Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

It was really hard to follow this film. The constant movement in two different time zones made it really hard to focus. Also , I wish they would at least show one full scene in one time scene. SO often and so fast were the switches that one scene would get completed almost in 3-4 cuts. At one point I was so confused. Yue Yue has been in love with his best friend Su Yi since high school but he cant confess his love. However, Su Yi has hots for another boy Bai Yu, who doesn't reciprocate his feelings. Tired of seeing the person he loves suffering, Yue Yue makes a deal with Bai Yu in order to make him agree to go out with Su Yi, offering him money to pay for the medical costs of his sick mother. Bai Yu starts a relationship with Su Yi based on lies, but soon Bau Yu disappears without giving any explanation. Three years later, Bai Yu reappears and Su Yi tries to resume his relationship with him, much to the chagrin of Yue Yue, who has not yet managed to confess his feelings for ...

Fathers is an emotional drama that tries to show struggles being gay parents to a young child and both the society and their internal challenges. Sadly most issues in this film are touched upon only at the surface without exploring them deep. It tries to showcases both tolerance and challenges for Thai LGBT couples and I really appreciate the subject matter but the unsatisfying ending, just as I was getting excited about the movie, left me not too happy at the end. Phoon and Yuke have been together for a long time. Their adopted son Butr makes their family complete. Due to the lack of legislation for same-gender wedding, Phoon appears as his only father, on paper. Butr has always been happy with his 2 fathers but when he starts going to elementary school, he starts questioning about his mother. An incident in school, makes a social worker of the Children’s Rights Protection Organization gets involved, questioning the idea of Butr growing up in a family without a feminine presence....

Continuing with the theme of first- and second-generation emigrants trying to stay connected with their roots and their new life, its a balance thats hard to maintain. a story about young British Vietnamese man trying to find his place in the world. not just that, he is also trying to find his true identity and connect. Kit , a young British Vietnamese man, returns to his birth country for the first time in over 30 years. He is a stranger, a tourist to his own relatives. He recognizes very little as he and his family fled Vietnam (Saigon specifically) when he was six years old. Vietnam has changed and so has Kit. To ease pain he hooks up with people where he meets Lewis, an American whose father had fought in the war & with whom he forms a bond with. They discuss how their lives were affected deeply by the Vietnam war and they clearly bond through their pain. Kit is in the country to see if he wants to spread ashes of his mom on this country, and to do that he makes a trip fro...

This film is so real, so today and yet so poetic at the same time. There is something uniquely so pure and magical about this film that even the sometimes slow pace didn't bother me at all. Its the small little things in this film that complete the film. Youngsters struggling with sexuality and ethnic identities and their need to belong somewhere is all very relevant in today's time. Parvis is the first generation German Iranian whose parents moved to Germany for a better life. Despite this, most people, whom he meets in clubs, never think of him as German. he is accepted bu his family for being gay but his parents are also struggling to connect with him at some level. Parvis is a bit immature and a mistake costs him community service in a refugee detention center. There he meets the brother sister duo of Bana & Amon who fled Iran and are looking for legal status. Most people at center are immediately wary of his homosexuality, except the duo. The 2 boys have instant a...

I am a huge fan of thrillers. Sadly not many gay film makers have explored the genre as deeply as it has the potential. This film had a good story in its hands, and to be honest, it was executed quite well to an extent but somehow this still leaves you with a lot to be desired. Hopefully by the time I finish writing this post, I will have figured out what was missing. Stephen is a successful TV producer with a perfect boyfriend Dusty, who is a bit possessive about him. When Stephen's ex-boyfriend Craigery also shows up at his birthday party, it leads to arguments. Humiliated, Dusty leaves the party, walks down to a convenience store. Stephen follows; trying to explain the affair is over, but out of nowhere an attack happens. When he regains consciousness, it turns out Stephen has been killed and now Dusty is the prime suspect. But Dusty cannot remember what happened. The whole premise is filled with suspects and characters out of which anyone could have done the murder. We hav...

