Skip to main content

Posts

I Can't Think Straight

You definitely would not have seen many reviews on lesbian themed movies and the reason is because I rarely watch them. But this one I had to. It had Indian connection to it and to watch gorgeous Lisa Ray in her second film as a lesbian would be interesting.  In the upper echelons of traditional Middle Eastern society, Reema and Omar prepare for the marriage of their daughter Tala. But back at work in London, Tala encounters Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating Tala's best friend Ali. Tala sees something unique in the artless, clumsy, sensitive Leyla who secretly works to become a writer. Leyla had always suspected of herself being a lesbian but had been fighting against it by trying t date men but ever since she met Tala, she can't help it. On a trip to Oford, the 2 women end up sleeping with each other. Leyla want some meaning to their relationship but Tala is not so sure considering she is already getting married soon. Leyla comes back home and comes out to her ...

Nowhere

The title of this film is totally appropriate because this film actually goes nowhere. Nowhere constantly introduces kinky and eccentric characters, each and every one of them suffering from modern diseases and problems like drugs, eating disorders, nymphomania, hallucinations, aggression and even suicide! Araki even touches the more daily problems like popularity and faithfulness.  Nowhere chronicles a day (and night) in the lives of a group of 20 or more alienated Los Angeles teenagers in their personal lives of despair, alienation, failing relationships and more. Centering on one 18-year-old named Dark, an alienated UCLA film student; his bisexual African-American girlfriend Mel; her purple-haired, acid-tongued lesbian girlfriend Lucifer; Dark's homosexual classmate Montgomery; and Montgomery's poetess friend Alyssa. Other characters include Dark's friend, a queer industrial rock star named Cowboy; his drug-addicted lover and band mate Bart; the local drug dealer Handjob...

10 Attitudes

Sometimes I wish I had completely forgotten what films I have seen but not reviewed because that would save me the pain of having to watch a trash movie 2 times. A horrible acting job by the lead character who all h does is complaining and whining, this can be in my list of top 10 unbearable movies. Josh is a thirties-something gay caterer in a long-term relationship of 10 years when he realizes that his boyfriend has been cheating on him. Devastated and disillusioned, Josh wants to leave West Hollywood and return to Cleveland, but his closest friend Brandon (supports him by promising to arrange ten dates within a weeks' time. Brandon bets Jason will find a new love and remain in West Hollywood. If no new love is found, Jason will return home. Josh begins his arranged dating with 10 of some of the most diverse types everyone who has played the dating game has encountered. None of the 10 "attitudes" works out and Jason is about to depart for Cleveland when things change. ...

A Jihad For Love (Documentary)

In a time, when Islam is under tremendous attack-from within and without-'A Jihadfor Love' is a daring documentary-filmed in twelve countries and nine languages. Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma has gone where the silence is strongest, filming with great risk in nations where government permission to make this film was not an option. A Jihad for Love is the first-ever feature-length documentary to explore the complex global intersections of Islam and homosexuality. Th film follows through the lives of few gay Muslim men and the trials and tribulations that they have ha to face in life because of being gay. They are from various Muslim countries and various society levels. Jihad for Love doesn't seek to vilify or reject Islam, but rather negotiate a new relationship to it. In doing so, the film's extraordinary characters point the way for all Muslims to move beyond the hostile, war-torn present, toward a more hopeful future. The individuals we meet only too briefly i...

Dong gong xi gong (Mandarin) [East Palace, West Palace]

Now This one is hard to classify as a genre. I will put it as an artsy film and maybe exploration of one self done in a very artistic way. Its definitely not a conventional movie. A Lan is a gay man, rounded up in a park near the Forbidden City by Xiao Shi, a police officer. The plot involves A Lan's night-long interrogation, involving flashbacks of his hard life. A Lan clearly loves the police officer and I think the officer also through him wants to explore himself and identify his true feelings. Through a series of questions, A Lan talks about his childhood, his encounters with various men at the same time trying to tell Xiao Shi how much he loves him. The police officer shouts at him but is also very amused by whatever he was telling. After a while he lets him go but A Lan refuses to go. The officer then asks him to wear women's clothes. But that also does nothing. Xiao Shi is struggling a lot with himself, whether o 'cur' the gay man or to just give in for the love...

