Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

A queer themed time loop story is definitely novel idea. I have seen a few time travel stories so far (primarily in the Asian BL market), but time loop is definitely different. There is a certain appeal to the idea of a protagonist reliving their lives in a loop while trying to figure their way out of it and Spark fits well into this category. It is a thriller love story that makes for a decent watch, but somewhere remains short in keeping viewers engaged for a long time.  Aaron, is the careless, in-love twenty-something caught in an annoying time loop. Every afternoon, Aaron wakes up to their roommate Dani, offering them a glass of wine that has gone horribly off. Dani reminds them her habit to refuse to see red flags in guys and Aaron promises to do better. All that starts to change once he meets Trevor, an intriguing stranger he’s paired up with for a birthday party scavenger hunt. While Trevor at first seems fairly distant and aloof, there is a hint of interest, which is enough...

The second season of this show was pretty messy according to me. Numreous characters are introduced in every episode and after a while it is so hard to keep a track on who's who, what they are doing, what is their motivation etc etc. As it is the show wasn't great to begin with, but Iw as hoping that some of the stories that were left open in season 1 would be tackled and completed here, but I was disappointed. After a point I didn't even care and wanted to just know a little bit more about 3-4 characters who I had connected with in season 1 and see what happens. So in my very brief review here, thats all I will talk about. This season was 6 episodes of about 20-30 minutes. 18 year old virgin Marco finally gets lucky, when his straight friend agrees that he also likes Marco and is open to trying to do something. They both have their first sexual experience , which is both awkward, messy and clearly they were unprepared. Marco is still very much into open, but his experience...

The little mini-series from Vietnam was a decent watch. IT had drama, love, emotion, family, everything in it. Sure, it is really hard to combine all this in a small series, but I would rather have the story move forward fast and crispy rather than it being starched unnecessarily. With only 5 episodes of average 15 minutes each, this is an easy watch. The series starts with a girl introducing her boyfriend to her parents, Hi name is Bao. When her brother walks in, both the guys are surprised. The brother Khanh works a s aTA at the same department where Bao studies. We are told that just a couple of days back , the two had a steamy gay hookup. Also turns out that Khanh has a wife and he is always trying to avoid her. While continuing his affair with Bao, Khanh keeps requesting him to not play games with his sister, but in reality this was all a sham. The sister is actually lesbian and good friends with Bao and they were pretending to do a sham marriage so that eventually she could divor...

This Korean series has its merits and not so good things here. This is a pure romance story between two boys, with their romance unfolding through mutual, conscious choices. There’s no dramatic villain here either; the real challenge lies in balancing public athletic careers with the desire for privacy. It's a campus romance which could have used tighter pacing and a slight more. Eventually, for me it ended up being extremely vanilla and bland. The series has 8 episodes of about 30 minutes each. Ji Won is a retired gymnast who has just entered university. He used to be a popular athlete, so for a change he just wants to lay low and not get any attention. He meet the basketball star of the university Jeong U , and the two cannot look away from one another. They are both aware of each other's popularity as well. Soon. Friendship and an attraction starts to develop and they both make it obvious in their own way. One day when Jeong U finally confesses his love and aspiration to dat...

Exploring the romantic relationship between two childhood friends, Loy and Kaew, this series features themes of forbidden love, social class differences, and the struggle against prejudice in rural backdrop in Thailand countryside.Unfortunately there are way too many characters and a very soap opera kinda feeling and direction made this show a bit boring for me. The series is 6 episodes of about 40 minutes each. Loy, is a kind hearted son of a widow, whose father died and they have big loan to pay and then we have Kaew, who comes from a more nobler family. The setting is rural Thailand where farming is the way of life. The dup have been extremely close friends since they were kids. Both are strikingly handsome, natural leaders & pillars of the community, and are desirable by a lot of eligible females in this rather small community. One day they kiss each other (happens in the very first episode) but the leaves both of them confused. A few days later it happens again and they realiz...