This film came out in 2 parts, each of about 90 minutes long, so yes, overall its like watching a 3 hour film. Also translated as "Irresistible Love", it is a story of 2 men sho share their life together: one born into wealth and another one as an orphan. Love, in this film is portrayed as a manifestation of power and obsession, as well as an act of obedience. I am not sure I agree with hit, but that discussion is for later. Shu Nian is orphan and at a young age is adopted by Xie Yan's family who are a big real estate magnet. Shu Nian is always to stay by Xie Yan's side. years pass and Xie Yan has just returned from studying abroad. You can tell that Shu Nian loves Xie Yan as his master and lover but Xie Yan doesn't love Shu Nian, though he is extremely close to him. This makes Xie Yan's girlfriend very jealous of him. She tries to create a rift between friends, even leading to sending Shu Nian abroad for studies. But Xie Yan eventually finds out his girl...

This was a very weird 10 part series, each about 25-30 minutes. As much hit was a part of one big series, the initial few episodes were also disparate. The first episode was full on horror, which was so odd. and then the 2 main characters continue together with the story under various circumstances. Tien and Tai have been friends for a long time. Along-with his girlfriend and other friends, they come for a holiday but a ghost starts killing people. Eventually only Tien, a girl Hong and Tai remain alive and Tai confess his love for Tien. Episode 2 changes mood and surroundings. Tai is fully aware of the fact that he is gay. When confronted about it, he stands behind his love without flinching. Hong tries to kill Tien because of old rivalry but Tai saves him, but loses his mother in the process. The 2 men start living together, but because of hope of making more money, They get involved in a human trafficking gang where Tai is captured. First Tien saves Tai but the gang doesn'...

Consequence (Australia) Ty is in a stable longterm relationship with his partner but e ends up cheating on ima few times wit his co-worker. Wen is partner catches him, e will ave to accept the consequences of his action. SPF 2000 (USA) Two gay sunbathers strike up a conversation with mother and son picnickers when a space alien intrudes to partake in the Earth ritual of sunscreen application. Silly! Boot Camp (USA) A timid yet sexually curious man visits a gay leather bar where he and a slave master make a romantic connection through song and dance, Broadway-style. A delightful little short. Dirty Baby Does Fire Island (USA) Story of a naive baby doll who experiences the decadent lifestyles of the Fire Island community's inhabitants, learning all about sex, drugs and working out. Death In Venice, CA (USA) Mason Carver arrives in Venice to write his story but 17-year old Sebastian, a muscular, moody, and seductive young man who soon captures Carver...

I wish I had seen this documentary when it came out back in 2016. Having said that, now that I have seen the series 'Pose', actually its better to watch now since I can appreciate it better. This is an affectionate portrait of New York’s LGBT ballroom scene. The so-called "Kiki" scene is not just about the various competitive dance club contests. The scene provides a social structure, a "net," for kids who have nowhere else to go. The artists dance & vogue on underground subway platforms, down half-empty streets, and on the grass at Christopher Street Pier. They pour themselves into stunningly elaborate costumes before hitting the dance floor under  the eyes of hundreds of enthusiastic onlookers. The dance competitors are mostly queer and trans people of color, and "Kiki" introduces you to many of them. Twiggy and Chi Chi , two prominent leaders on the Kiki scene, introduce us to the structure of this ballroom community’s various houses, w...

I read somewhere that this is a bad porn movie minus the porn part. And I can't agree more. There is probably a support group of all people who have been deceived by the title and poster and given the fascination of gay men with prison and sex. Timmy has been sent to a juvenile prison work camp for committing murder. He gets thrown in the same cell with three other mates. Beef is the head cock of the cell block. Lana is the Queen Bee, as in he is about two steps from being a woman himself. Finally, there is Ludes, whom is obsessed with comic book and drugs. The Padre is the gayest of them all. Boss is a closet gay that likes to spank the men. Timmy has to learn how to make friends and survive his time in Cell block Q. There are random sexual scenes with people messing around and just trying to create an actual story out of it. The film reminded me of a recent prison movie that I saw but that was much better directed and actually had a motive behind it. In contrast, this...

