Gay TV, Movies, and Books

[W_L]

15 hours ago, Drew Espinosa said:

WL, have you read any of the 188 novels? I've read Years of Intoxication and Sissy a couple of years ago, and I've been meaning to read more, but it's been hard for me to choose which one I should read next.

Looks like Years of Intoxication is only available by MTL-English translation (Machine Translation) now, the old translator quit   It's only translated up to chapter 52 out of 86. They gave up

I try to find completed translations via Novel Update (they don't give you links but they do tell you the sites that translated) before I start reading. I can sort of parse the chinese-english MTL translations. Still, I prefer a consistent human translator without having to filter in my head what the real meaning should be (like lu can be a person's name or the color "green" in Chinese, it's a bit of mental gymnastics without English translation). My Chinese vocabulary is too poor for actual Webnovel reading.

If you ever want suggestions, I've got a few good ones like this. 

PS: I'm starting on 258 chapter webnovel:

The Reborn Otaku’s Code of Practice for the Apocalypse

Translated Story link: https://whitemoonxblacksun.ca/the-reborn-otaku/reborn-otaku-apocalypse-toc/

I can identify with the MC  (Not athletic, not lucky, and not rich) It's a fun queer webnovel

 

Edited February 3 by W_L

[Zombie]

JUST FRIENDS (Gewoon Vrienden) 2018 - 80 minutes

Enjoyable, well-scripted, quality production Dutch TV movie.

Joris (right) is an introvert gym-bunny from an affluent family. He doesn’t know what to do with his life, so plays with his camera drone.

Yad (left) is a party person but money is tight (his family are Syrian migrants). He also doesn’t know what to do with his life, so takes a cleaning job to pay his rent - cleaning for Joris’s grandma (middle )

It’s a gentle romcom (they’re both ‘out’) with the usual story arc - meeting, attraction, tensions, breakup and resolution - but touches on some serious issues along the way. 

A feel-good movie perfect for a Valentine’s night in, on the sofa 💕 

I snagged a DVD for a few pounds (which includes a gay movie short, ‘Caged (2013),’ with the same actor who plays Joris) and various copies (original Dutch soundtrack) are posted on YouTube (and other sites) but I couldn’t find one with proper English subtitles/captions (Portuguese in the link here and 720p pic quality in the YouTube app. You can select auto translate but it’s AI…): 

 

Edited February 8 by Zombie

[Krista]

19 hours ago, Zombie said:

JUST FRIENDS (Gewoon Vrienden) 2018 - 80 minutes

Enjoyable, well-scripted, quality production Dutch TV movie.

Joris (right) is an introvert gym-bunny from an affluent family. He doesn’t know what to do with his life, so plays with his camera drone.

Yad (left) is a party person but money is tight (his family are Syrian migrants). He also doesn’t know what to do with his life, so takes a cleaning job to pay his rent - cleaning for Joris’s grandma (middle )

It’s a gentle romcom (they’re both ‘out’) with the usual story arc - meeting, attraction, tensions, breakup and resolution - but touches on some serious issues along the way. 

A feel-good movie perfect for a Valentine’s night in, on the sofa 💕 

I snagged a DVD for a few pounds (which includes a gay movie short, ‘Caged (2013),’ with the same actor who plays Joris) and various copies (original Dutch soundtrack) are posted on YouTube (and other sites) but I couldn’t find one with proper English subtitles/captions (Portuguese in the link here and 720p pic quality in the YouTube app. You can select auto translate but it’s AI…): 

Liked it the one time I sat down to watch it. It had better cinematography than most, being a lower-end budgeted film. So, it looked pretty and was an over all nice film. It has been a bit since I watched it, so I might give it a second watch. 

Edited February 9 by Krista

[Page Scrawler]

From a French soap series called Demain Nous Apartient, we're blessed with Jack Dumas Roussell and Rayane Saeed. In Season 6, Jack is injured in a car accident, leaving his eyesight severely impaired. When he reappears in Season 7, his tense, somewhat antagonistic relationship with Rayane grows into a reluctant friendship, and later blossoms into a full romance.

The series is only available in French without subtitles, and my knowledge of the language is very limited. That being said, I can make due with some educated guesswork, and fill in the rest with context clues.

