Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

This is a rather simple low production BL series from Cambodia. Playing on the age old, enemies turned lovers turned misunderstanding turned lovers is played here as well. Keeping this simple story to go on for 7 episodes felt like an unnecessary stretch. Each episode is about 20-30 minutes long. The actors felt new and story could have used more gravitas. Also the title of this series made no sense to me, in the context of it all.  Hengly is like the bad boy of his class. He doesn't conform to rules and often blame onto everyone else except himself. On morning he runs into Same on his motorbike and the two have an altercation that doesn't end well. Same is a studious student who stands up for himself. After a few misunderstandings, their friendship starts to grow when it turns out that Same's brother is close friends with Hengly's cousin. They spend sometime together, and it seems like Hengley is almost flirting with Same. Same’s feelings for Hengly grows stronger and ...

It is quite obvious that our community really needs lessons in tolerance. The fact that films comes from Ukraine, a country from which I had not expected that I will be writing a review on my blog, an attempt at LGBT comedy (or somewhat in that genre), is big surprise to me. As the name would suggest, the film is literally lessons in tolerance of LGBTQ+ community members told through 10 chapters using a regular Ukrainian family as the center point. We have a simple family of husband, wife, a son and a daughter. The family is reeling debts, the husband is lazy, daughter is a wanna be actress and the son is just aggressive good for nothing mechanic. The mom has had enough of it. There’s money available for any family that signs up for and completes a state LGBT+ awareness training course, and it’s quite a considerable sum, too. The way it works is that a course representative who is gay will come and live with the family for three weeks, during which time he will conduct a number of LGBT...

This was yet another one of those Thai teenager gay dramas that just feels wrong too watch. These boys barely look 13 or 14 years old and having to watch them talk about love, sex and be naughty made me very uncomfortable. Thankfully, it is only 4 episodes of about 20-22 minutes each, but still a simple yet uncomfortable story to see Tankhun is a young boy who loves to drive his scooter fats. Worried bout that, his father takes away his scooter and instead asks his friend's son Kim to pick and drop from school. The friendship starts blooming. Kew knows he is gay but Tankhun is interested in a girls ho he realizes just liked to get gifts from boys. When another boy in the class starts sowing interest in Kim, that makes Tankhun jealous and he doesn't know what's happening. But everytime he sees them together, he doesn't like it and tries to break thier bond. Eventually he confesses to Kim that he likes him. But Tankhun still is uncomfortable accepting that in public which...

I had not heard of this film at all and was actually very pleasantly surprised with this touching mechanic meets India-British drag queen romantic drama. The sis such an involved and heartfelt queer love stories, something that we all have been waiting to see for a while now. No exaggeration, no over the top drama, yet true tragic love while the protagonists confront their notion of love, sexuality, family, religion, friendship and more. Luke isa single dad of a 5 year old son. He works as a mechanic in a garage run by his dad. He meets Aysha, a drag queens fact unknown to him at their first meeting and they indulge in a passionate kiss. There are clear sparks but as soon as Luke realizes that Aysha is a man he runs away. Aysha is living a closeted life away from her relies muslim family in the big city. Aysha need sa driver and car to take her around for her shows. She tracks down Luke and he agrees to do the job in hopes to save money for his son. After a few drives, the attraction r...

'Gayliens' is a 4 episode anthology series from HereTV ranging from sci-fi to comedy, where each episode details an encounter between gay men and extra-terrestrials. I have to say that the concept sounded quite interesting, and of course, you have to keep your expectations extremely low, so form that perspective it was an interetsing mix. EP 1 - Love and the Mothman Two neighborhood boys (both likely in closet) decide to go on a drive to get away from family. The black guy makes sure to tell th other boy all about his girl crushes but eventually when dark falls, they both start having banger sex in the car till they are eventually terrorized by the legendary Mothman.  EP 2 - Lapdance from Outer Space Ace, a space-themed stripper in a gay nightclub, agrees to give an odd man a private Lapdance, but is surprised when the patron reveals that he is an alien...and Earth is about to be invaded. This was actually quite funny with the kind of dialogues that were being exchanged. Comedy...

