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

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Cinema Review)

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It really doesn’t seem that long since I saw the last Mission: Impossible film (Rogue Nation, 2015), and I praised it for its ability to utilise the tried and tested formula of its predecessors, whilst being a fresh and exhilarating entry to the franchise. That’s something this series continues to do effortlessly with Fallout, which is without doubt one of the best entries. You can’t say that for many other franchises six movies in.

Without going too much into the plot, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team have to retrieve three plutonium cores before they are turned into nuclear bombs, as well as foil the plot of a religious terrorist group called the Apostles, who want to reshape the world. On this mission Hunt is chaperoned by CIA agent Walker (Henry Cavill), and we have the welcome return of regulars Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), Ilsa (Rebeccan Fergurson), alongside some new and memorable additions. [Read more…]

Thor: Ragnarok (Cinema Review) – The God of Thunder is back & so is The Hulk

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I have absolutely no problem with Disney churning out Marvel (or Star Wars) films as long as the quality is up to scratch. Thankfully, they are indeed on point with this third and possibly final Thor movie.

Thor: Ragnarok is set two years after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) – although that film’s events seemed more like a week rather than an age – and our hero Thor, the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), is forewarned about Ragnarok: a prophecy that spells the destruction of his homeland of Asgard. [Read more…]

Dunkirk (Cinema Review) – One of the best war movies ever made?

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Christopher Nolan is a franchise. Much like the Spielberg summer releases of yesteryear or any film by Stanley Kubrick, there is a devoted audience who can’t wait to see the director’s next film. More often than not, Nolan’s movies are original (to a degree), stand alone and the studio has faith in the director’s abilities.

Nolan’s relationship with Warner Brothers seems to be going from strength to strength and I’ve read that he has a tendency to deliver his movies under budget and before the scheduled deadline.

I also like to believe that the pitch meetings go something like:
Nolan: “I have this idea for my next film.”
Warner’s: “Great, sounds excellent! Here, have some money and let us know once it’s done!” [Read more…]

Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (Cinema Review) – Jack Sparrow is back!

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To be honest I enjoy sequels and franchises as long as they keep up the standard and improve upon previous entries, which sadly often isn’t the case. I have reviewed countless sequels over the years and with this review I don’t want to regurgitate what I have previously written about franchises, and I will try to keep this to a minimum with this review as I don’t want to go over old ground; but rather tread new waters (pun fully intended).

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was a pleasant surprise to a lot of people when it came out in 2003. Many asked how could a film based on an old amusement park ride have such an effect on audiences around the world, and the answer is because it was fun. Cutthroat Island (1995) was a well-documented bomb at the box office and it was a risky move for Disney to release the first Pirates film, but it paid off both financially and critically. [Read more…]

Fast and Furious 8 (Cinema Review) – Vin Diesel & crew are back in action

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Franchises are funny things. The popular opinion is that the majority of films on at your local multiplexes are part of franchises, cinematic universes, sequels or reboots. Whereas the Bond series has evolved by having multiple actors playing the titular spy and a soft reboot, Fast & Fuiours franchise has evolved from its ‘cop on the street action/thriller’ origins, to being stupidly fun and very over the top entries which channel heist and spy capers. It’s safe to say this particular franchise has evolved while maintaining its aesthetics, and doesn’t look like it will run out of gas any time soon.

As such we have another entry titled Fast and Furious 8 / The Fate of the Furious / The Fateful 8 / Vin Diesel’s Driving Dchool Vol. 8. As you can tell I can’t take this review too seriously, and you shouldn’t take this film seriously either. I cannot stress how silly, cheesy and, as such, enjoyable this film is. [Read more…]

La La Land (Cinema Review) – Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone star in a Hollywood love letter

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If you’re going to be brave enough to make a two-hour homage to the golden days of the Hollywood musical you’d better make sure you get it right. So many films have fallen into the trap – Frankenweenie, The Man Who Wasn’t There and The Good German are just a few examples of films that have tried so hard so pay tribute to great movies, that they forgot to be a film in their own right. What Damien Chazelle (whiplash) has done here is produce a beautiful, witty, warm homage, but manage to take it in a completely unexpected direction without spoiling the film’s internal logic. It’s fun, yes, but there is a sting in the tail – a nasty sting.

