THEGAYUK

Tag: Film Review

All the latest film reviews for LGBT themed films and others.

  • FILM REVIEW | A Rainy Day in New York – Woody Allen in top form

    FILM REVIEW | A Rainy Day in New York – Woody Allen in top form

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    I always look forward to the release of a Woody Allen film because I know exactly what I’m going to get. But this time, with A Rainy Day in New York, we get Woody in top form.

    This release has been met with controversy as several of its stars have denounced Allen over 1992 sexual abuse allegations of one his children with Mia Farrow that resurfaced with the start of the Me Too movement near the end of 2017 after Allen had finished this film. Several of the film’s stars donated their salaries to organizations involved in the Me Too movement. Amazon, who financed the film, refused to release it, calling it unmarketable, but eventually, the distribution rights went back to Allen and he was free to release his own film.

    The delay in releasing this film made 2018 a year in which no Woody Allen film was not released since 1981.

    Irregardless of whether you don’t want to watch this film because of Allen, it still has the special Allen touch where he makes Manhattan a magical place where anything can happen. Well in this film, anything does happen. Timothée Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name) plays Gatsby (an appropriate name), a college student in upstate New York whose girlfriend Ashleigh (Elle Fanning) gets an opportunity to interview eccentric film director Roland Pollard (Liev Scheiber), a character that could actually be Allen. Gatsby comes from a very rich family, but he also makes money from high stakes gambling, so he has lots of money for him and Ashleigh to do the finest things in Manhattan at no expense. But when Ashleigh meets Pollard, the troubled director takes a liking to her and invites her to a private screening with his producer Ted Davidoff (a very good Jude Law).

    But, in true Allen form, Ashleigh’s day turns into a madcap adventure where she eventually winds up with hot and sexy star Francisco Vega (Diego Luna). While Ashleigh is busy with the stars, Gatbsy continues to wait for her and bumps into his ex-girlfriends’ little sister Chan (a dry Selena Gomez). As Gatsby waits and waits for Ashleigh, he doesn’t want his upper elite parents to find out he is in town as they are holding an exclusive party that evening and he just doesn’t want to go, plus he’s enjoying his time with Chan. While all this is taking place, rain continues to fall, because it’s a Rainy Day in New York.

    Allen’s style of filmmaking hasn’t changed much – he uses the same style – and it works – especially in this film. His last few films, including 2017’s Wonder Wheel, were not his best, and A Rainy Day in New York is his best since 2013’s Blue Jasmine in which Cate Blanchett earned an Oscar for Best Actress.

    A Rainy Day in New York is humorous, romantic, fun, with a plethora of famous actors ( Sukie Waterhouse, Rebecca Hall and Cherry Jones make appearances – though Gomez is the only false note in the film). Chalamet carries the film with his charming and romantic character. I will continue to look forward to future Woody Allen films – his next one is Rifkin’s Festival – shot in Spain last year and hopefully will be released later this year. I can’t wait.  

    A Rainy Day in New York is available on Premium On-Demand platforms from 5 June

    • Sky Store
    • iTunes
    • Amazon
    • Virgin Media
    • BT Store
    • Google Play
    • Microsoft Store
    • Rakuten
    • TalkTalk
    • Curzon Home Cinema
  • FILM REVIEW | Only the Animals – Engrossing from start to finish

    FILM REVIEW | Only the Animals – Engrossing from start to finish

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    A woman disappears in the snowy mountains of France – and it’s her death that links several people together in the very dramatic French film ‘Only the Animals.’

    The opening shot in this film is of a black man with a goat on his back riding a bike through the streets of Abidjan, then the film quickly moves to France. But the goat scene is a metaphor for when, later in the film, a man (Damian Bonnard) carries a woman’s dead body, on his back, in the mountains to find her a final resting place. But who is this dead woman?

    It’s the journey to get there that’s extremely intriguing where we discover the link between several people. Alice (Laure Balamy) is a social worker who checks on people in and around her area. One of her clients is Joseph, who she’s also having sex with. Her husband Michel (Denis Ménochet), meanwhile, is having an online love affair with attractive young woman Marion (Nadia Tereskzkiewicz). But she’s actually a gang of men in Adijban who are scamming Michel for a lot of money. But the woman whose photo he is sent by these men does actually exist and coincidentally winds up near his village.

    Why is she there?

