Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

Loving Vincent (DVD Review) – Van Gogh inspires the world’s first fully painted movie

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Irrespective of anything else, Loving Vincent is an impressive achievement. It’s the world’s first animated movie that’s ‘fully painted’. In practice that means that the entire thing was filmed with actors and the using that footage it was later animated by a team of over 100 artists using oil paintings for both the characters and the background – and all done in the style of Vincent Van Gogh.

The film is set a year after Van Gogh’s death. Vincent’s friend from Arles, Postman Joseph Roulin (Chris O’Dowd), forces his slacker son, Armand (Douglas Booth), to hand deliver the artist’s final letter to his brother, Theo. After Armand discovers Theo is also dead, he travels on to the place where Vincent spent his final days, Auvers-sur-Oise, to see whether he should give the letter to the man who was supposed to be looking after him at the time, Dr. Gachet (Jerome Flynn). [Read more…]

The Program (Blu-ray Review)

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Over the years, numerous movies about Lance Armstrong have been in the works but never got made. Indeed, one was about to move forward just as he admitted he had doped for his entire career. It’s almost a shame we don’t have a movie from when he was almost universally admired as a hero, so we could compare it to the darker world of The Program.

At the start of the movie Lance (Ben Foster) is an okay but unexceptional cyclist, who few think will ever do anything special. After overcoming testicular cancer, he returns with a passion to win, and knowing the world of cycling is riddled with cheats taking performance-enhancing drugs, he decides he will do the same, enlisting the help of Michele Ferrari (Guillaume Canet) to allow him to set up a ‘Program’ that will help him win, as well as arranging to have a team built around him that will ensure a Tour de France victory. [Read more…]

The Program Trailer – Ben Foster is Lance Armstrong in Stephen Frears’ biopic

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the-program-ben-fosterThe moment it became clear Lance Armstrong was finally going to admit to doping during his cycling career, Hollywood immediately jumped in and put several biopics in the works. The first to arrive is The Program, directed by Stephen Frears and with Ben Foster in the lead role.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘From Academy Award® nominated director Stephen Frears (The Queen, Philomena) and producers Working Title (The Theory Of Everything, Everest, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), comes the true story of the meteoric rise and fall of one of the most celebrated and controversial men in recent history, Lance Armstrong.

‘Inspired by the award winning book “Seven Deadly Sins” by David Walsh, and featuring a stellar cast including Ben Foster, Chris O’Dowd, Guillaume Canet (Tell No One) and Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad), this tense and suspenseful thriller looks at how one of the greatest deceptions in the modern era was uncovered while Armstrong convinced the world he was a hero, winning the Tour de France seven times.’

It’ll be out in the UK towards the end of the year. [Read more…]

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St. Vincent Trailer – Bill Murray teams up with Melissa McCarthy & Chris O’Dowd

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st-vincent-pic1With Melissa McCarthy returning to cinemas with Tammy this week, The Weinstein Company has decided it’s a good time to release the trailer for her next movie, St. Vincent, which sees her team up with Bill Murray, Naomi Watts and Chris O’Dowd.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Maggie (McCarthy), a single mother, moves into a new home in Brooklyn with her 12-year old son, Oliver (Lieberher). Forced to work long hours, she has no choice but to leave Oliver in the care of their new neighbor, Vincent (Murray), a retired curmudgeon with a penchant for alcohol and gambling. An odd friendship soon blossoms between the improbable pair. Together with a pregnant stripper named Daka (Watts), Vincent brings Oliver along on all the stops that make up his daily routine – the race track, a strip club, and the local dive bar. Vincent helps Oliver grow to become a man, while Oliver begins to see in Vincent something that no one else is able to: a misunderstood man with a good heart.’

