Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

Finally, the mother of all gay films. Of course I had seen the film way back when it released on the big screen but I started writing my blog only much later. So, it was in my TODO list to watch the film again, so that I can review it for my blog. Whoever watches or has any slight interest in gay films, knows and has probably even seen this film. I finally got to see the film again with a buddy who is just getting into the world of gay cinema, and what better film than this to onboard him to this wonderful world. The film begins in 1963, when Ennis and Jack, about 19 years old, get a job tending sheep on Brokeback mountain. Ennis is a boy of very few words. He learned to be guarded and fearful long before he knew what he feared. Jack, who has done some rodeo riding, is a little more outgoing. After some days have passed on the mountain and some whiskey has been drunk, they suddenly and almost violently have sex. Denying the initial incident as one-off thing, slowly the 2 men fall ...

This was a sweet and short (50-min) made for TV film. I wouldn’t particularly classify this is a gay themed film but one of the two protagonists happens to be gay and hence it makes sense to review it here for my blog. Helen in her mid-late 40s has been leading a very affluent life. One day she comes home to find her dead husband and later realises that her husband had overdrawn his credit account and that suddenly Helen is now penniless compare to the rick upper class woman that she was so far. She moves in her daughter’s room (who is going for a long holiday), which is a in s shared space with common living room and everyone having a personal bedroom. She meets Joeri, a carefree good looking young man living a wild and i-don’t-give-a-damn attitude. He is not ashamed to admit that he works as an escort and his clientele is mostly gay men and married men and that he is open for any kind of fetishes as long as he can make money. Joeri and Helen form an interesting bond of friendshi...

This film continues in the trans bandwagon, just as the title of the film suggests. The film had potential and could have addressed issues and talks but sadly it misses on that count. This doesn’t mean that the film is bad. The film is more of an emotional story between a father and his child, than really addressing the underlying issues. Widowed Tobias is happy in his life with his 15 year old son Finn. Finn is trying to hook up his father with potential dates. When he gets to study in Sf for one year, he cannot leave this opportunity and he decides to go. Problem starts a year later, when Finn comes back home. 16-year old Finn is now Helen, a big secret that somehow Finn managed to keep secret from his father. Tobias is shocked at first but tries to understand. Thankfully there is no full-on drama. Next we see how people around Helen are getting used to the transition. As expected, problems arise at school at various levels and harassing also happens but Helen bravely faces ever...

This film was such a waste of time. It’s one of the this instances when you feel like the maker was totally self-indulgent and pretentious and we as viewers had to bear his experiment of artistic cinema. The film has absolutely nothing going for it. To top it all, the film is filled with random murky artistic inserts throughout every 5-7 minutes for no reason whatsoever, just so that the duration of the film could be increased. From a story perspective there is nothing. Massimo is an Italian swimmer who is visiting Russia for a competition. He meets Vladimir, who happens to be a translator. They hit it off and that grows into love. They walk around, talk and dance. And at some point they talk about freedom, meaning of being gay in Russia. Yes, thats pretty much it. And in between you get to see old footage of Russia, and some old film that made absolutely no sense to a viewer like me. Acting by leads was ok but they are cheated by a low production value and absolutely lazy and dul...

Like most fans, I was also very disappointed when TV show looking was cancelled, but at the same time good news came that a film will be made with the characters to give a logical conclusion to stories, some of which were left open at the end of season 2. Having seen the film now, I think it was a good decision to make the film. The film delivers everything that the show had promised. Much like the series, the film is not about the plot but its about all those wonderful moments that unfold before you, as if you are part of the group. Patrick is back to SF after having moved to Denver 10 months ago. Its Augustine’s wedding and what better occasion to reconnect with his old friends and his old life. Everyone is surprised at Augustine’s decision to get married since he has become exactly the guy whom he used to despise, but as film unfolds, we are told its all part of growing up process. When he has finally met the love of his life, why not take the plunge and move on. Dom’s restaura...

