Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

'Aichaku' means attachment in Japanese and this feels like a very appropriate title for this film. It was a very interesting film with a nice storyline and to an extent the makers did a good job of executing it. But still somehow something was missing to make this film really good. And I have thought hard on it and I still cant out my finger at the 'what'. Anyway, it's a unique take of being gay in countryside Japan and also what is it like for a foreigner to live in Japan. Lukas is an American expat living in countryside. He is an English teacher but can barely make ends meet. He dreams of buying a roadside cafe which is up for sale but can't afford it. His landlady secretly hopes that she can hook her daughter up with Lucas to marry him, since she has already spent time in US doing her graduation. In the same town, we meet Ken, who is half Japanese. His mother left him and went back to US when he was one year old ands father committed suicide. His uncle raised...

Write what you know, as the saying goes - so if you don’t know it, do the research. Take cue from this. Saying, this film is a wonderful exploration of a young queer writer, hoping to write his first novel, but his way of research ends up being him actually joining the world of sex work and what does that do to him personally and professionally. This film is a very interesting take on modern day love, sex and ambition. The story is about 25-year-old Max Williamson. He works as a freelancer writer in a London literary magazine. He has also published a couple of short stories and is also working on writing his first novel about male gay sex workers. What his publishers and friends do not know is that Max's written assignments and novel draft -describing a gay escort's encounters with men- are not based on interviews but on his personal experience. At some point Max has becomes Sebastian in the online escort world. We witness this in the first scene when Max (as Sebastian) gets hi...

I am not much of a video game fan, but like me, if you were trying to avoid this film, because of that, STOP! This film is actually pretty decent. It is a compelling look at how a video game can provide not only entertainment, but a sense of community for those lacking it in their real lives. It's about the loss of love, safety, and human interaction. The video game is just the catalyst for it all, and it all actually ties in pretty good. I found myself liking the film. Pablo and his sister Apo are very close siblings. They both have been playing a game called Darknoon, a fantasy role-playing game that has no real aim, but provides an alternative world in which you can create an ideal version of yourself, and run around fighting battles, slaying monsters and meeting other characters. But it is announced that Darknoon will soon shut down for good. While Pablo doesn't care much, she is devastated by the idea, especially since all her connections have been in the virtual world. Pa...

“What About Me?” is a bold, short-form dark comedy series about queer grief, identity and Hollywood absurdity. Its 6 episodes each roughly about 10 minutes premiered on YouTube and is a rollercoaster of emotions navigating between grief, depression, comedy, family absurdity; while the story itself felt both relatable but absurd and silly. It's a short form but production was top notch and so was acting and direction. The story starts with a funeral of Jake, whose sister Jill is giving the speech. We are introduced to Josh at the same time, sitting in a toilet cubicle, browsing a gay hook up app. Turns out Josh and Jake were twins, with vastly different lives. Jake was straight, a famous Hollywood actor; while Josh is gay and a bakery supervisor. With Jake passing away now, every family member including mother, grandma, sister and most importantly his shadow, his twin brother Josh would need to confront their unresolved feelings - all while grieving. The sister finds out she is preg...

It is a shame to see a series that started out so well has now become almost painful to watch and sit through with its latest season 3. Season 2 was also average, at best. The show, primarily about Adam, tried to mix humour and some heartfelt moments navigating through Adam's everyday life as a gay man. The writing here in season 3 has gotten weak, and some of the newly introduced characters were pretty bad actors. The dialog is long winded and often pointless, and the actors are clearly untrained and inexperienced, making many scenes difficult to endure. More on that later. This season has 7 episodes of about 18 minutes each. Season 3 has Adam has moved to Sydney for his work he does for Single, Out magazine. He is now visiting back home for few days. We are introduced to Ethan, Adam's 20 year old half brother who is an aspiring writer. The father asks Adam to see if he can get him some work at the magazine office. Surprised with the ask, Adam manages to get him a job, silentl...

