THEGAYUK

Category: Film

  • FILM REVIEW | Ang Lee Trilogy

    Ang Lee is perhaps best known in the LGBT community as the director of Brokeback Mountain, for which he won the Best Director Oscar back in 2005.

    10 years later comes the DVD release of his first three films, known as “The Father Knows Best” trilogy, which share several cast members and explores tensions between old and young, between east and west and between the family and the individual.

    The trilogy picked up two Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film and contain the same emotional maturity and depth as his notable subsequent films (Sense and Sensibility; The Ice Storm; Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; and The Life of Pi). The three films that make up the trilogy are “Pushing Hands”, “The Wedding Banquet” and “Eat Drink Man Woman”.

    Each start out with the same premise: parents struggling to cope with modernity whilst maintaining their traditional beliefs and their children trying to both appease their parents and embrace modern lives filled with opportunity. However, each has a unique heart capable of breaking yours.

    The best of the bunch is “The Wedding Banquet” which is a culture clash coming-out comedy. “Eat Drink Man Woman” explores the role that food has in Chinese culture – where the art of cooking demonstrates love rather than the easy words “I love you”. And “Pushing Hands” is Ang Lee’s debut feature with the outlines of themes that dominate the remaining films in the trilogy. That said, they are not po-faced dramas.

    There are moments of great humour along with a sprinkling of Confucian quotes. This trilogy will resonate with those from an immigrant background or those who struggle against traditional beliefs or those who have difficulty communicating with their loved ones or those who are parents or those who have been children. In essence, it will resonate with all of us.

    THE ANG LEE TRILOGY is available to own in a 3-disc set on 24 August 2015, RRP £34.99.

  • FILM REVIEW | Pressure

    Four men are tasked with fixing an oil pipeline hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface in the Somali Basin but quickly run into trouble in the new suspense thriller ‘Pressure.’

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  • FILM REVIEW | I Am Chris Farley

    American Comedian Chris Farley was only 33 when he died of a cocaine and morphine overdose a few days before Christmas in Chicago in 1997.

    The new documentary I am Chris Farley tells his rapid ascent to stardom and his even quicker descent to a life of alcohol and drugs, and eventually to an early death.

    ‘I am Chris Farley’s’ was made in conjunction with the estate of Chris Farley, so the producers had access to all of the relevant people in Chris’s life, including his family, friends, and fellow comedians and television co-stars. From his days as an unknown comic at Chicago’s Second City Theatre (where lots of famous comics got their start), from where he was plucked to be on the popular NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) for five seasons, to eventually following the path of former SNL’ers to star in movies.

    Chris’s brother Kevin Farley (who is also a producer of the film, and is also a comedian) reminisces about his brother Chris during his stand up comedy act. Kevin then talks about their lives growing up in Madison, Wisconsin, where they had a normal life, with a father who gave his boys a lot of freedom. Kevin talks about Chris’s life in high school and college and laughs about the way in which Chris would throw himself to the ground and do pushups to impress women. While Chris did graduate from college and worked for a time for his father at the Scotch Oil Company in Madison, he didn’t get his professional start in comedy until he joined Ark Improv Theatre in Madison. It was clear then that Chris was the stand out star, footage from his shows display a comedic style that surpassed his costars. Even when he went on to be part of Chicago’s Second City Theatre, his on stage presence was larger than life. But it wasn’t until he got to SNL that he was able to display his true comedic talent, with the aid of professional comedy writers in an intense weekly live television show setting.