Dániel (UK) Dániel is from Budapest and is studying child psychology in London. He is kind & patient and works as part time as a male escort to pay for his tuition fees. Dániel is invited by his closest friend Nori to have lunch where she introduces her  lover Tom. Tom has plans for Nori and they don’t include Daniel and he quietly asks him to back off. Beautifully made but perhaps not as ambitious as it could have been. Un mundo brillante (Spain) [A Bright World] A coming-of-age tale about fantasies and pain, when a boy has this huge crush on his football player mate. Soft (UK) When a father and son are independently terrorised by the same gang of youths, Dad is forced to deal with fears that he hasn't had to face since leaving school, rediscovering his fear of confrontation at the worst possible time. Very interesting! Pretty boy (Spain) The story of Pablo, a hustler who dreams of being a filmmaker. When he falls in love with a guy he meets, his life begins fee...

Mardistan (Macholand) explores what it means to be a man in India. I was under the impression that this documentary would focus more on the gay aspect of men in the country but I was disappointed. Though they touch upon the subject in a minor segment but overall the documentary does try to enlighten the fact of what it means to be a man in India, a nation increasingly defined by social inequality and gender related violence. There are 4 main protagonists in the documentary whose life story we get to hear. Interestingly they represent different phases of generation as well. First we have a middle-aged writer trying to make sense of the physical and sexual abuse he witnessed studying in an elite military academy and the shock he goes through. He grows up confused as to what real meaning of manhood is. Secondly we have a Sikh father of twin daughters resisting the pressure to produce a son. And we find out this is because he was born when his father was quite old. The social pressure...

These days I barely am getting time to watch films. It breaks my heart because there is so many films to see and once in a while when I do get time, I hope that the film is a good one. So imagine, when you end up watching some bad spoof in the name of comedy with loopholes plenty. The intent probably is nice but its a very bad execution. Maggie runs a bed and breakfast in the town of Saugatuck. The planned thanksgiving dinner does not go well with her gay son Drew and her stuck up daughter Penelope, who thinks Drew needs to pray for his sins. She brings with her, her fiance Paul and we also have Brett, who is Drew’s best friend and also Penelope’s ex.  It turns out that Maggie’s cancer has come back but the said procedure will take a lot of money. Penelope refuses to help. Brett comes up with an idea of travelling church to church pretending to cure latent homosexuality and raise money for Maggie’s procedure. They start making money in ludicrous and over the top acting, until ...

Poker Gayme (USA) On a regular poker night, one of the friends in accidentally outed and is hurt when no one acts surprised and gives him a hard time. Cute n funny. Tenho Local (Brazil) [Get A Room] Daniel makes a date for casual sex with a stranger at his place. He lives moments of adrenaline in this strange crazy night. This is what role-play is about because the stranger happens to be the boyfriend. Bloom (USA) A dismal used car lot is owned by a very angry man. His vicious dogs guard the inventory at night, when only two other people work: Doug, the security guard and Rose, the bookkeeper. Rose likes Doug but he is going through a rough patch with his boyfriend, who in turn decides to surprise him; only to be attacked by vicious dogs. Cinquième Fugue (France) A young student takes lessons with a teacher to learn piano. Yawn! A Song for Your Mixtape (USA) An exploration about love and loss where the guy has lot his love first to a girl and then to life but he is s...

This film tries to explore the masculinity of modern Australian make. The subject is a bit dark, in terms of the amount of pain that these men are ready to inflict upon each other and exploit each other. The film is shown a lot in flash backs and things start to make sense only after a while, so be patient. The film is about three guys: Len, Meat and Phil. Len is the champion of a NSW surf life saving club and finds his position threatened by the club’s new golden boy Phil. Phil is younger, more handsome and gay. Phil being gay is an issue for Len, which we later find out does not come from ignorance, but rather his own repressed gay desires caused by an abusive father and the relentless machismo of his social circle. On the night of celebration of Phil’s win Len manipulates Meat (who for some reason does everything that Len wants him to do) into stripping an almost unconscious Phil of his clothes, burying him in sand up to his neck, and forcing him to sit back and watch the tide ...