Oh my!! This series shows teen angst in such detail and deep, especially in today's world of social media and TikTok; being a teenager is something I absolutely do not miss. Remember the days, when you don't know if your crush likes you back or not, or you wait for hours to hear a response back to your message. To not have to second-guess and burn in your own self-imagined hell of rejection, before even a confession can be made. All this and more is shown frustratingly well in this series. Although you feel like shaking these teenagers every time they do something stupid, because it's like A likes B, who likes C, but C likes D, and D likes A while some of these are close friends too. This is a royal teen mess, sometimes in the truest sense of way. 7 episodes each about an hour or longer.  We have four main characters here. Fou4Mod starts to crush onhis senior Chian since he sees him at the train station. The two start bond by getting their nails done together, however, Chia...

This gay film has a lot that it unpacks. Tackling with the deep themes, such as budding love, the unsaid, the complexity of adolescence and the cruelty of bullying, the film is an interesting take. Set in two different timelines, the film is set in early 2000's with taking a flashback into the summer of 1983 when the two protagonists Paul and Joseph met. The sensitivity with which the sincere portrait of adolescence is drawn up in the first part and the reunion 20 years later of Paul and Joseph having made their adult life a vibrant, this touching story remains intact in their relationship despite the vagaries of life. On his wedding day, Paul's very pregnant wife surprises him by inviting an old friend of his Joseph, whom he hasn't seen for almost 20 years. With the burning memories of their meeting that summer of 1983, Paul is overwhelmed by doubts about the choices of a lifetime and the emotions of this forbidden relationship. Back in 1983, we see Paul was a shy teenager...

While we expect shows from Taiwan to be quite nice, this one disappoints. The story is full of clichés, nothing new is told and it's the same old love story. No attempt has been done to detail out any of the characters and the story is just super simple. Honestly, I expect more from Taiwan. Having said that, its a cute little love story that gives you slight warm feelings but once it ends, you are left with nothing at all, and that's because this show doesn't offer anything new or different. The series is 9 episodes of about 30 minutes each. Since it is going to be hard to remember names, I will address them by their characters. A college art student is grappling with making something beautiful. His professor sends him to a coastal town for one month as a substitute art teacher, also hoping that he will get some inspiration to finish his art project. There he mets the homestay owner and his younger brother who studies art in the local school. This younger brother and the co...

It seems like everyone is loving this show and is going almost crazy about it. We will get to what I think, a bit later. But I do have to say that the makers have really taken the production quality quite a few steps high with this show. The cinematography and visuals are top tier, they have focused on music and choreography (given the central theme is about 5 boys in a band) and have not taken any thing lightly. I am not sure of any of the actors are real life singers as well, but I am going to try to review this series as objectively as possible. The show is 13 episodes and thankfully all episodes are about 45 minutes, which was a welcome change after the last few shows which all seem to be hovering at about an hour duration each. Po, a young photographer is lost in life. His ex used him, draining his talent and then left him. He does odd jobs here and there to keep afloat. So when a friend offers him a dream job—capturing the final moments of the beloved T-pop band MARS before they ...

This is how some series should be (take a cue Asian BLs). I mean, just 6 episodes, each of 11 minutes each and the mini-series says so much with so little. I love every single second of it. Poignant, sentimental, emotional and with respect and dignity it shows us a story about one man's past trying to reconcile with his present. As per the director of the show, he wanted to focus on son the show on young adults and whether teenagers in 2025 realize that not so long ago it was quite hopeless to fall in love with someone of the same sex. Things have changed drastically between 2000 and current times. This series tells the story of Seb, a father who comes out as a gay in 2025 and thus ends his relationship with his child's mother. What follows is an intimate portrait of personal growth, identity and the search for acceptance. Seb is in the middle of divorce from his wife and the teenage daughter doesn't understand it. In pain, Seb blurts out, "Because I am gay". The ...

