Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Watching films from almost 15 years back feels so nostalgic. The time that were, the kind of independent films that were made with minimal budget and production and sometimes very amateurish acting and direction. They used to be a good mix. This film, even though had its heart in the right place and must have been ok watching when it came out, felt very jaded watching it now. A young boy Darren arrives who arrives in Toronto seeking a new life. Running out of money, and with nowhere to live, he quickly is befriended by a group of rent boys with whom he had locked eyes a few times during last few days. The give him shelter and food while he figures out next steps. The group has Alex, another young boy very dependent on drugs, hallucinates in sleep and someone who feels like a problem child. His boyfriend is Steve, mature of the two, loves Alex and genuinely takes care of him. And then you have the big guy who makes sure everyone does enough "work" to have fodder" He tries...

I am absolutely fascinated by this documentary. Blond, blue-eyed, All-American Jack Wrangler was one of the top porn stars of the 1970s. He wasn't much of an actor but he gave the people what they wanted: beefcake. He rose to the top of the gay, and then straight, adult film industry. In this documentary Jack is fascinating and quite entertaining while he reminisces in everything that he has done or about his life so far. Comprised mainly of interviews with Wrangler and various other icons and experts, the film manages not only to provide a history of the man himself, but also a rundown of the early days of the industry. Jack was born into wealth to a family of a producer father and an actress mother but since his teenage years he knew he was attracted to men. He tried his hand at acting, but he soon realized he wasn't very good. Trying his hand at acting, Wrangler fell into the lucrative world of dinner theater, which gave him some recognition and Hollywood connections. One th...

Intersex is a topic that I snot often discussed and we really haven't seen much content about it. After all, it is a tricky subject. As it is, adolescence can be rough, regardless of your background or current circumstances, and on top of that if you have to spend time figuring out your gender, that could likely lead to a lot of therapy sessions, awkward moments and uncomfortable conversations. This film is story of one such teenager Adam, who is raised as a boy and how things change when he gets his first period. Adam, born with both male and female genitals was raised as a boy. He is a touch cookie who picks up fights with classmates if they bully him. This secret is only known to the family but hasn't bothered anyone till now. But things start to get complicated when he first falls for a new transfer in his school, and then immediately gets his first period. His parents consult a specialist doctor, who does some tests and it is confirmed that Adam has equal amount of both fe...

I have to hand it to the audacity of these French film makers to try and come up with a sequel to a film that was likely panned by most people. I remember I did not like the film at all and felt that the title totally suited the film. Imagine my surprise when I saw this sequel and once more, there could not have been a more apt title than 'Bizarre Again'. We are back in the world of Maurice and Lucas, this time 7 years later to witness whats transpiring in their life. We are 7 years later. Lucas and Maurice have never seen each other again and have no contact since the tragic events of the BIZARRE cabaret in New York. Lucas (is he a trans person? I am not sure since it is never clarified or maybe he is gender fluid) now lives in Denver, Colorado. He is married to a slightly older man who is the father of a 16-year-old child. One night Maurice just visits Lucas and sadly a shocking incident happens the same night. John/Lucas' son Marlon has just stabbed two black guys one of...

I am not sure how serious this film should be taken. It was an interesting idea likely in paper. Love will find you in most unexpected places and situations, but the way the treatment of the film is done, it came off to me as very amateurish, both from screenplay but also from acting pov. There were scenes that were unlikely supposed to excite the audience but somehow they just didn't work for me. A macho man Paulo is in an unhappy marriage with his wife and usually cycles around. One day after a serious argument with her, he gets lost while cycling and ends up in a forest like area known as the "Forest of whispers" a secret place where men meet for sexual purposes. Initially things around him, he finds it awkward. But he ends up finding himself drawn to a young twink blonde Luigi. Unhappy in his marriage, Paulo begins to frequent the forest often, and eventually gives into passion for Luigi's body. They connect every weekend in the forest and over the course of next ...

This dramedy film is about the new alternative family and how different family situations and relationships come to a head during the Christmas dinner when they are all in for a surprise. The concept of dysfunctional family, familial inadequacy and homophobia; it's all in here. But we also need to remember that this film came out almost 8-9 years back. So watching it today, definitely feels a bit dated. Simon and Oscar are a gay couple who have invited both their side of families for Christmas dinner. They have just moved into a new house and they want the familial family comfort. We first meet Oscar's Swedish parents. They are old and charming but also say wrong things at wrong times. They are rich and dad doesn't like the fact that Oscar has left all his education to pursue writing. There's Oscar's sister and his niece as well. Then we have Simon. His Greek parents are separated. Father works as a cleaner in the hotel the other parents were staying and the mother ...

This was probably one of the earlier Israeli gay films to have come out back in 1982. Our main protagonists have only two things he cares about - his homosexuality and the fact that he is making a 'gay' film. This would be film maker always says ''I'm busy with my film right now'", except you never see him do anything about it, because he is much more interested in sleeping around with different guys. People simply wander into and out of Robi's life, and if his character evolves during the course of the story, the change is difficult to decipher. Robi is a young Israeli who lives his grandmother and works at her store. He dreams of finding true love and becoming a movie director, both of which seem increasingly difficult. He has a friend with benefit situation with another guy named Han, who is married but they have good thing going. They both go to a cruising park, where Robi is supposedly looking for someone who looks like him and can play lad in the ...

This is yet another 6 part mini-series from the stable of Philippines. The episodes are about 15-20 minutes each but thankfully the production and quality and story and message this series is trying to convey is much better than some of the other rural Filipino productions that I have seen, especially the ones that were conceived and released during COVID. I am still catching up on a lot of backlog that I have from those times. At the core this is yet another BL of two young boys, but it also subtly touches upon social issues like sexual abuse, mental health problems, divorce, gender discrimination, bullying, childhood trauma, sexuality, trans etc. The location is in a remote Filipino province. Kai, a young boy and hi smother take care of a huge manor house. Enter Andre, a rude , rich, spoilt brat who is sent by his father to spend sometime there since he has had enough of his self-indulgence. The time is just when covid is picking up everywhere. As expected he treats Kai very condesce...

