Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Follow up to the film I just reviewed, and I really don't even know why I'm watching these films. I really need to stop. But here is a quick review of this soft porn Japanese Pink film which continues to focus on the gay S&M word. This time it becomes a murder mystery of sorts interspersed with a whole lot of sexual scenes as you would expect. The story here is again basic. Of late there have been a couple of murders where after a fierce S&M play, young men are found dead strangulated. So a police detective is put on duty to find the culprit. To find the details, he needs to visit the famous S&M club in the area. In the course of the investigation, the journalist of course discovers a love of s&m himself and indulges multiple times with one the performers and is eventually courted by the killer himself. Thankfully when things go out of hand, his lover from the S&M club is there to save him, but in al likelihood, the investigator has learnt something about hi...

I am sure I have mentioned before in my blog the concept of "Pink Films" from Japan. Pink films are films that deal with sexual, adult content, but compared to the typical adult film, a Pink film features much tenderer or much more artistic expressions. This film probably doesn't have tender love, but it's focused more on the S&M practices of gay sex. I wonder of this was really a thing back in the 80s in Japan. As you can expect, the plot is paper thin. Yuki is a young man who lives with his brother. One day while walking he meets an old friend of his and they reconnect. When he goes back home that night, he finds out that his brother has a girlfriend, so he leaves home (don't ask why). He goes back to his friends house and they make passionate love. Interestingly this friend works in a. Gay S&M club that puts up shows for audience so Yuji also gets a job here. But after a while he has had enough and both Fuji and his friend want to quit job, but the owne...

Having somehow endured the first season of the show, I was dreading g the time, when I will somehow be forced (by myself) into watching this second season. Thankfully the expectations after first season were so low that this season two fits perfectly the bill. The story sort of continues but even if you haven't seen the first season, you will not miss any context. Maykel not has his own work business, which is not important in the context of larger story. Him and Johannes seem to have broken up, but it feels like they both still love each other but are afraid to do anything about it. Thanks to Johannes' friend; he thinks maybe if he makes Maykel jealous by pretending to be with someone else, Maykel will admit his love. Somewhere during this tine, on a drunken night, Maykel ends up sleeping with J's friend. When he and Johannes are back together as a couple, he don't tell him the truth. Enter a new girl, who happens to be Johannes' old friend form younger days, who i...

I Love You More is a queer Kosovo/Albanian coming of age film from a region where we have not seen many LGBTQ+ films. The story may be familiar but it is still relevant and gives an interesting viewpoint from family perspective and the pleasures and pains of first teenage love, especially if it involves dealing with your sexuality as well. Set before the days of apps where online chatting was still probably the only way to met, this little gem of a ilm was a decent watch. The film starts with us meeting high school boy Ben who confides in his best friend that he wishes he was born in America so that he could be free. Ben lives in countryside in Kosovo, where likely he is the only gay person he knows of. This is also the time where he tells her that he is in love with a boy named Leo, whom he met online and who lives in Germany. Leo visits Kosovo for summer and will visit again in summer and Ben can't wait to met his love in person. This is when the family gets the news that they ha...

Gauri Sawant is a very popular transgender activist in India. So, naturally when a series on her life was announced, a lot of pope were excited. Of course, there were mixed reactions when it was announced that a very popular cis female actress will play the part; but I understand that you do need sometimes popular names to attract audience to watch, especially in a country like India. And with an actor like Sushmita Sen, you won't have to worry about that. And I was right. The composure and vigour with which the lead actor slips into the skin of the complex character is worthy of applause. Unfortunately, overall the series itself feels a lot to be desired. For the uninitiated, 'Taali' means clap, a reference to the way, the trans community or the eunuchs are identified in India by their peculiar style of clapping. Gauri Sawant, a transwoman became a household name in India, when she managed to pull off the impossible. She petitioned the Supreme Court of India to acknowledge...

