Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Dancing and queer, two of my favorite subjects in a film, so naturally I was quite excited about it. This film steps beyond dialogue and places its story squarely on the dance floor, letting desire, rivalry, and vulnerability speak through motion instead of monologue. The film has glitzy cinematography and immaculately choreographed dance sequences and thanks to its wonderful leads and dancers (one of the leads is from Cherry Magic series). However, when it comes time for the emotional climax, the film struggles to convincingly convey the depth of passion between its leads. More on that later. These are the two protagonists - Suzuki Shinya, a fiercely competitive Latin dance champion who thrives on passion and instinct, and Sugiki Shinya, a reserved ballroom dance champion whose entire life is built on discipline and control. Sugiki and his partner, Fusako, have won numerous ballroom competitions in Japan and abroad. Their best achievement is second place at the world championships. Ho...

A surprise federal court ruling in 2013 legalized gay marriage for Utah. This documentary details the unlikely success of activist Mark Lawrence and attorney Peggy Tomsic in overturning Utah's same-sex marriage ban. It highlights the intense conflict between LGBTQ+ rights advocates and the influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, offering a compelling, often raw, look at the legal battle and personal sacrifices involved.  For many people outside of Utah, there is nothing know about the state beyond it being Mormon, let alone the subject matter of the documentary itself. Church and State, however, does an excellent job contextualizing the circumstances that surround the case itself for unaware audience members. From depicting the pervasiveness of the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) to how the state government operates, viewers from outside Utah are able to understand how unexpected this win for marriage was. What is most unique about the documentary is the att...

Yes, one more of those vertical BL shows in which you can find every single cliche that you have likely learned to recognize every. Time you watch such shows. Interestingly there is less OTT reactions in this one and is a pretty straight forward story (if there is such a thing). Avery is getting married and his bride is quite tall. Why is obviously clear to the audience that this bride is actually a man is something that Avery cannot see for some reason and every other character in the show. Anyway, the marriage is supposed to be a contract of sorts from their parents to fulfill so that they can keep their wealth. Their first night they decide they will not get physical but keep up the appearances for the society, and they continue the charade. In the process there is this CEO who starts to like the wife and flirts with her which Avery doesn't like. One drunken night leads to them having sex and next morning the bride's truth comes out and Avery finds out that it is James. Turn...

I remember very well that when season 1 ended I was pissed at how abrupt it was, so in that sense it was nice to see that they came up with a sequel. But honestly, they could just have added 1-2 more episodes in the original season and just finished it off. Making a sequel just for the heck of it was so not necessary. The reasoning and the excuses given are so lame that in today's time they just don't make any sense. More on that later. This season is also 8 episodes of about 8-10 minutes average. Last season ended with Jeong U and Han being a happy couple and suddenly Han's ex showed up. He now wants another chance within despite the nasty breakup they had. Han had not forgiven him and shuts him down immediately. The ex warns him on consequences. He calls Jeong U to trash talk about Han but thankfully Jeong U stands by his boyfriend and they make a plan to go a trip together to get away from all this. But on the day of trip Jeong U doesn't show up. Han is heart broken ...

I had no idea what to expect from the film, but sometimes right frame of mind can make all the difference. The film is a slow, almost meditative narrative that follows the brief but intense relationship between two men in early 1900s. It's a really good story , but an extremely slow pace that dazzles you with visual beauty and striking performances. It's an ode, a love letter to music from those times but more importantly about love that was not meant to be. And with actors like Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor, you know that you are going to get great performances. Lionel Worthing (Paul Mescal) has always had a special relationship with music since he was a child, able to feel it, see it, and manipulate it. It was this gift that took him in 1917 from the rural farm in Kentucky where he grew up to the Boston Conservatory to study music. It is here that he came across fellow student and composer, David White (Josh O’Connor). They had an instant bond and also weekly sexual tryst...

For a change, this Thai BL series blends gaming elements with a workplace romance. You like don't wanna think the plot too seriously because the events happening here (romance simulation game) do not make sense to develop a game, but the chemistry is there. As much as I was enjoying the first few episodes, pretty soon it became the run of the mill story with too much fillers just to take the show to 12 episodes. And tell you what, these episodes are like almost an hour each or even longer in certain cases. There are two love stories - one his the main central and like always another one with friends who are common between the two protagonists. Young boy Hill is addicted to a romance simulation game on phone and obsessed with Yuka, the central female character, so when he gets a job in the company who created it, he is very happy. AI generated Yuka has helped Hill get over. A lot of obstacles in life. Yuka gave Hill an emotional intimacy. At work he learns form his boss Junji that Y...

There are many films that have been made in India taking India-Pakistan partition in 1947 as the backdrop. This film falls in the same category. But this one looks less at the atrocities and murders, but a more personal story of two families who destiny got together. In contrast to most films of this genre, the director addresses the less well-known after-effects of partition, particularly focusing on the lives of women and a surprising gay/bisexual relationships and shows how the psychological damage of the time still resounds within the sub-continent today. I am quite surprised that this indie Hindi film was able to show a gay relationship in this manner. Lajma, in present day Pakistan decides to revisit her ancestral home back India after many years (where his uncle and aunt lived). But returning evokes a deluge of memories, and the film then unfolds in a series of flashbacks. We see how Lajma's uncle escaped Pakistan during partition to Delhi and was forced to live alongside a ...

