Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

A very interesting perspective on the sex underbelly life of Manila sex-workers, this film tackles the grittier realities of queer life, where survival often means turning to sex work and petty crime. Manila is almost a character in the film which takes no time to hurl you into its immersive world, an incredibly vibrant and chaotic cityscape with a darker underbelly. Neon lights, street food vendors and frisky rent boys. The sights and sounds of Manila are more than enough to make this engrossing tale of life on the streets worth seeing. The queer road drama, in some ways, could be considered a ‘post-tragedy’: rather than the stories we’ve seen over and over that end in queer sadness. We are introduced to a young sex worker Uno, working on the streets alongside his group of 3 other friends. He is confident, knows what he is doing and he meets a new guy Zion, who seems to have been beaten up. As the night progresses and each of the 4 guys continue to look for tricks to pay their rents, ...

To give the credit where its due, you cannot deny the fact that the concept of the show in extremely unique. Over the years, I have realized how big of pageantry industry it is in Philippines. Taking that as the base and creating a BL around male pageantry was a fantastic idea, sadly the makers are bogged down by the over ambition. The show drags on for ever and ever adding and creating more characters, more sub-plots, making t all dull, chaotic, crowded and just plain uninteresting. With 13 episodes each of about 45 minutes, it needs significant time commitment. Had they focused on the 2 main couples, the show could have been a real novelty with some tight editing. Our main character is Jack who has just won the Mr. Royale Universe Philippines and has to now fulfill his obligations as a winner while also preparing for the global Mr. Universe contest. Jack comes from a very poor financial background, so this is huge for him. But his manager Lemuel is evil personified. He is there to ma...

I am not sure that to think of this film. The subject of polygamy and throttle in gay relationships has been handled with sensitivity in the past. Sadly this film leaves a lot to be desired. While the main subject could have been thought-provoking, the story's structural and narrative choices reveal numerous weaknesses. The film's first significant flaw is its rapid, superficial storytelling. Characters lack depth, and the conflicts between them are largely confined to shallow conversations. More on that in the detailed review later. Thankfully the film is just under 50 minutes. Paul and Marlon are a couple and the film starts with Marlon bringing in the idea of a throuple. He gives some really stupid arguments about why a throttle is better, including the fact that a new person will spice up their sex life> Paul reluctantly agrees (and we later find out that Paul cheated o Marlon few years back and since then there has been a dent). Marlon had met a guy Jeremy in a club who...

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...

OMG!! This show was so bad that it was almost an embarrassment to watch. Please don't ask me why and how I ended up watching this. I do understand that this was likely made with zero budgets , on phone, with friends for YouTube, but then how I came to know about this and spent my time wasting on this is beyond me. Even writing this review feels like an utter waste of time, so I will keep it short. On a bright side, the show was only 4 episodes of about 18 minutes each. It is a confusing story, to be honest. Yohan has some disease and is soon dying. His boyfriend Ace, who is only pretending to be in love with him because it was his dying mother's wish, wants to leave him but thinks he will come out as an asshole to leave him while he is dying. Meanwhile a group of three random friends keep an eye on happenings all around. One of them figures out that the guy dying is actually Yohan's twin Gohan. At some point they switched (yes!! Kill me). This random dud era the real Yohan ...

Oh my god! What the hell was this? A 6 part series of about 10-15 minutes each, this one was supposed to be likely a sexy/supernatural genre; but all it ended up being was something so embarrassing to watch. I wont even say it was comedy because that was unintentional and the only reason you laugh is at the absurdity of it all and the audacity of people to make something like this. Although, in fairness this was back in 2021, post covid where folks were just about doing anything to keep content consumers busy. The story of a fairy who loved a man who he thought cheated on him so he retaliated and turned the cheater and his boyfriend into sex slaves. Eventually, he discovered the secret of the one who cheated on him. I am not even sure how this all plays out. We see two boys on top of a hill but they cannot remember each other. The evil spirit keeps kidnapping one of them and has their way with him and then neither remembers anything. Suddenly we have a threesome going on in a resort, w...

Catching up on my BL shows from my backlog. I stumbled upon this Pinoy BL series from 2021, peak covid days, when a lot of folks were dabbling into content creation with the rise of BL viewership. This series was only 5 episodes of about 14 minutes each, with the last one being almost double (might as well have made it 6 episodes). Anyway, the plot is really paper thin. It is a story if love and loss and one couples snapshot of dealing with covid times. Set in rural province of Philippines, we meet a young gay couple who are making ends meet. They have lost their jobs and with minimum savings, they moved to countryside while covid cases everywhere are rising. They both take good care of each other cooking, cleaning etc while also hoping that the virus doesn't catch them. Apparently Dandansoy is a song by some singer which happens to be a favorite of one of the boys. One day this guys starts to feel covid symptoms. It starts with loss of taste and smell, followed by cough. As best a...