From the opening sequence we know we’re in safe hands. Hundreds of cars are stuck on the freeway, so what else to do for the drivers but to burst into song and dance. It’s brilliantly choreographed and filmed, in what appears to be a single shot. It’s full of joy and sets the scene for the story to come. Somewhere in the traffic jam is Ryan Gosling’s Seb, and Emma Stone’s Mia, and their first meeting is not a romantic one. [Read more…]

Doctor Strange (Cinema Review)

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Here we are with the 14th film in the ever expanding and ultra-successful MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). This entry has been touted to be a turning point in the series, just as Thor (2011) introduced aliens and the nine realms; Doctor Strange introduces the Marvel multiverse – a key narrative trope of the comics which essentially means there are infinite versions of worlds and characters just ripe for the picking.

This long awaited entry tells the story of the brilliant but arrogant Doctor Stephen Strange (a well-cast Benedict Cumberbatch), who after a car accident suffers severe nerve damage in his hands. He goes on a journey to heal himself which leads to a temple in Nepal, where he meets The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), learns of the mystic arts and sorcery, and is put on a path to save the day from a being that threatens the entire planet. [Read more…]

X-Men: Apocalypse (Cinema Review)

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I’ve been a big fan of the X-Men ever since watching the Saturday morning cartoons many years ago, and I have been waiting for the films to introduce Apocalypse and do justice to one of his storylines. X-Men (2000) is seen as the birth of the modern comic book movie and still holds up today as a great film. Seven franchise entries later (excluding Deadpool (2016)) and it’s no surprise that the films have varied in quality.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) was great as it combined the worlds of the original trilogy and the X-Men: First Class (2011), with older and younger actors portraying different versions of their characters and a time traveling plot with peril for both mutants and humans. But it did lose me with the plastic sentinels with plastic bullets, and presumably plastic processors and wires. Also the ending didn’t make much sense, until you realised that it combined two separate timelines and ended up with four. [Read more…]

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Cinema Review)

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This film has been a long time coming and there are some great articles online chronicling the various attempts to bring Batman vs Superman and the Justice League to the silver screen. As you can tell from the subtitle, this film serves as an introduction to the Justice League films coming in 2017 and 2019, and the continuation of the DCCU (Detective Comics Cinematic Universe) which began with Man of Steel in 2013.

But in a film that is two and a half hours long I was concerned that they would rush the introduction to a wealth of new characters and backstories when it should just focus on the leads. Too many cooks and all.

DC and Warner Brothers are reaching for the financial success that Marvel has had with their cinematic universe (MCU), but the tone of their films set the studios apart. Marvel films are more light-hearted whereas DC’s recent films have mainly been darker (excluding the Schumacher Batman movies). Despite the darker tone I enjoyed Man of Steel up until the finale, where it seemed like the production had $100 million left and spent it needlessly destroying Metropolis. But it didn’t feel like a Superman movie and lacked the charm of Richard Donner’s 1978 version. [Read more…]

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (Cinema Review)

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Here we have the end of a franchise that initially I didn’t think I would like, but which I have been impressed with over the years. Yet another teen book sensation transitioned onto the big screen, and on the surface The Hunger Games (2012) seemed like a tween rip-off of the excellent Battle Royal (2000). However, it was so much more than what I was expecting and its sequel Catching Fire (2013) is one of those rare sequels that is better than its predecessor.

As Hollywood trends seem fit, the third and final book, Mockingjay, was split into two movies a la Harry Potter, Divergent and Twilight. But this trend generates more money for the studio and the audience gets more time with the characters and story that they love. Everyone (in theory) wins, although with Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) the audience was left hungry for more (pun intended). [Read more…]