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

Covert Affairs – Season 2 (DVD)

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The most implausible but entertaining spy show on TV hits DVD once more with its second season release. When we left newbie spy Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) at the end of Season 1, the lover who’d abandoned her and then suddenly reappeared in her life, Ben (Eoin Bailey), had been shot and they were trying to escape on a helicopter. Once the fallout of that is dealt with (and Ben’s disappeared again), it’s on to 16 more episodes of silly but fun CIA shenanigans. At least I desperately hope it’s silly, as if the CIA is really like this, it’s a miracle we’re not being blown up by terrorists every day. [Read more…]

Anton Corbijn Inside Out (DVD)

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Most people know Anton Corbijn as a music video director and more recently for his films such as Control and The American. But as Inside Out reveals, it’s really photography that’s at his heart and which he’s perhaps most renowned for in artistic and music circles.

This documentary follows Corbijn, trying to get inside his head and find out who he is. The results are interesting if sometimes a little frustrating. Inside Out tends to assume you know about Corbijn’s work and how from the 80s until now, his photographs (particularly of music figures) and videos have made him a renowned figure. If you don’t, the early parts of the film in particular are a bit oblique, supposing an understanding of his work that not all viewers will have. It’s more about looking at the man behind the work than revealing what the work is by looking at the man. [Read more…]

Avengers Assemble (Blu-ray)

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We all remember the Battle Of New York, when Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, The Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow got together to fight off extra-terrestrial terrors coming through a wormhole, due to a plot by Loki. This documentary looks at what led up to that battle.

Well, okay, I’m sure you’re aware this isn’t a documentary, as we’re in a world sadly lacking in superpowered heroes (although the lack of alien terror-mongers is a bit of a plus), but as audiences proved earlier this summer, we do love to escape to a comic book world. Avengers Assemble is only the third film ever to gross more than $1.5 billion (and the first not directed by James Cameron). It’s an astonishing success, particularly as the movie made more than twice as much as any of the movies that led up to it (Iron Man 2 was the biggest previous Marvel produced movie, taking $623 million). [Read more…]

Dragon Wasps (DVD)

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The title pretty much says it all, so if you think along lines of Mega Shark etc, that is what u will get. This is by no means Predator meets Eight Legged Freaks (or even Piranha 3DD for that matter) as the quick sell states, it’s more likely to be seen in Kim Newman’s Video Dungeon than anywhere else.

What do you need to know about the film? Well, if you are curious about it, I’m sure you know what you are going to get, a reasonably low budget horror film, with wooden acting, poor dialogue, a couple of very attractive women running around in skimpy outfits, and a decent body body count. Simples! [Read more…]

The Cold Light Of Day (DVD)

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Will (Henry Cavill) thinks things are bad when he arrives in Spain to find his luggage is still back in San Francisco and he’s just had a phone call telling him he’s officially bankrupt. However things quickly get worse when after meeting up with his family for a holiday, they get kidnapped. After some fruitless searching he heads for the police, which turns out to be a bad idea when they turn on him.

He soon discovers his father (Bruce Willis) was actually a CIA agent and may have been involved in some dodgy dealings involving a suitcase. Now some people want that suitcase back, but there’s no way for Will to tell who’s good, who’s bad and what course of action might get his family back. And just how is his dad’s colleague, Carrack (Sigourney Weaver), involved in all this, and was his father a good guy or a traitor? [Read more…]

Breathing (Atmen) (DVD)

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Austria’s official entry for the Foreign Language gong at last year’s Oscar, Breathing is the sort of film that rewards patience, as it starts out slow and almost deliberately obtuse, before revealing an ever more absorbing story.

Roman Kugler (Thomas Schubert) is an 18-year-old locked up in a youth detention centre who’s allowed out on day release to go to work. After one job falls apart, he starts working at a morgue, which brings him face-to-face with death in ways he hadn’t expected. With the hearing that could see him released coming up, he starts to come to terms with the crime he was locked up for, as well as trying to find some sort of reconciliation with his past in children’s homes and his sense of abandonment. [Read more…]

The Turin Horse (DVD)

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If you look at the 88% RottenTomatoes.com rating for The Turin Horse, it certainly appears the film has been getting a lot of love. However there are two completely separate reviews you could write for the movie – one for the cineaste art film fan, and another for the average Michael Bay movie loving moviegoer.

It probably won’t be a shock that the former will probably love this movie, while the latter will be bored stiff and wonder what on earth is going on.

So presuming you’re a member of the former group (or indeed a Michael Bay lover who also has more refined tastes), this is a film that may last nearly two-and-a-half hours with not much happening, but offers a lot in return. [Read more…]

The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists (Blu-ray)

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Aardman Animation is one of the most reliable animation houses outside Emeryville (the headquarters of Pixar). From the early days of Morph through the Oscar-winning Wallace & Gromit onto films like Chicken Run and Flushed Away, you can always be fairly sure of fun when the company is involved. Unfortunately that hasn’t always translated into big box office, which resulted in their deal with Dreamworks Animation ending early. Luckily though Sony was looking for ways to expand their animation output and so they stepped up for The Pirates! (and last year’s Arthur Christmas).

Peter Lord co-founded Aardman with David Sproxton back in the 1970s, but this is the first film he’s directed since he co-helmed Chicken Run with Nick Park back in 2000. Thankfully he hasn’t lost his touch, as The Pirates! is great fun, full of Aardman’s trademark attention to detail and visual jokes, along with a playful sense of humour and a plot that never takes itself too seriously, but still manages to create memorable characters. [Read more…]

American Pie: Reunion (DVD)

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It’s nine years since we last caught up with the original American Pie gang. Since then we’ve had four straight-to-DVD titles that threatened to make the Pie name as dodgy as National Lampoon’s has become in the last couple of decades. However now they’ve managed to get pretty much all of the main Pie actors back, as well as most of the minor ones, with the likes of the Sherminator popping up for cameos.

While the gang have gone their separate ways, they all head back to East Great Falls for a reunion. Getting back together causes everyone to take stock of their lives and reminisce on the differences between who they’ve become and who they thought they’d be. Jim (Jason Biggs) is still married to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) and they have a young kid together, but are having difficulty finding time to make love. [Read more…]

Safe (DVD)

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I’m starting to think I ought to write a template for Jason Statham films and when a new one comes along, simply fill in the blanks. That might seem to imply criticism, but it’s not meant to, as the Stath is one of the few actors around who’s been able to consistently produce films that have been entertaining and action-packed. Few of them may rise above being decent fun, but you know what you’re getting and he consistently delivers movies you know won’t be a waste of a rental.

Statham has been teamed up with various people in his movies, but a small Chinese girl is definitely a different kind of on-screen partner. She (Catherine Chan) has an amazing ability to remember numbers and locked away in her noggin is a code that turns out to be much in demand when she’s targeted by both the triads and Russian Mafia. Statham meanwhile is a former fighter who’s been forced into a life on the edge of society after he failed to throw a bout. [Read more…]