THEGAYUK

Tag: Four Star DVD Review

The latest Four Star DVD Review from THEGAYUK.

  • DVD REVIEW | Keep The Lights On

    ★★★★ | Keep The Lights On

    Keep the Lights On is a powerfully charged plot following two men from New York City, Erik (Thure Lindhardt) and Paul (Zachary Booth), through an emotional wave of events.

    Their initial casual sex encounter forms a beautiful relationship which is explosive, climatic and heart-warming, creating a dichotomy of emotive highs and agonising lows. These fundamental parallels are significant, questioning how one can think they know someone, but at the same time know so little about their drive and purpose. But what are the implications of having casual sex with a stranger?

    The movie is set across a period of time, as the storyline gradually increases in momentum. The main couple are easy to relate to, joyfully expressing those heart warming feelings of being in the early stages of a relationship – the closeness, the ecstasy, the contentment. But along with the greatness of any relationship comes the sadness. The film explores the difficulties and strains of alcohol and drug abuse, but how much can a partner support and guide before they can take no more?

    The film work is a mature and honest investigation into a couples intimate bond. It doesn’t try to make a point of this being a gay relationship, which is usually my biggest criticism. It is simply a love story full of anguish and confusion like any other. With poignant shots throughout the movie and set to a stunning soundtrack, it has to be placed right at the top of the must see movie category.

    BUY ON AMAZON | BUY ON iTUNES

     

  • DVD REVIEW | Shelter

    Thwarted by his family circumstance and finding it hard to find his place in a small industrial Californian town, heartthrob Zach (Trevor Wright) is a trapped, talented artist.

    Stymied by his situation; a selfish and homophobic sister, a loveless relationship with his girlfriend and a father who is next to useless. With Art College and a new life calling him, Zach finds himself suffocated by his life with a hopeless acceptance. However, things begin to change when Shaun (Brad Rowe), Zach’s best friend’s brother returns to town. Life begins to click into place when a drunken night together shows Zach a new existence. One that offers a life unlimited.

    As the relationship develops between the two would-be lovers, the reality of his new secret life mounts pressure on his daily existence. Zach is torn between the release of who he wants to be and the pressures of his real life. Zach has become a surrogate father to his sister’s five-year-old son, the adorable Cody (Jackson Wurth) in-between his shifts flipping burgers. His small town, wrong side of the tracks existence and expectations battle directly with the possibilities that lay ahead with Shaun, Art College and escaping from his humble beginnings.

    What makes Shelter a wholly charming film to watch is its warmth and honesty. Its tentative steps and its revealing of Zach’s new potential is stunning. You know where you are with Shelter and you know where you’re going and clichés aside, it’s a magnificent film for many reasons. It’s a hazy, sweet, Gaussian, Californian coming out story. Filmed with a sensitivity that’s not often found in gay cinema. The sex scenes aren’t graphic, but leave enough to the imagination. It’s everything you wish your vanilla first time with a man might be. Its lack of reference to the gay scene or to gay culture makes it a film that can be enjoyed by most audiences, who appreciate a good romance. Filled with instamatic – esque shots of the Californian shoreline, crashing waves mix well with a thoughtful and provocative soundtrack.

    The camera does linger on Trevor Wright and he deserves the attention. Acting with an introspective knowing, Wright leads the story through and along with Brad Rowe gives great screen. Their chemistry is undeniable, their potential promising. It is an entirely shameful that Wright hasn’t garnered more film success because he is a riveting actor to behold.

    Shelter never fails to deliver what you’d expect from a coming out story, perhaps a little less complicated than real life situations, but definitely a film I’d revisit.

    Perfect if you like: Rainbows, Hollister and Hollywood endings.

    Dreadful if you like: Slings, fisting and earthy dramas.

    Buy on Amazon

  • DVD REVIEW | North Sea Texas

    ★★★★ | North Sea Texas

    Pim is a young boy from a small Belgian coastal town who lives a dreary existence with his mother, Yvette, who is a boozy accordion player.

    Pim dreams of beauty pageants, princesses and Gino, the handsome boy next door to escape life with his blowsy neglectful mother. As Pim moves into his teenage years, his life takes on unexpected turns as he becomes more deeply involved with Gino and his family and a hot and hunky young traveller called Zoltan arrives back on the scene.

    Cult short filmmaker Bavo Defume has made a film which is inspired more by beauty than by social realism. The intention was to make a film which depicts more than the sometimes grey and gritty world we can inhabit. The film is set in an unspecified time period with classic retro patterns and furniture and luscious coastal landscapes.

    Although the world that the characters inhabit is sometimes stylised, the acting is natural and convincing. The result is a film which is both moving and beautiful to watch. It also holds the viewer’s interest through the drama played out so convincingly between the young actors. Coming of age dramas don’t get much more luscious, stylish and watchable than this.

