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

Where Are You Going, Habibi? (Iris Prize Festival Review)

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Ibo (Cem Alkan) is a second-generation Turkish immigrant living in Berlin. He’s just got his university degree, but is facing the fact that his name and face make it more difficult to get a job than those from White-German families. As he needs some cash, he’s working in a gay sex shop/cinema, despite the fact his family thinks he’s straight. Then he meets street-wise criminal Ali (Martin Walde) after the man knocks on his door looking to graft, and Ibo hides him when some cops come sniffing around.

Ibo has an immediate fascination with the man, and after discovering Ali is a show wrestler, decides to sign up to the same gym he trains at. When Ali is beaten up and has both his arms broken, he discovers that Ibo is one of the few friends he has who seems to care – indeed Ibo’s a bit besotted. It’s the beginning of a bromance, which is both ‘no homo’ and ‘a bit homo’ at the same time, with Ali insisting he’s a macho straight guy, but deciding perhaps there are a few things Ibo can do. [Read more…]

You and I (DVD Review)

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Berlin-based Photographer Jonas is planning a trip into rural Germany as part of an art project, and so invites his British friend Philip to go along with him. They got to know each other in London, but haven’t seen each other for a while. However, they soon fall back into an easy, almost childlike friendship after they meet up.

Philip is gay, something Jonas has never had an issue with, but things get a little more complicated when they pick up Polish hitchhiker Boris. A tension between Philip and Boris begins to turn sexual, and as the two men get closer, Jonas begins to re-evaluate what he wants from his friendship with Philip. Ultimately it becomes a make or break moment for their friendship. [Read more…]

The Overnight (DVD/VoD Review)

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Sometimes when it comes to indie film darlings it’s difficult to see what all the fuss was about. With The Overnight that’s not too much of an issue, as while it might not quite deserve some of the raves it received following its first festival screenings, it’s still a good movie.

Alex (Adam Scott) and Emily (Taylor Schilling) are a 30-something couple with a kid, who are newly arrived in California. It’s not been an easy move, with stay-at-home dad Alex feeling slightly dislocated and friendless. He randomly meets Kurt (Jason Schwartzman) in the park, who invites Alex and Emily over to his house for the evening.

Once there they meet Kurt’s French wife Charlotte (Judith Godrèche), and Alex and Emily can’t help but feel they may have found some firm friends in the arty, free-thinking, bohemian and seemingly cool couple. As the evening goes on the straitlaced Emily and Alex begin to loosen up – thanks to some liquor and pot – but while Alex feels increasingly free and with his inhibitions falling away, Emily begins to wonder whether Kurt and Charlotte are a bit too freethinking and strange. [Read more…]

Jason & Shirley (US Cinema Review)

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I think it’s fair to say that a small, slightly experimental art film all about the making of another film that not many people have seen, is never going to find a huge audience, however for a very niche crowd there’s enough to keep their interest piqued – even if they probably won’t exactly like the film at the end.

The movie is a fictionalised recreation of the making of Shirley Clarke’s influential 1967 documentary, Portrait Of Jason, a movie which is extremely well-regarded in academic film circles, although not widely known outside that (partly due to it being difficult to find until a recent restoration). The original documentary was made over a single 12-hour period in Clarke’s apartment, where she interviewed gay, African-American hustler Jason Holliday, where he talks about himself and his life. As he gets more stoned and drunk, his happy, polished veneer begins to crack to reveal a darker, sadder life underneath. [Read more…]

The Surface (Review)

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We’ve featured director Michael J. Saul’s work before, but previously it was with his short films such as Go Go Reject and Adults Only. Now he’s returned with a feature length film, The Surface, which is currently screening at festivals.

The movie follows Evan, who’s in a relationship with Chris, but still feels rootless and drifting. He finds a bunch of old home videos of an old man is selling in a yard sale, and is told he can return later to use some editing equipment if he wants to. When he does go back, he discovers that the elderly gent has died, but the man’s son, Peter, is happy for Evan to use the equipment.

After Evan puts together a student film using the old footage, he and Peter start to get closer, with Evan beginning to wonder whether this new man could bring him more happiness than Chris can.

[Read more…]

The Samurai (Iris Prize Festival 2014 Review)

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The Samurai comes from director Till Kleinert, a previous winner of the Iris Prize for his brilliant short film Cowboy, and with this film he stays in unnerving territory.

The title character in this film is a homicidal maniac wielding a katana and wearing a pretty white dress (played to mind-searingly chilling heights by Pit Bukowski). He’s slowly destroying the community and sanity of policeman Jakob (Michel Dierks), whose dogged attempts to capture and subdue him slowly become an obsession. [Read more…]

Big Ass Spider (DVD)

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I’m starting to get the impression that with these over-sized monster films, there’s a single script that Hollywood passes around, which is then given a quick polish to give a new location and add in whatever the creature is. Often that results in a pretty rubbish movie, but Big Ass Spider is actually quite fun and has a good sense of humour, even if it has exactly the same plot as 1000s of other films of its ilk.

Greg Grunberg (Heroes) plays Alex, an exterminator who has a bit of a problem on the job and ends up in hospital. At the same time a body enters the morgue that has an over-sized spider hiding inside it. Soon the spider is out and causing havoc, so Alex suggests that in return for the hospital paying his medical bills, he’ll hunt the creature down. [Read more…]

The Facility (DVD)

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A group of people head for a secluded clinic to take part in a medical trial, with the promise that if they stay for two weeks, they’ll get £2,000. After being introduced they’re taken off at hourly intervals to be given the drug, Pro9, and are then left to get to know one another.

That night the side-effects turn out to be far more dramatic than expected. The first of the guinea pigs to be given the drug is found doubled-over in pain and is taken off by the medics. Some time later, a second participant starts screaming. It soon becomes clear that the drug has extreme side-effects, which essentially turn people into unconscious psycho-killers, who are more than willing to inflict violence on those who get in the way. As the other patients realise escape is going to be difficult, they also know that everyone who’s been given the drug is potentially going to go off their rocker too, and the only reason more haven’t already turned is due to the hour-long gaps between the administrations of the first dose. [Read more…]

Nate & Margaret (DVD)

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An unusual relationship that leads to a few important lessons is probably the only way I can sum up Nate & Margaret in a few words. However I have more than a few words so I’ll go into greater depth.

The film tells the story of 19-year-old Nate (Tyler Ross) and 52-year-old Margaret (Natalie West) as their somewhat unusual relationship is rocked by the arrival of Nate’s first boyfriends and Margaret’s pursuit of a career as a stand up comedian. [Read more…]

LLGFF Review: Taboo Yardies

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At first glance it seems that homophobia is inherent throughout Jamaican society. Whether it’s reggae song lyrics inciting hate or full-fledged public beatings, the people on this beautiful island see homophobia as an acceptable part of their culture. Selena Blake’s shocking documentary Taboo Yardies tells the story of those in fear for their lives in this paradise country. [Read more…]