Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Queer holiday movies are something that can give you a warm cozy feeling but the timing has to be right. This film, unfortunately, is so slow moving, that irrespective of when and in what mood you watch it, you will lose interest. The acting is flat, there is not much going on and basically very low production and an extremely indie film that sadly leaves nothing memorable. Bailey is a single middle-aged man living with his medicated mother in Florida, who suffers from chronic pain. He’s also going through his own issues, having recently losing his dog by a tragic accident, and being informed that he will be losing his job at the end of the year due to company closure. His mother tells him that her close friend and her son Greyson are looking to move to their town and for that Greyson will come and spend 2-3 days with them. Greyson and Bailey used to be close friends when they were younger but it's been 30 years now. Greyson and Bailey spend a few days together remembering memories...

There are so few comedy stuff out there that every content that comes out is anticipated a lot. I did not know anything about this 6 part Canadian series, but I was happy to be pleasantly surprised. It is exactly the light queer kinda comedy we need right now. It is about relationships, the many and varied forms they can take, and the many and varied challenges and obstacles they present, both real and imagined. Each episode explores the challenges of queer love through new client stories, tackling themes of anxiety, commitment issues, and unconventional relationships. These clients and their stories reflect various topics about queer dating, love, and sex. Mason runs a podcast about love. Relationships and settling down while also running a match making business for queer personnel, a welcome change from the plethora of apps available. He has been married to Jarod for a few years , who has been very supportive of the business but of late Jarod feels that his work is more important for...

The fact that this film came out back in 1978 in itself is a big surprise to me. Sure, from a story perspective there may not be much going here, but again the fact that the film was made years ago is HUGE deal. The life of gays and transvestites portrayed with empathy in a comedy that has Bent, a factory worker, as its main protagonist. We meet his mother, who makes no bones about having always wished for a daughter rather than a son; his closet days at work; and his let-it-all-hang-out off hours with kind. Brent, an aging gay man is the main protagonist of the story. He is a huge fan of his mother, whose used to be a famous artist and is now on death bed with cancer. He has lived in the shadow of his famous mother all his life, and is constantly trying to survive and find out who he really is by stealing and doing odd jobs here and there. Along the way, we meet his group of eccentric and quirky friends, who might be a bit more colorful than most people. A woman friend who runs a bar,...

English Teacher functions as a workplace sitcom, following a group of well-meaning teachers at the Austin, Texas based High School, with central focus on our English Teacher Evan who is gay and proud and whose professional and personal lives never seem to be in order; leading to a lot of funny lol situations. While keeping humour alive, the show keeps focus also on what it means being an openly gay, or even just an extremely liberal, teacher working in an otherwise conservative community. The first season of this show has 8 episodes of about 22 minutes each, a typical sitcom format. We are introduced to Evan Marquez, a high school English teacher who is generally late to school but mostly loved by students. In first episode, Evan is being put under school investigation after a parent reports him for kissing his now ex-boyfriend, fellow ex-teacher-cum-tech bro Malcolm, in front of her son. Much of the season’s first half revolves around Evan’s futile attempts to navigate this scandal wi...

Three unconventional housemates - a daycare worker, an escort and a senior widow - navigate relationships and existential crises while supporting each other through mishaps and getting high together. Apparently this was an article that occurred in a magazine based on which the film makers decided to turn this into a fun fledged series. The show has been 2 seasons of 5 and 6 episodes respectively averaging at a 10 minute duration each. Ian, a day care worker running an after school program and his boyfriend Lamar (a nurse and a prostitute) move in with a scrappy old widow Delores in her house. The first season focuses more on the adjustments these three people are doing to be with each other, while getting to individually know them better. Ian gets berated by angry mums from the daycare he works at; Lamar meets a client he escorts for but the hookup goes sideways; and Delores has a private lesson with her choir director that gets steamy. Then pillow talk between Ian and Lamar turns into...

Twilight Out of Focus is a Japanese anime BL which advertised two leads, Hisashi and Mao, but the series is actually a collection of three different relationships: Hisashi and Mao, Jin and Giichi, and Rei and Shion. They’re all students of an all-boys boarding school, and they’re all either members or tied to the film club. Each couple gets three to four episodes to tell their story, with the series ultimately ending focusing on Hisashi and Mao, the first couple introduced. The series has 12 episodes of about 22 minutes each. Mao and Hisashi - They meet as roommates first. Hisashi seemed aloof and barely socialized with anyone at school. He rejected Mao's attempts to socialize with him. One day when Hisashi breaks down in the room, he confesses that he is gay. Mao responded positively by showing him a lot of support. Moved by his kindness, Hisashi began to warm up to his roommate. They talked more often, grew closer, and eventually became close friends. Mao is a part of a film club...

