Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Another one of those trashy shows from Signal23TV. This one can easily be classified as glorified porn if the first episode and the others that follow are to be seen and believed. With 10 episodes of about 18-20 minutes each, the show started well. At least there was supposed to be a story, but soon you realize that the target audience is very different. I like porn as much as the other person, but what I do not want is to be tricked into watching a series which ends up being porn. Tex is released from prison and enters the new world where he enters a journey of finding himself. He is a prison inmate serving time for attempted murder when he lashed out on a gay basher and almost kills him. Tex is a dark soul and is very disconnected with the world because of his past. His life changes when he is released from prison on a new program and has to transition to becoming a law abiding citizen again. Johnson is assigned to his case as a parole officer and is challenged to breakdown the walls...

The Year I Lost My Mind is an art house film filled with suspense and beautiful imagery. The story deals with anonymity and sexual desire. Interestingly the film barely has any dialogues and even where they are, those scenes could easily be removed and the core of the film will still remain the same. the film manages to get it’s point across with mood and visuals. It is essential a thriller dripping with sex and lust. Our protagonist is Tom, who has weird kinky fetish for masks. The first glimpse into his bedroom shows his wall adorned with a variety of masks and throughout the film Tom wears them while out and about. He spends his days robbing people's houses with his friend and his nights wearing a mask so he can enjoy anonymous hook-ups with men he meets on apps. One night they break into an apartment to find its occupant, Lars, asleep in his underwear. Tom is intrigued by Lars as he sleeps and the homoerotic painting hanging on his bedroom wall. After leaving the apartment, Tom...

This film was like the Thai version of Japanese pink films. While it may be an erotic movie (which is really obvious), the 'plot' they tried to put in was really bad, and didn't work at all. Honestly, I spend 2 hours watching this movie, and I still have no idea what was actually going on, besides some people almost being murdered and constant sex between multiple of the characters. At least Japanese films are more comprehensible. The story was something like the (I think). Cherry is a bipolar lady who has a gang (in a deserted building) where Playboy and Gold Hair prostitute. James is an drug addict who like works for Cherry. Boy is Cherry's "sex instrument". James, Cherry and Gold Hair are in love with Playboy but Playboy is in love with Boy. James gets tired of Cherry and decides to betray her and free Playboy and himself but Playboy leaves with Boy. At the end, we don't know who finishes dead; James or Cherry. The directing, pacing, plot, script, cinem...

Abu (father) is an autobiographical film about a gay son’s relationship with his devout Muslim father. Arshad Khan, the filmmaker and subject, examines how his father ABU went from an open-minded man to a devout Muslim and breaks down the reasons for such a radical change in personality. Issues of psychological, sexual and physical abuse, and the pangs of rebirth through migration and through coming out, are laid bare using over 30 years of archival family footage that give a glimpse into an extraordinarily well documented family. The story of the Khans begins around the time of Partition.  Arshad Khan’s father, orphaned, comes to the newly formed Pakistan with his siblings. Under the care of relatives, he gets educated, enrolls in the Pakistan Army, gets married and has a brood of children. He is among the few in his social circle to own a video camera, and he records picnics, home parties and festival celebrations. And many of the footage from these home videos is used. We are to...

We have seen a few films that looks at a person's inner turmoil when it comes to balancing religion with homosexuality. Some all these films have christianity as the religion. I cant remember many other films where a similar theme has been tackled. So in that sense this film is not breaking any ground. But in its own subtle way, it tries to tell a story at the excruciating inner tug-of-war between a preacher's homosexuality and his religious devotion. Eli, a young educated preacher has recently returned to his hometown with his pregnant wife to take over services at his late father’s struggling church, where he delivers cerebral sermons intended to “bring progressive thinking” to tradition-bound parishioners. Since he needs to compete with more modern churches, at the insistence of a pushy alcoholic man, Eli agrees to host a revival to help boost attendance and fill the coffers. One day in church, he meets a homeless drifter Daniel. He is dirty and looks homeless but you a stil...