The film is due out in the US in October, but no UK date is currently set. Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

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New Cuban Fury Trailer & Poster – Nick Frost gets his dance on with Rashida Jones

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Nick Frost has mainly be seen in co-starring roles and alongside Simon Pegg, but now he’s taking centre stage for the comedy Cuban Fury, where he gets to show off his dancing skills. Now a new poster and trailer for the movie has arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Beneath Bruce Garrett’s shabby, overweight exterior, the passionate beating heart of a salsa king lays dormant. Only one woman can reignite his Latin fire. Spotlight hits, sweat drips, heels click – Nick Frost IS Cuban Fury! From the team that brought you Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and Paul, Cuban Fury is the hilarious, feel-good and must-see comedy this Valentine’s Day. The film’s cast includes an ensemble of great British comedy talent including Nick Frost, Chris O’Dowd, Rashida Jones, Olivia Colman, Ian McShane and Kayvan Novak.’

The movie is due out in the UK on Valentine’s Day 2014. [Read more…]

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Epic (Blu-ray)

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I have to admit that the trailers for Epic left me cold. The title seemed random, the story silly and the whole thing felt like an attempt to cash in on Avatar for the family audience. Well, there is a little of the eco theme and visual style of Avatar in there, but I have to say how surprised I was by the film, which is far more entertaining than I’d expected (even if it is a bit silly).

In the film the forests are full of two-inch tall creatures, split between the good, peace loving Treemen and their allies, and the evil Boggans, who want to destroy everything and turn the forest into rot. An eccentric human scientist believes in these creatures, but his singular obsession has left him without a wife and estranged from his daughter, M.K. (Amanda Seyfried). [Read more…]

Frankie Go Boom (DVD)

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Farce is a tough thing to get right even if you follow all the rules. Frankie Go Boom gets very close to being great – the actors are good (and appear to be having a lot of fun) and many of the scenes are very funny. However it ultimately falls foul of the problem that causes many farces to come a cropper – it’s actively nonsensical, which is rather frustrating.

Frankie (Charlie Hunnam) is used to being made a laughing stock by his older brother, Bruce (Chris O’Dowd). For example, Bruce put Frankie’s wedding video on the web, even though it featured Frankie discovering his wife-to-be was cheating on him, before he punches and then vomits on her. Unsurprisingly it was a viral sensation. [Read more…]

Chris O’Dowd Up To Join Bill Murray & Melissa McCarthy In St. Vincent De Van Nuys

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Chris O'Dowd

Chris O’Dowd

Chris O’Dowd’s career continues to flourish with the news that he’s in talks to join Ted Melfi’s movie St. Vincent De Van Nuys, according to Deadline, which would see him star alongside Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy.

The film is about a hard-working single mother (McCarthy) who hands her child over to a cantankerous old man (Murray) to watch over him while she tries to make ends meet with her various jobs. O’Dowd will play the local parish priest, who counsels the old man. He’d sympathetic to the situation, but shocked at all of the horrible habits and lessons Murray’s character chooses to pass down to the impressionable 12-year-old kid.

Shooting on the indie movie is set to star this July.

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The Sapphires (DVD)

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The Sapphires was a major hit in Australia and recently swept the Australian Film Institute’s AACTA Awards, picking up 11 gongs. However it’s struggled to find a huge audience outside its home country, despite the presence of Chris O’Dowd. It’s a bit of a shame, as while it’s not amazing, it’s a sweet, entertaining movie that tells an interesting true story.

From their youth, Gail, Julie and Cynthia have sung together, although due to the fact they’re aborigines, they’ve had difficulty getting anyone outside their own community to take any notice. In 1968 they meet the slightly schlubby Dave (O’Dowd), a man who’s down on his luck but who knows music. The girls have found an advert asking for acts to audition to play for US troops in Vietnam. They think that perhaps with Dave as their manager, they might have a chance of being taken seriously as a singing group. [Read more…]

This Is 40 Red Band Trailer – Paul Rudd tries to look up his own butt

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The sort-of sequel to Knocked Up, This Is 40, hits UK cinemas on February 14th, and to get us excited things are getting a little rude with a new red band trailer, where Paul Rudd tries to look up his butt and Megan Fox shows off her bra. It looks like it could be a lot of fun.

The film focuses on Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann’s married couple from Knocked Up, Pete and Debbie, taking a look at their lives five years later as they reach their 40s. That involves a lot of dealing with kids, negotiating sex and putting up with the idiosyncracies of life. The film also stars Jason Segel, Chris O’Dowd, Melissa McCarthy and Albert Brooks.

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