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Innocent (Taiwanese Mini Series)

Stories about Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) can be very fascinating if done right. I can't remember this thought being used in any of the gay films or series that I have seen so far, so in that sense, full marks to the makers of this 4 part mini series from Taiwan of about 17-20 minutes each episode. The disjointed narrative initially may feel a bot weird but when through flashbacks we are told exactly what happened, things start to make sense. The chemistry and romantic involvement of the two leads definitely add to the charm. Wu Zheng is an ordinary man living an ordinary life. One day a boy named Yu Shi bumps into him crying for help. Not knowing what to do, he brings him home and finds out that he is actually his neighbor, But Yu Shi seems have a childlike mental condition coming across asa harmless and innocent young boy. Wu Zheng starts to take care of him and starts feeling an inexplicable attraction and love towards Yu Shi. The duo become lovers and Wu Zheng also int...

Traveling To Olympia

Its a shame to see when the intentions behind a film are decent but the execution is so amateurish and bad, you can't help but laugh. This film is, in a few very cases, a story about how some gay men can come together and help each other in time of need with work, emotions and love and make each other a better person. Sadly, only if the intentions translated in the right way. A young boy Johny has just been released from a juvenile facility and now wants to turn around his life. He is on his way to Oylmpia, and manages to get a job in a restaurant since he doesn't want to sell his body. Soon he meet Joel, a guy who works helping gay men who are assaulted for some other case that happened in the restaurant. They soon get into a platonic relationship because Joel never forces himself on Johny understanding very well that he has a troubled past. In parallel we have another story of two fo Joel's friends: a young wealthy college student and his 40 something politician lover. Th...

Gay Short Films From South Korea

My Personal Trainer (South Korea) YouTuber Jin Ho starts going to the gym to collect subscribers. But somehow he's more interested in good-looking trainer Seok Hoon than he is in shape. Looking at Seok Hoon, who is exceptionally friendly, Jin Ho is sure that Seok Hoon is also in love with him. Then, Seok Hoon and Jin Ho met in the shower. "Are you free today, sir?". Very funny and cute short film. I'm Horny Now! (South Korea) Taxi driver Chun-gil begins a search in Jongno in hopes of comforting his lonely heart. He chances upon and is immediately enamored by a young and good-looking Hyun-joon, who is in a chase onset by the discovery of his unfaithful lover's affair. But as the night deepens, this young boy turns out to be more of a drama queen. Dom (South Korea) Kingdom, a condom for convenience stores, is selected and sold by Ji Hoon. Kingdom is presented to Hyun Duk, Ji Hoon's lover, but when he wakes up, he finds himself in an unexpected place. What is the...

Bite Fight (Chinese)

This is one of the more cheesiest and awful gay vampire films I have seen. I mean I have seen a few gay vampire American films that have been outrightly bad. This one doesn't stoop so low at that level (if thats any consolation); but despite that its still pretty lame. Its cheesy, full of cliches but so bad that at certain points I actually ended up enjoying things. I know I know, its embarrassing but what can I do. When Ai Fei gets into a bar fight, a vampire Thomas saves him and bites him to save his life. Thomas brings him home  to slowly fully convert into vampire in the next three months. Initially disgusted with the idea Ai Fei wants to run away but eventually gives in. In fact the dup soon find themselves falling for each other and become lovers. All this while Thomas has been hiding a secret. He is in search of a 'Vampire Bible' to fix something from the past thats related to Ai Fei. It turns out that he accidentally killed his parents and wants to do right by them....

Weekends (Documentary) (Korean)

For some odd reason, I actually quite enjoyed this documentary for almost first 45 minutes and then gradually started losing interest. This happens with me a lot. The initial setup, the introductions of some of the members of the choir, listening to their stories and some amazing music kept me hooked on but then soon enough it started ti get repetitive. Despite that, I have to say that this is one of the more professionally done documentaries with some very good and promising direction. Every weekend the gay male choir G-Voice rehearses in Seoul – as they have been doing since 2003. The choir, being a kind of antidote to homophobic Korean society, makes the everyday lives of gay men its theme in an intelligent and humorous way. For their tenth anniversary, the members are planning to give their first big concert with ambitious arrangements, creative choreographies and many new pieces. This really puts these amateur singers to the test because the enthusiasm of some members outweighs th...

