Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

This is a sentimental Filipino-Spanish drama about a young missionary uncovering his late father's secret gay love affair. It highlights queer theme with respect and dignity. It doesn't say religion is bad or anything but it does give a perspective on just a very loving father-son relationship but also how it is difficult to be yourself in a very conservative religious setting. It gives. A hint of it but never goes into to many details, because its focu sis on love. Young Seph is giving his speech at his father Otep's funeral, when it is interrupted by a woman, Cecil, whom Seph has never heard of. She screams obscenities and claims that Otep was gay, and that Seph ruined Otep’s life by being born. For a very conservative church going family, this comes as a surprise, especially since Seph is supposed to depart soon on a several-year mission trip, but this revelation sees him beginning to question his church. He decides to met Cecil to know the truth about his father. He lea...

Right in the beginning of the series, there is a disclaimer that says "approved in strict accordance with the Myanmar Video Censorship Board", which probably means that it will barely be anything more than a tepid bromance despite being promoted as a full BL series. And this is what ends up being. There is a hint of gay romance in the past but besides that, this show ends up being strictly a bromance and not really a BL. With 8 episodes of approx 20 minutes each, it's an easy, though a frustrating watch. Ling Yuang lives with his father and his aunt. When his father announces that he will remarry, neither of them have a choice. Enter the new wife with her son Shein Wah; who is same age and Ling. The dup now have to share a room and as per father's instructions get to know each other and become brothers. It takes time for them to negotiate their new status together and endure the ups and downs of their family dynamic, but soon their relationship begins to evolve into s...

I have to start by saying that I absolutely LOVED this show. I knew that the series is about a closet gay teenage enlisting himself in the marines, but I had no other information on what to expect. I somehow assumed that it will be a dark show, but I was so wrong. IT is an insightful look at friendship, self-determination, courage and acceptance amid the challenges and demands of the United States Marines boot camp. As hilarious as it is devastating, the series is a unique coming-of-age story centered on an unlikely Marine recruit who is desperate to find himself. And I enjoyed every bot of it, so much so that I totally binge watched this Netflix series. The show is 8 episodes of around 40-45 minutes. Set in 1990, we meet gay teenager Cameron Cope, who is so lonely and bored. He has only one friend Ray who knows about Cameron's sexuality. Together they decide to enroll for the marines. He has no idea what to expect, which is clear by the way he has conversations with himself. When ...

This vertical mini series, stitched as a film was visually nice to watch, but I have to say that the stories are getting hard to believe now. It's like, anything is going on and as an audience you are supposed to believe it. This was one of the first ones where I was rolling my eyes more often. This latest mini series from DramaWave app going into the familiar genre of BL mafia. At a high-society party, Selena and Emma were targeted for revenge by an ex-boyfriend and found themselves in danger. Their respective bodyguards, Noah and Carson, worked together to save them, but Noah got injured in the process. Selena then demanded that Emma send Carson to serve at her house for three months as compensation. What neither of them knows is that Noah was saved by Carson many years back and since then Noah has harbored a secret crush on Carson and loves him. Carson works for Emma's brother Arthur Hill, who agrees to the 3 month arrangement because he wants to know the real identity of a ...

The season 2 of Dekkoo TV original 'Danny Will Die Alone' continues its raunchy, hilarious, yet relatable exploration of gay dating in NYC injecting sharp, witty humor. We continue to witness Danny’s disastrous dating life as he attempts to find love online, including adventures in openness, polyamory, sex drive compatibility, and, naturally, fisting. This season has 6 episodes of about 20-25 minutes each. The season continues with more of Danny’s wild escapades and his running commentary on everything going breaking the fourth wall. Besides the Danny, we have another central character this time named Matty, Danny’s regular hookup buddy. His presence adds a layer of drama that gives Danny’s character new emotional depth. Matty serves as Danny’s go-to for regular intimacy between his dating life and their dynamic brings a new dimension to Danny’s journey. The first episode shows a dating app and how he gets into a war of words with a guy who is too much into himself (I found mys...

Continuing with the trend of feel good vertical shows, here comes one more. I am enjoying these, since you dont have to use too much of your brain. They are simple stories involving love, misunderstanding, a mandatory third guy who could be the negative lead, a chance hook up and a very happy ending. And most importantly, almost all of these shows (or the ones I have seen so far) have some really hot and good looking leads, which makes the viewing even more pleasurable. But of you take these seriously, this wil just be comical nonsense. Rookie agent Ryan is assigned to investigate powerful CEO Vincent. A chance kissing dare brings Ryan and Vincent together. To avoid a public scandal, Vincent proposes a fake marriage to Ryan to save his company, which Ryan agrees hoping that this way he can investigate Vincent. To stay on the case, he goes undercover as an intern at Vincent's company-only to find that another new guy Thomas is mistaken as the CEO's lover. He actually likes this ...

