THEGAYUK

Category: Film

  • FILM REVIEW | Captain Marvel

    FILM REVIEW | Captain Marvel

    CAPTAIN MARVEL – Marvel studio’s biggest female hero makes her debut having to battle some shape-shifting aliens setting up the truly massive Avengers Endgame next month.

    Nutshell – Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) arrives on earth and needs to start piecing together her past to work out what aliens are running amok for and why she has become one of the most powerful superheroes in the universe. Set in the mid-nineties with a young looking Nick Fury & Agent Coulson this has a lot of fun playing prequel elements to the other 20 blockbuster superhero films in the Marvel cannon of the last decade.

    Running Time – 124 Minutes – Cert PG-12A.

    Tagline – ‘Higher, Further, Faster’ Or ‘Everything Starts With a Her(o)’

    THEGAYUK Factor – Possibly the least sexy superhero film ever with hardly any fit men anywhere not even amongst the usual bad guy’s Henchmen as they are all covered in monster latex make-up. Jude Law playing the Captain’s senior officer at the outset is your one hope but he is hardly a gay icon and far too clean cut…..the sort of prissy looking guy that would put on a condom before you gave him a blow job

    Cast – Brie Larson takes the lead here and she is great in the role. She is supported by Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, a welcome return for Annette Benning and this is the very last cameo appearance shot by the recently deceased Marvel God Stan Lee (Not the last to be released as we have two more of them shot for Avengers & Superman films made earlier).

    Key Player – There is a wonderful cat which Fury adopts called Goose which steals every scene and most of the movie. It has one or two surprises too, most of all with Marvel there is always scenes in the end credits and sit right to the end for Goose to have the all-important last word.

    Budget – $82 Million but it made back £153 Million in its first weekend which just shows the continued domination of superheroes at our multiplexes and the wisdom of Disney buying up Marvel a few years back – purely and simply these are pure 100% guaranteed cash cows.

    Best Bit – 0.28 mins; A great fight on and around an urban train with an accompanying car chase in a nineties action movie style is very thrilling. The fact that the enemy in a sneaky way keeps changing shape into different people makes it a very clever little scene.

    Worst Bit – 0.05 mins; The opening 10 minutes on two random planets is very confusing and simply rushed and is about as interesting as a bad episode of Star Trek or trying to get a hard-on with a fit guy after drinking a bottle of vodka. It gets into its groove when the characters eventually get to earth.

    Little Secret – Brie Larson is allergic to cats which she did not mention to the producers at the outset. Captain Marvel’s sidekick turns out to be a cat called Goose which then had to be played in Brie’s scenes by a puppet. Four real cats do all the other scenes in the movie. The first Marvel female superhero film was released on International Women’s Day and the soundtrack is almost entirely female orientated with the likes of Desree, TLC, No Doubt, Garbage and Salt N Pepa.

    Further Viewing – All previous twenty entries in the Marvel universe catalogue, Wonder Woman, The Justice League, All Batmans & Spidermans etc. Basically any movie where the hero is in tight latex or otherwise any of the hundreds of great gay superhero porno’s try Man.com pastiches or Eye Of The Cyclone.

    Any Good – A great lead performance backed by Mr reliable Samuel L. carries this nicely. Your life will not be diminished greatly if you don’t see it but if you do it is perfectly adequate entertainment (after the crap first 10 minutes). It is no Captain America or Deadpool unfortunately but also it is much better than say recent Superman films or… shudder…all Fantastic Four movies. Basically, in a word it is fine no more no less could benefit from some sexy studs though.

    Rating: 59/100

     

  • 25 non trans actors who have played trans parts in films and TV

    Some of the most memorable trans characters have been played by cis-gender actors… here are 25 of the most famous roles.

    List of cisgendered actors who play trans characters

    Here are just some of the mainstream films and television shows where a trans character wasn’t played by a trans actor. The argument against non-trans actors taking these parts have made headlines once again after a clip of Matt Bomer in his forthcoming film, Anything was released.

    Warning this article may contain spoilers to various films.

    The 1950s – 70s

    Daniel Davis, Glen or Glenda, 1953

    Embed from Getty Images

    Glen or Glenda was released in 1953 starring Ed Wood – who was actually credited as Daniel Davis in this film. It’s a semi-autobiographical film, considered one of the worst films of all time. However, it is considered a plea for tolerance.

    Chris Sarandon, Dog Day Afternoon, 1975

    Embed from Getty Images

    Dog Day Afternoon is based on a real-life story, where a bank robber (Al Pacino) holds up a bank in New York’s Manhattan to pay for his girlfriend’s (Chris Sarandon) gender confirmation surgery. Chris Sarandon’s portrayal of a trans woman was applauded for its consideration of dysphoria.

    Tim Curry, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975

    Embed from Getty Images

    Probably one of the most famous films to feature a “sweet transsexual”. TRHPS has gone on to become a cult hit and recently had a remake filmed and it starred Laverne Cox in Tim Curry’s part of Dr Frank N. Furter.

     

    The 1980s – 90s

    Michael Caine in Dressed To Kill, 1980

    Embed from Getty Images

    In 1980 Michael Caine played a murderous trans woman in this erotic thriller. For his part in the film, Mr Caine was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor.

    Jaye Davidson in The Crying Game, 1982

    Embed from Getty Images

    A drama which explores themes of race, gender, nationality and sexuality with the troubles of early 80s Northern Ireland as a backdrop. The trans character in this film is actually one of its great surprises, which is considered a “shocking twist”. Jaye Davidson was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor for the role.

