Gay-Friendly Blu-rays (1 Viewer)

[Mark-W]

I thought I would link to a recent interview with Eichner and Booster.

Billy Eichner (Bros, writer/producer) and Joel Kim Booster, (writer/producer Fire Island) talk about their films. They both mention Heartstopper and what they feel like is the general state of LGBTQIA+ film and television.



I love that Booster says his film is really about his relationship with Bowen Yang and how refreshing it us because neither one is expected to represent the gay Asian community as a token GAM in the film. I also love that Eicher gave Booster his first "write gay" job in filmed comedy: no "code switching" for a straight audience.

One thing I am curious about: Eichner mentions that one of his friends does not want to watch Heartstopper because it will make him feel bitter or jealous that the did not have it when he was a teen.
Is that common?
Anyone here feel that way?

I guess I was just too happy with seeing a optimistic healthy gay teen love story that I did not have any room left in my heart to be bitter or jealous.

With this being pride month, maybe I have been living under a rock, but did everyone else know these things?
1) Franco Zaphirelli, the Italian director, was gay. That certainly explains why I always felt Leonard Whiting's Romeo in the 70s film gets a lovely exposed bottom shot that is still a lovely thing to behold. Same for the terrible but lovely to look at Endless Love. The guy's body was more lovingly appreciated than whomever the body double was for Brook Shields.

2) David Archuletta, the famously devout Mormon, has come out as gay (He apparently did that about a year ago!) and even say a song at the recent LoveLoud music festival and told the crowd, "Being queer is beautiful."

I've only paid peripheral attention to him. (Obviously if I missed that he has out for about a year). I would find his journey to self acceptance and negotiating his relationship with his church and god much more interesting that that thud or boring beefcake, Colton Underwood, who got a Nexflix limited series that completely lacked anything remotely interesting. Archuletta's struggle seems much more genuine and I think would hit anyone dealing with a crisis in their identity when it goes against everything they've been told to believe since birth. My 14 year old to 21 year old self was saying the same things I hear Archuletta saying. There is potent story there if he is willing to share it.

I still haven't gotten around to to the series KimmPorshe, and now My Fake Boyfriend with Kenian Lonsdale has been released.


That will be my watch this weekend.

Finally, I noticed that Keninan's Love, Simon co-star, Alexandra Shipp is in tick...tick...BOOM! which I finally got around to watching. I looked her up, because I just really really like her and guess what? She came out as part of the LGBTQIA+ community a year ago, too! The number of straight cast members of L,ove Simon keeps shrinking!

Cheers!

 

[ahollis]

I adored it, but to each his own

I thought Fire Island was very entertaining and well made with wonderful actors, so I agree with you.

 

[cinemiracle]

I watched the first two episodes of the new QUEER AS FOLK series. I adored both the original British and later U.S.A. series but this new series (so far) is woeful. A huge disappointment after expecting it to be much better.
One of the characters is in a wheelchair. Did they use a real disabled actor for the part? If not then why not as there are plenty of gay actors that they could have used for the part. Producers please explain why a disabled actor wasn't used for the part. I am struggling to continue watching this boring series. Maybe it will improve in later episodes but I doubt it judging from the many negative reviews given to the series.

 

[Panavision70]

I watched the first two episodes of the new QUEER AS FOLK series. I adored both the original British and later U.S.A. series but this new series (so far) is woeful. A huge disappointment after expecting it to be much better.
One of the characters is in a wheelchair. Did they use a real disabled actor for the part? If not then why not as there are plenty of gay actors that they could have used for the part. Producers please explain why a disabled actor wasn't used for the part. I am struggling to continue watching this boring series. Maybe it will improve in later episodes but I doubt it judging from the many negative reviews given to the series.

"Did they use a real disabled actor for the part?"​

HELL YES!!!!!​

The one word this double-amputee dancer never wants to hear​

Eric Graise lost both legs as a child. And he's pushing for more inclusion in the entertainment industry.

Full story at: https://www.today.com/health/one-word-double-amputee-dancer-never-wants-hear-t121734

 

[Will Krupp]

One of the characters is in a wheelchair. Did they use a real disabled actor for the part? If not then why not as there are plenty of gay actors that they could have used for the part. Producers please explain why a disabled actor wasn't used for the part.

In the time it took you to type this out, you could have just googled the answer for yourself and been done with it, lol.

