Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

This was really a simple easy breezy show without too much of drama forced in for no reason. But having said that maybe it was just too simple. It briefly reminded me of 'Color Rush' for its basic plot. Nonetheless, since this was recommended to m, I watched and I should say that even though this may not be the greatest Korean BL show, it was an easy simple watch. A show that slightly warms your heart. At 8 episodes of about 17 minutes each, it's a quick watch too. Dong Wook has returned to school after a year of absence but anyone who invites him to hangout is rejected very rudely. Lee Do Hyun, is the basketball team captain who is looking for a new team member to win the upcoming tournament. At insistence of the only friend that Dong Wook knows, he decides to join the team but Lee Do Hyun dismisses him completely. It seems they have s history. In many bits and pieces, we are told that Dong Wook has insomnia issues and Do Hyun is the only person in whose presence, he can f...

Released back in 2001, this documentary follows the life of Robert Eads, a fifty years old trans-man living in Toccoa, a small rural community in Northern Georgia. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1996 he seeks help from dozens of doctors, but each one of them refuses to operate on a transgender person as they are afraid it would negatively impact the reputation of their clinic, thus condemning him. The film recounts the last months of Robert’s life and shows the sometimes harsh reality of transgender people living in the rural world, and how they are fighting discrimination. It also deals with the intricacies of the social community that the main character, Robert Eads, has surrounded himself with since transitioning from female to male, details the romantic attachment that Robert has formed with his girlfriend Lola Cola near the end of his life, and examines the dynamics between Robert and his genetic family. The film takes its name from the “Southern Comfort Conference” held every y...

This 2014 film, even though made probably on a low budget like many other indie films around that time, possesses heart, humor, and a down home spirit that feels honest and well-earned. I am actually surprised that the film somehow was missed by me and it's only now I am getting to see it. It is also a reminder that all films age differently. Even though the content may not be as relevant (or maybe it is, I dont know), but the heart of the film still is very much visible here. Originally from a small town in Tennessee, Jason Potts is now out and proud and lives with his boyfriend in New York. When Jason returns to his hometown due to a family emergency, he quickly learns that not much has changed for the area's LGBT youth. His family insists on him moving back but he tells them since he doesn't think LGBT situation has improved much, he would like to see of the city would allow him to do a gay pride parade in the Main Street. His nemesis from school days is not prominent me...

Brazil is trying top get into the BL zone but so far the couple of shows that I have been there have paper thin plots, shoddy direction and a long long way to do anything polished. Add to that list this show, which, admiringly is slightly better than the previous ones that I saw, but still it has a very very basic storyline. The show is done over 6 episodes with each being 24-30 minutes of duration. Davi is a young man who has been raise din Sao Paolo with his mother. This year for holidays he is visiting his father whom he hasn't seen in a long time in a small town. Davi soon meets young Theo, a boy who was raised like a son by his father after his parents passed away. Despite initially appearing to be different, the two end up getting closer, leading Theo to question his feelings. During the time they live together, the two discover themselves in love, at the same time that they need to deal with the differences between young people from the countryside and those from a big city....

In one statement, this film can be described as a compelling story of an emotionally turbulent day in the life of a trans man in New York City. The film follows Feña, as he tries to navigate a series of events that would be stressful for anyone. I don't think that the first time filmmaker was trying to make any bold statement of sorts here but I believe the idea was to  illustrate that how small incidents can chip away at a trans person’s self-confidence and the strength it takes to stay true to that identity.  Birth name Fernanda and now Feña, has had at the top surgery and recently started using testosterone. Since it's a transitionary phase, people often identify and address him wrongly to his annoyance. Film starts with him talking to his dad who is flying from Chile and that he will be there to pick him up from airport. Same night Feña sees John, his ex boyfriend when he was a girl. Over the course we get to know that they had a messy breakup. And as you would guess, they...

