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

The Parade (Parada) (DVD)

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Radmilo (Milos Samolov) and Mirko (Goran Jevtic) are a gay couple living in the very homophobic surroundings of Belgrade, Serbia. Mirko is trying to organise a gay pride parade against the backdrop of massive public resentment and the constant threat of attack by skinheads.

Into their life comes solider turned gangster Limun (Nikola Kojo), who initially holds vet Radmilo at gunpoint and demands he treat his dog. He then comes across Mirko, who’s supposed to be organising his wedding to Biserka (Hristina Popovic). When Limun realises that Radmilo and Mirko are a couple he is furious at being confronted by gays and ends up assaulting Mirko. [Read more…]

Warm Bodies (DVD)

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The zombie apocalypse has left the humans fighting against a horde of shambling corpses. R (Nicholas Hoult) is one of those zombies, except he’s beginning to wonder if there’s more to life than stumbling about groaning. When he ‘meets’ Julie (Teresa Palmer), a beautiful human survivor, R falls in love. He sets about trying to charm her, as best a rotting corpse can, and soon finds he’s undergoing more than just a change of heart.

The first zombie films had a message to deliver, the same is true here. But on top of this, Warm Bodies is refreshing, original, and one of the wittiest films you’ll find. [Read more…]

House Of Cards – Season 1 (Blu-ray)

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Most businesses try out new things by dipping their toe in and limiting their financial exposure, testing the waters before going full hog. However Netflix isn’t that kind of company. For their second original series (after Lilyhammer), some sources suggest they spent $100 million on House Of Cards.

They also managed to draw in such big names as David Fincher to produce on the promise that unlike with normal TV, they’d be relatively hands off and just let the show’s team create. They didn’t stint on the cast either, luring in the likes of Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. [Read more…]

Dream On (DVD)

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Set in the 1980s, Paul (Bradley Cross) is a 16-year-old, shy, Rochdale lad who heads with his mum on holiday to a camp site in Wales. There he meets Londoner George (Joe Gosling), who’s far brasher than Paul and also unafraid to skirt the law, such as shoplifting and drinking. They strike up a friendship, which by the end of the holiday has developed into something more.

The lads agree to meet at the camp the following year, at which time they plan to run away together to Australia. Paul spends the next 12 months saving and waiting for the day he’ll be reunited with George, but will his boyfriend turn up? [Read more…]

Men To Kiss (Männer zum Knutschen) (DVD)

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Men To Kiss is a bit of an odd movie. It’s entertaining even while a lot of it is complete nonsense, and it’s fun even when it’s difficult not to feel the wrong thing is happening.

Ernst (Frank Christian Marx) and Tobi (Udo Lutz) are a couple who may be ready to take the next step in their relationship. However Ernst is starting to feel out of place, as he doesn’t know many people in Berlin, so his only friends are Tobi’s. He’s therefore pleased to see his old mate Uta (Alexandra Starnitzky), even if she is rather pretentious, biting and rude to those she sees as being beneath her – which is pretty much everybody. [Read more…]

Come As You Are (Cinema)

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While there still aren’t a huge amount of films about disability, there are certainly more than there used to be. Just in the last year we’ve had the likes of Untouchable and The Sessions, and now a Belgian entry reaches British shores in the form of Come As You Are (Hasta La Vista).

The film follows young men Philip (Robrecht Vanden Thoren), who’s paralysed below the neck; Lars (Gilles De Schryver), whose brain tumour has resulted in him using a wheelchair; and the partially sighted Jozef (Tom Audenaert). While most of their lives consists of their families looking after and worrying about them, they decide to attempt a bit of independence and organise a secret holiday together. There’s one specific plan for this trip, to visit a Spanish brothel and lose their virginities. [Read more…]

Apartment 1303 (3D Blu-ray)

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A few years ago, every horror movie Asia produced got a Hollywood remake, but the pace has certainly slowed down. However somebody decided that Ataru Oikawa’s 2007 Japanese movie was ripe for a makeover, and as was the rage when it went into production they did it in 3D.

The film starts out following Janet (Julianne Michelle), a young woman keen to get out from under the feet of her stifling ex-singer mom Maddie (Rebecca De Mornay) by renting her own place. She moves into Apartment 1303, but almost immediately strange things start to happen, with a small child hanging around, an aggressive superintendent and noises that suggest someone is in the flat. [Read more…]

Behind The Candelabra (Cinema)

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Soderbergh has famously stated this will be his last film. If true that would be a real shame, as he seems to have saved his best work till last. This biopic of Liberace is one of his best films – arguably his best of all. It’s extremely funny without any nastiness, camp without being bitchy and ultimately a very touching piece about ageing, desire, friendship and companionship.

It also features career-defining performances from Douglas and Damon. Douglas is clearly having the time of his life as the outrageous entertainer – what a shame he can’t be nominated for an Oscar (as it premiered on HBO in the US, ruling it ineligible). It’s a spot-on performance of an ageing, absurd, ridiculous man, but the key is that Douglas’ Liberace takes himself completely seriously. A twinkle in Douglas’ eye would ruin it. What we have here is a master entertainer, a talented musician with a desire to be loved, and absolutely no self-awareness at all. He is vain, selfish and determined to have his desires fulfilled. [Read more…]

Veep – Season 1 (Blu-ray)

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Ever since the end of Seinfeld, Hollywood has been trying to work out what to do with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. There have been a few films and some TV series, but nothing has really worked (The New Adventures of Old Christine lasted five seasons, but it didn’t show her off to her best advantage). However she may have found her a perfect fit with Veep, which is a little uneven over its first season, but still manages to be a lot of fun. [Read more…]

I Give It A Year (DVD)

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There’s a lot of criticism that most romantic comedies just go by-the-book, presenting exactly the same story over and over again. So if a rom-com tries to do something a little different, it should be applauded. It’s just a shame that with I Give It A Year, it doesn’t really work.

As the marketing has been keen to tell us, I Give It A Year starts where other rom-coms end. After a whirlwind romance, Josh (Rafe Spall) and Nat (Rose Byrne) get married, even though many of their friends aren’t sure it’s a good match. It’s not long before the cracks begin to show, with the little niggles of their relationship becoming more and more difficult to take. [Read more…]