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

Portrait Of Jason (US DVD/Blu-ray Review)

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Much of queer history has been lost because by necessity it had to be hidden, but in more recent years there’s been a risk of many things disappearing simply because it’s marginalised and nobody’s been properly taking care of it. Portrait Of Jason was in danger of going that way, despite the fact it’s been acclaimed by many as one of the most important early gay-themed documentaries. Even the legendary Ingmar Bergman described it as “the most extraordinary film I’ve seen in my life.”

However, thanks to the likes of the Academy Film Archive, the UCLA Film & Television Archive, crowdfunding and the sterling work of Milestone Films, the movie has now been restored and given a proper release, allowing a new generation to take a look. [Read more…]

Open Up To Me (Fringe! Festival Review)

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You could be forgiven for thinking that the only type of film and TV that Scandinavian countries make are moody thrillers, but that’s solely because the more diverse cinema that comes from that area doesn’t get much of an international release. And on the evidence of Open Up To Me, that’s a shame.

Maarit (Leea Klemola) has transitioned from male to female and is now trying to find her new place in life, something not made easier by the fact that she’s now estranged from her former wife and daughter. She wants to help people and an unexpected opportunity arises when she almost accidentally poses as a therapist for teacher Sami (Peter Franzén), who’s in the midst of a marital crisis. [Read more…]

Dick: The Documentary (VoD Review)

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I think it’s fair to say that when director Brian Fender set off to make Dick: The Documentary he didn’t have a budget to rival Avatar or Man Of Steel. But then he didn’t need one, because what he did was take a very simple but surprisingly underexplored idea  – getting men to talk about their penises – and realised that doing something flashy would detract from looking directly at it (if you’ll pardon the expression).

The entire documentary is simply a selection of guys who strip naked, stand in front of a wall and discuss their dicks. We never see any of their faces, which is a smart move as while on the surface it makes the whole thing seem slightly voyeuristic, it ensures that the guys involved are less inhibited as they know that even though it’s being filmed they have anonymity. It also ensures the viewer sticks with the subject at hand and that the participants remain somewhere between individuals and archetypes. [Read more…]

Heterosexual Jill (VoD Review)

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Heterosexual Jill is the semi-sequel to Michelle Ehlen’s 2007 film Butch Jamie. That earlier film is a kind of reverse Tootsie, where actress Jamie tries to get work as a butch lesbian and ends up being cast in a male role. That leads to a liaison with Jill, who thinks Jamie is a man.

However you don’t need to have watched Butch Jamie to enjoy Heterosexual Jill. The film catches up with Jill five years on. She’s now decided that she wants to be straight and so has joined an ex-gay group in the hope of leaving thoughts of luscious ladies – and most particularly Jamie – behind. [Read more…]

The Gays (DVD/VoD Review)

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After watching The Gays I had visions of extreme right wing nutcases handing copies of the movie around and using it as evidence that everything they’ve always said about gays being deviant, sex obsessed, demon-possessed and keen to turn kids homo was all true. The film will certainly not win awards for political correctness, but it does have its moments.

The movie follows the Gay family – father Rob, transvestite mother Bob, and their sons (born through an anal pregnancy) Alex and Tommy.  As you might expect, they are the absolute extreme of homosexuality, with the parents teaching their kids how to seduce their teenage friends, giving them rim job GI Joes for Christmas and causing general same sex debauchery. [Read more…]

Eternity: The Movie (US Cinema Review)

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Is Eternity: The Movie a gay film? Well, yes, except no. It manages to straddle a hitherto unknown line where it’s a celebration of bromance, but yet has no bones about being a gay love affair in all but name. There’s little ‘no homo’ here, just two characters who are too clueless to know that’s what they would probably say if set if this was set in the 2010s.

The film is a parody of the 80s, filled with as much innuendo as it’s possible to cram into 88 minutes. Todd (Barrett Crake) is freshly arrived in LA with dreams of making it big in music – as well as selling affordable fashions at everyday prices at BJ Maxx (see, we told you it liked innuendo). He meets fellow ‘glamorist’ B.J. Fairchild (Myko Olivier) and while they don’t initially hit it off, they soon realise that with B.J.’s saxophone skills and Todd’s vocals – and his talent at writing songs about heartbreak – they could make it as a big-haired 80s pop duo. [Read more…]

Haram Queen (Review) Brunei’s first ever LGBT-themed short film

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In the last few years it’s seemed like the world of filmmaking has been opening up to everyone. No longer do you need money and equipment to buy and develop film, then manually edit and do all the other relatively expensive things it used to entail. Now most people wander around with cameras in their pockets – under the guise of smartphones – that offer a picture quality that would have exceeded what even a semi-professional videographer could have managed just 20 years ago.

However there are still limitations, not least that in different parts of the world certain subjects are still completely taboo and may even be criminal. You may be wondering why I’m talking about all this. Well, Haram Queen is the first (as far as it’s possible to tell) LGBT-themed film to emanate from the Bornean nation of Brunei, something that’s only possible due to the democratisation of filmmaking. [Read more…]

Jayson Bend: Queen & Country (Review)

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Jayson Bend: Queen and Country sees gay super-spy Bend (Davis Brooks) team up with his Swiss counterpart (Tom Read Wilson) to stop the launch of a satellite that will make salon chain owner Raymond Perdood (Paul Norton) the most powerful man in the world.

If that synopsis wasn’t enough the trailer will definitely give you a taste of what’s to come: A joyful peek into a world of gay secret agents, bad guys trying to take over the world and more puns than you could shake your weapon at. [Read more…]

What’s The T? (US VoD Review)

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There’s little doubt that in 2014 trans* people have gained more mainstream prominence than they ever have before, with the likes of Orange Is The New Black star Laverne Cox making it onto the cover of Time magazine and Conchita Wurst winning the Eurovision Song Contest. However it’s also true that the majority of those who are fully supportive of trans* people don’t really know much about the issues that those who don’t fit into the traditional gender binary face, or even that ‘pre-op’ and ‘post-op’ are not the main types of trans* people. [Read more…]

Tiger Orange (Outfest Review)

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The gay-themed drama Tiger Orange premiered a couple of days ago at LA’s Outfest, and luckily we got a preview of the movie.

Normally when you hear that a gay-themed film has a porn star as one of its actors, it seems like stunt casting that cares more about hinting at titillation than because that performer is the right person for the job. However Tiger Orange challenges that by having Frankie Valenti – aka gay porn star Johnny Hazzard – in one of the lead roles and giving him the space to give an extremely creditable performance. [Read more…]