Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

A down to earth BL series set in the rural country side where the realization to stop the pain, a self-sacrifice had to be made which is the price of love. Continuing the trend, this is also a low production series from Vietnam, but at least here, the was not as bad. Acting and story had some depth and thought was given through. One of the shows where things don't end on a happy ending, but probably more reality. And in this case, the choice was made, deliberately, not to have one. This mini-series was 4 episodes of 30 minutes each. For some this show may feel genuine and real, which it likely is, but it could still use a lot of polishing. In rural village, we meet Bach and Han, two brothers. Bach is the older one who odd job jobs and work in a wood factory to take care of him and his younger brother. One of the neighbors nephew Tung comes to stay with her leaving's home since his family cannot accept that he is gay. Tung is employed at the same location where Bach works. Befor...

This Dekkoo series of 9 episodes and 10 minutes each, recounts the title character’s misadventures dating in New York City. Danny is a 40-ish gay man who has a series of horrifically amusing bad dates that make him wonder if he will be single forever.  Addressing the viewers directly by breaking the fourth wall, Danny recounts his experiences as they happen, endearing himself as a gay everyman who seeks sex if not love.  Danny makes no bones about being an irritated, promiscuous bottom who has seemingly insatiable sexual needs. He is an "elder millennial," which, he contends, is the reason for his frequent erotic trysts. "I need a steady stream of sexual attention in order to feel any amount of self-esteem," he says in one episode. Every date has some sort of problem with the other person, whether it be clinginess, fetishes, or political stances. Over the course of 9 episodes we see how Danny meets a different man and is in a different situation and how nothing seem...

Adapted from a Japanese manga, this apparently toned down version, is a quintessential love story in my opinion. What lengths would you go to when challenges come in between love and your work and how do you balance the two is wonderfully shown in this series. Subtextually there is a lot going on in the series (base din the film world showing all kinds of differences, and rivalries), the show tries to remain focused more on the love, which can be good or bad. With 11 episodes, each of about 45-55 minutes, the shows ends teasing us the possibility of a second season. Akin is a famous star actor and a celebrity. He has winning the sexiest man award for few years in a row and is trembly popular. Enter Jin, a newbie whose first small role is with Akin. He is a wooden actor but after giving a few bad shots, Akin gives him some tips and soon he is nailing the scene. Their first show gets popular and soon the duo are cast together in a historical adaptation. This is where the love story betwe...

Wow! This film was such a breath of novel fresh idea. Funny and very heart warming at the same time. There's loads of sarcasm and observational wit in the script and the execution is just brilliant. I quite enjoyed watching the film. There is something predictable about the story, but along the way we do watch some enjoyable characterizations and all the actors do a very commendable job. This is an earnest and generous film, a film with a lot of heart. 30-something Edward is a successful author in Ireland who is looking for his big break in America. He’s also the primary caregiver for his mother, Alma, who recently suffered a stroke and is unable to speak without the assistance of a tablet that verbalizes her words. Edward's agents want him to bring his queer-themed Young Adult novel to the States to find the readership they think it deserves. He is also keen to go but the problem is who will take care of his mother? Edward's best friends and even his longtime therapist are...

Even though this show had a soap opera like feel to it, but My god! What a fantastic series. The show is 6 episodes of about 45 minutes each, but the twists and turns and surprises that are thrown at you in every episode is fantastic. The storyline is genuinely intriguing and I genuinely could not guess the perpetrator. A suspenseful mystery about a man trying to understand how his husband of many years died in a car crash, the secrets he kept; especially his family members that were always kept a secret. A fatal car crash happens in rural France. Back in Paris, we see cops come to famous author's Manuel Ortega's home to inform him that his husband of six years had a fatal accident in rural France. Manuel is baffled because his husband Aymeric was supposedly on a business trip to Brussels. We soon learn that Aymeric is the son of a wealthy marquis who’d inherited the title and responsibility for running the family business and properties, of which Manuel knew nothing. As we beg...

Set in a rural village in the South of Italy, this post world war 2 film is about two main characters: a single mother Martha attempting to cast off the burden of shame that surrounds her unmarried status and finding out what it means to be an independent woman, and Lorenzo, the village’s openly gay “wedding planner", who helps Martha find her voice and courage. Even though this is not a gay film, Lorenzo is absolutely critical for the journey that Martha goes through. In the first year of women’s suffrage in Italy, Marta navigates her evolving role as a woman, breaking barriers and finding her place in a changing world. This is story about Martha, a young woman who was impregnated the day before her betrothed goes off to war, she finds herself alone with a small child on her hands, as her fiancé never returns from the front. She now lives with her parents, her 3 year old son and a younger sister and the parents do not leave any opportunity to remind her, what disgrace she brought...

To give the credit where its due, you cannot deny the fact that the concept of the show in extremely unique. Over the years, I have realized how big of pageantry industry it is in Philippines. Taking that as the base and creating a BL around male pageantry was a fantastic idea, sadly the makers are bogged down by the over ambition. The show drags on for ever and ever adding and creating more characters, more sub-plots, making t all dull, chaotic, crowded and just plain uninteresting. With 13 episodes each of about 45 minutes, it needs significant time commitment. Had they focused on the 2 main couples, the show could have been a real novelty with some tight editing. Our main character is Jack who has just won the Mr. Royale Universe Philippines and has to now fulfill his obligations as a winner while also preparing for the global Mr. Universe contest. Jack comes from a very poor financial background, so this is huge for him. But his manager Lemuel is evil personified. He is there to ma...