    John Lithgow, The World According to Garp, 1982

    Embed from Getty Images

    The World According to Garp based on the book of the same name by John Irving which is the story of T.S. Garp. In the book his mother, who runs a home for abused women gives shelter to a former footballer, now a transgender woman, Roberta Muldoon.

    Ted Levine, The Silence Of The Lambs, 1991

    Embed from Getty Images

    Ted Levin played a trans serial killer who skins his female victims. In the story, Ted’s character, Jame Gumb, applied for a sex-reassignment operation but was unsuccessful in gaining in their cause.

    Terrence Stamp in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, 1994

    Embed from Getty Images

    One of the most successful LGBT films of all times was released in 1994 is in the top 40 grossing gay and lesbian films of all times. Terrence Stamp’s Bernadette Bassinger is a carefully studied character, played respectfully.

    Mary Sean Young, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, 1994

    Possibly one of the most offensive portrayals of a trans person in film – which uses the trans character as a comedy mimic.

    Julie Hesmondhalgh in Coronation Street, 1998

    Embed from Getty Images

    Coronation Street made history in 1998 when they introduced the first trans character to a British soap. It wasn’t until 2015 that EastEnders made further history by having a trans actor play a trans character. Julie Hesmondhalgh has been praised for her portrayal of a trans person and she is a huge advocate for the LGBT community. In 2017 she called on TV companies to employ trans people in trans roles.

    Hillary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry, 1999

    Embed from Getty Images

    One of the most tear-jerking LGBT films of all time. Hillary Swank was truly remarkable in the film which was based on the true story of murdered trans man Brandon Teena. The film was nominated for 57 awards and won 37 of them including, Best Actress (Oscars and BAFTAs) for Swank.

     

    The 00s to 10s

    John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, 2001

    Embed from Getty Images

    One of the only musical films featuring a trans character in the central role. John Cameron Mitchell wrote and directed this film. It features in the top 100 LGBT films.

    Felicity Huffman in TransAmerica, 2005

    Embed from Getty Images

    Felicity Huffman was widely praised for her role in TransAmercia as a pre-operative male to female transgender person. This was an unusual casting decision as usually male to female trans parts are played by males rather than females.

    Daniela Sea in the L word, 2006

    Embed from Getty Images

    When Daniela joined The L word in 2006 she had the role of Moira Sweeney, an androgynous computer technician who moves from the Midwest with Jenny (Mia Kirshner). Over the course of the season, Moira comes out as a trans man, adopting the name Max Sweeney.

    Rebecca Romijn in Ugly Betty, 2007-2008

    Embed from Getty Images

    Rebecca Romijn was another female who was cast in an M2F role in the comedy TV series, Ugly Betty. She appeared midway through the first season and left in season 3.

    The 10s to 20s

    Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy, 2010

    Derided by Glaad for the way in which Family Guy deals with transgender issues, Seth MacFarlane voices the character of Quagmire’s parent, Ida who goes through sex-reassignment surgery in the episode, “Quagmire’s Father”.

    Chloe Sevigny in Hit And Miss, 2012

    Embed from Getty Images

    Hit And Miss was a TV series which followed the life of a transgender contract killer. It ran for one series.

    Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club, 2013

    Embed from Getty Images

    Jared was awarded an Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, however, his casting in this film and subsequent acceptance of the Oscar with a full beard was criticised by some in the trans community. Laverne Cox recently said, “as brilliant as Jared Leto is, and all these actors who play trans women, when people who don’t know anything about trans folks and trans women see the very sexy Jared Leto and his beard accepting an Oscar for playing a trans woman, the message that it sends is that trans women are really men”

    Jeff Tambor in Transparent, 2014

    Embed from Getty Images

    Amazon was praised for the production of Transparent starring Jeff Tambor who plays a trans person coming out as trans later in life. The show has won awards and much love from the critics for its sensitive portrayal of a family dealing with and accepting transition.

    Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl, 2015

    Embed from Getty Images

    Eddie Redmayne played the part of Lili Elbe, acknowledged as the first trans woman to go through sex reassignment surgery. Despite it being widely praised there was only one Oscar win out of four nominations. The film was banned in a number of countries including Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Malaysia.

    Jonny Beauchamp and Otoja Abit Stonewall, 2015

    Embed from Getty Images

    Embed from Getty Images

    Stonewall was much derided when it was released in 2015. It also stars two actors in trans roles who are not trans. Otoja Abit who played Marsha P Johnson and Jonny Beachamp who played the fictional character, Ray/Ramona.

    Benedict Cumberbatch, Zoolander 2, 2016

    The shiz really hit the fan when it appeared that Benedict Cumberbatch, considered by many as a true LGBT+ ally took on the role of “All” in Zoolander 2. Many in the non-binary community took offence to the portrayal of “All” and over 7000 people called for a boycott against the film.

    Elle Fanning, 3 Generations, 2017

    Embed from Getty Images

    Fanning plays a character who pursues his true identity as a male. Its release date was pulled in 2015 and pushed back until 2017.

    Matt Bomer in Anything 2017

    ©-Jean_Nelson

    The film has already received criticism, even before its release for having a cis male actor play the part of a transgender person.