    Because she is tracking down Evelyn Ducat (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), a very well-to-do attractive woman she met at the restaurant where she works, and after a brief affair between them, Marion wants more. But as the story winds up, and the drama and tension builds, we soon discover who the dead woman is, and how her death will change all of the characters lives.

    ‘Seules Les Betes (Only the Animals)‘, directed and co-written by Dominik Moll, based on the novel by Colin Niel, is engrossing from start to finish.

    Each character’s thread is enough to give the viewer bits and pieces to the story, without giving to much away. It’s the intertwining of the characters lives that is unique and clever, with excellent acting. And while a couple of the connections between the characters are a bit too easy, Only the Animals will keep you engrossed for all of its two-hour running time. 

    ‘Only the Animals’ is exclusively now available on Curzon Home Cinema.

  • FILM REVIEW | Rebel in the Rye – the story of J.D. Salinger is worth a watch!

    FILM REVIEW | Rebel in the Rye – the story of J.D. Salinger is worth a watch!

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    A film about the author J.D. Salinger that was originally shot in 2016 is now released in the UK and is actually not half bad.

    ‘Rebel in the Rye’ is about J.D. (Jerome David Salinger) and the years leading up to him writing what is perhaps the most famous novel of all time – Catcher in the Rye. It’s a book that almost everyone has read at least once while a million copies are still sold every year.

    The film did have its premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and a U.S. release followed – earning an eye-watering pittance of $154,326 total – it was hardly enough to recoup its cost. ‘Rebel in the Rye’ stars Nicholas Hoult as Salinger, but more worringly Kevin Spacey plays his mentor and teacher Whit Burnett. It was in 2017 when Spacey was accused of molesting actor Anthony Rapp when he was young, then more molestation allegations against Spacey surfaced. But if this did not happen Spacey could’ve picked up awards for his performance in this film – he’s fantastic.

    We see a young Salinger taking a stab at writing with the encouragement of his mother Miriam (Hope Davis), and much to the dismay of his father Sol (Victor Garber) who wants his son to follow him into the cheese business. With Burnett’s mentorship, Salinger keeps on churning out short stories in the hopes of getting published, amidst the backdrop of WWII. Soon enough Salinger is drafted and is off to war (finding out in the papers this his girlfriend Oona (Zoey Deutch) has ran off with Charlie Chaplin). These events lead to a breakdown where he is sectioned in a mental hospital for the horrific things he saw during the war. But his persistence of writing about a fictional character (Holden Caulfield) keeps him going, keeps him alive until he sees his dream come true, all with the help of his agent Dorothy Olding (Sarah Paulson). 

    Costumes, set and art direction and the acting are all fine, with Hoult very believable as Salinger, and with strong direction by actor Danny Strong, who also wrote the film. But there is one person who you can blame for the failure of this film. In ‘All the Money in the World’ (2018) all of Spacey’s scenes were redone by the actor Christopher Plummer (who received an Academy Award nomination for his effort). ‘Rebel in the Rye’ could not do this because it already had been premiered and released, so it was too late. This film flopped because of Spacey. But it’s actually quite a good film. If you can overlook that Spacey is in it, seek it out, it’s worth it.

    Rebel in the Rye is now available to buy and stream

  • FILM REVIEW | Butt Boy – has to be seen to be believed!

    FILM REVIEW | Butt Boy – has to be seen to be believed!

    Rating: 3 out of 5.

    A film with a title Butt Boy and a tagline ‘assume the position’ surely has to be watched, no?

    The title does have a sexual connotation but this is not what the film is about – in a way.

    Butt Boy is actually a dramatic horror film where you’ll laugh because it’s just so ridiculous! 

    The story is about one man with a mundane job and a mundane family – he has no joy in life whatsoever! Then one day he goes to see his doctor for a physical where the doctor does the inevitable finger up the ass prostate exam. However our hero, former alcoholic Chip (Tyler Cornack – who also wrote and directed this plum role for himself – not), really enjoyed the prostate exam. He enjoyed it so much that when he gets home he starts to insert more items up his arse, including butt plugs. But these items go up and then inside him. Soon enough household items, his dog, and then people go up there. Yes, you read that right – his butt starts sucking up people. 

    At an AA meeting Chip is assigned to be the sponsor of new guy Russel (Tyler Rice), a police detective. After a child goes missing at Chip’s company on bring your child to work day, Russel is coincidentally assigned to the case. And while he doesn’t quite want to investigate Chip despite all evidence that seems to point to him, Russel goes missing too, and I don’t have to tell you where he winds up! It’s hard to believe plot that just keeps getting messier and messier until the penultimate final scene that’s truly explosive! 

