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 Gunman (Blu-ray Review)

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Until recently the prospect of Sean Penn starring in a movie meant that while the film was likely to be a little bit tedious, he would be extremely good in it and the movie would be worth a watch. However, with Gangster Squad, Walter Mitty and The Gunman, he seems to be trying his hand at more standard fare.

Unfortunately though, all the Gunman offers is more of what we’ve seen 1,000 times before. In fact, I almost wonder if in the pact actors make with Hollywood, it includes a clause that makes it compulsory for them to star in at least one movie about an assassin having an existential crisis. [Read more…]

The Woman In Black: Angel Of Death (DVD Review)

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The Woman In Black surprised nearly everyone when it became the most successful horror movie ever at the British box office. Due to the fact it was such a huge hit, it’s not surprising a sequel has emerged, complete with a story by Susan Hill who wrote the original Woman In Black novel.

Things have moved on though, as Angel Of Death is set 40 years after the original during the Second World War, when a group of evacuees and their teachers, Jean Hogg (Helen McCrory) and Eve Parkins (Phoebe Fox), are sent to the countryside and move into the dilapidated Eel Marsh House – the setting of the first tale. Unsurprisingly this awakens the evil, ghostly presence that resides there, which seems particularly interested in young Edward (Oaklee Pednergast), who is traumatised and mute following the death of his parents in the Blitz. [Read more…]

Chappie (DVD Review)

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After District 9 there was huge amounts of excitement around director Neill Blomkamp, but Elysium disappointed and while Chappie is a bit of an improvement, it still has some problems.

Set a few years into the future, Johannesburg has become the first city in the world to deploy a robotic police force, with squadrons of humanoid ‘scouts’ keeping the peace and ensuring the criminals don’t get the upper hand. Deon (Dev Patel), who is one of the programmers behind the droids, thinks he’s worked out how to take things further – by giving a robot true human consciousness – but the company he works for aren’t interested. [Read more…]

Focus (Blu-ray Review)

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Before Focus went in front of the cameras there was huge amount of interest in it in Hollywood, with the likes of Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Ben Affleck and Kristen Stewart all being attached at one time or another. However, in the end it went to Will Smith and Margot Robbie as the two leads.

After watching it, I kind of wondered why so many people were so keen on it, as while fairly fun and decently entertaining, there’s very little to set it appear from a hundred other con-artist thrillers. [Read more…]

Cake (Blu-ray Review)

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It seems that Jennifer Aniston is destined to only put in really good performances in movies that not that many people see. Back in 2002, reviewers fawned over her role in The Good Girl, but when after that she went back to dreck like The Bounty Hunter (shudder), The Switch (wretch) and Just Go With It (vomit), everybody forgot she is actually very good when given the chance. That has occasionally shown through, even in films like We’re The Millers, but because of the type of movie’s she’s in it’s largely been overlooked.

As a result, her performance in Cake has been described by some as ‘revelatory’, but it’s not, it’s just a reminder that she has real dramatic chops to mix in with the comedy when she has the right role. It wouldn’t actually be too much of a surprise if she won an Oscar one day, and indeed many say she should have gotten a nomination for Cake. [Read more…]

Last Knights (DVD Review)

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I won’t waste your time too much with this review, as I can sum up my thoughts in two word – don’t bother. This is a Czech and South Korean co-production, loosely based on an old Japanese movie, and with a multi-national cast all speaking English in various random accents – it is therefore perhaps not surprising that it is a bit confused as to what the hell it’s all about.

Set somewhere that’s sort of a fusion of Medieval Europe and Asia, but also with fantasy undertones (it should come as no surprise that Last Knights feels a little like a misguided Game Of Throne fan film), Clive Owen is a knight who finds himself cast into the wilderness after the fall of his master (Morgan Freeman), and must band together with a group of other knights – 47 Ronin style – to regain their honour. [Read more…]

Blackhat (Blu-ray Review)

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Something has gone terribly wrong at a nuclear reactor in Hong Kong, with the disaster being caused by a hacker breaking into the computer systems and shutting down the pumps. With fear rising that someone means to do serious harm around the world without ever leaving their computer terminal, the Chinese agree to team up with the FBI to take down the threat.

They also know part of the code that affected the reactor was written by a genius ‘blackhat’ (bad guy) hacker called Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth), who’s currently locked up for his computer crimes. He’s offered the chance of freedom if he helps track down the new threat. He agrees, which ends up re-teaming his with his old Chinese roommate. However, the further down the rabbit hole they go, the more dangerous things get. [Read more…]

Stonehearst Asylum (Blu-ray Review)

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There’s certainly a great cast of British and Irish actors brought together for Stonehearst Asylum – virtually everyone in it you’ll recognise from something – so it’s a bit of a shame that they’ve gathered in service of a movie isn’t bad, but which never really takes off.

It’s 1899 and Young doctor Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess) arrives at the remote and isolated Stonehearst Asylum, a place where Europe’s finest families hide their relative who have issues that they feel mean they aren’t suitable for polite society. Newgate wishes to study the methods of the head of the institution, Silas Lamb (Ben Kingsley), who is apparently trying to create a utopian mental health facility, where instead of the harsh, tortuous methods of the past, the patients are treated with dignity and as much normality as possible. [Read more…]

The Casual Vacancy (DVD Review)

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Considering it’s based on a book by JK Rowling and was high profile enough for the BBC to make it in co-operation with HBO, The Casual Vacancy wasn’t given as massive a push when it aired on TV as you might expect. That’s probably because despite being based on a novel by the Harry Potter author, it’s far more low key and adult than her earlier work.

Indeed, the main complaint about both the book and three-part TV series is that not a huge amount happens, and what does happen often appears, on the surface at least, to be of only marginal consequence. There is a point to most of it, but it takes a bit of work to figure out what that is. [Read more…]

Chocolate City (VoD Review)

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There aren’t many films with titles that guilty white people might worry that they’re not even allowed to say, but Chocolate City does. The film is an African-American answer to Magic Mike – a comparison the film itself doesn’t shy away from – all about a young man who becomes a male stripper. In fact the director has suggested the movie was a response to Magic Mike, after they noted that the Channing Tatum movie had few people of colour.

Michael is doing his best to get through college, while working and helping out his mom (Vivica A. Fox), but when the electricity company threatens to shut off their supply, he needs cash fast. After being given a ‘job interview’, Michael is shocked to see he’s being offered the chance to do exotic dancing. [Read more…]