This Channel 4 documentary was one of many topics covered by the program '50 Shades of Gay' to mark the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Britain. Stephen Fry presents the show and is joined by seven recognizable faces from the gay community, who visit the buildings that have been instrumental in defining Britain’s gay history. I am bad with the names of the celebrities who pick their favorites but I will try to remember as much as I can about the buildings. The documentary starts with one of the most famous nightclub in London named Heaven. The priest who tells his own story with the club also talks to other patrons who remind them all , how as marginalized community this club has always provided them with a safe haven. One of the women then picks Shibden Hall, Yorkshire, where she learns about the revealing diaries of owner Anne Lister. We hear stories of how this women, was a successful lesbian business owner in the 80s. The next celebrity delves ...

Talk about a train crash. I had no expectations from this show. But after 5 episodes, I was hooked, since it had a very intrinsic storyline and the charters were all well etched and I thought I am going to see something interesting. But oh man, how it just goes down south after this. The story just keeps moving in circles with no substantial addition to the overall thought of what the series was trying to say. The unfunny antics of school students was just annoying and I reached a point where I couldn't sit for this series to end. The fact that I am watching this show 7 years after it came out also makes it feel dated. The show has 12 episodes of 40-45 minutes each Bank, living in US, has just been engaged to his boyfriend and returns home for a trip to sort out some ancestral property. In flashbacks, the tory is told in present time and 8 years back. Bank and Gulf are stepbrothers and Bank's father makes him and his mother stay with Golf and his family. But Golf hates his fath...

This 8 part, 15-minute each series feels like an old sitcom style comedy series. It's campy story told from a fujoshi's point of view, so yeah, this is not your typical BL story. Since it s short series and every episode is like a story of yet another comedy of errors, it's an easy breezy watch. Having said that, there is nothing really memorable about the show at all. Guo Xiao Mei, a rich girl that one day crosses Gu Zhi, a young actor that works as an instructor at this VIP gym in the same building as her office. That same instant because of a misunderstanding, she thinks of him as gay. Given that she is a fujoshi, she goes to the gym to sign a 5 year VIP membership but would only do that if Gu Chi admits he is gay, and so he pretends to be gay to lure her into buying 5 year premium membership at the gym. When when the girl sees the gym supervisor, she immediately end sup shipping them together as a couple. During the 8 episode there's a lot of funny scenes including ...

I had seen the Signal TV show 'About Him' few years back. But apparently there has been some sort of falling out between the author of the book series and the makers/director of the original show. So even though, Signal TV came with a sequel of the show called 'About Him: The Revolution', it had new characters and storyline. In contrast this show, originally titled 'About Him: Freshman Year' is actually a true blue sequel in the sense that it carries the story forward of Damien, since it's written by the same author. The show was taken up by another channel for distribution. Freshman Year is the Season 2 that continues the story line with Damien as he goes to North Carolina Tech to major in computer science following his wildest summer where he not only fell in love with his brother's best friend but he also hooked up with three other guys, including his play-cousin Kendall. Due to financial difficulties, Damien is forced to live off campus with Kendall ...

If you are gay, the chances of you not heard of or know of 'Tom of Finland' is very unlikely. But you may not know of the man behind those drawings. Touko Laaksonen was the Finnish advertising designer who, under the name Tom of Finland, published drawings of hyper-muscular, well-endowed men and became famous for expanding perceptions on the portrayal of gay life in art. This film is his biopic and let me just say it, why an absolute pleasure it was to watch this film! Such highs and lows and everything in between. I am surprised how did I miss this film and it took me this long to catch up on this one. Touko returns home after the war as a Lieutenant in the Finnish Army traumatized. He is gay and made some friends in war, but now he is back to a society where not only being gay was illegal but so was the creation of his now iconic works of art. He has been inclined towards piano and creating art. He lives with his sister, who suspects of him being gay but never encourages it. ...