Firstly, I don't think Throuple is the right Tiel for the film. Sure the film ends up in that direction, but I felt that the film was a lot more to that. It was about self discovery, loving one self, about close friendships and people insecurities and vulnerabilities seen thorn various lenses. Having said that, this film overall brings an interesting perspective, even though there were many faults in the film. Michael, is a lonely, gay singer-songwriter, who is just better about love and is fully convinced it's a sham. He also struggles to express what he needs from the people in his life. His social circle is his best lesbian friend  Tristan, who sings in a band and her girlfriend Abby. Much to Abby’s chagrin, Michael leans on them to fulfill his needs for emotional intimacy. One night in the club, Michael catches the attention of Georgie and Connor, a married gay couple looking for a third to spice up their life. A nonchalant hookup becomes a night of vulnerability that none ...

I am sure, anyone who has seen first two seasons, would not have expected the change of pace and the storyline that is offered to the audience. The plot is a bit heavier than the usual lovey-dovey ones we have watched in first two seasons. It is not to say that the romance is not there, but the plat also focuses on some very meaningful and deep changes to the love story of Nick and Charlie. I also have. To say it that I did miss my favorite Olivia Coleman. I so wish she was there even just for a cameo maybe. All the various couple are doing well in this relationships and we just see how they are all growing. The main focus. This time is on Nick's concerns around Charlie's struggles with eating and the possible disorder that he has. Alongwth help of Charlie's very supportive sister, Nick eventually gets to share etc burden of noticing something odd about Charlie and wanting to be there for him. These are kids and they just dont know what is wrong with Charlie and how they ca...

For those in the LGBTQ+ community who reside in the West, the greater freedoms and civil liberties that have emerged in recent decades have made life more fulfilling for this once-persecuted constituency. But, for those who live in more conservative lands, such rights and privileges have been slower to surface (and in fewer numbers at that). This is true even in somewhat more lenient countries like Turkey, where the somewhat more tolerant and cosmopolitan nature of cities like Istanbul have shown some progress but still lag behind other locales. This has compelled gay, transgender and bisexual individuals to continue to lead more subdued lives than their Western counterparts, keeping low profiles and even unwillingly engaging in traditional marriages to give themselves socially acceptable cover, particularly in more rural and remote areas. This is Not Me tells the story of unhappy gay men who have had to marry women to hide their sexual orientation in the face of societal and family pr...

How does one describe this gay film!! An extremely carefully designed and drafted film, it's a film within a film, about pitching a gay film to a producer who wants a “fun, sexy, Greek and low-budget” script. It has meta-commentary on queer filmmaking all over the place, incorporating several life-affirming themes. And to top that when you have gorgeous and handsome naked cast, and a cut dog, one's attention is automatically guaranteed. Demosthenes and Nikitas often sunbathe at a nude cruising spot in Greece. Nikitas needs to pitch a film idea over the weekend and he has nothing on hand. They both strike upon the idea of making a film about their “summer with Carmen”; a Chihuahua that Demos adopted from his ex-boyfriend Panos, two summers ago. The film then keeps going back and forth between present and two summers ago on what happened thats summer and the way it is presented to us is a film within a film format. We see how Demos had broken up with his boyfriend of 4 years Pano...

Do you have control over your own destiny, are you controlled by your fate, or are you a mere puppet in the hands of the gods? This is a question that this queer time-traveling film implicitly asks through its heartfelt melodrama. Whether it succeeds completely in passing on the emotions is a separate thing but with its gorgeous cinematography and some brilliant performances by the 4 leads, it does manage to keep you captivated an interested in the proceedings. Chen Yao Hua, a young man works in the Huan Nan Market at the butcher stall run by his family. His father Bao Ding, has seemingly gone mad with despair for mysterious reasons.  Accidentally traveling through time back to 1991, he joins the younger version of his father and his two friends, soon forming with them a happy gang of close, intimate friends. The gang mistakes him for a missing high schooler and he now finds himself being friends with younger version of his father, a close friend Anjian and the only female member. ...

A very simple slice of life gay love story about finding love. Just under 70 minutes, this film never goes over the top with unnecessary histrionics or anything like that. Having said that the conflicts get resolved very quickly (I wish it was that easy in real life), but I guess that the characters were deemed to have the kind of maturity. Hey look, I am not complaining. In my busy schedule, I finally found some time to catch up on a movie and I am glad this romantic comedy with no frills was a perfect break for me. Grey is a flamboyant and charming young man. He is helping out his lifelong best friend, Jonas on a stage play where Jonas is playing the lead. Jonas is a heartthrob with masculine appeal. While Jonas effortlessly navigates the gay dating scene, Gray struggles to find love, convinced that his effeminate style is an obstacle. But despite countless rejections, Gray remains hopeful. The duo used to have another friend Yates who has just returned from US. Yates used to be Grey...

