Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

This Thai BL is set in the 1960s, and while it's a love story at its heart, it feels a lot more pure and honest than most. It really captures that difficult, long battle of fighting to love who you want and giving your heart to the person you actually choose. It shows how winning that fight usually means getting hurt along the way. The show is a real slow-burn romance that mixes trust and betrayal with some pretty intense emotional moments. When you add in the sneaky relatives, the political backstabbing, and a suspiciously high number of evil adults, the show becomes a pretty long watch. It's 12 episodes that are about an hour each, and the very last one runs for almost two hours. The story takes place in the 60s when the political regime is changing, and a military leader wants to take all the property away from the kings and princely families. Since he doesn't have another choice, the king sends his son, Prince Saenkaew, to Bangkok to stay at the home of one of his close...

I'm guessing the whole point of this movie was to show a realistic "slice of life" look at gay men in Tokyo and how they connect with each other. The idea behind it is actually pretty interesting, but the film spends a good 35 to 40 minutes just setting up the characters. The problem is it feels so disjointed that you start wondering why they bothered giving these people backstories when those details are never mentioned again later on! The story kicks off by introducing us to Tomayo, a student in his early 20s who is hanging out with two close friends. He meets a gay bar owner who takes an interest in him right away, which basically starts Tomayo’s journey of figuring out his own sexuality. Then we meet an 18-year-old guy who is more on the effeminate side; he’s desperate to find love and be in a relationship, but he keeps getting rejected. He ends up sleeping with one of Tomayo's close friends. After that, we meet Akiko, a 33-year-old corporate worker whose coworker...

This was the first big Brazilian drama that HBO worked on, and it’s a five-episode miniseries that lasts almost five hours in total. It’s a really emotional and political story set in Rio de Janeiro during the late 1980s, and it does a great job of showing what that era felt like while the country was dealing with the HIV/AIDS crisis. Since the world feels so divided today, the show is a beautiful reminder of how queer people can find power by standing together when things are hard. The story is actually based on real things that happened, specifically about flight attendants who smuggled AIDS medicine from the US into Brazil in the 80s. It works as both a history drama and a strong political message. The show is mostly about three people: Nando, his best friend Lea (they both work as flight attendants for Fly Brasil), and Raul, who is a performer and an activist. A lot of the story happens at a club called Paradise, which was one of the few open gay clubs back in the 80s. Nando is a h...

I think the idea behind this movie was really interesting and different. It tells the story of a brutal attack on a gay man in Chile, which is a very serious subject, similar to the Matthew Shepard case in the US. However, it feels like the people who made the film weren't quite sure how to tell the story. The movie wanders around a lot, and many scenes are confusing because it's hard to tell what point the director is trying to make. The first part of the movie was actually quite good and I was excited to see where it went, but then it completely changes. It spends way too much time showing the dad being sad and frustrated, and the most annoying part is that the movie doesn't really have an ending or any answers. The story is about a teenager named Pablo who is around 17 or 18. He lives with his dad, Juan, who is a single father and always busy with work. Pablo loves to dance, hangs out with his best friend who is a lesbian, and is practicing for a drag show audition. When...

I just finished watching  Queerstralia , which is a three-part documentary about the hidden history of LGBTQIA+ people in Australia. It’s hosted by a comedian named Zoe Coombs Marr. To be honest, I didn't know who she was before this, so it took me a little while to get used to her specific style of joking around. The show covers a huge amount of time, starting from when Australia was a prison colony for the British all the way to famous movies like  Priscilla, Queen of the Desert . It looks at how being gay was treated as a crime, the stories of trans pioneers, and even "bushrangers" (outlaws) who dressed in clothes of the opposite sex. It also goes into the history of the Mardi Gras festival, drag culture, and how gay marriage finally became legal there. The host starts the show by jokingly saying, "I’m a comedian, I’m not qualified," which tells you right away it's not going to be a stiff or boring history lesson. Over three episodes that are an hour long...

So, about a decade ago, there were these five movies that made up the whole  Takumi-kun  series. Now, the creators have come back with a six-episode show, with each part running about 25 minutes. I'm guessing they wanted to introduce a newer generation of BL fans to this world, but honestly, it backfired. The whole thing feels incredibly dated, like it’s completely out of touch with how modern BL shows are made today. Between a cast that’s way too crowded and a mountain of different couples to keep track of, the storytelling is just a total train wreck that doesn't make a lick of sense. The whole thing takes place at an all-boys boarding school. You’ve got Gii, who just moved back from the States and is the son of a super wealthy CEO, and he's roommates with Takumi. Right from the very first episode, Gii is basically obsessed, taking every chance he gets to shout his feelings from the rooftops. Takumi is really shy and has no clue how to handle all that heat, so he just doe...

I honestly think this might be the first time I’ve actually enjoyed a proper horror BL. I’ve checked out a few others in the past, but they usually felt a bit unpolished or amateurish—I can’t even remember their names, to be honest. This one is definitely a slow-burn rather than a fast-paced romance, tucked away inside a world of supernatural mysteries and fantastic secrets. You can tell the production is high-quality and well-researched; it feels like the creators really pushed themselves to give the audience something fresh. If you’re into BLs mixed with suspense and ghost stories, this is right up your alley. Just a heads-up: it’s a massive time investment. There are 12 episodes, each over 75 minutes, and the finale is basically a two-hour movie. The story follows Khem, a young guy in his twenties whose life is getting harder by the second because of a heavy family curse that lets him see ghosts. There’s this terrifying rule in his family where the boys don’t live past age 20, so hi...