I'll admit the series began with the feeling it was going to be a little too "checky boxy" in terms of representation (which always strikes me as somewhat performative and more than a little cynical) but once the story got going I actually found the actors well matched to their roles and the characters really engaging and kind of endearing.

It's definitely not your (ahem) gay uncle's Queer as Folk but we've already had that. I'm not sure what you were expecting going in, but I found that once the story commences and the characters all start colliding with one another, I was pretty much on board and more so than I was expecting to be. Is it the "Best" series I've ever seen? No. There's enough there, however, to keep me interested to see what's next.

The good thing about the new QaF is that it tells you exactly what it is from the get-go, which makes it pretty easy to decide very early on whether or not you're willing to go along for the ride.

 

[EricSchulz]

Is anyone watching Season 3 of Love, Victor? I'm through the first two episodes and am not sure I'll watch the rest. The annoying factor is off the charts this season!

 

[Mark-W]

I love the posts about other shows that have recently been released that I am yet to watch. It's raining here in the Pacific Northwest and folx just aren't feeling the "let's go party in the park!" vibe because the weather isn't cooperating.

Warning: popcorn thoughts ahead...

My Fake Boyfriend was about as ridiculous as one would assume from the trailer. It is really unfortunate because I like the chemistry between the romantic leads and enjoyed the cast in general. I can imagine someone at BuzzFeed was like, "Let's make a romantic comedy while also making a statement about how social media is not real" and then took it to extremes: We're supposed to believe an unemployed pal can create a deep fake boyfriend that is so real everyone, as in hundreds of thousands of followers, suspend disbelief and not one of the fake guy's followers actually checks to see that he has actually been seen in real life anywhere. But yea, I would pass on it unless you're a big Lonsdale fan.

Special Series 2 is out right now on Netflix. I watch to catch up with this as I enjoyed series 1

Unrelated I am going to try to watch QAF/Its A Sin creator Russell T Davies's Banana, Cucumber and Tofu. Folx keep mentioning those on YouTube and the gay teacher from Heartstopper is in at least one of them.

@EricSchulz, Mom and I watched the first two episodes of Love, Victor season three last night. It seemed fine. On one hand, I am liking the side stories, but Victor is irritating me, but that may be a "me problem:" and not the show's problem. Like, if you found out your boyfriend was a recovering alcoholic wouldn't you maybe want to find out what you could do as their partner to be supportive? Like GOOGLE IT for effs sake at the least!!!

I realize Victor is not Heartstopper's Nick Nelson, but geez. Still, I like his parents and most of his friends. His mother's story in episode 2 was engaging.

Victor as a character just doesn't seem capable of actually providing what anyone he supposedly cares about needs from him. He is told to leave someone alone and then proceeds to knock on their door a bit later. What kind of self-serving idiot are you? Harsh. Only two episodes into season 3....maybe he'll grow and I need to remember he is a teenager just trying to figure this out.

 

[Will Krupp]

Unrelated I am going to try to watch QAF/Its A Sin creator Russell T Davies's Banana, Cucumber and Tofu. Folx keep mentioning those on YouTube and the gay teacher from Heartstopper is in at least one of them.

In my opinion, I think you can safely skip Tofu as it's mostly talking head documentary stuff and unrelated to the main stories told in the other two. Cucumber (60 minutes and quite adult) is the main series and it aired on Channel 4. Banana (30 minutes and "softer") aired (I think) one day later on sister channel E4 and would take a minor character from the previous episode of Cucumber and tell the same story from that character's point of view. It's an interesting idea. Tofu was a web series and felt completely superfluous to the other two.

Fisayo Akinade (the teacher from Heartstopper) is quite funny in Cucumber and Banana as the hopelessly young and hopelessly dim-witted Dean.

TRY to get the original, unedited UK broadcasts if you can because it WAS censored for American TV. I believe the available streaming episodes are of the censored US broadcasts. You can tell right from the get-go because the dicks are blurred out (including Akinade showing off his brand new, controlled by some-guy-he-doesn't-know, chastity device to a disbelieving Vincent Franklin in episode 1) when they can't be cut out completely by the use of alternate angles. The US eps are also a little shorter.

I've seen the main series at least three times now, but I can't really say I "like" it as a whole. It's got some great moments but Franklin's lead character strikes me as such a bastard that I just can't get over it.

