Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Just the other day I was thinking of SOTUS series and how I never saw the two lead actors from that show again! And it was funny when I started watching the show, to my surprise, here comes the two leads on this brand new BL series from the good old production company. The show never really offers anything new or ground breaking but I believe that the idea here was to bank on the nostalgia and appeal of one of the beloved couples from back in the day. The average show, makes up for it by a very fun last episodes where they show some traditions from Thai culture of a very dreamy wedding. The show is 10 episodes of 45 minutes each. Phi is a well-known weather anchor on a TV show. However, he faces public disgrace after a live broadcast where he throws coffee at a colleague. His reputation suffers, and he gets suspended from his show. To save his career, Phi must work with a new producer, who happens to be his ex-boyfriend, Tam. Tam is calm and professional, having studied media abroad. T...

So I was definitely not the biggest fan of the series when it came. I remember it getting excellent reviews around sleek production, money spent, racing cars and what not, but somewhere I felt with too many characters, the overall plot was too convoluted. Sadly even in second season, the problem persists. There are way too many characters, each of them have some story in parallel going on. The plot points start to get repetitive, the pace is slow and almost all over the place and the misunderstandings between main couple were just to much to sit through. With 13 episodes, each of 50-60 minutes, it's not like it doesn't ask for your time. It is a significant time investment and sadly the return is not at all satisfactory. Babe and Charlie are now in a committed relationship and they are still surrounded by a plethora of friends and colleagues. Babe still races and is top of the game. However a new boy Willy arrives and soon becomes a threat to Babe. For some reason, he also majo...

When the show started, I thought this was going to be a nice feel good no-nonsense show and to be fair, for the most part, it stayed true. But somewhere the whole concept of jealousy, manipulation etc just took away the straight forward fun that this show could have even us. With just 12 episodes of about 16-20 minutes, this was a light humorous and easy watch with some very good looking leads. There was also a longer version of episode 12 showing us the eventual culmination and happy future for all.  We meet Yuha, a young boy who does odd jobs here and there to keep afloat. He lives with his older brother Taeha, who runs a bar. He is not his real brother but they were both alone as kids and grew up together with Taeha taking good care of Yuha. Yuha wants to become independent. His odd jobs include nude modeling, toilet cleaning and pretending to be someone's lover. During one such incident, his paths cross with Min U. The guy works in a IT company and is tired of his family connec...

For a change, the lead trans character in this sitcom, is a self-centered, easily bored agent of chaos; unlike what we usually see as a serious subject. Inherently lazy and a person who doesn't hesitate to use friends and is constantly lying, this was indeed a different cast of trans character that I have seen in recent times. The sitcom is an easy watch with only 6 episodes each of about 22-23 minutes. This workplace comedy set in a supermarket packs its pacy storylines with plenty of gags, and from all sorts of angles and slapstick humor. Supermarket manager Simon is trying to have the most inclusive workplace having launched an accidentally transphobic advertising campaign. A female dwarf, Millie, and a tall, black woman, Beefy don’t cut the mustard, so he thinks the answer is to look up “transgenders in the area”. He remembers that his employee Tim has a trans roommate Olivia, who is inherently lazy. Tom emotionally blackmails her to join the job. Simon assures her “We want you...

The backdrop of the show is quite interesting. A whole BL series centered around boxing is not easy to make, so kudos for that. The problem is that the things strata to get repetitive very soon. Problem arise, someone fixes it, there is amount of happiness and the craziness starts again with one more layer of bad guys now joining in. It happens multiple times with our lead couple always at the center of it all. Also, another problem is that there are way too many characters to keep your focus on and they keep coming in. So, for a series that started off quite well. I found myself losing interest by the time 6 episodes were done and then I just wanted it to end sooner than later. The show has 12 episodes plus one special of about 50-65 minutes duration. Keen is a young boy who suddenly loses his cop father in a mysterious death. Left alone, his father's friend offers shelter in his boxing club. Loan sharks are after his life and they wont leave him alone, so he has no choice but to ...