The Danish Boys is a new short film collection. Featuring 5 shorts from Danish directors to watch, the release showcases rising talent in front of and behind the camera. Each short tells a very different but compelling story, giving glimpses into the lives of young gay men living in Denmark. Hotel Boy Young Samir accompanies a politician Stefan to a hotel room. Samir is ready to abandon his life and go all in with Stefan, thinking that his politician lover is ready to give up his family and live as an out gay man. What starts off as an excited hook-up soon turns into an argument as Samir realises that he had read far more into his relationship than he should have done. It captures the feeling of being young and in love, unable to see what’s pretty clearly right in front of you. Poz Now this was a weird short film. A troubled young man Oliver is searching for a solution to his problems and a way to ensure his sister's continued support. He ventures in a destructive path, where he sl...

A romantic love story-ish set between a gay man and his straight (or bi) friend who reconnect after many years foes the base of this film. Things are fine till love comes in the way and things start getting complicated. This Argentinian film features primarily just the two lead actors and tell a story that we have seen before but then deals with it form the perspective of both men and what it means to them and their fears and where does that eventually lead to. It may feel repetitive at some points but thankfully the film is not stretched in finishes in just about 80-85 minutes. Single, handsome and gay, Victor, who is his late 30s by chance meets his friend David on the streets. It has been 15 years since they met and clearly they have some history. David tells him that he has just moved in the neighborhood with his wife and they decide to meet for a dink in the evening. This clandestine invite starts a new journey. It turns out that when they were in their 20s, they had a worried lov...

This film was probably made on a shoe string budget with only 5 actors and being shot in open fields. A hiking movie probably catering to male bonding, friendship, coming out and gay awakening of sorts, it is difficult to box this film in a specific genre. The film, maybe too simple, wasn't that bad to be honest. Except the direction style was a bit amateurish and something like from early 2000s. The film starts with a shy and awkward guy Connor, traveling across to different corner of London just to jog with Nathan. It is obvious that He probably has some sort of a crush on him. When Nathan invites him for a hiking trip, he agrees, but it's only at the beginning he realizes that another buddy is also coming along. It's too late for Connor to back out now. The hiking starts and the new macho friend doesn't really get along very well with Connor. During these walks, there is a father-son also hiding a the son Adam reaches out to Connor. IT is very obvious that Adam is hi...

First of all, this film is not supposed to be taken seriously. The idea is to provide entertainment and this is exactly what the film tries to do. Sure, it may not always succeed, but with its charing leads, some funny dialogues and situations; it is a decent combination of emotions, goofy antics, humor at right places etc. Released on Netflix, this Taiwanese film may not ideally be classified as a queer film, but the lead character, as the title suggests , is gay and t he story mostly revolved around him. Ming-Han is homophobic misogynist detective, and has a female work partner Tsu Ching. On use of excessive force and homophobic slurs while apprehending a perpetrator who ends up having strings connection, Ming-Han is demoted to a smaller police station. Things change when both the folks are chasing a drug dealer. After getting his car stuck in the chase, he’s forced to pick up the leftover evidence while Tzu-ching chases down the criminal on foot. He mistakes a red envelope as part o...

I may not be much of a dancer myself, but I have always always enjoyed dancing and watching people dance and dance shows and stuff. So naturally when I heard about this documentary queer Tango dancing, I was very excited. Tango is one of those dance forms that has always attracted me and I have told myself plenty of times, that if I could be an expert on any dance form, it would be Tango. So with all these feelings, naturally I went in watching this documentary with a lot of expectations. Big mistake! The film documents two years of a gay couple Misha and Otar before their immigration to Israel. The images of the documentary preserved their lives and emotions in the decision making process. While organizing queer tango events and giving tango classes, they are feeling lost about the upcoming departure. Tango is a pair dance that originated in the poor port areas of Argentina at the end of the 19th century. It was danced by men, emigrants from Southern Europe, Africa, South America. The...

