Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Wow!! I guess I have been so busy that I haven't had time to watch too many films but here I am back and plan to watch a lot more films in the coming days. I just came back from the opening night of Philly LGBT film festival and saw this film. It is very hard to say at this moment whether this film was the right film to open the festival or not because unless I watch some of the other films, it will be very hard to compare. But still it was a decent effort. The story line is definitely very novel and I must admit, I could not have thought of it but not every story turns out well on screen. This film also defied some general logic but more on that later.  Zack is a 30 something failed film-maker. He was a wonder film maker in his college days but hollywood glamour and partying brought him from fame to dust and now he makes wedding videos. On his best friend's insistence, he returns to his college to judge a film festival for short films made by students to choose the winner for ...

This movie is a hilarious take on how people's lives can take a turn just by saying a simple lie. It can save your job, bring back happiness in your life and make other things also better. Revolving around a humble accountant François, whose only crime is that he is very boring, the film deals with sexual issues without being over the top comedy. It is very subdued. François finds out that lay offs are going to happen in the office and he will be laid off soon. He has already been deserted by his wife and his teenage son and now scared that he will loose his job as well, he is sharing his dilemma with his neighbor who suggests that he should pretend to be gay to save his job because the company will not want to be sued for discrimination. François emergence from the closet has an effect on a number of people. Suddenly his co-workers find him amusing and talk to him. His company now wants him to march in gay pride in for their company's benefit. His son suddenly starts liking h...

This film very intelligently focuses on issues of intimacy and finding ways to communicate. There is the usual arguing, fighting bitching and everything else between the characters of this film but on listening carefully, you will realize that this is all so realistic. This is how people in a normal life communicate with each other. There is nothing filmy about that.  The film is kind of 2 parallel stories. Eli and Tom are set up for a blind date by their friends Jackie and Brett who met each other in a furniture store. The date which starts off as very boring becomes lively when they start discussing movies and specially 'In & Out'. A few days later they run into each other at a flea market and hit it off, winding up back at Eli's place where Tom spends the night. The next morning Tom says that it was a mistake. Jackie and Brett decide to try again to set them up, and the two men start to develop a relationship. Tom's fear of becoming emotionally close coupled with...

The best thing about this film is that it is only some 50 odd minutes. The film set in a old factory in France for some reasons makes it for a delightful watching. I still cant figure out why I liked watching this film because there was nothing extraordinary about it, in fact it moves at a very slow pace. I hope by the time I finish writing this piece, I might have a better idea. An old factory is going to close soon in France. A worker Jacques arrives in the factory which now has only a handful (5-6 to be precise) who know that in a week's time they wont have a job. Jacques is supposed to dismantle the machines and pack them so that they can leave the next week. All the workers share a special bonding with each other. Jacques experiences an alluring instant attraction to his boss Donand. He doesn't know what to do about it. An old guy in the worker group Guiraudie figures out that this worker likes men and tells him that he cannot get Donand but Jacques is really attracted a...

wtf!! This is my first reaction having sit through this film. It was such an amateurish experiment that I have no words to explain. The film is so dark. The story did have the potential of being 'different' in the world of gay cinema but a very shoddy screenplay, a shoddier acting department and pathetic direction made this film a drag. Roberto is a teenager and a drifter. He lives with his mom and sister (whose introduction is a 4way with 2 other man.. so weird!). One day he meets a gray long haired man Raul. He accepts his invitation to visit his home. Raul ends up beinga violent lover but Roberto still ends up spending the night with him. They continue to meet despite the violent nature of sex and eventually Roberto movs in because he gets a sense of 'home' and 'family'. He wants this to work but it is not easy with a dark side man like Raul. So now its power struggle in bed. Raul is always top but Roberto wants to be active too. Enter a Spaniard Caesar with ...

This movie is a mix of comedy, drama, satire, spoof and trying to be a little bit of everything, the film at some point in my opinion loses its whole point. Agreed maybe 13 years ago, when the film came out, most of it would have make sense but in today's time, it doesn't anymore. That does not mean that the film doesn't entertain you. It does but at the same time, some repetitive scenes and mostly one dimensional acting prevents it from becoming a better film.  16 year old Dede runs from her mother's home and goes to live with her half bother Bill. Bill is gay and is a school teacher whose partner Tom died of aids few years ago which brought Tom's sister Lucia and Bill very close. Lucia pretty much doesn't have a life outside Bill. Bill now has a new boyfriend Matt. Ever since Dede moves in, she tries to seduce Matt because he is hot and young and eventually succeeds. The affair goes on till Dede finds out that she is pregnant. She convinces matt that he might ...

Now that was a complete surprise. A film that you would have not expected to go the way it did. It makes you think, you sometimes feel for the characters but you also feel repulsed by some of the acts they did. The movie was intense, it was gripping and it keeps you hooked throughout. You wanna know what is going to happen next. I was very pleasantly surprised with this film. Lars has just quit army because he could not get promoted to being a field sergeant. One day when he is hanging out with friends, he meets some people from a new-Nazi group who are all about just having pure white people led by Michael known as Fatty within the group. Everyone and everything else is against the nature. Initially, Lars distances himself from their ideology and methods, but fuelled by defiance against the system in general - and his parents in particular - Lars decides to join the group. Michael for some reason think that Lars has potential even though his right hand man Jimmy does not agree. Soon L...