    The film is about a transgender woman falling in love with a straight man. Mark Ruffalo is an executive producer on the film. Defending the decision to cast a cis-male in the role of Freda, Mark said that he had a “profound experience” working with Matt in The Normal Heart.

     

    Have we missed something? Is there an error? Please use the comments below to help expand this article.

  • FILM REVIEW | Boy Erased

    FILM REVIEW | Boy Erased

    ★★★★ | Boy Erased

    In 2004, at the age of 19, American Garrard Conley was sent by his parents to a conversion therapy program to rid him of his homosexual feelings. This true story is now a film called Boy Erased.

    The amazing Lucas Hedges (Lady Bird, Manchester by the Sea) plays Garrard. He is a young man growing up in a small bible belt community in Arkansas. His father Marshall (Russell Crowe) is a respected pastor in the local church while his mother Nancy (Nicole Kidman) believes in everything her husband says. But Garrard is given a choice by his parents when he tells them he is gay: either agree to attend the church-support conversion therapy program where he will have to go to a camp with similar young adults or risk losing his family, a family that he is quite close to. Garrard has no choice but to go through therapy. Garrard is happy being gay – even entering into a relationship with a fellow student at college – but it is his religious upbringing (and a stern father) which helps him make the decision to go to therapy.

    Once he is at the Love in Action gay conversion therapy assessment program, he meets fellow young men like himself (including director and actor Xavier Dolan, and Joe Alwyn – at the time of this writing Taylor Swift’s boyfriend). They all struggle to not come to terms with the way they are, meanwhile all the time guided by the chief therapist Victor Sykes (writer and director of the film Joel Edgerton). But of course, Garrard has urges that he can’t control, while his parents feel that for him to lead a happy life is to lead the life of a straight man.

    The real Garrard Conley, of course, luckily survived his time in the therapy program to write the book which is now this film, and it’s a very good film. Hedges, as always, is fantastic. One never knows what he’s thinking because of his inquisitive facial expressions, and he steals the movie from the two heavyweight actors who are playing his parents. Crowe is excellent as the self-righteous father but Kidman is both warm and tender as the mother who loves her husband but perhaps loves her son a bit more. Boy Erased is at times heartbreaking, but for the most part, it’s triumphant.

    Boy Erased is out now and available to order from Amazon

  • FILM REVIEW | Can You Ever Forgive Me?

    FILM REVIEW | Can You Ever Forgive Me?

    ★★★★ | Can You Ever Forgive Me?

    Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant both play gay characters in the fantastic Can You Ever Forgive Me?

    Based on the life of book author, and Lesbian, Lee Israel, and fluidly directed by Marielle Heller, Can You Ever Forgive Me? based on the late Israel’s memoir, tells about the misadventures of Israel’s life. She was a Manhattanite who didn’t have much money to rub together, so she starts forging signatures of famous people and then sells them to collectors, raking in big money.

    Questions start arising about her charade, and soon enough she has to pull back, and then enlists her gay best friend Jack (Richard E. Grant – in his best performance ever) to take over her sales duties to pawn more fakes to the collectors. It’s early 1990’s New York City, and one gets the feeling that anything can happen then (‘if you can make it there you can make it anywhere’), and that Israel will rise above it all, but in the end, we know what is coming. But before, director Heller (working from a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty) perfectly sets the mood and vibe of New York, with bookshops almost at every corner (long gone now no thanks to the internet) and quite a few of the scenes in the film were shot in the West Village’s classic gay bar Julius.

    Can We Ever Forgive Israel? Yes, we can definitely forgive Israel for what she’s done because it has brought us this fine movie. McCarthy and Grant have been nominated for Oscars, let’s hope that if anyone of them wins, it will be Grant. He is just superb in his role, debonair, chilled, and like a fine wine, getting better with age.

    Order Can You Ever Forgive Me on DVD

  • FILM REVIEW | Green Book

    FILM REVIEW | Green Book

    ★★★ | Green Book

    film review for Green Book
    (C) Universal

    To be gay in America in the early 1960s was not easy. But to also be black, and discriminated against on every level, was an entirely different thing, no matter how famous you were.

    Jazz pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) takes a Green Book with him when goes on a music tour of America’s south. It was a guidebook specifically printed for African-American motorists travelling in America’s south with recommendations on places to stay and eat where they won’t get discriminated against. Shirley (Mahershala Ali) hires racist (and bigoted) Italian Frank ‘Tony Lip’ Vallelonga (an excellent Viggo Mortensen) to be his driver on the two-month concert tour. The nightclub where Frank worked had shut down so he was in need of a job, perhaps any job, to support his loving wife and two young sons. So Frank packs away his racist views and becomes a sort of ‘Driving Mr Daisy.’

    Of course, nothing goes smoothly during the tour, especially when Shirley misbehaves with another man at a YMCA, with Frank left to pick up the pieces, and realizing then that this is why Shirley’s marriage to a woman never worked out. And Frank also introduces Shirley to the simple pleasures of life that he is missing, including eating fried chicken with his hand (something evidently that, hard to believe, Shirley never did). And after two hours we can see where this film is literally taking us, and what will happen between these two men during the trip.

    Green Book is a true story, and directed by a subdued Peter Farrelly (There’s Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber) it’s as slow as molasses on a hot day – but Mortensen lightens up the screen in every scene he is in  – he’s fantastic and is the take away of this film. Ali, while good, seems a bit stiff throughout, and I don’t understand why he is winning all the awards (Richard E. Grant is so much better in Can You Ever Forgive Me.) Nevertheless, Green Book is a good study in race relations in America at that time when JFK was President and Marilyn Monroe was the star of the moment.

