Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

This is an anthology of 8 short films, each of approximately 15 minutes. Most of them are too short to matter, but always end in a kiss (hence the title, I suppose), and you're usually left watching characters kiss before you even know who they are. Only a couple of the stories have potential and some genuine chemistry. Even though they are all so short already, you still feel there is a lot of fluff for no reason at all. 1. Raise Me? Since Seokmin is never home, he goes on an app and hires a freelancer named Jaeho for one specific job to look after 'Gamdong', his seven-year-old plant. Jaeho takes the gig even though he knows absolutely nothing about gardening. Before long, Seokmin starts getting annoyed because Jaeho won't stop blowing up his phone with endless questions and random updates about the plant's progress. The two leads don't know much about each other and they end up kissing which feels so not organic. 2. Folding? You! Woonhee is a university studen...

Unlike the other time travel shows, this series is different because it takes our protagonist back in time to fix things/events that could change his future after he dies. Its a BL so romance and drama are abundant and the main storyline is mostly towards the beginning and end, while mid is filled with growth of love and some problems arising here and there to keep the drama going. The show is 10 episodes, each almost an hour long, give or take.  Successful superstar Armin has just won major award is having a party, He finds out his longtime partner is cheating on him, gets into a fight with the rival, and dies during to the scuffle. But he is actually poisoned. Surprisingly Armin wakes up in the past, when he was still a single struggling nobody in his early 20s. In this confusion, he is about to be run over, when he is suddenly saved by mysterious handsome Tada, a secret fan of his form previous life, whom Armin never met and knew him only as TD. Armin is now suspicious of everyo...

Yet another enemies to lover story in the BL world, this series has some charm to it, thanks to its two main leads. The setting of a resort and a very grounded life-like romance between the two makes it a relatable yet swoon-worthy watch with realism and chemistry. The fact that it's only 6 episodes adds to the charm and the story doesn't stray into unnecessary sub plots. Each episode is about 35 minutes and the principal photography is very good to look at. The story is straight forward. In the setting of a resort that plans events for its clients, we see that the General Manager has decided to resign to focus on his health and in next three months, he needs to pick a new GM. Drew, who has been working with him for a while seems natural choice , but a new employee Shawn mixes things up. Shawn is nice and friendly but Drew sees him as a competition and trie to avoid him. Also given Drew has a family to support, this promotions is really critical for me. One day they both realiz...

There are plenty of films that I have already seen which talk about a few church priests taking advantage of young boys and the aftermath of that many years later. This subject has been presented in movies format, short films and commentaries. But sadly there are so many cases all around this subject, that I keep finding out about more and more new stuff. This is one such film that chooses to describe itself as a fiction based on known facts. It shows how grown men who had been abused by Father Preynat as young boys courageously decided to take action by bringing charges. The scale of the abuse is staggering, and there’s an explanation; the Church knew of the abuse and rather than stop it, they covered it up, allowing it to continue. The film is almost episodic where it focuses on three of its central characters, who are introduced to us through their distinctive narratives. The first is Alexandre, a well-to-do media advisor with five kids, a wife, and a beautiful home. He’s only recen...

This 6 episode, 50 minute each BL series has absolutely nothing new to offer. The plot is extremely basic, there is literally no drama element at all and each single episode just drags on forever. I mean there was no pint that the makers were trying to make, so my question is why even make a series? It felt like this show doesn't care about the plot, but about the cuteness of their relationship. Meen lives by himself and usually has a very dull life. One day he finds a stray dog in his backyard and he decides to adopt hi,. Meen’s peaceful life gets disrupted when his mother suddenly sends Tul, the son of her friend, to live with him in Chiang Mai. Being very protective of his dog, Meen doesn’t want anyone else living in the house, so he does everything he can to drive this new housemate away. But soon he realizes that Tul as much loves and cares for his dog as Meen does. His clingy, puppy-like charm starts to melt Meen’s heart, a heart that’s never beat faster for anyone before. Th...

