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

All Stars (DVD)

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This is one of those films that grown-up critics almost shouldn’t be allowed to review. It’s not for them. However the eight-year-olds who’ll probably love this aren’t known for their ability to write reviews and so it’s left to us oldies.

Okay, let’s start with the snooty film critic review: All Stars is derivative to the point that it almost feels like they took scenes from about a thousand other movies and merely changed the names. There is nothing in this film that hasn’t been seen many, many times before, which will have many people rolling their eyes at how unimaginative and predictable it is. [Read more…]

I’m So Excited! (DVD)

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In the last decade or so, Pedro Almodovar has become a master of taking ideas and spinning them in unexpected and complicated directions, filling his movies with larger than life, complex characters who draw you into a world that seems slightly absurd and yet uncomfortably close to the murkiness of real life.

I’m So Excited takes him in a slightly different direction as it’s far simpler, a lot camper and more interested in being pure entertainment than most of his movies. This has disappointed some, who were expecting an ‘Almodovar’ movie, but that doesn’t mean it lacks its own small-scale charms, even if it’s unlikely to amaze many. [Read more…]

Beyond The Walls (DVD)

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Sometimes when I watch a movie, I can’t help but wonder if the effect it has on the viewer (or at least me) is intentional or not. Sometimes that’s because it’s done something that’s totally undermined the entire movie, but other times it’s because it’s more interesting and intriguing than it might actually have intended to be. The latter is true of Beyond The Walls, although as it went on I became more convinced it was intentional. [Read more…]

Divergent Trailer – First proper look at the young adult adaptation

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Last night at the MTV VMAs, the first trailer for Divergent debuted and now you can take a look at it right here. The movie initially concentrates on the look of the movie, before getting far more action-packed.

Neil Burger is directing the adaptation of Veronica Roth’s best-selling novel, which takes place in a dystopian future made up of five factions that are based on different personality types. As they come of age, everyone must join the faction they fit into, but certain people are ‘divergents’, showing traits from more than one group. Tris (Shailene Woodley) uncovers that these people are seen as dangerous and the government wants to get rid of them.

The likes of Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Ashley Judd and Maggie Q co-star.

The movie will be bidding to be the new Twilight when it hits cinemas next March. [Read more…]

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The Butler Tops The US Box Office Again, Beating Mortal Instruments & The World’s End

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butler-poster1Despite what many had thought would be some strong competition, in the end The Butler topped the US box office for a second week with $17 million, with We’re The Millers coming second once more with $13.5 million.

That was enough to beat newcomer The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones, which despite suggestion early on its marketing that it was on track to be the new Twilight (and resulted in a sequel already being in the works), took $9.3 million over the weekend and $14 million since it opened last Wednesday. As young adult adaptations tend to be quite front loaded and then drop off, it doesn’t suggest this will become a hit in the long run (and certainly doesn’t bode well for the sequel).

The World’s End came in at number 4 on its US debut with $8.94 million. That’s more than either Hot Fuzz or Shaun Of The Dead, although those film got more limited releases. It’s not too bad though, especially as few expected it to do that brilliantly in America.

The horror film You’re Next took seventh spot on the chart with $7 million. It’s one of the weakest starts of the year for a nationwide horror release, but as it cost little to make, it’ll probably still end up turning a profit.

Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine expanded onto more screens in its fifth weekend at cinemas and made its first appearance in the top 10 with $4.3 million. It continues Allen’s run of decent earners after years when his movies barely made a cent.

Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for weekend of August 23rd-25th.

Rank Title Weekend Gross (millions) Total Gross to date (millions)
1 Lee Daniels’ The Butler $17.0 $52.2
2 We’re The Millers $13.5 $91.7
3 The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones $9.3 $14.0
4 The World’s End $8.9 $8.9
5 Planes $8.5 $59.5
6 Elysium $7.1 $69.0
7 You’re Next $7.0 $7.0
8 Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters $5.2 $48.3
9 Blue Jasmine $4.3 $14.7
10 Kick-Ass 2 $4.2 $22.4
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Tumbledown (DVD)

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Todd Verow is a virtual one-man gay film industry. He started making films in the mid-90s and has become increasingly prolific since, with the likes of Vacationland, Between Something & Nothing and last year’s Bad Boy Street. His last few films have been narratively and tonally more ambitious than the ones that came before and that continues with Tumbledown, which is based on Verow’s own experiences (and also stars him in the role of Jay). [Read more…]

Win The Dyatlov Pass Incident on DVD!

