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

Baywatch: Extended Edition (Blu-ray Review) – Zac Efron & Dwayne Johnson don the red shorts

By Leave a Comment

It was almost inevitable that at some point they’d make a movie version of Baywatch. It was, after all, the most popular TV show in the world in the 1990s, and its reputation for being a bit silly and cheesy meant it was ripe for comedy/parody. However, it’s also the sort of property that could have resulted in a truly dreadful film.

I suppose I ought to say what the Baywatch movie is about, but it doesn’t matter an awful lot, as the plot often feels like the least important part of the film. Dwayne Johnson is Mitch Buchanan, head of Emerald Bay’s lifeguards. He has a new recruit thrust upon him – disgraced double Olympic swimming champion Matt Brody (Zac Efron). The young buck isn’t that impressed about being there, and thinks the lifeguards should be honoured he’s walking amongst them. He’s also a bit confused about why Mitch and his fellow guards seem to spend most of their time fighting crime rather than saving people from drowning. [Read more…]

Whitney: Can I Be Me (DVD Review) – Love, drugs, sexuality & a singing legend

By Leave a Comment

There is no doubt that Whitney Houston had a truly incredible voice. Indeed, she’s a strong contender for being the great popular singer of the 20th Century. However, the last few years of her life and her tragic death have rather overshadowed that talent. The documentary, Whitney ‘Can I Be Me’, is partly an attempt to find some balance, putting the drugs and career problems in the context of her wider life and family.

To many the most interesting aspect of the documentary will be how it presents one of the key aspects of Whitney’s life as a relationship with a woman. It presents us with what is essentially a love triangle between Houston, her long-time friend Robyn Crawford and her husband, Bobby Brown. The film tries to confirm the rumours that Crawford and Houston were once together in a relationship, and indeed many of those close to her believe they were indeed once in love and are happy to say so in interviews. Although it cannot 100% confirm they were lovers, they were certainly closer than most friends, even after Houston had married Brown. [Read more…]

My Beautiful Laundrette (Blu-ray/DVD Review) – The most important gay British movie ever made?

By Leave a Comment

You could make the argument My Beautiful Laundrette is the most important movie of the past 50 years. In the 1980s the UK film industry was in a fairly difficult place. While British behind-the-scenes talent was much in demand by Hollywood to make some of their biggest movies – everything from Star Wars to Superman to Aliens was filmed in the UK – we were having less success with our own movies, at least on a mainstream level. Even those films that did find success were largely made with money from major American studios.

Then along came My Beautiful Laundrette, a film originally made for TV but which they decided was good enough to give a theatrical release to. Its surprise success got director Stephen Frears noticed around the world, who went on to make Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity, The Queen and Philomena. However, more importantly it was the first theatrical feature for the production company Working Title and the first major critical/commercial cinema success for Channel Four/Film 4. [Read more…]

Lady Macbeth (DVD Review) – Descending into darkness in 19th Century England

By Leave a Comment

If you’re worried that you’re just not miserable and depressed enough, Lady Macbeth could be the movie for you! It’s safe to say this is not a jolly film, although it is one that some will find pretty powerful, while others will feel it’s oddly pointless (despite its feminist undertones) and nihilistic.

In mid-19th Century England, Katherine (Florence Pugh) is literally sold into marriage to a country gentleman, but soon discovers her husband has no interest in her (in fact seems to despise her), and he father-in-law is cruel and has no issues degrading women. [Read more…]

Kept Boy (DVD Review) – A gay man isn’t sure what to do when he loses his boy toy status

By 1 Comment

Is this a knockabout romantic comedy or a soulful, sexual drama? The reason I ask is because if you looked at the cover of the US DVD release, you’d probably expect the former, while the UK version goes for the latter. It’s not too often you see covers that look like they’re for such completely different movies.

