Cinema, DVD and Blu-ray reviews
La Cage Aux Folles (Criterion Blu-ray Review) – 40-years on the gay classic returns in HD
Starring: Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Serrault, Claire Maurier, Remi Laurent
Director: Edouard Molinaro
Release Date: April 2nd 2018 (UK)
We have reviewed 1978's classic La Cage Aux Folles before, so if you're just interested in the movie, you can click here to see what we had to say about it. The movie has just had a Criterion Collection release in the UK, so here we'll concentrate on this first Blu-ray appearance in Britain.
As the film opens it seems like the HD upgrade isn't going to be worth it as the first few shots in the drag club are quite soft and grainy. However, as soon as the action moves into gay couple Renato (Ugo Tognazzi) and Albin's (Michel Serrault) apartment, things improve considerably, with the picture getting sharper and more detailed. [Read more…]
My Own Private Idaho: Premium Collection (Blu-ray Review) – Gus Van Sant's gay classic gets a new release
April 8, 2018 By Tim Isaac 1 Comment
Starring: River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, William Richert, Udo Kier, Flea
Director: Gus Van Sant
My Own Private Idaho is the sort of film that really shouldn't work. The movie apparently came about when writer/director Gus Van Sant was working on three separate scripts and then decided to merge them all together. The result is a movie that ought to be a mess. The tone and story jump about, some of its pretty random and surreal, and its Shakespearean pretentions are a bit bizarre.
However, it works. These disparate elements and tones come together, helped by an astonishing performance by River Phoenix as young hustler Mike. His character – an outsider living a marginal and disintegrating existence – is a reflection of the film itself. It ultimately becomes an unexpected masterclass of montage – where by placing seemingly disparate things side-by-side and throwing in unexpected imagery (not least the famous falling barn), it creates something unique and pulls you into a character and world in a way few other films have ever managed. [Read more…]
Coffee House Chronicles: The Movie (DVD Review) – Gay gays meeting & hooking up gets the anthology treatment
Starring: Drew Droege, David Pevsner, Chris Salvatore, Nicholas Downs
Director: Stewart Wade
Coffee House Chronicles was originally an anthology Youtube web series, but here the episodes get pulled together and slightly recut to turn them into a movie. While that may sound like a slightly cheating way to monetise the show, it actually works surprisingly well. As individual episodes they were quite fun, but pulled together thye add up to more than the sum of their parts, allowing it to layer together a light look at the way modern gay men relate to one another.
The film consists of a series of first encounters (mostly) between gay men, most of which – as the title suggests – take place in coffee houses. These meetings range from a man realising his 'date' is much younger than he's said he was, to someone in a long-term relationship trying to organise sex with a porn star for his boyfriend. There's also a trans man on his first date with a woman after transitioning, and two zombie extras in a movie figuring out if they want to go on a date even though they don't know what they really look like under the makeup. [Read more…]
Stronger (Blu-ray Review) – Jake Gyllenhaal explores heroism as a Boston bombing survivor
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Richard Lane Jr., Nate Richman
Director: David Gordon Green
Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) decides to surprise his ex-girlfriend, Erin (Tatiana Maslany), by heading to the finish line of the Boston marathon to see her cross the line. When a terrorist bomb explodes Jeff loses both his legs. Due to horrific photos of him at the bombing which quickly become iconic, he is held up by a hero by some and a prime example of 'Boston Strong'. However, Jeff initially riles against the idea of himself as a hero, struggling with the fact that a city in need of catharsis desperately wants him to be an inspirational figure. [Read more…]
120 BPM (Beats Per Minute) (Cinema Review) – The acclaimed, gay themed French movie finally arrives in the UK
Starring: Nahuel Perez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois, Adele Haenel, Antoine Reinartz, Félix Maritaud
120 BPM has been eliciting praise ever since it debuted at Cannes last year, including winning the Grand Prix and Queer Palm at the festival. It's gone on to win multiple other awards, including Best Film at the Cesar Awards (France's equivalent of the Oscars). It was also France's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, although sadly it missed out on a nomination.
