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

20 Feet From Stardom (DVD Review)

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Often the best documentaries are about subjects you’re kind of aware of in the background of your life, but you’ve never really thought that much about them. Indeed that’s almost the definition of the subjects of 20 Feet From Stardom – the back-up singers who’ve featured on all sorts of well-known songs, but whose name rarely gets on the record cover.

For example, the documentary features the guy who provided the opening riff of The Lion King. And you can call me an idiot, but it was the first time I’d actually thought that someone actually had to record what has become one of the most famous opening moments in cinema, and we’ve never seen his face [Read more…]

Harold And Maude (Blu-ray Review)

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Harold and Maude can be a tough sell. Despite saying to people that it’s a small masterpiece that’s amongst the best American movies ever made, the moment you mention that it’s a full-on love story between a teenager and a 79-year-old woman you can see the horror start to mount in people’s eyes, especially when you confirm we’re not talking purely about platonic love.

Now it’s arrived on Blu-ray, and I can only hope the release convinces a few more people to indulge in its quirky and yet often profound delights. [Read more…]

Getting Go: The Go Doc Project (DVD Review)

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After Were The World Mine, many hoped we’d see more of the talented Tanner Cohen. However, except for brief appearances in the likes of Looking, he’s mainly been busy off-screen (as he let us know, he’s been writing novels). Now he’s back in Getting Go.

The film follows Doc (Cohen), who decides to combine his fascination with a New York go-go boy and his filmmaking aspirations by making a documentary about the sexy dancer. Having watched him for weeks and secretly photoshopped pictures of him, Doc approaches Go (Matthew Camp) with his filmmaking idea. To his surprise, Go agrees to be the subject of the documentary and they start making the film. [Read more…]

That Awkward Moment (DVD Review)

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Jason (Zac Efron) isn’t good with commitment. In fact he isn’t that good at knowing whether he’s dating someone or not, as they tend to emotionally break up with him when he just thinks they’re hooking up. His friend Mikey (Michael B. Jordan) is more settled down, with a wife, job and nice home.

Then Mikey discovers that his wife is cheating on him and suddenly he’s single. Jason and their third musketeer, Daniel (Miles Teller), vow to help him enjoy his newfound freedom, and they all agree to stay single and have some fun. Inevitably though (as this is a movie) Jason almost immediately meets Ellie (Imogen Poots), and after getting over an initial mistake where he thinks she’s a hooker, they start seeing each other. Daniel also has a new beau in the form of the rather posh Chelsea (Mackenzie Davis). [Read more…]

Lilting (BFI Flare Review)

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We managed to catch the excellent Lilting for the BFI: Flare: London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival gala, courtesy of American Airlines. And we’re glad we did!

Lilting, written and directed by Cambodian-born (but British resident) Hong Khaou tells the story two people finding each other in the aftermath of a devastating bereavement: A non-English-speaking mother (Cheng) whose only lifeline into an alien and intimidating culture is suddenly severed; and her son Kai’s secret boyfriend Richard (Whishaw), whose world crumbles when the love of his life is so cruelly taken away. Having previously battled him for her son’s love and attention, mother and boyfriend must now come to terms with the reality of life without Kai, and what that means for both of them. [Read more…]

Free Birds (Blu-ray)

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There’s always an issue with movies about things such as American Football and Thanksgiving. While you can see why they’d be popular in the US, they don’t always travel well, as most other countries don’t have those traditions. That’s particularly true with family films, as many youngsters won’t even know what Thanksgiving is.

Free Birds seems to have realised this though, so that while non-US youngsters won’t get the nuance of the founding fathers and why turkeys are the preferred meal, it does at least make sure it sets out the basics so they won’t be completely lost. [Read more…]

Gravity (Blu-ray 3D)

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It took a long time to get Gravity off the ground. For a start there were the technical challenges that many thought were insurmountable. There were also the studios, who were perhaps understandably wary of spending $100 million on a movie where for much of the time it’s just a woman floating about in space. Universal developed the film but then got cold feet and backed out due to the risks. Thankfully Warner Bros. stepped in and they’ve been paid back in spades, with the movie surprising most observers by grossing over $700 million at the box office and getting 10 Oscar nominations.

However some have wondered whether a movie that seems so designed to be watched in 3D on the big screen would translate into the home. The answer is that it works very well, and while the movie certainly looks good in Blu-ray 3D, it’s just as well worth viewing in 2D, where it’s actually easier to appreciate the immense artistry and filmmaking skill on show rather than simply being overwhelmed by the visceral impact of the 3D. [Read more…]

The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg – 50th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)

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The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg is a very unusual film – an experiment that created one of the most unique and enchanting movies ever made. What makes it so different is that the entire thing is sung, but even so you wouldn’t describe it as either an opera or a musical. It’s somewhere inbetween, while also being a surprisingly straightforward movie. Most of it is essentially sung dialogue, so when the garage attendant asks whether someone wants Regular or Super petrol, he sings it. Jacques Demy wrote a normal screenplay and then Michel Legrand put it to music, so it really isn’t quite like anything else. [Read more…]

Planes (Blu-ray)

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Planes is an entertaining movie almost in spite of itself. A spin-off from Cars made by Disneytoon Studios (and originally planned to go straight to DVD), you can feel the competing desires behind the movie coming off the screen, not all of which are about telling an entertaining story. The wish to keep the feel of Cars results in a plot that’s a mash-up between the two Pixar movies, complete with major characters that are almost carbon copies of Doc Hudson and Mater, as well as a protagonist who may not have Lightning McQueen’s initial arrogance but still has more than a dash of his attitude. [Read more…]

From Up On Poppy Hill (DVD)

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1963, Yokohama, Japan. Umi (Sarah Bolger, voice) is holding together her family while her mother is away in the United States. Every morning, before making breakfast for all her lodgers, she raises flags for her father, a sailor who died during the Korean War. When a boy at her school starts replying to her flags, she becomes swept up in adolescent romance. Together with her beau, school hero Shun (Anton Yelchin, voice), she sets out to save the school’s fantastical clubhouse from demolition. [Read more…]