July 29th 2013 Archives - Big Gay Picture Show

The Host (Blu-ray)

July 29, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt
Director: Andrew Niccol
Running Time: 125 mins
Certificate: 12
Release Date: July 29th 2013

After the success of Twilight, it was little surprise that a movie version of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host was put into the works. It seemed to bode well when Truman Show and In Time scribe Andrew Niccol was hired to write and direct, as he’s got a good track record when it comes to somewhat cerebral sci-fi. However the end result is rather underwhelming – not bad, but far from great. [Read more…]

A Late Quartet (DVD)

July 28, 2013 By Adrian Naik Leave a Comment

Starring: Catherine Keener, Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mark Ivanir
Director: Yaron Zilberman
Running Time: 105 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: July 29th 2013

The world famous Fugue Quartet has reformed a year after cellist Peter’s wife passed away. Determined to play Beethoven’s notoriously challenging Opus 131, the aging Peter (Walken) is now facing retirement due to the early onset of Parkinson’s, while second violinist Robert (Hoffman) and his wife, violist Juliette (Keener), have reached a breaking point in their relationship. All the while the cold first violin, Daniel (Ivanir), refuses to accept that the people in his quartet are struggling to survive together. Can the quartet keep it together for one last grand farewell to Peter? [Read more…]

Dressed To Kill (Blu-ray)

July 28, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon, Dennis Franz
Director: Brian De Palma
Running Time: 105 mins
Certificate: 18
Release Date: July 29th 2013

For years Brian De Palma has carried around the moniker of being a Hitchcock imitator, and it is perhaps Dressed To Kill more than any of his other movies that’s the cause of that. While it is its own beast, it’s hard to escape the fact that the movie borrows liberally from Hitchcock, particularly Vertigo and Psycho – from killing off the main character partway through to a fascination with sex and perversion.

However it’s slightly like Hitchcock on acid, as it’s far more overblown than the master, which has led to accusations of sexism and transphobia. Various people have tried to explain away these claims over the years, but it does sometimes seem like Dressed To Kill is punishing its characters for not conforming to sex and gender norms. [Read more…]