The Ode

The film is actually based on the book 'An Ode To Lata'. I saw it in recent I-View festival in New York. Apparently the film is still in work (post production stage, I guess). Overall I was not very impressed by the film. I doubt whether the book actually got all the rave reviews that everyone kept talking about. The movie is about this South Asian (Indian/Pakistani, dunno) boy Shiraz grown up in Kenya and who now lives in LA. A successful banker during the day, his night life is totally different. He is deep down in world of sex, drugs and all typical gay-ism. He has just broken up with his boyfriend Richard whom he cant forget for some reason. He is slowly going deep in drugs and depression and looks for Richard in every man he meets. He is visited soon by his mother. The film keeps going in flash back showing his troubled childhood, the fighting parents (who were actually not married) and how his childhood was always with people fighting with beating each other. This still ...

Amores Possíveis (Portugese) [Possible Loves]

Films with 'what if' scenarios are always interesting. This film takes a step further in which they show three possibilities in a man's life based on one incident in his life. Each of the 3 possibilities are triggered by one incident. Is one of the story his true identity and others his wannbe scenarios, its left for the viewers to decide. Carlos went for cinema 15 years ago to meet his girlfriend Julia but she never showed up. This incident is the main trigger point and hence the movie goes parallel in 3 different tracks. In the first version, Carlos is married to Maria but they dont have a successful married life. Its loveless. He meets Julia and they start an affair. The second version has Carlos divorced to Julia and has a son. He now lives with his gay partner Pedro, his soccer buddy whom he now loves. Third version has a carefree Carlos, never married living with his possessive mother hoping to find his perfect love and bang he meets Julia. The 3 stories keep moving p...

Antique (Korean)

This was a surprisingly good movie. It is s hard to categorize it as a comedy, thriller or feel good cinema. It had bits of everything and hold the audience attention throughout. Although the lead character is straight and the chef is gay, it is refreshing to see homosexuality being played with flirtatious sweetness all through out with a dash of magic. After Jin-Hyuk rejected Sun-Woo in high school, Sun-Woo has become the opposite of his stuttering past: a Prada-snug love magnet that no man, gay or straight, could resist. He also becomes the best baker in business. Years later, Jin-Hyuk puts up a patisserie called Antique and hires Sun-Woo to be his pastry chef. The rest of his staff, a retired boxing champ and Jin-Hyuk's childhood friend and bodyguard---are all bewildered why he opened Antique when cakes in particular make him vomit. The viewer doesn't know why Jin-Hyuk doesn't like any cake until later when the secret is revealed. As a kid, he was kidnapped for 2 mont...

Eighteen (Canada)

After having read mostly positive reviews about this film, I had a little bit expectations from this movie but I must say that I found this film very boring and totally out of context at various places. A lot of actions of various people have no justifications. Pip leaves home after his brother dies in a car accident because of his father who was mad since his brother came out of closet and confessed he is gay. He hates his father ow. On his eighteenth birthday he receives his grandfather's Second World War memoirs on audio cassette, a gift that awakens the ghost of the long lost world. His grandfather relates the story of the day he turned eighteen, fleeing German forces through the woods of France with a dying comrade hanging on for life. In Pip's own and contemporary way, he begins to live the parallel life of his grandfather, both lost in their environments and generations. Along Pip's path he stumbles into an unlikely alliance with Clark, a gay street hustler on the ...

3 garçons, 1 fille, 2 mariages (French) [3 Guys, 1 Girl, 2 Weddings]

One more of those movies which I had to watch again so that I could blog about it and make really sure that I have seen it. I must admit that by writing this bog, at least I can make sure that I dont repeat movies, unless I really want to. Another hilarious take on gay man falling for his straight friend but in a funny hilarious manner is what this film is about. Dan and Laurent are best friends and room mates. Laurent is gay and madly in love with Dan who is straight but of course Dan has no idea about it. Dan runs a sex talk show on radio and Laurent along with his 3 other friends is fighting for gay rights. Wen Dan finally meets the girl of his dreams Camille, Laurent's dreams take the shape of fear that he wont ever be turn their friendship to love. Laurent tries every trick to derail Dan's relationship and when Dan plans marriage and moves out, Laurent takes on lesbian roommate Sam who is very supportive to Laurent, even to the extent that hey both end up having sex just t...