Netherland-based queer drama Out is about two young boys in love and how their lives change when they move out of their conservative hometown to live the glitzy gay life in Amsterdam. I would say this film is extremely relatable. What does being in love for two men mean in the quiet rural life v/s city? What does liberation mean for them? Capturing the recklessness of youth and the excitement of newfound sexual liberties in sensuous black-and-white cinematography, Out offers up a vivid and tender tale of being young and gay. Tom ( a budding film maker) and Ajani (we are not surely told what is he studying) are closeted secondary school sweethearts who yearn for life outside of their small-minded, rural community in the Netherlands. While Ajani comes out to his family, Tom's family is different. Plus he is very sure that he is bisexual and keeps reminding himself and other. When They both get accepted in school in Amsterdam, their excitement knows no bound. Ajani is excited because ...

Set in New York, this 1960's LGBT drama is at times tender and other times tragic. What price do we pay as a human being when we suppress ourselves to fit expectations of society? Of family? Of those around us? What price does society pay? A tragic love triangle, that is both intimate and universal, this film keeps the look of 60s throughout in both exterior and interior shots. The film goes in flashback where we see an older Jay going over family albums with his son. It is early 60's. We meet Jay, who is on track for his typical American dream. He is the son of a very successful businessman and his father rewards his hard work and business acumen. He marries his beautiful wife, Beverly, who gives him a healthy baby boy. But Jay is hiding a deep, dark secret. Before his wedding, on a beach vacation, Jay is served by the handsome Ricky of Puerto Rico descent and they just have a chat. Months later, Jay and Ricky meet again at a family event where Rickey is serving. They share a ...

Another BL drama about heartfelt exploration of first love, growing up, and finding the courage to be yourself. To be honest, from a story perspective, there is not anything new here; but it's the treatment and the very charismatic lead actors that made this series fun for me. Although I was sad by one fact. Korean series were so good about keeping episodes short and fun. But in this series of 10 episodes, each episode in approximately 45 min, give or take, making it almost double the time it takes to watch other Korean BL series. Heesu and Chan Young have been the closest friends since they were kids. Heesu is a self-proclaimed dating expert, whom friends and schools pupils reach out to. Ironically he himself has never been in a relationship. He has long harbored a crush on his best friend but hasn't done anything about it. We are then introduced to class president Seung Won, who has a crush on Heesu but has barely ever talked to the guy.  And then finally we have a girl Jiyu....

This film follows a young man who suffers a brutal homophobic aggression, after which an investigation is activated that highlights a conservative, terrified, uncompromising, fanatical and morally deplorable community in rural Romania. Interestingly, the film shows everyone's perspective except that of the victim himself. What a brilliant little film this was. I had no idea, for a change, what this film was about and I was very very pleasantly surprised how this film shows us an act of violence and different perspectives. The story is set in the Danube delta, where sunsets are vast and it is possible to go anywhere else only by boat. Set in a small village in rural Romania, we meet a religious family man Dragoi and his 17 year old son Adi. Dragoi owns a substantial debt to a local village gangster Zentov. One night when Adi comes back home brutally beaten up, they go to the doctor and also file a police complaint. As investigation starts, it turns out that it was the two sons of th...

This film is a story of a 16 year old young teen who is suffering, is lonely, prone to self-harm and worse. This story of our protagonist doesn't give us much data on what bruises or tragedy from childhood pr past he is carrying with him and the way one summer unfolds takes him into a vortex of degradation, humiliation and masochism which hurts just to watch it. Tobias is a young 16-ish year old introverted young man who loves skateboarding and is eager for love. His mother doesn’t have time for him,  so she sends him to spend the summer with his out-of-town grandparents. His grandfather is a glassmaker who teaches his grandson the basics of the profession; his grandmother has dementia, but she gives the boy the little affection his parents fail to provide. When granny's health takes for worse, he goes off for few days to his father's place but he is also busy with his new family and has been equally absent. The summer days seem to drag on forever; there’s nothing to do in ...

Taiwanese BL series used to be comfort watching , but the last one I saw wasn't very good and sadly the bad please continue with this one. I think the problem is that they have not evolved with time in their storytelling methods. They still keep mandatory 2 couples who journey of love story we go through. There is a bit of drama thrown in. Glossy apartments, good looking actors and some random storyline background but the actual love story following the same tropes of enemies turned lovers or 'I love you so much but can never confess' trope. C'mmon guys, please give us something more. With 12 episodes each of 25-30 minutes, this one is still a significant time commitment.  Wang Zhan is a wannabe musician who is content with his life. Until one day he is forcibly kidnapped by his older brother to train him to take over the family funeral business. Wang had never had an interest in the work and is quite shocked why his brother would do such a thing.The kidnapper guys an e...

I am not sure I fully understood what this film was about. I mean, yes, I get that it was a story about a group of drag queen performers and their life, but I was quite confused between so many characters and what was the film actually trying to show. The plot tracks drag queens of The Bearded Mermaid cabaret, who put on a riveting show featuring singing, circus, and dancing—something never seen before in the small town of Dieppe in France. One night, a lonely fisherman stumbles into “The Bearded Mermaid,” a faded little cabaret that turns out to be anything but ordinary. He steps into a world of laughter, glitter and love that he totally embraces, opening up to these characters as joyful as they are morose. Run by a fiercely committed trio of drag performers - firecracker Sweety, anxious stage manager Beluga who is also the 'mother' of them all, and gentle aerialist Alonso - the cabaret is struggling to keep its doors open. Their dream? A glitter-filled, lip-sync-and-circus sp...