THEGAYUK

Category: Review

  • SEX TOY REVIEW: Pulse by Hot Octopus

    Something very pleasurable awaits you with the new vibrating sex toy, Pulse, which some are calling the ultimateguybrator.

    Despite looking like some kind of futuristic Star Trek comms unit, the Pulse, will, without doubt, drive you nuts.

    Apparently, there’s a lot of science to back up why, essentially a vibrating cock ring, will drive you mad with pleasure, but who cares – just put it on and find out for yourself.

    You can use with or without lube and the unit has multi speeds – so you can control how much vibration you get.

    Unlike other masturbators the Pulse is cleverly very usable and simple to get used to – and thanks to its open top design requires a lot less cleaning and drying out compared to other products.

    It can be used solo or together – however the sharing option with this toy is most probably for a man/woman combo rather than a man on man experience- as the woman gains pleasure from the vibrating Pulseplate on the outside of the unit, which another just wouldn’t

    The unit retails for £69 and is rechargeable via a USB connection.

     

  • BOOK REVIEW | Denial Deceit Discovery

    ★★★★★ | Denial Deceit Discovery

    A brutally honest book based on a real persons struggle to come to terms with his sexuality through his open and emotional journey.

    Denial, Deceit, Discovery is a superb first novel by J.James. A truly amazing story of Jack, a young catholic man, and his struggle coming to terms with his sexuality and finding the strength and courage to be true to himself regardless of the consequences.

    At first glance I found the first few chapters quite graphic as the author details his sexual explorations, in fact Amazon have it listed under ‘erotica’. Whilst there are some pretty explicit scenes of gay sex, after reading the whole book, I realised that apart from being erotic, it was instead a brutally truthful account of a lot of rather intense soul-searching.

    The book is split into three sections of his journey, characterising the three chapters Denial, Deceit and Discovery. Based on true events, that are essentially autobiographical, this reads in the style of a personal memoir. The writing is so extremely honest that you often wonder which parts were from the author’s imagination and which were from his own life.

    Anyone will be able to relate to parts of the story regardless of sexuality and even if the book in its entirety doesn’t completely resonate with you, it provides plenty of food for thought. Highly recommended, compelling and easy to read, the content will make you blush, laugh and cry. After completing the book I wanted to carry on reading what happened next of this brave man’s journey on his pursuit for happiness.

  • BOOK REVIEW | How Are You Going To Get Out Of That One, Alan Ambrose, by David Moreton

    Ever seen a book review in 10 words or less? No? See Below?

    Like Carry On? Like farce? Love this!

    There! Never let it be said I didn’t rise to a challenge. But, to flesh it out a little (oooh, errr, Missus), this rib achingly funny book from David Moreton is like a gay romp through all those bawdy British comedies I grew up on. Saucy comments via Carry On – check. Rude jokes via On The Buses – check. Double entendres via Nearest & Dearest – check.

    Right up my street if you’ll forgive me! This book is a gem of a read, taking the reader on a journey as we follow our hero, Alan, through his growing pains, coming out, staying in, cottaging, trading favours for gifts, you name it – it reads like the kind of book Rupert Everett would like to write, but doesn’t.

    David has a talent for writing farce, creating situations that at once make you laugh out loud (not great on a Manchester bus at night) and also inwardly cringe (hoping to god it never happens to you). He describes sex in all its seedy reality, warts an all – as it were. These scenes are all too graphic and farcical, but feel as if they are based on real situations…..cottaging, not as its shown in glossy porn clips, but in all its piss stenched reality, gritty and dirty…..but always with a glint in the eye and a smirk on the chops!

    We read of Alan’s adventures as he moves from man to man, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes shoved/pushed/dumped, from continent to continent, villa to bedsit, Hollywood to Hove. And I feel better for it! We read as he gets involved in scrapes, schemes and porn…..

    At over 3,000 pages, this isn’t a light read – and I thank god its on e-reader, cant imagine the weight of it as a physical book but would imagine it’d give you a pretty good workout carrying it around!!

    You end up feeling like Alan is someone you want to know, want in your life, want to go get a drink with, never want to meet at a urinal, and always check your wallet is still there before he leaves…..fun, frank and farcical…..