    Critics have been harsh to this film, yes it’s bad. But it’s a film that’s not meant to be taken seriously (come on – with a title like that you can’t take it seriously). Good turns by Rice and Shelby Dash who plays Chip’s frustrated wife elevate the film a bit, but it’s ultimately a film that will definitely take your mind off real-world problems!

    Available on Amazon and all good digital retailers.

  • Top Romantic Gay Films To Watch On Netflix

    Top Romantic Gay Films To Watch On Netflix

    Netflix has upped its game when it comes to romance and gay content. Long gone are the cheapy looking, terribly scripted – soft-porn gay-themed movies. Instead, there are some incredibly refined, touching films well worth the watch.

    UPDATED MAY 2020

    Alex Strangelove

    High school senior Alex Truelove’s plan to lose his virginity to a loveable girlfriend goes awry when he meets the equally lovable Elliot.

    GAYUK RATING: ★★★★ | LENGTH: 1hr 39m | YEAR: 2018 | CERT: 15

    Holding The Man

    Holding The Man is a 2015 Australian romantic drama film adapted from Timothy Conigrave’s 1995 memoir of the same name.
    GAYUK RATING: ★★★★ Read our review| LENGTH: 2hr 8m | YEAR: 2015 | CERT: 15

    Ideal Home

    Celebrity chef Erasmus and his partner Paul lead a comfy life until they become impromptu caretakers to the grandson Erasmus didn’t know he had.

    GAYUK RATING: ★★★ Read our Ideal Home review | LENGTH: | YEAR: 2018 | CERT:

  • FILM REVIEW | The Assistant – gripping, timely and realistic

    FILM REVIEW | The Assistant – gripping, timely and realistic

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    What happens if your boss is molesting women in his office, an office that is right behind where you sit?

    This is the dilemma Jane (Julia Garner) faces in the new film The Assistant. Jane is an assistant to the chief of a film company (he’s never seen but his presence is felt throughout the film).  

    It’s Julia’s first real job in film and she’s kept busy doing a wide variety of tasks during the day; making coffee, keeping the office kitchen tidy, maintaining her bosses busy diary, managing visitors, dealing with his uncontrollable wife, and, handling the potpourri of women who float in and out of his office.

    One of these young women, Sienna (Kristine Froseth), who has a lack of office skills, was hired by the same boss for reasons that are obvious. But when Julia appears to have had enough, she goes to HR to complain, but the HR director, who annoyingly takes a personal phone call during their meeting, tells Jane to keep her head down and focus on her role, and that she’s got a great opportunity. He lays into her that to file a claim against her boss would just wreck her career. Meanwhile, her male co-workers (Jon Orsini and Noah Robbins) seem to be oblivious to the shenanigans of their boss.

    The release of The Assistant coincides with the jailing of Harvey Weinstein – it couldn’t be better timing. Garner is brilliant, but the takeaway of this film is her boss, not at all seen in the film but felt enormously throughout.

    Writer and Director Kitty Green has written and directed a powerful film that perfectly highlights what the Me Too movement is all about. 

  • FILM REVIEW | Crisis Hotline – clever, dark and very sexy gay suspense film

    FILM REVIEW | Crisis Hotline – clever, dark and very sexy gay suspense film

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    The clock is ticking when a distressed young man calls an LGBT suicide hotline – but there is more to his story in the suspense-filled drama Crisis Hotline.

    It’s a film cleverly written and directed by Mark Schwab. The story begins where it ends and tells the caller’s story and why he has contacted the hotline on that particular night.

    Simon (a very good Corey Jackson) is in his first-week volunteering at the hotline office and not much has happened. But one night a young caller, sounding very distressed, threatens to kill himself. So Simon gets the caller to tell his story and the events that have led up to this very disturbing call.

    Danny the caller (Christian Gabriel), who is from the Midwest, is new to the big city, trying to find his feet, with a dull job and a very small apartment. Soon enough he meets sexy, hot and fun Kyle (Pano Tsaklas), who on the surface appears to have it all: a great apartment, a sexy smile and hot body, and a great job managing websites for a gay couple who have a voracious appetite for sex and all things dark.

