Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Set in Limerick city in Ireland, Cowboys and Angels depicts the growing friendship between two very different men and looks at the anxieties and challenges faced by young people trying to establish their identity in a modern city. It came almost 22 years ago, so of course in today's time the visual aesthetics feel quite dated, but it is a good mix of sexual freedom and youthful energy, friendship, drug, criminal presence during that time. 20 year old Shane, has just got anew government job and kinda. New roommate in Vincent, a gay fashion student. The duo slowly warm up to each other and niece friends where Vincent tries to make the shy Shane come out of his shell slowly by taking him out clubs and enjoy the vibrant night life in the city. Shane starts to like this barista girl, who happens to be Vincent's best friend but she is not much interested in Shane. Vincent wants to move to New York after studies. One day by accident Shane discovers some drugs in his apartment building...

Wow! This film was such a breath of novel fresh idea. Funny and very heart warming at the same time. There's loads of sarcasm and observational wit in the script and the execution is just brilliant. I quite enjoyed watching the film. There is something predictable about the story, but along the way we do watch some enjoyable characterizations and all the actors do a very commendable job. This is an earnest and generous film, a film with a lot of heart. 30-something Edward is a successful author in Ireland who is looking for his big break in America. He’s also the primary caregiver for his mother, Alma, who recently suffered a stroke and is unable to speak without the assistance of a tablet that verbalizes her words. Edward's agents want him to bring his queer-themed Young Adult novel to the States to find the readership they think it deserves. He is also keen to go but the problem is who will take care of his mother? Edward's best friends and even his longtime therapist are...

A film that brandishes the documentary form and art to try to dismantle the stigma of being HIV positive that still persists in society. This film highlights the stories of those whose lives have been affected by HIV in Ireland. Rather than using the project as a cautionary tale, the subjects share their ‘secrets’ and how their lives have continued despite their diagnosis. It is stressed throughout the film that its function is not to present another somber outlook on this disease, as we see there are many subjects living happily, rather, the film is meant to pose the exact question the title suggests. How do you tell a secret? For an illness that can be easy to live with – it is easier to live with than diabetes – there is still a staggeringly dangerous narrative surrounding HIV. The documentary handles these notions of advocacy, stigma and secrecy with impressive grace. If one woman can’t tell her dad about her illness, for example, she can’t be expected to openly tell the world. The...

An Ireland film, shot in Cuba in Spanish? Pretty interesting, isn't it? The film is a moving take of an aspiring drag performer, but its not just that. It's also about the fragile relationship of a macho boxer father with his estranged son over the years. The film keeps you hooked in most of its aspects, as you wait to figure out what will unfold next on his screen. Jesus is a young boy, living by himself in Havana, Cuba working as a hairdresser to make ends meet. His regular clients include Mama, The proprietor of a seedy drag club. for an audience of randy tourists and local drunks. Jesus tends to the many wigs used by the club’s performers, while wondering what it would be like to join them. Also because he doesn't want to get into prostitution to survive. After an employee leaves, Jesus takes on drag name Viva and is given an opportunity to perform in the club. However, his estranger father, who was in prison since he was eight shows up and the club and beats up. He mov...

Teenage rom-com about gay boys is something we have seen many times but its the treatment that makes a film different. An unlikely love story between a gay boy and a lesbian girl in a rural town of Ireland sounds very similar to a lot of stuff we may have seen in the past, but this film is witty and there are some really funny moments that make it more relatable and enjoyable in my opinion. The film is set around 1995. 17 year old scrawny Eddie is preparing for military just to follow the combat-booted footsteps of his dad, because thats what the town expects (thankfully not his family). But he is also made fun of in school and an intervention comes in the form of Amber, who like him is sort of outcast in school being bullied as a 'lesbo'. It’s Amber, finally, who points out that this mutual bind makes them an ironically well-matched couple, minus the sex part. Why not just date until school’s out, to get everyone off their backs? Things slowly start to get better for them and ...