  • New LGBTQ film ‘WRETCHED THINGS’ World Premiere in Londons’ Leicester Square

    Wretched Things – a hedonistic, seductive and sexy gay film – had its film premiere in Leicester Square last week – an achievement for its cast and crew.

     

    Written and Directed by Gage Oxley, and made by 16-25 year olds and inspired by the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns, Wretched Things deals with sexual exploitation, toxic masculinity and abuse of power. In it, a first-time model, a webcam sex worker, and a power-hungry homophobe journey through their insecurities and vulnerabilities. This hedonistic and seductive 80-minute film challenges toxic hyper-masculinity and the abuse of power through three vignettes.

    “Wretched Things challenges our thoughts about some of the insecurities and vulnerabilities we face through sexual exploitation, as well as highlighting the aggressors in our every day lives.” says Oxley.

    The film was shot entirely in Leeds, working with young professional filmmakers and artists based in Leeds. All cast and crew worked completely voluntarily, and made the feature-length film on a self-funded low budget. But it doesn’t look low budget at all. It has three throbbing storylines, and actors who will make you throb in other ways.

    The film, told in three chapters, stars popular talent such as Bruce Herbelin-Earle who appears in Netflixs’ Free Rein. For a taste of the film, check out the clip below

    Oxley, and his company Oxygen Films, hopes the film will make the gay film festival circuit and will open the doors for him, the actors and cast and crew, and Oxygen, for future projects. By the looks of this film, Oxley and his team are on the road to success.

     

    YOUR SUPPORT MEANS EVERYTHING

    Help us deliver unique, usable and reliable journalism that supports the gay, bisexual and curious community of the United Kingdom. Can you help protect LGBT+ media? Publishers like us have come under severe threat by the likes of Google and Facebook. The problem is that advertisers are choosing to put their money with them, rather than with niche publishers like us. Our goal is to eliminate banner ads altogether on site and we can do that if you could pledge us a tiny amount each month.

    We’re asking our readers to pledge just £1 per month, more if you’re feeling swanky. You can stop payment at any time.

    It’s quick and easy to sign up and you’ll only have to do it once.

    Click to start the journey and support THEGAYUK!

  • GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics name 10th Dorian Award Winners

    GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics name 10th Dorian Award Winners

    GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics Name 10th Dorian Award Winners

    GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of over 200 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and ally entertainment journalists in the U.S., Canada, Australia and U.K., has announced its 10th Dorian Award winners across 26 TV and film categories.

    The Favourite lived up to its title with GALECA’s Dorian Award voters, who named the cheeky historical romp Film of the Year and bestowed its star, Olivia Colman, with the Film Performance of the Year—Actress tiara for her biting turn as Queen Anne. The sumptuous movie treat also scored Screenplay of the Year honors for Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara.

    Alfonso Cuarón, writer and helmer of Roma, the drama of a privileged family and their tragedy-stricken maid in 1970s Mexico City, was chosen Director of the Year, while the film itself was deemed the Foreign Language Film of the Year. Ethan Hawke took Film Performance of the Year—Actor for his work as a priest on the verge of madness in director Paul Schrader’s First Reformed. In supporting film performance categories, the winners were Regina King for If Beale Street Could Talk and Richard E. Grant for Can You Ever Forgive Me? The latter film, the fact-based dark comedy about a struggling New York writer who turns to forgery, was named GALECA’s Dorian Award winner for LGBTQ Film of the Year.

    In documentary categories, the biographical tributes Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and McQueen proved triumphant. As for GALECA’s unique category winners: The sci-fi hit Annihilation struck as Visually Striking Film of the Year; the female heist thriller Widows rallied as Unsung Film of the Year; and A Simple Favor, an outrageous mystery starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, nabbed the Society’s affectionate Campy Flick of the Year honor.

    Over on the TV side, FX’s Pose and Pop’s Schitt’s Creek both scored big with GALECA members. Pose—a drama set against the lively streets of New York City circa 1979—stood as TV Drama of the Year and LGBTQ Drama of the Year, also also helped its producer, Ryan Murphy, to his second Dorian Award win for Wilde Artist of the Year (Murphy is the first person to win this title twice in GALECA’s 10-year history). Pose’s star, Billy Porter, took two Dorians—one for TV Performance of the Year—Actor and a shared win with his costars MJ Rodriguez and Our Lady J for their moving rendition of “Home” on the series.

    Creek meanwhile, took TV Comedy of the Year as well as Unsung TV Comedy. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee impressed as TV Current Affairs Show of the Year for the third year in a row. Campy TV Show champ: RuPaul’s Drag Race.

    Awkwafina, the rapper turned breakout star of the hit comedy film Crazy Rich Asians, was crowned GALECA’s “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star. Fresh-faced Australian comic Hannah Gadsby, who made a mark with her own well-received Netflix special last year, was named Wilde Wit of the Year.

    Harvey Fierstein was the group’s latest choice for Timeless Star, the group’s career achievement award. Previous recipients include Jane Fonda, Dame Angela Lansbury and Sir Ian McKellen.