    Farley was a member during one of SNL’s peak times, and his fellow cast members included Adam Sandler, Mike Myers and David Spade. Not only did Chris outshine and outperform his fellow cast members, he was the one who provided the huge laughs on the show, whether in his role as ‘motivational speaker,’ to a skit where he auditions for Chippendales alongside host Patrick Swayze (in which Farley takes off his top to reveal a huge belly), to any role that he was given, Chris was truly the funny man. But according to the people who knew him, he was also a softee, a very sincere guy who would take a liking to everyone, and everyone would take a liking to him. SNL creator and Executive Producer Lorne Michaels talks, at length, about how he mentored Chris in his early days of being on the show. Myers talks about the times they spent together on the set and how Chris was the nicest and most sincere guy there. But it’s David Spade who brings the best of the memories of Chris in the film – they both started at SNL at the same time, so they shared the incredible feeling of being first-timers on the historic television show. Spade mentions many funny moments he and Farley shared together on the set, including the many times when Chris would walk into his shower at work, stark naked (with his penis tucked in) and proceed to give Spade a huge hug – Spade says this was just the kind of man Chris was. Spade and Farley would eventually break out of television and into films. And after they were released from their SNL contracts in 1995, they made the films Tommy Boy and Black Sheep, both critically panned but made lots of money. But in between these films, Farley’s personal life was not as shiny as his professional life.

    Drug and alcohol problems led him to rehab an astonishing 17 times. Michaels was instrumental in trying to help Farley overcome his habit, but it was a demon that Farley was unable to kick, which led to his premature death where he was found on a linoleum floor in his apartment in Chicago. Eerily enough, John Belushi, another overweight comedian who got his start at SNL and became a huge movie star (Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers), also died at the age of 33, of a cocaine and heroin overdose, in 1982.

    I am Chris Farley is a best of Chris Farley documentary that shows the best of his professional work. We are also treated to his spot on the David Letterman Show where he bounds onto the stage, making sure you knew he was in the room, his hair all over his face, clenching his fists, and then in true Chris Farley fashion, falling over backwards in his chair.

    While the documentary doesn’t really explain why Farley got involved in alcohol and drugs in the first place (perhaps no one knew), it’s a very good tribute to a celebrity who died way before his expiry date.

    “There’s a category of people who I’ve worked with who are infuriatingly talented’ – Michaels says – “and Farley was one of them.”

    I Am Chris Farley is now available to buy on Blu-Ray and DVD.

     

  • FILM REVIEW | Iris

    “I don’t like pretty!” 93-year-old idiosyncratic fashion maven Iris Apfel remarks, in an enchanting new documentary by Albert Maysles.

    Iris acknowledges that she was never a conventional beauty but that has hardly stopped her pursuing her passion for style and becoming one of the most original and daringly dressed women in New York. As Maysles films her on and off for the past four years he captures not just her remarkable talent for putting the most unexpected and stunning outfits together for her daily ensembles, but he also reveals a captivating quick-witted charmer with an insatiable appetite for living life to the full.

    Iris, married to her centenarian husband Carl for the past 66 years, lives in her mother’s Park Avenue apartment crammed with racks and racks of clothes. These, she explains were bought to be worn and not simply to be collected. She mixes chic with cheap and the results are always fabulous.

    She and Carl ran a very successful interior design business for years and their clients include many of the occupants of The White House over the years, in one charming scene she quickly stops Carl spilling the beans about (how difficult) Jacqueline Kennedy was.

    She was already well-known by New York’s fashion insiders but then in 2005 the Metropolitan Museum of Art mounted what they thought was a small exhibition of Iris’s clothing and jewellery which turned out to be an unexpected phenomenal success. Doors were suddenly opened to her including commissions to do collections for the Home Shopping Network and becoming a Visiting Professor of Fashion for the University of Texas.

    She was now, in her own words an octogenarian starlet and she put some of this down to the fact the Exhibition had provided the world with much-needed fantasy and glamour. Iris never does anything petite: everything must be big and bold. “Colour is so important: it can raise the dead,” just one of the statements that just trip off her tongue as she spouts forth about her beliefs. What Maysles is quick to spot though is that despite the seemingly incessant flow of opinion, Iris refuses to take any of it seriously.

    Towards the closing scenes of this delightful docu-portrait of the woman Bergdorf Goodman called, “the rare bird of fashion”, Iris claims that her two best traits are curiosity and having a good sense of humour. “I could never be a friend of anyone who wasn’t either”, she added.

