★★★★ Here is a sentence I never thought I would write: from Disney and Hulu comes the best gay rom-com I’ve seen in a very long time. Bursting with the energy of the modern LGBT experience, Fire Island takes us on an annual vacation to “gay Disney Land” with a diverse and colorful cast of … Continue reading Film Review: Fire Island
Film Review: Mascarpone
★★★★ LGBTQ+ content continues to be churned out at a rapid pace, often to the point where quantity has not been matched with quality. Mascarpone posits all the delights of a coming-of-age dramedy, proving that even at age 30, it is still possible to find oneself. Filmed in just three weeks in Rome, this Italian … Continue reading Film Review: Mascarpone
OUTshine 2022: The Swimmer
★★★★ Some of the most intriguing LGBT films are coming from outside of the United States. In what may be a first for Israeli cinema, gay-tinged feature The Swimmer explodes with homoerotic energy and gorgeously-photographed bodies. I knew I was in for something special when the credits began with closeup shots of a razor shaving … Continue reading OUTshine 2022: The Swimmer
OUTshine 2022: All You Need
For a certain subset of viewers (particularly those consuming premium television in the early 2000s), Queer As Folk was a milestone in gay media that burst open the doors on telling queer stories. 2021’s All You Need owes a hell of a debt to Showtime’s QAF, yet also exists in its own purely modern space. … Continue reading OUTshine 2022: All You Need
SIFF 2022 Wrap-Up
Another year of the Seattle International Film Festival has come to a close, and thankfully, our strictly virtual options this year were plentiful. Check out our full coverage on 2022's iteration of the festival, after the jump. A LOVE SONG This new romance drama depicting a beautiful night spent between two people out on a … Continue reading SIFF 2022 Wrap-Up
SIFF 2022: Moneyboys
★★★★ For my final film at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival, I am so happy things went out in a metaphorical bang with queer drama, Moneyboys. Filmed on location in Taiwan, this gorgeously-shot movie in Mandarin with English subtitles is a sexually-charged depiction of male prostitution set in China. The subject matter alone would … Continue reading SIFF 2022: Moneyboys
TV Review: Heartstopper
Based on the acclaimed graphic novel of the same name, Netflix’s Heartstopper is my favorite new show of the year thus far, and an absolutely adorable queer coming-of-age story. For those hoping for an overly-sexualized journey in line with Euphoria or Genera+ion, Heartstopper has a different flavor of filmmaking on its mind. The sweetness and … Continue reading TV Review: Heartstopper
SIFF 2022: Cop Secret
★★★★ Try to imagine the cheesiest imitation of a Bruce Willis 80s film like Die Hard, but injected with a magnum-sized dose of gay, and one will come close to picturing the delightful vibes of Cop Secret. This surprisingly great Icelandic action spoof plays up the inherent cliches of the genre to an exaggerated, preposterous … Continue reading SIFF 2022: Cop Secret
Film Review: White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch
★★★★ Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s, the thrall of stores like Abercrombie & Fitch over my childhood is impossible to deny. For a gay outsider, this store represented everything I wished I could be, as the “cool kids” were the only ones that were really allowed to shop there. I remember the … Continue reading Film Review: White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch
CIFF 2022 Wrap-Up
2022's Cleveland International Film Festival hosted a variety of excellent screenings, both in person and online. Being unavailable to go in person, we covered this one virtually. Check out our full roundup of films that screened this year, including links to those we have previously covered. 1991 Depicting a specific time period (expressly, 1991 Guatemala), … Continue reading CIFF 2022 Wrap-Up