Reviews of films
Sebastian does not want to be a homosexual. The 16-year-old has developed a crush on his best friend. The realization of his queerness has sent him into a rage. Sebastian: When Everybody Knows explores the anger stage of the coming … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Sebastian: When Everybody Knows (1995)
In which we pose the question: why is the first Indiana Jones movie so damn good? Continue reading Movie Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Jules, a black drag queen, is assaulted by Preston, a white bigot. When he finds Preston cruising in a gay sauna he plots revenge. Femme was written and directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping. They introduced the … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Femme (2023)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was founded in the 1820’s by Joseph Smith. When a follower turns 18 they are allowed to serve on a two-year mission to convert new members. If a member breaks one … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Latter Days (2003)
Three generations of Ghostbusters battle an ice demon. The trailer for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire featured a wave of ice hitting New York City. It looked like a promising way to open a movie. Unfortunately, it’s not till the third act. … Continue reading Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire – Spoiler Space
Why Not! Is a French dramedy about a bisexual throuple. Writer/director Coline Serreau focuses on the mundane side of the domestic arrangements. Fernand (Sami Frey) keeps house while Alexa (Christine Murillo) and Louis (Mario Gonzales) work part time jobs. Fernand … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Why Not! (1977)
When I go to the opera, I take what my music history professor used to call “the opera bargain” where you suspend your disbelief and let yourself be immersed in the sincere and serious spectacle. It takes discipline, but the … Continue reading Movie Review: Dune Part 2
Two lesbians go on a road trip, unaware that their drive-away car contains stolen goods. They’re pursued by a ruthless gang of crooks as they travel from Philadelphia to Florida. The screenplay, by Tricia Cooke and director Ethan Coen, gives … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Drive-Away Dolls (2024)
Strawberry Blonde (aka Bionda fragola) is a clunky farce about a squabbling gay couple. Writer/Director/Star Mino Bellei plays a middle-aged pharmacist whose long-term partner has grown bored. Umberto Orsini plays the roving lover who invites a young actor (Gianni Felici) … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Strawberry Blonde (1980)
Craig Russell celebrated his drag career in the 1977 film Outrageous! The sequel, Too Outrageous!, found his alter ego, Robin, in a bad place. Homophobic agents, treacherous lovers and the AIDS epidemic sucked the joy out of him. His best … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Too Outrageous! (1987)
A masked killer is hunting high school bullies. Their deaths are staged as suicides. Javier, a gay Mexican teen, begins having psychic visions of the murders. Should he save the lives of the people who tried to ruin his? Departing … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Departing Seniors (2023)
A group of bandits seek to drive a priest (John Mills) out of their Mexican village. The bandit leader (Dirk Bogarde) gains a grudging respect for his earnest opponent. Just when they’ve made peace a spirited woman (Mylène Demongeot) comes … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Singer Not the Song (1961)
A gay teen is courted by the school’s mean girls. Each thinks a Gay Best Friend (G.B.F.) will increase their popularity. Director Darren Stein (Jawbreaker) and screenwriter George Northy (Charmed, Faking It) satirize would-be allies who treat gay men like … Continue reading LGBT Movies: G.B.F. (2013)
Mean Girls has gone from page to screen to stage to screen again. Tina Fey’s classic has gained songs (by Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin) and lost venom. Transfer student Cady Haron is mentored by the wealthy and vain Regina … Continue reading Movie Review: Mean Girls (2024)
A shy writer (Andrew Scott) is propositioned by a drunken neighbor (Paul Mescal). He’s too guarded to respond. The next day he visits his hometown and stumbles across his parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy). They’re eager to learn about … Continue reading LGBT Movies: All of Us Strangers (2023)
Last year when I wrote a review for the Brazilian masterpiece Sócrates, SadClown and I discussed the nuances of “queer tragedy” in cinema. We agreed that tragedy is every bit a fertile and important ground for exploration in queer cinema … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Our Lady of the Assassins (2000)
Everyone’s out to get Willy Wonka. The gullible chocolatiers’ business is sabotaged by con artists, killers and thieves. Yet he retains his optimistic nature. He brings joy to customers and empowers his new friends. This is not the story of … Continue reading Movie Review: Wonka (2023)
Friends & Family Christmas is Hallmarks’ first lesbian romance. An artist and a lawyer fake date to pacify meddling parents. Laughs are few, plot is minimal and sexual desire is nonexistent. A social media influencer (Boo! Hiss!) provides some flimsy … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Friends & Family Christmas (2023)
Things I knew about Elf going in: Things I did not know: Buddy is a baby in an orphanage. Santa comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve, and Buddy crawls into his bag of toys and is accidentally taken back … Continue reading Late to the Party: Elf (2003)
Hallmark’s Christmas on Cherry Lane follows three families on Christmas Day. An expectant mother and her husband (Erin Cahill and John Brotherton) are bullied by her parents. A widow (Catherine Bell) has a surprise for her bratty children (Matthias Falvai … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Christmas on Cherry Lane (2023)
Welcome to part two of my descent into madness aka Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas! They say that the sequel is always better. The writers have taken the beloved bits from the first installment to create excellent cinema. Aliens threw in … Continue reading Hallmark Countdown to Christmas 2023 Recap: Part 2
