Takami-kun Series: Nijiiro no garasu (2009) - ★★★½

Director: Takeshi Yokoi
Stars: Kyosuke Hamao, Daisuke Watanabe,
Yukihiro Takiguchi, Yûta Takahashi, Kei Hosogai, Yûki Hiyori

This is the 2nd chapter of the Takami-kun series, an LGBT romance made in Japan. I quite liked the first instalment, but I'm happy to say that Nijiiro no garasu is an even better chapter of this young romance. It's well-made, beautiful, entertaining, and surprisingly emotional. At times it made my heart sing with glee, then it made me quite angry, but best of all, it made me feel heartbroken by the end. This is a show with a heart and soul. It tenderly displays the romance of a young, gay couple, and all the complications of their relationship.

Takami-kun and Gii have been going steady for the past year. The new year brings more drama in the form of a lover's quarrel, and a romance that blossoms in the midst of a terminal illness. 

Takami-kun Series: Soshite harukaze ni sasayaite (2007) - ★★★

Director: Kazuhiro Yokoyama
Stars: Tomo Yanagishita, Keisuke Kato, Yasuka Saito, Yukihiro Takiguchi, Tetsuya Makita

Takami-kun is an LGBT Japanese romance, adapted from a manga of the same name. Series 1 establishes the romance between the two young protagonists, Takami and Gii. Takami has a phobia of humans due to a traumatic past, whilst Gii comes from a wealthy and pressure-filled background. This hour long story is just part one of five chapters, which document their relationship through the years. 

It’s romantic, but it doesn’t capture my adoration. It’s fun, but it doesn’t make me laugh or smile very often. It’s interesting, but it’s nothing special. All this really does is show us the build-up towards Takami’s confession of love towards Gii, who has always let his feelings be known for Takami. It was quite cute, but nothing special.

The Man in the Lighthouse (2007) - ★½

Director: Joselitos Altarejos
Writers: Lex Bonife, Joselitos Altarejos
Stars: Harry Laurel, Justin De Leon, Jennifer Lee

The Man in the Lighthouse, or Ang Lalake sa Parola, is a gay-romance film from the Philippines. It's extremely low budget, but it comes from the infamous LGBT film director, Joselito Altarejos. Unfortunately, this is the first film I've seen from the Philippines, and it happens to be one of the worst I've seen in a long time. There are so many faults throughout the film, from acting to cinematography, from dialogue to pacing. I can't say I disliked it, for it left me waiting with a little bit of intrigue for the most part. I waited and waited, but nothing of any substance happened. It's just a 'meh' film, it falls flat by the second act and is entirely forgettable once the credits start rolling. Oh well, I guess I can chuck this on the 'bad LGBT' films pile (which is even larger than the good LGBT films pile). 

Monster Pies (2013) - ★★★

Director: Lee Galea
Writer: Lee Galea
Stars: Tristan Barr, Lucas Linehan, Rohana Hayes, Jeremy Kewley, Nicola Eveleigh, Marlene Magee, Marcel Reluctant, Katrina Maree

Monster Pies isn't a very well made film, but it's terribly moving. Once it gets more exposure, there's no doubt in my mind that it will be seen as an LGBT cinematic treasure. It's an important film for Australia too, a country that has only had brief exposure to gay themes on television and in film (Priscilla being the most notable film). It took me a while to get into the movie, because it was hard to get past the shabby production value. As the leading actors took their stride and developed an infectious chemistry, the romance took off and led me on yet another incredibly moving experience. Isn't it weird though, that a film like this (which is far from great) is one that I'll never forget. It does pack a punch, and it will stay with you.

Brotherhood (2009) - ★★★½

Director: Nicolo Donato
Writers: Rasmus Birch, Nicolo Donato
Stars: Thure Lindhardt, David Dencik, Nicolas Bro, Morten Holst, Hanne Hedelund

Brotherhood is a well-made Danish film about the forbidden love between two members of a pro-Nazi group. It's extremely well acted, beautifully crafted, and sensitive in its portrayal of love and fear between two men. The only problem I had with the film is that I could tell what was going to happen, half an hour before it happened. If it was less predictable, or separate from the conventional themes most LGBT films share, then I could see it as a masterpiece. It certainly had the potential, with gorgeous scenes and a damn-good score by Jesper Mechlenburg. As it stands, Brotherhood is still one of the best LGBT films I've seen.

Milk (2008) - ★★★★½

Director: Gus Van Sant
Writer: Dustin Lance Black
Stars: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, Alison Pill, Victor Garber

Milk is one of the most important films ever made. This is a film I believe every gay and lesbian youth should see. It's brutal in its depiction of homophobia in the 1970s, it's unflinchingly honest in the way it represents the homosexual community at the time, and it is filled with powerful moments and speeches that support the LGBT community. Sean Penn won an Oscar for playing Harvey Milk, the first openly gay US politician. I believe it is his greatest performance, and one of the best Oscar winning performances of all time. This film may even change the minds of the naive, misinformed, or unsure anti-gay crowd. Milk shows the world a small, but utterly significant chapter of US history. It was an extremely emotional cinematic experience for me.