This is a glam rock musical made to a movie after a successful running on the broadway. This film might not be everyone's cup of tea but you can't ignore it. Considering is a debut of a director who also acts as the principal character of Hedwig makes you sit and take notice of him and the film. I had heard a lot about this film specially in the realm of queer cinema which of course raised my expectations over a period of time. We will have to read further whether the expectations were met or not.  The film is set in a mocumentary style where Hedwig is doing commentary and singing songs based on her life. Hedwig born as hansel in East Germany fled to US when he met a soldier in Berllin. he wanted to bring Hansel with him but for that he will have to undergo sex change surgery. The surgery goes bad and he is left with an inch of mass in his front and has to now live with it. Unfortunately, things didn't work out with the guy in US. He is now following this very popular rock...

Thank God, after a series of watching really bad gay films (which seems to be the trend these days), I got to see a decent watch. In fact I was pretty surprised by the whole premise. What I loved specifically was it was a great blend of drama, comedy and social message. The gay characters are not just a walking collection of stereotypes, and the actors do their job well enough that you actually believe the characters love each-other.  The film starts with Katharina receiving a letter from her son Hans that he will bring Nicki with him whom he wants to marry in their small town of Bavaria. Katharina is very happy and tells her best friend and almost everyone in the small town. What she doesn't realize is that Nicki is a man. When Hans shows up with Nicki, she gets the shock of her life and immediately throws her son out. Initially they wanna go back to Berlin but Hans decides to stay and change people's mindset. Hans and Nicki check into a local hotel which again becomes talk of...

The heart of this film was in the right place but I cant even begin to describe how faulty the direction and editing was. The film was going all over the place between past and present and even just random scenes popping here and there. If the makers had kept the film linear and simple, it would have had so much more sense to the audience. As of now, this film was nothing but a huge disappointment. Father Gillie, stripped of his priestly garb and is marched through the recognisable process of being showered and dressed in prison clothes. Housed in his cell with a younger troubled man it doesn't take long before rumours abound that the Priest is really a paedophile. Now an easy target thanks to the insinuations he becomes hunted. Security comes in the form of a prison guard who befriends him and with whom love and an affair develops. When safely behind locked doors their illicit relationship blossoms and only then do we learn of the true crime that has put our priest inside. He he...

This was an interesting thought. There are quiet a few things that we all do when we are young without even thinking of what repercussions it might have in our old age. What we might think of it and how it is going to affect us psychologically. Using this as a primary theme, this film takes us through the life of Harry Sweeney.  Handsome Harry as he is called by his friends is 52 years old, divorced and has a son who lives in Chicago. He is ex army servant and is carrying a secret with him. He also does not allow anyone to come close to him. He gets a call from his friend Kelly who is dying and who wants him to find out their friend Kagan and ask for forgiveness. Thirty years ago, these guys were a group of 5 friends in navy who always used to hang out together. In a drunken brawl all of the the group subjected Kagan to a beating because of homophobia: all of the men participated in the cruel act but one crushed the jazz pianist Kagan's right hand with an armature, destroying the h...

This film was weird. It was just going nowhere. Looking at the poster, you might think that it might be somewhat like Summerstorm but it doesn't even come close. This is one of those really bad foreign / independent films where all that happens is bicycle riding. Trust me, thats exactly what they show for a good 30-40% of the initial time in the film. 2 young men Johann 7 Robin are on a train bound for some country-side experience. Half of the film just focuses on them and their adventures of biking in the woods. When their bikes get ultimately stolen, they look for shelter and find a 40s woman with her son. The woman is interested in gay men but her son is not. He is just used to being a bored teenage who just does random things to kill his time. Then random things happen. The 2 boys spent sometime with mother and son and then go back to woods. And then something happens in which one of the boy either gets lost or killed or something. It is not very clear. Trust me, the film was...

This film though might give an impression of a biopic, is really not. Its the directors fantasy that he plays on the screen around the idea of Callas starring in a film production of Carmen at a time where she was losing her command of her magnificent opera voice. Larry is a famous singer who meets Michael, an artist on one of his trips to France. They have an instant attraction and slowly start dating. remember that Larry is much older than him but that means nothing. Michael idolizes Callas, a very very famous opera singer. She is now losing her voice and confidence and prefers to live in seclusion. Larry used to be Callas' agent in her heydays. Larry proposes a film version of her famous opera Carmen to Callas so that the younger generation gets to see her work and see her perform which they have never had the opportunity to. Initially reluctant to star in a film that will use her old recordings dubbed on the film soundtrack, she ultimately gives in. The projects is launched an...

L.I.E. is the coming of age story of a boy who must quickly develop resiliency to cope with the loss of the things closest to him; his mother to the L.I.E., his father to the criminal justice system, and his best friend Gary to the lure of California. This story rings true because it's something that happens in the real world all the time, whether people want to admit it or not. The film captures events and emotions that are complex, challenging, and confusing. But does it make up for an interesting viewing, lets see ahead. Howie belongs to a well affluent family and his father is a lawyer. He alongwith his friend Gary, and a few others have been robbing the expensive houses of their Long Island neighbors just for the excitement of seeing how much they can get away with. Howie clearly doesn't need any money but Gary does. One of their escapades takes them to the house of Big John, a macho ex-marine well known in the neighborhood as a man who likes to have sex with young men. D...

What the hell was that film. Certain things about this film just made no sense whatsoever. What was the point that the film makers were trying to put across? Why did they have to set this film in future? It was all just too bizarre. Agreed they wanted to show what could potentially our life be in next 50 years or so but it is still not good enough reason to make a bad film with some really bad acting. We are in future where every human body has a chip and that is how government keeps a track of you. Somehow there are a couple people here and there who have managed to stay away from being chipped. Middle aged Gary keep all to himself till he meets 20 something Danny. Danny and his mother have just moved to town to stay with her mother until they can find work. It turns out that David's mother was once married to Greg's lab partner. Greg and his partner were the ones who invented the idea of human chips. She is furious with both men for selling out humanity with their invasive ...