 

[Zombie]

3 hours ago, Page Scrawler said:

From a French soap series called Demain Nous Apartient, we're blessed with Jack Dumas Roussell and Rayane Saeed. In Season 6, Jack is injured in a car accident, leaving his eyesight severely impaired. When he reappears in Season 7, his tense, somewhat antagonistic relationship with Rayane grows into a reluctant friendship, and later blossoms into a full romance.

The series is only available in French without subtitles, and my knowledge of the language is very limited. That being said, I can make due with some educated guesswork, and fill in the rest with context clues.

a quick Google finds Jack + Rayane first meet S6 and the last season is S8

turns out there’s a huge +dedicated fan base out there 💕 

…and this fan has curated every single scene they’re in from S6-S8 and added English subtitles!  

which is a lot of viewing (click on each series link to a whole bunch of vids for each series)

https://jayaneenglishsubs.wordpress.com/watch/

Character+storyline précis:

https://jayaneenglishsubs.wordpress.com/about/

________________
Edit to correct:

Runs from S6 to S8
 

 

 

Edited February 9 by Zombie

[Page Scrawler]

4 minutes ago, Zombie said:

a quick Google finds Jack + Rayane first meet S6 and the last season is S6

Ahh, the Wiki I was reading from was also written in French. Maybe there's a different numbering system? Or perhaps it was only a typo. 😅 

But anyways, thanks so much for the update, Zombie! 

Edited February 9 by Page Scrawler

[LJCC]

On 2/9/2025 at 5:47 AM, Zombie said:

JUST FRIENDS (Gewoon Vrienden) 2018 - 80 minutes

Enjoyable, well-scripted, quality production Dutch TV movie.

Joris (right) is an introvert gym-bunny from an affluent family. He doesn’t know what to do with his life, so plays with his camera drone.

Yad (left) is a party person but money is tight (his family are Syrian migrants). He also doesn’t know what to do with his life, so takes a cleaning job to pay his rent - cleaning for Joris’s grandma (middle )

It’s a gentle romcom (they’re both ‘out’) with the usual story arc - meeting, attraction, tensions, breakup and resolution - but touches on some serious issues along the way. 

A feel-good movie perfect for a Valentine’s night in, on the sofa 💕 

I snagged a DVD for a few pounds (which includes a gay movie short, ‘Caged (2013),’ with the same actor who plays Joris) and various copies (original Dutch soundtrack) are posted on YouTube (and other sites) but I couldn’t find one with proper English subtitles/captions (Portuguese in the link here and 720p pic quality in the YouTube app. You can select auto translate but it’s AI…): 

 

I wish this had a good English translation.

Now my quest to find a good english sub has begun.

[Ron]

1 hour ago, LJCC said:

Now my quest to find a good english sub has begun.

Interesting, I believe that I’ve watched this movie a couple of times with excellent subtitles. Once on Amazon Prime and and… well, maybe twice on Amazon Prime.

[LJCC]

13 hours ago, Ron said:

Interesting, I believe that I’ve watched this movie a couple of times with excellent subtitles. Once on Amazon Prime and and… well, maybe twice on Amazon Prime.

I sadly don't have Amazon Prime. I have Netflix though. I don't think it's on Netflix.

[Zombie]

2 hours ago, LJCC said:

I sadly don't have Amazon Prime. I have Netflix though. I don't think it's on Netflix.

Seems you have these options:

1. Amazon Prime ‘30 day free trial’ - Just Friends is listed HERE 

2. Edit: Apple TV - similar deal I believe

3. Edit: seems Netflix don’t have any rights, so a VPN won’t help  

 

 

Edited February 10 by Zombie

[Krista]

I don't know about a "good" translation, but it is on Tubi.com. Unless it is geographically unavailable and all that. 

Edited February 10 by Krista

[Jason Rimbaud]

Not sure if anyone suggested this movie, I really didn't want to go through seven pages to check. 

Franky and Ballas have been friends forever, on the night Franky was to lose his virginity to his girlfriend on his sixteenth birthday, she is called away. Franky and Ballas have a drunken night where something sexual happens between them. Their lives are torn apart as Ballas spreads rumors about Franky with the aid of his girlfriend. 

A twist on the usual gay boy plays around with straight friend. Good acting all around and thought provoking premise about life, friendship, sexuality, and mental health.  

