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

Broken Gardenias (DVD Review)

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Jenni (Alma S. Grey) is a rather odd young woman prone to treating the plants she works with like real people and telling them nerdy jokes. Her already somewhat fragile life falls apart after a short stay in the hospital results in her getting let go from her job and being unceremoniously evicted from her house by her selfish roommate.

With no house, job or friends, Jenni decides to end it all but is saved from suicide by the free-spirited Sam (Ashley Morocco), who offers the hand of friendship and also suggests they should follow Jenni’s dreams with a trip to LA to find her father, who abandoned her when she was just six. [Read more…]

Futuro Beach (Cinema Review)

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Futuro Beach had a good run at film festivals following its debut in Berlin. That’s not really too surprising, as it’s the sort of movie that does well at fests, as it’s keen to show cinema as art and also present film more as a sensory and philosophical experience than simply as straightforward storytelling. As a result it’s not a film for everyone, but some will find it entrancing.

The movie is split into three chapters, the first introducing us to closeted Brazilian lifeguard Donato (Wagner Moura), who manages to save a German man called Konrad (Clemens Schick) from drowning, but is unable to rescue Konrad’s friend whose body is lost at sea. With both of them in need of solace and affirmation they sleep together. That leads to a relationship and the second chapter, where Donato follows Konrad back to Berlin. This gives Donato the chance to explore his sexuality and the possibilities of life away from the pressures of family and Brazilian society. However, not everything runs smooth for the couple. [Read more…]

Eat With Me (US Cinema Review)

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Elliot (Teddy Chen Culver) is a gay man running a Chinese restaurant (which is in major financial trouble). He’s trying to figure out his love life, which certainly isn’t devoid of men but none of them are around for long. His life is shaken up when his mother, Emma (Sharon Omi), turns up on his doorstep and asks to stay for a while.

It appears she’s left Elliot’s rather thoughtless and selfish father, although she doesn’t want to talk about it. There’s also the added complication that while Emma knows her son is gay, she’s not comfortable with it and isn’t sure how to reconcile it in her own mind. However with the help of Elliot’s next door neighbour (Nicole Sullivan), Emma begins to find a new way to look at her life and her possibilities. For Elliot meanwhile, having his mother stay forces him to re-evaluate his tendency to push possible relationships away. [Read more…]

Candid Love (Review)

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Candid Love is a surprisingly fascinating and unusual documentary. It throws you right into the middle of a relationship between two men that’s in crisis. Daniel’s father has died and he’s travelled to his home state of Wisconsin to organise the funeral. However we don’t actually meet him properly until he returns, instead being introduced to Jon, who’s still in Texas, and doing his best to provide support.

However we very quickly come to realise that ‘doing their best’ for these men isn’t necessarily the same thing as succeeding. They are both damaged; balancing mental health issues, drug use and addiction, as well as pasts that neither have completely left behind. Even their sexuality isn’t simple, as while Daniel identifies as gay, his greatest love was a woman and it’s clear he still hasn’t completely gotten over the end of that relationship. There is an uneasy air sometimes with Candid Love where it’s difficult not to think about how much their sexuality plays into the cause and effect of the issues they face and how much it stands to one side. [Read more…]

It Takeis Two: Episode 3 – George Takei helps his hubby adjust to the limelight

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it-takeis-two-ep3Brad & George Takei have been together for decades, but even after George came out as gay in 2005, Brad largely stayed out of the public eye. However with their marriage, George’s social media popularity and the documentary To Be Takei, Brad’s public profile has grown and he’s now dealing with his own fame.

The heightened reality web series takes a look at this, with the first two episodes seeing Brad getting angry about the fact anonymous internet people have created a ‘mean meme’ about him. While George is philosophical about that, Brad won’t take it lying down.