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dyatlov-pass-incident-embed-a-compTo celebrate the release of the captivating return of acclaimed Hollywood director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2; Cliffhanger; Deep Blue Sea) with his conspiracy theory horror “The Dyatlov Pass Incident” – out on DVD and Blu-ray 26th August 2013 – we have a DVD copy to give away to one lucky winner!

Based on the bizarre but true events surrounding the mysterious deaths of nine ski hikers who went missing in the Ural Mountains in 1959, this “The Blair Witch Project” meets “The Descent” by way of “The X Files” horror is the most unnerving supernatural shocker to come out in years!

“The Dyatlov Pass Incident” takes the known facts of the tragedy and spins them into a truly chilling horror experience that brilliantly combines elements of contemporary history, conspiracy theory, sci-fi and the supernatural that all contribute to a knock-out twist and a breathtaking finale.

If you’d like to try and win the copy of The Dyatlov Incident on DVD that we’ve got to give away, answer the question below and fill in your details, then press submit! The competition closes on September 7th 2013, so get answering and good luck! [Read more…]

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The Mortal Instruments’ Kevin Zegers Gets Sexy & Shirtless For Flaunt

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Kevin Zegers is currently in cinemas with The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones, where quite unusually for a mainstream fantasy/action movie, he’s playing a character who’s gay. He’s been having a pretty busy time, as not only has he been promoting Mortal Instruments (including talking about his character’s sexuality) and getting married, the 28-year-old has also found time to pose for some sexy pics for Flaunt Magazine.

As well as Mortal Instuments, Zegers has been seen in the likes of Transamerica, Dawn Of The Dead, Wrong Turn and It’s A Boy Girl Thing. And now he can be seen looking very hot on this page with his shirt off.

You can take a look at the interview that accompanies the pics here and enjoy the images below. [Read more…]

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Russian Screenwriter Of Tchaikovsky Biopic Says Only ‘Philistines’ Think The Composer Is Gay, Despite Evidence Otherwise

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TchaikovskyConsidering the increasingly anti-gay Russian laws that are causing a firestorm of international controversy, it’s little surprise that a planned biopic of famed composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is planning to whitewash his sexuality. While most people agree that Tchaikovsky was gay – or at least as gay you could be in 19th Century Russia – screenwriter Yuri Arabov is having none of it.

As the New York Times reports, via a Russian interview, Arabov says, “It is far from a fact that Tchaikovsky was a homosexual. Only philistines think this. What philistines believe should not be shown in films.”

This is despite plenty of evidence of Tchaikovsky’s attraction to men, including a biography by his brother, as well as letters by the composer himself where he talks openly about his nature.

Arabov seems to think his biopic will set the record straight on a man who “is marked by rumors and suffers greatly from this.” Even if those ‘rumors’ appear to be the truth.

The writer also offers the slightly odd statement that he would, “Not sign my name to a film that advertises homosexuality. Not because I don’t have a gay friend, but because this is outside the sphere of art.”

However, he doesn’t say why homosexuality is outside art. It may be outside the law though, as most of the recent controversy in Russia has surrounded the introduction of laws that ban the ‘promotion’ of ‘non-traditional relationships’ to people under 18. It is possible that the film, simply titled Tchaikovsky, could be considered to break that law if it said one of Russia’s greatest historical figures was gay.

Indeed, Stephen Fry said just that in a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron and the International Olympic Committee about the controversy surrounding the upcoming Sochi Olympics, that “Any statement, for example, that Tchaikovsky was gay and that his art and life reflects this sexuality and are an inspiration to other gay artists would be punishable by imprisonment.”

So it seems we’re getting a straight Tchaikovsky in the upcoming 2015 movie, no matter how far from the truth that is. Perhaps now those outside Russia need to make their own biopic of the composer to set the record straight (or rather, gay).