    Frankly it’s hard not to like someone as engaging as Iris who comes out with such plums as “my mother worshipped at the altar of the accessory.” By the end of the movie you may not want to actually worship at the altar of Apfel, but you will be very sorely tempted.

    P.S. This sadly was the last work of the great documentarian Albert Maysles who died just days before the movie was screened at the Miami International Film Festival.

  • Stonewall Movie Trailer Is Here

    The trailer for Stonewall is out and it looks amazing.

    Starring Jeremy Irvine (pictured) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Stonewall documents the Stonewall riots.

    The protests, which happened around the Stonewall Inn in New York, were the results of a gay community relentlessly discriminated against and bullied by the police force in New York.

    The Stonewall riots are often cited as the start of the modern gay rights movement.

    The film is due to open in the US 25th September

  • Forest Whitaker: His Top 10 Films

    Whitaker, a former college football star turned opera and drama student, is now considered one of the most intense and captivating actors in the film industry.

    He won a Best Actor Academy Award and a BAFTA for his role as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland and was awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007. On 6th July, he stars opposite Harvey Keitel in TWO MEN IN TOWN. Here is a look at ten of his best to date:

    TWO MEN IN TOWN (2015)

    This gritty, no-holds barred psychological thriller tells the story of troubled youth Will Garnett (Whitaker) who is finally being released after an 18-year long stretch in prison. With the help of an idealistic parole agent (Brenda Blethyn ) and his new-found Islamic faith, Garnett struggles to rebuild his life and overcome the violent impulses which torture and possess him. However, Bill Agati (Keitel), the vengeful Sheriff of the small New Mexico border county where Garnett is released, has other ideas. Convinced that Garnett is irredeemable and major a threat to the security of his county, Agati launches a vicious, sustained campaign to return Garnett to prison for life. A brilliantly understated revenge drama which asks the question: can we ever truly leave a dark past behind and start again?
    BUY IT NOW
    Lee Daniels’ The Butler 2013

    In Lee Daniel’s The Butler, Forest Whitaker dons the role of Cecil Gaines, who served eight presidents as the White House’s head butler from 1952 to 1986. Forest Whitaker shines in this heart-warming story, as Cecil gracefully walks the line between formality and servility. David Oyelowo plays his troubled son, who becomes entrenched in the black power movement with Oprah Winfrey portraying Cecil’s wife. There are also superb presidential turns from Robin Williams, Alan Rickman, John Cusack, Liev Schreiber and James Marsden.
    The Great Debaters (2007)

    Forest Whitaker stars alongside Denzel Washington in this story about a black college debate team in the 1930’s. Although Washington steals the show in this empowering drama, Whitaker gives a powerful and assuring performance, supporting as James Farmer Senior, the father of debater and future civil fights figure James Farmer Jr. A little known fun fact about this great film is that the actor playing Forest Whitaker’s son was named Denzel Whitaker!
    The Last King of Scotland (2006)

    Forest Whitaker took home a Best Actor Academy Award and BAFTA in 2007 for his terrifying yet brilliant portrayal of Ugandian dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. James McAvoy co-stars as Nicholas Garrigan the Scottish doctor who is taken under the wing of Amin and becomes his personal physician. As Nicholas becomes closer to Amin, he uncovers the truth behind the dictator’s savage autocracy.
    Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

    An unorthodox DJ, Adrian Cronauer, played by the eternally missed Robin Williams, shakes things up when he is assigned to the US Armed Services Radio station in Vietnam. There Cronauer meets and befriends Private First Class Edward Montesquieu Garlick (Forest Whitaker), who becomes his sidekick and co-presenter. Cronauer’s irreverence contrasts sharply with many staff members and soon rouses the ire of two of his superiors, Second Lieutenant Steven Hauk and Sergeant Major Phillip Dickerson who do their utmost to have Cronauer and Garlick deposed.
    The Crying Game (1992)