There is not a whole lot happening in this series. It’s the kind of familiar, silly college romance, where the lead is completely confused over whether his crush likes him back, despite having kissed each other. It ss genre that was really popular just when BL series were starting to pick up but now as audience I have a lot to choose from. Despite a paper thin plot, the series has a lot of light hearted moments and silly moments between friends that keep you engaged for a while. But spanning over 17 episodes of about 50-65 minutes, this shows asks for almost 16 hours of investment; which by the end of it doesn't feel worth it despite it being successful in keeping a smile on your face. Easter and North are college roommates who have just stated university and are eagerly looking for college life making new friend. Eater joins a club whose president is Hill, a very popular medical student, who has three other friends and the one we will focus on is Johan, who is from a very wealthy ...

Never Let Him Go is a four-part docuseries about the mysterious death of Scott Johnson, an openly gay academic whose naked body was found at the bottom of a cliff near Sydney in December, 1988, and the grueling, decades-long investigation his brother Steve launched to get to the bottom of the case spending over 30 years of his life to get the justice. An American prodigy studying in Australia, Scott had a bright future ahead of him. But it was cut short when his body was found at the bottom of a cliff, naked and mutilated, with police concluding simply that Scott had committed suicide. Over the course of decades, however, multiple leads would come up that suggest Scott could’ve been one of the many hate crime victims whose violent and bias-motivated end went unacknowledged. In four efficiently edited, objectively studied yet emotionally told episodes, Never Let Him Go tracks this years-long affair and studies how it evolved from a simple unresolved mystery to a landmark case that expos...

For a change a BL story that felt very realistic in terms of storyline or even how characters would talk and react etc. They’re messy and unpredictable. Which gives the viewers a roller coaster journey as the leads try to figure out themselves and their relationship in the story. I did not think that a BL story between a Filipino and a Korean guy set in LA could have to much merit, but actually this series turned out to be good fun. With just 7 episodes of about 22-25 minutes each, it is an easy watch. Filipino filmmaker Andre Lee wins the Grand Jury Award at a Los Angeles film festival for his short film, but his celebration is cut short when he falls victim to a scammer ho takes away a lot of his money with big Hollywood dreams. He nows needs a place to stay and he is also determined to find the thief. He finds Joshua, a hardworking Korean immigrant, online who is looking for a roommate. As they share the space, there s something about Joshu that Andre becomes drawn to Joshua but Jos...

This films feels like another one of those breezy films lacking emotional depth, where the film maker is probably lost somewhere on trying to make a point. It's a shame because it's from the director who made one of my fav films "The Way He Looks". It's not that the film is bad but there is really not much memorable to take home with you once you are done watching the film.  Joao is a 32-year-old filmmaker living in San Paulo, who after ending his 10-year relationship with Hugo, turns to dating apps in search of another boyfriend. He believes that the relationship ended on a. High note which is good, because just like a TV series you don't wanna leave when things get boring. He throws himself on dating apps but doesnt jump to meet people. He wants to take things slow. meets up with a couple, Alexandre and Rodrigo, and his voyeurism leads to an unforeseen career flirtation. He also meets Viktor, whom he likes but after a couple of flings dthatfades away as well...

This film has been so much in news for so many reasons. Daniel Craig playing a gay man and the film being directed by "Call Me By Your Name" film, the expectations are naturally going to be extremely high. I have to sadly say that this film was extremely underwhelming. By the time things were wrapping up, I couldn’t have cared less, and that’s a shame. Queer takes place in Mexico City in 1950. William Lee is an opioid addicted homosexual American expat, who meanders the local bar scenes day and night searching for intimate connections with younger men. He is searching for validation and scraps of love that could temporarily lift him from the shackles of being unseen.  When he meets a former American soldier, Eugene, Lee believes he may have found the strong connection he never envisioned for himself. William becomes completely infatuated by the idea of being close to him, meek and unsure of himself as he tries to express his desires through coded glances and awkward gestures,...

"Herec," which means 'Actor' is a compelling portrayal of a young gay actor navigating the oppressive regime of early communist Czechoslovakia. It shows how he is used by various people for their benefits focusing on the realistic depiction of the political pressures faced by artists during that era, particularly the forced use of actors as spies for the state. The miniseries is a study of human character and acting in extreme situations where the question of the hero's morality and behaviour is far from clear. This three part series is a gripping thriller, where each episode is 70-90 minutes long. Now this may not be a gay story per say, but its quite relevant since the story os about a closet gay upcoming actor, who is used by communists to get intimately involved with some powerful men and what the repercussions are. Set in the 1950s during the communist regime,  Láník is introduced as a talented yet undera-ppreciated actor grappling with the challenges of the ...

An interesting initiative by Hallmark channel in fall of 2024. They came up with a romantic comedy trilogy titled The Groomsmen. This innovative series focuses on three best friends (2 straight and one gay) navigating the journey of love and matrimony from the unique perspective of groomsmen. I will of course focus just on the gay film, which is the second one in the series, but let's do a quick background. Danny, Jackson, and Pete are childhood friends who have always been there for each other. In the first part we see Pete meeting the love of his life at Danny's (the gay one) sister's wedding. Pete has a teenage daughter who also spends a lot of time with this trio. Danny is in love with Zack, his business manager who also happens to be his best friend. His friends Danny and Pete know about it but Danny is scared to express his feelings because he fears if it's not reciprocated, he may even miss out on a friend. Zack is now dating Nolan and this bothers Danny. Soon en...