    If you are looking for that book to read whilst warming your toes during the long winter nights….do yourself a favour. Ignore those sour-puss, just-sucked-a-lemon, up-yer-bum serious novels that always populate the “high brow” review pages and get this one. It’ll tickle your funny bone, it’ll make you smile, it’ll make you think, it’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on for under a fiver!

    Get your copy here

  • THEATRE REVIEW | How To Be Immortal, UK Tour

    ★★★★ | How To Be Immortal, UK Tour
    Three true tales intertwine in this intimate, bold and funny show about love, science, death and immortality.

    Henrietta Lacks died in West Virginia in 1951, but her cells are still alive today, dividing endlessly in laboratories, their every detail studied by scientists all over the world. It’s taken Deborah years to come to terms with her mother’s death. Now, suddenly, she’s got to deal with her immortality.

    Rosa and Mick are in love. She plays the cello, he plays the squeezebox –they sound great together. The trouble is that she’s pregnant and he’s about to die.

    If we didn’t have bodies would we live forever? Its 1950 and Doctor George Gey and his wife Margaret are about to make a mind-bending discovery using homemade apparatus and some calves liver puree. All they need is the right biopsy.

    Love, death and DNA intertwine in three twisted true tales about what we leave behind. There’s live music on cello, squeezebox and ukulele, 1950s science, nano-puppetry, animation and a song composed from human DNA coding. This is a moving production that is not easily shaken from the mind.

    For such a heavy subject matter, this is actually a very watchable and engaging play with plenty of humour. Writer, Kirsty Housley, manages to present a trio of fascinating stories with a deft touch, conveying both deep emotion and offering up a complex scientific theme, which is quite a feat. The technology worked well too with some breath taking back projections onto the versatile and clever set. The stories blend well together and the trio of talented actor/musicians give sterling performances in a variety of role.

    I was lucky enough to catch the show at the Albany at Deptford, a fantastic small theatre and arts venue which people outside of South London might not be in the know about. It’s well worth a visit and easily reached by public transport.

    The show is on tour until the end of March 2014 and you can catch it at various venues around the U.K.: http://www.pennydreadfultheatre.com/#!tour-dates/cxb5

    Check out The Albany at Deptford here: http://www.thealbany.org.uk/whatson

  • FILM REVIEW | A Most Violent Year, Playing it straight can work – Sometimes

    Abel Morales wants to pursue the ‘American dream’ the right way. However, his pushy wife Anna thinks otherwise. She is the daughter of the Brooklyn mobster who sold his small Heating Oil business to Morales in the first place, and Anna is well aware that if they are to be successful they will first have to effectively deal with thugs who run competitive businesses by far means and foul. Mainly the latter.

    It’s obvious from the start of the movie when yet another of Morales’s tankers are hijacked and the driver is badly beaten that whoever is behind these incidents means to put the Morales out of business. As Anna keeps nagging to remind him, they are effectively at war. The trouble is they are not quite sure who with.

    It’s the 1980s and in a crime-ridden New York City it is tough for a business like Morales not to have to resort to play dirty tricks to survive. He has signed the biggest deal of his career to date when he agrees to buy an Oil Terminal from a group of savvy Hassidic Jews, and if fails to complete the purchase on time he stands to lose everything, including the oversized ‘macmansion’ he has just bought in the suburbs. When news of the deal goes public, then the campaign of terror against him is stepped up to try and ensure that he will not have enough funds to close the deal.

    If that is not enough trouble, the Assistant D.A. is out to make a name for himself and be seen to be cleaning up the ‘dirty’ oil industry and is looking to charge Morales with multiple offences. This includes fraud and cooking the books, the latter being one of Anna’s more accomplished talents.

    This taut multi-layered tale of corruption and treachery is the third feature from writer/director J.C. Chandor who made such a splash with his debut movie Margin Call in 2010 that became a sleeper hit. Chandor keeps the tension packed until the final credits roll when Morales, determined to keep to the moral ground, realises he has to be tougher than both the thugs out to ruin him but also his wife who has no problem at all resorting to whatever it takes to keep her family together and the business in tact.

    With a really compelling performance from Oscar Isaac looking more like a new George Clooney matinee idol in every movie he stars in, who with his heavy Brooklyn accent is perfectly cast as Morales. He has such a commanding presence and its clear to see how he has jumped up into leading man status since his breakthrough performance in Inside Llewyn Davies. Plus Jessica Chastain forsaking her copper tresses and going bossy blond, is splendid as the matter-of-fact tough cookie Anna.