Filipino BL shows have been a varied mix but once in a while there comes a show that is all about inclusivity, LGBTQ+ rights, empowering people especially todays youngsters and shows the power of solidarity and strength in numbers that is fundamental to the queer community, while also highlighting the challenges most societies still face with backwards thinking homophobes and transphobes. This 8 episode series may not be everyone's cup of tea. But in the 30 minute episodes, it really is a show whose heart is in the right place. King, a young adult, gets expelled from his school in Manilla when he defends students against the homophobe dean of the school. He moves to the religious and conservative town of Marahuyo where this grandmother and mother live. King soon realizes how backward and homophobe the small community is, especially when he sees how one of the trans student Venice gets treated by everyone. King supports her and together they decide to start the first LGBTQIA+ organi...

This was an interesting film that on the surface may seem like a soft porn-ish film (I certainly had my doubts within first 5 minutes of it) but it's a little more than that.  It's an honest depiction of a couple with very different ideas for their relationship, and that division ultimately dooms them both. Made by the director of Gameboys, I did expect more, to be honest, because the story line as such is barely there. It is more focused o the concept pf addiction, adjustments in a relationship and when is it enough. The plot is simple. Kent and Harvey have been in a relationship for 7 years. Kent has been always into orgies and in fact he met Harvey at one hosted at his place, but sparks flew and they two decided to date. Kent even had Harvey agree to an open relationship which Harvey was ok with. But no win present, Harvey has had enough and he asks Kent to stop this and that they should ficus on just them two as a couple. The duo get into a few heated yet nuanced arguments ...

I can't even begin to write how awful this mini series is. The story is so paper thin that it could have easily been told in less than 10 minutes. But these folks take 6 episodes of 25 minutes each, with long silences and scenery and flashbacks, just to extend the time. Agreed, this was likely made on phone on super low budget, but still. And then there are people like me, who are actually watching shit like this and continue to ask myself on why am I wasting my time. I think, I need a life. Simple story. Two friends Efres and Carlos are best buddies are in love with one another madly but neither has the courage to tell the other person. They both fear that they will lose friendship. Enter third guy Zander who likes Efres and has told him a few times that he likes him, but Efres makes it very clear he has feelings only for Carlos. One day Carlos sees Efres and Zander spending time and Zander's meek attempt to kiss Efres, it makes him angry and he decides too leave town thinking...

A very simple slice of life gay love story about finding love. Just under 70 minutes, this film never goes over the top with unnecessary histrionics or anything like that. Having said that the conflicts get resolved very quickly (I wish it was that easy in real life), but I guess that the characters were deemed to have the kind of maturity. Hey look, I am not complaining. In my busy schedule, I finally found some time to catch up on a movie and I am glad this romantic comedy with no frills was a perfect break for me. Grey is a flamboyant and charming young man. He is helping out his lifelong best friend, Jonas on a stage play where Jonas is playing the lead. Jonas is a heartthrob with masculine appeal. While Jonas effortlessly navigates the gay dating scene, Gray struggles to find love, convinced that his effeminate style is an obstacle. But despite countless rejections, Gray remains hopeful. The duo used to have another friend Yates who has just returned from US. Yates used to be Grey...

Intersex is a topic that I snot often discussed and we really haven't seen much content about it. After all, it is a tricky subject. As it is, adolescence can be rough, regardless of your background or current circumstances, and on top of that if you have to spend time figuring out your gender, that could likely lead to a lot of therapy sessions, awkward moments and uncomfortable conversations. This film is story of one such teenager Adam, who is raised as a boy and how things change when he gets his first period. Adam, born with both male and female genitals was raised as a boy. He is a touch cookie who picks up fights with classmates if they bully him. This secret is only known to the family but hasn't bothered anyone till now. But things start to get complicated when he first falls for a new transfer in his school, and then immediately gets his first period. His parents consult a specialist doctor, who does some tests and it is confirmed that Adam has equal amount of both fe...

This is yet another 6 part mini-series from the stable of Philippines. The episodes are about 15-20 minutes each but thankfully the production and quality and story and message this series is trying to convey is much better than some of the other rural Filipino productions that I have seen, especially the ones that were conceived and released during COVID. I am still catching up on a lot of backlog that I have from those times. At the core this is yet another BL of two young boys, but it also subtly touches upon social issues like sexual abuse, mental health problems, divorce, gender discrimination, bullying, childhood trauma, sexuality, trans etc. The location is in a remote Filipino province. Kai, a young boy and hi smother take care of a huge manor house. Enter Andre, a rude , rich, spoilt brat who is sent by his father to spend sometime there since he has had enough of his self-indulgence. The time is just when covid is picking up everywhere. As expected he treats Kai very condesce...

I must have missed watching this during cove times for some reason. And now when I watched this now, it feels so laughable to be honest. This is obviously a low-budget production that looks like it was sort of thrown together. The production frankly is just awful, and editing made it hard to follow the story. They certainly packed a lot in this short series like love, homophobia, trans rights, rich exploiting poor, made up friends etc etc. The show has 8 episodes of about 20 min each average. We have three main characters in the show - Nico, Prince and Julius. The series starts with Nico saving Julius in a motorbike accident. In a drunken state, Julius kisses Nico. Few months later, we now see that Nico actually moved to this place from his province and he left his younger brother to fend for himself after his parents died. Prince is his neighbor, who one days saves Nico when some local goons are trying to rob him. Two lonely individuals become good friends taking care of one another. ...

