Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Wow! This film was a very pleasant surprise. Honestly, I wasn't expecting anything at all from this film, but this brilliant coming of age film of a 14 year old teenager is honest, unique, very real and delicate (keeping n mind the age and the lead character that the makers have chosen, as is evident by the film title). It is a film that will make you smile and, thanks to the inherent awkwardness of teenagers, cringe in equal measure. 14 year old Jamie is a "big boy".  Alongwith his brother and his favorite cousin Allie they are supposed to head out for a camping trip. Just before the trip he finds out that Allie's boyfriend Dan will also be joining them, which he doesn't like the idea of. Thankfully Dan is kind and friendly guy and soon enough Jamie starts liking him. Also because Dan turns out to be a fine specimen of. Beefy guy himself, not unlike the gay neighbors Jamie eyes through his bedroom window. They bond over food discussion and become a good team for ...

Once again Korea brings us a nice warm cozy BL drama, which is much less drama and lot of warmth and happiness and fun and light hearted moments. The series offers a delightful experience with its charming leads and some very cute interaction scenes. It helps to have gorgeous countryside landscape and take a break fro city surroundings. The story maybe way too simple, but with its execution it charms you. The show is 8 episodes with 20-30 minutes of varying duration. Yup is studying in law school. He is an intelligent student and gets good grades. But something makes Yul rebel against his father and he goes to his grandfather's countryside home. This remote rural town is his hideaway, where no one knows about his past. But he needs to follow his grandfather's instructions. Here he meets a young 20 year old farm boy Yehan. He lives with his mother, is young, very bubbly. And as you would expect of countryside people, Yehan along with other neighbors are more than eager to help Y...

Conversational films are not easy to make. When you have minimal sets, just 2 actors and all they do is talking, most time a film can fall flat. But man! Was this film a very pleasant surprise or what? The film may sounds simple, so the narrative and story and the absolute brilliance of the two actors almost make this a psychological thriller. It is almost impossible to not be impressed by the direction of this well crafted simple yet engaging film where certain themes are explored with dignity, trust, sometimes horror, charm, wit and elegance. 40 year something Eric is a university professor Eric is meeting is 20 year old student Lance for breakfast. And they start talking. Eric is gay and his partner of 17 years recently died because of overdose. Lance used to be physically abused by his step father and because of which Eric has been helping Lance out and even gave him his condo to stay for his safety. They both understand even though to the public this may seem unusual arrangement a...

This is an interesting and powerful documentary that presents the real, never-before-seen experience of being queer at Brigham Young University – often called The Lord’s University for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the state of Utah. In 2020, the university announced that the clause prohibiting “all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings” would be removed from the school’s honor code.", giving students hope, but then just two weeks later, an official LDS church statement indicated, “Same-sex romantic behavior cannot lead to eternal marriage, and is therefore not compatible with the principles of the Honor Code.” This film follows a group of LGBTQ youth over an academic year at BYU, as they attempt to reconcile the conflicting messages they receive about faith, sexuality, gender, family, love, and acceptance. As the year progresses, the film follows each of the students as they live and grow at "the Lord's University....

Moving away from the usual gay portrayal and life in big cities, the film maker here uses the rural areas of French countryside to tell an atmospheric three-part tale about the solitude experienced by gay youngsters during the long, slow days spent in communities deep in the provinces. All three of them give the same sense of desertification and of time spent waiting somewhat aimlessly, with no hope of daily life ever changing. The film is a combination of three different stories or snippets, which I didn't know before I started watching the film and left me confused to some extent, when I noticed a sudden shift in tone after the first story had finished. (By the way: this poster, just doesn't represent the spirit of the film at all. I wish there were some better ones, but I couldn't find any) A small colorful, joyous group of dancers (various eccentric gay men) arrive in a very small town for an evening show. One of the members in the petite Twink Jonas, who is also the le...