    BUY FROM Amazon  | iTunes

    Originally released: 2012

  • DVD REVIEW | Gayby

    ★★★★ | Gayby

    I had some reservations about Gayby. A lot of these ‘gay films’ are usually clichéd drivel, almost always, an unlikely relationship sparks and then it’s just an hour of plot-holes and bad acting.

    Jenn, a yoga instructor, and Matt, a comic book store worker, are best friends from college who are now single and in their 30’s. In agreement with a pact they made in their youth, the two decide to have a baby (“Gayby”) together, even though Jenn is straight and Matt is gay. Jenn’s grandmother set her up with a trust fund for if she ever had a child, so Jenn is confident that she and Matt will have the finances to have one. However, Jenn states that she wants to have a baby through natural conception, so the two begin awkwardly having sex.

    Gayby was something very different indeed. I found it to be relentlessly charming in every way, with just the perfect amount of drama peppered in. Superbly written and directed by relative newcomer Jonathon Lisecki, It had something that all these other films are missing… A great script.

    The awkwardness of the “Attempted Conception” scenes was genius, with just the perfect combination of one liners, curious glances and the various montages of penetration were just divinely cringe worthy.Possibly the stand out performance of the film is that of Jenn Harris. Harris plays the quintessential fag hag (Jen) to the devastatingly handsome Matthew Wilkas (Matt). Harris brings a depressive vibe into a relatively overused character, which is surprisingly, a breath of fresh air.

    Although it’s the supporting characters that steal the show, both fag and hag have terrifically bitchy henchmen as it were, the ‘femme-bear’ “Nelson” and the incredibly bitchy “Jamie” (Jack Ferver)

    By far the highlight of the film is the fabulous wannabe bear, Nelson, played brilliantly by writer and director Lisecki. The character of Nelson wasn’t particularly appealing to me at the beginning, then suddenly; the character soon manifests as the star of the show. Clearly, Lisecki gave himself some of the best lines, yet you don’t really mind, seeing as he pulls them off in the most gorgeously sarcastic manner.

    Gayby’s plot isn’t really anything special; it is essentially a romantic comedy in disguise.

    It’s the characters that make the film stand out. They are multidimensional and most importantly they’re ‘real’.

    Uncompromisingly jovial, I would certainly recommend Gayby to anyone; it has buckets of charm, something that I find to be a rarity in gay cinema.

    BUY IT NOW FROM AMAZON | BUY IT ON iTunes

  • DVD REVIEW | In Bloom

    ★★★★ | In Bloom

    This is the rather gritty story of a hip very young gay couple in Chicago’s ‘Boystown’ coming to terms with how tough one’s first love can be.

    Kurt is a small time drug dealer who supplies pot to his peers, whilst Paul his boyfriend of two years has a dead-end job in a local grocery store that he can hardly tolerate. When the long summer starts, they are having fun and very much into each other and seem the perfect couple, but some seven months later they have separated and can barely talk to each other.

    Everything had been going well with them until one night one of Kurt’s good-looking customers puts the moves on him, and although he initially resists Kevin’s advances, it does open his mind to the possibility that there is more to life outside of his cosy relationship with Paul. Suddenly that relationship starts to look painfully inadequate to him and in a fit of impulse, he starts a ‘break-up’ that he will only regret when it is far too late.

    If that is not bad enough, the real world outside is even scarier than usual right now as there is a serial killer on the prowl whose victims have all been young gay men from the area. With Kurt making late night deliveries to hip parties all over he is probably more at risk than most.

    This look at contemporary edgy youth culture is the work of filmmaker Chris Michael Birkmeier who based this work of fiction on his own story of when he broke up with his first ever boyfriend. The plot is steeped in innocence and naivete and full of well-meaning intentions. It’s a remarkable debut feature and as such one can overlook the slow-moving story line that almost grinds to a halt at times.

    Credit too for the great wee cast full of untried talent, and very good photography too.

    The comparisons between Mr Birkmeier and the French/Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan who picked up Awards at Cannes for his first movie at the tender age of 19, are natural. Especially when Birkmeier makes no bones about the fact that he is a big Dolan fan. But there is very little similarity in their work and this movie is of a much simpler construction and far more straightforward. The two young filmmaker’s works complement each other, rather than complete.

    No doubt at all that C M Birkmeier (as he bills himself) is one to watch in LGBT cinema, and I for one cannot wait to see how he follows this fascinating first movie.

    Available from Amazon and iTunes

  • DVD REVIEW | Weekend; Quiet, unhurried and self assured

    DVD REVIEW | Weekend; Quiet, unhurried and self assured

    It’s the kind of movie that Hollywood would run a mile from, and that’s a good thing.

