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

REVIEWS

Cinema, DVD and Blu-ray reviews

Casanova ’73 (DVD)

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Casanova ’73 is a bit of a footnote in British comedy history. It only ran for seven episodes, but managed to get Mary Whitehouse in a tizzy with its risqué bedroom farce antics, and caused the BBC to get cold feet partway through its run and move it from mid-evening to a late night slot. As a result, Mastermind got Casanova’s primetime slot and became a surprise hit.

Written by Galton and Simpson, of Hancock and Steptoe & Son fame, the series sees Leslie Phillips as Henry Newhouse, a married man in his mid-40s who spends most of his life philandering. In each episode his wayward ways cause some sort of trouble, whether it’s trying to keep his wife from finding a series of letters from an overeager one night stand to having to hide in a closet from a strapping husband who came home early. [Read more…]

My Babysitter’s A Vampire – Series 1 (DVD)

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When I reviewed My Babysitter’s A Vampire – The Movie earlier this year, I was surprised by how much fun it was. However, I didn’t think much of the first episode of the regular series that was included on the disc. Now the whole first series of the supernatural family comedy is here and thankfully it turns out that first episode was a slight aberration as the rest of it is a lot of more fun and goes back to the smart wit and family entertainment of the film.

While the movie deals with the origins of the characters, the series dives right in with teen nerd Ethan dealing with the visions he often has when he touches someone, his friend Benny trying to do magic but screwing it up, and the titular babysitter, Sarah, who has her own problem’s as she’s a fledgling vampire. Between them they have to deal with all manner of supernatural shenanigans that befall their small town, from blood donor nurses who are actually vampires to a ghost who wants to force Ethan to be a wrestler. [Read more…]

Fast Girls (Blu-ray)

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In the years running up to the London Olympics, there were quite a few films planned to tie in with the sporting extravaganza. Few of them actually went into production but one that did was Fast Girls, which focuses on a group of female British athletes as they train for a big competition.

Shania (Lenora Crichlow) is a working class girl from a rundown part of London, who wants to be a great athlete but only has dilapidated tracks to run on. However thanks to her coach and her natural talent, she qualifies for the World Championships and is invited to join the relay team by trainer Tommy Southern (Noel Clarke). Suddenly thrown into the world of major meets, Shania almost immediately clashes with the posh Lisa (Lily James), whose father is a former champion and also a major player in the UK team selection. As the two butt heads, Shania’s will is tested, as well as her discipline to do what it takes to win at the highest level. She’s got the talent, but can Shania make it? [Read more…]

Beauty (Skoonheid) (DVD)

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Beauty is an interesting yet eerily creepy South African film that takes a look at how the sexual repression and frustration of someone in a homophobic environment can impact and severely mentally scar a person.

The film centres on Francois (Deon Lotz), an openly racist and homophobic married South African man in his forties, who, after indulging in sexual activity with men in private, becomes obsessed with the son of friend. As the film moves along and develops, we see Francois’ repressed homosexual feelings gradually sending his mental health into decline, and the attraction he feels towards Christian (Charlie Keegan), his friend’s son, turn into a loathing which culminates in a horrific and unpleasant encounter that will leave most viewers uneasy. [Read more…]

In The Dark Half (DVD)

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In The Dark Half is not the most imaginatively titled films, nor does it stand out. This is a bit like the film itself. The idea of the film is interesting, as is the acting, and there is nothing particularly wrong or exciting about the film – it just exists, like many other gritty, bleak films.

The premise of the film is the story of a teenage girl (played well by Jessica Barden of Hanna and Tamara Drewe fame) who lives next door to a father and son who have recently lost their wife/mother in believed suspicious circumstances. One night Marie is asked to babysit Sean while his father goes hunting, and unfortunately whilst babysitting Sean unfortunately dies. The rest of the film concerns the growing tension between the neighbours, where Marie starts believing that other forces are at work, and that there is another presence in existence. [Read more…]

The Pact (DVD)

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There’s a little bit of every different kind of horror in The Pact – supernatural, psychological, slasher and haunted house, amongst other. Expanding his successful short film, Nicholas McCarthy concocts a horror that offers little new except mixing up horror tropes from all over the map into something that sets out to put the audience on the edge of their seats. It sometimes works, but it’s all a bit too spare to fully succeed.

