Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

This series' execution was amazingly amateurish. When you start with a basic story, get some bad actors and do a shoddy job of direction, even the smallest of episodes becomes very challenging to sit through. At 6 episodes of about 20-25 minutes and a seventh special episode, this show is not worth your time. I am never gonna be able to recover the time I invested in this crap.  Isko is a young boy who lives with his aunt and some dream haunts him. He gets bullied by a social alled friend Tonyo whenever they cross paths. Isko is shy and is repeatedly told he is ugly. One day at the coffee shop, a mysterious lady leaves a cross necklace for him. And then we have young boy Alexeuz who comes to Earth from another planet to complete his mission, which he doesn't know what he mission is. He meets Isko by chance and slowly it turns out his mission might be to help Isko and fulfill his wishes. It turns out there ewes a guy named Zion, whom Tonyo used to like, but Zion prefers Isko...

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...

Told entirely through a third narrator (I saw the English version), it was extremely difficult to follow through what twas the exact storyline of the film. I would focus and follow for about 10 minutes and think that finally I understand what's going on, but then suddenly a tonal shot would happen, and it will again start going into circles which I was not able to keep up. As per the official synopsis, After being framed in a murder, Nick returns to his troubled hometown Exalon, where he begins an affair with a young man working at a family restaurant. The arrival of his former employer convinces Nick that he is being personally hunted down. We go into flashback in another fictional town where it seems Nicks used to do some illegal business and also had sexual relations with his ex-boss. But he is missing deeper currents unravelling a wave of local unrest, to which he unwittingly contributes. The film is way too artsy and extremely heavy on symbolism, which went over my head most o...

Dirk Shafer was Playgirl magazine’s Man of the Year in 1992, finding himself at the centre of attention from magazine readers as the most appealing centrefold to appear in the publication in years. What most people didn't know that he is gay and had a boyfriend back home. Dirk Shafer uses this premise with a mix of facts and fiction, re-creating that scenario, events pre and post that and uses this to act and direct playing himself in this enjoyable and funny mockumentary. Dirk Shafer, playing himself, introduces us to a little bot about his childhood and how he had always wanted to be in showbiz. He managed to feature as centerfold piece in the Playgirl magazine in 1992. But when after the result of online polls, he also ends up becoming Man of The year, he is now struggling to reconcile his public persona as a sex symbol to women with his identity as a gay man. As the year goes on, Dirk finds himself being interviewed by every talk show host on TV and one minor screw up could cos...

This mini-series has only 5 episodes of about 12-15 minutes each and was probably sponsored by Uber, given how blatantly it is promoted in every episode. The story of the show is pretty straight forward and basic. There was scope for lot more love, romance and drama but for whatever reason, the show wasn't explored much and even the ending seemed rushed. One day, while driving Thien gets into an accident and hits another boy named Khanh, who is wearing a girl's dress. Scared o going to hospital, Thien brings him home. He is not serious, he takes care of him and that nightie two boys get into a one night stand and Khanh leaves early morning. Two months later when Thien sees him at school, he has many questions that he wants answers to. Thien, who is an upcoming singer, uses the help of his friend who manages his business. Together they find out that Khanh lives with his adopted uncle who beats him every night and possibly also assaults him sexually (its never explicitly told). T...

We have seen a few movies before where a loving couple's happy dreams take a questioning backseat when someone's aspirations for life and career start priority. No judgements and nothing wrong with that, since this subject can bring some interesting conflicts to the table. Sadly in this film, the conflict feels so amateurish and one of the guys comes out such a negative person, that I kept wondering why was the couple together in the first place. More on that later. Max and Ash have been together for about a year. Max, at dinner, announces that he has been accepted in music school in New York. But the things that the duo live in LA. Max asks Ash to move to New York with him but he point blank refuses. In fact, Ash coldly announces that this must mean the end of their relationship. His logic is that he has his friends in LA and is not willing to make the change, despite repeated attempts by Max to explain him that he already knew he was applying to colleges all over and how is i...

Religion and masculinity are usually the true antagonists in gay films across the world but here, in this Filipino romantic comedy film, they are as presented as “Side Characters”. It a movie about two senior high school boys who, through the help of a fortune-teller, find each other at an optional school retreat called Journey with the Lord. The story does sound simple, as yes, it is, but something about it was also innocent and charming with its ups and downs, which we will all talk about later. The setting of the film is an all boys catholic school. Dominic is gay and out , except not to his family and wants to be in love. As with most schools, the straight boys make fun of gay boys calling slurs, despite, a surprisingly tolerant teachers who try to educate students about homosexuality. One day his best friend takes him to a fortune teller. Dominic is skeptic but joins the fun just for that. THis fortune teller tells Dominic that he will meet the love of his life, or potential love ...