 

[Mark-W]

A few quick notes and reviews:

Netflix has "Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration" which keeps being touted as a historical all LGBTQIA stand up program. It does have an impressive roster of guests: Lily Tomlin (FINALLY actually out), Margaret Cho, Matteo Lane, Wanda Sykes, Judy Goldman, Trixie Mattel, Bob The Drag Queen, Billy Eichner, Rosey O'Donnell, Sandra Bernhard, and on and on.


The problem? Each performer is on stage for what feels like 3 minutes. No one gets a chance to really build a rhythm, flow, or rapport before they're saying good night as the next performer is introduced.

Imagine you're at dinner being served a special dinner, knowing it is only going to be one appetizer after another with no full courses.. You know this going in, so it's okay. Then, just as you're sticking your fork in the next bite, they take your plate and fork away and bring on the next micro-taste. That is how his special felt to me.

A gay-themed stand up show that shocked me with how good it was is Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel on HBO Max. I laughed. I thought about a lot of things. Great show!!!


And two films from way back got released on Blu-ray last week for the North American market/Zone A:

Wilde​

Wilde had a bonus-feature rich special edition DVD here in the states complete with a commentary track. The new Zone A Blu-ray from Sony appears to port of many of those, including the commentary track!

Love & Human Remains​

Love and Human Remains was based on a stage play. One could sense it origins in that format, as it feels very stagy and dramatic in that way. I really enjoyed it back in the 90s, but I suspect it has not aged well. I take a trip down memory lane and give the new Blu-ray as spin sometime this month.

Cheers!

 

[Konstantinos]

Wilde had a bonus-feature rich special edition DVD here in the states complete with a commentary track. I could find no evidence of these being ported over to the Blu-ray, but bought it nonetheless.

How is the picture quality?
I read somewhere that it seems processed and not filmic at all....

 

[Will Krupp]

How is the picture quality?
I read somewhere that it seems processed and not filmic at all....

I had great hopes for it since we've never had a decent version on home video as yet. The Region 1 DVD and the previous blu-ray were both sourced from a 1080i PAL master and looked it (yuck) so the new blu-ray wins that easy race based on the fact that it's 1080p and runs at the correct speed. Beyond jumping that pedestrian hurdle, the news isn't great. It's obviously an ancient master and looks very edgy (especially during opticals like the opening sequence of Wilde in America as it plays out under the opening credits.) Still, I'm happy to have it because it's a great movie and it looks better than we've had before, but your individual mileage may vary as that's not saying a helluva lot.

It still pairs very nicely with Rupert Everett's The Happy Prince since the stories are pretty much consecutive and neither film really covers the same ground as the other one does. I'm not a fan of Everett personally, but I have to give him his due. His Wilde is heartbreakingly wonderful and the film plays almost like a poem. It's a must-have and looks gorgeous on blu-ray to boot.

 

[Mark-P]

I had great hopes for it since we've never had a decent version on home video as yet. The Region 1 DVD and the previous blu-ray were both sourced from a 1080i PAL master and looked it (yuck) so the new blu-ray wins that easy race based on the fact that it's 1080p and runs at the correct speed. Beyond jumping that pedestrian hurdle, the news isn't great. It's obviously an ancient master and looks very edgy (especially during opticals like the opening sequence of Wilde in America as it plays out under the opening credits.) Still, I'm happy to have it because it's a great movie and it looks better than we've had before, but your individual mileage may vary as that's not saying a helluva lot.

It still pairs very nicely with Rupert Everett's The Happy Prince since the stories are pretty much consecutive and neither film really covers the same ground as the other one does. I'm not a fan of Everett personally, but I have to give him his due. His Wilde is heartbreakingly wonderful and the film plays almost like a poem. It's a must-have and looks gorgeous on blu-ray to boot.

I’m pretty sure my 20 year old DVD runs at 117 minutes, but yes all the recent HD releases (including what played on HBOMax last year) were sped up to 112 minutes. This (new?) transfer at the correct speed is also now available on iTunes which is where I will end up getting it as I tend to avoid physical media whenever I can.

 

[Will Krupp]

I’m pretty sure my 20 year old DVD runs at 117 minutes, but yes all the recent HD releases (including what played on HBOMax last year) were sped up to 112 minutes. This (new?) transfer at the correct speed is also now available on iTunes which is where I will end up getting it as I tend to avoid physical media whenever I can.

Does it? I have to admit that I must have ditched my DVD the minute this blu-ray was announced, which is something I rarely do but I hated that DVD so much and I can't find it anywhere now. In any event, it looked like hell and wasn't a progressive scan. I thought the DVD ran 112 minutes but I apologize if I got it wrong.