Now episode 3 has arrived, which sees George trying to help Brad with his newfound popularity, and Brad thinking about whether he has any responsibility he has to his fans. You can take a look below. [Read more…]

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Jane Fonda Remembers Being The Ultimate Beard For Closeted Famous Gay Men

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jane-fondaWith Jane Fonda’s new Netflix series, Grace & Frankie debuting, the actress has been chatting with Pridesource about the show, which sees her and Lily Tomlin playing women dealing with the fact their husbands (Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) have both come out of the closet and run off with one another.

Although Fonda hasn’t experienced quite that scenario, she does have plenty of knowledge of gay men wanting her as both their beard and perhaps as heir attempt at heterosexuality. She says, “When I was young, I was the female that gay guys wanted to try to become heterosexual with. A very famous actor who’s gay – and I will not name names – asked me to marry him. I was very flattered, but I said, ‘Why?’ This was 1964. He wasn’t the only one. It’s very interesting. And I lived for two years with a guy who was trying to become heterosexual.”

It’s perhaps not surprising gay gays were attracted to Fonda, as in the 60s and 70s it was still difficult to be openly gay, especially if you were famous, but Jane was well known for her liberal, progressive views, which included campaigning for gay rights alongside Harvel Milk.

Of him, she says, “He was always smiling and laughing, and he was beloved and he was funny. I was so happy when I was with him. And it was just so much fun going into those gay bars with him – oh my God!”

You can find the full interview over at Pridesource.

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Win The Gay-Themed Broken Gardenias On DVD!

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broken-gardenias-dvd-coverThe lesbian-themed Broken Gardenias hits DVD in the UK on May 11th, 2015, courtesy of TLA Releasing, and we’ve teamed up with them to give away three copies in this competition!

Here’s the synopsis from BFI Flare, ‘This quirky dark comedy begins with Jenni talking to the plants she tends to at her crappy job in a garden centre. After a series of unlikely and unfortunate events, including the death of her beloved turtle, she returns home to find her valley girl housemate has inexplicably kicked her out. Suddenly, she is homeless, at rock bottom, sitting with a box of her belongings in the park. But just as she tries to end it all, she meets confident butch Sam, who Jenni had previously seen drink-driving and being chased by police. Together, they embark on a zany, dream-like quest to LA to find Jenni’s long lost father’

To be in with a chance of winning the copy of Something Must Break on DVD plus a signed poster that we’ve got to give away, answer the question below and fill in your details, then press submit! The competition closes on May 24th, 2015, so get answering and good luck! [Read more…]

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Win The LGBT-Themed Something Must Break On DVD, Plus Signed Posters!

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something-must-break-dvd-coverAfter impressing at the BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival and at select UK cinemas, Something Must Break arrives on DVD on May 11th 2015 in the UK. We’ve got three copies of the movie to give away, plus posters signed by its director, Martin Bergsmark.

The movie is a love story between two young men where one is the androgynous Sebastian and one is Andreas, who is adamant that he is not gay. It’s them against the polished Swedish IKEA society. They dream about escaping boredom and the risk of becoming what everyone else is. And then there is Ellie – the superwoman growing inside of Sebastian who Andreas loves and fears. This is the summer when everything happens and both of them will choose paths that will determinate their lives forever. It’s a battle for love where Sebastian finally has to realise that he has to let Ellie loose, find the strength within himself and not let his happiness depend on someone else.

To be in with a chance of winning one of the three copies of Something Must Break on DVD plus a signed poster that we’ve got to give away, answer the question below and fill in your details, then press submit! The competition closes on May 24th, 2015, so get answering and good luck! [Read more…]

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Take A Look At Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight – Kurt Russell, Tim Roth & More

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hateful-eight-ew-pic3After throwing his toys out of the pram and saying he wasn’t go to make the movie, due to a script leak, Quentin Tarantino changed his mind and The Hateful Eight is now in the can and heading for a Christmas release.