  • FILM REVIEW | Dallas Buyers Club

    ★★★★★ | DALLAS BUYERS CLUB

    The very scary fact thing about watching Dallas Buyers Club is always knowing that this is sadly a very true story.

    Not that we have anything except unfettered admiration for Ron Woodroof and his wild unorthodox schemes, but it is the reminder of the sheer number of countless deaths that could have been avoided if it hadn’t been for the complicity of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration Agency with the greed of the Pharmaceutical Companies that still rankles even now.

    Woodroof was a working-class Texan hedonist living in a Trailer, hanging out at Rodeos and partying very hard indeed. He was also a serial homophobe. When he collapses one day and is rushed to the ER the Doctors discover he is HIV + and with such a minute T cell count, they tell him that he has no more than 30 days to live. The year is 1985 and there is very little hope for anyone that gets full blown AIDS.

    At first he is in total denial and continues his life of drugs, drink and unprotected sex with hookers until his body starts to give up. When he finally accepts the truth, he also sharpens his resolve to beat this rap. He drags himself to the library and consumes all the information that is in the public domain at the time, which is very little. It is however enough to know that there is about to be a trial of AZT a new anti-retroviral drug …. the first if its kind … and because of the rapid explosion of AIDS, the FDA have agreed to fast-track it without its usual safeguards and checks.

    Woodroof pleads with the Doctors at his local hospital to be allowed some of this new wonder drug, but he is rejected on the grounds that he doesn’t qualify, so he seeks out an Orderly and bribes him to steal a supply. When this dries up, the Orderly recommends that he tries a Doctor in Mexico who may be able to help.

    He checks into Dr. Vass’s rundown Clinic over the Border and it is there that he first learns the enormous potential harm that unchecked toxic drugs such as AZT cause. At the supposition that they may stop the virus expanding, they also do such harm to the body that they expose them to countless opportunistic diseases. Vass’s solution is proteins and vitamins that will actively improve the general health of a person with AIDS making them in better position to be able to deal with the virus.

    When Woodroof learns that none of these are available in the USA, he starts an import business to supply them to other patients back in Dallas. He partners with Rayon a Trans person with HIV who he met in Clinic once as she can introduce him to all the people who would want to get their hands on these new drugs.

    At every step of the way, he is aggressively pursued by the FDA as even though none of the drugs/proteins he sells are illegal, they have not been officially approved and the FDA, egged on by the Drug Companies who fund them, want to keep total control of every aspect. One of the ways to get around the Law is not to actually sell the drugs themselves, but sell memberships to his Club (for $400 a month) and this entitles each member to have whatever drugs they want.

    As supplies get tougher to obtain, and new drugs come on the market, Woodroof widens his search worldwide to anyone and everyone who would sell to him. And the FDA would use every legal loophole and obscure law on the Statute Books to seize all his supplies and issue countless fines. Meanwhile at the local hospital it is getting very obvious that patients on the AZT trial are doing much worse than other AIDS patients, but the Authorities anxious to keep receiving the much need Payments from the Drug Companies are happy to suppress all the official reports that confirm this, and the one Doctor that dares to question her Bosses’s ethics is fired.

    Woodroof unquestionably started this venture purely to keep himself alive and to make money. He succeed with his first aim and lived 6 years after his initial diagnosis of just 30 days, and as he gradually got less paranoid of the gay community, he started allowing some people to have the drugs even though they couldn’t afford the Fee. It wast as much that he was any less of a homophobe, but as his own friends totally rejected him out of sheer fear, he started to be able to relate to being an ‘outcast’ like his fellow AIDS sufferers.

    This film has been a long time coming. Scriptwrters Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack based it on the hundreds of interviews they had with Woodroof, and then waited 20 years for the movie to finally get made. Several directors and stars were attached to it until it ended up in the hands of Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee who’s claim to fame (so far) is C.R.A Z.Y. a very neat gay coming of age so far. His two principal stars lost a ton of weight for the parts Jared Leto as Rayon dropped 30 lbs and Matthew McConaughey a scary 50 lbs. They both gave powerful dazzling performances which will has got them several acting awards including Oscar Nominations for them both. It was definitely a stunning change in direction for McConaughey in particular who has established his career so far mainly in rom-coms, but for my two cents (!) it was Leto’s heart-breaking turn as the drug-addicted Rayon that totally bowled me over. It makes one appreciate that Leto has been off our screens far too long (5 years whilst he was touring with his Band)

    These Clubs like Woodroof’s (there were others in other cities) played an important role alongside the wonderful ACT-UP movement to continually put the FDA on notice, and without their unceasing pressure, demands and activism so many of the drugs that would eventually help with people with AIDS would never have been made available in time.

