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

GAY INTEREST MOVIE REVIEWS

The latest gay interest film reviews from BGPS

Call Me Kuchu (Cinema)

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If you’re gay, there’s probably no movie you can watch this Halloween season that will scare you more than Call Me Kuchu, a documentary about life in the Ugandan LGBT community, focussing on activist David Kato. Whilst we in the West still have issues with homophobia and need to fight for things like marriage equality, in Uganda the debate isn’t even about whether gay sex should be legalised, it’s about whether homosexuals should be allowed to live. [Read more…]

Best of Iris Prize 2012 Short Films – Final Round-up

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Ostia: La Finale Notte: Delving into the events leading up to the savage killing of activist and director Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ostia: La Finale Notte grips you from the very first scene. A young man, Pino, is on the telephone, scared and clearly desperate. We are unsure of his role, but sense ill intent. As he meets and leads Paolo on, what Pino has in store for the artist is slowly unveiled. [Read more…]

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same – Iris Prize Screening Review

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Quirky comedy and delightfully tacky special effects, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (hereafter ‘CLSASS’, to prevent early arthritis) follows three emotionless and clueless lesbian space aliens (go figure). They find themselves in New York, where they seek love and heartbreak in an effort to rescue their dying planet. Zylar plays it fast and loose, in every meaning of the word. Barr is the needy codependent who chases more than Zylar is willing to give. Finally Zoinx crash lands on Earth and finds love with human Jane, who’s never quite fit in. All this while the gang is followed by possibly the two most incompetent government agents the galaxy has seen. [Read more…]

The Seminarian (DVD)

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I slightly wonder if the title of this one will confuse a few people, who’ll think a Seminarian is some sort of sexual stud, when it’s actually a ‘student in a theological seminary’ (thank you Dictionary.com). That said, The Seminarian does follow one of my maxims about gay-themed movies, which is that a penis will appear in the first 10 minutes, preferably in an unnecessary context – but then if I looked as good nude as Mark Cirillo I’d be unnecessarily naked a lot too.

However this is not a movie about tricking people into thinking Semin is the same as Semen or simply titillating the audience with the sight of a willy, it’s actually a romantic drama about a young, closeted man called Ryan (Cirillo), who’s trying to write a thesis he hopes will get him onto a top PH.D  theology course. His subject is ‘The Divine Gift Of Love’, looking at whether love in its many forms is an aspect of us being made in God’s image (and therefore any love for another person is an expression of His goodness), or if the seemingly unneeded pain love brings is incompatible with a truly good God. [Read more…]

Morgan (DVD) (US Release)

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Disability isn’t one of film’s favourite subjects (with the notable exception of the likes of Untouchable) and it’s even rarer in gay cinema, partly because until recently LGBT-themed movies were so concerned with the subject of gay identity they didn’t have much room for anything else. While Morgan does indeed deal with issues of identity, it’s more interested in how those issues impact someone dealing with being paralysed than in coming to terms with their sexuality.

Morgan (Leo Minaya) is not long released from rehabilitation after having an accident during a bicycle race that resulted in him being paralysed below the waist. He’s certainly not happy about his new status but finds hope when he meets Dean (Jack Kesy) at the park, and the two begin a tentative flirtation that soon buds into a full-blown relationship. Morgan isn’t sure how to deal with love as a paralysed man, partly because he’s still unsure of his own body and doesn’t even know if he’ll ever be able to get an erection. [Read more…]

Best of Iris Prize 2012 Short Films – Day 2

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Douglas Horn’s Coffee and Pie is a short film about a break up at a diner. The manipulative June has decided that her interest in girlfriend October has peaked and left. Now she goes through her well-practiced motions, as October rolls over to take it. Then Billie-Jean, a kind waitress, offers October some apple-pie and advice. This upends the balance of power, letting October teach June a lesson about control. [Read more…]

Yeah Kowalski! – Iris Prize Commended Short Film Review

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Thirteen year old Gabe Kowalski has a blossoming crush on his classmate, Shane. During a sex-ed class Kowalski discovers Shane’s partiality to men with a little body hair. Unfortunately for Gabe, his underarms are naked as the day he was born. However, while begrudgingly cutting his father’s hair, Kowalski is presented with the perfect opportunity to impress Shane: planting the off-cuts on himself like underarm merkins. But how will they hold up at a school pool party…?

As the film opens you are instantly hit by the vibrancy. Yeah Kowalski! takes you right back to all the silly things you did for an adolescent crush. Okay, maybe not quite like this, but the outrageous plot is so far out you can’t help but fall for Kowalski. [Read more…]

A Stable For Disabled Horses – Iris Prize Best UK Short Film Winner Review

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Benny is throwing a leaving party for his ‘B.F.F.’, Kanoute, who is returning to Norway. Finally having his friend to himself, Benny sees it as his last chance to tell Kanoute a secret that may spell the end of their friendship.

With a premise as simple as this, the pressure is on for this short to deliver on substance.

Any fears are dispelled within a few seconds, however, as the two comedians at the film’s centre launch into the gags. The pacing is very well constructed, keeping the momentum going as the jokes are delivered with expert timing. Daniel Swann’s charm and slight creepiness guides Daniel Sorensen’s impeccable cluelessness to unease, as it becomes obvious that there is more to this friendship in Benny’s eyes. [Read more…]

Bad Boy Street (DVD)

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With the romantic backdrop of Paris, Bad Boy Street tells the story of how two men strike up ad unlikely relationship after one is found drunk and passed out in the middle of the street. Although a bit of a slow starter, the film picks up midway through and keeps you enticed by the mysterious Brad (Kevin Miranda) and wondering where his unlikely relationship with Claude (Yann de Monterno) will go.

Amidst the main theme of the unlikely relationship developing between the two strangers we later find a more interesting theme running through the film, which takes a look at how being closeted can be harmful. There are also the secrets that bubble behind the film sets in Hollywood, and questions about just how much control PR agents have over their clients. However if this undercurrent of thought didn’t develop midway through the film, then I would be talking about it in a completely different way, as I almost lost interest. [Read more…]

The Wilding – Iris Prize Best Short Film Winner Review

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A story of sacrifice for love, The Wilding follows Malcolm, a hardened borstal inmate, who’s in love with his cellmate Tye. As Malcolm faces an opportunity for parole, a feud with other inmates escalates, with Tye being targeted as Malcolm’s weak spot. Malcolm is forced to choose between his own freedom and protecting the one he loves.

Most short films are mini-movies in themselves. They often suffer having been crammed into such a short space. It is very difficult for filmmakers to convey enough in 15 minutes: something usually falls short, be it narrative or character development. [Read more…]