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

No Dresscode Required (Human Rights Film Festival Review) – The agonising fight for gay marriage in Baja California

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While in the West we know there are homophobes, due to the fact that most of us surround ourselves with likeminded people it’s easy to become complacent about the problems that are out there. That’s particularly true in countries like the US and UK that have gay marriage and you can feel fairly confident that even if they don’t like it, those in charge of civil marriage will respect the law and issue you a certificate certificate (some particularly backwards US counties excepted). Well then, be prepared for a documentary that will fill you with righteous indignation and anger.

At the outset of the doc, gay marriage has come to Mexico following a court ruling, although many Mexican states and cities still have ordinances barring it. Victor and Fernando, who’ve been together for 15 years, think that means that if they want to get married it’s likely they’ll have to travel to Mexico City, rather than getting hitched at home in Mexicali, Baja California. [Read more…]

Friend Request (Blu-ray Review)

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After a brief chat following a lecture, college student Laura accepts a social network friend request from classmate Marina. However, Marina refuses to be someone who sits in your friend list and gets ignored, as she embarks on increasingly unhinged stalker behaviour, which culminates in her sending a video of her own suicide to Laura.

Death isn’t going to stop Marina though, as Laura’s friends start being attacked. As those she knows start dying around her, the authorities begin to think Laura must somehow be involved, but it becomes clear something more supernatural is at work. [Read more…]

Denial (LA Film Festival Review)

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Derek Hallquist has worked as a cinematographer on documentaries such as Freakonomics, but decides with Denial that due to his strong interest in climate change, he will turn the camera on his father, Dave, who runs a small energy company in Vermont, which is working to increase the amount of renewable energy the US produces.

However, there is a problem, which is that while the nation’s enormous electricity grid works okay with the amount of wind and solar energy produced at the moment, it will have increasing problems as more is created. The wind and sun aren’t reliable in terms of the amount of energy they can produce at different times of the day, and with no economical way to store excess energy for use when the wind dies down or the sun goes behind clouds, there will be large issues if there’s high demand and not enough sun or wind to meet that. Dave thinks the answer is smart products, which can talk to the grid and adjust their power demands depending on the supply – taking more when it’s plentiful and less when it isn’t. [Read more…]

Loev (SXSW/BFI Flare Review)

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Sahil is a young, Indian music producer who’s getting increasingly frustrated by his boyfriend, who seems incapable of taking anything seriously or remembering something as simple as paying a bill. When Sahil’s longtime friend Jai – who’s now a Wall Street hotshot – reveals he’s heading to Mumbai for the weekend, Sahil drops everything to go and see him.

Heading off into the countryside and then back into the city, the duo delicately negotiate their feelings for one another, trying to figure out whether there is something more there than friendship. However, is there potential for love, or is Sahil – as Jai begins to suspect – really interested in the escape to a more luxurious and exciting life that Jai’s money can buy? [Read more…]

Match (DVD Review)

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In 1995 Patrick Stewart played a flamboyantly gay character in the wonderful Jeffrey. Now he’s returned to the LGBT arena for Match. He plays aging Juilliard ballet teacher Tobi, who agrees to meet with a woman called Lisa (Carla Gugino) to help with her dissertation about dance in 1960s New York.

Lisa arrives at Tobi’s apartment with her cop husband, Mike (Matthew Lillard). The interview initially seems to go well, until Tobi begins to get suspicious that there is something else going on. It becomes clear that Lisa and Mike are there trying to figure out whether Tobi is Mike’s father, as while he’s lived most of his life as a gay man, in the past Tobi has slept with women, including Mike’s mother. If Tobi is Mike’s dad, it doesn’t appear it’s going to be an easy family reunion. [Read more…]

Jess & James (DVD Review)

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South America has emerged as a bit of a powerhouse when it comes to LGBT cinema in the past couple of years, and that continues with the Argentinian Jess & James.

James is a young man fed up with living with his demanding mother. He meets the extremely hot Jess and they immediately have a sexual encounter. The next day James impulsively decides to go and find James and invite him on a roadtrip. Despite Jess being in bed with a woman, he agrees to go, and the duo head off into the countryside. [Read more…]

Beautiful Something (Outfest Review)

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One night, four men. Set in Philadelphia, Beautiful Something follows the lives of a quartet of gay guys as they search for what they truly desire and question what they have in their lives. Brian is a writer with one success under his belt, but who has a block about penning his follow-up and as a result is confronting whether his visions of himself as an artist are somewhat delusional and if he’ll have to give up the life he’s built and head back home. He seeks distraction in hook ups and then decides to lay out his feelings to his straight friend.

Drew meanwhile is a renowned sculptor working on a new piece, for which his young boyfriend Jim acts as his muse. However, this seemingly innocuous set-up unleashes Jim’s inner insecurities, causing him to wonder whether their relationship is real or just about Drew’s art. Finally there’s the older Bob, a wealthy talent agent who’s cruising the streets of the City Of Brotherly Love, although even he seems unsure what he’s searching for. He’s just hoping to stumble on a ‘beautiful something’. [Read more…]

Penguins Of Madagascar (Blu-ray Review)

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I’m becoming increasingly convinced that DreamWorks Animation have given up on making films and have instead decided to make a series of 90 minute chase scenes. With some of their output this strategy has resulted in a giant mess, but with others it’s worked surprisingly well, and that’s the case with Penguins Of Madagascar.

Despite the title, this doesn’t really have much to do with the Madagascar films bar the presence of the military-minded penguins and a few jokey references. In the new film Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private come up against a surprising opponent when they meet Dr. Octavius Brine, who seems to be a brilliant human scientist, but is actually an octopus called Dave. The purple cephalopod harbours a hatred of the penguins due to the fact that they used to be loved far more than him at the zoo. [Read more…]

The Way He Looks (DVD Review)

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I’m always wary when a really good short film get turned into a feature-length movie. It seemed a particular concern with The Way He Looks, as the original short that it’s based is so perfect and complete in its own right, that a 90 minute version could easily have either felt bloated or been so different from the original it betrayed its roots. However director Daniel Ribiero has managed the rare feat of taking everything that was great about the short and spun it out into a sweet, tender teen romance that’s a really great film.

Leo is a blind teenager who is in a mainstream school but has issues with some of the other kids. However he has his best friend Gi, with the two of them spending all their time together. Indeed it’s rather co-dependent set-up, with Gi enjoying that Leo needs and seems to rely on her, while Leo has the comfort of someone looking out for him. However he also yearns for independence, feeling that because he’s blind everyone around him is trying to control and prevent him from being his own person. [Read more…]

G.B.F. (Cinema/VoD)

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There have been several attempts at making gay-themed teen comedies, but most have failed in one way or another. Either the acting was abysmal or more commonly the script lacked wit and direction, feeling more dumb and dull than entertaining and memorable. G.B.F. is certainly a step up from those, with more polished production values, a great cast (including a fair few recognisable faces) and a script with both charm and wit. [Read more…]