Its that time of the year again when multiple Christmas movies are shown on various TV channels here in US and since last couple of years we have seen Hallmark channel bring open to add gay storylines to their holiday films. We see three different families tying to celebrate Christmas in the Cherry lane neighborhood and it's only after 10-15 minutes we are told that we are seeing these three families in three different time periods. Now, the film definitely had my interest. More on that later, but remember that this is a holiday film and in more of then than notches, sometimes you leave logic and brain behind and try and enjoy the spirit of the festival and review movies keeping that in mind. Three different families prepare to celebrate Christmas whilst living on Cherry Lane. There’s mechanic John and his pregnant wife Lizzie in 1973. Then there’s retiring high school principal Regina, her new fiancé Nelson, and her young adult kids Conrad and Winnie and the time is sometime 90s. ...

This film attempts to explore the complexities of human relationships and the fluidity of sexual orientation. It s a brutal, almost realistic take on messy modern relationship with twist of sexual fluidity adding more to the complication of the relationships. From the very first scene of the film we are given to believe that our lead Tomas obsessive need for control without compromise: offering detail-orientated notes that quickly become demeaning. For cinephiles, they would know what to expect of the characters behaviour going forward. Tomas is a film director married to his husband Martin who have known each other for 5 years. At the wrap part you his film, Martin goes back home since he is tired and Tomas ends up dancing with Agathe, a French schoolteacher with a beautiful face and a bright, inquisitive nature. The night ends in them both having sex. The next day when he reaches him, he casually tells his husband that he had sex with a woman whose reaction is subdued saying “This al...

I was so excited after the first couple of episodes of this show. I thought finally someone decided to firstly cast actors who look the part and not like a 18 year old pretending to be 30 year old. But also the interactions felt real, the office camaraderie and everything seemed to be going right raising my expectations. But things drastically went south and how. The show has an almost agonizingly slow burn and almost 8 episodes are wasted in nothingness. I was like what the f. Also every episode is like 75-85 minutes long. So 12 episodes given the time of each episode, just takes forever to reach t whatever it is that it's trying to say. Pat is the youngest and newest member of the digital marketing firm and everyone literally pushes their job on him. The team gets a new boss Jeng, who happens to be the CEO's son. Pat had met Jen earlier in the day when he mistakenly spills coffee over him. Jeng needs to prove himself to his father so he is a hard task master for his team and ...

This charming documentary, features a selection of the 3,200 vintage photographs of male-male couples that Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell have collected over time. The images were published in their 2020 book, “Loving.” The photos, which were likely made between 1850-1950 (some are tintypes; many are undated) are lovely portraits of male intimacy - from a full embrace to subtler poses with fingers intertwined, or feet discretely touching, as well as more effusive affections as from a photo booth, or sharing an umbrella, and even kissing. The documentary starts with how this couple ended up with this collection. The two made it a routine to visit local antique stores after church on Sundays. During one chance encounter, the pair discovered an old photograph of two men in an affectionate pose during a time it wasn’t exactly accepted. This started Nini and Treadwell on a path to finding more images like that. Since then, they’ve amassed a collection of what has become hundreds of vintage pi...

La Pluie has a creative and an interesting premise (although very unbelievable, but for BL series, we have realizes that it is ok to go to any level of absurdity). In this situation there is a diseases among certain people where some of them suffer from a sensorineural hearing loss when it rains. This is the time they stop hearing. Our lead protagonist also deals with this issue. Apparently this is also the only time that if there is a soulmate out there for you, the two can telepathically talk to one another.  We will analyze the story further down. The show is standard 12 episodes each of around 50-55 minutes duration and is a significant investment of time. Our leading young man Tai suffers from sensorineural hearing loss when it rains and regains hearing when rain stops.  If you have a soulmate, he/she would be able to telepathically able to communicate with you at this time. However, after his loving parents get a divorce, Tai doesn't react very well. In fact out of the f...

This 6 episode Korean series, each of about 20-25 minutes is an easy simple watch. The primary story is about a reincarnated man searching for his long-lost love. I whole idea of looking for love over different periods of reincarnation was veery exciting and after the end of first episode I was really looking for to it. Sadly, the romance here is half baked, drama and conflict seems forced and the resolution is quick and easy. This could have been a saga of a love story, but sadly doesn't quite reach there. Yeon Seok is a famous author in current times and his agent is his best friend. He has a couple of best sellers and his working on his next novel. We then find out that this is his third reincarnation. In his first life he was a servant in feudal era and there was a girl he loved but because of class difference they were never accepted. They both are born again during world war times and do become lovers, but the girl is eventually killed and Yein Seok commits suicide. He is now...