    GALECA, The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, previously known as the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, includes members who review, write and/or report on film and television for a diverse number of media outlets, including BuzzFeed, The Daily Beast, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, The Advocate, CNN, the Associated Press, People, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Collider, Vanity Fair, Screen Crush, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, New Now Next, The Guardian and the BBC. For more information, visit GALECA.org. Also find us at #DorianAwards, and enjoy our posts via @DorianAwards on Facebook • Twitter • Instagram

    GALECA 2018/19 DORIAN AWARDS

    WINNERS IN CAPS *

    Film of the Year

    Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    THE FAVOURITE * (FOX SEARCHLIGHT)
    If Beale Street Could Talk
    Roma
    A Star is Born

    Director of the Year

    (Film or Television)
    ALFONSO CUARÓN, ROMA * (NETFLIX)
    Marielle Heller, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
    Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
    Spike Lee, Blackkklansman

    Film Performance of the Year — Actress

    Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
    Toni Collette, Hereditary
    OLIVIA COLMAN, THE FAVOURITE * (FOX SEARCHLIGHT)
    Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
    Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

    Film Performance of the Year — Actor

    Christian Bale, Vice
    Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
    ETHAN HAWKE, FIRST REFORMED * (A24)
    Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
    John David Washington, Blackkklansman

    Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actress

    Elizabeth Debicki, Widows
    REGINA KING, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK * (ANNAPURNA PICTURES)
    Emma Stone, The Favourite
    Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
    Michelle Yeoh, Crazy Rich Asians

    Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actor

    Mahershala Ali, Green Book
    Timothée Chalamet, Beautiful Boy
    Sam Elliott, A Star is Born
    RICHARD E. GRANT, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? * (FOX SEARCHLIGHT)
    Michael B. Jordan, Black Panther

    LGBTQ Film of the Year ***

    Boy Erased
    CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? * (FOX SEARCHLIGHT)
    Disobedience
    The Favourite
    Love, Simon

    Foreign Language Film of the Year

    Burning
    Capernaum
    Cold War
    ROMA * (NETFLIX)
    Shoplifters

    Screenplay of the Year

    Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade
    Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
    DEBORAH DAVIS AND TONY MCNAMARA, THE FAVOURITE * (FOX SEARCHLIGHT)
    Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk

    Documentary of the Year

    Free Solo
    RBG
    Shirkers
    Three Identical Strangers
    WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? * (FOCUS FEATURES)

    LGBTQ Documentary of the Year

    The Gospel According to Andre
    MCQUEEN * (BLEECKER STREET MEDIA)
    Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
    Studio 54
    Whitney

    Visually Striking Film of the Year

    ANNIHILATION * (PARAMOUNT)
    Black Panther
    The Favourite
    If Beale Street Could Talk
    Roma

    Unsung Film of the Year

    Colette
    Disobedience
    The Happy Prince
    Tully
    We the Animals
    WIDOWS * (20TH CENTURY FOX)

    Campy Flick of the Year

    Aquaman
    Book Club
    Mama Mia! Here We Go Again
    A SIMPLE FAVOR * (LIONSGATE)
    Suspiria

    TV Drama of the Year

    American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
    The Handmaid’s Tale
    Homecoming
    Killing Eve
    POSE * (FX)

    TV Comedy of the Year

    Barry
    GLOW
    The Good Place
    The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
    SCHITT’S CREEK * (POP)

    TV Performance of the Year — Actor

    Darren Criss, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
    Hugh Grant, A Very English Scandal
    BILLY PORTER, POSE * (FX)
    Matthew Rhys, The Americans
    Ben Whishaw, A Very English Scandal

    TV Performance of the Year — Actress

    Amy Adams, Sharp Objects
    Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
    Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
    SANDRA OH, KILLING EVE * (BBC AMERICA)
    Julia Roberts, Homecoming

    LGBTQ TV Show of the Year

    A Very English Scandal
    American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
    Killing Eve
    POSE * (FX)
    Queer Eye

    Unsung TV Show of the Year ***

    The Bisexual
    Dear White People
    The Good Fight
    One Day at a Time
    SCHITT’S CREEK * (POP)

    TV Current Affairs Show of the Year

    The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
    FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE * (TBS)
    Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
    The Rachel Maddow Show

    TV Musical Performance of the Year

    Adam Lambert, “Believe,” 41st Kennedy Center Honors
    BILLY PORTER, MJ RODRIGUEZ AND OUR LADY J, “HOME”, POSE * (FX)
    Noah Reid, “Simply the Best,” Schitt’s Creek
    Keala Settle, “This is Me,” 90th Academy Awards
    Sufjan Stevens, “Mystery of Love,” 90th Academy Awards

    Campy TV Show of the Year

    American Horror Story: Apocalypse
    Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
    Queer Eye
    Riverdale
    RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE * (VH1, LOGO)

    The “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award

    AWKWAFINA *
    Elsie Fisher
    Henry Golding
    Indya Moore
    MJ Rodriguez

    Wilde Wit of the Year

    (Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
    Samantha Bee
    HANNAH GADSBY *
    Kate McKinnon
    John Oliver
    Michelle Wolf

    Wilde Artist of the Year

    (Honoring a truly groundbreaking force in film, stage and/or television)
    Bradley Cooper
    Hannah Gadsby
    Lady Gaga
    Nicole Kidman
    RYAN MURPHY *

    Timeless Star

    (Given to an actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit)
    HARVEY FIERSTEIN

  • Simon Amstell’s debut film is coming out this March

    Simon Amstell’s debut film is coming out this March

    The openly gay comedian Simon Amstell has a brand new film coming out and we’re so here for it.