    Forest pushes the envelope of sexuality in his film The Crying Game; about a British soldier named Jody, who is kidnapped by terrorists and held hostage by the Irish Republican Army. While with the IRA, Jody (Forest Whitaker) convinces one of the guards to look after his girlfriend who is actually a pre-op transsexual.
    Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

    This ‘80s teen classic was Forest Whitaker’s breakout film, in which he played the gloomy and intimidating high school football star Charles Jefferson. In a fantastic scene, Whitaker thrashes his Lincoln High rivals on the field, mistakenly thinking they wrecked his car and wrote racial slurs, and wins the big game for Ridgemont in a blowout.
    Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

    Blending quiet nobility with a killer instinct, Forest Whitaker plays Ghost Dog, a mob assassin and self-taught samurai who is obsessed with order and his strict personal moral code, drawn from the philosophies of the Japanese warriors. When Ghost Dog becomes dispensable to his mob superiors, he must fight for his life in high-octane fights, samurai swords and plenty of action.
    Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

    Visionary director Spike Jonze brings Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book to the big screen In the fantastical Where the Wild Things Are. In the film Forest Whitaker plays Ira, the slow-witted but goodhearted monster who has a very calming effect on the group, despite his talent for punching holes in tree trunks. Whitaker’s soothing voice takes the audience to different world… literally!
    Zulu (2013)

    Orlando Bloom stars alongside Forest Whitaker in this intense drama about policemen, Ali Sokhela (Forest Whitaker) and Brian Epkeen (Orlando Bloom) who investigate the brutal murder of a young white woman, apparently provoked by the availability of a new illegal drug. With an intriguing premise and Whitaker providing excellent tension and grit throughout, this crime drama is a well paced and fairly unpredictable ride for audiences.
    Bird (1988)

    Clint Eastwood directs this heartfelt study of saxophonist Charlie Parker, played by Forest Whitaker. This film shifts back and forth through Parker’s brief life before his heroin overdose at the age of 34. Charlie Parker is beautifully and sensitively acted by Whitaker who took home a San Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actor for his work in this powerful film

  • AB FAB MOVIE | It is happening

    Speaking on This Morning, the show’s star, Joanna Lumley confirmed that Jennifer Saunders has started writing the AB FAB movie.

    Lumley, who plays Patsy in the comedy told viewers that filming is due to start in October. The script has been written by Jennifer Saunders and is apparently “ravishingly funny”.

    She went on to say:

    “We are all there, the same old gang,

    “Lots of people you will have seen in it before, I think we are going down to the south of France to do some of the shooting there

    “It’ll all be shot on location. It is going to be ravishingly funny! Very gorgeous… and completely fabulous!”

  • FILM REVIEW | Tab Hunter Confidential

    ★★★★★ | Tab Hunter Confidential

    Tab Hunter was and still is at the age of 83-years old a stunningly handsome man.

    When he was a teen idol in the 1950s he was the ultimate clean-cut, all-American boy and seemingly butter would not melt in his mouth. He was Warner Brothers Studio’s biggest box office movie star for at least three years of his tenure there. Surprisingly, we learn from this documentary, that Tab’s sexuality didn’t play a part in the ending of his Hollywood career. It was the actor’s own desire to buy himself out of his studio contract. Even though he was a major star, Hunter was extremely unhappy with the lightweight fluffy movies that he was always having to make.

    Tab Hunter Confidential is based on the memoir that Hunter penned with film historian Eddie Muller in 2005. It is a lively account of how this handsome matinee idol, with a rigid set of principles, coped with his dramatic professional and personal life. His sexuality, although hidden from the public in the early days, was no deterrent for studio mogul Jack Warner who never raised the subject. He was simply happy that Hunter was such a moneymaker for him. When on one occasion Hunter’s privacy was sacrificed to save Rock Hudson from being exposed, Warner defended him with a blunt, “Today’s headlines are tomorrow’s toilet paper.”

    With his career fading, Hunter resorted to dinner theatre and whatever work he could get to scrape by until his career got a second wind in the 1980s when he co-starred in Polyester with Divine.