Wildhood (Canada)

I have to admit that I know absolutely nothing about most indigenous tribes. So I am happy the film starts with a screen providing us some background information on Mi’kmaw tribe. This film that primarily traces the journey of Link, a two spirit teenager with Mi’kmaw mother and white father brings a refreshing approach to this road movie, making it a captivating journey of self discovery in both religious roots and sexual awakening. Teenager Link (white father and Mi’kmaw mother) lives with his father and half brother Travis. He father is physically abusive and Link is trying everything to hide the fact that he is two-spirit. When he can't take the abuse anymore, in his desperation to escape, he finds out that his father has been lying to him about his mother's death. She is still very much alive. Link runs away with Travis in search of his mother, who may or may not want him. They meet a stranger Pasmay, their angel in guard who a full-blooded Mi’kmaw and openly two-spirit, ma...

On The Bus (Documentary)

Dustin Lance Black is now a very famous name thanks to the 2008 film Milk that he wrote. Its a shame that I didn't realize this documentary was actually directed by him ay back in 2001. But anyway, I should still try to put my thoughts independent of that fact. 'On The Bus' was originally commissioned as a reality show by a TV entertainment network which later was closed, so Lance, who was now stuck with the footage decided to convert this to an indie documentary feature. The documentary is about 6 different young gay men traveling in a bus from California to Burning Man, a festival known to us all as the festival of radical self-expression. Of course Lance is the lead director along with his producer and they put together. Steam of guys to go on a journey with them. We have a very cute 19 year old Jason who is a porn actor; a waiter cum actor names Charles and Jimmy, a hunky Swedish national. And we have an average looking Damon, whom Lance hopes to balance things. Once on...

Magisterlekarna (Swedish) [The Schoolmaster Games]

I am really not sure what to think of this movie! Was it a musical? Or more like an erotic soft porn? Because although it was neither of those, but with every passing moment of me trying to figure out what is it the makers are trying to go for in this film, I found myself finding the whole premise nothing but an excuse to sensualize the film and make it some sort of melodramatic gay drama pulsating its eroticism and power shifting school dynamic. In an imaginary world I suppose, St Sebastian university has only male gay students. So sex and fun and drama is always in the air. The schoolmaster has a weird sexual tension with one of his students Charles who is this mystery boy and one of the few who doesn't have a boyfriend. While the schoolmaster fantasizes about the Charles, he is also haunted by his own younger days when he was in closet and a time when he was attacked viciously for being gay. Around this simultaneously the auditions for the annual Winter Procession are also going...

Quaranthings: Season 2 (Filipino Series)

Pandemic did give an opportunity to a lot of makers to come up with innovative stories. Some of them succeeded giving us sequels. The first season IMO was quite alright. It wasn't bad but it also wasn't as polished as we would expect it to be, but given people were all craving fo content, the show did well for itself thanks to the two leading men. The story of Judah and Rocky continue in this season with 8 episodes and lets see where this one goes. Judah and Rocky are moving back to the original apartment they met in after a turbulent stay with Judah's grandmother. The duo haven't had sex it seems and Rocky is still not comfortable with openly being gay. The duo share some cute moments together. But Judah soon realizes that the house has two other members: Rocky's ex-girlfriend Che and their former roommate Kulah. Not only does Judah have to struggle with Rocky not being out, he is also worries with his ex girlfriend being in such close proximity to him. A good part...

A Man Who Defies the World of BL 2 (Japanese Series)

I was quite impressed with the original season of this show. The story and idea was novel and the zany, over the top acting quickly grabbed my attention and I was hooked to the show. It was an easy watch Molly because of the whacky and quirky humour by the lead actor. Season 2 continues pretty much where we left where Mobu is giving into BL and ready to be loved, but then nothing really happens till like the last 15 minutes. This show is somehow one step down form the original one. Show starts with Mobu giving into love with Kikuchi, but  Kikuchi’s ex-boyfriend suddenly arrives, declares his feelings, and upstages the moment. Kikuchi and his ex end up kissing in front of a mortified Mob. Mobu feels devastated and he reverts back to his original thought that he is just supposed to be a side character in the BL world. We then have 5 mini episodes focusing on different aspects of BL like them fighting, feeling loved etc etc. We also see the short love story between Mobu's brother and ...

