The Problem With Some Gay Films – Are they sold too much just on sex?

Originally posted on www.biggaypictureshow.com

I’ve previously written a number of articles about gay men in films and on television, such as why it’s important that gay people are featured in the medium of both film and TV and why it is important that we have films that centre on gay people. I do believe that this is important, but as a gay man I also have a number of issues with many LGBT films.

The problem I have with many gay movies is they look just like soft-core pornography. I say this because after moseying around a branch of HMV, I came across a gay orientated film, however the synopsis and even the name of the movie have failed to stick in my mind. This is due to the fact that after looking on the back of the DVD I was greeted by a number of images of half naked men, some of which clearly depicted a sex scene, and this wasn’t an isolated incident to this one particular film.

I’ve watched and seen advertisements for a number of gay specific films that heavily feature naked men, guys wandering around in speedos or underwear, or full-on sex scenes. Now I’m not a prude or have any issue with seeing half naked men, but it does make me wonder, what happened to a good storyline? Now it’s possible these films do have okay plots, but the marketing suggests the only thing the viewer cares about is the beefcake (and quite a lot of the gay-themed movies themselves seem to think the same).

I say this because there aren’t that many films that feature primarily straight characters that are mainly sold on semi-nakedness and people having sex for no apparent reason, but it often feels that the majority of gay films seem to think titillating the viewer is necessary to get them to watch. Of course there are those films that are on late at night on some of the lesser-known movie channels that are solely about straight sex, but the less said about those the better.

Many gay films are like this, which is perhaps one of the reasons LGBT-themed films only have a very limited audience that doesn’t even encompass all gay people. They just sit on a DVD shelf in a shop and gather dust, only to suffer the fate of the bargain bin. It’s probably one of the reasons why a movie like Brokeback Mountain is such as success as – aside from having big name stars in it – it has a good plot and the sex scenes are used to push the story along.

I have a fear that until some makers of gay specific films realise that not all gay men need to see semi-naked actors parade around in tiny briefs, and would instead much prefer to see a well thought out plot and character development, that many gay films will continue to face the fate of the discount shelf. And equally, if gay movies continue to be sold purely on the sex, it undermines a lot of the good work done by filmmakers who do care about making a good film, but who then see that work ignored in favour of marketing it purely on the semi-nude men – which ensures many who would enjoy it won’t watch it, and those who do are disappointed it’s not the sex-fest the DVD cover promised.

After all, if you want to see naked men acting badly and running around in badly scripted films then, surely you can just watch porn; the sex scenes will probably be better too.

Review: Doctor Who - Colony in Space

Originally posted on www.moviemuser.co.uk

In a blast from the past John Pertwee stars as the third incarnation of the Doctor all the way from 1972, accompanied by Jo Grant in this adventure into space. Containing all six episodes from the 1970s serial, the Doctor is summoned from his exile on Earth and sent five centuries into the future to confront the Master, whom the time lords have discovered has located the dreaded doomsday weapon.


Upon their arrival the Doctor and Jo encounter a colony of humans who are under threat from the Interplanetary Mining Corporation, which is disputing the colonists’ claim to the planet where they have set up home. Their only hope lies with an adjudicator from Earth. The Doctor on the other hand pursues his mission of finding the Master and stopping him, whilst also combating the IMC, helping the colony and battling with killer robots, giant lizards and primitive tribesmen who aren’t quite what they seem.


This Doctor Who serial is definitely worth while watching. Although the graphics and the monsters don’t look as good as they do in the newer series (which is obvious considering this was made almost 40 year ago), the basic story is still there and any fan of the series old and new will understand what’s going on. It keeps you enthralled from the start when the Doctor ends up on this distant far away planet, right through to the obvious resolution that happens at end. We all know what the Doctor is about, don’t we?


In all fairness it does drag a bit in parts when you watch all the episodes back to back, and at times it does feel like there are two completely separate story lines going on. To be honest there is, but it all links up in the end when you discover what is happening, and I must say the writing for Doctor Who was just as good then as it is now – or should I have put that the other way round.


Overall Verdict: It is nice to see the old episodes of Doctor Who coming to DVD so that old fans can once again relive the memories of the Doctors past, and it’s brilliant for the fans of the new series to see where the Doctor began and what he was up to all those years ago. Even though they can’t expect much from the imagery in comparison to what it is now, the story is still there and it’s a fun watch for anyone.


Special Features:
Commentary
IMC Need You – Making of the story
From the cutting room floor
Photo Gallery
Radio Times Listing
Programme Subtitles
Coming soon trailer

DVD Review: Two and a Half Men Series 8

Originally posted on www.thefancarpet.com

After months of being unable to escape the media’s constant coverage of  the escapades of Charlie Sheen and his chequered personal life, you would be forgiven for forgetting that he actually had a day job acting on one of the biggest sitcoms on American television.

Now we all know he no longer has his day job on Two and a Half Men for reasons I’m sure we all know. But Charlie’s final 16 episodes in the hit comedy show have been released on DVD for your viewing pleasure, if you can call it pleasure.

The show has proved a hit with viewers and is quite funny with some laugh out loud moments, certain ones that spring to mind from watching this season have to be Charlie’s description of the orgy rules (I’m sure he already knew these prior to filming the show), an incident with a can of whip cream and a cockatoo with a rather weird fetish, which I wont discuss further with fear of spoiling it.

Along with these particular stand out moments the shenanigans of Alan at the beginning of this series are all quite amusing within themselves, especially after an incident with a pipe at his girlfriends house, but the show lacks that certain something that others have.

Where as the programme is funny, to me the episodes would be much better enjoyed if watched alone and then left for several weeks before watching the next one because after a while the jokes and scenarios become predictable and a little stale, ultimately lacking that element of surprise that hit shows such as Friends had.

Couple this with the realisation that the lead character in the show is basically a caricature of the actor playing him, it begins to leave the realm of funny and enters the realm of done before television.

The fact that the lead characters off screen personal life is more appealing, shocking, unpredictable and all round entertaining tells me that this programme has well and truly run its course, and with Charlie Sheen now off the show I don’t think even the attractiveness of new lead Ashton Kutcher could save this programme and once again make it funny.