June 29th 2015 (UK) Archives - Big Gay Picture Show

Boys In Brazil (DVD Review)

June 28, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Maurício Evanns, Luis Vaz, Marcello Airoldi, André Bankoff
Director: Alexandre Carvalho
Running Time: 90 mins
Certificate: 12
Release Date: June 29th 2015 (UK)

Also known as The Pink Pact, Boys In Brazil follows four men – teenage friends Mauro and Rodrigo, Mauro’s uncle Vicente and a man they meet at Sao Paulo’s Pride Parade, Roger. After Roger is gay-bashed the quartet end up at Vincente’s apartment, where the outrageously camp Mauro decides that something must be done about the fact they are all in the closet. He makes them promise that by next year’s parade, they will have all come out.

Rodrigo is scared to tell his parents but does manage to embark on a relationship with a good-looking school friend. Vincente meanwhile is afraid to let his work colleagues know about his sexuality and even enlists his female friend to pose as his wife. Roger is married, has a child and his thoughts of escape get more complicated when he discovers his wife is pregnant again and has to be on bed rest until the baby comes. [Read more…]

A Letter To Three Wives (Blu-ray Review)

June 28, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern, Kirk Douglas, Paul Douglas
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Running Time: 103 mins
Certificate: U
Release Date: June 29th 2015 (UK)

I have always wanted to see A Letter To Three Wives, but I’m almost ashamed to say I’d never watched it before. The reason I was keen to see it is that All About Eve is one of my favourite movies ever, and this is the other film for which Joseph L. Mankiewicz won both a Best Director and Best Screenplay Oscar.

I’m glad to say I wasn’t completely disappointed by the film, although I can see why the movie has fallen out of favour compared to much of Mankiewicz’s other work, such as Cleopatra and The Barefoot Contessa. While not that many younger people have seen the 1949 Oscar winner, they may find the plot oddly familiar, as more recently it served as the basis for an episode of The Simpsons. [Read more…]

Cake (Blu-ray Review)

June 28, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barazza, Sam Worthington, Anna Kendrick, Felicity Huffman
Director: Daniel Barnz
Running Time: 102 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: June 29th 2015 (UK)

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)

June 28, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Clive Owen, Morgan Freeman, Aksel Hennie
Director: Kazuaki Kiriya
Running Time: 115 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: June 29th 2015 (UK)

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…]

Jupiter Ascending (Blu-ray Review)

June 28, 2015 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, Sean Bean
Director: Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Running Time: 127 mins
Certificate: 12
Release Date: June 29th 2015 (UK)

When Jupiter Ascending was moved from a prime Summer 2014 cinema release to early 2015, it didn’t auger well. And when the reviews finally rolled in, it looked like people were right to be suspicious of the Wachowskis’ $175 million space opera. However, while it’s far from being a masterpiece, there is just about enough fun peeking through the nonsense.

Mila Kunis is Jupiter Jones, a seemingly normal girl from a Russian immigrant family, who is working as a cleaner and unsure what to do with her life (or even if she should bother to do anything). However, it turns out she is the genetic reincarnation of a murdered space queen, and because of that, she should be able to inherit the queen’s vast wealth. [Read more…]