La Patata Bollente (Italian) [Hot Potato]

Old films have their own charm. When you watch them today, they can be a hit or miss, but let me tell you, this comedy film was still quite charming in my opinion. It never takes itself very seriously, but at the same time it does try to address some very pertinent issues like workers union and most importantly homosexuality and humanity. Gandhi, an ex-boxer and a communist works in some sort of factory. He always stands up for his friends and colleagues and is well respected. His girlfriend Maria works in the same factory in the canteen. One evening when walking back home, he sees a young man Claudio being beaten up. Gandhi saves him and brings back home only to later find put that he is gay. For some reason he feels like hiding this event from his colleagues, from Maria and most importantly from the most and drunken building concierge. Caludio helps , goes back to work where his workplace is burned down by the racists again. Gandhi decides to bring him to his home to stay for a few d...

La Edad De La Ira (Spanish) [The Age Of Anger]

Adolescents are much more complex than what we usually think. We have seen many shows dealing with the, primarily Skam comes to mind. This Spanish series portrays their fears, insecurities, doubts, anger, illusions, dreams, passions, tastes and sexual awakening. A 4 part mini series is also a sort of murder drama, but primary focus still on teenager issues. Told through the perspective of 4 different characters, the four-part series divides the drama into acts so that viewers can slowly unfold what's happening. The show starts with young Marcos being taken by police for murdering his own father. Through flashbacks, we meet Sandra, a carefree and rebellious girl with a string mind who is in love with Marcos. Their young love meets uncertainty with arrival of a young student Raul. The trio form an unlikeliest of friendship. Marcos and Sandra try to have sex but somehow Marcos can't concentrate. Despite Sandra confronting him about sexuality, he denies it. But we do see throwing g...

A Very Natural Thing

You have to watch this film knowing that it came back in 1974. Its a simple but very enduring love story and romantic drama of a 26 year gay man living in Manhattan. Even though the film may sounds dated, but interestingly the prime, plot and the story is as relevant in today's time as it must have been then. The film is subtle, basic, realistic without any histrionics or unnecessary drama.  we get to see a real, very honest view on being gay and finding love in a time when we were just developing our community’s voice. After dealing with his religious background, our man David, 26 year old, who is a school teacher is coming to term with being gay. One night he meets Mark at a gay bar and they spend a night together. The one night stand turns into a relationship and they start living together. David is a hopeless romantic and views their relationship as a marriage, but Mark wants more sexual adventure. A strain starts to develop between them but for some reason they stay on togethe...

Angels In America (Mini Series)

I will have to take away your gay card if you haven't heard of one of the most critically acclaimed HBO series, Angels in America. I had seen this show almost 17 years back, so it was fun for me to revisit his after all these years and finally getting an opportunity to review it here on my site. Set in New York City and touted as one of the best show/film of the whole AIDS crisis, this almost 6 hour long series is set in 1985, and the film revolves around six New Yorkers whose lives intersect. The show has elements of fantasy inter spread throughout, especially when one of the leads Prior Walter is occasionally visited by an angel. We meet two couples. Gay couple Walter and his Jewish boyfriend Louis have been together for four years. When Walter sees first signs of lesions on his skin depicting that he must have contracted AIDS, his partner Louis spends no time in running away in opposite direction, with no intention of being a maid to his dying boyfriend. IN Brooklyn, we meet a s...

With Love (Thai Series)

Another Thai BL show in the ocean of many many many series that Thailand is constantly churning out non-stop. Although its from a couple of years back, but given my backlog of things, I am very slowly trying to catch up. IT doesn't help that only a few of these handful shows are actually good. Rest others are average or below at best. This show falls under the latter category. At 15 episodes of about 22-25 minutes each, there are too many characters in this and as audience, you never get to invest in any of them. This series is about four couples who live in the same house, With Love house. Prin & Nathee : Prin is rich boy who is at loggerheads with his father, while Nathee I a country boy who has recently moved for university. Because of some situation, they end up sharing a room and before you know they become a couple. For some reason, Prin instantly likes him and flirts non stop. Thann & Kavin :Thann is Nathee's cousin and lived abroad in Korea. He reunites with his...