Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

As expected a lot of films are being made set during the covid times. Taking the imposed restrictions around the circumstances of hotel quarantine, where when you travelled, one had to do a mandatory 14 day quarantine in a hotel, the film maker uses that as the story idea behind making this psychological horror thriller. I am not a big fan of horror and this wasn't really a scary horror film per se, but still at places it just felt to overstretched, which was bound to happen when you have a film which is almost just one character. Toby is an Australian actor living in US. He finds himself in a mandatory two week quarantine in a Brisbane hotel and is here to attend his father's funeral. He is trying to keep himself busy by doing online rehearsals for his play. Trapped inside this tiny room on his own, with no living soul in sight, Toby tries his best to stay on top of work and keep himself occupied. He also had to leave behind his boyfriend and it seems they are going through a ...

One of the many problems with this series is that attires to do too many things in little time. It wants to ta all BL tropes and add them all to this series. There is no real character development, shallow characters and motives, total lack of depth and many such. I think had I seen this 4 years ago when it came out, I might have thought of it a little better, but watching it today when there is so much evolution in asian BL, this just comes off as laughable.  A cafe owner has just been dumped by his girlfriend. He passes out but he bumps into this ‘girl’ who helps him get home and they end up having sex. He somehow cannot get her out of his head. The reality is that girl is actually a boy who occasionally dresses as girl to make online content o make extra cash. Incidentally, through his 2 other gay couple friends, he ends up getting a job as a waiter at the same cafe owned by the boss. We discover that this cafe owner is quite ‘lascivious’ and really treats females merely as sexu...

Trade is a dark love story that focuses on self-identity, exploration and one's fight for acceptance, which hits home with so many individuals today who fear from the backlash of being gay or transgender. It shows us the story of two men, one a streetwise hustler, the other a straight-laced lawyer, who meet and form a relationship that brings to light who they really are. ON paper the idea sounds good, but the biggest problem of the film is that the director doesn't know when to cut a particular scene. Some scenes in the film go on and on, while other's do not get proper closure. More on that later.  Shawn is a black gay man, who works on the street as a trans hustler Coco. He lives with his aunt. Then we meet Michael, a man married for 10 years, whose wive desperately wants to have a child, who is rich and a successful lawyer, but he has been hiding his identity of being gay and wanting to dress up as a female. The two have a chance encounter when Shawn is being harassed b...

This was a simple film addressing the issues of homophobia that is still prevalent in many parts of the society but the film takes a very comical take on it. Some folks may find it demeaning or putting gay community down, but if we cannot take a joke on ourselves, then we have a problem as a society. So, I would say that to briefly enjoy this film, do not look for much logic, just sit back and relax and try and smile and laugh for few minutes. Carlão is a prejudiced man who works in a car dealership. Since he was a kid, he was engrained in his Brian by his father who being a 'fairy' is not what a man should be. So when he is with friends he is always making homophobia slurs and jokes around. In fact when the new manager at car dealership show up, they all do not take him seriously as well. He is also part of the football team and together they frequent a bar where a fem gay man work and they all make fun of him.  Carlão always boasts of being the greatest soccer and mechanics s...

Taps (India) As they embark on a year of long-distance, a misunderstanding threatens to derail the domestic idyll Akshay and Rohan have built over the last four years​. It puts a microscope on a couple who navigate the journey to finding their way back to one another after unraveling. How are they gonna spend their last evening together? Fighting, loving or being naughty with one another? Decent attempt but not great! Read Aloud (USA) Justin is a film editor surrounded by performances. Sick of sitting in a dark room watching others, he starts to envision ‘70s cabaret style performances of his own. When a new relationship starts to develop, Justin has to decide how badly he wants to come out from behind the camera. This short film is about performance on and off stage - how Justin performs his roles as a gay man, as an editor, and as a twenty-something sexual being when he meets different guys for hookups. The Surf Report (USA) A ghostly love story unfolds as two men look for answers wh...

Based on the title, I was hoping that the film would be half decent, but seriously, the makers took a paper thin plot and I am amazed how they managed to make a full fledged film out of it. This film could easily have been wrapped up in a very quick short film. The film explores themes of sexuality, relationships, and identity 32 year old busy banker Roberto has a decent life going with his girlfriend Elia. Roberto is very well dressed, doesn't like clutter, neat freak etc. Things change when he meets a young college going kid Cris through an app. Cris comes over to his house a few times and they talk about multiple things while having drinks (assuming it's a way of Roberto delaying the moment of sex) and Cris making him rethink of his sexuality because maybe he is gay. One weekend when Elia is away, Cris spends the night and Elia shows up unexpected the next day. She doesn't think much but clearly this makes Roberto very uncomfortable with the situation and meanwhile Cris ...

