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

The Book Of Life (Blu-ray Review)

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Comparing The Book Of Life to Fifty Shades Of Grey may seem od, but there is one thing that brings them together – in my head at least. If Fifty Shades had been written by a man, I can’t help but feel it would have been thought of as horrifically sexist, and with The Book Of Life, I couldn’t help but wonder if some would have accused it of racism if it hadn’t been directed and co-written by people from Mexico.

I’m not necessarily criticising the film, but the movie doesn’t have many qualms about delving into Mexican stereotypes. However the fact is that behind the scenes it had a massive Mexican influence, not just from director Jorge R. Gutiérrez and co-writer/producer Guillermo Del Toro, but also many of the crew, who may infuse the movie with sombreros and bullfighting, but they do so with snarking or belittling, instead attempting to pay tribute to the rich culture. [Read more…]

Rabid (Blu-ray Review)

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After bringing Shivers to Blu-ray last year, Arrow Video continues to release David Cronenberg’s early work in HD with his follow-up, 1977’s Rabid. Despite the success of the earlier (if controversial movie) it’s in many ways a simpler movie, although still an interesting and effective one.

After a horrific motorcycle accident Rose (Marilyn Chambers) is in need of plastic surgery. Her doctors decide to try an experimental skin graft technique, despite it never being tested before. However things don’t quite go as planned, as when Rose wakes up, she has an insatiable lust for human blood – in fact she can’t eat anything else. [Read more…]

Date and Switch (DVD Review)

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Michael (Nicholas Braun) and Matty (Hunter Cope) have been friends since they were little kids, but now it’s coming to the end of high school. In time honoured film fashion, they decide to make a pact to lose their virginities before prom – after which they’ll celebrate by eating a tray of pot brownies.

There is one wrinkle though, as Matty hasn’t told Michael that he’s gay. When he does – and after a bit of an initial freakout – Michael gets on board with the idea and even tries to help Matty get into the swing of the gay world. However Matty finds that difficult, as he’s still a bit of a stoner dude and isn’t sure how to be gay in a world where he doesn’t fit into any of the stereotypes he’s seen. [Read more…]

Earth To Echo (Blu-ray Review)

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The makers of Earth To Echo certainly seem to like 80s family films, as the movie mixes bits of the likes of ET, Stand By Me and The Goonies with the more modern found footage genre.

Alex, Tuck and Munch are best friends living in a community that’s being forced to move due to a new construction project. It’s their last week together, which takes an unexpected turn after they realise strange electromagnetic anomalies are happening. When they decide to investigate they come across a small, damaged, semi-robotic alien, who needs help to rebuild his spaceship so that he can get home [Read more…]

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (Blu-ray Review)

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Mr. Peabody & Sherman started life in the late-50s as part of the Rocky & Bulwinkle cartoon series. However they soon became popular in their own right with their mix of the silly and the educational. I don’t know whether the characters are still that popular in the US, but in the UK few kids will know them, which made it a surprise when DreamWorks Animation announced they were making a Peabody and Sherman film.

The idea behind the film is that Mr. Peabody is a super-smart, Nobel Prize-winning dog who has adopted a human boy, Sherman. Peabody’s greatest scientific accomplishment is his time machine, the WABAC, which he uses to take Sherman all across history, introducing him to the great figures of the past. [Read more…]

Lilting (DVD Review)

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An aging Cambodian-Chinese woman (Cheng Pei Pei) talks to her son, Kai (Andrew Leung) in a nursing home. However he’s not really there. It’s her remembrance of the last time she saw him a few weeks before, the day before he died. Now she is left alone, living in Britain but unable to speak English.

Her son’s partner, Richard (Ben Whishaw), wants to help her, even though he’s going through his own grief, something that’s complicated not just by the language barrier but also because Junn didn’t know her child was gay (or perhaps she did know but was in denial). Richard’s remembrance of his lover revolves around his gentle coaxing of him to come out, so that perhaps Junn can come and live with them, something he hopes will assuage the guilt he knows Kai feels. Now he still wants to help Junn, but she’s not sure she wants his help, partly because she always disliked him and doesn’t trust him. [Read more…]

Space Station 76 (DVD Review)

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Space Station 76 is an odd but interesting idea. It’s a movie set in the future, but the 1970s version of the future, complete with bell bottoms, big hair and attitudes to sexuality and gender that haven’t fully gotten to grips with the sexual revolution.

Jessica  (Liv Tyler) comes aboard Space Station 76 and is immediately faced with suspicion due to the fact she’s a woman, and so people wonder why she isn’t at home making dinner and raising children. However that’s soon the least of her problems as she’s been dumped in the middle of a melting pot of fractured relationships, simmering resentment, and tortured sexuality. [Read more…]

Killing Season (Blu-ray Review)

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It’s always a shame when you can see what a movie so desperately hopes to be, but it falls incredibly far short. Killing Season wants be a tense cat and mouse thriller, with a serious backdrop looking at the horrors of war and the way it affects people after the battle is over.  Unfortunately it ends up just being a bit silly and over the top.

It’s a particular shame as this is the first time Robert de Niro and John Travolta have appeared on-screen together. [Read more…]

A Long Way Down (DVD Review)

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If you’ve never read Nick Hornby’s book, A Long Way Down, I’d heartily recommend it. However most people who’ve read the novel will know it was always going to be tough to adapt it for the screen without making it seem trite or cheap. While not a complete disaster, unfortunately the movie version doesn’t completely overcome those issues.

On New Year’s Eve four strangers meet on a rooftop – disgraced broadcaster Martin (Pierce Brosnan), loud-mouthed politician’s daughter Jess (Imogen Poots), down-trodden mother Maureen (Toni Collette) and musician JJ (Aaron Paul). They’re all there to do the same thing – leap to their deaths. [Read more…]

Girls On Film: The First Date (DVD Review)

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After the success of Peccadillo’s Boys On Film series – which has so far given us 10 selections of great short films focussed on gay men – comes the lesbian-themed Girls On Film: The First Date. The disc features nine shorts, and as with the Boys On Film releases it’s a great selection that covers a broad range of topics and ideas, taking in everything from comedy to documentary.

You can take a look at what I thought of each of the shorts below: [Read more…]