    The most interesting part of the story is Hunter’s romances ranging from ice skater Ronnie Robertson to actor Tony Perkins, the latter who managed to break his heart and steal a role that he had coveted. In an era when homosexuality was not only illegal but could also destroy lives, Hunter resisted taking the well-worn path of other closeted gay men in the public eye who had marriages of convenience. True, he very publicly ‘dated’ many starlets and took part in many photo spreads in fanzines with them, but he resisted the pressure to opt for the easy way out by getting wed.

    Hunter a very devout Catholic explains his dilemma at the time: “If you were with a man you would be sinning, and if you were with a woman you would be lying.”

    He did, as Debbie Reynolds confirmed, make the right choice and he eventually was able to come to terms with his sexuality by accepting the Church’s teaching on love and self-acceptance.

    Some 30 years ago, Hunter aged 53 met a 23-year-old man called Allan Glazer who became his partner, and now after three decades together Glazer is a producer of this documentary which may be a reason why there is little of him in this movie. Since Hunter’s second movie with Divine in 1985 Lust In The Dust, he has settled down to a life away from the spotlight on his ranch with Glazer raising horses.

    Emmy Award winner Jeffrey Schwarz directs the movie, and this is his fourth documentary of a gay icon (Vito, Jack Wrangler and Divine). Schwarz shows a genuine affection for his subjects and the portraits he paints are very insightful and totally riveting. He reintroduces this disarmingly charming man to those of us who have memories of Hunter growing up, and present him to a new generation, who will see him as a role model that they can look up too.

     

    The Tab Hunter DVD is available to buy

  • Emmerich Stonewall Film Has Oscar Desires

    Film producer and director Roland Emmerich is eyeing up Oscar inclusion with a film dedicated to the Stonewall riots of 1969.

    The film documents the Stonewall riots. The protests, which happened around the Stonewall Inn in New York, were the results of a gay community relentlessly discriminated against and bullied by the police force in New York. The Stonewall riots are often cited as the start of the modern gay rights movement.

    The film, which stars Jeremy Irvine, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Ron Perlman will be released in time to be included in 2016 Oscars considerations. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will have a late September release date in US cinemas.

    Speaking about the film Emmerich said:

    “I was always interested and passionate about telling this important story, but I feel it has never been more timely than right now. Less than 50 years ago, in 1969, being gay was considered a mental illness; gay people could not be employed by the government; it was illegal for gay people to congregate, and police brutality against gays went unchecked.”

  • Top 17 Essential Gay Films

    Whether you love screamers or creamers, romances or “the call is coming from with in the house types” there are a lot of amazing gay films out there. THEGAYUK’s Aaron Holloway lists his top 17 essential gay and lesbian films

     

    Make the Yuletide Gay

    When Olaf Gunnunderson returns home for the holidays, his college boyfriend decides to come with him. While they`re both out and proud on campus, Olaf must bury himself in his childhood closet in order to survive the trip. This film is a great holiday film, filled with enough adult humour to keep you laughing throughout the holidays. One of the best gay films.

    AMAZON: BUY THIS MOVIE

    iTunes: BUY/RENT THIS MOVIE

  • WATCH: What If Gay Men Could Get Pregnant

    A brand new film starring Charlie David and Jacob York explores the idea of a gay man getting pregnant.

    Matt Riddlehoover’s Paternity Leave is a romantic comedy about Greg (Jacob York), Ken (Charlie David), and a moment of passion on the eve of their four year anniversary that changes the course of their lives forever.

    Greg begins feeling nauseated, fatigued, moody and – most unfortunately – fat. At his wit’s end and Ken’s insistence, he sees a doctor who’s stumped and refers the couple to a specialist. To everyone’s amazement, Greg is pregnant. Shock, stress, and fear settle in, and Greg’s relationship gets put to the ultimate test.

     

    Now playing festivals, Paternity Leave is available for pre-order at PaternityLeaveFilm.com.