Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

I love over the top screwball comedies, specially gay ones. Watching these films is one of the few times, where you can leave your brain aside and just enjoy the proceedings. But the biggest problem with this film is that it is not funny and there isn’t any reason to laugh at all. The characters make stupid decisions, which are non-laughable (more on that later) Richard and Alex are sexy, young gay couple living a blissful life in sunny Los Angeles. They have everything but are missing that perfect house where they can raise a family. When they chance upon a beautiful mansion, with a picturesque charm, they want it at any cost. They crash a party at that place and make friends with owners Jake and Chloe. We also meet Alex’s half sister who also wants that house. When Jake and Chloe pick Richard and Alex to house sit for them while they go to Bhutan to help orphan kids, destiny has something else in store. Jake and chloe get killed in Bhutan and Alex and Richard stumble upon a pile...

The Ducks’ Migration (USA/Chile) Two close family friends, Jeremy and Alphonse, spend a few weeks together in Brooklyn. Jeremy is confused about his love for his friend but doesn’t know how to react while obsessed with the ducks in the Prospect Park lake and finishing a school paper about their migration. Alphonse likes to ride bicycles and does not want to leave town. The ducks inevitably leave, Alphonse goes back to Paris, and Jeremy stays in his house. But thep process teaches everyone something, mostly Jeremy. Mom I'm Gay (Argentina) A man's failed attempts at coming out to his mom make a for a very short but hilarious viewing with all excuses he gives to her. Furry Boys (Spain) 2 boys who wear fur of animals are trying to make love for a promo. Really short short. Gorilla (Australia) On a camping trip with his boyfriend, Joel questions when the universe will end. His boyfriend, Sean, plays a game, having Joel close his eyes and pick a random word from a book...

This was an interesting film, unlike most other Japanese gay themed films that I have seen before. It was an interesting mix of drama, comedy, emotions. In fact, the film could also be a right balance between both gay and straight audience. A story that’s said to  focus on relationships (does it really?), it makes for something interesting on paper. Saori is a young woman, with low self-esteem and always low on cash struggling for survival. Her father left her mother to live his life as a gay man. He started a bar for gays, which later closed. He then opened up a retirement home for gay men called “La Maison de Himiko”. Understandably, she holds the grudge against him through the entire movie. When approached by her father’s very young and handsome lover to work as an assistant at this home, she unwillingly takes up the job became of money involved. At first she’s very uneasy and finds the men that live in the retirement home disgusting. Slowly but surely she comes to like the...

Now this was an interesting film, if you can call that at all. It is a mix fiction, documentary, feature or you can call it docufiction film as mostly it is mentioned in its promotions. The film stars James Franco and Travis Mathews (also credited as the directors of the film) as themselves working on a film project which reimagines and attempts to recreate the 40 minutes of deleted and lost sexually explicit footage from the controversial 1980 film Cruising starring Al Pacino. The film starts with the fact that Franco and his Travis are looking to recreate the lost 40 min censored footage from the film. The film follows their process of finding the actors, whats their motivation behind doing this film, a mix of gay and straight actors preparing for the role and this documentary. Everyone is apprehensive, some are doubting, some are questioning while others are condemning. The major focus is on Franco’s friend, an actor, who is trying to make mark of himself and is now being asked...

Shortbus is definitely not a gay themed film. It revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colourful characters in New York city and since a couple of prominent characters are gay and gay relationships have been given ample prominence, I think I feel ok reviewing this film on my blog. Surprisingly Shortbus includes a variety of explicit scenes containing non-simulated sexual intercourse with visible penetration and male ejaculation with all combinations of partners- male-male, male-female, female-female. Set in contemporary NYC, the film focuses on 3 main relationships/protagonists. Sofia is married to sexy Rob and together they have great sex. But she has never had an orgasm in life. She works as a couples/counsellor where she meets the couple Jamie and James. James is going through some sort of depression which is affecting the relationship between the two. We also see that a guy has been secretly watching over James’ every move. We also meet Severin, who is a dominatrix, w...

Banana is first of the two spin-off shows from ‘Cucumber’. The show focussed mainly on Henry and Banana, in 8 episodes, focuses on 8 different characters and journey of love, heartbreak, sex and drama. Some of these characters very prominently feature in Cucumber, while others feature in just blink an miss appearance. Nevertheless, it is a great idea to showcase some of these stories. Added to the fact that these stories have some sort of comic touch to them, makes for an excellent viewing. You may or may not agree to everything that is shown, but you certainly won't be able to neglect it. Episode 1 focusses on office boy Dean, who has been complaining about he was thrown out of the house. Since he needs money desperately, he visits his home with his best friend Scotty. Episode 2 shows Scotty and her obsession with an older married woman and how she stalks her. Armed with a fantastic support system, the scene where she tells the woman how beautiful she is, was just perfect. ...

This film reminded me a lot about this Indian film ‘Memories of March’. I am not saying that the films are similar but I found that the basic premise was quite alike. It doesn’t take away the merits of this film. It is a poignant film and touches you at places. It’s not to say that it doesn’t have its shortfalls but given the duration of the film, its quite nice. A story of two people trying to prevail past not only with language gap, but also the intense privacy of their own grief, makes for an intense serious viewing. Kai and Richard are long time lovers. Kai’s Cambodian-Chinese mother Junn is living in a London retirement home that she totally despises, because she feels lonely and also because she doesn’t speak ay English. Even more, she despises Kai’s “best friend” Richard because he came in the way of Junn moving in with Kai. Not so long ago, Kai died in an accident and both Richard and Junn are dealing with it. Hoping to connect with Junn, Richard pays her a visit but she m...