This film is supposed to be a comedy thriller but honesty I enjoyed the film only in bits and pieces. It starts off almost serious about this gay couple desperately looking to become parents. It soon veers into a road film, to a series or murders, back to gay child adoption. Satire is clearly not a genre that I most related to. It could be fun if done right, but IMO this was not. Dom and Cole are a married gay couple looking to adopt a baby. While making videos about themselves, they are still waiting to get picked up by a potential mother. For their upcoming anniversary, they decide to take a Roman holiday, which would also double as their baby moon, give they are at very last stages. The dup have some anxieties about parenthood, but nothing different from anyone else. For their anniversary night, Dom's father's closest friend who is Italian has booked them into a dinner experience at some really popular chef in rural Italy. Meanwhile, the prospective mother chooses them as th...

This Taiwanese series is supposed to be an action-romantic-comedy, but it ends up largely being a silly, cutesy romance, with some elements of action and comedy sprinkled here and there. So, essentially, if you take away bits of spy-fights etc; it is once agin tier another series which is about two boys falling in love following the usual BL tropes. The series has 12 episodes of 24-28 minutes each, so thankfully easier time management. Story is that bold and the show could have easily been folded sooner. The show starts with Xiao Bai and Da Hei looking for an apartment as roommates together. They dont know each other well. Once they find an apartment, we find that Da Hen is actually an investigation officer, who has been sent to keep an eye on Xiao Bei, who works for a local gangster to raise some money for his sister's surgery who is in hospital and insurance doesn't cover. Da Hei has lied to his grandmother who runs a food stall near the gangster's office about the sister...

“Identity Crisis” dives into one of the most polarizing debates of our time: the rise of gender ideology and its impact on children. It takes a critical look at the modern conversation around gender identity, particularly how it's playing out in the lives of young people and their families. Now do I agree with this documentary or representation? 1% yes, largely no and we will see how it plays out. The core of this documentary feels like something based through an Anti Transgender agenda. I would be the first person to say that I don't understand Trans completely but I believe in people having the right choose what they want for themselves. This documentary largely shows us a perspective from the other side. It shows us individuals, parents and families, who did let the individuals go through transition by taking medicine and many cases going through surgery as well. They feel like gender ideology was on such a rise that doctors would force and tell parents if you do not accept ...

Trust BBC to always come up with show that constantly redefine content but also find stories (this one is inspired by a true story), that give a great representation of the LGBTQ+ community. I have seen many stories about trans people, but I am not aware of a major production house creating a series of this magnitude, reminding people that trans lives have always existed, and will continue to exist long after this moment. Apparently the series brings in Paris Lees’ acclaimed memoir to the screen (in all honesty, I have no clue who Paris Lee is, but the fact that it is still an inspiration from someone's actual life, makes it so much more interesting). The series offers a fearless and deeply human portrait of a trans, working-class person rarely seen on British television. It is 8 episodes each of 50-55 minutes. The story follows 15 year old Byron, caught between the homes of his mum, dad and gran, finding ‘freedom’ in Nottingham’s underground club scene. Show starts with us meeting...

Set in 2006 in West Yorkshire, this is your simple boy-meets-boy teenage gay love story touching on nostalgia, teenage angst and indie pop with a gentle hand. We have seen many films in the same genre, so I was hoping for something different, but sadly the film follows a very predictable narrative approach. It's not bad at all, but how I wish there was something more. The film works only thanks to the charm of its two leading actors.  George is 16 year old teenager, navigating the difficult road of social and academic failure in a small town. George, who’s certain of his own talent even though no one else seems to share that belief, dreams of becoming a famous musician. He is not good at studies ether and his father and school teachers are very worried about his future. Enter Max, a handsome student, the son of a mega-famous musical duo, who much to surprise of George, takes interest in George and his music. Their budding friendship both excites and confuses George, leading him to ...

