Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Continuing from the season 1, we get next 3 episodes again of about 30 minutes each which continues to focus on not just lives of Michael and Justin, but this time we do get to see a little more of Brooke and the daughter as well. This season, Michael or Luck Dragon, as Justin so fondly refers to him, must face the accumulating expectation he feels to always be the "rock" in their relationship when a devastating tragedy at work hits a little too close to home sending him over the edge. I am really enjoying this continued evolving relationship of Justin, Michael and their family.  Justin and Michael's daughter Mandy is really starting to grow. One day when she arrives with her friends and Brooke shows up, they realize that its their daughter's first period and as expected she feels comfortable talking to a woman and in this case, it is Brooke, the pivotal parental figure. Brooke soon wants to leave to meet her boyfriend, but something Justin says doesn't sit well w...

I saw the film "More Than Only" almost 5 years back and honestly I even forgot about it. Had to go and re-read my review about the beautiful film I saw. When I got my hands on this short film series, I did not realize that the makers have continued to series to show us what the lives of Michael and Justin has turned up to me after the film ended (which was they got married and had a surrogate daughter with their best friend Brooke). There are three seasons and I will maybe review them separately. This first season is 3 episodes of about 30 minutes each. Michael and Justin are a happy couple and living with their almost teenage daughter. Their friend and the surrogate mother Brooke is still very much a part of their life. The series begins with Michael's parents visiting the couple to spend a day. Given Justin's really bad experience in childhood and his parents reactions, he is always nervous of this visit and always tries to go out of his way to impress his in-laws b...

A gay serial killer and alien murder mystery would be one way to describe this Spanish-German co-production. I wouldn't call it a horror at all, because not even once I flinched or was scared. It was a bit silly at places but I wanted to check out to see if it made any sense. Luckily I kept my expectations extremely low. It also helped that the film was barely 50 minutes. Film starts with one man giving bj to another in a cruising park and a third man watching them. The next day a mutilated body of the person is found as if the entire body of the person was sucked out, leaving what could best be described as a puddle of goo. A similar death happens a few days later of another boy. Two lady detectives are assigned to the case and the note marks around the dick suggest that it feels like some sort of a spider or a giant tarantula, but the experts say that this is not possible given how far apart the bite marks are. The man who had witnessed the first murder helps detectives create a ...

Oh my god!! What were the makers thinking? This series is so painfully dull and boring. After paying attention for 3-4 episodes, I Was so lost and really couldn't care less about our main protagonist. With 10 episodes each of 15-20 minutes duration, this series and its purpose made no sense to me. I expected better from Taiwan. Also, I am quite shocked to see some glowing reviews about this show. I am clearly missing out on the hidden trend here. Raccoon is a handsome and famous gay influencer. One night at a bar, he hooks up with a guy, they have a great chemistry and the next thing you know they are sharing intimate moments. Raccoon, who struggles with severe insomnia, admits he relates to Endymion. Every time Raccoon tries to sleep, he hallucinates, blurring the line between dreams and reality. He has had these issues for a while and when pills did not work he is seeing a sleep therapist. Instead of improving, Raccoon's condition worsens. Each night, he experiences bizarre d...

As it happens most times, I am not too familiar with the "celebrities" of American pop/porn culture. This documentary is a love letter from cult filmmaker Toby Ross to male model and gay adult film superstar Bill Eld and  tells the story of one of the gay film industry's sexiest man (because he had one of the most beautiful cocks) and attracts the international sex symbol's meteoric rise and unfortunate decline into the abyss. For those like me, who do not know of him, it is an introduction to not only the man but to the culture in which he lived. Eld was an underground icon who became the most "beautiful male pinup in the world". For as much of a queer icon as Eld became, the life behind the man was a mystery. Virtually no biographical information about him was published during his lifetime, and he drifted around the country with such regularity that he hardly made any lasting connections. Ross- who knew Eld during two key periods in both mens’ lives- seeks...