I have mixed feelings about this film. My problem is that the more I see films that likely made their debut in international film circuits, the more I am realizing that these art house or "different" film makers end up going so different in treatment of their subject that sometimes it fails to connect at various levels. This film seems more concerned with shock value than telling a compelling story. Johan is an openly gay man working at Copenhagen’s only gay sauna. When he’s not pursuing the sauna’s clientele, he’s hooking up and having one night stands with random men at the bars. One night of browsing Grindr leads to Johan meeting William, a trans man, at his home. But Johan is so sexually motivated that he doesn’t even realize that William is trans until they begin having sex, which leads to an awkward uncertainty. Nevertheless, Johan finds something exciting about William and pursues him. They start seeing each other and a casual romance evolves. When Johan takes William ...

‘My Sweetheart Jom’ is essentially a light comedy, featuring caricature-like villains and a slow-burn love story, with the community spirit and the silly shenanigans of its younger characters driving the plot forward. Despite its occasional charm and two very charming leads, the show tries to juggle too many plots all at once and letting some of the down. It feels like the show was supposed to be your classic love story, but some plots were introduced, some characters were forgotten, while the episodes duration kept getting stretched. The show has 12 episodes and each episode is like 75 to 90 minutes and a couple of them even longer. There is a lot going on here and s much of it could have been easily edited out. City boy Yo, who is now 19, did not finish 12th grade because of some drama. His girlfriend was also being pursued by a politicians son and they have a fight, so his parents send him to a rural village as an ultimatum to finish his high school. If he doesn't do that, he do...

"Oh, Otto!" is a wonderful coming-of-age story, which will be incredibly recognizable to their twenties and thirty-somethings. The series seamlessly captures the messy reality of growing up, and all the issues that come with it. The characters are not perfect and make everyday mistakes, making the story feel very real and not forced. With 7 episodes of about 25 minutes and a criminally handsome and charming lead, this series should be on everyone's watchlist. The series starts with Otto's boyfriend Boris returning from a 3 month trip, and breaks up citing that Otto needs more fun and Boris is bored of his mundane life. Otto lives in the huge apartment by his grandmother, hasn't renovated the place, as if he is stuck in time loop. This breakup comes as a shocker to him and he is not ready to move on. His best girlfriend Lente suggests Grindr. Otto is new to Grindr and creates a new identity and starts to hook up, gets to experience the surprisingly vibrant (and at ...

My second American BL, shot in Phone format, released as multiple episodes on DramaBox. Thankfully I watched the version where all episodes were stitched together and overall the duration is just under an hour. It is an easy watch even though the plot is filled with loopholes but once you start to watch it, it is easy to ignore some aspects. The protagonist, Ace, is a ruthless and decisive mob boss who has firmly established his position at the top of London's underworld. However, during an ambush orchestrated by his archenemy, Jack, a younger stranger named Max unexpectedly steps in to save him. This act of bravery sparks Ace's interest and earns his trust. Ace brings Max into his inner circle, as his bodyguard. What he doesn't know that it was all Jack's plan. Ace likes to flirt and is gay and he does that constantly with Max making him feel uncomfortable. Max succeeds in planting care in Ace's room who does the same. So Ace knows that max is watching him have sex...

A very interesting story of finding love in unexpected places and circumstances. It is not just about love but also trying to see what life has in store for us. Sometimes your life goals and ambitions are right in front of you, but somehow it is still far. This is when an angel of sorts come in to your life and things are not the same. WIth just 6 episodes each of 25-30 min duration, the best thing about the show is that it never overextends its welcome. Hayakawa is a student who lives in this dazy lost, emotionally shut down place. He lets girls have sex with me totally emotionless , pretends to behaving greta time with friends but something dark deep is bothering him. He hums music and likes to sing but anytime anyone mentions about singing , he completely shuts it off. He sometimes goes to school roof to be alone with his thoughts and music. His pain is hidden behind masked smiles and soft teasing. One such day he meets Konno, a school student and a photographer. Their platonic frie...