The truth is that Kept Boy is somewhere in the middle between comedy and melodrama, as while it certainly has the structure and feel of a rom com, it’s also interested in the more dramatic possibilities of its storyline. [Read more…]

Free Fire (Blu-ray Review) – Armie Hammer & co. have a shootout & a half

By Leave a Comment

Starring: , , , ,
Director:
Running Time:
Certificate:
Release Date:

After the complex and rather operatic JG Ballard adaptation High-Rise, Ben Wheatley has gone for something that’s far simpler in terms of plot, but perhaps just as complicated in terms of technical execution with Free Fire.

It’s the 1970s, and in a warehouse in Boston a group of American are hoping to sell some Irish men some guns. Things are already a little tense and distrustful when it’s revealed the weapons aren’t the exact ones ordered, but things get completely out of hand when one of the Yanks realises one of the Irish guys is the man who assaulted his cousin the night before. [Read more…]

Girls On Film 2: Before Dawn (DVD Review) – The lesbian short film collection is back

By Leave a Comment

Starring:
Director:
Running Time:
Certificate:
Release Date:

The gay-male focussed Boys On Film series is the most successful short film collection in the world, and recently celebrated its 16th instalment. A couple of years ago, it was joined by a sister release, Girls On Film, which presented a selection of lesbian-themed shorts.

Although there’s been a bit of a delay between releases, Girls On Film is back with Before Dawn, which features 11 short films from around the world. It’s an eclectic and interesting selection, so take a look at what we thought below. [Read more…]

Personal Shopper (Blu-ray Review) – Things get creepy and possibly paranormal for Kristen Stewart

By Leave a Comment

Personal Shopper got a strange reaction on its Cannes debut. It was booed at the critics screening, but then got a standing ovation at the official showing. It eventually won Best Director for Olivier Assayas. Even when it was released in cinemas, the reviews were incredibly polarised. Some said it was a ‘masterwork’, while others thought it was total mess. As so often with these things, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Maureen (Kristen Stewart) is working as a personal shopper/assistant for a rich, snooty celebrity in Paris. However, she also has some psychic ability, and is trying to connect to her twin brother Lewis, who died in France from a congenital condition that could also kill Maureen. [Read more…]

You Can’t Escape Lithuania (DVD Review) – A gay filmmaker goes on the run

By Leave a Comment

Starring: , ,
Director:
Running Time:
Certificate:
Release Date:

You Can’t Escape Lithuania became a bit of a viral sensation when filmmaker Romas Zabarauskas promised naked pictures of himself to anyone who donated more than $50 during a crowdfunding campaign. It’s difficult not to wonder whether it’s the film’s notoriety that came from that bit of self-promotion that got it a DVD release, as the film itself isn’t exactly great.

The movie immediately gets rather self-referential when a radio host talks about the naked picture stunt during the film’s opening. However, it’s not a documentary, as while it’s about a character called Romas Zabarauskas, he’s played by an actor, Denisas Kolomyckis. Nor is he playing the real Romas, as the character is a mixture of the real and the made up, where we’re deliberately not meant to know where the truth ends and fiction begins. [Read more…]

Esteros (DVD Review) – Gay love interrupted for two young men

By Leave a Comment

Starring: , , ,
Director:
Running Time:
Certificate:
Release Date:

Esteros follows two men at two different points in their lives, interweaving what happened in their teenage years with their lives 10 years later. In their mid-teens, Jeronimo and Matias are friends who enjoy play during the long, hot summer days. However, on the cusp of manhood their relationship begins to move past just friendship as they realise their feelings for one and develop something deeper and more physical.

10 years late they are estranged, but one of them returns to their hometown for carnival, which causes them to reconnect. Jeronimo is now a proudly gay – but single – man. Matias meanwhile is engaged to a woman. Initially unsure how to communicate with one another, when they start revisiting the places and activities that brought them together as teens, they begin to reconnect. Matias in particular must decide whether what they once had was just a youthful fling, or something deeper. [Read more…]