Stepping out of a wet New York winter afternoon, it didn't take long for this lovingly woven comfort blanket of a movie—think The Golden Girls meets a gentler version of The Hangover—to warm me and my big gay heart. Inspired by a true story, 80 For Brady, follows four women, each portrayed by a screen... Continue Reading →
Film Review: Spoiler Alert ★★★★
Even if you didn't know the full title of the bestselling memoir by entertainment journalist Michael Ausiello that this film is based on—Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies—within the opening moments you'll find out where it's eventually headed. We see a heathy looking, but distraught Michael (Jim Parsons) in a hospital bed lovingly facing an ailing... Continue Reading →
All The President’s Women – Film Review: She Said ★★★★
The profession of journalism requires patience, steadfastness, sharp attention to detail, and a tedious yet rigorous approach. Forget Clark Kent changing in phone booths or Sigourney Weaver running with a microphone in Eyewitness, as the real deal, the dull yet methodical process, has been captured to perfection in such films as All The President’s Men... Continue Reading →
Girls Gone Wilde – Film Review: Don’t Worry Darling ★★★ 1/2
The very first film I critiqued for The Queer Review was Olivia Wilde’s wonderful feature directing debut, Booksmart. In it, she showed off her ability to generate an infectious energy, riotous humor and a refreshingly frank look at strong female characters. I couldn’t wait for her follow-up, and when the trailers for Don’t Worry Darling... Continue Reading →
Film Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe ★★★★
UPDATE: Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe opens in US theaters on September 8th, 2023. When the poignant, defiantly hopeful sound of Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat kicked in early on in writer-director Aitch Alberto's Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe, I settled deep down into my seat at... Continue Reading →
Outfest LA 2022 Film Review: Unidentified Objects ★★★★
If you enjoyed Take Shelter, Midnight Special, Bug, and Safety Not Guaranteed, four films which had you wondering if the sci-fi events depicted were real or a result of of a mental break, then you may respond to director Juan Felipe Zuleta and writer Leland Frankel’s Unidentified Objects, Outfest LA’s U.S. Centerpiece. Otherwise, your mileage... Continue Reading →
Outfest LA 2022 Film Review: ALL MAN The International Male Story ★★★★
Following its world premiere at Tribeca last month, directors Bryan Darling and Jesse Finley Reed's delectable ALL MAN: The International Male Story plays the 40th Anniversary Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival on Saturday, July 16th. The feature documentary chronicles the history of the alluring men's fashion catalogue, International Male, with insights from the insiders... Continue Reading →
Meat Rack cute – Film Review: Fire Island ★★★★
Jane Austen was an astute observer of human behaviour. Behaviour that's changed very little in the two hundred years or so since she wrote Pride and Prejudice, the nuances of which can just as readily be found among gay men summering on Fire Island in 2022 as they could in Austen's nineteenth century high society... Continue Reading →
Mardi Gras Film Festival 2022 Review: Mayfly (Efímera) ★★★1/2
Luis Mariano García’s Mayfly is utterly endearing. A coming-of-age story, sprinkled with magic realism that steps over many of the clichés to deliver a charming take on a well-worn genre. Emillia (Danae Reynaud) is a serious, studious high-schooler with her eyes on the prize of a place at a prestigious architecture school. In the library... Continue Reading →
Mardi Gras Film Festival 2022 Review: Finlandia ★★★★★
Horacio Alcalá’s Finlandia is a sumptuous, multifaceted drama filled with life, love, and despair; a glorious explosion of creativity and cultural insight. It refuses to be limited in its scope, dealing with the lives of a group of muxes, gender nonconforming artisans recognized as a third gender by the Zapotec people in Oaxaca, Southern Mexico.... Continue Reading →