    Simon Amstell has written and directed his debut film, Benjamin and it’s out this March. According to inside sources, film is a bittersweet comedy tells the story of Benjamin (Colin Morgan) a rising star filmmaker, who is thrown into emotional turmoil on the brink of premiering his second film, when Billie, his hard partying publicist, introduces him to a mesmeric French musician called Noah.

    Embed from Getty Images

    Set among the back streets of East and North London, the film boasts original music from James Righton of the Klaxons and great performances from its cast including Colin Morgan, Phénix Brossard, Joel Fry, Jack Rowan, Jessica Raine & Anna Chancellor.

  • GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics Announces 10th DORIAN AWARDS for Film and TV

    GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics Announces 10th DORIAN AWARDS for Film and TV

    The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics has named its nominees for its milestone 10th Dorian Awards for the best in film and television of 2018.

    Leading in the movie categories with eight nominations is The Favourite, followed by If Beale Street Could Talk, Can You Ever Forgive Me and Roma with six nods each, and A Star is Born with four. The stars of the latest “Born” remake—Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga—are both up for Film Performance honours as well as the group’s Wilde Artist of the Year award.

    Many of the nominations add some excitement to this year’s film awards season. On GALECA’s short list for best actor: First Reformed star Ethan Hawke and BlacKkKlansman lead John David Washington. Hereditary’s Toni Collette and Yalitza Aparicio of Roma vie alongside Gaga for best actress. Widows upstart Elizabeth Debicki and Black Panther standout Michael B. Jordan up the ante in supporting performance races. And former YouTube star turned Eighth Grade writer-director Bo Burnham scored a nomination for Screenplay of the Year.

    The spectacular, practically candy-coated Marvel adventure Panther is one of the titles up for Visually Striking Film of the Year, while the Diane Keaton comedy Book Club and Aquaman are in the running for (or from?) the Campy Flick honor.

    In TV categories, FX’s transgender-empowering drama Pose and BBC America’s biting cat-and-mouse thriller Killing Eve lead among drama series. Killing Eve headliners Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, true to their hit’s storyline, vie against each other for TV Performance—Actress, while Hugh Grant and his “A Very English Scandal” paramour Ben Whishaw face each other on the gentlemen’s side. Also making a fresh impression with GALECA, comprised of over 200 members in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K.: HBO’s hitman comedy Barry, Pop network’s rich-family satire Schitt’s Creek, and Julia Roberts and her cryptic new Amazon conspiracy tale Homecoming.

    “We’re thrilled by the strong variety of films and TV performances our diverse group of members has chosen to praise,” said GALECA President Diane Anderson-Minshall, Editorial Director of The Advocate. “In a lovely compliment to the Time’s Up movement, several categories, including Wilde Artist of the Year, Wilde Wit of the Year and Rising Star, are dominated by women this year. And it’s inspiring that the majority of our Director of the Year nominees are people of colour, including Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, and Alfonso Cuarón.”

    “It’s hard to believe this is our 10th go-around of giving out our Dorian Awards,” added GALECA’s Executive Director John Griffiths. “In such oddly combative times, that’s really something to covfefe.”

    Speaking of cheeky, along with its latest nominations, GALECA has announced that comedian and radio personality Frank DeCaro (The Daily Show, Sirius XM’s The Frank DeCaro Show) will preside as Master of Ceremonies at its invitation-only 10th Dorian Awards Winners Toast. The event will be held Saturday, January 12, noon to 2:30 at Paley restaurant in Hollywood’s historic Columbia Square.

    De Caro, fondly remembered for his turn as the campy movie critic on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, embodies “the perfect mix of wit and sincerity that suits our freewheeling Toast format,” said Griffiths. “He’s not only charming and funny, he has a deep respect for what it takes to make quality entertainment, remains sweetly starstruck even in these jaded times, and keeps his eye and heart on the big picture too.” DeCaro’s latest book, Drag: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business, comes out from Rizzoli this spring.

    Since GALECA’s first film and TV favourites were named in 2010, over 200 artists and productions have received a Dorian Award, while over 1000 have received nominations. Among its Film of the Year winners are “Argo” and “12 Years a Slave,” as well as two movies directed by Luca Guadagnino, I Am Love and Call Me By Your Name. With five Dorians each across various categories, Moonlight and Carol stand as the most awarded films in GALECA history, while Transparent, with six wins in best-series categories alone, reigns as the most honoured TV title.

    Performers? Jessica Lange, Cate Blanchett and Jeffrey Tambor rank as GALECA’s most honoured so far, while MSNBC news personality Rachel Maddow and filmmaker Jordan Peele have each been recognised with three Dorian wins in non-performance categories.