    Soon enough Kyle introduces Danny to his bosses Curtis and Lance (Mike Mizwicki and August Browning). Danny then finds out more about Kyle’s line of work and what he really needs to do to keep his job and apartment. But Danny eventually gets drawn, unwittingly, into their dark games, with Kyle setting him up, which ultimately leads to the hotline call. And throughout the call, the suspense builds and builds and the story gets darker and darker until the shattering, and totally unexpected, finale.

    Schwab, who also produced, has a keen eye for suspense and drama and gets great mileage from his cast. While Gabriel doesn’t quite live up to his role and seems to be sleepwalking through the film, Tsaklas owns the movie with his looks, charm, and relative ease in his complicated role as an on-the-surface good and loyal boyfriend but with a dark and dangerous streak. Mizwicki and Browning are okay, but Jackson brings much to the film as it’s his pivotal role that holds the film together.

    He’s actually fantastic.

    Crisis Hotline throws social media, sex, love, lust, voyeurism and the dark web into one big mixing bowl to make an eerie, clever, dark, very sexy and fun film.

    Now available in the UK through Dekkoo.com

  • FILM REVIEW | 15 Years – A very sexy gay love story

    FILM REVIEW | 15 Years – A very sexy gay love story

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Yoav is one angry man – so angry that he sacrifices relationships with his partner and his best friend for a life of solitude – in the new heart searing film 15 Years.

    An Israeli production and filmed in Tel Aviv, 15 Years focuses on sexy daddy Yoav (Oded Leopold) who appears to have everything a gay man would want: an extremely sexy partner of 15 years Dan (a very sexy and well-cast Udi Persi who brings comfort to the screen every time he is on), a good job as an architect, absolutely gorgeous best female friend Alma (Ruti Asarsai), and an amazing apartment overlooking Tel Aviv. What he didn’t have was a great relationship with his parents; his mother is long gone while his father lies comatose in a local nursing facility. Then one night, while he and Dan are hosting a dinner party with all their friends, Yoav loses it. Why? Because their gay friends now have children while Alma had previously announced that she is pregnant.

    Yoav starts complaining that they are all turning into straight people – with families – something he’s just not into. But when Dan starts to reassess their relationship and feels he could possibly see a baby in their future Yoav doesn’t accept this and leaves and moves into a dilapidated apartment, and his life starts falling apart. His company loses a very lucrative contract, his father passes away thereby leaving wounds still open, his friends shun him, he doesn’t want to be at Alma’s side when she has her baby, and a one-night stand he has turns into a mess. Meanwhile, Dan has moved on and has met a much younger guy who’s he’s really smitten with. So is Yoav and Dan’s 15-year relationship really over? Will Yoav come to his senses and realize what he’s lost?

    What’s really frustrating with this film is Yoav’s anger. Sure he can be mad at the world but enough so to lose everything he’s worked for? Anyone would kill to have people like Alma and Dan in their lives – what is Yaov’s anger and demons really all about? We are never convinced. But having said that writer and director Yuval Hadadi has made a very good film with perhaps the sexiest gay couple you’ll see in a film this year, a film that really left me thinking about past relationships and what-ifs.

    15 Years is now available from all good digital platforms. Visit the website for more details.

  • FILM REVIEW | Moffie – Beautifully well-told story of a young gay soldier in the South African army

    FILM REVIEW | Moffie – Beautifully well-told story of a young gay soldier in the South African army

    Rating: 5 out of 5.

    It’s 1981 South Africa, a time when the country was still at the height of apartheid, and blacks were not the only class of people who were discriminated against, homosexuals didn’t have it easy either.

    In the new amazing film ‘Moffie’ – based on an autobiographical novel by Andre Carl van der Merwe – beautifully tells the story of a young man called Nicholas (Kai Luke Brummer – wonderful), a teenager, who, with no choice, is sent to complete his compulsory military service. But Nicholas is not your boy next door – he’s gay, and not at all out of the closet. So he has to endure two years of military service in a system that spits up and chews out young men and turns them into hardened soldiers, hardened men. It’s a culture full of testosterone and machismo. And while Nicholas doesn’t let his secret out, he falls in love with another young soldier Dylan (Ryan de Villiers). In fact, it was Dylan who initiates, and Nicholas, while a bit nervous during their first encounter, soon finds being with Nicholas very natural. But some soldiers do no adjust very well to army life (one soldier shoots himself in the head), while Dylan is sent away for unknown reasons, leaving Nicholas to endure his remaining time in the service, while still pining for Dylan, and still a moffie (faggot in the Afrikaans language).