 

[Mark-W]

Does it? I have to admit that I must have ditched my DVD the minute this blu-ray was announced, which is something I rarely do but I hated that DVD so much and I can't find it anywhere now, so you may be right. In any event, it looked like hell and wasn't a progressive scan. I thought the DVD ran 112 minutes but I apologize if I got it wrong.

My blu-ray just arrived today. The only thing I can update this thread on is that the new blu-ray does have the commentary track!
Thanks for the image quality assessments Will (blu-ray) and Mark-P (iTunes).

 

[Mark-P]

Does it? I have to admit that I must have ditched my DVD the minute this blu-ray was announced, which is something I rarely do but I hated that DVD so much and I can't find it anywhere now, so you may be right. In any event, it looked like hell and wasn't a progressive scan. I thought the DVD ran 112 minutes but I apologize if I got it wrong.

Just checked. 1:56:53.

 

[Will Krupp]

Just checked. 1:56:53.

Okay, thanks.

I was unequivocally wrong guys, sorry.

 

[ptb2017fr]

I’ll mention gorgeous French film Summer of 85 which I love. Beautiful Blu Ray. Bitter sweet tale based on novel set in Englands Southend but transferred to town on Normandy coast. Both leads beautiful.

 

[Mark-W]

Is anyone watching Season 3 of Love, Victor? I'm through the first two episodes and am not sure I'll watch the rest. The annoying factor is off the charts this season!

I ended up watching the remaining episodes of Love, Victor last night as I wanted something a bit lighter for my Saturday night. (Tonight is all about Grantchester series 7 with the side gay couple now running a reading room/ coffee shop.).

Love, Victor improves slightly past the first two episodes. It felt like Victor was starting to finally figure out what works for him and what does not. His big question: does he create chaos in the lives of those he cares about? I am glad this actually became a topic, but it was dealt with in such brevity, as were most topics in this season, that it feels like the appetizer for a full course meal we're never going to be served.

Most of the drama and plot points this season felt forced, illogically prolonged

Spoiler

("You're too late." REALLY?!?!" The stupidest moment this whole series. Benji might as well said, "Sorry, I cannot do this for another 20 minutes when we reach the finale.".)

, and like something we'd seen before. And in the end, the shoe-horned conclusions that felt just a little too tidy and artificial.

The best parts were actually between Victor's sister, Pilar, his best buddy, Felix, and her family and what that all meant from Felix's perspective. That was satisfying. Rahim got some good moments, too, and a quick arc on

Spoiler

temporarily being forced back in the closet

which was very relatable and felt real. His pain felt real. I was fully engaged during those moments.

But when the ending came, the show had not earned it the outcomes it wanted to present. The relationships we're supposed to be celebrating still feel incredibly insubstantial.

Spoiler

They adore each other. Great!
Are they actually compatible?

We don't know and neither do these characters.
It was fine but a bit "meh." And can we talk about the poor attempt to have Victor be the mentor for the uptight kid that he confronts?

On the final conclusion:

Spoiler

Victor and Benji end up on the Ferris wheel together. It worked for Love, Simon's finale because those two boys had already spent time together as friends before they connected for this romantic gesture. It was the START of something. For Victor and Benji, we've been through three seasons with them. The narrow window of time they were a couple, they spent most of it misunderstanding and fighting with each other. At the end of three seasons, I see anything that makes me think they will be able to work as a couple, only that Benji is Victor's first love. There was a very little "yeah!, they're together" because they were apart ALL this season. We have not been shown either knows how to be in a relationship with the other. I love that Victor finally started talking about what he needs to do be a supportive boyfriend of someone with a substance abuse problem, but it was all just so underwhelming.

All in all, just a lackluster final season with ham-fisted storytelling. I did not hate it, but it was just so, "Yep, okay."

 

[Matt Hough]

I started The Lake on Amazon Prime this afternoon. I'll reserve judgment until I'm farther into the season, but I wouldn't recommend it on the basis of just the first episode (that's my way of reserving judgment - ).

 

[ptb2017fr]

I should have known Jeremy Northam's potrayal of him in Gosford Park was too good to be true!

Yes, Ivor was a deeply unpleasant man by all accounts. Jeremy Irvine plays him beautifully in Benediction, a really good movie, beautifully made with an incredible cast.