Media featuring LGBT content
Nuno, a college student, visits his sister’s farm in Vouzela. He soon falls for Alberto, a moody farmhand. Nuno is a cheerful protagonist in an angsty film. He remains blissfully unaware of the limits that class and gender place on … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Where the Sun Beats (1989)
Why bury your gays when you can make them bury each other? You may find yourself contemplating that question after seeing M. Night Shyamalan’s latest, the tense and morally muddy Knock at the Cabin. Based on Paul G. Tremblay’s 2018 … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Knock at the Cabin (2023)
This weekend the cinemas feature many tales of queer suffering and death. I wanted to highlight a film about surviving trauma. In Thomas Fitzgerald’s The Hanging Garden a gay man (Chris Leavins) visits his estranged family after ten years away. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Hanging Garden (1997)
Should the LGBTQ community assimilate or rebel? Should we band together or pursue our individual goals? These arguments were explored in a television drama titled Coming Out. It aired On April 10, 1979 as part of the BBC’s Play for … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Coming Out (1979)
A married man becomes obsessed with a teenage hustler. His wife intervenes. Man of Desire aches with sexual frustration. Each character is afraid of what they want. The film is in no hurry to give it to them. Dominique Delouche’s … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Man of Desire (1970)
Different from the Others premiered in 1919. It told the story of a gay man who is blackmailed and driven to suicide. Filmmaker Magnus Hirschfeld was an outspoken advocate for gay rights. He was forced to flee Germany during the … Continue reading LGBT Movies of the 1910s
The Holiday Sitter is Hallmark’s first gay holiday romcom. A big city business man falls for a small-town hunk while babysitting his niece and nephew. Jonathan Bennett mugs like he’s channeling Lucille Ball. George Krissa underplays the guarded love interest. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Holiday Sitter (2022)
Three people without housing find an abandoned infant on Christmas Eve. Hana, an optimistic trans woman, doesn’t want the baby left in the foster system. After many arguments they decide to search for the child’s mother. Satoshi Kon’s Tokyo Godfathers … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Ethan Clade, a gay biracial teen, is tongue tied when he meets his handsome crush. His supportive father, Searcher, plays wing man by talking up his son’s good qualities. Ethan is mortified. I braced myself for angry families to storm … Continue reading Movie Review: Strange World (2022)
In the Flesh premiered on BBC Three in March 2013. We visit a Britain that survived a zombie apocalypse. A drug was developed to cure the undead of their brain munching cravings. The “partially deceased” must now re-integrate into society. … Continue reading LGBT Media: In the Flesh
Pity the Crown Prince Wilhelm. His wealth and privilege cannot mend his broken heart. Season one of Young Royals explored the romance between Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) and the working-class Simon (Omar Rudberg) at their Swedish boarding school. The Royal family … Continue reading LGBT Media: Young Royals. Season Two
2004’s Hellbent was called the “first gay slasher.” Let’s say it’s the first openly gay slasher. Four queer friends are stalked by a masked killer at a Halloween Carnival. The men are likeable and it’s sad to watch their fates. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Hellbent (2004)
A school teacher and a museum curator fall madly in love with a handsome policeman. Flash forwards tell us that it will end in tears. Why do we revisit stories of queer trauma? The back-alley hook ups. The brutal beatings. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: My Policeman (2022)
Michael York plays a villainous twink in the black comedy Something for Everyone. He sleeps and murders his way into Angela Lansbury’s aristocratic family. The promising premise is undone by Hugh Wheeler’s flabby screenplay and Hal Prince’s timid direction. It’s … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Something for Everyone (1970)
Dan Futterman plays an insomniac who wanders through Manhattan. He collects urban legends from the strangers he meets. Urbania is a strange film with an interesting cast. The episodic nature keeps it from building momentum. The protagonists’ motivation is unclear … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Urbania (2000)
Bros pairs a self-righteous museum curator (Billy Eichner) with a musclebound lawyer (Luke Macfarlane). They fight, banter and gradually fall in love. The story is familiar. What sets Bros apart from other queer romcoms is the sharp social commentary. Eichner … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Bros (2022)
Spoiler warning for the 2022 A League of Their Own TV series The original A League of Their Own is a stone cold classic, half a fist pumping crowd pleaser of an underdog story, half nuanced, heartwarming relationship drama between … Continue reading LGBT Media/TV Review: A League of Their Own (2022)
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant follows an affair between a successful fashion designer and a young model. Petra (Margit Carstensen) treats Karin (Hanna Schygulla) as a mannequin. A plaything to provide inspiration and affection. Karin enjoys her wealth … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)
A working-class woman attends a gathering with her wealthy girlfriend. When a party game turns deadly, they’ll struggle to survive the night. Bodies Bodies Bodies begins as a stylish whodunit. Director Halina Reijn turns a sprawling mansion into a claustrophobic … Continue reading Spoil Sports: Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Two teens apply for a job at a haunted amusement park. Barney (Zach Barack) is looking to emancipate from his transphobic family. Norma (Kody Kavitha) is obsessed with the park’s mysterious founder (Coco Peru). A mishap leaves Barney’s dog, Pugsley … Continue reading TV Review: Dead End: Paranormal Park
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child works on three levels. It’s a nostalgic trip through the Potter-verse. It’s a spectacle filled with stunts, illusions and pyrotechnics. Finally, it’s a story of inter-generational trauma. Albus Severus Potter hates Hogwarts School of … Continue reading Theater: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
