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

Comedown (DVD)

By Leave a Comment

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

For a long time it seemed the only mainstream movies Britain ever made were rom-coms and gangster movies. In the last couple of years we’ve added urban thrillers to the mix, which have increasingly tended towards the horror end of the spectrum.

Comedown fits squarely in that bracket. Lloyd (Jacob Anderson) is fresh out of prison and his determination to go straight doesn’t last too long when he teams up with a group of other young people to set up a pirate radio station aerial on a deserted tower block. However the block isn’t as deserted as it appears. [Read more…]

Gayby (DVD)

By Leave a Comment

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

In the modern world there are all sorts of non-traditional families. Gayby takes a look at what happens when a straight woman and her gay best friend decide to have a baby together.

Jenn (Jenn Harris) and Matt (Matthew Wilkas) have been friends for years. In their youth they made a pact that if it hadn’t happened for either of them, they’d have a child together. Now in their 30s and with both of them single, Jenn decides to hold Matt to his promise. Keen to have a child of his own, he agrees. However there is one proviso – Jenn wants to have conceive the natural way, without turkey basters or any other equipment than what Matt has attached to him already. [Read more…]

The Master (Blu-ray)

By Leave a Comment

The Master almost needs two completely separate reviews, as it’s an audience divider if ever there was one. Some people with undoubtedly find Paul Thomas Anderson’s film tedious, repetitive, pointless, confusing and boring. However others will find it absorbing and endlessly thought-provoking, although even they will have difficulty coming to any firm conclusions about what the movie is ‘about’.

To be honest, while I liked the movie an awful lot, I’m still not 100% convinced it isn’t cinematic masturbation, but if it is, it’s masturbation turned into an art form – and possibly cinematic masturbation about cinematic masturbation. [Read more…]

Willow – 25th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray)

By Leave a Comment

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

If you grew up in the 1980s, there’s probably a special place in your heart for Willow. Produced by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard, it sadly wasn’t a huge hit when it was first released. So while Lucas originally planned it as the first part of a trilogy, this is the only Willow movie we ever got (although two novels continued the story).

Watching it now, it’s interesting to see how it is essentially a sword & sorcery version of Star Wars. Even in 1987 the comparisons were easy to make in 1987 – the wizened evil ruler of an empire with magical powers and her black-clad henchman, a young man called to a journey he isn’t sure he’s ready for, an aged mentor who teaches the hero the true path, a wise-cracking loner who has to learn the value of being part of something bigger than himself. However there are even more parallels now we’ve had the Star Wars prequels, not least a child with a prophecy hanging over them. [Read more…]