This show should be avoided completely. Firstly, the show is clearly left midway after 6 episodes. There is no proper conclusion and as audience we are left with a lot of questions. I read online, that the makers did not pay the actors because of which they left the show midway and hence the so called 'incomplete' show. Which Actually might be a blessing in disguise, because the acting and direction of this show were so ridiculously bad. But then you never know, the makers may hire a new crew and make season 2 for all you know. For now this series was 6 episodes of 50 minutes each. Nerdy student Nu is told by an astrologer that once he encounters three mishaps, he will find a sexy hot man as love of his life. While walking to college, he is almost hit by Sun who was driving his car. Sun a second year medical student. Once he goes to college, he meets Chain, a senior on his faculty who seems to like Nu. Since Nu is a nerd, he is unable to make many friends, and Chain introduces ...

Ideally, a coming-of-age film of pre-teen attraction/love/friendship between two boys, I would not classify this as a queer love story. Yes, it is somewhere there is the overall spectrum, but this film is a delicately elegant and extremely meticulous exploration of love and fear. I had heard about this film, ever since it premiered in Cannes and for some reason had been delaying watching it. And when I finally did, I realized that how much this film makes you think. The premise is about an incident with a school boy in his class, and its ramifications, both domestic and institutional; and how the story is told from three different perspectives.  We meet a single mother raising her young son Minato, who’s starting to behave strangely, ask unsettling questions, develop injuries, and chant about some sort of unknown monster. He even goes missing in a storm drain, jumping from his mother’s moving car. One day when he comes home with a facial injury, he says that a teacher Mr. Hori ...

This is a story told from the perspective of a closeted Samoan man, who returns home after 10 plus years haunted by a secret from his childhood. With his dead mother's ghost lurking around, he needs to embrace his truth and help his mother make peace.Told in 6 episodes of just 10 minutes each, this one is a quick and easy watch. It never goes into the too dramatic zone. I found this very interesting, because we normally get to see many queer stories from Pacific Islands. A young bride Hana is rehearsing for her wedding with all of her extended Samoan family when suddenly her older bog brother Moni arrives. Moni has been MIA for over 10 years and is rumored to be in London. Hana and everyone else is surprised and she is in no mood to forgive her brother, especially when he did not even care to show up for their mother's death few month. When Moni goes home, his mother's ghost is there to haunt him. He is the only one who can see her and this needs to be an opportunity for Mo...

Yet another of those overtly sweet college level drama with a hint of humor. It was a good change from the recent heavy dramas I have seen but having said that, the story here is barely there. It is filled with every regular BL trope imaginable. The series has 11 episodes each of about 40-45 minutes. The main story is between Sant and Jay, and of course there comes a third wheel and other situations. Sant is a college student who was raised by his grandparents. With his best friend, he runs a food channel. He has a sweet tooth and his tooth had been hurting a lot. So he goes to meet dentist Jay, but he has some kind of phobia (we later learn that his parents abandoned him at the dentist office). Jay takes a liking for Sant and starts to encourage him and get him out of his fear to finally take care of his teeth. But in the process Jay also falls for Sant and starts to pursue him. Enter Jimmy, an old friend of Jay, who now runs a cafe, where Sant joins as a part-timer, and sparks fly be...

Ricky Martin - A Loco Life documentary has got to be one of the laziest and lukewarm documentaries ever made. When you have an enigmatic subject like Ricky Martin, you expect all sorts of details to be known, hear from friends and family and what not, instead what you get here is a Siri-like voice reading an essay of sorts on the life of Ricky Martin, with zero emotions with visuals of pictures and video snippets. What's worse, the only interview we hear is of some random lady who is supposedly a pop-historian who gives her views of Ricky's life. I mean, what the hell!! Why even make a documentary if you do not connects to even a single person associated the actual person you are talking about !! Anyone who has ever been a fan of Ricky Martin knows exactly what happened. From being a part of all boys band under 18 called Menudo to how he became the global phenomenon is very quickly walked through in this documentary. We see how he becomes a teen heartthrob, takes a short break,...