Reviews of films
For fans of action films, John Woo hardly needs any introduction. The Hong Kong master redefined the whole genre in the late 80s and into the 90s and after a tenure in Hollywood, returned to Asia and to form with … Continue reading Movie review: Silent Night; It’s Brief, But What’s There to Say?
Rob Williams has devoted his career to producing indie gay romcoms. Shared Rooms was his stab at the Love Actually formula. Three gay couples meet on Christmas to discuss adoption, art and hook up culture respectively. The tropes of bad … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Shared Rooms (2016)
This fall Netflix premiered two queer biopics. Rustin focuses on the year 1963 as Bayard Rustin co-organizes the March on Washington. Maestro follows the three-decade romance of Leonard and Felicia Montealegre Bernstein. The history is important. The people are interesting. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Rustin & Maestro (2023)
Every year, I embark on my Hallmark journey. It’s been a long arduous…FIVE YEARS?! I’ve been doing this for five years, which says a lot about the trajectory of my life. Some years have been leaner than others when it … Continue reading Hallmark Countdown to Christmas 2023 Recap: Part 1
Oliver (Barry Keoghan) is a scholarship student at Oxford. He befriends Felix (Jacob Elordi), a wealthy Adonis. Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at his estate with his shallow family (led by Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant). The … Continue reading Movie Review: Saltburn (2023)
King Magnifico (hammy Chris Pine) asks his subjects to trade their “wishes” for “security.” A spunky teen named Asha (earnest Ariana DeBose) demands the wishes be returned. Disney’s Wish features a malleable premise. The concept of surrendering your “wishes” can … Continue reading Movie Review: Wish (2023)
Gracie (Julianne Moore) molested a 7th grade boy, had his baby in prison, then married him. Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) is an actress preparing to play Gracie in a biopic. They spend a fraught week studying each other. Director Todd Haynes … Continue reading Movie Review: May December (2023)
Note: this review contains spoilers for a 1982 film. Please consider avoiding this article if you have not seen this film and have interest in watching it without opinions from an internet weirdo who is also a cat. I’ve written … Continue reading Movie Reviews: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
This weekend Saturday Night Live produced a skit about pop singer Troye Sivan. Bowen Yang told the audience that Sivan was “gay famous.” This inspired me to revisit the glam era. These rock stars achieved mainstream success by hiding their … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Oscar Wilde first published The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890. Dorian has youth, beauty and wealth. A lovelorn artist gives him a cursed portrait that reflects his soul. It ages and rots while Dorian remains spotless. This gives him … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1976)
It’s October which means we’re once again nearing the dawn of Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas, programming that somehow manages to be an affront to both God and Satan. However, before diving into this year’s crop of WASPs kissing in a … Continue reading Hallmark Halloween: 3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost Recap/Review
Faith is a curious thing. To believe in something, a higher power, a particular institution, whatever it may be, requires a certain acceptance even if the available evidence appears doubtful or uncertain. This has never been more evident than what … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Benedetta
A gay professor visits his creepy hometown for a funeral. He assumes the sketchy locals are homophobic. He’s not wrong, but there’s more going on. It’s a horror movie so he’ll ignore every red flag the town waves. Cthulhu is … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Cthulhu (2007)
Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal play ex-lovers on opposite sides of the law. Hawke is the sheriff of a small Western town. He’s vowed to arrest Pascal’s fugitive son. Pedro Almodóvar’s Strange Way of Life is his second English language … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Strange Way of Life (2023)
Chicago’s 41st Reeling Festival showcased LGBTQ+ cinema from around the world. I reviewed several of these films at Frameline. But here are some additional highlights. Fireworks (2023, Italy). A tragedy inspired by an infamous murder case. Two bullied boys fall … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Reeling Festival 2023
Hallmark’s Notes of Autumn tells two love stories: one straight, one gay. Rubber faced Ashley Williams and buttoned up Luke Macfarlane find boyfriends (Marcus Rosner and Peter Porte) who push them to pursue their artistic passions. The screenplay works hard … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Notes of Autumn (2023)
The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival has officially come and gone, with this year’s People’s Choice Award going to Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut American Fiction, and Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers (see below) and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron … Continue reading Toronto International Film Festival 2023, Part 2: Days 4-8
Saúl Armendáriz has been a professional luchador since 1988. In Cassandro we see his rise from humble runt to celebrated exótico. The Liberace of Lucha Libre. The exóticos would wrestle in drag. Regardless of their sexuality they adopted flamboyant queer … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Cassandro (2023)
Third time is the charm for Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie adaptations. A Haunting in Venice wisely tells an original story here rather than competing with a classic. He borrows a few names from Hallowe’en Party and discards the rest. The … Continue reading Spoil Sports: A Haunting in Venice (2023)
After four long years away, I returned with Mama Mordor in tow to the Toronto International Film Festival at an acute transitional moment. Paralyzed by strikes from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA that contemptuous billionaire studio executives have shown remarkably little … Continue reading Toronto International Film Festival 2023, Part 1: Days 1-3
Youssef Chahine was one of Egypt’s most acclaimed film directors. In Alexandria… Why? he recounts his teenage years. World War 2 is raging and Egypt’s economy is collapsing. Chahine’s alter ego, Yehia, escapes into dreams of Hollywood. Actor Mohsen Mohieddin … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Alexandria… Why? (1979)