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Interview: Pedro Almodovar Talks I’m So Excited & Why He’s Not A ‘Gay Director’

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Pedro Almodovar is one of the most prominent European directors in the world. He’s also one of the most prominent gay directors – or rather director who happens to be gay, as he’d probably prefer it put. He’s back with I’m So Excited, a movie which perhaps has the most overt gay sensibility of any of his films.

The film hits DVD in the UK on August 26th, and to celebrate that we have an interview with Pedro, where he talks about the movie, how it’s a metaphor for modern Spain, and what it was like being gay as a young man in the era of General Franco.

Your new film, which is a great joy to watch and a great joy to experience. It was really great fun. I really enjoyed it.
Yeah, it was very funny to do it. I actually thought that making this film would be a much lighter experience for me than the films I’ve been making. But that was actually silly to think that. It wasn’t like that at all. Why should I ever think that? Because in fact comedy is perhaps one of the most difficult genres of films that you can make because it requires much more precision. It’s much tougher to make. And for me, in fact, that whole process of filming was a process where I had to have eyes on everything. I had to have eyes in the back of my head to watch what was going on, but in fact the film itself was a celebration for all of us.  It was a joy for all of us to make, particularly because it took me back to the tone of the first films that I made when I started off my career: The comedies. [Read more…]

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Win The Acclaimed Gay-Themed Drama Beyond The Walls!

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Beyond-The-Walls-dvd-coverPeccadillo Pictures brings the acclaimed Belgian, gay-themed film Beyond The Walls to DVD in the UK on August 26th, and we’ve teamed up with them to give away three copies of the flick.

The film screened at the likes of Cannes and the BFI Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, and charts the intense sexual relationship between Paulo and Ilir, who first meets in the bar where Paulo works. When Ilir offers to take Paulo back to his flat because he is too drunk to get home, they find the attraction almost too much to bear. Despite an initial hesitation the two grow closer and experiment in a sensual world neither knows much about.

Whilst at first they fill their days getting to know each other’s bodies and pushing their own limits and boundaries, the intensity of their relationship eventually becomes too much. Their love is severely tested by a dramatic series of events and when Ilir ends up in prison, Paulo is forced to become independent.

If you’d like to try and win one of the three Beyond The Walls DVDs that we’ve got to give away, answer the question below and fill in your details, then press submit! The competition closes on September 6th 2013, so get answering and good luck!

BEYOND THE WALLS is out on DVD and VOD and can be purchased from Amazon and Play. [Read more…]

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Jason Isaacs Thinks The Idea Gay Actors Can’t Play Straight Roles Is So ‘Absurd I Can’t Believe It Still Exists’

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Jason-IsaacsAlthough more and more actors are feeling confident enough to come out (instead of either waiting until they were dead or coming out when they need to hawk an autobiography after their fame has waned), there are still a lot who are staying firmly in the closet. Just look at Wentworth Miller, who came out a couple of days ago but in 2006 adamantly stated in an interview “I’m not gay”.

In a recent interview with The Telegraph, Harry Potter star Jason Isaacs has touched on the current situation for gay actors, saying that, “I have a lot of gay friends who don’t come out… If you are a romantic lead, there is a perception – I don’t know if it is true or not – that you will no longer be cast as straight people.”

However in this day and age he thinks that idea is ridiculous. “The notion that a gay actor can’t seem like they are in love with a woman on screen is so patently absurd I can’t believe it still exists,” he says.

The Lucius Malfoy actor added, “It is not for me to push my gay friends to come out. I certainly don’t think that anyone should sacrifice their careers, if that’s what they think it would be, to make a political statement. But my friends who have done that feel immensely relieved and walk taller in their shoes. I would never judge anyone.”

The actor touches on a tough catch 22 that gay actors, particularly in the US, face if they want major mainstream lead roles. Irrespective of whether its true of the audience or not, there’s a perception amongst many casting directors and studio executives that an actor’s sexuality both limits who will watch them (i.e., anti-gay people will avoid films starring them), and that people won’t accept them playing straight roles.

As a result of this, many actors feel pressure to stay in the closet, as the general feeling is they could lose out on good roles (and it’s certainly not unheard of for an actor to be struck off the shortlist for a major role after they’ve said they won’t either go into or stay in the closet). There is definitely more room for gay actors to play diverse roles than there used to be, but fears over how its going to limit your career – some real, some not – remain.

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