Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

These days we see very few gay romantic comedies, so it is always a welcome break when you get one. Sure, the film is extremely predictable and you know what exactly is going to happen but charming characters make this film watchable even though the plot is filled with giant holes. Also, I wish the makers did not make it. Bit soppy in last 25 minutes. It would have been better to keep it fun and light throughout. David and Quique have been together for 15 years. He has secretly planned a road trip across US ending in Vegas where David wants to marry Quique, but when Quique rejects his marriage proposal, David is dejected. David is so obsessed with the idea of getting married that he starts reaching out o his friends and acquaintances, if anyone would want to get married to him just to fulfill his dream. Enter Esteban, a pilot, who saw David at their common friend's wedding and kinda liked his free spirited nature. When the common friend introduces them, Estean agrees to marry David...

I had seen a anime series based on the whole Omegaverse. Chinese series ‘Desire’ is pushing fictional boundaries by becoming the one of the first live-action adaptations of an Omegaverse novel. As a reminder, we have Alpha who are dominant, aggressive, territorial, and usually leaders and S-class Alphas are cut above the rest. Beta are neutral, with low fertility rates and usually inconsequential working-class people. Omegas are submissive, nurturing, highly fertile, both male and females can get pregnant. And finally we have Enigma's, mythical and rare and have  the power to tame an Alpha and turn them into Omega. With 16 episodes each of 50 plus minutes runtime, this series demands a lot of attention with focus on two major BL stories and overall corporate larger story. The main story is about Hua Yong and his love obsession for Sheng, an S-class alpha. He is rich, has looks gifted by the Gods and a talented businessman. To help his father, he has been doing anything to find a cu...

This intimate but level-headed documentary about Ugandan homophobia speaks with both gay activists and those persecuting them. Watching this documentary had been on my list for a while since I spent some time in the country while the law in 2014 was being passed, so I had personal experiences that made me wanna see this, to appreciate it closer. Sadly, I got my hands on it just recently. "Kuchu" is a local term used for homosexuals in the country. We not only hear form the handful of gay and lesbian activists openly standing up for their rights but also from the other side, whose hatred and bigotry suggest deeper pathologies, and whose methods terrifyingly illustrate the mechanics of mob incitement. The documentary is partly framed as a portrait of David Kato, Uganda's first openly gay man, while other gay men and lesbian women are also interviewed. David was an activist of enormous courage and persistence, who loved his friends, his farm , a good party but was also terri...

I would say that this story started off well (Although I did see something very similar, about. Aman traveling back in time), but very soon it becomes cliched high school love story, that has every BL trope that we have been seeing for all these years. We are supposed to disbelief any logic to any of stuff happening, which even if you do, still presents a very mundane, boring an unoriginal overall storytelling. 10 episodes of about 45-50 minutes each. Win, is a young school student, attempts to start up a band composed of high school students. He develops a crush on the guitar player Nut. But unknown to both the band members and Nut’s parents, he has a brain tumor. He somehow convinces doctor to not tell anyone and promises the doctor that he will immediately after the band’s competition. Nut always wanted to win a band competition. During their musical performance, Nut faints and is rushed to the hospital where it becomes obvious to everyone that Nut is dying. Shortly afterward, he pa...

Story of a gay teenage romance, loved and lost in an Halloween party setting: This would be the best way to describe this little indie film. With a maybe one-liner story about finding closure in his love, this film is more like a character study than real love story as such. Jumping back and forth between intimate flashback and present-day scheming, the film charts the evolving relationship between semi-closeted Anatole and bleeding heart, Liam. The duo have been broken up for awhile, but for Liam, the pain remains fresh. Committed to getting a second chance, Liam infiltrates an exclusive Halloween party that he has confirmed Anatole will be attending. In the party, a girl threatens to reveal Liam’s true intentions unless he agrees to babysit her ghostly little brother while she goes off to hook up with her boyfriend. Liam truly has no choice but to comply. During various Halloween party shenanigans, we revisit last 8 months of this couple's journey. Every time we see that the mome...

This is an interesting film. Apparently promoted as a gay themed film, I dont think it is right to categorize it there. In fact, the lead character in the film isn’t even the gay character. This is an emotional film about the father-son tense relationship, but it’s the father that’s gay. You know that throughout the film—hints here and there—but it’s not until the words are actually uttered do you feel the common gay pangs of coming out. The story is simple. Young Jonathan spends his days taking care of his cancer sick father while he is not working on the farm His aunt helps out on the farm but the brother-sister have some sort of commotion and the sister never meets her dying brother. With the time spent working the farm and negotiating delicate family affairs, Jonathan has little time for himself. With the arrival of a female caretaker for the father, Jonathan gets some love and attention, but one thing he craves for is to know details about his mother, a topic that his father alway...