Yet another one of those instantly forgettable Pinoy series. I cant really pin point at where does the problem lie. Is it the story, the acting, the direction, the production value or somewhere it is just a combination of all. I guess latter. This show was supposed to have 7 episodes, but I could find only the first 6, each of about 15-20 minutes. Since I did not see the actual finale, I dont know about it, but I can confidently say that I can easily guess how this will end. The title likely comes from the fact that our leading character here wants to learn how to make love to a man. Russel is a young virgin gay man. He wants to lose his virginity to the man of his dreams when he falls in love. He has long harbored a crush on Jake and he always imagines various sexual scenarios of him. We dont know how he knows him or how he finds his sexy pictures to paste them over his walls. Anyway, his friends tell him that rumors are he is a prostitute so Russel needs to be careful of his crush, b...

I am not sure how to react after seeing this film. The premise is interesting yet totally bizarre at the same point. An unusual love triangle, I Wont classify this film as gay film per se, but it had its elements. I am not sure though why the title of the film! Anyway, here we go. Teenager Pol lives with his mother Claire, who raised him single handedly after his father abandoned them. Migoy is Pol's best friend. (Both guys are apparently 19) Pol and Migoy spend time studying and sometime Migoy stays over. Pol had long harbored a crush on Migoy, but he did not have the guts to come out as gay, fearing it would negatively affect their friendship. Migoy had long harbored a crush on Claire, age difference be damned. One night, in one moment of impulsive passion, Migoy confessed his feelings to Claire and even shocked her with a stolen smack on the lips. Initially totally shocked, she pushes away Migoy, but eventually giving in. An affair soon starts between Claire and Migoy. The duo a...

Its interesting that despite the fact that this show came during covid times, it tries its best to not have the subject of covid include in it an drive us something extra. Sadly, this 6 episode mini-series of 20 minutes each might have worked then, because we were all starving for content, but seeing it now feels like a stretch and something that we could have lived without. Except that its two leads are extremely good looking and I cant remember if I have seen them in other shows. I need to do more research. We have three main characters here. A girl named Heart has just been dumped by her boyfriend and she goes live during her heart out. Her best friend, the hot and happening Winston, who happens to be a content creator and vlogger decides to try and help his friend by looking for her a date that could mend her heart. Enter Jamie, a hot singer, who has been following Winston on social media. He applies for possibility to date Heart. Because of his good looks Win chooses Jamie to spen...

Why o why was this film made? With a running length of almost 2.5 hours, the only thought that comes to mind after having finished watching the film is WTF!! Not only was the story problematic , but worse was the execution of the film. The makers probably have never heard of the role of an editor. So many scenes would just go on and on forever, really really testing patience of the audience. No wonder it Tok me a few years to even find this film since it was released and having seen it now, I would loudly scream to not waste your time. A simple young man Liam works in a hotel and the setting is during covid. A rich man Harry comes to stay at the hotel for a week and their first meeting does not go well. Harry is angry and Liam is clumsy, but. Turns out that's because Liam is enamored by how handsome Harry is. Anyway, they eventually become friends and one night while hanging out Harry tells Liam how he is super rich but after his parents separation neither wants them, so they keep ...

I knew exactly what I am getting into for season 2, having just finished the first season. We have almost all of the characters from first season reprise their role in this weird continuation of the story of So, one of the most unlikeable protagonists in BL world IMO. Anyway, more about the story ahead but yeah the weirdness and absurdity of the whole thing has not gone away. In fact the season ends in a lurch with a threat of a season 3. God save us. For now this season has 10 episodes of average 20 minutes. The first season ended with So's ex-boyfriend Pablo return to him. Having learned no lessons from the past, So falls in love again with Pablo knowing very well that Pablo will oscillate between him and his girlfriend. So also ends up meeting the real Pre, who lives in the same building whose picture was being used by the poser in first season, whose real name is Cruz. Turns out Cruz and Pre are step brothers and Cruz shows up asking for forgiveness, but So is very upset and ma...

It is a waste of time just even writing a review of this extremely low production Filipino BL series. Clocking at 8 episodes of average 20 minutes each, it is not too much of a commitment, plus there is so much unnecessary fluff in the whole show that you can easily fast forward half of it. Now I am actually dreading watching season 2 of the show soon after. Our main protagonist is called 'So' on his Grindr nickname "So Lonely". He has recently broken up with his boyfriend Pablo, who told him that he has a girlfriend and would rather be with her. Extremely dramatic and heartbroken he wants to end his life but his straight best friend puts sense into him and asks him to move on using Grindr. There he meets a guy named Preston (Pre). He refuses to share details about himself, but had his pic on Grindr and the duo start chatting on phone everyday. So tell shim his whole story and Pre helps him to get out of his previous love and move on. In the process So starts falling ...