This series is a classic case of likely the makers realizing that sex sells even in BL stories. Enough of this high school love and romance, we need to throw in more kisses and lot of hot bodies and sex and we will have a winner on our hands. Honestly this is what I feel the conversation must have gone when this show was being greenlit. 12 episodes of 50-60 minutes each, the story just keeps going in circles for no reason at all. I am honestly baffled at why these Thai film makers still insist on longer duration of episodes. Almost 80% of the narrative includes unhindered & unapologetic sex scenes between the main leads. I’m yet to find an episode where they weren’t kissing or having a full-blown sex session. Let's try to summarize the story if I can. Show starts with this guy Sorn jerking off in a public place. A younger boy Jun is watching him and Sorn watches him. But he then says that "hey I see you are hard, let me teach you and kiss you " and the young boy gives...

I am not much of a standup comedy viewer. I might have seen a few clips/reels here and there but watching a whole TV special is something, so I apologize of I dodged not know anything about Jerrod Carmichael. I went into this comedy special, blank, hoping to just enjoy it with no baggage of either the person or his previous work. In this latest HBO comedy special, he talks about the most intricate details of his life, his long-time boyfriend Michael and his current relationship with his family – to hilarious effect. Witty, brash, and funny, he reconciles that how much the fear of being outed made him forget about the one other thing that affects his everyday life: racism.  The show starts with his struggles with internalized homophobia and rampant infidelity. He talks about online trolling for having a white boyfriend and how maybe he has something against black folks. He also admits rather sheepishly that he still seeks the approval of Black people, which likely has to do with his...

I wouldn't call this series as a typical BL. This was actually a classic gang/revenge story between 2-3 underworld clans and just bit of romance thrown between the lead guy and the other boy. It was never developed, was never the focus. With 12 episodes each of about 55 minutes, I went into the show hoping for a gay love story, but I was disappointed. Having said that, if you watch the show for the grit and novel story that it says, it is actually quite good. But it's all about managing your expectations. Even this poster is soooo misleading. The plot centers on a young man named Sun, who is the son of a benevolent gang leader. After his father and best friend, Kong, are tragically murdered, Sun is wrongly accused and sent to prison. Once he is released, he works to expand his power and uncover the truth behind the deaths of his loved ones, his life becomes intertwined with Peach, a sensitive Korean artist. Unbeknownst to Sun, Peach is the son of the rival Korean gang leader, M...

Plainclothes is a gripping film that effectively captures the tension of 1990s gay identity and the struggles of remaining in the closet. The film's electric tension utilizes grainy VHS style narration at multiple places probably trying for the audience to visualize the fear and anxiety that our protagonist is going through. Set in Syracuse in 90's the film is told from the perspective of an undercover cop. Lucas is a closeted gay cop assigned to special task force in the local mall to its bathroom, a known gay pick-up spot. The special police unit entrap the gays and arrest them for violation of the sex code and given Lucas' youthful and good looks , his job is to to find such folks, trap them and then his partner would arrest the guy. His family has a loving mother, a sick father and Uncle Paul. He recently broke off with his girlfriend, who is th only person he confided in the fact that he actually maybe attracted to guys. What happens though is that Lucas ends up fallin...

This interesting piece of documentary is essentially the history of the queer movement in Canada seen through an assembly of parades, marches and protests. Through rarely seen archival footage and first-person accounts, Parade brings to life pivotal moments that sparked Canada's 2SLGBTQ+ movement, honoring the activists and elders whose resistance led to the rights we have today. It opens with Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s famous statement about the government having no right in the bedrooms of the nation, preceding the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969. The film looks at the early Gay Liberation Movement, including the We Demand Rally that took place in Ottawa in 1971. From here, Parade takes us through infamous events such Toronto’s bathhouse raids, and protests in response to how the government was handling the AIDS epidemic. The film finally touches on the BLM activists who controversially shut down Toronto Pride in 2016 to protest the presence of uniformed p...