Written and directed by Robin Campillo (who also made the very good Eastern Boys), 120 BPM is a fictionalised take on the true story of the AIDS activist organisation, ACT UP Paris. Campillo and co-screenwriter Philippe Mangeot were involved with ACT UP themselves, helping to give the movie an authenticity and power it may otherwise have lacked. Thankfully though, despite being close to the story Campillo is objective enough to be able to acknowledge the flaws and problems within the organisation, while also having a clear-eyed view of why these things happened. This allows it to be a powerful and empathetic testament to both ACT UP and those who were/are affected by AIDS, without becoming hagiography. [Read more…]
The Happy Prince (BFI Flare Review) – Rupert Everett takes on Oscar Wilde's post-prison life
Starring: Rupert Everett, Emily Mortimer, Colin Firth, Edwin Thomas, Colin Morgan
Director: Rupert Everett
Release Date: June 15th 2018 (UK Cinema)
The Happy Prince has been a true passion project for writer, director and actor Rupert Everett. After years of trying to get it to the screen he's finally been able to make the movie, which looks at the lesser known story of what happened to Oscar Wilde after was released from prison following his sentence for gross indecency with men.
Knowing his fame/infamy means staying in Britain is impossible, Wilde (Everett) heads for the continent. We first see him ill and barely surviving in Paris, still trying to live it up (beyond his means), but only just hanging on. The film then flashes back to his arrival in France when things seemed very different. Friends including Robbie Ross (Edwin Thomas) and Reggie Turner (Colin Firth) are keen to help him build a new life. He's got money thanks to a stipend from his estranged wife and after two years of hard labour the sun of France gives Oscar a sense of optimism. [Read more…]
Alaska Is A Drag (BFI Flare Review) – A young gay man finds escape through drag & boxing
Starring: Martin L. Washington Jr., Maya Washington, Matt Dallas, Christopher O'Shea, Jason Scott Lee
Director: Shaz Bennett
Release Date: March 23rd 2018 (BFI Flare Screening)
Leo (Martin L. Washington Jr.) is a young man living in a tough part of Alaska. He and his twin sister, Tristen (Maya Washington), were abandoned by their mother when they were young and re now trapped between a desire for escape and fear that this will mean their mother will never be able to find them. To make matters worse, Tristen is battling cancer. [Read more…]
Love, Scott (BFI Flare Review) – A profound look at a life changed forever following a homophobic attack
Starring: Scott Jones
Director: Laura Marie Wayne
Release Date: March 24th 2018 (BFI Flare Screening)
This documentary follows Scott Jones, who was stabbed in the street after leaving a bar in Nova Scotia. The homophobic attack left Scott paralysed and using a wheelchair. Now trying to piece his life back together – partly through music, leading choirs and speaking publicly about his experiences – he tries to deal with the impact of the attack. Scott attempts to find some form of catharsis, whether that's making a kind of peace with his attacker or processing the changes to his life. [Read more…]
Pulse (BFI Flare Review) – A young, gay, disabled man is put in the body of a woman
Starring: Daniel Monks, Caroline Brazier, Scott Lee, Sian Ewers, Jaimee Peasley
Director: Stevie Cruz-Martin
Teenager Olly (Daniel Monks) is disabled and has had various health issues to deal with throughout his life. His doctors tell him that it's likely he'll have to start using a wheelchair soon. He decides to take advantage of a brand new treatment that's just arrived in Australia – a full body transplant. However, rather than staying a man, he elects to be put inside the body of a good-looking young woman.
Unsurprisingly his friends are surprised, as they didn't even know he was attracted to men, let alone that he might be interested being in a woman's body. Although the new body gives Olly a new lease on life, it also causes problems as he takes his freedom to the extreme and others react badly when they discover who he truly is. [Read more…]