Even though this nostalgic story set in summer in Tokyo give off the vibe of a typical young adult gay love story, the series also dwells into issues of workplace harassment, sexual abuse and childhood trauma. Unfortunately as important as these topics are, the show never does full justice to these sub plots. This I snot to say that the show is bad or anything. Ot was something different in the sense that we see how a childhood trauma can shape your adult life and your ability to love someone could totally depend on that. This series is 8 episodes of about 20-23 minutes each. Kazuma joins the HR department at his new workplace in Tokyo where he is surprised to see his old classmate Ren. They both haven't seen each pother since high school and Ren is. Now a hard working and popular guy among his colleagues. After some initial awkwardness the two lost friends start to get close again. Although they seem amiable with each other, the two colleagues have an unspoken tension. They don...

A lot of us have been waiting for this film ever since it was announced that Amazon Studios will be premiering their film on Prime Video. The book is quite popular and the two gorgeous leads gave an impression that it will be a fun one to watch. Now, it all depend son your expectations. Since this film falls in the typical rom com genre with gay male leads, you can either give your brain a break and enjoy whatever is unfolding in front of you, or be on. Your high horse, try to dissect everything thats happening, critique it and maybe not like the film. I tried to go the former route and actually thought it was a decent film. It did fall a little short of my expectations but still wasn't bad at all. Two young, good looking strapping blokes, the son of US president Alex and the other second son of the British king, Prince Henry meet at a high-profile gathering, bicker and end up rolling on the floor drenched in 5-tier royal cake. This becomes tabloid fodder and the two young men have...

Getaway was apparently one of the first gay BL dramas from Singapore. Besides 'People Like Us', I don't remember seeing any other BL shows, which is interesting, given how many more shows are being churned out by their neighboring Asian countries. I read in an interview by the makers of the show that through the 5 episodes of this show (available on y YouTube and about 10-12 minutes each), they hope to raise visibility, understanding and acceptance of Singapore’s LGBTQ+ community. Interestingly, the show is primarily set in English. The story of the show is actually pretty straight forward. At the dinner table Sam comes out to his father as gay but the father doesn't take it too well. Angry he jets off to Bangkok, where apparently his uncle also moved to many years back, when Sam's grandfather disowned him many years ago for being gay. Sam is hoping to reconnect with his uncle with whom eh used to be close growing up. A chance meeting with a local Thai Boy in his ho...

Thanks to the recommendation by Miisu, I just finished watching this show. Now this one is a good example of how to present a simple straightforward love story in a delightful, warm and cozy sentimental way. The show feels very polished and detailed. And watching the leads turn from amazingly close friends to lovers just melts your heart. With 8 episodes of around 25-30 minutes each, I binge watched the sho win one sitting which doesn't happen normally. A show about friendship, love and music, this show could be a perfect healer on a balmy day. Baram is a young aspiring musician who takes singing classes. His older mentor has taught him guitar and music and Baram harbors a secret crush on him. The teacher has also given him a lucky guitar pick with his name on it. At an upcoming audition, he suddenly collides with another contestant only to discover that the guitar strings have broken. The guy Hantae apologizes and offers his guitar, but the events have shaken him up and he fumbles...

Heartstopper Season 1 was a universal hit. You could not have read one bad review or heard from anyone who has seen the show not liking it. It was the kind of series that is easy to love, with sweetness exploding out of every scene without overwhelming you. So naturally, when Netflix greenly Season 2, expectations were naturally high and the same happened with me. I didn't know what to expect, but I had high expectations of this very very sweet teenage love story. And with eagerness and being a little late to the game by a few days, here I am, pouring my t thoughts down having just finished one of the most anticipated shows of the year. The second season also has 10 episodes and has all of our loved ones from the original season. The show continues from where it had left off in Season 1. Charlie and Nick are a couple and only their very close circle of friends know about it. This includes Charlie's best friend Tao and his trans best friend Elle. The center of the show is still ...