This is going to be a weird review. This show or let's say series was supposed to be a 4 part version but the makers loathe last part and so what we get to see is only first three parts. What we don't know is what comes next. This series is incomplete. This would be frustrating for some, but for others this could also be interesting, depending on how you see it. Per travels to Focus and Ball's wedding in the countryside, and remembers their time in high school. Per was a new transfer student who was immediately attracted to Ball. Although Ball seemed to have a liking for Per, but Ball already has a very solid friendship/relationship with Focus, the class topper. On Valentine's Day Ball open up his heart and tell Per about his feeling but for some reason they cannot be together. There is some hostly which unfortunately we will not find out. Broken hearted Focus shows up to cheer up Ball, and so come that they get together, in time. But now at wedding, Per's feelings ...

Queers is a 2017 mini series that was aired on BBC to mark the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967. The show features interviews with gay characters at the margins of the community. The series has a total of 8 episodes, each consisting of one monologue by an actor recounting their experience. Every episode features a different speaker in a different year, spanning most of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. At 20 minutes each episode and some very popular and known names in Britain, I was really looking forward to this one. The Man On The Platform set in 1917 - a young man returning from the trenches of the First World War recollects a love that dared not speak its name. A Grand Day Out in 1994 - 17-year-old Andrew comes to London for the first time - with unexpected results. More Anger in 1987 - with Aids hitting the headlines a promising new part looks like a game-changer for Phil. Missing Alice in 1957 - Alice and her gay husband share a secre...

Sexual relationship between men was decriminalized in UK in 1967. It was pivotal in that it constituted the first formal acceptance by the state that gay people might be deserving of some sympathy. Over the years since, a great deal more progress has been made, both legally and culturally. Simon Napier-Bell's documentary explores and celebrates this process, using interviews with key players from different generations whose own attitudes reflect the shift in social perspectives. Featuring some of the UK’s most famous LGBT faces, from artists and musicians to politicians, activists, entrepreneurs and more, these talking heads give personal accounts from the worlds of politics and entertainment alongside historical footage and commentary. They remember growing up in a culture in which they had to live a secret life. Some recount suicide attempts, or talk about finding hope in films like Victim (1961), even as men were going to prison after homosexuality was partially decriminalized i...

I can see people having all kinds of mixed reviews about this show. This LOGO TV produced reality TV show came back in 2017, and I don't know how come I never heard about it until now. Oh well! Its never too late. To be honest, its one of those gultiy pleasure shows that you will complain and bicker and comment on how shallow everything and every individual is, but secretly you also will not be able to stop watching. This so called "Reality" show is hardly real and you can tell easily ho most of it is scripted. But thankfully the six leads are pretty hot, not memorable, and the 7 episodes of 40 minutes each go by easy with all gay drama intact 100% as good or as bad as you can imagine. Khasan is a LA native, a choreographer by profession, in along distance relationship with his New York boyfriend. He wants to explore moving to NY, so he invites some friends and friends of friends to spend a summer in FireIsland. So we have Khasan's BFF Jorge, a Venezuelan doctor who l...

This mini-series has only 5 episodes of about 12-15 minutes each and was probably sponsored by Uber, given how blatantly it is promoted in every episode. The story of the show is pretty straight forward and basic. There was scope for lot more love, romance and drama but for whatever reason, the show wasn't explored much and even the ending seemed rushed. One day, while driving Thien gets into an accident and hits another boy named Khanh, who is wearing a girl's dress. Scared o going to hospital, Thien brings him home. He is not serious, he takes care of him and that nightie two boys get into a one night stand and Khanh leaves early morning. Two months later when Thien sees him at school, he has many questions that he wants answers to. Thien, who is an upcoming singer, uses the help of his friend who manages his business. Together they find out that Khanh lives with his adopted uncle who beats him every night and possibly also assaults him sexually (its never explicitly told). T...