At its core, Ladybug is an unconventional ghost story, hiding sexual trauma and murderous tendencies just beneath the surface. I am not a fan of horror films, but this was thankfully not scary horror, more like paranormal thriller/romance genre-blend. It is also quite a slow burner, so it warrants a lot of patience to watch it. The ending may be open and unclear with audiences having to do their own interpretations. The story is relatively straight forward. Grayson isa new and upcoming artist who has recently broken up with his boyfriend after he cheated on him. Tasked with creating new pieces to sell by his agent Wendy, he decides to come to a country cabin far away from the city. In the cabin he feels like he is being watched and one night he finds a lady bug on himself so he sets it free. Noticing that cabin requires some repairs, he calls in for. Handyman and next day Sawyer shows up. He is a good looking lad and they both sort of flirt with one another while Sawyer fixes up stuff....

This series was an actually quite disappointing. I fee like it had potential but the arguments, the enemies to friends to lover trope, the revenge plot; it all seemed nice but executed timidly. Worst of all, at no point was I able to connect to either of the two leads, who also did not share any chemistry at all. The saving grace is like most Japanese shows it was only 8 episodes of 25 minutes each. I think my biggest issue with the series was that it was just boring. In high school Hiro is this loner kid, who was always into flowers and plants. HIs timid nature made him an easy target for being bullied which left him with bad memories of high school. All grown up now, he has transformed himself into a stylish, professional hairstylist. Then we have Natsuo. He was in same high school, who never bullied Hiro, but his constant chatter and clumsy behavior irritated Hiro, who wanted to be left alone. One day he invites Hiro at rooftop to confess his love but suddenly other classmates arriv...

This Peruvian film is the remake of Mexican film "Hazlo Como Hombre" which I have already reviewed earlier here. I guess one advantage of watching so much content os that you tend to forget a lot of what you have seen, so in that sense, at least I didn't feel like I was seeing something I have already seen. Also given that the actors here were new in a new location helped, but the humor of the original is definitely intact here. Peru doesn't come up with a lot of LGBTQ+ context, so this is another welcome change. Raul, Eduardo and Santiago have been friends since childhood and have had a happy and “masculine” life. Raul is expecting a bay with his wife and Santi is dating Raul's sister, who complains to Raul's wife that they are not having enough sex. In a surprise, one day Santi confesses to his two friends that he is gay and decides to separate from his girlfriend. The sister tries her best to win Santi back, leading to a few hilarious scenes, but to no impa...

This is one of those BL series where story is c coherent mess, the characters behave irrationally most time, is a guilty pleasure to watch because clearly the focus was on skin, hot bodies and a lot of sex (with a little bit of story throw in). Combined with bad acting, it was entertaining here and there but overall was just bad and stretched for no reason at all. The series had 10 episodes of 50-60 minutes and I special episode and still the makers did not know how really they wanted to end the show. A young man Kyle returns to his hometown, heir to sardine family business after many years returning from Manila trying to take a break from financial scandal and his ex-boyfriend and former business partner. Estranged from his father and burdened by the past, Kyle tries to lay low by immersing himself in the company’s operations. He is sent to see to see how the operations are handled and there he mets hot and handsome Andre, a lowly labour who works on the board. He is a humble fisherma...

As you can likely guess by the poster itself, this film is over the top. But at the same time its very heartwarming family-comedy film that never overstays its welcome and makes its point across with sharp wit and humor. It perfectly blends heart and humor, offering audiences the kind of feel-good entertainment that leaves you smiling long after the credits roll. The title means "stepmother" Victor “Beki” Labrador finds out that his love of his life Enrique has passed away. He travels a long distance to make sure he attends his funeral. At his will reading, he is shocked to fund out that he has left him half estate and stake in family business with one condition that Beki must move in his mansion and live with his two sons and their stern grandmother as the stepmother. What follows is a heartfelt and funny journey as Beki confronts the past and tries to win over a family that wants nothing to do with him. Through flashbacks we learn that Beki met Enrique in school in country ...