    FULL LIST OF 10TH DORIAN AWARDS NOMINATIONS

    Film of the Year

    CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

    THE FAVOURITE

    IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

    ROMA

    A STAR IS BORN

    Director of the Year

    (Film or Television)

    ALFONSO CUARON, ROMA

    MARIELLE HELLER, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

    BARRY JENKINS, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

    YORGOS LANTHIMOS, THE FAVOURITE

    SPIKE LEE, BLACKKKLANSMAN

    Film Performance of the Year — Actress

    YALITZA APARICIO, ROMA

    TONI COLLETTE, HEREDITARY

    OLIVIA COLMAN, THE FAVOURITE

    LADY GAGA, A STAR IS BORN

    MELISSA MCCARTHY, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

    Film Performance of the Year — Actor

    CHRISTIAN BALE, VICE

    BRADLEY COOPER, A STAR IS BORN

    ETHAN HAWKE, FIRST REFORMED

    RAMI MALEK, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

    JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON, BLACKKKLANSMAN

    Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actress

    ELIZABETH DEBICKI, WIDOWS

    REGINA KING, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

    EMMA STONE, THE FAVOURITE

    RACHEL WEISZ, THE FAVOURITE

    MICHELLE YEOH, CRAZY RICH ASIANS

    Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actor

    MAHERSHALA ALI, GREEN BOOK

    TIMOTHEE CHALAMET, BEAUTIFUL BOY

    SAM ELLIOTT, A STAR IS BORN

    RICHARD E. GRANT, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

    MICHAEL B. JORDAN, BLACK PANTHER

    LGBTQ Film of the Year

    BOY ERASED

    CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

    DISOBEDIENCE

    THE FAVOURITE

    LOVE SIMON

    Foreign Language Film of the Year

    BURNING

    CAPERNAUM

    COLD WAR

    ROMA

    SHOPLIFTERS

    Screenplay of the Year

    BO BURNHAM, EIGHTH GRADE

    ALFONSO CUARON, ROMA

    DEBORAH DAVIS AND TONY MCNAMARA, THE FAVOURITE

    NICOLE HOLOFCENER AND JEFF WHITTY, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

    BARRY JENKINS, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

    Documentary of the Year

    FREE SOLO

    RBG

    SHIRKERS

    THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

    WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

    LGBTQ Documentary of the Year

    THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRE

    MCQUEEN

    SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD

    STUDIO 54

    WHITNEY

    Visually Striking Film of the Year

    ANNIHILATION

    BLACK PANTHER

    THE FAVOURITE

    IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

    ROMA

    Unsung Film of the Year

    COLETTE

    DISOBEDIENCE

    THE HAPPY PRINCE

    TULLY

    WE THE ANIMALS

    WIDOWS

    Campy Flick of the Year

    AQUAMAN

    BOOK CLUB

    MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN

    A SIMPLE FAVOR

    SUSPIRIA

    TV Drama of the Year

    AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE

    THE HANDMAID’S TALE

    HOMECOMING

    KILLING EVE

    POSE

    TV Comedy of the Year

    BARRY

    GLOW

    THE GOOD PLACE

    THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

    SCHITT’S CREEK

    TV Performance of the Year — Actor

    DARREN CRISS, THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY

    HUGH GRANT, A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL

    BILLY PORTER, POSE

    MATTHEW RHYS, THE AMERICANS

    BEN WHISHAW, A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL

    TV Performance of the Year — Actress

    AMY ADAMS, SHARP OBJECTS

    RACHEL BROSNAHAN, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

    JODIE COMER, KILLING EVE

    SANDRA OH, KILLING EVE

    JULIA ROBERTS, HOMECOMING

    LGBTQ TV Show of the Year 

    A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL
    AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE
    KILLING EVE
    POSE
    QUEER EYE

    Unsung TV Show of the Year
    THE BISEXUAL
    DEAR WHITE PEOPLE
    THE GOOD FIGHT
    ONE DAY AT A TIME
    SCHITT’S CREEK 

    TV Current Affairs Show of the Year

    THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH

    FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE

    LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER

    THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT

    THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW

    TV Musical Performance of the Year

    ADAM LAMBERT, “BELIEVE”, 41ST KENNEDY CENTER HONORS

    BILLY PORTER, MJ RODRIGUEZ AND OUR LADY J, “HOME”, POSE

    NOAH REID, “SIMPLY THE BEST”, SCHITT’S CREEK

    KEALA SETTLE, “THIS IS ME”, 90TH ACADEMY AWARDS

    SUFJAN STEVENS, “MYSTERY OF LOVE”, 90TH ACADEMY AWARDS

    Campy TV Show of the Year

    AMERICAN HORROR STORY: APOCALYPSE

    CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA

    QUEER EYE

    RIVERDALE

    RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE

    The “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award

    AWKWAFINA

    ELSIE FISHER

    HENRY GOLDING

    INDYA MOORE

    MJ RODRIGUEZ

    Wilde Wit of the Year

    (Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)

    SAMANTHA BEE

    HANNAH GADSBY

    KATE MCKINNON

    JOHN OLIVER

    MICHELLE WOLF

    Wilde Artist of the Year

    (Honoring a truly groundbreaking force in film, stage and/or television)

    BRADLEY COOPER

    HANNAH GADSBY

    LADY GAGA

    NICOLE KIDMAN

    RYAN MURPHY

  • FILM REVIEW | Aquaman

    ★★★★☆ | Aquaman

    FILM REVIEW for Aquaman

    AQUAMAN – The DC Superhero universe continues the fight back against Marvel with this great musclebound outing. We have had spandex guys everywhere you can imagine from Africa to World war 2 and including outta space so it’s time now to go underwater.

    Nutshell – Land lubber Arthur Curry discovers he is in line to the throne of the underwater kingdom Atlantis. Unfortunately his sexy as fuck half-brother has other ideas, he feels responsible for his mother’s death and the Atlanteans are about to fight back with us surface developers for decades of undersea warfare and now our modern plague of plastic pollution. Cue all-out war and our favourite new hunk of beefcake is right in the middle of it.