Yet another disastrous Filipino gay series. At least this one came out during Covid times, when people were trying to offer content keep everyone entertained at home, so the series gets that benefit, but still there is no excuse for a paper thin story and an extremely shoddy execution. With 9 episodes lasting 12 ish minutes each, this is literally just a one liner story that had no need to built into a so called series. In the first 4 episodes, we see that a young boy who has a girlfriend and is a painter dreams about a man, can't figure out who he is, draws his painting and eventually comes face to face with the guy named Noah. Turns out this was all a fictional story being created by an artist named Sean, whose best friend is Noah and Sean has a crush on Noah and truly loves him, but is scared of telling Noah the truth. Just the imaginary story, he does have a girlfriend and a gay best friend. His gay best friend writes a fictional story about Sean's love for Noah nd posts it...

I cant even begin to start writing on what a terrible show this was. I have seen many Filipino really low budget series made just for the sake of it and this one just gets added to that list. 8 episodes averaging to 20 ish minutes each, these are atrocious. There are way too any characters and the story line, even though, could have been developed into something a lot more meaningful, focuses on simply forced sex scenes. The four Magbuana cousins, Peng, Andy, Lauren, and Kenji, all live together in the same house with their uncle. They are all different in their own way. Peng is their uncle's favorite, Andy is the wealthiest, Lauren is arrogant and naughty, while Kenji is the outcast of the family. Their close cousinly bond is tested when Coby temporarily moves in. He is Peng's best friend. Coby was sexually assaulted sometime back and he doesn't remember it much but has vague memories of it. All t=of these cousins want to have something to do with Coby, but Coby is eventua...

Down Low is an outrageous comedy about one wild night, it is raunchy, over the top but also funny yet inappropriate at the same time. It is interesting to see and hear all the jokes that are made within the leads. The story is about an unlikely friendship between a repressed middle-aged gay man and a young masseur, who ends up being his guide/counsellor/friend. Sadly the film tris to achieve a lot but sadly doesn't really go anywhere. Gary is a divorced man, whose wife left him bitterly after he came out gay. Ready to live life to the fullest, Gary hires a masseur/sex worker to give him a hand job and maybe something more. When the hired Cameron (Gage) learns that Gary has only recently come out and has never had sex with a man, he nixes the hand job and decides that he will make sure Gary lives his full life and has a proper sexual experience with another guy using one of the many gaydating apps. Despite Cameron's insistence, Gary doesn't create a profile on the app, so Ca...

This Japanese series charts the beginning of Amane and Ryuuji’s friendship and eventual love story in a short and sweet format of 5 episodes of about 22 minutes each, making it w a very enjoyable and easy watch. This heartwarming BL series captures the intimate journey of falling in love. The best part if that it is non-pretentious, very down to earth and something that you can imagine happening in real life to someone. Surely, teenage romances can be a hit or a miss, but thankfully this one just flows like a river, nice and swift; thanks to the pure souls of our two individuals and their honest portrayal. A young student Amane is closet gay. Having ben debuted before by one of his classmates for being gay, he now acts as being cool and funny. He moves to a small town to live with his grandma, where he accidentally meets Ryuji while chasing a cat. As an apology Ryuji invites Amane at his restaurant for a meal, which he loves. Amane, who has a bubbly personality, praises the cooking eff...

I mean I knew this was a Signal23 TV's web series with black guys (popular for series like About Him shows etc); so I expected paper thin story, overacting or bad acting and a whole lot of sex. This show had it all. That doesn't mean that it makes it any better. It wad still as much of a trash as I expected. Also in certain places this show is knows as "First High" ; just in case someone finds it hard to find it. Latham’s high is blown when a pill pushing, pizza delivery guy, named Pax slips into his life. Instantly a lust-struck Pax is hooked on Latham - a handsome individual who indulges often in a mind altering affair with a medicine called ‘Pharm’. Latham’s delusional ex-lover Quentin and Pax’s desperate quest to settle his money problems adds unwanted conflict to their new bond that’s destined to become a formula for success - or disaster. I laughed so hard when I read that this from the director of the show "This series is similar to such shows as Breaking ...