    DVD REVIEW | Weekend

    It’s quiet, introspective, understatedly self-assured and unhurried. A story about Russell (Tom Cullen), who heads out to a club after a drunken house party with his straight mates. He meets Glen (Chris New). Expecting just a one night stand, their relationship turns into something else.

    Russell and Glen are two quite different characters – Russell unassuming, happy to mix in a world of mainly heterosexual coupled family and friends, in their semi detached suburban houses. Quitely apologetic about his sexuality, he lives alone, surrounded by second-hand goods. Even his prowling at the gay bar is underwhelming – resigned to settling for second best, happy to take second prize. Glen, louder, abrasive, politically aware, activist, assured and confident, all banter and words, knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to offend in getting his agenda across. The dramatic foundation of the film comes from the differences between these two newly acquainted lovers. Their differences and their arguments are intense, brief and affectionate.

    It’s clear that director/writer Andrew Haigh wanted to take his time to explore young British gay guys over a weekend of booze, drugs and hookups. To delve into their relationship hang-ups, their awkwardness with public displays and unpicking the sometimes complicated rules surrounding brand new relationships and one night stands. Whilst the rest of the cinematic world is bound up in fantasies of heterosexual picket fences and 2.4 children Weekend is the discovery of an alternative love story in 2012. Love Vs. Sex, Marriage Vs. “It’s Complicated” It’s gay life and it doesn’t apologise for that, it’s ok for relationships to begin in a seedy dark club, eyeing each others’ pink bits in the toilet.

    Oddly, the film has no soundtrack to speak off, no underlining of key moments, no underscoring of emotions. There aren’t many to underscore. Although Russell’s character is tragic, eking out a childhood in various care homes to living a single, footprint-less life in a tower-block in the suburbs, the film doesn’t allow him to wallow in this backstory. It’s merely presented as fact. The look and feel of the film are artistic and edgy. It looks like it’s been shot using an Instagram effect, pallid and washed out. The frames aren’t always ascetically pleasing, but technically precise, tightly focussing on the observations of its two principles. The editing mixes rough cuts to long extended views. In Hollywood, the creative team would probably focus on some outstanding cloud formations or an interesting arty, out of focus object. But Weekend makes no apology for its simple focus. It’s life. Dull and as messy as life can be on a wet, dreary, October weekend in England.

    It’s a confident and welcome move which relies on the superb acting from the two leads Tom Cullen and Chris New, whose performances felt somewhat improvised and therefore played with an edge of reality that you believe that they are in the throes of a brand new relationship. The film leaves a potent silence in the room as the credits roll. A quiet acceptance and understanding creeps over you as the film’s story sinks in and you almost ache at the end for a Hollywood ending. It never comes.

    In a brave and raw move, Weekend doesn’t provide our lovers with a happy ending or even a resolution. As with life, things are never wrapped up in a nice neat bow, ready for filing in ‘Happy ever after.’

     

    Available on Amazon | iTunes

  • DVD REVIEW | Beautiful Something

    ★★★★ | BEAUTIFUL SOMETHING

    DVD REVIEW | Beautiful Something

    Four gay men, all with issues in their lives, experience a night of mystery and sex in the beautifully told Beautiful Something.

    Writer Brian (Brian Sheppard) is sexy and picks up guys in bars and on the street – but they love him and leave him. Then there’s Jim (Zack Ryan), a wannabe actor who doesn’t realise that the man he lives with really really loves him. And that man is Drew (Colman Domingo), a tortured and passionate artist who uses Jim as his muse and model. And then there’s Bob (John Lescault), a wealthy talent agent who is chauffeured around town picking up men but not necessarily for sex. It’s one night in Philadelphia, and these men’s lives intertwine in search of meaningful connections on a night when anything is possible.

    After a one night stand that for some reason goes horribly wrong, Brian goes for a walk and meets Jim, who’s just had a bust up with Drew. They are immediately attracted to each other and have sex in the house that Jim shares with Drew. Drew, meanwhile, is so involved in his artwork that he’s doesn’t realise that Brian and Jim are downstairs getting it on. But this is not enough for Jim, and after Brian leaves and not wanting to stay home, Jim goes for a walk and is picked up, and intrigued by, Bob. They share a meal only after Bob tells Jim that if he’s an actor he must get out of the car. So Jim lies to Bob and they have dinner and eventually go back to Bob’s palatial home. Meanwhile, Brian looks up an old flame and Drew wonders what is really going on in Jim’s head. All this drama takes place in one sublime night, with the sprinkling lights of Philadelphia providing a romantic and perfect backdrop to the movie.