I am still exploring a lot of gender/sexuality stuff on the queer spectrum. This film is an earnest drama about a teenager coming to terms and coming out as non-binary. The film may feel a bit slow but it was such a good feeling while watching the film mostly because there isa lot f positivity among the usual negative suspects. The film highlights issues around self acceptance, fears of coming out, depression, a family with both supportive and non supportive people and most importantly love. The pleasant, polished drama provides a compassionate take on a high schooler undergoing considerable change. The film is about Ben, a young teenage who is trying to tell something to his parents and in the very next scene, we see him crying calling his sister Hannah to pick him up in freeing cold without his shoes or jacket. It's only then the gravity of the situation kicks in that the parents have kicked him out. Hannah was already estranged with parents and she and her husband lovingly take ...

Yes, one more of those macro vertical dramas stitched into movie versions, the English BL format. I think I should take a break from here because things are starting to mix up now. Having said that hat, these are good fun for guilty pleasure viewing, easily done on phone, so I shouldn't really be complaining. After you have seen a few of these, you really know what to expect. Brian has had a crush on Terry an upcoming football star from his teen days. Now adult, Terry is a very famous football star and Brian is his manager, very good at his job. Terry knows that Brian has had a crush on "someone" for 7 years and that he is gay, but Terry never guesses that it could be him. HE is also extremely flirty with Brian on many occasions and doesn't like when someone doesn't treat Brian right. But Brian has had enough and one day he resigns, forcing Terry to think of his actions. Soon Terry's game starts to suffer. The agency rehires Brian again, but. This time to mana...

I had no memory of the first Arisan film, so I had to go back and read my review to get some context before I watched this second part. As the original source material, this film is not queer per say, in fact it is so much more about a group of female friends, but the stories of the prominent gay characters continue here as well and I think it deserves a mention rightly here on my blog. The film kicks off 8 years after the events of the first film happened. The gay couple Sakti and Nino have broken up. Meimei is now divorced and Andien is now a successful person after losing her husband. We have a few new characters who join as well. The film starts with Meimei anther young son (or is it her friend's) spending time on an island getting therapy from a doctor Tom. The two have connection but we are later told that Meimei has cancer and is dealing with her issues. Nino now has a much younger boyfriend and this makes Sakti not happy, He has still not completely gotten over his ex. His ...

One more of those vertical mini series but this time not from Drama Box. This series is US based and like most of the previous ones, this one is to be seen just for pure entertainment. It has all the usual 'masala' like drama, kisses, love, misunderstandings, hot hot guys, lot of abs and with a title like this, we do get to see a lot of skin with our headliners spending most of the time in speedos or swim shorts.  The two leads here are Aidan and Will. Aidan's father used to run a store that got hammered by a bog corporation incidentally run by Will's father. Because of this Aidan's father left and disappeared and now his mother is very ill and he needs to take of the bills. They are both in swim team and even though everyone wants the hunky Will to become captain, it is Aidan who become captain. Even though Will occasionally teases Aidan, but he always protects him from being bullied by his friends which confuses Aidan. When Will finds out about Aidan's need fo...

Yet another horror comedy genre, this time mixing drag queens, queers and zombie world. A group of queer characters find themselves trapped in a Bushwick nightclub, fending off a horde of the living dead. Sounds familiar? Yes, I have seen at least a couple of films, more recently in the Canadian film Slay. I feel like this genre has specific viewers and is targeted for them. I have to be honest that I was quite enjoying the first half of the film, but then it just felt. Ike it is dragging on for no reason. Also some of the gags were really not as funny as they were likely on paper. Needing a last-minute cover for her half-dead party, Dre hesitantly calls on an old friend, Sam (who I snow a nurse and has been out of scene for a while now), to fill in the stilettos of the headliner for the night. After getting reacquainted with some old faces and butting heads with some new queens. Sam meets Ginsey, Sam’s drag mother and mentor; wannabe performer/dealer Nico ; and Lizzy’s plumber brother...

Set in a small town middle America, the film likely had an interesting idea with them but the execution of the film is so drab and boring that you just can't wait for the film to finish. Also, when you take a subject that has some medical ailment behind it, it's always advisable to do some research, which clearly this film failed to do. Alzheimer's rarely is a death sentence and more often than not the patients lead a long life. Anyway, back to the film now. Michael is in his mid 40s and is a gay romance novel writer. He meets James at a bookstore and dating/romance soon follows. Michael has been feeling bouts of sickness where he suddenly forgets things and stuff gets blocked out. When he gets checked, he is told that he has early onset Alzheimer's and that he will need support of people around him, who love him and will see mood swings and that his life expectancy is only about 6 years. He keeps the information to himself but confides in a couple of friends. One of wh...

This film is the kind of slapstick comedy of errors, and to some extent, terrors, that occasionally bring a broad smile to the viewer’s face. Not to be taken seriously at all, a film like this is purely for entertainment purposes and entertainment it does provide. A light-hearted comedy with high farce, mildly progressive messaging, broad humour and slapstick gags, which also happens to have a ghost, this film brings laughs that are mostly effective. This film is remake of the Taiwanese film “Marry My Dead Body”, which I quite enjoyed actually. After waking from a nightmare, the late Titi’s grandma is told by a spiritual advisor that her son has unfinished business, which is likely getting married to a man. She’s instructed to leave a red envelope that fate will deliver to the right groom. Enter Menn, a hapless police informant whose love life is even more tragic than his career. He stumbles upon the envelope and is almost forced in to the marriage. On their wedding night, Menn is stun...