Sebastiane (1976) - ★★★★

Director: Paul Humfress, Derek Jarman
Writers: Paul Humfress, Derek Jarman
Stars: Leonardo Treviglio, Barney James, Neil Kennedy

Sebastiane submersed me in a piece of history that is seldom explored. Set in an Italian desert outpost in 303AD, we view the lives of a group of soldiers that are isolated from the world. With no women, no real form of entertainment, and all the time in the world, they become very close and engage in homo-erotic acts. In the heart of the story is Sebastiane, a Christian man who has a strange sadomasochistic relationship with the captain of the group. While it all seems like “sex sex sex!” I found it to be much more than that. It’s an entertaining, enlightening, and entirely believable period drama that revolves around the world of homosexuals, bisexuals, and sexually frustrated straight men. Matthew Lotti of Cinematic Threads called it "More or less a Playgirl calendar with a period theme." I could not disagree with him more. 

Loveless (2005) - ★★★½

Director: Yuu Kou
Writer: Yuji Kawahara
Voice Actors: Katsuyuki Konishi, Junko Minagawa, Kana Ueda

Loveless is a show that grew on me. The themes and characters annoyed the hell out of me at the start, but as the story developed I became more invested with each episode. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, but its disturbing premise really prevented me from ever loving it. It's a shounen-ai anime, which translates to 'boys love.' The romance aspect was more disturbing than entertaining, but I'll elaborate on that later. What makes this a great show is the magical, action-packed storyline and the questions each episode raises. When I finished the show, I was pretty devastated. I really wanted to know what happened next in the story, but unfortunately it wasn't renewed for a second season. From what I've seen, Loveless is one of the best anime's of its genre.

Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001) - ★★★½

Director: Dae-Seung Kim
Writers: Eun-nim Ko
Stars: Byung-hun Lee, Eun-ju Lee, Hyeon-soo Yeo, Soo-hyun Hong, Mi-seon Jeon

What if our souls lived on after we die, and the people who touched our souls will reunite with us in another life? That's the key theme to this unique and beautiful film. It's hard for me to find words to describe how I feel about Bungee Jumping of Their Own. It's certainly different, yet I can already tell that I'll never forget it. It's not a film about a gay or straight relationship, it's about the eternal love that two people share. It's a bold film that has many masterful elements and many flaws. I didn't realise how much this film moved me until I found out the leading actress, Eun-ju Lee, committed suicide in 2005. The news broke my heart... I really liked this film. If I look at it from an unbiased point of view, it was a good film that could have been better.

Antique Bakery (2008) - ★★★½

Director: Kyu-Dong Min
Stars: Ji-hun Ju, Jae-wook Kim, Ah In Yoo, Ji-ho Choi, Andy Gillet

"I'm a gay of demonic charm." Right off the bat, this is one of the most memorable lines I've ever heard. Antique Bakery is a romantic-comedy that works from the age-old 'odd couple' routine. We have a very manly man trying to make a business work with a very feminine man, which leads to funny mishaps and crazy outcomes. What makes this different, and really interesting, is that the feminine man is a homosexual playboy that had a crush on the manly man in high school. It's such a nice, light-hearted, funny film! I couldn't stop smiling throughout the movie. Their smiles, their chemistry, their dialogue, their story... this film has such an infectious charm. I've seen many Korean romance movies, and Antique Bakery is definitely one of my personal favourites.

No Regret (2006) - ★★★★

Director: Hee-il Leesong
Writer: Hee-il Leesong
Stars: Nam-gil Kim, Young-hoon Lee, Seung-kil Jeong

Hailed by many as the 'first LGBT film of South Korea,' No Regret is an amateur, or 'raw' story of a young homosexual man that wants nothing more than to find a way out of his lower class life. It's very well made, although it was clearly shot on a small budget. The acting is fantastic, the cinematography is outstanding, and the music is soothing and beautiful. Some of the sequences are truly masterful, and its long running time just flies by quickly. Its shortcomings mainly deal with the coldness of the main character, who is pretty hard to connect with. I could understand his actions, motives, and feel sorry for his situations, but I could never truly like him. That doesn't make this a bad movie, because it's FAR from a bad film. It's a great film with such an important subject, making it a worthwhile watch for anyone interested in LGBT or Korean cinema.

No.6 (2011) - ★★★★★

No. 6 is the most mature, beautiful shounen-ai anime I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them. Its animation and storyline is unmatched by any other anime of its kind (or Yaoi anime for that matter). On top of that, the characters are beautifully developed and easy to fall in love with. I was absolutely hooked after the first episode, and ended up watching every other episode in a row (that's about 4 and a half hours worth of episodes). I guess I just loved everything about No. 6. The theme songs that played in the opening and ending credits, the hilarity, the romance, the music... it just thrilled me. You'd be hard-pressed to find another yaoi/shounen-ai anime that's of a better quality than this. I think it's the best anime of its kind, the cream of the crop. Put it this way. As I was nearing the end of the series, I started to feel anxiety because I'd never see a new episode again. Now that's what I call a powerful show!