This is a very ambitious series made on a very grand scale. You can imagine when you are to try and showcase palaces, royalties, games, elaborate stunning costumes, ornate jewelry, royal rivalries, and forbidden romances.etc; so in that way it succeeds in doing all that. There is deception, fights as well which I will talk about in a while and a few steamy sex scenes between our prince and his royal guard too. But overall there is much les romance here and more about the whole royal family story, which could be interesting for some while others may feel cheated with not as much of BL focus. The makers have tried to capture way too many subplots here. With a long run tome of over one hour every episode, this 14 episode series takes a lot of commitment to watch with the last episode going over 90 minutes in duration. We are introduced to a kingdom of Emmaly in Thailand. There are 4 big clans who take turns running the kingdom deepening on which family proves to be a worthy successor. We ...

I was wondering what happened to Alan Carr's series follow up season. I didn't realize that I was late to the party. Having just finished the Celebrity Traitors UK version, it reminded me ho wI enjoyed this series. Thankfully getting ny hands on season 3 turned out to be easy. I just did not know it was already out. Season 3 returns to Northampton in 1989 and to a 13-year-old Alan Carr navigating the awkward currents of adolescence. The series draws directly from the comedian’s youth while keeping its themes instantly readable. This season centers on Alan’s emerging sexuality and an intense crush on Jake, a handsome classmate. This season we witness Alan having a crush on his classmate Jake. When he sees him working in a local store and then later at swimming pool. Unlike other boys, Jake is not dismissive of Aland and is friendly and of course Alan sees this as a sign of friendship. While the underlying theme is that of Alan finally growing into a teenager, every episode conti...

This period drama set in the 80s in Chile battles bigotry with both vengeance and compassion. In the Chilean desert, eleven-year-old Lidia grows up in a loving queer family pushed on the edge of an unwelcoming dusty mining town. They are blamed for a mysterious illness that's starting to spread -- said to be passed through a single gaze. I guess it's a metaphor for AIDS pandemic but I am not sure tbh. There is a commune of transgender women who live in a Chilean desert. As a new plague begins taking hold, rumors run wild about how prolonged eye-contact or a loving gaze, shared with a gay man or transgender woman can lead to infection. Eleven-year-old girl Lidia is bullied about this by her male friends, since her mother Flamingo is a trans woman belonging to a close-knit community of “transvestites” and is sort of the beauty queen there. She herself is sick at this point. The girl take their revenge on the boys by beating them up. One night around cabaret performances, a man na...

Mirroring the gay dating situation in today's life and taking a cue for its title courtesy the many gay dating apps, this film focuses on a 20 year old boy who is obsessed with Grindr. Tired of it and not finding anything suitable, the film focuses on just one night where our lead protagonist starts obsessively looking for a real experience in the Buenos Aires nightlife. The film starts with 20 year old Santi meeting a guy at his apartment for hookup. The trust doesn't go how he planned to, so he goes back to work and share all details with his best friend at work Karen. Santi is constantly on Grindr looking for hookup, posing for and posting photos, as well as swiping and texting profiles and waiting for someone to message him. The film presents him as a lonely, horny, young gay man searching for someone and something. We are not sure. Santi sets up a date to met another guy at a bar but after few minutes of conversation, this guy tries to arrange some intimacy in a bar bathro...

Toad Song (China) Eight-year-old Letian is called to bring his parents to school after getting into a fight and bringing tadpoles. He feels he now needs to find new home for tadpoles, but in the process he realizes the strange setup of his family. Mom and dad don'ts sleep together and an "uncle" stays on. One night he sees his dad with the other guy and he is confused. This new info while working on finding new home for tadpoles brings this small family closer. In the film makers words - "a child helping a tadpole find a home, a story of a child growing up in a marriage of convenience and defining what 'home' means to them" The kid was great and its nice beautiful film. My Senses Are All I Have to Offer (Portugal) Lourdes and Lana met telepathically using “sensory pills,” a technology that allows access to other people’s sensations from a distance. After months of relationship, Lourdes decides to visit the country house of her gay parents, Vicente and Ca...