I have always enjoyed independent films who have something different to say and are about 'different' and possible weird fucked up people in their own way. Set in a small coastal town of Georgia near Black Sea, sure this film deals with homosexuality but more than that its about this small tight community and its small mindedness and prejudices against anything thats not normal and what it does to people who are affected by it. In a beautiful opening shot, an old man is fully dressed waiting for someone for dinner, wrapping a letter in a wine bottle and looking at the full moon listening to sound of waves. Next day, the news spread that the old man committed suicide, since he had cancer for few years and couldn't bear the pain. THis is a very small community where everyone knows everyone and for some reason the people have resented the old man since he always kept to himself. Except for old Amnon and a young girl Fleshka who run a beach cafe Wet Sand. This duo are also outs...

This 4 part mini series of about 40 minutes each was was nice lovely romantic drama, where the two main protagonists have the simplest names that I have veer heard of : X and Q. How I wish that these long shows that I see here, someone actually created a fan-version where all the fluff is deleted and we could get to focus only on the main story. Well. I can certainly wish for things, even though I know they may not come true. Q, is a decent student who tries to do his best but somehow always misses by a whisker and ends up second. His mother runs a bakery business and wants Q to talk to his senior Mook, a social media influencer, for promotion. But Q is scared and he sees that she always hangs out with her friend X. X challenges Q on his loser status and says that if he can get Mook to invite Q to the big school event in 21 days, he will accept defeat. Q, along with his 2 friends try to come up with a strategy to get Mook's attention, but in the process one day by mistake X gets in...

This over the top Discovery+ comedic documentary series retells history through the LGBTQIA+ lens it always should have had, showing all who watch that we have always been here, and we’re not going away — loud homophobes be damned. Each of the five episodes focuses on different historical figures, as told by queer historians, actors, singers, and performers; essentially a queer ensemble cast recreating some of history’s most notable moments, and over a dozen scholars of queer history. Each episode will pull the rainbow curtain back on a variety of historical figures: 1.Kings & Queens - Uncover shocking revelations about Abraham Lincoln's queer affairs and learn about the gay organiser of the 1963 March on Washington, Bayard Rustin, along with stories about Eleanor Roosevelt and Akhenaten.  2.Sashay It Forward - Some of the greatest artists and scientists of all time were queer! Learn the steamy details about Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Ma Rainey, Alan Turing, Sally Ride and Lynn ...

It is good to see a sports based BL drama after a while. There were a few of these that I have seen before, but it's been sometime now. After a shaky start, the show finds its groove soon and actually becomes quite enjoyable. Normally we see the focus is on the main couple, which is the case here too, and the other couples are there as fillers. But here the other two couple do get almost equal prominence and as audience we do get time and emotions invested in their journey too, in addition to the main couple. I have my reservations of the unnecessary drama in the 10th and 11th episode (which we can talk later), but I loved quite a few other things about show. The show is your standard 12 episode, about 45 minutes each investment. Torn has just joined university as freshman and is excited to reconnect with his senior Fan, who was his childhood friend. Fat has always been passionate about basketball and it was he who made Torn also realize and discover his love for the game. They mad...

Hey Dude, I Love You (Vietnam) The story is about 3 best friends - 2 boys and 1 girl. The main guy is looking for love oblivious to the fact that both of his friends actually have a thing for him. The other guy would try to gain his affection through playing an online game with him. But when the truth and secrets are revealed , it will take time for our man to accept that love can come in any form. Stranger's Love (Philippines) Two broken hearted guys who bump into each other in the night. They end up spending the night together because of the storm, healing and recovering hope for a happier future. It is about strangers helping each other because it is often easier to talk to a stranger than to a friend. The night leads to friendship to love to sex and hope for better days to come. Xiao Lin (China) A young student goes back home for holidays and has constant pressure to find a girlfriend and get married. But he is bi curious or gay, downloads a gay app and meets a stranger hoping ...

I knew nothing about this film, so overall I was actually quite happy with the ultimate result. The film doesn't spoon feed you. The viewers have to deduct a lot of inferences and the brother-sister cat and mouse game keeps the proceedings interesting. Sure, towards last 30 minutes, it does get predictable and you know what's going to happen, but still the two very good looking men and a high production quality helps this film to rise above the average script that it does have. Alex and David are a happy gay couple, who have started talking about adopting a child. Alex works at a gym and David has some high profile corporate jobs n they are doing well for themselves. A mysterious figure Blanca soon starts following the couple and she strikes a friendship with Alex at gym, flirting with him. He brings her home for a drink but when David comes home, it turns out that she is David's estranged sister who has come out of jail having spent 8 years for buying down their parents ho...

Olympic winner Tom Daley, who is openly out gay man in the sports world, embarks on a journey to explore the shocking realities of being a member of the LBGTQ community during the Commonwealth Games, with homosexuality being illegal in half of the countries included in the competition. While most people are only familiar with the lighter side of Tom, this show proves that he can give a serious topic the kind of thoughtful and weighty treatment it deserves. For most of the past year, Daley has been vocal about his call for sporting organizations to be inclusive of LGBT sports folks. Echoing this at the start of the film, he asserts that the Commonwealth Games should consider preventing countries with anti-gay laws from hosting the event. But while speaking to LGBTQ athletes in person, Daley learns firsthand that they don’t believe such a punitive punishment will help their situation. As one of the anonymous Pakistani athletes informs him, the rulers of their country wouldn’t be fazed by...

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...