It would be understatement to say that the subject of this film is extremely risky. I am still very torn in my evaluation of this love story between an unlikely odd couple, especially when one of them is barely a teenager. Apparently this is autobiography, seen by some, as perverted, the film is nevertheless readily accepted by many others as a heartwarming and sympathetic view of youthful homosexuality. In the pre-liberation Amsterdam of 1944, parents are sending their children off to the country to live with relatives, hoping that the farms are safer. Young Jeroen is placed in the care of one such family, ably headed by God-fearing patriarch Hait. Before long, the area is liberated by a group of Canadian soldiers who then take up a brief residence in the local hotel before pulling out. One young soldier, the handsome, melancholy Walt, develops a close relationship with Jeroen, teaching him to dance and palling around with him at every opportunity. Sensing a kinship in the boy,...

TharnType was definitely one of the better series that I have seen and the chemistry the couple shared was nice. I also enjoyed the constant bickering of them knowing that they are both very much in love with each other. The series had a good and happy ending, so I was a bit surprised when the makers came up with this special episode. But  then, why not ! The hour and a half long episode starts with a quick recap of some of the beautiful moments of the series. We are now 3 years in future and the couple is still very much in love. We see how Type's best friend is still geeky and is now football team captain. We see Tar has come back from France and is very much in control of his life. And of course Tharn and Type and really happy in their relationship. The primary focus this time is on Type's parents and what happened 3 years ago when Type and Tharn travelled south to meet his family. of course Type's father is very critical and unhappy of their relationship but th...

This is your standard average, wannabe funny gay movie, with an unlikely plot, a cast of average/below average actors, poor direction, bad sound, choppy filming etc. And then people like me end up spending so much of our time having to sit through these films. When was the last good gay comedy film I saw ? If you are a young, immature twink whose life revolves around bars and drag shows, then maybe, maybe you may like this film. Connor is a young gay man, who spends almost every single night in gay bars with his friends, primarily the one that hosts a few drag shows. Using his youth, he is always looking for someone to buy him drinks. One night he meets newbie Devin, who is in the process of coming out and accepting his sexuality. e is not looking for sex but instead wants connection and love. Connor feels attraction towards him and they kinda start dating. One night Connor sees Devin talking to Adora, his arch nemesis from his school days who is now a popular drag queen there. ...

Part erotic, part porn and a whole lot of unnecessary gay stuff thrown in best describes this film in a summary. The sad part is that, the film's story had potential and under an able director this could have made for a good cinema. Alas! this wasn't meant to be. The film starts with disappearance of Ramon and three people being questioned about it. It's then a drag queen comes in and tells the story in flashback. Toni and Emma are a brother/sister duo who own and run a horse farm. The farm's foreman is Ramon, who has been with them since their parents days and now his son Ramon also works with his father. Emma mostly manages the farm and so does Toni but Toni is gay, and also spends a lot of time in clubs, parties and drugs moving from man to man. Emma likes Aaron but he refuses his advances. interestingly around tis time, Toni starts to realize how hot Aaron is and starts pursuing him. Turns out, Aaron is indeed gay and the two men get on it. Aaron's father i...

This film is not very good to be honest. The plot of the film is paper thin. It just hinges on the idea that two people who seemingly can’t stand each other really just want to be in each others pants. I wonder what kind of reactions the film was met with in 2013 when it came out. Steve is a mature, string man who left his job as a LAPD officer and joined advertising company in hope for calmer and better career. New hire mark is charming and charismatic with an English accent and is loved all around. Suddenly a promotion that Steve was eying for seems to be may be going into Mark's lap. Mark's charm and passion wins him favor with his colleagues and boss, bringing in jealousy between the two. The two antagonists head out for a team-building exercise in the Santa Fe desert for a business retreat and in one of the activities get lost and have to spend a night together. They share a night of passion and sex, followed by Steve's wrong assumption that Mark is gay when he...