A young upcoming assistant clashing with some industry towering pushy boss has been idea behind many entertainer. Ugly Betty was one of my fav shows in this regard. So I was actually looking forward to watching this show, where the above narrative has nicely been queered up for this Netflix series that releases in a perfectly timed Pride month. What I felt of the show is something I'd write later, but the show is 10 episodes of about 4-45 minutes each and its after a long time that I binged a whole show in one sitting. Also, the fact that the show is set in New York, my city , and has plenty of local references that probably only New Yorkers will get, I loved it. 20-something gender non-confirming queer man Marco wants to make it big as an influencer, works in the make up department of a mall and has no idea what he wants to do in life. He gets attention from Madolyn Addison, the owner of a luxury makeup brand , which Marco also happens to be a huge fan of and lands the job of a se...

A well told story of a gay love set in modern days Japan: this is how the film was summarized to me. I was actually quite looking forward to this film, because I have been complaining that we haven't seen a good old fun on romantic gay love story. I really didn't know much about what I was expecting going on. But the product as a whole left me wanting more. Drastic tonal changes in the mood and the non commitment to giving a message to the audience made me wonder where wad the film really going. A single gay man Kosuke, lives a happy well settled life as a fashion editor. He has his own baggage form his childhood days of being bullied. Also he lost his mother when he was young, so he constantly feels that void. One evening while hanging out with his friends, they all talk about getting physically fit and Kosuke also decides to hire a trainer. Enter Ryuta, a charming younger guy, serious about fitness and soon they develop a good working relationship. Ryuta tells him how he is s...

Where do I even begin? This Vietnamese show was soooo bad. No story, bad acting, cringy dialogues and almost like a school project, Although I feel that school projects might give us something better to watch. Apparently. This was originally supposed to be 10 episodes but this season got shut down after 6 episodes and thank God for that. I would have cancelled this after 2 episodes. It's just so bad. The 6 episodes are about 20 minutes each. A young teen Thai lives with his mother. Her friend's son comes from village to live with them and study in school. Thai doesn't like him first, but slowly they become friends. Then out of blue, Thai starts having a crush on him and professes his love while he is drunk twice, but nothing comes out of his. Since Thai is a mediocre student, his mother hires a tutor. This tutor becomes friends with the country boy. After passing out from school, this country boy starts living on his own and meets a boy who gets beaten up on the street. He ...

Clearly inspired by the BL tsunami in the Asian countries, this film is billed as the fist Hawaiian BL film. It interestingly features a lot of Filipino actors and Hawaiians of Filipino descent in the cast. The film follows two high school boys from different social worlds who experience romantic feelings for each other. Whether the story leaves a lasting impression or succeeds in presenting to us a love story, let's look at that a little later. We are introduced to rival class friends group,  one of Filipino origin and other native Hawaiian. Edmar is a high achieving shy quiet student of the Filipino group while Pili, the native Hawaiian is from the other group. Somehow for a class project, these two boys are paired together and come up with a dish that imbibes both their cultures. As expected they both protest, but they are forced. Pili invites Edmar to a gathering with his family over the weekend, where he gets to learn a lot of things about Hawaiian culture. Similarly, Pili get...

Gergo Gagyi and Lenard Varadi are young and in love. In many countries this wouldn’t be anything remarkable, but as Hungarian Romani it means they face both ostracisation by their community and increasing pressure from a right-wing government in a country where same-sex marriage is banned. This hopeful documentary follows this couple who dream of writing and making a musical of their life story. The couple sent email to plenty of film makers and luckily the director of this documentary is the one who saw an opportunity and met them and persuaded the pair to let her document their journey. To realize their dream Gergo and Lenard decide to move to Budapest, where LGBTQ+ life is more open and available, and collaborations with musicians and artists are abundant. They manage to get a grant to write a script on there. Life and musical and engage with an upcoming screen writer. Gergo is also a singer and wants to write his own songs. They also make a few appearances on TV, where Gergo shares...