    It’s a compelling story told with such passion and authority that both disturbs and delights. Unmissable.

    Available to buy / view on: Amazon | Amazon Prime | iTunes

  • MUSIC REVIEW | PJ Taylor – Twisted Love Song

    PJ is a singer/song writer from London. He admits himself that he is not an instrumentalist, but loves to create music and this comes across in his tracks to date.

    He began by recording covers of classic tracks, but has now moved into writing his own music. His self released album You Ain’t Seen The Best Of Me was released a while ago and he’s secured access to iTunes, Amazon and others for his new track and the entire album.

    Wills Room, a podcast, showcases some of PJ’s work and is available via iTunes

    His new single Twisted Love Song is reminiscent of the best of electronic pop, with his use of vocoder giving a gentle nod to the likes of Cher.

    He knows how to get your foot tapping, and he has a gift for lyrics. This is pop at its best, its not deep and meaningful, it’s not bed-sit sad, its not soul searching. It’s pure, unadulterated dance. PJ marries different influences into coherent tracks, sounding like he’s having fun along the way.

    He has several videos on Youtube that showcase his style and give you an idea of his style:
    http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Z3LbiY8cx6vHFQb5vNqDw?feature=watch

    He has a MySpace page:
    https://myspace.com/pjtaylor1

    And here is PJ’s Facebook page:
    https://www.facebook.com/events/773707892654709/

    Keep an eye on this guy – he makes good music, enjoys himself which is evident and produces infectious music. Suport him if you can.

  • FILM REVIEW | Teenage

    “This is a story that ends with a beginning…”

    Great phrase and one that captures the content of this documentary perfectly. The film, by Matt Wolf and based on the book, ‘Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture 1897-1945’ by Jon Savage, charts the rise of the teenager as we know it.

    It shows its earliest form, as it emerges as a distinct period of human evolution. Initially we had childhood and adulthood, sometimes a grey area in the middle that the industrial revolution may have put paid to as child labour became the norm.

    When this was stamped out, or legislated out, what did we have? We were left with a chink of development in a child’s life, the passage into adulthood, the piece where weird things happen to your hormones and lets not even discuss the downstairs rumblings!

    This film doesn’t really explore the sexual side of development, it doesn’t need to because that is so wrapped up in everything else we do or did as teenagers. The way we looked, the way we dressed, what we did, what we listened to, who we attracted, what friends we chose – all part and parcel of being that thing, that developmental period with no real name.

    And thats the point of this film, right from the industrial revolution, world wars, depressions, racial integration, right up to the point when the New York Times printed its Teen-age Bill Of rights in 1945 and an entire culture was born and christened.

    With the end of WW2, almost as if the dropping of the bombs had brought this subculture to prominence, the teenager was born – and born worldwide. With GI’s spread across the globe, Hollywood churning out the movies in glorious technicolour, and big band swing and jazz the hottest thing around, the US was the main influence not just for adults, but also for those too old to be children and too young to be adults.

    This film charts the rise of the teenager using amazing footage, touching narrative – especially when discussing what effect war had on all sides or charting racial inequality.

    The film could come across as a little too “worthy” but manages to avoid this by engaging you, helping you remember what it was like to be that age, the awkwardness of it all, the emotional turmoil, but showing you that we all go through it, we all share that experience, and that history can teach us something.

    History shows us the struggle others went through so that we can whine about not having the latest phone, or whatever the teenagers today moan about… but I bet you, the teenagers featured in this film whined and moaned too! It’s part of being “that” age.

    All in all, this film is a fascinating glimpse into an age before the “Me” generation, when youth clubs were dry, before injecting Cif into your eyeballs before a night out was cool – or whatever else hip cat teenagers are doing these days. It shows a more naive time, when teenagers were first pushing against those boundaries and sensing some freedom – and it’s a blinking good watch for it!