Oscar Wilde has had quite a few films made on him covering various chapters of his life. I was looking forward to this film hoping to learn something new again, but this film really could've done with a round of storyboarding and editing and maybe a script or even a premise. This pseudo documentary style film reimagines the famous novelist’s 1882 tour of America as taking place at a present-day coast-to-coast road trip. According to the makers, the film is an optimistic reflection of contemporary life in the U.S., where the flamboyant Wilde can find the self-liberation and acceptance that eluded him in his own era. In 1882, the 27-year-old Wilde embarked on a 150-city tour of the United States, which set records for ticket sales at many of the venues he appeared and made nationwide headlines. Despite never having been to America before, Wilde was hailed and welcomed as a literary genius with an unflagging spirit and a unique wit — both of which are conveyed in the film. This romp r...

Had I seen this BL back in 2021 when it came out, I might have a slightly more appreciation for the show than what I have right now. And to be honest, as of today, I don't really have much to say about the show. It just made me realize how basic were the stories that were being told in BL context from most Asian countries and makes me appreciate how we have grown both in terms of storytelling and the production efforts that are going in every year to make these stories bigger and better. This series was 6 episodes of about 25-30 minutes each and honestly was all over the place. The basic premise is between Phuc and Tung who share a on-again-off again relationship. Phuc is staying with his cousin in countryside. When Tung visits his parents who are neighbors, they are not home so Tung ends up staying with Phuc. They were likley boyfriends or had feelings before, but Tung is a bit envious and jealous by nature. He once saw Phuc hugging another boy, who was Tung's brother and sinc...

Using topics like alcoholism and sexual abuse, this B grade film mixes genres like murder mystery, slash horror, queer identity etc making it a decent watch at least once. But honestly, dont have too much expectations from this. ITs heart might be in the right places but it's rough in many places. A topic like this need to be handled with sensitivity and care and experience which is clearly missing in this film. A year after a failed suicide attempt, Alex is trying to get back his life in order. Thanks to a good sponsor, he is on his way to reconcile with his father. Alex, a gay man, has intimacy issues with men as a result of an unhealthy relationship with his father. But when he reaches there, he finds his father murdered. The shock is softened by a cold comfort; Alex inherits his childhood home so long as he can make the back payments. Enter Shane, a good looking, muscular and enigmatic Shane, who immediately swoons over Alex and despite red flags and warnings form his best frie...

This was a very cute fluffy, no frills romantic film. It focused on the core story without diverting our attention to anything happening on the side, which was good in this case. A simple, straight forward, slice of life love story between two adult men which almost feels like a teenager's first love. I can see some people may find it too simple, but for me it worked. Ayuma is a shy guy who works in an office. One day when the vendor machine refill guy is working there, he talks to him using his desire to add orange juice to the options as an opportunity to talk to the man he’s been crushing on. In turn the next day the guy introduces himself as Yamashita and gives him his business card with his personal chat id. The duo exchange a few messages. The next day Yamashita invites Yuma to join him for dinner, which they both very much enjoy. Later Ayuma confesses to him that he is gay and he wants to be honest because sending tine with Yamashita is starting to give him feelings. Yamashi...

Silent Sparks is a Taiwanese movie about two gay gangsters and their secret relationship. But more than a gay film, I feel this film was more focused on probably the cons of being just aging member na dhow there is no getting out of it. This slow-burn film moves too slowly and takes forever to come to a point. From uneventful scenes to mundane chats, I was mostly bored. The gay romance also takes too long to develop. By the time there's a spark, the movie ends. Whatever the film tries to show could have been better achieved by a short film, which essentially shows two gangsters trying to hide their feelings from one another and everyone around them. Pua is a warehouse worker struggling to make ends meet. In addition to his regular job and odd gigs, he takes on gangster work as an underling. His mother is always worried about him. He has just come out of prison and again doesn't hesitate to break the law to make ends meet. His boss pretends to care about him. We then meet Jimmy,...

As per its director, The Writer is a film that explores the art of conversation. And I couldn't agree more. Two people in an apartment talking. Sure we will talk about further nuances of things, but watching this film I wondered if this would have been better enjoyed as a play. You see, for films like this you need to have patience, which is scarce in today's time. A story of two friends and former lovers who reconnect after any many years asking questions about what defines us as human beings, whether politically, sexually or nationally. Their talk jumps back and forth from the public to the private, as if in an attempt to provide an overview of past repression and today’s prejudices towards queer people through private experiences, against the backdrop of ongoing political turbulence between the East and the West. Ethnically Russian and now Lithuanian Dima is in New York for an interview. He meets his old friend and ex-lover Kostas (original Lithuanian and now American). Thro...

This is BL show from Myanmar, clearly inspired heavily from the Thai BL shows that are based in university and schools. The ending felt a bit open ended and something that I was not expecting and also I am not sure what the makers were trying to say, but at least the world of BL is expanding. With 9 episodes each of about 10 minutes, the show moves slow even though there is a proper story, I feel like the screenplay and direction lacks finesse, but good for the attempt I would say. Also what's up with the name? Should it be 'My Heart' looking at the heart on posters? The show starts with a girl being killed in a bar and fast forward one year later. Thu Kha is a young boy studying in school. He has some heart condition but is overall ok. A new student Nay Thit joins the same school after getting expelled from previous school. He becomes friends with Thu Kha and his friends and soon enough the two have some spark going between them, despite rumors around Nay Thit having anger...