Honestly I am not sure how I feel about this film. Six years ago, a short film with same name, same lead actor and same story came and was probably a nice medium to tell this story. The film as it stands , stretches to almost 2 hours and doesn't really have much significant additional to say. Sure, its an interesting exploration of getting old, while being single and gay; but the makers also seem confused on whether to focus on queer aging issues, or kink, or old memories, or escort working; or something totally different. The film starts with a 70-something aging gay man Yamazaki hiring a young escort Leo for an S&M session. Leo freaks and waits for him to be back. This is when Yamazaki tells him, he is ok and they hang out. Turns out he is a famous kids picture book writer, who was handsome as a young man and was always in love with himself. With Leo, now for first time he is falling in love with someone else. Leo, on the other hand, has  had a boyfriend for two years who is ...

This is probably one of those series which is likely to go under the radar. A cute, fluffy BL set in a high school, it has all the elements of love triangle, first love, prom etc giving a "Stars under the sky" vibes. And it sonly 10 episodes that too of about 18 minutes each. The show focuses only on the main story and there is absolutely no distraction whatsoever. Now, if this was a Thai series, we would have had tropes overload, some random comic side stories, some 3-4 other parallel love stories and they would stretch and extend the show of Ron reasons. In that sense I really am glad that this show knew exactly what it wanted to say and portray without digressing us from the main story. We meet Eli, a rebel kid who gets caught trying to steal school paper. Eli is a foreign student from Singapore who acts out to get attention from his mom. As a punishment, he is made to join the dance club where the school her, topper gay boy Nikko will teach him. Nikko has a best friend Ju...

Brazil’s trans community may seem more accepted or even established than others, but, as is often the case, it’s paper thin and probably not as acceptable in smaller towns and poo rural communities. This film about a trans woman's dream of getting her dream wedding in a church may feel simple and straight forward; but the film is about he journey of unmatched strength of one woman who dares to dream and would go to any lengths to achieve that dream. Black, poor and illiterate Paloma lives with her husband Zé raising Paloma's daughter together. They are in a very happy space. Paloma works at a farm, has a decent circle of friends and are getting by Zé loves her. Casual jibes and threats accompany her wherever she goes but her support system is strong; yet she feels and dreams of a white wedding in a church, which as per everyone could be a risky move. But she wants it. Her local priest refuses to do that , even though he respects Paloma and accommodates her. He eventually finds ...

I am struggling o explain as to how to categorize this film. Flashy, over dramatic with a flair, comedy (?) with a witty political criticism; there is everything here. Yet nothing really that we haven't seen or heard. It's a gay romp, which the director of this film has shown a flair for in the past and this is no different. In the very first shot, we meet he male lead Richard Whiteman in complete nude, so you get a taste of what is to come. Richard (Dick) is the son of a Maureen Whiteman, a Q-anon, conspiracy-focused, money and power-hungry republican politician running for Mayor in a city in Rhode Island. Dick has a fiancé of many years now, but in secret he isn closet and watches gay porn. When the fiancé finds out and tells her mother, she knows exactly what she needs to do, take him to conversion therapy. She has him taken to the “Clinic for the Terminally Dandy,” an evil right wing conversion therapy organization, run by evil Doctor Hyde. But before he knows it, Dick gets...

Looking for Langston is a lyrical exploration - and recreation - of the private world of poet, novelist and playwright Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967) and his fellow black artists from the Harlem Renaissance. I have to be honest that I have no idea who Mr. Langston is or the historical importance of the documentary, so here I went in with a very open mind hoping to learn something interesting and new. Shot in black and white by cinematographer Nina Kellgren, the film combines archival footage with newly staged set pieces, fantasy sequences, and an imagined love story. The film reclaims and celebrates Langston Hughes as an important black gay voice in American culture. Hughes’ homosexuality is the obsession here, with a Hughes-inspired figure (a man in a tuxedo who bears no physical resemblance to the poet) ogling hunky men who dance and play together in a 1930s nightclub setting. Occasionally, the tuxedo-clad man is walking on a beach, where he discovers a nude man; the two later retire ...