    Running Time – 143 Minutes – Cert PG-13. Superhero movies just keep getting longer and longer but it works here.

    Tagline – ‘Home Is Calling’ & ‘He’s Not From Around Here’

    The Gay UK Factor – Jason Momoa is one of the hottest new gay fantasy men out there and here he is topless for the duration. This massive tall muscular stud is heavily tattooed, has sexy scars and great long straggly hair you just want to run your fingers through. He starred in his own Baywatch TV series before heading off to Westeros to be the none English speaking shirtless and bare arsed Dothraki King in Game Of Thrones inducing a huge increase in wanking sock abuse. His Aquaman movie introduction was as small parts in Batman Vs Superman and Justice League where he stole your eye away from a lot of other hot leads but it has all been heading to this his very own two-hour special.

    Cast – We are not sure there was anyone else here besides Momoa as we only had eyes for him but we think we spotted Dolph Lundgren, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard some guest star appearances as other kingdom monarchs and one of the most underrated sexy men currently acting Patrick Wilson who no gay man would kick out of bed.

    Key Player – James Wan the director keeps the action and key set pieces a coming and turns what could easily be a pile of fantastical dog poop with men riding sharks and seahorses into battle into something believable, current and most of all… fun.

    Budget – $160 Million but it seems to be money well spent as this will dominate the Christmas Box Office as everything else is kiddie blockbusters (Mary Poppins/The Grinch/Spiderman Cartoons) and helped by the major failure of the pretty rough Fantastic Beasts, JK Rowling’s first ever Waterloo and the postponement of the Bond.<

    Best Bit – 1.12 mins; We get a great spell out of the water to undertake a breathtaking downhill rooftop chase with one great stunt after another and serious fingernail chewing jeopardy.

    Worst Bit – 1.25 mins; A fight with a giant mythological creature seems a bit out of place here and more suited to any of a hundred forgettable sword and sandal Sunday afternoon Greek epics which all merge into one. Luckily the scene is short lived and it is soon back to the ocean for the big climax.

    Little Secret – James Wan is, of course, the king of horror making the Insidious/Annabelle/Saw/Conjuring etc movies but don’t worry as he has a different focus here basin this on Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Romancing The Stone but whatever made him decide to include a drum playing octopus no-one will ever know. With this film, the DC universe will cross the four billion dollar mark at the box office in the fastest time ever just six films so take that Messrs Bond, Potter, Tolkien, Sparrow, Vader and especially Marvel.

    Further Viewing – Wonder Woman, The Justice League, Various Spidermans and Batmans and everything from the DC movie universe or the enemy Marvel studio. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Beyond Atlantis, The Meg, The Abyss, Sanctum, Lords Of The Deep but not Finding Nemo or The Little Mermaid.

    Any Good – This works and it so easily might not have. Very fast paced and extremely noisy but it all seems to be in support of the extensive plot. Wholly separate from every other superhero films so no cameos here as it lives entirely in its own domain. It looks great is thoroughly enjoyable and fully launches Jason Momoa to the top of the A-list heading straight at the slightly tarnished Dwayne Johnson crown who has had a very rough year indeed. The Worlds highest paid movie star in history suddenly needs to look over his shoulder for a tatted man with even more muscular and possibly a better actor to boot.

    70/100

  • FILM REVIEW | 1985

    FILM REVIEW | 1985

    ★★★★★ | 1985

    The year is 1985. AIDS had already started to rear its ugly head. It’s also the year that Adrian comes home for perhaps the last time.

    1985 is a tear-your-heart-out film about one New Yorker’s journey back home to see his family at Christmas. Cory Michael Smith is just incredible as Adrian, a young man going back home to Texas after a three-year absence to see his father, mother and little brother. But it’s really not a festive time for him – for all the lies and deceits that Adrian tells his family – that his life in New York is just amazing, with a good job and great friends, all this couldn’t be further from the truth. Adrian’s friends back in NYC are all dying or dead – including his partner. Adrian has been to six funerals in that year alone, and he faces the grim fact that he is not immune to the disease that has slowly crept up on gay men like himself. With a doting mother who takes care of all his needs while he is at home (a graceful and saintly Virginia Madsen), a tough religious father who lives his life by the Bible (Michael Chiklis), and a soft younger brother who is into theatre (Aidan Langford), it’s up to Adrian to secretly say goodbye to everyone (including his best friend Carly, played by the wonderful Jamie Chung).

    Directed and co-written by Yen Tan, 1985 is a small film that packs quite a punch. It’s one hour and 25 minutes that will hold your attention throughout, with gripping performances, and an equally stunning soundtrack, and will have you reaching for the tissue box many times. Reminiscent of Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World (where a terminally ill writer (assumed sick with AIDS) returns home to tell his family he is dying), 1985 is a much much better film.

    With a perfect cast, including Madsen who is just simply amazing, as well as Chung, 1985 is a great film in every sense of the word, and excellently captures that time in 1985 when President Ronald Regan had yet to utter the word ‘AIDS’ and when hundreds of young men were dying and there was no treatment available, nothing could be done for them. Tan, along with the cast and crew, in a film beautifully shot in black and white (by Hutch, who also co-wrote the film), has pulled off quite an achievement with this film. Every gay man under 50 really needs to watch this film to understand what gay men over 50 were dealing with in the 1980s and early 1990s.

    Order this film now from our online shop and support THEGAYUK