The Fluffer (2001) - ★★★

Director: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
Writers: Wash Westmoreland
Stars: Michael Cunio, Scott Gurney, Roxanne Day, Richard Riehle, Tim Bagley, Adina Porter, Robert Walden, Deborah Harry

Every once and a while, a movie really surprises me. The Fluffer surprised me because it turned out to be pretty good. I've been watching low-budget LGBTI films recently, and to be perfectly honest, most of them sucked balls... (not literally). Anyways, I think this is a pretty solid drama in terms of acting and storyline. It's far from perfect, but hey, anything's better than the movie Latter Days. There are two things that stand out to me in this film. One: Adina Porter's great performance as Silver, and Two: Scott Gurney's perfect body. Everything else is pretty much run-of-the-mill stuff, but I'm just ecstatic that I enjoyed seeing Fluffer from start to finish!

Latter Days (2003) - ★½

Director: C. Jay Cox
Writer: C. Jay Cox
Stars: Wes Ramsey, Steve Sandvoss, Rebekah Johnson, Jacqueline Bissett, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Amber Benson, Khary Payton

Wow. I'm kind of in shock after watching Latter Days. This movie has cheap production written all over it. The set production is awful, the music is terrible, the make-up is horrendous, the editing is just bad, and it's chock full of shoddy performances. Even the farting sound effects were awful! I cannot believe that this is one of the most infamous LGBTI films. One of the important lessons in this film is "Beauty is only skin deep," yet it feels like they've barely pierced the surface of the issues surrounding the characters.

Beautiful Thing (1996) - ★★★½

Director: Hettie Macdonald
Writers: Jonathan Harvey
Stars: Glen Berry, Scott Neal, Linda Henry, Ben Daniels, Tameka Empson

If the opening sequence of Beautiful Thing told me anything, it was that I was in for a very amateur, frustrating, far from great movie. I was right in some ways, but it was surprisingly entertaining and beautiful. It's a simple film, but very effective. The greatest thing about it was the stunning performance by Linda Henry, who is renowned for her role as Shirley in Eastenders. It doesn't deliver any important messages, but it shows us the confusion and difficulty of being a gay teen in 1990s England. Yes, I really liked Beautiful Thing. 

Weekend (2011) - ★★★★★

Director: Andrew Haigh
Writer: Andrew Haigh
Stars: Tom Cullen, Chris New, Jonathan Race

I found Weekend to be flawless. It's just so beautiful, filled with passion and realism. Everything about it just really spoke to me, from the little insecurities of the characters to the heartfelt things they said to each other. I was amazed at how much this relationship seemed real. By the end, I just wanted more. Part of me wished it was an epic that spanned for another 2 hours... that's how much I enjoyed it. There's just something magical about Weekend that captivated me from start to finish.

Shelter (2007) - ★★★½

Director: Jonah Markowitz
Writer: Jonah Markowitz
Stars: Trevor Wright, Brad Rowe, Tina Holmes, Katie Walder
Genre: Romance, LGBTI, Drama

Shelter is an obviously amateur film, but the beautiful chemistry between the two leads made me look past that. It's a simple romance between simple people really. At times the acting was a bit faulty, and the story could have used more substance, but I was unflinchingly interested throughout. I really enjoyed this movie.

Bent (1997) - ★★★½

Director: Sean Mathias
Writers: Martin Sherman (Screenplay and Play)
Stars: Clive Owen, Lothaire Bluteau, Brian Webber, Mick Jagger, Ian McKellen, Rupert Graves, Jude Law, Paul Bettany

I look back on Bent with a heavy heart. I'm sadder now than I was at the end of this movie. That's because the thought of the story is sadder than the actual movie itself. For the most part, it's a highly effective and powerful film that shows us the struggles of homosexuals in a Nazi-run Berlin. Then it sort of degenerates into an unconvincing ending, which left me wanting more. Even though the movie isn't fantastic, I will never forget it.

Three '3' (2010) - ★★★½

Director: Tom Tykwer
Writer: Tom Tykwer
Stars: Sophie Rois, Sebastian Schipper, Devid Striesow

There’s something about this movie that will stick in my mind forever. It’s far from great, but there are great things in it. I really enjoyed the story, the music, the cinematography and the performances. If this film is lacking anything, I guess it would be decent character development. The three stars were all fine on their own, but together they lacked chemistry and a spark to suck me into their sticky situation. At times I was a little bored, but for the most part I found 3 to be extremely interesting.

Heartbeats (2010) - ★★★★

Director: Xavier Dolan

Writers: Xavier Dolan

Stars: Monia Chokri, Xavier Dolan, Niel Schneider, Anne Dorval

I was captivated by Heartbeats. It embodies heart-ache, jealousy, frustration, anger and lust in a most beautiful and glamorous fashion. The performances are all spectacular, mainly because the actors can portray these heavy emotions realistically. One thing that is absolutely stunning is the cinematography. Director Xavier Dolan was only 21 years old when he made this film, and my god has he put it together well. It's a story that many can relate to, but it's modern and youthful. Long story short, I loved this movie.