Film Reviews by TB

To call this film a Yorkshire version of Brokeback Mountain, serves as a massive discredit to what is an excellent film. Brokeback Mountain was a good film but was pretentious and over dramatised in places as per most Hollywood films. Whereas this film was believable, raw and emotional. It also had exceptional cinematography, which could have easily of seen the film play out without any words needed at all.

The acting was solid by all four of the main characters to deliver two key relationships in the film with great quality. The relationship between the father and son was tense and heartless but became so beautifully tender in the end. While the homosexual relationship between the son and the new farmhand had scenes that were poetic and powerful as two different characters battled with each other along their journey, seeing the troubled son going from an angry, lost and confused young man to someone who wanted to become a man and someone who had been deeply touched by the love and affection he’d never seemingly been shown.

An excellent film!

Really wasn’t sure if I’d like this but after hearing such good reviews by friends, I gave it a go and absolutely loved it!

It’s colourful, dramatic and has a story that fits in well with excellent and memorable songs, while also delivering a message that you should never give up on anything in life and if you a have a dream......go for it.

Watch it!!! Enjoy it!!!

A very odd and surreal road trip for two gay hustlers, with two totally different backgrounds and aims in life. . This film is like a Shakespearean play on acid and it wasn’t really for me but the one thing that was superb, was the heartbreaking and mesmerising performance by the late River Phoenix.

Overall this recent BOF collection is disappointing but there are 3 or 4 that are worthy of watching; Golden, Chance, Sign, We Could be Parents. A brief summary of all is as follows:-

Golden (very short but excellently done and very thought provoking)

Jamie (two guys; Jamie and Ben hooking up after meeting on a dating app; Jamie is still not out to everyone and opens up to Ben but film ends rather abruptly and could have been so much better)

B (short film with barbie type dolls; some rate this in the collection of these short films but I found it odd and pretty awful to be honest)

Pyotr495 (about a 16yo lad who’s baited by Russian homophobic thugs. It’s tense and very disturbing/upsetting, especially know this goes on in Russia but despite being beaten and humiliated there’s a very surprising and unexpected twist that sees the thugs get what’s coming to them)

When a Man loves a Woman (lad trying to hide his sexuality from his visiting mother by getting his best friend to act as his girlfriend. Humorous but dreadful acting)

Follow Me (student falling in love with his tutor and the infatuation that leads to him stalking the teacher and his girlfriend to fuel his fantasy. It’s filmed leaving you wondering if the fantasy game true or was it just a dream?)

Chance (two troubled men, for differing reason, meet in a park and strike up a relationship that awakens both of them from the voids in their life - nicely shot and the two characters deliver the emotions required to tell their beautiful tale)

Sign (despite the communication barriers between two men who meet, a great love story unfolds but comes under threat when their differences in life choices puts a strain on the relationship but love wins the day - sometimes words aren’t needed!!!)

Away with Me (A bit of a nothing story about two guys; disappointing)

We Could be Parents (this is something different and off the cuff so I won’t spoil it but I iked it)

A story of devoted friendship alongside the back drop of the turmoil in Afghanistan. The story is well told and well acted with the final scene in particular striking the right note.

I’ve been told the book is better, so I’m looking forward to reading it.

3.5 out of 4.

One of the strangest movies I’ve ever seen and it will most certainly be a love or hate movie for most (as the other reviews reflect).

A bit like Pans Labyrinth crossed with Beauty and the Beast.

I absolutely loved it though. A wonderful and magical fairytale love story. I loved the way it was filmed and the whole atmosphere of the movie throughout. Excellent!!

I can’t add too much more than what’s already been said in other reviews.

This is a fairly long film and there are certain scenes that are more laboured than need to be. However, the cinematography of this film is magnificent in not just the scenery but the use of dark, light and the up close and powerfully fixed expressions to portray the feelings of the characters and of the journey they’re on and the internal questions they’re battling with as human beings.

It’s a bleak and harrowing tale with infrequent but powerfully brutal scenes of bloodshed. What starts as a journey of two enemies, develops into a journey of great understanding and ultimately hope.

Bale puts in a great performance to deliver a character who in the main is stoic and unflinching, yet underneath the steel has a side that is compassionate and in the end respectful of a group of people that he once viewed as enemies.

A 3.5 out of 5 for me. Humanity wins the day!

I had concerns initially when the movie stated that it was going to be an annoying American High School movie with enough cheese to make you vomit but how wrong I was!!

It’s a fantastic coming-of-age film that has comedy elements throughout that makes you laugh out loud but also parts that tug at your heart strings and leaves you blubbering like an oversize baby.

What sets this apart from most coming-of-age movies and especially gay ones, is the very clever structure and the story that unfolds. It’s a stroke of genius by the director to come up with a storyline that not only kept you guessing throughout but that was also about two coming out stories in one.

I couldn’t fault any element of this movie and will most certainly recommend it!!

The storyline to this film is pretty light and basic without anything of any real note going on. It’s more of a portrayal of a fraught relationship between a mother and daughter while the daughter is coming of age in enduring the things that come with that time in our lives (relationships, school, college, friends, enemies, etc). It’s a very easy film to watch but I’ve seen much better films of a similar style and concept. It doesn’t leave anything of any note on you. The biggest positive was the sublime acting by Laurie Metcalf as the mother.

This is an easy to watch and effortless tale of longing and love between two lifelong friends from a young age. The story doesn’t use and doesn’t need anything to force its point and is very believable in ultimately reflecting exactly what young gay love is like. I liked the way the story kept switching between their childhood and adulthood to show their initial sexual awakening and how they had gone full circle and returned to the point of realisation that they had always loved and longed for each other. The acting and the filming isn’t anything special but it didn’t need to be in delivering this warming tale of love.

Unlike some LGBT movies, this wasn’t just focused on the two lead characters as it also featured and built in the lives of others (parents, siblings, etc) to give the movie a more fuller feel to it and to make it more a film about relationships and family struggles, and not just a gay relationship. The acting by some of the characters wasn’t brilliant, especially the awkward looking father of Miku. However, Miku’s performance was the shining performance and I liked the way the film built to a point of sexual awakening and desire between two ultimately different people. A summer love story or should that be lust story!

This is a great feel good movie. It’s sad, yet uplifting and humorous in places. The voice over narration by the main character also gives a great depth to the film without need to add to the length of the film to achieve a deeper understanding of the character.

3.5 out of 5 for me and a great little movie!

I liked this film because of its controversial storyline in which three gay men of different ages we’re struggling with their sexuality for three very different reasons. All of this was also going on during an initiation period in South Africa and in a time/country when men should be men and homosexuality was scorned upon. I liked the cinematography but this just fell short of a four star rating because even though you could understand what each character was going through, the depth of feelings were not portrayed enough to drag you in emotional; not even with the somewhat shocking ending.

Certainly a watchable film though.

Can’t really add anymore to what’s already been said in other reviews. I laughed, I cried, I sat there in shock and I felt uncomfortable. A real classic!!

How many times is a remake or a follow up film years later any good? Pretty much never, normally. However, this seriously bucks that trend. The plot is good and well delivered and the action is just as good as the original but with more advanced effects, as you’d expect. What really makes this such a triumph though is the excellent comedy, which is totally on point and side-splitting funny in places, especially from Jack Black,

Highly recommended!!