Calling this show 'Gayborhood' in today's time feels a bit outdated and not inclusive, especially given the content of the series. The series is very inclusive in terms of representation of gay, lesbian, drag queens and trans characters. It's definitely not just about gays, so an umbrella term Queer might have been better. Anyway, this is me just nitpicking. The show is primarily centered around a studio owner who rents out the place for shows and the employees working and their friends. This is not the story of just one person but a collective ensemble. Season 1 has 6 episodes of 18-20 minutes each. IT ends on a cliffhanger, so season 2 is very likely to follow. Space Studios is a vibrant LGBTQ+-owned space in Dallas run by Bruce aka drag queen Heather. After a disastrous no-show by the previous manager, Bruce hires Noah, a friendly newcomer, to help manage the chaos. Noah quickly meets Jesse, a nonbinary staff member and handyperson, and gets a crash course in navigat...

Even though a good part of this series set in Northern Thailand was about promoting tourism, but the way it was incorporate din the larger storytelling and a beautiful love story, it did not feel like watching a tourism advertisement (which happens sometimes). The locations and sites were so seamlessly integrated, that most f the times you were either engrossed in the beauty of it all and other times in the romance that was developing in front of you. So overall I quite enjoyed this series about first love and its loss of 8 episodes, each of 45-50 minutes. Tontae and Nankrai have been best friend since they were little. From the very first episode we realize that Nankrai has much deeper feelings of love towards Tontae but he is completely oblivious of his gazes and stares and love and sees the former just as a very close friend. Tontine dreams of traveling the world someday. Since Tontae has understanding of English, he is requested to accompany a Taiwanese visitor Victor to their vill...

We have a yet another high school teenage romance BL. You will not find anything much different here than what we have already seen numerous times, but the good and refreshing part about this is that there I son forced drama. This is more like a feel good romantic teen story focusing on various couple and depending on their individual situation how they fall in love, manage love and their insecurities. The first half of the show follow on these and in last 2-3 episodes the focus shifts on future universities, what happens to love and friends and life in general. The series is 12 episodes of about 45 minutes each roughly. Since we have multiple couples here. That is how I am going to review. First we have Shane and Kit. Shane is a hardworking student looking for scholarship for further studies. His teacher makes him tutor a student Kit who has been failing in Maths and that he can make some good money. Their initial few sessions are nothing but chaos since Shane is full of fears and ins...

This 3 part, 45 min each, Sundance documentary series explores the panic and terror caused by a string of murders in 1970s Los Angeles. The series focuses on the discovery of 131 bodies and the subsequent police investigation, which initially focused on a single suspect before revealing the existence of three killers, each with a distinct method. The show highlights the unsettling nature of the crimes and the fear that gripped the city as the body count rose, with some describing it as a "trilogy of terror". From the early 1970s, gay men were being savagely murdered and their bodies carelessly discarded along Southern California’s highways. Through thorough investigations it is eventually found that this is not one serial killer but a trip operating individually. The documentary exposes three sadistic serial killers — Patrick Kearney, William Bonin, and Randy Kraft — and explains the truth behind these horrifying events. EP 1 Trash Bags - In the late 1960s and early 1970s, l...

I had hopes from this film having read the basic premise, but somehow it just did not work for me. It felt amateurish and at times I was wondering if the idea was to make a serious cinema or comedy? It just doesn't hot the right notes, either of love or betrayal to its two main protagonists, which would have been the key to it all. Movie starts with Natalie having discovered that her husband Ernesto is having an affair and invites the person to the house. She is shocked to see that the person is actually a young boy and that her husband was cheating on her with a man. Daniel is a part-time sex worker, and Ernesto paid for his company before love began to bloom between the two as time went on, a love that was conditional on Ernesto continuing with his marriage. Just as she plans to confront him, she gets the news that her husband had had a stroke and is in hospital, she rushes there. Daniel hears it and also goes. Over the course of next few days, these two people connect on the tra...