This is a mystery/horror genre of film. This one again, I would not call a gay film per se, since the focus is not sexuality. The lead characters just happen to be gay and even if they were straight, the film could still have been the same. The film was a straight forward one. Films in this genre usually need a lot more suspense/background and chills to scare the audience, which I thought was missing here. But given whatever little it did, it was fine. Thomas and Beni are a happy gay couple in Berlin. But Thomas is struggling with getting his residency papers sorted. Around same time he gets the news that his mother has passed away back home in Brazil, whom he had not seen in about 10 years. Once back in Brazil, he finds out that he has now inherited the country house that is being taken care of by two of his grand aunts. Beni and Thomas decide to visit the place is hopes to sell it, and also of course, Thomas craves for some family connection. Once in the house, Thomas, as expected, i...

Based on a novel by the same name, this TV series is a beautiful drama of two gay men in their 70s having hidden their identity all their life and finally coming to terms with it. Barry and Morris have been in love since their youth and emigrated from Antigua to London when they were younger. Now in their 70s, they remain committed lovers and partners in all ways except publicly. I had never heard of this series till the lead actor of this show recently won the BAFTA award for Best actor drama and that made me go and look for the show and boy am I glad or what! Even before I start writing more, I can say that this show is magnificent, beautiful, vibrant and very moving. The show is 8 episodes of 30 minutes each. Our lead character here is Barry, a charming 75-year-old Antiguan descent man and a successful businessman, husband, beloved father and grandfather. But he also has a secret. He has been lovers for over 50 years with his best friend Morris. They have been friends since their bo...

This little Korean series is cute and all but honestly we have seen this story play out so many times, that it does not hold any novelty at all anymore. Plus, the lack of chemistry between the leads and the slow pacing makes these episodes very dull. The story line is pretty thin and there are no real dramatic moments or anything. Sure, it's a sweet drama and easy watch but won't leave you with anything memorable. With 8 episodes each of 24-25 minutes average, this is how I like my episodes in terms of both number and duration. Woohyun is a high school senior with a secret crush on Jeongmin, his homeroom teacher and club advisor. Woohyun is drawn to his teacher's warm personality and quickly becomes smitten. One day he gives a hint to his teacher that he likes someone but never tells the name. He does understand that student-teacher relationship is taboo and even if he confesses, this will go nowhere. We then meet Park Doha, Woohyun's classmate and best friend, who figu...

The original 1993 "A Wedding Banquet" film is a cult classic film that showed us a cultural dynamic that East Asians have grappled with for centuries, especially in the queer space. The 2025 movie, like a second generation Asian American, knows intimately the struggle of this one weird moment of displacement in our modern era. While the reference of this one is still the original film, but this new version gives its own spin making to more of a drama than a comedy film. And maybe it's my bad. I expected more of a romcom, but it felt like a deep romantic movie with a lot of serious and thoughtful ideas conveyed and some comedy to lighten it up. We have 4 main characters here. After a second unsuccessful IVF treatment, Seattle lesbian couple Angela and her partner Lee, who would have carried the pregnancy, hit a wall as to how to proceed with their relationship. Financially, they can’t afford to keep trying, and the prospect of another disappointment hurts too much. Their t...

Let me start by saying this "I absolutely loved this film" Its clearly made with a lot of love, heart, emotion and understanding. Sure, being Indian myself and living in US, it connects with me deeply at a cultural level but even if that was not the case, the film succeeds in showing some raw universal emotions that a lot of folks will be able to connect to. This isn’t just a story about Indian families or arranged marriage it’s about love, identity, and the longing we all have to be seen and accepted. The film beautifully shows the struggles queer people face across cultures, and how family, love, and fear can all coexist in the same space. The film starts with an Indian wedding of Arundhati getting arranged marriage to a soon-to-be surgeon, a catch for any girl. The parent are overjoyed and everyone keeps posting to the brother Naveen, reminding him that he is next. He is gay, which his parents gingerly accept. However, it is his family’s culture not to discuss feelings, fe...