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

120 BPM (Beats Per Minute) (Cinema Review) – The acclaimed, gay themed French movie finally arrives in the UK

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120 BPM has been eliciting praise ever since it debuted at Cannes last year, including winning the Grand Prix and Queer Palm at the festival. It’s gone on to win multiple other awards, including Best Film at the Cesar Awards (France’s equivalent of the Oscars). It was also France’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, although sadly it missed out on a nomination.

Written and directed by Robin Campillo (who also made the very good Eastern Boys), 120 BPM is a fictionalised take on the true story of the AIDS activist organisation, ACT UP Paris. Campillo and co-screenwriter Philippe Mangeot were involved with ACT UP themselves, helping to give the movie an authenticity and power it may otherwise have lacked. Thankfully though, despite being close to the story Campillo is objective enough to be able to acknowledge the flaws and problems within the organisation, while also having a clear-eyed view of why these things happened. This allows it to be a powerful and empathetic testament to both ACT UP and those who were/are affected by AIDS, without becoming hagiography. [Read more…]

The Great Gatsby (Cinema)

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It’s been just over 20 years since Baz Luhrmann swished his way into the film industry with the ultra-camp Strictly Ballroom. Since then he has only directed three films – the exciting Romeo and Juliet, the manic and colourful Moulin Rouge, and the very forgettable Australia.

Baz has now returned with his controversial version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s American classic, The Great Gatsby. [Read more…]

Avengers Assemble (Cinema)

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After years of build up, it’s finally here. While fanboys have long worried The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble as Disney wants us to call it in the UK, apparently because Brits are incapable of telling the difference between a 1960s TV show and a 2012 superhero movie) couldn’t live up to the hype, Joss Whedon has delivered.

It’s an action packed, rip-roaring juggernaut of a film, which pulls off the impressive trick of perfectly balancing a large ensemble cast, so that it feels as if everyone is there for a reason and has their own character arc. [Read more…]

The Hunger Games (Cinema)

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As many know by now, Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games is a young adult bestseller that’s become a phenomenon around the world. It’s now been transferred to the screen and is one of the most eagerly anticipated films of the year. So far the novel trilogy has amassed over 26 million in book sales (mostly due to popular word of mouth) and this will no doubt grow after the pretty much inevitable success of the movie.

The Hunger Games is set in North America in a dystopian future. The Hunger Games have been introduced by the government as a tactic invented to help control and punish each District for a previous uprising. Each of the 12 Districts have to select a male and female teenager, who must then all fight each other to the death in a televised event, for the honour and hope of their Districts. [Read more…]