Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Like all other vertical BL series out there, this one (shot in China) from the US also uses the usual tropes that I have seen so far. Since, it is a gay series, it reframes the familiar manipulation-driven seduction narrative with a twist: instead of targeting a woman, the protagonist is tasked with seducing a male target. Power games, calculated seduction, social hierarchy, and emotional manipulation; all of these form the basis of the otherwise very basic storyline. Logic, Leo and Celine are the three main characters here. Leo and Celine are step-siblings and for some odd reason Leo wants to get physical with his step-sister. Enter Logic, the university student president, who also happens to be president's son. The first intro doesn't go well. So in a weird scenario, Celine offers to Leo that if he seduces Logic, make him fall in love with him and eventually break his heart; she may finally let him have her. Leo starts aggressively pursuing Logic and it doesn't take long ...

This BL is one of the worse to have come out in recent times, and this claim is after I seem plenty really bad BL shows. With a paper thin plot, some amateurish acting and direction, this is a royal mess that goes on for 10 episodes of 45 minutes each. Just about nothing in this series is worth talking about. Sia, a university student chasing his dream of becoming a musician, lives a quiet life filled with uncertainty. He auditions for a positioning the music club and to his surprise he is selected by the club president, which shocks he and other members of the club. Everything changes when he reaches home and find s guitar in his room, When he starts to play it , a ghost appears of a singer named Blue, a former senior of his from college who dies a few years ago.  Blue’s unexpected return from beyond the grave brings more than just fear. It awakens a connection Sia never saw coming. Blue doesnt know why he is there but he uses this opportunity to teach music to Sia. In the meantim...

Sometimes even the best of intentions and something that seems right on paper does not culminate into a good film. This is an independent film focused on Australian Sign Language called Auslan and using two disabilities of a stutter and a deaf character into its main story. It is a story of love, betrayal, and redemption.  It deals with fitting into a society that so easily points out our differences. Sadly, the execution is so bad that it feels like watching TV form the 80s a don't just any TV but like soap opera because scenes go on forever and ever. What this needed was tighter editing. At most 2:20 hours, the audience are bound to lose interest in the first hour itself. Reuben is an aspiring stage performer but his goal is tested by his anxiety leading to stammering a lot. He meets Derek, a deaf man, in whom not  only he finds love but a driving force that helps him reach his goals and proudly embrace who he is. The two soon fall in love, with Reuben learning Auslan and th...

Now this was such a fun guilty pleasure series to watch. I had been missing stuff like this, which has skin, fun, suspense, sex and at no time does it feels stretched unnecessarily. With an average time of 10-12 minutes per episode in 8 episodes, I have to say I wasn't bored at all. There was plenty to keep you wanting to know more. The makers describe it as "Agatha Christie by way of Fire Island," featuring a group of men at a nude resort, and I think like this is a nice way to describe it. A steamy and campy series with sexy gay actors, lot of full, as they try to solve a murder mystery while also engaging in plenty of spicy shenanigans. The story follows the aftermath of the death of wealthy businessman Nikos, who dies shortly after having an orgy for his birthday. His son Aaron now runs hi father's nude resort in the middle of desert. 10 men receive invitations sent posthumously by him, asking them to gather at his private resort. 2 of these are Aaron and his abse...

Had I seen this documentary ack in 2011 when it came out, my reactions would have been different. But I have to say that this one has not aged well at all. Under British colonial rule in 1860, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalized any sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex, stigmatizing them as "against the order of nature". On 2nd July 2009 the Delhi High Court passed a landmark judgment repealing this clause, thus fulfilling the most basic demand of the Indian LGBTQ community. The documentary uses this premise and basically just introduces us to lives of its three protagonists. The documentary focuses on one gay man, one lesbian and one transgender person. They all have similar stories in the sense of how they were terrified growing up on accepting their feelings, how they confronted their own fears and were ok with it. We hear the poor transgender person on who she still did her duties as the 'son' to provide for her family but she had to...

This is a story about two very different individuals Kaishin and Ai, who grew up in completely opposite environments and have different values, are at each other's throats, but gradually they find it difficult to separate. With 10 episodes each of about 30 minutes, it follows the usual pattern of love, insecurity, misunderstandings and reunion. The one difference here is the two strangers go to bed and have sex in the every first episode, so we are making progress in that space at least. Ai is a writer and to focus on his write, he travels to an island for inspiration on his next love story. The person who takes care of him on the island is the island's popular tour guide, Kaishin. He is handsome and extremely popular with island population. Somehow there is attraction and even though Ai finds him quite annoying, the two end of having sex. This gives Ai some sort of inspiration and he starts to begin work on his novel completely ignoring Kaishin, who finds this behaviour odd at...

Please, Yes (Korean Mini-Series) - 2025 8 episode of about 8-9 minutes each. The lead actor's sister friend is obsessed with the guy and keep visiting home. One night when the lead is drunk, he kisses this boy who is now madly in love with this older boy. Embarrassed and clueless about what to do next, he starts avoiding him, but can't go further since the young boy is relentless. Back home, his sister also turns out to be lesbian and all his worries about "why am I attracted to boys" fades away. He finally admits to his feelings and we get two loving couples. A low-stake straight forward series.  Connect (Korean Mini-Series) - 2025 4 part, 7 minute each. Two guys have been chatting online where a guy named Alt has been giving advice to Ian. When they decide to meet Ian is surprised to see that Alt is his senior, which shocks Ian. He runs away feeling cheated for. No reason. His best friend then advices him to at least her his senior's side of story. Apparently he...

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...