Internalized homophobia can be a powerful force. We tend to think of it simply as lingering shame, or even as something that goes away upon coming out, but in fact its can take many different forms and is often culturally specific. We have seen many films about homosexuality and religion.  Add to that superstition and witchcraft and you get a nice little new genre that we probably have not seen before in gay films in recent times. With Egypt as the background and it looks visually stunning, this film is a taut, suspenseful thriller about gay men trying to reconcile their homosexuality against their family’s religious beliefs. It gets intense with several jump scares, but it is artfully made. Mo and Hisham are a couple who are visiting Egypt to meet Mo's mother after his father's death month ago. They need to pretend to be just friends in order to stay safe in Egypt’s very homophobic environment. Coming back to Egypt, however, leaves Mo especially anxious and uneasy, because he ...

What a wasted opportunity!! This isn’t a gay movie per se but the main lead is a gay teenage, which makes me wonder how this film could have been such a nice cute teen gay love story. I am not sure why the makers are marketing this as a thirst trap film to gay men. I guess whatever to see tickets. This is more like a coming of age for a teen film and generally more about life and nothing really about sexuality or anything. I hate it when I spent so much time thinking there would be substantial gay plot and end up being disappointed. Salvi is a 17 year old Mexican origin teen who is a brilliant student. He gets into USC but has no money to pay for it. A new student Gabriel in his class and him have just started to get along and clearly there is some spark between the two. To make money, Salvi starts to work with a local drug dealer Lucky, who is simultaneously homoerotic and very homophobic. Lucky shows Salvi the ropes and they get along great until Lucky beats up a gay man for little t...

This series was made in 2024, so there is no excuse for making it so cringy, atrocious and bad. I am realizing that these low production Filipino have some standard templates. 2-3 hot guys withe Nic bodies, then 2-3 trans girls to provide comic relief and lust over other hot guys, take the setting on a nice resort or something, then put some 5-6 extra chatters who add absolutely nothing to the main story line and then somehow weave a story around all this. This worked when some of the Asian countries were just starting in the bL race like right around 2021 during covid, but to make such atrocity now is no excuse at all. Thankfully this lasts for only 6 episodes each of 15-20 minute duration. Max and Sky are a gay couple. Suddenly Max decides to go abroad and work so that their life can be better. Sky is sad to see him go but understands and they both hope that they will be able to make this long distance relationship work. After a few days, seeing that how sad Sky is, his group of frie...

Firstly this is not really a movie. It is more like 6 episodes stitched together for a total of about 50 minutes. Now I dont know if the came this way or the version I saw was more like 6 episodes stitched together, whatever be the case, it was just a bit silly and something that I did not enjoy much. The story was basic, acting slightly over the top, and really not much memorable to take back home. Troy recently moved to Brooklyn with his friend Pat and his then-boyfriend Chance, but Troy and Chance broke up, and haven’t yet post-processed the breakup to see if they might reconcile. Troy works as a busboy and just generally walks around grumpy and bitter, still having feelings for his ex. When a new neighbor moves in, the sweet looking 29 year old middle school teacher Abel, Troy's hope for a rekindled romance with his ex-boyfriend gets officially placed on the back burner. Troy and Abel begin getting to know one another, complicating the “will they or won’t they” reunion with Cha...

Layla is a beautifully observed narrative of love, sex, gender and friendship. The summary of the film doesnt even encapsulate everything that the film is trying to show. It says "When Layla, a struggling Arab drag queen, falls in love for the first time, they lose and find themself in a transformative relationship that tests who they really are." It is a pleasure to have a film that revolves around drag performers; not having them at the periphery of the narrative as dressing, but centering their stories and granting visibility to their interiority. The love journey will be full of ups and downs, sometimes you may or may not agree to what you see, but rest assured that everything is handled with a gentle touch that a subject of this nature deserves. Layla is introduced living in London with their community of queer friends, performing drag and attending parties together. They have amazing rapport with each other. In one such parties, Layla meets Max, A conventional very stra...

I saw the first two of the show a few years back, and had no idea on when did the third season come out. It's really hard to keep up these days. I actually had to go back to my review to read and refresh my memory on what the series was about so I could appreciate this season. Consisting of 8 episodes of 10-12 minutes each, the story carries forward from where we left off in season 2. A quick recap: Jason and Brian were together for many years before Jason got cancer and he passed. Brain has a very close circle of friends and support system and he tried to move on with a new guy David and since Brian could never let go off Jason, it didn't really work out with David. The season continues with the story where we see that Brian has immersed himself in work and despite the fact that he wants to move on from Jason, his friends and support system around him don't let that happen. In fact, the ghost of Jason still continues to talk to Brian. At a friend's recommendation, Bria...