Following the death of her mother, Annie reluctantly returns to her childhood home, where she expects to find her sister, Nichole. However her sis has gone missing. Initially Annie assumes her sibling has slipped back into drug addiction and that’s why she’s nowhere to be seen. However soon strange things begin to happen in Annie’s mother’s house, which seem supernatural in origin. These events begin to dredge up the past, both from Annie’s history and her mother’s. [Read more…]

The Hollow Crown (DVD)

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One of the by-products of this year’s Cultural Olympiad and the Summer Of Shakespeare was the BBC’s ambitious plan to bring the Bard’s Henriad tetralogy (sorry, it’s Shakespeare and therefore long words are compulsory) to the screen. Under the title The Hollow Crown we get Richard II, Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part 2 and Henry V, which cover one period of British history from the rise of Henry IV and the usurpation (another good long word there) of Richard II, through the reign of Henry’s son, Henry V.

While the three Henrys tell one interlinked story with many recurring characters, Richard II is a bit of a play on its own, even though it deals with some of the same people. It’s also probably the least known of the plays, often regarded as one of Shakespeare’s more difficult texts, but as Rupert Goold’s two-hour take on the tale proves, it’s also one of the richest. [Read more…]

The Landlord (DVD)

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A lot of directors get labelled as being ‘one of a kind’, but in the case of Hal Ashby it really was true. With his hippie spirit and amazing eye for human connections, he made wonderful films like Harold And Maude, Shampoo, Coming Home, Bound For Glory and Being There. However it all started with his debut movie, 1970’s The Landlord.

A young Beau Bridges stars as Elgar Enders, a 29-year-old from a very well-to-do family who’s been feeling increasingly stifled living at home with his overbearing mother. He buys a house on a run down, inner city street, with the plan of getting the tenants out, doing it up and helping with the gentrification of the area. However he soon finds the tenants aren’t interested in leaving, and Elgar begins to find a new life there far from the one he grew up in. He even starts to date a mixed-race woman, something his mother is less than impressed by. [Read more…]

Bereavement (DVD)

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The people behind Bereavement certainly studied their horror films before they made the movie. Psychotic, nutty ritualistic killer? Check. Creepy kid? Check. Young women who don’t wear bras screaming and being slaughtered? Check. Liberal sprinklings of blood and guts? Check. Generic but slightly sinister titles? Check. But while it may have all right ingredients, it’s not a completely satisfying concoction.

Teenager Allison (Percy Jackson’s Alexandra Daddario) moves in with her uncle (Michael Biehn) and his family after her parents die. While she’s hoping her new rural high school will allow her to continue her interest in sports, they’re not that interested in female athletes. Because of this she takes to jogging along the area’s remote roads. [Read more…]

Victim (2012) (DVD)

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Sometimes it’s difficult not to feel slightly sad at the end of a film when you know that with a slightly bigger budget and some expert help and guidance on the script and direction, it could have been something really, really good. Unfortunately while the guts of something smart, entertaining and sharp is present in in the urban thriller Victim, it’s all a little underbaked and doesn’t quite hit the spot.

Young woman Tia’s (Ashley Madekwe’s) father has done well for himself and managed to get off the mean street of London, but she heads into the urban sprawl to live with her cousin, Davina. Tia meets Tyson (Ashley Chin), a young man who’s gotten involved in crime due to desperate family circumstances. He’s trying to keep things afloat as he attempts to ensure his smart younger sister get the education she deserves and deals with his mother’s massive gambling debts. As Tia and Tyson’s relationship develops, he attempts to break away from the cycle of crime and violence he seems to be trapped in. However escaping isn’t all that easy, leading to a crime that brings things a little too close to home. [Read more…]