With a duration of just under an hour, this film from back in 1989 is a short, quirky, and romantic story about two men, one an astronomy-obsessed worrier and the other a free spirit who enjoys breaking into places. The charm of late 80s set in Auckland is what makes this film worth watching. It is atale of opposites: coming together and coming out. Richard, an astronomy-obsessed worrier spends his time fantasizing about outer-space and the cosmos, an activity which antagonizes friends and family. He lives with his sister in an apartment. One day, he meets Johnny, a handsome Italian man at the library, with an enormous appetite for life, whose idea of a holiday involves breaking into the nearest small holiday home. The next day he shows up at Richard's door and asks him to join him at the beach. The two have sex there and Johnny mentions that he will soon be back in Italy after 3 weeks and offers Richard love and an escape from the monotony of work. The duo spend sometime together ...

I thought the first season of Wreck was pretty average, so I wasn't quite keen on the sequel. While looking at the stuff backlog that I have to watch, I chanced upon season 2 and watched it and I have to say that I was so underwhelmed with the season 2. After watching the show, I started wondering how do I qualify of a content is LGBTQ+ enough for me to review here or not. Should it focus on issues and sexual identity (which is what my definition has ben most times), but then there comes shows like this, where we have plenty queer characters but it is not about sexuality. They are just in situations they have to deal with and they happen to be gay. Normally I stay away from such because if not for gay storyline or identity or something, I may not have watched some of these series/films in the first place.  Taking it away from the cruise ship, we see Jamie and Vivian now living together alongside Lauren and working to bring their enemies down whatever the cost. The trio are having l...

This documentary delves into the phenomenon of adult entertainers creating, shooting and starring in their own productions, with popular and far-reaching platforms such as JustForFans acting as de facto film distributors that monetize these productions directly through their sites. JFF founder Dominic Ford, featured throughout the documentary, enthused about the project says "This documentary is important because it peels back the curtain of the ‘fan’ economy; it shows how empowering it is for male models to work on their own terms and become financially independent while doing something they love, safely from their homes." Men at Work explores the early days of ‘Porn Valley’ when performers made their fortunes through the studio system; that is, until the rise of the Internet shifted the industry’s onscreen offerings from VHS and DVD formats to free streaming via ubiquitous tube sites that effectively removed the ‘pay for your porn’ business model. With this, the rise of ‘cr...

This film is a gay coming of age film of an angry teenager. The film takes us on a journey into the life of a 16-year-old boy, grappling with his intense emotions. I thought the film was extremely basic and amateurish. The dialog is bad, the acting is awful, and the camerawork needs help. But the story is quirky enough to be interesting. Alex is a misfit at school, enduring bullying and harsh scrutiny at the hands of the hall monitor. Alex takes solace in the world of puppetry and filmmaking. His neighbors are quick to judge his every move. At home, his father is a strict disciplinarian, constantly demeaning Alex and never trying to understand him. His mother attempts to bridge the gap, but Alex remains distant. She herself is dealing with issues of her own, dealing with identity crisis and likely extremely unhappy in her marriage. When Julius, a new student joins the class, things start to change for him. They have instant connect and friendship and start to hang out. As their bond de...

The first gay disco, Studio One in Los Angeles, was a safe space for the gay community from 1974-1993. This documentary is a loving look at the iconic gay disco and its legacy. Replete with pictures of events at Studio One and at its adjoining music and dining venue The Backlot that vividly recall its heyday, the film remembers it as a vital place where gay people could be themselves and which also became a popular spot for celebrities eager to demonstrate Hollywood's liberal side. The building was slated to be demolished in 2018, and this film provides an oral and visual history of the club as the local board determines its fate. A handful of “survivors” of Studio One, including comedy legend, Bruce Vilanch, return to the club to recall its glory days. With a capacity of over 1000, this cavernous club and adjoining cabaret called The Backlot attracted hordes of mostly white gay men and the Hollywood elite throughout such historical touchstones as the sexual revolution and the heig...