Like most Tai BL series, this one also takes its own sweet time to come to the point. You see te characters going back and fort constantly and there never seems to be an agreement or a solution and then a lot happens in the last 2 episodes. Korn and Knock form the core couple of this series but you cannot ignore 2 other couples here: Farm & Bright and Kavitra & Phu. One day at Amphawa, Knock, a young engineering student wakes up to a shock, he is naked next to his childhood best friend, Korn, due to drunkenness and hormones. After fighting and arguing, Korn and Knock agree to keep this as a secret since Knock has been dating a girl Pleng. Korn, is gay and totally smitten by Knock and wants him in his life but Knock can't make up is mind. e wants Korn next to him, occasionally sex also but just doesn't have the balls to tell Pleng. Korn's best friend Yihwa decides to take matters in her own hand to bring the couple together. It turns out Plern has been all alo...

I am all about independent film making and makers getting a chance to showcase their talent, but how I wish that a considerable time was spent on screenplay and making the film a tad bit believable. Please stop taking audience for granted. The story is interesting but the climax reveal doesn't old up to the story that gets created till that point. One night David is stabbed and the police finds his boyfriend Leon next to him wit his ands in blood stains and knife on him. While David is taken to the hospital, the police arrests Leon on suspicion of being the murderer. Homophobia is clearly evident in the police custody till a mysterious policeman Darrieu takes over the case. This is when the story goes into flashback of how Leon and David met. They go through their ups and downs where Leon is a bit insecure about his looks. Also when they bot meet David's family, his father doesn't take things lightly. Darrieu believes that Leon is innocent but then what happened? Luc...

I had seen the prequel of this film way back in 2013, so I had to jog my memory of what the film was all about, just in case it is a true sequel. And I am glad I did. A basic knowledge of prequel is sort of important to understand the film. I personally thought the original film was quite bad, so my expectations from this were already quite low. The film starts with scenes from original where Darren and handy man Joe fall in love. Back in real life Darren and Joe announce to their friends that they are separating. The girlfriend Luce is shocked and doesn't understand what's going on. Se doesn't believe their reasons. Eventually Darren tells her in privacy that he felt some connection with the actor who played Joe in the movie and he wants to explore that. He had stayed with the couple in the past when it all started. He also feels tat Joe has changed over these years. He used to be this spontaneous fun guy and is now a cop. The rest of the movie is sort of a road tri...

I have mentioned tis many times. Documentaries are not easy to make. Striking a balance between information and still making it interesting enough for the viewer to be interested is not an easy thing at all. In Chile, people living with HIV fear stigma, and often conceal their condition and remain silent about what they are going through. This is My Face explores what happens when a range of men living with the virus open up about the illness that changed their life trajectories. We meet 4 individuals who have secretly been living in Chile with the stigma of being HIV positive and have stayed silent about the issue. An 18 year old fine arts student, A president of a wellbeing group for HIV people, a wanna young poet working in a stationary shop, and finally a 45 year old teacher and a gay activist. Using autobiographical photography and reflexive techniques through cinematic storytelling, the maker takes us through the journey of these individuals. The photographic portraits rep...

Thanks to the digital era, so many people are coming up individual shows, short skits which are easily accessible on platforms like youtube. Some of these can be really funny while others have room for growth. This show is strictly ok and can use some good constructive feedback for season 2, if they ever come up with. The series is about 10 episodes each between 10-15 minutes of running time. This series is a comedy - drama about a gay, Christian, chronic masturbator named Tyler. Feeling stifled by college and ostracized by his conservative family, Tyler abruptly drops out of college and moves from Texas to New York City to pursue his career as an actor and singer-songwriter. Each week as we follow him through starting a new life. Starting with him getting shocked by tiny NYC apartments, his nudist room mate who shows up anytime naked, it is a rollicking comical view. Then we have his best friend Alex, who moves to NY and finally his first love. They broke up few years ago and wil...