    ‘Moffie’ – which was called a masterpiece by Variety Magazine – is indeed an excellent film. Director Oliver Hermanus hits all the right notes, from Nicholas’ family life prior to going into the army (his father gives him a stack of straight porno magazines), to the daily brutality he and his fellow recruits get from their Major, to the barracks scenes where the tension is palpable and tense, which is what you have when a couple dozen young men are all bunking down in the same room. But the scene when Nicholas, as a young boy, is with his parents at a public swimming pool, and he looks longingly at an older boy in the showers but is then exposed and scolded by an adult shower attendant in one amazing long shot will have you holding your breathe – it’s quite a very dramatic scene and excellently done. And at 104 minutes, ‘Moffie’ is quite a movie. Don’t miss it.

    UK Release Date – April 24th – exclusively on Curzon Home Cinema

  • FILM REVIEW | The Host – a thriller that will put excitement into your evening!

    FILM REVIEW | The Host – a thriller that will put excitement into your evening!

    Rating: 3 out of 5.

    Why spend your evening on a boring Zoom chat when you can watch a film that is thrilling, dramatic and sexy!

    The film is The Host – and it is being released on April 17th on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV and all major VoD platforms. 

    London banker Robert Atkinson (Mike Beckingham) has a good job, good looks, good everything, but wants more. When an opportunity arises for him to come into a lot of cash, via a Chinese cartel, he grabs it, but this leaves to unintended consequences that take him to Amsterdam, where he winds up as a guest in a very large house that has more secrets than you can count.

    The lady of the house, Vera (Maryam Hassouni), is mysterious yet alluring, domestic yet spidery, and she lures Robert into her web-like presence to a point of no return. Eventually, Robert’s brother Steve (Dougie Poynter) goes to Amsterdam to look for him, along with two detectives (Nigel Barber and Suan-Li Ong) who are investigating a crime they believe Robert is involved in. Mystery, drama and a good looking cast should be enough for an evening’s entertainment – yes?

    And even Sir Derek Jacobi makes an appearance!

    The Host is produced by Pearl Pictures Productions, who recently sponsored the Critics’ Circle Film Awards back in January (it feels like a long long time ago). Made by Pearl Pictures Productions, produced by Pearl’s Zachary Weckstein, and directed by Andrew Newberry, The Host was filmed in the heart of Amsterdam and London and has a great appearance by singer and actress Ruby Turner. 


    http://www.thehost.movie

  • FILM REVIEW | Ravers – Rave like there’s no tomorrow

    FILM REVIEW | Ravers – Rave like there’s no tomorrow

    Rating: 3 out of 5.

    Hey, want to forget all that is happening in our world and go to a Rave? Well, perhaps the new film Ravers is for you.

    Why attend an online rave on Zoom where all you see are faces when you can actually watch a real wave (digitally of course), a rave which combines all the right elements: excellent music, being illegal, millennials, drugs, and said millennials turning into zombies.

    ‘Ravers’ is the wave you crave but it’s also a film with an excellent soundtrack – for real! The story is basic. Poor Bucky (Georgia Hirst), a budding journalist who has not quite found a great great story to write about. And while she’s not the most social of butterflies amongst her circle of friends, she’s convinced to go to an illegal rave in an abandoned factory that used to produce energy drinks. Years ago there was an incident at the factory where one of the employees went on a killing spree. So no guess where this film is going as once the rave kicks in, a stash of the energy drink is found (which was contaminated) and is passed out to the ravers.

    But the drink doesn’t give the ravers energy (there are all drugged up anyway), it turns them into flesh-eating killing zombies. So Becky and her friends who didn’t drink the substance are all trapped inside the factory (someone has blocked the only entrance) and there is no way out. As the music goes on (the D.J. is killed but one of the zombies – a wannabe DJ – takes over the turntables and pumps it up), the real people must run around the factory trying to save their lives while also trying to think of a way to quiet the zombies. Becky, meanwhile, tries to rescue her love interest Hannah (Manpreet Bambra) from zombiedom. Will they get out? Are they able to get the zombies to turn into normal loud obnoxious millennials again? 

    Ravers, with a tagline ‘party like there is no tomorrow’ pretty much sums up the situation we are all in. It’s a fun movie not to be taken too seriously, and while it’s not awful, the music in this film is awesome – much more enjoyable than the film itself! But at only 90 minutes it’s much more enjoyable than being part of an online rave.

    However, attend at your own risk – and make sure there are no energy drinks or millennials around!

    Available now on iTunes