A sequel to the 2018 film "Say Yes", this film takes the story forward in the truest sense. But even if you haven't seen the original film, this film still makes sense as a standalone experience. Despite the subject being nice and a lot of relevant issues being brought to the forefront, the aim somehow fails to make an impact. More on that later. It's been one year since Beau's wife Lily died and now Beau and Lily's brother Caden have been living together as a couple.  They receive a post dated letter from Lily informing them that she had frozen her eggs before she got cancer and she would love if Beau would have kids with that which would help Lily live on. Initially both Caden and Beau are not sure and they discuss all kinds of potential challenges and issues that could arise because of having kids. For one, Caden feels he has never been a responsible person and other, how will they manage. Eventually they agree and meet the doctors and decide to give it a g...

OK. This is like the lowest of lows when the shows can go. Surely, I have seen a few Filipino shows where the direction and execution was so poor but at least the story still made sense. But with this show, if anyone can tell me what was the plot of this and what really as happening, I would be really really glad. Because, u know what I really tried to keep my attention on this one hoping. That with every next episode, it will slowly make sense, but I was so wrong. And intakes 12 episodes of about 16-18 minutes each to constantly remind you that this series will not make sense how much ever you try. Right in the first episode, way too many characters are thrown at us. Almost 10-12 and we are not sure whom do we need to focus on, because even though they are being introduced, there is really nothing substantial happening. Who are they, who do they like, what is their relationship with one another? I wish they had focused on just 2 characters and made it shorter instead of having so many...

I am not sure still on how I feel about this show. The two love stories were interesting to watch at some level, but I feel that when it comes to editing there were way too many jumps and the characters just would change their mind in a second. One second they are lovey lovey, and the next moment they are avoiding each other. In any case, this 8 episode Korea series is about 25-30 minutes episode length. (Also, I don't think I have seen the original Thai version of this show, which is good because I don't have any reference to compare to and I can judge it as a standalone piece) There are two parallel stories going on. Two students are taking film classes in a university. One of them hopes to become an actor while the other is looking for a director career. They had an initial argument and cant stand each other but many times they are forced to work together on acting projects. Ice of the guys sister is writing a BL novel because somehow she thinks these two guys make for a gre...

India hasn't produced that many gay series or shows to talk about (although my blog will probably give you a different statistic). Amazon Prime's 'Rainbow Rishta' comes in as a breath of fresh air. At a time when queer relationship portrayal and dating is somehow focused on negatives, this show depicts life with all its burdens, joys, and the need to keep going on, day after day. It leaves you with a sense of hope, of finding moments of relief in everyday strife, and embracing life for everything it has to offer. Featuring six episodes focusing on three queer couples and three singles, this series gives a more balanced view IMO but also gives you hope. Gauhati-based lesbian couple Aneez and Sanam , tired of finding space for themselves in their parental homes, are in search of a flat. But their being a couple keeps becoming a deal-breaker, as they go through one refusal after another from prospective landlords. Trinetra Haldar , an MBBS doctor-turned-actor whose trans c...

Outdoors (UK) When Nathan meets Bim, there is an undeniable pull between the two of them and they soon embark on a steamy romance. However, as the two grow closer and start to form a relationship, Nathan discovers that Bim is homeless. As Nathan’s perspective is forced to shift and he decides to put love before preconceived stereotypes we see a heartwarming story of acceptance and hope play out on screen. Gulis (Philippines) [Lines] Andrei is a thriving painter whose father, Jun, isn't in full support of his passion. Their lives take a turn when, Andrei finds out he is HOV positive after taking a home test. The news brings family together  and help them heal their wounds of the mother's absence. Ice (South Korea) Seung Jin and Tae Yoon are friends with benefit, both of whom are drug addicts. When they take drugs, they experience utmost pleasure that can't be compared to anything in the whole world. However, as they experience this false pleasure, they also feel anxious in t...