"Queer Lives Today" is a series of diverse documentaries that offer intimate glimpses into the LGBTQ+ community. The series explores the journeys of individuals navigating various aspects of their identities, from sports to adoption to the pursuit of personal expression, all while highlighting resilience and the challenges they face. Commissioned to create 20-minute documentaries, these were telecast on British TV in 2022. The films narrate the tale of a trans boxer campaigning for the right to fight, Britain’s first out Muslim drag queen gender affirmation surgery journey and the struggles of two gay dads undergoing the adoption process. Always, Asifa As Asifa prepares to finally undergo gender affirmation surgery, the disabled trans activist, who is also Britain’s first out Muslim drag queen, reflects on how her life has - and hasn’t - changed during her transition. With Asifa having featured previously in documentaries on Channel 4 and the director, Shiva Raichandani, havi...

Intersex is a topic that I snot often discussed and we really haven't seen much content about it. After all, it is a tricky subject. As it is, adolescence can be rough, regardless of your background or current circumstances, and on top of that if you have to spend time figuring out your gender, that could likely lead to a lot of therapy sessions, awkward moments and uncomfortable conversations. This film is story of one such teenager Adam, who is raised as a boy and how things change when he gets his first period. Adam, born with both male and female genitals was raised as a boy. He is a touch cookie who picks up fights with classmates if they bully him. This secret is only known to the family but hasn't bothered anyone till now. But things start to get complicated when he first falls for a new transfer in his school, and then immediately gets his first period. His parents consult a specialist doctor, who does some tests and it is confirmed that Adam has equal amount of both fe...

I am not sure how serious this film should be taken. It was an interesting idea likely in paper. Love will find you in most unexpected places and situations, but the way the treatment of the film is done, it came off to me as very amateurish, both from screenplay but also from acting pov. There were scenes that were unlikely supposed to excite the audience but somehow they just didn't work for me. A macho man Paulo is in an unhappy marriage with his wife and usually cycles around. One day after a serious argument with her, he gets lost while cycling and ends up in a forest like area known as the "Forest of whispers" a secret place where men meet for sexual purposes. Initially things around him, he finds it awkward. But he ends up finding himself drawn to a young twink blonde Luigi. Unhappy in his marriage, Paulo begins to frequent the forest often, and eventually gives into passion for Luigi's body. They connect every weekend in the forest and over the course of next ...

Inspired by the French. Neorealism style of film making, John tells the struggling story of LGBTQ sex workers in Hollywood, LA. It's a thought-provoking, emotionally charged journey through a world that remains largely hidden from mainstream cinema. Personally, I have never enjoyed. That style of film making and I am also not sure what really was the maker trying to tell us through this film. There have been many more better made documentaries that show us the plights of LGBTQ sex workers. John is an eighteen year old Latino male prostitute, living in the poorest area of Hollywood, L.A. He often steals condoms and medicine from the local stores to support himself, due to his inexperience in the hustling world. Peaches is a black trans prostitute, who often helps John financially. Miguel is an older hustler that teaches John how to please men. John often spends his night wandering through the street, looking for older men to buy him for the night. His clients, men who come from all ...

Told in three parts, Patrick Carpentier’s “The Irregularity of the tearing” is a three part cine-diary intimate journey along the author’s transient love stories: two and a half years of sensuality to question intimacy, an exploration of desire and reason. Part one, “God is a Dog” (2004) is shot on Super 8 and confronts the film makers remembrances of childhood memories and how they interact with his adult love encounters.  Section two, “Les 9 mardis” (The 9 Tuesdays) (2005) deals with the absurdity of the passage of time. Time that reopens and closes past wounds, time that re-opens and cures childhood wounds, time that brings a rhythm to the impossibility of loving, time that provides the courage to continue and to go through mourning. The final installment is “Combat”asks the viewer: how can one let go in a world where one learns not to? Is it possible to reach the end of desire? The tale of two young men both deeply in love who can only express their feelings through acts of phy...

I must have missed watching this during cove times for some reason. And now when I watched this now, it feels so laughable to be honest. This is obviously a low-budget production that looks like it was sort of thrown together. The production frankly is just awful, and editing made it hard to follow the story. They certainly packed a lot in this short series like love, homophobia, trans rights, rich exploiting poor, made up friends etc etc. The show has 8 episodes of about 20 min each average. We have three main characters in the show - Nico, Prince and Julius. The series starts with Nico saving Julius in a motorbike accident. In a drunken state, Julius kisses Nico. Few months later, we now see that Nico actually moved to this place from his province and he left his younger brother to fend for himself after his parents died. Prince is his neighbor, who one days saves Nico when some local goons are trying to rob him. Two lonely individuals become good friends taking care of one another. ...

