Hunting Season (Web Series)

I am starting to very much like the idea of these gay web series. Firstly, they are easily accessible to the viewers and secondly, more often than not, they make for a good viewing and acting as well. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but they sometimes definitely turn out better than a bad bad gay film. This series was 8 episodes each of about 10 minutes each. Said to be inspired by a famous blog "The Great Cock Hunt", follows the romantic and sexual exploits of Alex and his small group of friends in New York City.

Alex is a single gay 20-something in Manhattan, a smart and successful blogger at Gawker by day, who turns the spotlight on himself and his friends and starts anonymously writing about his social life. The 8 episodes just show his encounters with random people in Manhattan. # of his other friends are also a regular feature along with Alex who form the group and show us interesting stories.

I watched the uncensored version and I must admit that I was quite taken aback by all the nudity in the show. But hey I am not complaining. I enjoyed every bit of it. Acting wise, Alex was a very good choice. Not only he is exceptionally good looking but he also did a good job at acting as well. I just wish he waa a little taller, which otherwise would not have been an issue, had they not shown every guy that Alex went out with, very very tall. All of Alex's friends TJ, Nick and Tommy are alright acting wise. There is no histrionics that is supposed to be proven with this show.

The focus is on entertainment and a little skin show and it definitely succeeds in doing that. Given the duration of each episode was very short, it is a perfect viewing. (6.5/10)

Read More

Down The River (Thai)

This film is more like an extended version of a short film. The essence and thought is nice to portray  a tale of love and longing and confusion between two young lovers but somewhere it misses to hold your attention.

Win and Krit are best friends from school. But while Win longs of the day he will start to raise a family, all Krit wants is to take his relationship with Win to the next level. Win may not think himself to be gay, but his relationship with Krit is an essential component of his existence and the two frequently spend long days hiking through the wilderness together. Krit even has a scrapbook filled with pressed flowers from their many hikes. One day, the lifelong friends take a hike with two women. In this specific trip that the film focusses on, Krit feels he is loosing Win to the girls and also in general in his life. He is heart broken. The film doesn't end on a happy note. Krit ultimately looses his love to a girl but he makes his peace with life.

Credit to be given where it is due, the shooting location of the film is fantastic. The ideal setting of an undisturbed forest & waterfalls and beautiful crumbling temples, makes the viewing dynamic but its the slow and lethargic pace that misses out on audience attention. The time flows like the waters of the river the boys follow, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes swirling back. Both the leading men acted well. You can see Krit as the young boy madly and deeply in love with his friend. At the same time, Win pot rays a guy who is afraid of getting into adulthood because he can't decipher what his feelings are for his friend and his confusion for a wife and a career. He is afraid to be gay but at the same time he can't reject his friendship.

Beautiful thought but how I wish this was a short film. I would have given it quite high rating. (3.5/10)

Read More

Bridegroom (Documentary)

Inspired by the popular 11-minute YouTube video “It Could Happen to You,” this super highly emotional documentary will have sympathetic eyes crying buckets as it recaps how Shane Bitney Crone and Tom Bridegroom came out, met up and faced prejudice before and after Tom’s unexpected death. Like most documentaries, the story narration style is very simple. It relies on interviews with Shane's family and the couple's circle of friends, who describe how these two closeted small-town guys clicked when they met in Los Angeles, quickly forming the kind of relationship that romantics everywhere envy: moving in together, get a dog, start a social-media consulting business and travel the world as a couple. But not every fairy tale has a happy ending.

Both young men find the courage to come out to their parents. Shane, surprisingly finds support from not just his mother but his father as well eventually. Tom’s conservative parents were more conflicted, reacting with anger and denial. But eventually Tom's mother visits the couple and actually hangs out with them giving the impression throughout that she is supportive of the couple. We are enjoying and loving the couple as we hear from everyone till the tragedy happens. Tom falls off a four story building. Thats not what the entire pain is. It is what follows after the fall and subsequent death. Everyone involved was stunned, especially in the days that followed, as Crone discovered how unfair hospitals, the legal system and funerals can be to unmarried loved ones. We see how Tom's family completely shunned Shane and his family members, not acknowledging their presence and even banning them from attending the funeral. The results are devastating as we see the results of marriage Inequality rear its ugly head. We feel the pain in a shattered relationship.

Hopefully, documentaries like this will continue to elicit peoples hearts into making equal marriage available countrywide. There will always be people that disagree with same sex relationships, but if you have a heart you cannot deny that committed couples all deserve the dignity of the protections marriage affords.Thank you Shane and Tom for showing the world what true love is like. (7.5/10)

Read More

Five Dances

Sometime simple is so beautiful. My first reaction while watching and even after the movie was, Wow man! those dances were amazing!!. I kept wondering that despite the film having a paper thin plot, why did i like the movie so much. Agreed, it may have something to do with the dances in it but then ballet is not my favorite form. I think it had a lot to do with the overall direction and performance from the actors. It was all very very heart touching.

The film is basically shot in a dance studio with 5 actors practicing series of 5 dances. Chip is our main protagonist, who is all of just 18 and arrived in NYC on scholarship for this performance.  Chip is so broke in NYC that he is secretly sleeping in the studio. That is until one of the girls' Katie finds out and takes him home. Katie just got out of a 7 year relationship. The other girl in the group apparently has had a sexual fling with their teacher and again ends up cheating on her husband by sleeping with him again. And finally we have Theo. Theo slowly gets attracted to Chip and not so subtly reveals his interest in Chip. Chip is shocked and reacts very hostile but eventually barriers are broken and they start dating. The final sequence of the film with moments of intimacy, wine, dance and hanging out between Chip and Theo make the end very memorable.


Like I mentioned before, the film stands out because of its beautifully choreographed and edited dances. The dances very beautifully also convey the interpersonal dynamics of the group. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to come up with a narrative and dance sequences so intertwined. Chip is definitely best of the lot. Portraying avery vulnerable character, all of 18 years old, who is new to the city and broke; he is fantastic. He probably has some hidden story which we are not told. He is nursing some anguish inside which is briefly revealed in his conversations with his mother. Despite all that how he awkwardly accepts breakfast, coffee from his peers made my eyes moist. I can't imagine what and how would I do at 18. He may be a good dancer but he is still learning the art of interacting with adults in a social space. Whatever you write of dances is little. Breath-taking, mesmerizing and beautiful are just some words that come to mind. The flexibility that these bodies had, the synchronization and the tight dance bodies; it was a visual treat. I am so glad that finally someone had the guts to take a different take on a gay doing out story.

I am so happy and glad to have seen this movie. If you love dancing even itsy bitsy, you should watch this film. Agreed there is not much to the plot and focus is more on silence and dancing, it will still leave an impression on you. (7/10)

Read More