Now this one was an odd show. It honestly really didn't have much of a plot going on, besides a very basic love story, which was again not the central theme. The show was pretty much just watching a bunch of youngsters going about their daily mundane routines in their town, eating snacks, drinking bubble tea and just being teenagers. Also, this show has got to win the award for the most clunky beginning and introducing character after character to confuse the hell of the audiences because none of those characters matter in the long run, but you don't know it until its much later. The show has 10 episodes plus two bonus special episodes each of almost 40-45 minuets; so its a commitment to watch the show, which I am not sure os worth it. Tin and Park were neighbors who grew up together. After a family tragedy, Tim now loves with Park and his family. Park is a nurse (or a doctor, I am not sure), older and treat Tin as his younger brother, but Tin has a highest crush on Park and he...

I am not sure of there is really a whole lot to write about this show. I read that he videos of this show were originally released as small 1-3 min TikTok videos, which actually makes a lot of sense. I guess at some point they became popular, so this is when the makers decided to stitch them into episodes. As of now, there are 13 episodes available on YouTube, each with about 12 ish minutes of content. There are some lengthier episodes but they show interviews with cast members. The focus Simon two couples in high school. The first couple are the best of friends since forever and they both enjoy each other's company and also constantly keep flirting. Their's is the kind of relationship that draws blurry lines between friendship, bromance and romance. As you can imagine, in these episodes we see many many disconnected shorts of interactions between this young friends and various scenarios that happen in school. Some of these were meh while others were really fun. I loved, every ...

Surely, we all wanna encourage people to Gove it all to their creativity, but please please, at least have a tight script ready. If you have a proper story, then even with a tight and low budget, you can make something meaningful. This 4 episode of 15 minute each seemed just like a paper thin idea, was shot and presented without having a clear idea of what is it really that the maker is trying to say. Kyle's boyfriend Liam disappeared from his life suddenly 2 years back and he misses him. Out of blue, one day Liam calls him and asks him to meet. Surprised Kyle agrees to meet and Liam tells him that he is getting married soon, and would like to spend one full week with Kyle to relive all their loving memories together. Kyle, who is already furious about his disappearing and not knowing the reason, reluctantly agrees. We are told that it was Kyle's father who made Liam leave town and his son otherwise he would kill him since he doesn't approve of their relationship. When Kyle...

A coming of age drama centering around a Canadian-Asian teenager, who is torn between his girlfriend’s dreams of their future and his father’s ambition, all the while struggling with finding himself and following his own desires.. The film does have some standard tropes of coming out: attraction, then confusion, then hiding and then accepting. The film is not just about this teenager's coming out, but it's also equally about dreams of the whole family, what they wanna do, where they are and how they get out of it. Jake, our lead guy is a high school senior. He is constantly pushed around by his father to play basketball to make into the team, probably because of his own shattered dreams. But Jake is not very good at it and is honestly least bothered. He has a girlfriend for a while who is pressuring him to lose their virginity together, but for Jake it doesn't feel right. Something is off. Things change when a new boy Aleks moves across him, an out and proud gay boy who als...

I really don't know why I watched this film. More so, why was this film even made! I have no idea what to make of this movie. Should I think of it intellectually as a modern, messed fairytale, or some weird allegory for a degradation in society that fears losing all that it holds dear... No, I think this is just poor cinema, with no sets... little plot that makes any sense, and characters that you can't even remotely care about! DJ Sabu's overactive libido leads him into teenaged pregnancy. His mythic quest for two thousand boys ends with Happy, a paranoid UFO-ologist to whom aliens promise to appear (as his love child). Spanky is an evil hairdresser trying to foil Sabu's mission, he is the self-proclaimed 'biggest bitch in the world.' The action unfolds at a series of raves on old garbage hill in an industrial Antonioni landscape peopled with characters right out of vintage John Waters I will be honest that I have copied the synopsis of this film from imdb. Hav...