase has gone from being famous singer to just ok. Meanwhile their mother Pat has become a famous talk show host and really popular. Older sister Brooke feels she has perfect skills to b a talent manager and is scouring TikTok looking for the next ChaseDreams to advance her managing career, while older brother Cary has a suddenly semi-lucrative career as the token gay host on sites like BuzzFeed, Thrillist and BagelBitesTV. Neither Brooke nor Cary is exactly happy, but Drew has a boyfriend, which he thinks counts as happiness in the short term. Like its predecessor, each episode focuses on different aspects of these 2 individuals. And their growth, setbacks and positive movements in life. Brooke eventually becomes co-manager for her mother along with Scooter...

Mexico hasn't really produced many LGBT themed films and 20 minutes into the film and I was already hooked. There is something very poetic and something very magical and pure with the way this film is made. And you will be shocked to see that this film actually combines the documentary style film making very effectively with narrative style feature. It was only towards the very end that I began to wonder if the characters were real and sure enough they were. The story is about two boys Ivan and Gerardo. Ivan, who lives in Pueblo is stuck washing dishes in restaurant even though he has studied in culinary school and is very talented. He has a young son with an ex girlfriend or wife but is also secretly gay. Only is best friend from childhood Sandra knows his secret. One such night he meets Gerardo, who is openly gay and before you know they both madly fall in love. They both have had turbulent childhood where they were ridiculed for being gay by their folks etc. Ivan is so unhappy w...

PRIDE is a six-part documentary series chronicling the struggle for LGBTQ+ civil rights in America from the 1950s through the 2000s. All running around 45 minutes, these films, together, attempt to tell the story of LGBTQ life in America in the late 20th century through the early 21st century. It’s an earnest goal, met with talent, ingenuity and seriousness of purpose. Each pf the six different episodes running at about 45 minutes each focus on a different decade right fro the 1050s to the 2000s. Some of these devices are more effective than others, as all come from a place of deeply earnest, searching curiosity and tenderness. We see the 50s where apparently being gay or lesbian wasn't as frowned upon as it later began to be. People were lot more tolerant util in the 60 the more conservative states started going up with laws. 1960s relies mostly on archival footage and the 1970s episode is a personal love letter to film-maker Barbara Hammer and poet Audre Lorde. As expected the 80...

A drama that explores the sinister and exploitative side of the acting industry , especially in the BL world. The drama sounds amazing on paper, but it is unbelievingly badly executed. The first 5 episodes are wasted in a wishy washy love story, whereas they could have easily gone to the main crux of the story. By the time the meat comes, the season one ends in a limbo and now we will have to wait to check what happens in season 2. James is an upcoming director who gets hired to direct a new BL show starring Ait and Bas. Tee, an older guy runs the production company, who is a very unfriendly person and very strict rules on how the new BL couple should behave. His company was recently in news when the lead actor quit. During their introductions, James is surprised to learn that Ait has been forced to get a nosejob, while Bas is on a restrictive diet to maintain his physique. Ait develops a huge crush for James, who eventually reciprocates the feeling, despite repeated warnings form the ...

Acceptance of LGBTQ folks in India is still a huge issue and is something that's considered a very western thing. For a substantial population, when it comes to honor, they would rather their child be dead than come out as gay. The film maker tries to deal with that thought here in this film. Lakshmi is a school principal and a single mother to Varun who is in his first year of college. The two live in a coastal town on an island in their happy space with Varun's cousin living with them after his mother's death. Soon Varun starts to feel he is getting attracted to male masculinity and I this quest to find answers he does a few sessions with a psychiatrist who eventually then introduces him to his gay son Kartik who is also an activist. Slowly the two boys start coming closer. Varun is envious of how supportive Kartik's family is. But all hell breaks lose when he is outed to Lakshmi. She doesn't take the news well and throws her son out of home declaring that he is a...

This series had some really positive feedback in general, so I was looking forward to watching it. Also, Korean shows have been a decent bag and recently they have definitely upped their game. Unfortunately, though the series was good, it never managed to rise above good and show up something new, something that we have not sen before. With 16 episodes ranging from 20-30 minutes, this is a significant investment of time. 18 year old Tae Kyung is a shy loner boy who has never had any friend. When he reaches 11th grade, one of his teachers mentors him and asks him to join the student council consisting of three members which will help him navigate school and make friends. The president Da On is like the perfect guy who is charming and can never do any wrong. HIs best friend is this happy go lucky person and finally we have Shin Woo, somebody who comes as a very cold and distant guy and needs time to open up to people. When Tae joins the group, Shin Woo is initially reluctant but it turns...

This is not about a gay story, instead its a gut wrenching and a very heart warming story of a refugee's life who happens to be gay, which makes things even more complicated for him than others. This need of the hour film made with a blend of animation and archive footage tells an immensely powerful tale of a gay Afghan survivor. We meet Amin, who his telling his story for the first time ever to his film maker friend Jonas. This is something that he has not shared with anyone. The story of his fleeing his home country Afghanistan and how he made his way in Denmark eventually. You expect the narration to be harrowing but thankfully its also very humane at the same time. Amin is a kid growing up in Kabul, when he along with his family have to flee in 1989 after the civil war. He, along with his elder brother, two elder sisters and the brother manage to reach Moscow to seek refuge.  Amin, through his conversations with Jonas, talks about his attempts to get out of Moscow with the pers...