This is an English-language German documentary film about the social and cultural movement known as Queercore. Queercore was a cultural and social movement that began as an offshoot of punk and was distinguished by its discontent with society's disapproval of the gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender communities. The documentary starts with tracing the roots of Queercore in Toronto where queer revolutionaries were rebelling against macho punks in a bourgeois gay scene. Using multiple overlapping interviews, the film maker details the movement, the overlapping philosophies with punk, and the nuances of what the scene offered to the queer identity, which was ultimately about the shared goals of fighting the dominant ideology and its structures. In the second half, it shows the growth of the queercore music scene and bands including Tribe 8 and Pansy Division that came up alongside acts that went mainstream. At some point, it started to feel repetitive because every interviewee had p...

I somehow chanced upon this series and had no idea that it came back in 2017. It is an interesting love story with a difference. Sometimes you can't explain or justify who and why you fall in or fall out of love with. These things are complex and however hard you try, you loose when it comes to matter of heart. Revolving around 3 key players with another fourth, these characters are not straight forward and I liked it because at some level I was able to relate to all of them in one way or the other. Hai Qing is a student who dreams of studying art. At a local swimming club, he almost saves life of Yan Fei and because of instant attraction, the duo engage in a passionate kiss. Yan Fei gives him his number to contact which he loses. Turns out Yan Fei is a CEO of a big company and already has a boyfriend of any years but they are going through their difficulties. Not long after, Hai Qing meets Ping Jun, who poses as a model for art students and the two start dating, which goes on for ...

This is an eye opening documentary about the  the political repression of homosexuality in America, about the discrimination of gays and lesbians during the Cold War where President Eisenhower had signed the 1953 federal mandate banning criminals, alcoholics, or “sex perverts” from serving in the government. The logic was simple. During and after the Cold War, it was believed that Russian spies and communists have infiltrated the highest levels of government and that homosexual men and women were seen as uniquely vulnerable to being blackmailed into betraying national secrets. In reality, there was never one documented case of that phenomenon. But the paranoia had already set in and it took no time to sign these orders. This documentary looks through the lives of some of these lesbians and gay men who were forced to leave their government positions, sometimes in disgrace, and maybe no place to go to. It’s also about how the FBI instructed police stations across the country to comme...

I saw this short film of the same name many years back and was quite excited to see the short getting a full length feature adaptation. The film is more like a dramedy where accepting one's gender identity, acceptance, coming out blend really well with still very prevalent homophobia and sexual discrimination. Having said that I did have higher expectations of the film, and somehow the film dragged and not in the good way that I would have expected. Leo and his twin sister Tristen have lived in Alaska for ten years after their father George moved them, and mother Lucy up there with the reason of toughening them up but grown up now, they both dream of leaving the state in search of their mother and becoming drag stars. Leo works in a fish canning factory while Tristen is dealing with chemotherapy. Leo has always dreamt of becoming a drag superstar. But the straight colleagues of his always give him a hard time, bully and beat him which has been going through high school and so he ha...

This documentary traces the back journey of Olly Alexander, the frontman of the band 'years and years'. He talks about his journey from school bullying victim to diversity role model, while exploring the mental health issues faced by members of the LGBT+ community. The film came out in 2017, and now Olly is much more popular thanks to his leading role in hot UK series 'It's a Sin'. The documentary starts with Olly visiting his mother in the home he grew up in. He tells her the full extent of his depression and self-harm. Her reaction is to blame herself and wish she could have helped more. He meets his life-long school friend Georgia and she too admits self-harming and depression – only just recently having come out. Olly recounts the school bullying. And he says how this bullying leads to a spiral of feelings of loneliness,  insecurity, and a sense of unfairness. Two-thirds of LGBTQ+ teens will have self-harmed and many will have tried suicide. He meets Sean, a dan...