 

[Zombie]

2 hours ago, Krista said:

I don't know about a "good" translation, but it is on Tubi.com. Unless it is geographically unavailable and all that. 

“Content unavailable” in UK, sadly  

https://tubitv.com/movies/602279/just-friends

[Krista]

18 minutes ago, Zombie said:

“Content unavailable” in UK, sadly  

https://tubitv.com/movies/602279/just-friends

Boo. Streaming availability has become a lot more flexible of late, maybe refresh very so often and some websites will tell you if a service will carry the show/film at a certain date, etc. Although, I'm still waiting on Prisma Season 2 on Amazon.  I had to find AI generated subtitles and it didn't generate texts, so I had to pause a very modern series with teens texting every two minutes to know what the hell they were saying.. lol. 

Edited February 11 by Krista

[Zombie]

11 minutes ago, Krista said:

Streaming availability has become a lot more flexible of late,

I was amazed Netflix refuse to allow you to search availability of what you want to see, they just want to sign up another ‘sucker’ - their pathetic website simply says “Netflix has an extensive library of feature films, documentaries, TV programmes, anime, award-winning Netflix originals, and more. Watch as much as you want, any time you want” - yeah, like that’s really helpful…

https://www.netflix.com/gb/

 

Edited February 11 by Zombie

[Krista]

41 minutes ago, Zombie said:

I was amazed Netflix refuse to allow you to search availability of what you want to see, they just want to sign up another ‘sucker’ - their pathetic website simply says “Netflix has an extensive library of feature films, documentaries, TV programmes, anime, award-winning Netflix originals, and more. Watch as much as you want, any time you want” - yeah, like that’s really helpful…

https://www.netflix.com/gb/

 

I personally cancelled Netflix, their new business models are atrocious and I was really only watching a handful of shows. When they cancel popular shows after one season, take two to three years between seasons, and/or split them up into half-seasons and 'still' take two to three years to debut new content for shows that only have 8 episodes as it is... I lost all patience.

And yes, since most articles or websites are very limiting in discussing what is available, you would think they would allow people to search content, view it, or know what and when something is available pre-purchase, as an enticement. I'm not sure if Netflix still does this, but others do the 'free month' offer, I guess they hope you come along, create an account, and decided to stay. Or forget, as a lot of people don't remember they're even subscribed and paying for it. You'd be surprised how many people have streaming services and don't realize they still have them... lol. 

--- As far as Gay Content goes for me, I've hit a wall. I know good content is out there that I've yet to see, but I keep running into duds. I watched Not one, but Two films lately that were supposed to be Gay Romances with characters who are closeted. On screen I think the gay characters maybe kiss and lay in bed together... but have full on sex with their wives/girlfriends. If you're going to market something as a Gay Romance... and depict more straight romance in the film do us a favor and not market it as a Gay Romance, but just a general "Drama..." about a woman who's husband is gay/has a gay lover.  

Edited February 11 by Krista

[Krista]

2 hours ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

Not sure if anyone suggested this movie, I really didn't want to go through seven pages to check. 

Franky and Ballas have been friends forever, on the night Franky was to lose his virginity to his girlfriend on his sixteenth birthday, she is called away. Franky and Ballas have a drunken night where something sexual happens between them. Their lives are torn apart as Ballas spreads rumors about Franky with the aid of his girlfriend. 

A twist on the usual gay boy plays around with straight friend. Good acting all around and thought provoking premise about life, friendship, sexuality, and mental health.  

 

This film frustrated me. I liked the acting, plot, twist, and overall story. But damn it, so frustrating... lol. Which, I think was the purpose of this film, no one can convince me otherwise. I felt so annoyed watching, it brought out some protective mother instincts in me, I'm thinking. 

[Jason Rimbaud]

11 minutes ago, Krista said:

This film frustrated me. I liked the acting, plot, twist, and overall story. But damn it, so frustrating... lol. Which, I think was the purpose of this film, no one can convince me otherwise. I felt so annoyed watching, it brought out some protective mother instincts in me, I'm thinking. 

I thought it worked on two different levels. If you haven't seen it I might spoil a twist...

 

 

I loved that Franky never denied being gay, never outed his friend, and accepted that life moves on 

As Ballas, steeped deep in the closet, hurting those around him to cover his true self, and the look of realization of the harm he done at the end when he was holding the necklace, a sign that his friend forgave him even though he didn't deserve it. 