I had no idea that vertical BL series are also being made in Ukraine (well at least this production is from Ukraine). I am not sure if this was actually shot there but at least the production company is from there. Plus there was clear accent that suggested the series being made somewhere in Europe. The series, like most BL vertical ones, is about friendship, love, duty and misunderstandings. Jake is an orphan and from a poor family who manages to get a scholarship to go into this elite college. Except his close friend, no one likes him and in fact are always degrading him. The baron of the town, William is also part of it and because of this the two get entangles in a few rough situations. The principal puts them in same basketball team as a punishment. This is where William comes on strongly at Jake, who is not sure of this is part of William bullying him again or something else. He reminds William that he is not gay. Meanwhile William's fiancé Linda is not happy with this and ke...

There have been. A few films and shows on the whole John Gacy story, the serial killer who raped and murdered 33 plus young boys in Des Plaines, IL. In the 8 episodes of an hour each, the series depicts one of the most prolific spree killers and sexual predators in American history, the onscreen violence is almost exclusively psychological. The show doesnt go into details of the court case, rather it focuses on how he was captured after the last missing person complaint. The show focuses a lot moron victims and their stories and their loved ones and the impact the whole thing had on the folks left behind. Th show opens with the frantic search for Rob Piest after his parents report him missing. Gacy is identified as the man last seen with him but nothing is found. When cops decide to trail him for few days, slowly truth starts to emerge and by the end of first episode, the investigation of Gacy shifts from surveillance of the contractor’s day-to-day activities to the revelation of what ...

Pieces Of Love (Nigeria) Nigerian short film that delicately explores the intersection of love, vulnerability, and self-discovery in the most unexpected of places. In the wake of this emotional upheaval, Tobe temporarily moves in with an old friend—what begins as a simple act of comfort soon deepens into something more intimate. Over the course of a single week, the shared space becomes a quiet sanctuary where unspoken feelings surface, and a slow-burning emotional bond blossoms into love. Bad acting but heart is in right place with a restrained portrayal of queer love in a society where such expressions are often silenced. Gayniggers From Outer Space (Denmark) The film from 1992 follows a group of intergalactic homosexual black men from the planet Anus, who discover the presence of female creatures on planet Earth. Using rayguns, they proceed to eliminate females one by one from Earth, eliciting gratitude from the previously oppressed male population. Before leaving the planet, they l...

This is a 10 episode, 25 minute each Taiwanese series about two childhood friends realizing their love for one another. The typical friends to lovers arc has been done to death many time but something about the series stuck a chord with me, and I think its because in every episode we see how their friendship started as kids and how ibgrew eventually. It made the series more relatable. Junxi and Han Tuo have been closest friends since childhood and another girl. Tuo was this shy little kid who'd sit alone on the playground while everyone else played. His home situation was a mess. And this is when Junxi was the one who time and again extended friendship. The three always hang out together even when they are grown up. Tuo is now a ladies man with girls swooning all over him. When Junxi starts to like a girl he asks Tuo for dating advice but is shocked to learn that Tuo actually has eyes for only his friend Junxi. After a few confusing days because Junxi did not see this coming, he al...

This coming of age film dives into the tangled emotions of adolescence, a young sixteen year boy discovering his sexuality, capturing those fragile moments when one begins to separate from the family unit and, with all the risks that implies, sets out on a path of one’s own. As far as story is concerned, honestly there is a lot of nothing happening. The film is about mood, atmosphere and early sexual longing and so it tests viewers patience. The family of 5, mom, dad and three sons are on a vacation in Germany from Barcelona. They bike all around the Danube river and sleep in camps and tents. The eldest is Didac, sixteen and two younger boys; all of them likely bored and tired of these unplanned cycling vacations. With talks with his parents, we are told that Didac likes a boy Gerard and that both of his parents are pretty good with that and also give him advice on love. Conversely, Didac labels his own ailment as “the frustration of not being desired.” His burgeoning sexual awakening ...

For many years Scotland just did not do gay. Homosexuality was dangerous and taboo, and it was actually against the law right up to the 1980s. So how did a country that seemed to take pride in its prejudices end up with the best gay rights in Europe? Homosexuality was something families, religious institutions, the medical profession and society at large all chose to ignore. Dr Jeff Meek, the author of Queer Voices in Post-War Scotland, says: "There was almost a bar on talking about same-sex desire." Acts of male homosexuality had been outlawed for centuries and were made stricter in the late 19th Century but same-sex contact between women had never been targeted in law and was not illegal. Gay men were known to exist but they did not fit the Scottish image of robust masculinity. Homosexual men were forced underground to public toilets or illicit parties. The consequences of being caught were significant. People went to prison for sometimes two years or were locked up in psyc...

This film is a moving Singaporean drama about a drag queen, who returns home to care for his mother with dementia, leading to healing and self-discovery through deception. Using this premise it nicely explores family, dementia, and identity, anchored by some great performances. It centers an lqbtq+ narrative with such an open heart that it feels good. I havent seen many queer films from Singapore, so this is definitely a welcome change. The story follows Jia Hao, a drag queen, who left home years ago and is now returning for the funeral of his abusive father. Her brother travels often for work. Soon after this event, the mother starts to show signs of dementia and given healthcare s expensive, Jia Hai decides to take car of her full-time. One day when the mother forgets who her son is, on the spur of the moment he takes on the role of her daughter to calm her down. The film is then more a tender story of how Jia Hao helps her mother and takes care of her as her daughter. She takes her ...