To help prepare us EW has given us a look at the eight of the title, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern. It’s certainly a mix of old and new faces for Tarantino, and there’s also a small turn in the movie for Channing Tatum.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘In THE HATEFUL EIGHT, set six or eight or twelve years after the Civil War, a stagecoach hurtles through the wintry Wyoming landscape. The passengers, bounty hunter John Ruth (Russell) and his fugitive Daisy Domergue (Leigh), race towards the town of Red Rock where Ruth, known in these parts as “The Hangman,” will bring Domergue to justice. Along the road, they encounter two strangers: Major Marquis Warren (Jackson), a black former union soldier turned infamous bounty hunter, and Chris Mannix (Goggins), a southern renegade who claims to be the town’s new Sheriff. Losing their lead on the blizzard, Ruth, Domergue, Warren and Mannix seek refuge at Minnie’s Haberdashery, a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass. When they arrive at Minnie’s, they are greeted not by the proprietor but by four unfamiliar faces. Bob (Bichir), who’s taking care of Minnie’s while she’s visiting her mother, is holed up with Oswaldo Mobray (Roth), the hangman of Red Rock, cow-puncher Joe Gage (Madsen), and Confederate General Sanford Smithers (Dern). As the storm overtakes the mountainside stopover, our eight travelers come to learn they may not make it to Red Rock after all…’ [Read more…]

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Gay Short Film Showcase: Teaser – An avant garde look at a young gay man’s drug use

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teaser-short-filmA few months ago we published a short promo for Teaser. Now the short film has been released online, revealing a rather avant garde short, which gives an impressionistic look at the journey of drug dependence for a young, gay man, based on the real-life experiences of its director, Adam Jones.

Adam has written a piece for us, talking about the imagery in the short. You can read that below, and the film itself is underneath that:

The cover art for the short film is a young girl watching a television special, a demonic hand shadows above her; the perfect fit for my project. The film opens with a burst of static, my videos always seem to lend to this type of thing. The opening really was a playful type of approach to the story. My story is wild, why not be hopping on a bed flipping my hair around? Well… it just fits. During the time I encountered my rock bottom I let a tweaker shave my hair off. I had a Britney moment, but I needed a drastic change in my appearance to figure out who I was. The next cut is driving to Woodside Apartments off of Fulton Ave in Sacramento, CA. I spent a good 9 months of tweaking at this complex. I revisited the apartment number, routes I would usually spend walking for hours. We shot it in a dream-like sequence, on 8mm filters. Definitely gave me chills being at this location. My worst times were spent here, I was so confused. After we shot some footage my boyfriend and I jumped in the heated pool.

The next cut was definitely in a darker direction. Over the last 3 months, I edited the short film in an odd fashion. Every 2 weeks I would edit a 2 minute segment. Going to a location and shooting some footage, then pulling a few missing pieces from stock footage.

Taking a break for a couple weeks and revisiting the footage when I had the vision again.

For this specific cut, “The Path to Destruction” I wanted to capture a path to darkness. I went in a montage route for this because I could say many things within 2 seconds.

The score was the most important part for the story, I researched so many composers. I love setting videos to orchestra… to me it’s my favorite part.  This scene represents losing yourself to the devil; it’s my path to madness. Being consumed by other broken men like I once was.

So we made it to 05:25, running away from my issues. All the imagery really lends itself to the point of no return. The audio is a recording of a few treatment centers I attempted to contact in the past. No matter how bad it got I really thought that my life was better outside of treatment. The visuals I show really symbolically represent that life is horrible for me outside of a recovery center. The Amy Winehouse remix is a bit of a cliché.

The film begins to climax with a clip of a distraught mother. The black shadow under the young mans eyes really show the family dynamic happening here. My mom is searching for answers; I’ve reached my rock bottom. The “fun” is over; we think that we may have found an answer. The black and white theme fades; Napa, CA, the beautiful scenery, the vibrant colors of the hills. Driving to Azure Acres Treatment Center was such a beautiful & spiritual time for me. I spread my arms wide over a heaven-like CGI effect.

I’m free.

If you know a short film we ought to be posting, tell us by getting in touch via our contact page. And check out more gay short films and web series here. [Read more…]

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