Here we go again with another vertical BL series that pretty much raids the entire toolbox of tropes we've grown used to. Even though it hits every cliché on the list, I have to say it actually wasn't bad. It was a relief to see fewer toxic side characters than usual, and for some reason, the chemistry between the two leads really clicked for me. Outside of that, the show has the whole works: scary debt collectors looking for their cash, a guy in total distress, a hero swooping in to save the day, a sick family member, and a dangerous ex-girlfriend who’s out for blood. The story follows Keith, a struggling single dad who’s been dealing with a daughter in the hospital for two straight years—which is a crazy long time when you think about the bills piling up. He’s drowning in debt and has ruthless collectors breathing down his neck while he scrapes by with odd jobs. Then there’s Gavin, a pro boxer. Their lives crash together when Gavin jumps into a fight to save Keith. Realizing ...

This indie film is a really powerful look at how a community can suffocate you and the hidden corners young people have to find just to be themselves in so many European towns, even with all the progress we've seen lately. The whole story plays out while the town is bracing for a massive, raging flood, and you just can't shake the feeling that some kind of intense reckoning or unavoidable doom is headed their way. To be honest, I didn't go in with super high expectations, but the way it’s put together makes it a seriously compelling watch. Plus, it’s not every day you get to see an LGBT-themed movie coming out of Croatia! The story follows Marko, a popular 18-year-old kid who seems to have it all—he’s got a girlfriend, he’s a competitive arm wrestler, and he’s well-liked at school. When he isn't in class, he’s usually hanging out with his brother, who has a disability, or helping his mom out in her greenhouse. Everything gets flipped upside down when a guy named Slaven ...

This documentary is nearly twenty years old now, and it follows a gay couple as they navigate the stressful and exciting journey of their first pregnancy through surrogacy. You get to see it all— the hope, the nerves, and the dramatic hurdles they have to clear along the way. Back in the day, this was probably a massive deal, but since I’ve known a few gay couples who’ve gone through this exact process, some parts felt a bit dated to me. I liked bits and pieces of it, but I also felt like the film stays pretty surface-level. It doesn't really dive into the deep, complicated reality of life after the baby actually arrives. If only raising a kid were actually as simple as this movie makes it look! Erik and Mark have been together in New York for ten years, and since they feel solid in their relationship, they decide they’re ready to raise a child. They start the hunt for a surrogate and eventually connect with Wen, a wife and mom from Maine who agrees to carry the baby for a standard...

I had such a blast watching this series, and honestly, it’s been a long time since I felt this way about a Thai BL. Lately, it feels like all these shows are starting to bleed together, especially those typical university romances, or everyone is jumping on the historical drama bandwagon. But this one was a totally different beast. By having the lead character identify as trans, the show finds this perfect sweet spot between drama, comedy, raw emotion, and even politics. I’ll get into the nitty-gritty, but the lead actor is a total riot. If it weren't for his addictive, over-the-top performance, I don't think the show would have worked nearly as well. It’s a 13-episode run, with each part lasting about 45 to 50 minutes. We’re introduced to Prince, a pop singer who is completely flamboyant and totally out of the closet. He’s got a massive fanbase, but he also deals with a ton of hate for being so unapologetically queer. After a freak accident, he suddenly wakes up in the body of...

I really didn't see this dark and gritty Japanese BL coming, and honestly, it wasn't a pleasant surprise. The whole plot centers on a Yakuza bodyguard who gets the order to take out his young boss. While that sounds like a cool setup for a thriller, the way they actually handled it was just bizarre. The show is packed with major red flags like extreme violence, abuse, and moments of sexual coercion that made it really hard to watch. It eventually tries to turn into a romance, but it’s mixed in with a bunch of nonsense that just doesn't work. Luckily, it's a short one, with only six episodes that wrap up in about half an hour each. The story follows Kataoka, a respected Yakuza leader whose old boss is getting too frail to run the show anymore. Leadership ends up passing to the boss's son, Keito, who brings in Odajima to be Kataoka’s new handler and keep him on a short leash. Kataoka is a total loose cannon who treats Odajima like a servant, even forcing himself on hi...

So,  Midnight Kiss  is part of that  Into the Dark  horror anthology on Hulu, where every episode basically feels like its own standalone movie. This one is about 90 minutes long and leans hard into the slasher genre. The whole setup is centered on a tight-knit group of gay friends who head out to a fancy house in the desert to ring in New Year’s Eve. They have this long-standing tradition of playing a game called "Midnight Kiss," but things take a super dark turn when a masked killer starts picking them off one by one. It’s one of those stories where the pressure of trying to survive ends up airing out everyone's dirty laundry and testing how strong their friendships actually are. The movie kicks off with a countdown from 2013, showing us snapshots of the group’s New Year's celebrations over the years until we hit 2019. Right at the start, we see a guy in Turks and Caicos get taken out by a masked murderer. Then we get to know the actual crew: there's Cam, who’s ...

Identibye (Iran/USA) This tis the story of a married man grappling with his gender identity. He is married, so there is additional pressure from everyone. He wants to get a divorce and maybe even get a gender reassignment surgery, but. The last minute news of his wife being pregnant puts him in a further dilemma. He knows that one's true identity is what matters the most but will the society let him make this change? Muy Difícil (Spain) Eloy, a 26-year-old man, remembers his first homosexual experiences in his hometown, entering a journey full of subjectivity and the anecdotes that have marked him. He remembers how the school father took his virginity and how he secretly enjoyed it all, the idea of being spanked or working as a hustler to avoid beatings form his father. Eventually he left home and is working in a cafe living life on his own terms. Enquanto Ainda é Tempo (Brazil) [While There is Still Time] Lucas and Caio are studying in the last year of high school and they are two...