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

Boys On Film 8: Cruel Britannia (DVD)

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Read our reviews of the other Boys On Film short film collections here

After two weeks in which we’ve been reviewing all the Boys On Film gay short film compilations, we’re finally come right up to date with Cruel Britannia. As the title suggests, all 10 shorts on the disc come from the UK and cover a broad range of gay-allied themes, most of which tend towards the darker side of life.

It’s a great selection, showing there’s a lot of talent out there in the UK working on LGBT themed film projects. Here’s what we thought of the shorts. [Read more…]

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (Blu-ray)

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The Anderson family sure have a knack of getting lost in Jules Verne-ian places! After going in search of his missing father in Journey To The Center Of The Earth back in 2008, Sean (Josh Hutcherson) gets a strange encoded message from his grandfather (Michael Caine), which once deciphered says he’s stuck on the Mysterious Island in the South Pacific. Sean gets his new stepdad, Hank (Dwayne Johnson), to agree to take him there, with the man hoping it will be a bonding experience. [Read more…]

The Artist (DVD)

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In an era where cinema audiences are bombarded with romcoms, remakes and endless superhero franchises, along came a silent film that showed the industry that there was a market for the more concerning cinemagoer, who liked something a little different. The Artist became a worldwide phenomenon that swept every award ceremony across the globe, winning 5 Oscars, 7 BAFTAs, 3 Golden Globes, and Best actor at Cannes, as well as being lauded by the harshest of critics and filmgoers alike. The film cost $15 million to make, but has so far amassed over $130 million at the box office, and is only the second time a silent film has won best film Oscar, the first being at the very first Oscars – Wings. [Read more…]

Men In Black III (Cinema)

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It has been 10 years since we last heard from the Men In Black. The successful film series has grossed over $1 billion worldwide at the box office, not to mention having vast DVD sales. Has the world forgotten MIB? Is it still relevant today when action/alien films are ten-a-penny? Well, this is a welcome return to the franchise – it delivers nothing new but fits like a comfortable pair of slippers and entertains nonetheless.

The film, like the previous two, is directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and there is no need to introduce the familiar characters, although there are a few new ones to add into the mix. The plot starts off with Nicole Scherzinger helping free Boris the Animal (Jermaine Clement) from prison – this really is a rather pointless cameo in her movie debut, where she does nothing more than walk around in a rubber outfit holding a cake. [Read more…]

Sherlock Holmes: The Hound Of The Baskervilles (DVD)

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When we think of Soviet Era Russia, we don’t normally considering people under Communist rule settling down to watch a home-grown adaptation of Sherlock Holmes on television. However in the late 70s and early 80s director Igor Maslennikov made a series of TV versions of Conan Doyle’s tales about his famed consulting detective, which are surprisingly faithful. They also thankfully lack the feel of some Cold War era Russian entertainment (particularly if it’s set in the West), that the State is forcing it to push an anti-capitalist agenda.

After the death of Sir Henry Baskerville, his nephew Charles seeks the help of famed consulting detective Sherlock Holmes (Vasili Livanov), hoping he can use the man’s deductive reasoning skills to pull apart the suspicious circumstances surrounding Henry’s death. [Read more…]

Haywire (DVD)

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With a cast including Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender and Michael Douglas, alongside newcomer and MMA fighter Gina Carano – not to mention that it’s directed by Steven Soderbergh – you’d expect something pretty special from Haywire. Sadly though the film doesn’t live up to expectations, beyond a few very good fight scenes.

Carano plays Mallory Kane, a covert operative for hire who does the jobs governments and companies don’t want to admit any part of. After a mission to Barcelona she heads to Dublin for another job and soon realises something is amiss and that she’s suddenly a target herself. Knowing she’s been double-crossed, Mallory must use all her skills to stay one step ahead of those who are out to get her and work out exactly what’s going on. [Read more…]

Tape 407 – The Mesa Reserve Incident (DVD)

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Think horror, think Lost meets Jurassic Park! On second thoughts scrap that thought, but Tape 407 does involve a plane crash and some sort of dinosaur hell bent on killing the survivor.

After Dark productions have given us some great little horror gems over the last few years, some slightly better than made for TV productions, and some not, unfortunately this release falls into the latter category. [Read more…]

She-Monkeys (Cinema)

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She Monkeys is an intriguing, dark and eerie tale of two girls engaged in a confusing underlying lesbian relationship set against the backdrop of the equestrian vaulting world. With a relationship that’s brimming with physical and psychological challenges, lead character Emma (Mathilda Paradeiser) does whatever it take to master the rules of this almost twisted game, failing to resist the temptation of taking control from Cassandra (Linda Molin).

The film was shot and is based in Sweden, but is subtitled in English for all of you out there who enjoy a good foreign language film, and this film is pretty special. You can see why it won a host of awards on the festival circuit over the last 12 months, even taking the Best Narrative Feature trophy at the Tribeca Film Festival as it grips you from beginning to end even if Swedish isn’t your mother tongue. [Read more…]

American Translation (DVD)

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American teenager Aurore (Lizzie Brochere) gets her parents to agree to leave her alone in Paris while her father heads back to the States on business. The rebellious teen soon meets Chris (Pierre Perrier), a wanderer who gives her life a bit of excitement. They embark on a passionate affair that quickly turns into an all-consuming passion. Chris is a dangerous proposition though, who gets violently jealous if Aurore speaks to other men, but she’s smitten.

Chris has a secret though, he likes to pick up rent boys. While Aurore doesn’t seem sure about this, she goes along with it, allowing her boyfriend to go into his van with a trick he’s picked up. When she returns something terrible has happened and the rent boy is dead. [Read more…]

Dark Shadows (Cinema)

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Dark Shadows has always been a somewhat problematic proposition for a film conversion, especially as it’s been brought to the screen by people who are obviously in love with the original US soap opera that ran between 1966 and 1971. The show ran for over 1,000 episodes and featured a vast array of characters and all sorts of different supernatural shenanigans. Those then needed to be distilled down to a single movie that’ll work for a generation who’ve never seen the show.

It’s a challenge that Dark Shadows only partially succeeds in, with the whole thing having the whiff of being filled things Johnny Depp and Tim Burton wanted to include, but which might have been better to have dispensed with. [Read more…]