This film is supposed to be a thriller crime drama, which an intersex lead at the center of it all. The person is dealing with their childhood trauma and young adulthood 'trying to survive' stuff. Depending on how you see it, is either a film exploring nonbinary gender identity or a mesh-mash of a crime movie with a radically unorthodox queer protagonist. I wanted to like the film, but I felt like this film was trying to be a lot of things.  The film starts with us being introduced to Ponyboi, (who I first thought was trans female), who is a part time sex worker for New Jersey truck drivers and later arrives at the second job of laundromat. Ponyboi's best friend is the pregnant Angela, whose boyfriend Ninny also happens to be the pimp for Ponyboi (fucking them on the side). He is charming, sexy, alluring but also dangerous. It's valentines day and he asks Ponyboi to "tale care" of one of his clients with home cooked drugs. Things go wrong when this man dies be...

This mini series is a tender ode to young love with individuals struggling with their identity and hopes. Told over 6 episodes of a total runtime of about 70 minutes. The series is about Elly and his first summer after high school and people he meets. We are not spooned on what is Elly's background. All we know is that he has been dealing with some sort of depression and some sort of estrangement from his mother.  Series starts with Elly’s best friend, Rowen, picking him up at the hospital. Elly is going to be staying with her for a while. The setting is a very small town. Here Rowen introduces Elly to Yonah, same age and a recently out young man. ON Rowen's insistence the two boys start to hang out, despite initial reluctance by Elly but Elly starts too slowly enjoy this. Yonah is not doing anything to cure his depression but the company helps. Yonah is a dreamer himself, who likes to read books and write poetry and dreams of traveling. Elly meanwhile had been  painter and ha...

This film felt like an independent film with a runtime of just about an hour. On the plus side, the film just focuses on the story it wants to tell without having to stray into side plots. Sadly that is not enough to keep the focus of viewers. It felt like this could have ben a very good short film. The attempt, though noble, feels amateurish at various places. Despite the fact that the film doesn't drag, it still feels it could have ben tightly edited to make for a far better impact. The two good looking leads hold the film tightly together. The film is about the bond that forms between Ara, a local MMA fighter, and Kossi, a soccer player from Togo who faces hardship in Argentina. Ara, a local fighter notices an injured Kossi and somehow gets fascinated by him. It turns out that Kossi came here from Togo with a promise to join an elite football club that could change his life. But not only did the agent turn out be fraud, but now with the injury, he doesn't have place to live ...

Honestly I wouldn't call this a gay film at all. Categorizing this in BL genre is also pretty much borderline. There is no BL or romance as such, this film is more of a comedy that uses queer themes to explore a dangerous dynamic between the vampire and the boy. Adapted by a manga and an anime series of same name, I would not wanna see the anime now, especially since, there is in't too much of BL content here. Yes, it is funny but thats about it. Mori is a 450 year old vampire. Injured one day, he is taken home by a 5 year old boy Rihito. Since then, Mori has lived with Rihito and his family. He was given a cleaning job at their bathhouse. Mori works at night, rests during the day, and keeps a low-key routine. Mori has told the family he is vampire, but they all joke about it and cal it his 'persona'. Years have passed and Rihito is now 15. Mori always craves for young virgin blood and has his eyes on Rihito since he will turn 18 in three more years, but he also loves h...

This mockumentary series, is not gay series. The two lead actors play almost all roles, including female and gay characters and the sensibilities of the humor is something that might align better with gay audience and hence the review here. The idea of the series is to poke fun at flying at the friendly skies. The duo portray nearly 50 different characters who work at or pass through the fictional airport's imaginary terminal, from pilots, stewardesses and baggage handlers to coffee-kiosk workers and assorted traveling couples. Also it is important to remember that this series came back in 2010. The show has 6 episodes of about 30 minutes each. The series satirizes people who have the time and money to use airports regularly - people with respectable dayjobs, authority and status; people with a shot at a managerial role. It features a wide array of characters such as owner of low-cost airline FlyLo Omar Baba, work-shy coffee kiosk worker Precious Little, highly camp passenger liais...

Jia (Australia) Ming arrives in Australia to mourn her late son Yao. She embarks on a road trip with Eric, who she learns was in a romantic relationship with him, which challenges her conservative Chinese values. Their journey takes them through rural Victoria - where Ming scatters sand from Yao's hometown across the last places he travelled - eventually finding a shared language in their suffering. Beautiful, almost silent film. Realness With A Twist (UK) The film is about one man's balancing act between his love of football and his love of voguing. Torn between what seems like two completely different worlds, he struggles with considering his future in the sport. When an important opportunity opens up, he has to consider what the sport and his safety means to him. Ted & Noel (Documentary) (UK) After losing his partner, Noel, a devastated Ted Brown questions the impact of his activism and struggles to mount a new campaign. Can Ted find the strength for one last fight for L...