    Beautiful Something beautifully explores the need for us gay men to seek out romance and adventure in the hopes of finding something, anything, meaningful. Director and writer Joseph Graham successfully captures a night these men, nor us, won’t forget.

    With excellent and realistic performances throughout, Beautiful Something, inspired by real-life experiences, will put a twinkle in your eye and the optimism of love in your heart.

    BUY NOW on Amazon | iTunes

     

  • DVD REVIEW | The Pass

    DVD REVIEW | The Pass

    ✭✭✭✭ | The Pass

    Two footballer players end up scoring with each other in Ben A. Williams feature film debut The Pass which is now out on DVD.

    The Pass take place in a ten-year time span which tracks the relationship between two Premiership football players. There’s always been some kind of chemistry and attraction between James (an electric and very good Russell Tovey) and Ade (Arinzé Kene – Hollyoaks – also very good). We meet both of them while they’re sharing a hotel room in 2006 in Bulgaria right before one of their first big matches. They’re both very young, and they’re also both very fit, masculine and extremely sexy, and they spend the first third of the movie in their tight white underwear. James and Ade are talking lads stuff, having a laugh about other players, and watching a video that was taken of another player having sex. The sex talk continues, and the banter goes something like ‘getting as hard as your sister sitting on my face.’ They’re playing around with each other; it’s hot, it’s erotic, it gets brutal and homophobic, plus, we find out later, it leads to more than just talk.

    The Pass takes us beyond the hotel room to tell us the story of the relationship between these two men, but especially about the relationship James has with himself. He’s all man, a star footballer, with all the trappings of stardom; money, women, celebrity, and eventually a wife with two kids. But he’s also battling with his sexuality, and even though he buys whatever, and whomever, he wants when he wants it, the thing he wants most is out of his reach. And when he’s questioned about his sexuality by a woman who has been paid to videotape having sex with him, he wants to go through with it, just to prove to the world (and obviously to himself) that he’s not gay. He’s a man who is not able to accept who he is and who he really wants to be with.

    The Pass is 88 minutes of purely charged up adrenaline. It’s a movie that’s full of dialogue, dialogue that goes from playful banter to sexually-charged hi-jinks, up to and including the final third scene of the movie, which involves a hotel bellboy that’s a bit over the top. But it’s not to take away from a movie that brings up a real issue – that there is not one out gay football player in the game now. Let’s hope this film opens up the dialogue that it’s fine for a player to come out of the closet. Originally produced for the Royal Court Theatre in 2014, The Pass makes an excellent transition to the big screen. Kene brings a real toughness kindled with a bit of softness to his role, but it’s Tovey who owns the movie. He’s never been better; his James is battling with his sexuality while at the same time trying to uphold his image. Tovey is electrifying and is at the top of his game (he will soon be seen at The National next month in the play Angels in America). This is one pass that you will want to catch.

    The Pass is available to stream and buy from Amazon and iTunes

  • DVD Review: Silicon Valley

    Where would we be without HBO? They keep churning out good programmes – and this Silicon Valley is no exception. Think Sex and the City with geeks, and penises, and the main characters are all men, and mostly virgins, and did I mention they were geeks? But I think you get my drift.

    ★★★★

    The premise is simple. In Silicon Valley, California, everyone wants to be that tech start-up that gets bought by the big boys for the big bucks – but in order to do that, you need the idea, the app, the techie bit that doesn’t actually matter in this review, but these 5 guys have it. They have come together as part of a hot house, somewhere to work on ideas, in exchange for a percentage of their product – it’s a roof over their heads and someone to bounce ideas off and get help if and when they need it.

    Over the course of the 8 episodes in series 1, we meet all 5, flesh them out as characters and watch as they face the ups and downs of bordering on a genius and totally inept at everyday life – and a potential billionaire. Richard is the idea man, a stereotypical geek, shy, nervous, awkward around people and in crowds, but full of ideas and potential.

    When his product is put before several possible buyers or backers, he’s given a choice – take the money and run but sign away the rights or take some startup funds and sell a small share of his company and also get the business knowledge and guidance needed to succeed in this cut-throat world.

    The rest of the series follows his adventures or mis-adventures with his 4 buddies and their possible backers. It pokes fun at the whole tech world, highlights some of the anomalies, the sheer wealth available, and is host to a lot of in-jokes!

    The cast is made up of pretty much complete unknowns, and the series is the better for that – I liked that I got to binge watch as these boys grew and matured, learning from mistakes as they go along their journey. The writer, Mike Judge, drew on his own Valley experience back in the 1980s and this shows – it needed a gentle hand to make the jokes and still produce something where you care about the characters.

    This is the real deal and cannot wait till Season 2 – yes, I’ve checked IMDb, there is a season 2!

    4 stars – minus one as some of it goes way over my head at times