“Mango Yellow” is a provocative tale of low-rent losers set in the coastal town of Recife, Brazil. Like characters out of some Carnival hell, a macho butcher and his born-again wife, a forlorn barmaid, a sinister sadist and the gay manager of a flophouse called the Hotel Texas run in and out of each other’s lives in a film as sloppy, sluttish, scruffy and vital as they are. Though the film struggles to reach a meaning beyond its own shock value, it has the kind of in-your-face transgressiveness that some critics look for in a film so that it can make festival rounds. This is definitely not a gay film at all, but one of the main characters is gay and we see a bit of his mindset behind doing things that he does. We have a sexy waitress running a bar who regularly has to shoot down advances from various men. Issac, is one such guy, lives at the Texas Hotel, where Dunga, a gay man, works as a handyman. Dunga is attracted to Wellington, a butcher who delivers meat to the hotel. Wellington, ...

I have mixed feelings about this show. These days there are plenty of murder mystery shows and it's important to keep viewers engaged in the story. The show opens with the brutal murder of a gay sex worker in the toilet of Mahim train station and this is where the story begins. The show and story is good but the show takes forever to come to a point. There are so many side stories and every 5 minute conversation is starched into  20 min scene. The show tries to educate and empathize with gay community in India because still it is considered a big taboo in that society. The show takes a gritty yet empathetic look at gay life in the Mumbai underbelly. In the male public urinals of Mahim station, a mutilated body is found. The victim is discovered to be a young gay sex worker; soon enough, another sex worker turns up dead with clue being given on who the next target would be. IT turns out that two police constables are next in line. This will take expertise of Shiva Jende, an inspecto...

I had no idea that anime films have been there for such a long time. This film came out back in 1987. The film is a very bizarre story of two male lovers, if you can call that, probably inspired by manga. A tragic romance between Gilbert and Serge,  two students at an all-boys boarding school in late 19th-century France. The film is set in late 19th century in France. Son of a viscount and a Roma prostitute (both deceased), Serge is intelligent, sweet, talented, and alienated by his family due to his heritage. Upon being sent to his new school, he rooms with Gilbert, a gorgeous loner of a boy who sells his body for reasons unknown. He is ostracized by the school's pupils and professors for sleeping with most men in the school. We are never told the reason. His promiscuity is the result of a lifetime of neglect and abuse, as perpetrated chiefly by his ostensible uncle Auguste Beau. The man has physically, emotionally, and sexually abused Gilbert since he was a child. His manipulatio...

It was March 2014 that England and Wales legalized gay marriage and John and Bernardo became one of the first officially married gay couple. So for its 10 year anniversary and many gay weddings later, BBC One celebrated it with this documentary hosted by Tom Allen. He decides to a arrange and become wedding planner for a dream wedding for one couple – Adam Johnson and Dan Mackey of Brighton – and interviewing those who helped make it happen; while also recounting the history of how things were in the past and how did we come about to be where we are today. Adam and Dan have been a couple for ten years – the same time as equal marriage has been legal. Tom Allen opens his contacts book and magics up some celebrity help for wedding singer, celebrity baker from Bake-Off for a ten-tier cake.A personal stylist designs the outfits and a celebrated choreographer also helps the couple prepare for their first dance. Some beautiful flowers and bouquets are designed by florists. In between all thi...

Wren Boys (UK) It’s the day after Christmas, and Father Conor, a priest from County Cork, drives his nephew to prison to visit one of the inmates. The surprise is that the nephew is there to marry his boyfriend who is in prison, but within the prison walls different rules apply, and life is often overshadowed by the threat of violence. What a brilliant short film!! In such a short time, the way the characters arcs are developed and shown are sometime not reached in full fledged films.  Adán y Esteban (Argentina) A simple short of two best friends, one getting drunk on a night and seducing the friend. The friend meanwhile was always into him. The next morning they get into discussion around random things. Two bodies that meet in the middle and a sunrise that sheds light on fears and evaporates them with the sun's rays. Good nudity with full penis shots was the only good thing in this otherwise average short film. Invincible Summer (Belgium) One hot summer evening. Alone at home, by ...