    Available to buy / view on: Amazon

  • BOOK REVIEW: Framed On Titan, By Stevie Gonzalez

    Ok, I openly admit it. I’m a sci-fi fan and also partial to the odd bit of erotic fiction so combining the two into one story is my ideal read!

    (more…)

  • ALBUM REVIEW | Hard-Fi: Best of 2004-2014

    Upon putting Hard-Fi’s greatest hits disc into my CD player I was immediately reminded of why I am such a fan of the band. As one of great underdogs of the music industry in modern times, I have frequently willed them on to succeed. Sadly the commercial success of their early days has not been sustained, but that hasn’t stopped the band releasing some great music.

    Although seeing Hard-Fi’s first album Stars of CCTV as their first collection of greatest hits, I welcomed the forthcoming release of the official best of album. It begins at the start of Hard-Fi’s career with the first few songs being the releases from Stars of CCTV. I can recall becoming a fan of the band and championing them, but it took some time for the rest of the public to realise their greatness. Eventually the album sold well and the band were critically acclaimed. With songs that people can relate to, such as ‘Cash Machine’ and ‘Living for the Weekend’, Hard-Fi seemed to come along at just the right time. Forward to ten years later and all of the songs from Stars of CCTV still sound great and relevant to the times we live in.

    From there the songs move on to Hard-Fi’s second album Once Upon a Time in the West. Another strong album that reached number one in the charts, spawning hits including ‘Surburban Knights’ and ‘Can’t Get Along’, this section of the hits collection is a further reminder of the band’s ability to craft songs that are real and relatable.

    Hard-Fi’s third album Killer Sounds is actually full of just that. Although not as commercially successful as previous efforts, it was still another strong album from the band. Although the singles were not as big as past chart entries, they were critical hits. ‘Good for Nothing’, ‘Fire in the House’ and ‘Bring it on’ are all worthy of their position on the album and demonstrate the band’s skill of crossing genres in their songs. Reggae, dance, rock, and pop are all present here. Perhaps it shouldn’t work, but somehow it works.
    The album ends with new song ‘Move Over’, which is a promising taste of things to come as the band work on their fourth album.

    Hard-Fi are masters of social realism in their lyrics and this collection of hits is a reminder that the band provide a great soundtrack to the streets of urban Britain. It’s music for working class people that has clearly resonated over the years. Hard-Fi may be underdogs of the music scene, but their songs are better than many other indie-pop bands and this is a five star collection worthy of investing in.

  • FILM REVIEW | Free Fall / Freier Fall

    Free Fall (or Freier Fall, to give it its German title) is an award-winning drama from director Stephen Lacant. It has been branded a sort of German Brokeback Mountain, and indeed there are parallels between the two movies, but in some ways Free Fall is more gritty, more rooted in the present day.

    Marc would seem to have his life sorted out. He’s doing well in the police force, his girlfriend is having a baby, and they have just moved into a house, next door to Marc’s parents. He is happy (or he thinks he is) and everything is going well for him. He meets Kay at a training camp and the two men become attracted to each other. Though Marc tries hard to fight his feelings, he later starts a relationship with Kay and subsequently finds his life spiralling out of control.

    I suppose the basic storyline has a certain resemblance to Brokeback Mountain, but there the similarities end. Whereas in Brokeback much of the romance is played out against the magnificent scenery of Wyoming, this relationship is much more claustrophobic, harder to hide as so much of their life is in plain view; not much chance for the men to get away from their colleagues and Marc’s family.

    Ultimately the movie is not just about Marc’s coming to terms with his homosexuality, it is more about whether he will allow himself the freedom to walk away from the life that has been set out for him by his parents, his colleagues and his girlfriend. Marc finds it impossible to choose between Bettina and Kay because he can’t decide between the two lives they represent, between comfortable domesticity on the one hand, and freedom, with all the danger and unpredictability that suggests, on the other.

    Ultimately that choice is made for him, and though we do not know how life will pan out for Marc, there is a suggestion that he will eventually break free.

    With superb performances from the two central actors,Hanno Koffler as Marc and Max Riemelt as Kay, not to mention Katharina Schuttler as Marc’s girlfriend Bettina, it is an engaging and involving movie beautifully filmed and subtly played out. Lacant directs with a sure hand which is honest and true.