This Greek documentary celebrates the radical roots and ongoing bravery of queer performers who defy gender norms, especially in more conservative societies. The film takes portrait of ten provocative, gender-exploding artists from Greece’s queer underground. One after the other, they introduced themselves, their type of drag, their message and their influences. After these solo sections, they all get together to discuss the drag sphere in Athens, what it means to do this art and how it is met by the Greek society. Habit-clad, heavy make-up-wearing Er Libido hands leaflets encouraging unsuspecting drivers to support abortion. Aurora Paola defaces the Greek flag by painting the Albanian one on top of it (potentially a criminal offense?). Veronique plays opera for the police. These subversive artists seek to infuse the deeply conservative European capital with a message of tolerance and hope. They vigorously confront racism, xenophobia, LGBTQ-phobia, fascism, jingoism, and the dirty mach...

Inspired by the French. Neorealism style of film making, John tells the struggling story of LGBTQ sex workers in Hollywood, LA. It's a thought-provoking, emotionally charged journey through a world that remains largely hidden from mainstream cinema. Personally, I have never enjoyed. That style of film making and I am also not sure what really was the maker trying to tell us through this film. There have been many more better made documentaries that show us the plights of LGBTQ sex workers. John is an eighteen year old Latino male prostitute, living in the poorest area of Hollywood, L.A. He often steals condoms and medicine from the local stores to support himself, due to his inexperience in the hustling world. Peaches is a black trans prostitute, who often helps John financially. Miguel is an older hustler that teaches John how to please men. John often spends his night wandering through the street, looking for older men to buy him for the night. His clients, men who come from all ...

Told in three parts, Patrick Carpentier’s “The Irregularity of the tearing” is a three part cine-diary intimate journey along the author’s transient love stories: two and a half years of sensuality to question intimacy, an exploration of desire and reason. Part one, “God is a Dog” (2004) is shot on Super 8 and confronts the film makers remembrances of childhood memories and how they interact with his adult love encounters.  Section two, “Les 9 mardis” (The 9 Tuesdays) (2005) deals with the absurdity of the passage of time. Time that reopens and closes past wounds, time that re-opens and cures childhood wounds, time that brings a rhythm to the impossibility of loving, time that provides the courage to continue and to go through mourning. The final installment is “Combat”asks the viewer: how can one let go in a world where one learns not to? Is it possible to reach the end of desire? The tale of two young men both deeply in love who can only express their feelings through acts of phy...

Another one of those trashy shows from Signal23TV. This one can easily be classified as glorified porn if the first episode and the others that follow are to be seen and believed. With 10 episodes of about 18-20 minutes each, the show started well. At least there was supposed to be a story, but soon you realize that the target audience is very different. I like porn as much as the other person, but what I do not want is to be tricked into watching a series which ends up being porn. Tex is released from prison and enters the new world where he enters a journey of finding himself. He is a prison inmate serving time for attempted murder when he lashed out on a gay basher and almost kills him. Tex is a dark soul and is very disconnected with the world because of his past. His life changes when he is released from prison on a new program and has to transition to becoming a law abiding citizen again. Johnson is assigned to his case as a parole officer and is challenged to breakdown the walls...

I must have missed watching this during cove times for some reason. And now when I watched this now, it feels so laughable to be honest. This is obviously a low-budget production that looks like it was sort of thrown together. The production frankly is just awful, and editing made it hard to follow the story. They certainly packed a lot in this short series like love, homophobia, trans rights, rich exploiting poor, made up friends etc etc. The show has 8 episodes of about 20 min each average. We have three main characters in the show - Nico, Prince and Julius. The series starts with Nico saving Julius in a motorbike accident. In a drunken state, Julius kisses Nico. Few months later, we now see that Nico actually moved to this place from his province and he left his younger brother to fend for himself after his parents died. Prince is his neighbor, who one days saves Nico when some local goons are trying to rob him. Two lonely individuals become good friends taking care of one another. ...

Femme is a complicated movie. It is a tough look at anti-LGBTQ+ violence and what vengeance might look like. However, that’s where things get morally shaky and as audience, you question things that unfold in front of you on whether they are morally correct or not, surprisingly not for abuser's pot but from victim. is a really well-worked-through story with tense developments and reversals; it keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering what these two folks would do next. Jules is a popular drag artist, full of enthusiasm and sauciness and has two close friends (one of them is also secretly in love with him. After his performance, he steps out for a smoke and locks eyes with a shifty stranger across the street. Later on the same night, Jules crosses the same man, Preston, at a shop and the two trade insults after Preston mocks Jules. With his buddies cheering him on, Preston follows, beats, and humiliates Jules while one of them records the incident. This is a brutal homophobic at...

Finding love for gay men has never been easy. Even though this documentary came back in 2011 and I am only seeing it now more than 10 years later, a lot of topics being discussed here are still very relevant. I know that most of us gay men are always looking for the next best thing, or we may be dealing with our own childhood issues trying to push ourselves back in the closet etc, which makes it hard for us. This documentary tries to shed light on why many gay men have the desire to be in long-term relationships, but sometimes find it difficult to make them work. Understanding the effort and commitment required, along with the rewards, of a long-term relationship is important for many gay men and couples. Through interviews with gay men currently looking for the "one" and discuss the struggles they find from within the community and themselves.  Also featured are a married couple from Massachusetts who discuss the methods they have used over their long-term relationship, incl...