I think the budget of this film was probably too small, but for that, the film definitely offers a different and unique storyline without over dramatizing anything. Yes, some scenes were a bit amateurish but in the bigger scheme of things, that can be overlooked. The film is both beautiful and sad in its own unique way. Aek is a gay dad, whose partner died right around the time their son Nueng was born through surrogacy in a road accident. The relationship between father and son is unpleasant and unstable. We are not really told why, but it seems the father has been unsuccessful in caring and loving his son because of his partner's death. Aek continues to hook up wit hookers. Also, Nueng is constantly bullied by everyone around him for having a gay dad. He has no friends, except Nat, a neighborhood boy, who also happens to be Nueng's boyfriend. In a sudden turn of events Nat is found murdered along with another boy naked. Saddened by the events, Nueng jumps from roof and k...

This film has a paper thing plot. The speed at which the film moves, tests your patience. I am really not sure what was the whole point behind making this film. This could easily have been trimmed into a 15–20 minutes short story and still the message could have been delivered, if there was any. J and Jo are 2 guys who arrive at the top of a mountain wit full gear ready for hiking. We don't know the relationship yet, but soon through scattered conversations and Jo’s journal entries, we find that these two young men have spent the night together after meeting in a bar. Jo has agreed to follow J on an impromptu hike up the mountains, intrigued by such an unconventional and spontaneous approach to the awkward morning after casual sex. J is crippled by self-loathing because of an earlier relationship while Jo is overwhelmed with the need for true love. Soon they both start to wonder if there is anything at all that they liked in the other person. Their trip soon becomes a psycho...

This film in an intense and dark story about  one contradictory juxtaposition of art and hypocrisy. As the hero gives a fantastic performance one after the other, its the eventual downfall and his internal struggles tat forms the crux of the film. Song-joon is a budding artist and is auditioning for the role of a transgender in the famous play'Dark Side'. e is doing so bad financially that he as to rely on is younger brother Song-hyeok to take care of him. Song-joon watches a TV documentary about a famous transgender and her struggles and befriends her to learn about her closely to help him with audition. She takes him to a community meeting of various sexual minority people, and this surely opens his eyes to the people to whom he has never paid attention before. When his closest friend eventually comes out as gay, Song-joon is initially surprised but mostly alright with it, especially after having some recent experiences. Song-joon wants to leave no stone unturned for i...

Making documentaries is a hard thing. You ave to balance the information, storyline, side characters so that it is interesting for the viewers, especially when the subject and topic could be slightly delicate as well. Transformer introduces Janae Marie Kroczaleski, a trans woman who until 2015 was known to the public as Matt Kroc, an "ultimate alpha male" who set a world record for combined powerlifting. Despite feeling since childhood that he was actually a woman, Matt pursued male perfection. We get to know a bit about Matt's childhood and past including is stint in the US Marines after which he got into the whole power lifting ting. But one ting e always ad was feeling of being a woman. Despite the fact he got married and and 3 sons, with whom he shares a wonderful relationship, something was missing and tis documentary shares wit us his transformation journey. Matt is now Janae. He came out as trans to his boys long ago, when they were two, four and six. Now te...

I wish I had seen this note earlier. This film is supposedly one of the worst movies ever made. Too late now, I've already spent over an hour watching this film and that time is never going to come back anyway as part of writing this blog watching awful, good, bad movies is just a part of it. Every scene, every line, every hissy fit is simultaneously hilariously amateur and hysterically fever-pitched. Ben & Artur are a gay couple who ave been together for about 3 years now are desperately trying to get married. But things are not easy. Gay marriages are not legal yet in most states. Not just this, Ben is married to Tammy who just refuses to divorce him. Things are not going very well, and Arthur is frustrated in is job and decides to quit. To finance is further education, Arthur tracks down is estranged brother Victor, a homophobic religious fanatic who will stop at nothing to "cure" Arthur of his homosexuality. This obsession suddenly becomes Victor's obse...