I was so so so happy when I got to see the season 2 of this web series. I can’t believe I did not even know that it was under production. Having loved the season one, you can’t even imagine the excitement I had to watch the season 2, because I expected nothing but the best. This season may not be as good as season 1, but still this is a pretty darn good sequel where it returns from where the characters were left. And yes, I will continue to want more seasons and sequels to this web series. Season 1 ended with Oona’s blog picking up, Jack & Mitchell were finally starting to work on their friendship and Paul was getting into a grad school. Time has passed and the stories continue. Paul and Jack are string to make their long distance relationship work by opening it up. Jack has been meeting few people here and there and as always is quite unsure about what’s happening between him and Paul (Scruffy from season one and we find out his name in this season). Mitchell has a new boyfri...

It was  novel idea to take a couple of real life gay porn stars and make a film that probably enters around a similar theme, but not every idea on paper turns out to be a good reality. The film tries to examine the loneliness and the resiliency of the human condition, especially in our main protagonist’s case who also happen to be a famous porn star. Rashawn, a young African-American wanna actor is now Elijah, the hot porn star and escort still struggling to pay his rent. When his roommate leaves abruptly, he rents his spare bedroom to Takeshi, a kindly employee at his favourite takeout palace. The shy Takeshi, who has no problems with Elijah’s job soon finds himself inundated in Elijah’s existence; although admittedly he is not gay. He is fascinated by how popular his room mate is, while he is practically invisible in and around NYC. aries that brings the two together for a moment of intimacy that neither will soon forget. In between, we also meet one of Elijah’s clients, Bryso...

First of all I would like to give a big thank you to the makers of the film for showing us this bitter truth and ugly reality of one of the aspects of Section 377 in India. The incident occurred six years ago, in 2010, but the film's themes – the violation of one's privacy, imposing one's morality on others, intolerance, and society's ten Professor Siras is a 64 year old man who teaches Marathi at Aligarh Muslim University. He is shown living a very solitary lonely life busy listening to his favourite singer’s old classic songs. As part of the sting operation, he is caught and filmed having sex with a rickshaw-puller from worker class and is subsequently suspended from his position in the university just 4 years before he is supposed to retire from the university. Deepu, is a budding journalist, and when he reads this whole story, wants to help the professor. After initial misunderstanding, he finally manages to strike a bond with the professor; something that star...

Coming Out (UK) Quirky comedy about deaf identity - a deaf teenager reveals a personal secret to his hearing mother. Why does he have ‘dirty’ magazines and videos hidden in his room? What will his father say when he finds out? The unexpected revelations question whether family life will ever be the same again. You can easily draw parallels with being Gay. Wonderful film! Keep Breathing (Israel) A young man’s strong feelings for his ex turns into an obsession when he starts stalking him and even turns up at his girlfriend’s house. Better sense prevails and he is back to reality with support of his best friend. Just Tonight (USA) Two strangers meet on a hookup app with very different expectations of how the night will go. For one, its the first time and for the other, its just a getaway from his boyfriend. Listen (UK) A government worker, who spends his time monitoring phone-calls, becomes inspired by a series of conversations between a gay son and his mother. Duvid (U...

This was an interesting weird film. I don’t think I still completely understand what exactly happened with the whole twist, but to be honest I really don’t care. Yes, the film is confusing, yet pretty straight forward and it still keeps for an engaging viewing. It never lets you bore besides the confusion that it adds. Also I don’t think it is a gay film per say. Yes there is a gay couple and yes maybe  they try to seduce the straight guy but thats that. 40-year-old Anna brings her much younger lover, Stefan, to her childhood home. She meets her old school friend Bernd and his boyfriend Marc of 20 years. The protagonists stay in a secluded location )of this house in east Germany) for a few nights, the house serves as a pressure cooker of emotions and sexual tensions. There is open-pit mine activities going o the town that sends occasional small quakes in the region. The metaphor also is important since it is the similar quakes thats happening in Anna’s life. Marc, who is a well ...