This is a nice little cute and endearing series that just puts a smile on your face. There is nothing earth shattering about it and it simply shows that sometimes it takes a little competition to realize what was right in front of you the entire time. Story is simple about this young cute-sy guy who has not one or two but three suitors and how he needs to figure out who (if any of these) will he go for. 8 episodes each of about 24 minutes, this series could hav been shorter but its ok. Young Yoo Doha is sad after he gets fired from his workplace, but to his surprise his ex-team leader wants to keep in touch with him. But in the very first episode we are told that its not just the old boss thats after his attention but we have also have a charmingly bold cafe barista owner and finally his his gentle but steadfast best friend. Unaware of all the attention he is getting, one night after drinking with his friend, on the way back he sees the other two guys as well and passes out. Next morni...

It's been a while since I saw the season 1 of this series and remember quite enjoying the sassiness of it all. So naturally I was looking forward to season 2, but I have to say that compared to the previous one, this show was largely underwhelming for me. The jokes did not land, the comedy seemed force, and overall something felt amiss. There are a total of 7 episodes (with the first one being more of a special episode that was aired few months back. That was more a pride special, where Cam and his drag-family read for drag queen story hour - but visitors aren't so excited about the idea.  A quick recap. Cam and Greg are a loving coupe who tried a poly relationship with the twink Princeton which did not work out, They have a lesbian neighbor couple, one of whom is close friends with Princeton. Even though things with Princeton did not work out, the couple is still very much open and wants to try threesomes, and each episode sort of focuses the move for that journey. Cam picks u...

An interesting funny coming of age film about a teenage's boy obsession with New York and playwriting, while crushing hard on a handy man and coming to terms with his feelings. I wasn't expecting much fro this film to be honest, but I think overall I was impressed with not just the simplicity but also the subtle coming of age and self realization of one's sexuality at such a tender age. 14 year old Griffin is THE theater kid with all the flaws and fabulousness. Each summer he writes and stages play in his parents basement with his friends. His latest magnum opus is Regrets of Autumn, is about the disintegrating marriage between philandering Walter and alcoholic Harriet, pushed to the breaking point by Walter’s flaunting of his tawdry mistress Scarlet. Meanwhile his parents marriage is also disintegrating. Since kids are growing up they are not as enthused about the play anymore and would rather also spend time on other summer activities, leaving Griffin to keep improving hi...

This vertical dramas was one of the simpler ones, which mostly focused just on the love story aspect and how the two individuals eventually grow to love one another. The guys here were really hot and twink-ish. Sure, from the story perspective it doesn't offer anything new and like almost all vertical BL shows from before, you will forget this one too quick, but at least this time I didn't roll my eyes as much. The plot is extremely simple. Alex is running for college president and his opponent is handsome Xavier, who comes from a humble background. During the debate, an accidental kiss and fall make rumors about them. To capitalize on this, Alex's campaign manager recommends that they fake date. Alex is able to convince Xavier for this, since Xavier needs money (his father is alcoholic and abusive). But soon someone leaks a copy of their contract and his popularity dips, but somehow they manage to leak videos as if they really care for each other and are serious about it e...

Jezabel is a striking exploration of how we manipulate others and ourselves. As an adult how subjective and fickle our memory can be and we can rewrite our stories and deceive ourselves without even realizing it. Although occasionally disappointing in its execution, it offers an enthralling premise and intensely tragic moments that will undoubtedly linger in our memories. It is not a gay film per say (our lead character is bisexual and in present ties he has a boyfriend), but the core of the film is not gay sexuality but so much more than that. By looking back at the lives of four affluent young people in Venezuela, it explores the frailty of memory, class struggles, and masculinity.  The film moves constantly between present (or rather future) and past. Alain is a young troubled man disinterested in life. His boyfriend Salvador is a journalist and somehow conversations between them bring about memories of Alain's youth and his friend circle. Affluent teenagers—Lolo, Cacá, Eli, and...

I had recently reviewed another one of rugby player Gareth Thomas' documentary. This one, I guess came in sometime after that. In this emotional and hard-hitting documentary he finally goes public about his condition and reveals how hiding the truth about his health left him feeling depressed and contemplating taking his own life. With the help of family, friends, medical experts and others with HIV, he sets about tackling the stigmas, myths and misunderstandings surrounding the condition. The documentary starts by Gareth making the news of him being HIV positive in a video to publicly announce it. Not sure if awareness was the motivation, but the idea for him is to change perceptions about HIV by raising awareness & fighting prejudice. He re-educates himself and the audience through interviews with doctors and other health workers that these days HIV is nothing to be afraid of and people can live almost as normal a life as anyone else. In fact, if he continues to take his medi...

Love, lust and old age come together in this layered, emotionally charged queer comedy-drama. The film is an interesting blend of laughs and tragedy that outs a fun spin on what it is as being gay and old. The film embeds a character study within a real world setting that is given an extra tang of truth by the inclusion of the start of the Covid pandemic. We are introduced to an out and proud 70-something Vicente, who left both the closet and his old life behind for the more hedonistic charms of the gay-friendly Maspalomas resort on Gran Canaria. A split with his long-term partner has put him back on the market, and he is enjoying his life filled with with hooks up in the dunes or nightclubs, parties etc, until a mishap happens. He does this without a worry in the world, since an old friend is in charge of the financial support for both Vicente and his dog. A medical emergency brings him back to his old hometown, where his estranged daughter puts him in a retirement home till he recove...