Tenue de soirée (French) [Ménage/Evening Dress]

What d you write about a film, which you enjoyed, but you are still not sure of what exactly happened and you have to consult internet for that. Is it god or bad? I can't decide. I liked the film but after reading a little bit online about it , it seems hat lo of people have their own interpretations of the film. Bob, a burglar mets a fighting couple Monique and Antoine at a bar where Monique is fighting with Antoine for not giving her a good decent life. Bob has instant liking for Antoine and makes friends with the couple. They start burglary in various rich houses. The couple realizes that Bob fancies Antoine which freaks him out. But by then Monique is so used to money that she doesn't mind her husband to sleep with another man. Ultimately under constant pressure and for Monique, Antoine gives in and sleeps with Bob. Slowly his feelings start getting stronger for Bob and less towards Monique but he still cares for her. The movie is then suddenly is in what I think Phase 2 wh...

Diverso da chi? (Italian) [Different from whom?]

Now this was a truly different gay film. It was funny, it had message, it was wonderful, well acted, nothing stereotypical. In short I loved it. Mainly because it was very different. After a series of unexpected events, politician Piere is running for Mayor elections. He has lived with his boyfriend Remo for 14 years and is very open about it. Since he is gay, the party wants someone more family focussed to run with him for deputy position. They select Adele for this. She hates Piere because she thinks she should have gotten the opportunity to run for Mayor. They make a team but are constantly fighting. Thats when Remo comes up with a suggestion to Piere that rather than fighting, he should get to know her. So they hang out and get to know each other a little better. They hit off well and their popularity ratings increase in the city. Meanwhile, Remo and Adele become very close friends. Adele is divorced and has very little chance of having kids. Piere and Remo both love kids. One even...

Amor de hombre (Spanish) [The Love Of a Man]

One of te numerous films where the relationship between a gay man and his fg hag is explored. It is funny how sometims whether you liked a film or not depends on the fact when you saw the film compared to the other films. By now I have seen so many films on similar theme, that I did nt find anything novel about this film. Granted it was made much before these other films that I saw. Ramón is a handsome, successful lawyer in Madrid who happens to be gay and unlike most of his friends has not settled into a partnership. His closest friend is Esperanza who is a divorced school teacher, just turned 40, who love Ramón and constantly tries to help him find the 'right man' while Ramón tries to help her find her 'right man'. They party together with all of Ramón's professional friends - doctors, businessmen, teachers - and Ramón is hedonistic enough to have a different be partner every evening. After an automobile accident in which Ramón is injured, Esperanza moves in to ca...

Crutch

Sometimes, films are made for genuine interest and for creative satisfaction but do the viewers like it. Depends on many things. Made on low budget, this film aims to deliver a statement about the dangers of drug abuse and how to conquer it. David, a 16 year old boy is trying to hold together his fragile family of adulterous father, an alcoholic self-destructive mother, and brother and sister. The father leaves the family for another woman, mother is hospitalized for rehab after an injurious fall, the other siblings are fed up of all this and dont want to deal with any of this shit. Looking for escape David joins acting classes where his teacher is Kenny, who has acted in a few films. He goes there with his close friend and confidant. Kenny encourages David's young ability ultimately starts falling for David's charm and boyishness. Out of need for order in his life David opens up his sexuality and becomes bonded with Kenny. Kenny's hidden drug addiction is uncovered by Dav...

Comme des voleurs (French-Polish) [Stealth]

An interesting film set in Switzerland. It will be wrong to categorize this film under gay category or maybe it wont be. The lead protagonist is gay and has a boyfriend but the film for a change is not about him being gay or anything but about trying to discover what his roots are. Lionel lives with his boyfriend Serge. One day he finds out that his grandfather came from Poland. Suddenly he starts liking everything Polish. To the extent that he meets a Polish illegal immigrant Ewa. He breaks up with his boyfriend and decides to marry Ewa so she won't be deported from Switzerland. Lionel's sister Lucie is more practical. She wants everyone to see and realize that Lionel is gay and he needs to get out this dream of being fascinated with Poland but his parents are more than happy to see him getting married and all. in a spur of moment on day she drives her brother to Poland and thats when their adventure begins. They have various encounters on the way including getting getting bea...