This is a rather simple low production BL series from Cambodia. Playing on the age old, enemies turned lovers turned misunderstanding turned lovers is played here as well. Keeping this simple story to go on for 7 episodes felt like an unnecessary stretch. Each episode is about 20-30 minutes long. The actors felt new and story could have used more gravitas. Also the title of this series made no sense to me, in the context of it all.  Hengly is like the bad boy of his class. He doesn't conform to rules and often blame onto everyone else except himself. On morning he runs into Same on his motorbike and the two have an altercation that doesn't end well. Same is a studious student who stands up for himself. After a few misunderstandings, their friendship starts to grow when it turns out that Same's brother is close friends with Hengly's cousin. They spend sometime together, and it seems like Hengley is almost flirting with Same. Same’s feelings for Hengly grows stronger and ...

It is quite obvious that our community really needs lessons in tolerance. The fact that films comes from Ukraine, a country from which I had not expected that I will be writing a review on my blog, an attempt at LGBT comedy (or somewhat in that genre), is big surprise to me. As the name would suggest, the film is literally lessons in tolerance of LGBTQ+ community members told through 10 chapters using a regular Ukrainian family as the center point. We have a simple family of husband, wife, a son and a daughter. The family is reeling debts, the husband is lazy, daughter is a wanna be actress and the son is just aggressive good for nothing mechanic. The mom has had enough of it. There’s money available for any family that signs up for and completes a state LGBT+ awareness training course, and it’s quite a considerable sum, too. The way it works is that a course representative who is gay will come and live with the family for three weeks, during which time he will conduct a number of LGBT...

This was yet another one of those Thai teenager gay dramas that just feels wrong too watch. These boys barely look 13 or 14 years old and having to watch them talk about love, sex and be naughty made me very uncomfortable. Thankfully, it is only 4 episodes of about 20-22 minutes each, but still a simple yet uncomfortable story to see Tankhun is a young boy who loves to drive his scooter fats. Worried bout that, his father takes away his scooter and instead asks his friend's son Kim to pick and drop from school. The friendship starts blooming. Kew knows he is gay but Tankhun is interested in a girls ho he realizes just liked to get gifts from boys. When another boy in the class starts sowing interest in Kim, that makes Tankhun jealous and he doesn't know what's happening. But everytime he sees them together, he doesn't like it and tries to break thier bond. Eventually he confesses to Kim that he likes him. But Tankhun still is uncomfortable accepting that in public which...

I had not heard of this film at all and was actually very pleasantly surprised with this touching mechanic meets India-British drag queen romantic drama. The sis such an involved and heartfelt queer love stories, something that we all have been waiting to see for a while now. No exaggeration, no over the top drama, yet true tragic love while the protagonists confront their notion of love, sexuality, family, religion, friendship and more. Luke isa single dad of a 5 year old son. He works as a mechanic in a garage run by his dad. He meets Aysha, a drag queens fact unknown to him at their first meeting and they indulge in a passionate kiss. There are clear sparks but as soon as Luke realizes that Aysha is a man he runs away. Aysha is living a closeted life away from her relies muslim family in the big city. Aysha need sa driver and car to take her around for her shows. She tracks down Luke and he agrees to do the job in hopes to save money for his son. After a few drives, the attraction r...

Translated to English as "An Andalusian Bitch", this is a 7 part series each of about 25-30 minutes. Focusing on a lot of LGBTQ+ characters, this series focuses on certain individuals (some connected, some not). Like many kids their age, some of these Gen Z folks feel quite lost, and they try to find their way, a path greatly influenced by the relationship (repressed, released or overstimulated) they have with sex, and which can only be defined as "drama". They are racked by loneliness and desire in a society that intensifies their struggles.The show is supposed to be comedy as well, but we will leave our thoughts on that later. We meet an interesting mix of people including Sofía, Samu, Marcos, Tamara, Sylvia and Judit. Samuel or Samu is a young gay man, who enjoys hooking up a lot but is almost at a point where he wants something serious. He eventually meets Gabi, a boy with whom he starts as friends, take it slow and eventually as they start to get serious, somet...