Our Youth is a Japanese BL series about the romance between a top student and his delinquent classmate. The drama is drama is packed with substance and emotional depth and the cinematography is wonderful. The leads have a good chemistry especially when a slow but compelling romance develops between the two over the course of time. The show is 10 episodes plus a special 11th episode, each of about 24 minutes. Minase,a high school student is very diligent with his studies, a good student and admired by all the teachers too. His mother who mostly stays abroad wants him to go to US for further studies. His father is a busy film director and keeps his distance from the family. So Minase mostly lives by himself.  And then we have Haruki, skips classes, smokes cigarettes, and spends time with a rough crowd. One day while walking Minase watches Haruki being badly beaten up by his drunk father, but he doesn't do anything. Later that night he finds Haruki alone on the bench, and a conversati...

Slashr (USA) In the depths of a remote mountain cabin, the quiet tranquility quickly turns into a nightmarish battleground for Ashkan, a young man on the rebound from an unexpected breakup. But what was supposed to be a relaxing retreat becomes a terrifying struggle for survival as he finds himself pursued by a relentless killer. Interetsing film with an extremely hot main lead. Agaves Al Alba (Mexico) [Agave Echoes] Under the dawn of the agave fields , Alejandro and Miguel, two friends with a special bond, confront an inevitable farewell. A last drink and dance in a bar, a night in tent , together, intimacy near agave field. Amidst memories, their emotions intensify, challenging the boundaries of their friendship. Verdade Ou Desejo (Brazil) [Truth Or Desire] Lucas and Diego, two college students, have neglected their academic responsibilities and now face the challenge of catching up. They plan a study session, but the meeting soon turns into something far more intimate. As they engag...

This slow film sensitively examines a gay couple at a crossroads, while exploring the topic of HIV that is as important today as it was a few years ago. Sadly, even though the intent was right, the makers did not have enough story material to play with leading to a lot of quiet shots and not much happening otherwise. The film is visually beautifully shot, but how I wish there was some more substance to it. Matteo and Riccardo are a couple and they are about to celebrate their sixth month of relationship. As they go on a hike, Matteo has an episode where he feels unwell. It is soon revealed that Matteo is HIV-positive. Surprisingly Riccardo doesn't leave and says he will support Matteo. But despite Matteo asking him also to get tested, he doesn't because he is likely afraid to get to know his own status. Matteo, meanwhile, in unsure about what treatment to take. When Matteo suddenly heads off to visit Enzo, Riccardo is initially suspicious, but he soon learns Enzo is Matteo’s un...

TBH, To Be Honest, is NOT a gay web series. This has a very strong gay sub-plot but the show is mostly about teenage sin a high school and what happens in the aftermath of a shooting in one of the high schools in Brno, where the rules bordering on bullying are set by members of a floor hockey team and their groupies, a girl gang called Bitchez. In ten episodes, Czech Television’ s first original streaming series tells the story of searching for boundaries in the painful world of being a teenager, during a time of manipulative social media. The series has 10 episodes which run from 11 to 15 and a half minutes each In a high school, one day a stranger arrives shooting at students. Maja is an activist who live-streamed her fight for survival and now must deal with the resulting sudden internet fame. Unfortunately, she also streamed the awkward moments between the popular Nessa and her boyfriend, floorballist Luky. Because of the attack, floral captain jumps out of the window. It turns out...

So this is what it feels when you pick a slightly older BL show that is full of cliches, melodrama, and a whole lot of nothingness. This BL series had no real plot, no real conflict, or anything essential to the story that made it an ounce interesting. Thankfully with only 8 episodes of about 45 minutes each, they didn't unnecessarily stretch for 12 or more episodes. But despite all that, this show is a coherent mess. Trust the makers to know how to turn a simple beautiful love story into something so overdramatic that it becomes exhausting to watch. Nuea is moving form high school to university. He has always had a crush on his batch mate Kluen, to whom he confesses on the last day, but all he gets a sa repose is "have a safe flight", leaving Nuea heartbroken and devastated. A year later when they both meet in diversity, Nuea is so embarrassed by what happened, Nuea pretends not to know Kluen around the other students. Nuea insists he has gotten over Kluen and doesn'...

Finding one's identity and the search for love can be a difficult undertaking. For many in the queer community, the art of drag is used to gain a deeper understanding of oneself. Putting makeup on, dressing in glamorous outfits, and sporting luscious wigs can unlock an inner confidence. This French Canadian film Solo is not about a drag queen's journey but it explores the passionate highs and destructive lows of a doomed relationship, unravelling a fraught love affair before our eyes. Simon is one of Quebec’s premiere drag queens. His persona, is known for her fierce dance numbers and awe-inspiring outfits that are mostly prepared by his sister who he is extremely close with. His family including his father is also very supportive of his artistic endeavors.  He is also a successful makeup artist, so it appears that he has it all. But like most of us, he is also looking for love. Enter Oliver, a new performer in the same club and the duo very quickly fall head over heels in love...