After two unsuccessful attempts of trying to watch this film, since I couldn't understand a word what the actors were speaking, I finally found the version with subtitles. This film is the story of a man in his late 40s, around a crisis moment that drives him to act on the very desires he has perhaps been apologizing for all along. The film starts with Colm meeting a young hustler Jay in a bathroom in a mall. Having no clue how any of this works, the young lad ends up taking money from Colm who runs away like a crazy man. Back home he has a wife and a grown up son and a daughter. His father passed away recently and we are told he shared some sort of strained relationship with him. Jay, unexpectedly shows up at Colm's work the next day blackmailing him for money which he eventually gives him to watch him jerk off. Dealing with his father's death, his not so good relationship with his own son and eventually losing his job that he has been for 30 years makes Colm look for sola...

Irish film are so hard to understand. With such a thick heavy accent, half of the time I have to make assumptions on what is probably being said. This film looks like was made on a very low budget with a very simple and basic story. There are lot of tangential plots which really don't do much to add anything specific to the storyline. Stephen and John are both struggling young actors who live in a very open and proudly gay section of Dublin. They are both extras (or crowd arteeeeest, as their agent likes to call it). They are close friends and enjoy the daily ups and downs of the single gay life including drinking, flirting and just having fun. John has a masculine lover, who is in prison and they both yearn for each other. Meanwhile Stephen meets a guy couple of times, but nothing happens. It turns out that this guy is David, who happens to be the director of the commercial who have signed Stephen for it, making that his big break. David is a player and doesn't shy away f...

Set in the backdrop of a boarding school, this film is another one of those coming-of-age stories for a teenage boy or boys. What’s a little hard for me to believe is the fact that neighborhoods and societies in general can be still so homophobic in Ireland, but then I don’t live there, so its not fair for me to comment on that. It may not be the easiest for  a teenager to come out but but something tells me that its highly unlikely that a whole high school community would be harsh including the teachers. Ned, teenage gay outcast, joins a boarding school since his parents work in Dubai. Taunted and laughed at because of his ginger look and non-interest in rugby, he has learned to live that way. He is soon joined as his room mate by Conor, who also joins this school because of suspension from his previous school for picking up fights with students. A quiet and shy guy by nature, it turns out that he is a rugby star and now the only hope for the school to being them back the win...

When I started watching this, I kept wondering why does this give a TV series feeling rather than watching a movie! And when in the first 5 minutes itself, the scenes were abruptly changing, I had to pause and look out what was going on. It turns out that this is not a film. The scenes were extracted from several episodes of the Irish TV series Raw. The result is a pretty decent watch (sometimes lethargic). It is not the usual youtube amateurish crap but it is not professional either. Overall a decent gay love story with a lot of stuff going around. Geoff is the au-chef in a restaurant run by Tanya and her husband Max who is the main chef. People come for Max's cooking but his eccentric behavior more often than not, leaves Geoff in charge. A young Czech waiter Pavel has recently started at the restaurant. Like he does for most people, Geoff shouts at Pavel and makes fun but slowly starts caring for him. In the meantime there are a lot of side stories happening in the restauran...

This Irish film takes its title from the reported shortness of a goldfish's memory, which supposedly lasts only three seconds - enough time for it to swim around its bowl, and then its memory starts over again. "Goldfish Memory" could be described as a less pretentious and more natural "Love Actually": an ensemble cast forms a mosaic of love and sex in Dublin. In Dublin Tom, a 40 something literature lecturer, tries it on with any of his female students that are gullible enough. Clara, his latest conquest takes it badly when he moves on and repeat the cycle with one of his new students and she decides to try women. The woman she tries is Angie a newscaster. Meanwhile Angie's best mate is Red, a gay guy who works days as a bicycle messenger. Our cyclist has romantic issues of his own as he becomes smitten with David the hunky but straight bartender whose girlfriend is giving HIM grief. The film progresses on various interactions between these people and how ...