[Krista]

1 hour ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

I thought it worked on two different levels. If you haven't seen it I might spoil a twist...

 

 

I loved that Franky never denied being gay, never outed his friend, and accepted that life moves on 

As Ballas, steeped deep in the closet, hurting those around him to cover his true self, and the look of realization of the harm he done at the end when he was holding the necklace, a sign that his friend forgave him even though he didn't deserve it. 

The frustration was a good frustration, to clarify. I wasn't knocking the film because it frustrated me. There was so much wrong with one character that to me, he went too far to be redeemable, which is fine some people are irredeemable. I just rewatched it, as I purchased it ages ago just as a refresher. It was 'less' frustrating this time, as I knew how it was going to play out, so there's that. 
 

Spoiler

And Franky did have to defend his sexuality, whatever it was. His mother, father, non-binary friend,  and best friend all tried to tell him who he was or make him declare it one way or the other when he didn't know. By the end of the film he still doesn't know. Hey may be gay, he may have just been 'in love' with his best friend. He seemed to genuinely be attracted to Tash, so I think he's of the mind that he still is working through that. He never denied it, because he knew it wouldn't do him much good, as evidenced by Tash who was obviously raped, but still called a slut. Unfortunately versions of yourself gets determined by other people against your will in high school. It is up to you to decide if it is worth your trouble or not. 

 
 

Spoiler

What is most damming for Ballas, is how he treats his sister, to be honest. His own little sister went through all that she did and he couldn't allow her happiness, just because he couldn't handle internalized homophobia, instead of focusing on resolving that he attempted to continue to steal happiness from his one time best friend, as well as his sister who he knows suffered. He also wasn't threatening people and supporting her at school either and didn't make an attempt to be there when she showed obvious signs of non-healing. So, that aspect and then all the rest of him, he frustrated me, mostly because he showed minimal remorse for any of it. 

 

[Jason Rimbaud]

13 minutes ago, Krista said:

The frustration was a good frustration, to clarify. I wasn't knocking the film because it frustrated me. There was so much wrong with one character that to me, he went too far to be redeemable, which is fine some people are irredeemable. I just rewatched it, as I purchased it ages ago just as a refresher. It was 'less' frustrating this time, as I knew how it was going to play out, so there's that. 
 

  Reveal hidden contents

And Franky did have to defend his sexuality, whatever it was. His mother, father, non-binary friend,  and best friend all tried to tell him who he was or make him declare it one way or the other when he didn't know. By the end of the film he still doesn't know. Hey may be gay, he may have just been 'in love' with his best friend. He seemed to genuinely be attracted to Tash, so I think he's of the mind that he still is working through that. He never denied it, because he knew it wouldn't do him much good, as evidenced by Tash who was obviously raped, but still called a slut. Unfortunately versions of yourself gets determined by other people against your will in high school. It is up to you to decide if it is worth your trouble or not. 

 
 

  Reveal hidden contents

What is most damming for Ballas, is how he treats his sister, to be honest. His own little sister went through all that she did and he couldn't allow her happiness, just because he couldn't handle internalized homophobia, instead of focusing on resolving that he attempted to continue to steal happiness from his one time best friend, as well as his sister who he knows suffered. He also wasn't threatening people and supporting her at school either and didn't make an attempt to be there when she showed obvious signs of non-healing. So, that aspect and then all the rest of him, he frustrated me, mostly because he showed minimal remorse for any of it. 

 

Oh Krista, how right you are, and now I'm mad at you.  (Just being cheeky)

But your observations are spot on, I am corrected and doff my cap to you. 

No one watch this movie, me and Krista are frustrated and hate Ballas. We even started a club.

J 

[Krista]

7 minutes ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

Oh Krista, how right you are, and now I'm mad at you.  (Just being cheeky)

But your observations are spot on, I am corrected and doff my cap to you. 

No one watch this movie, me and Krista are frustrated and hate Ballas. We even started a club.

J 

He is a character study that I would have loved to have written, to be fair. I liked the film more the second time, mostly because I saw more of the growth of everyone else. I was too focused on my frustration the first time, so at least you overlooked that and was able to see other side of what makes the film decently good.  

Edited February 11 by Krista

[Jason Rimbaud]

12 minutes ago, Krista said:

He is a character study that I would have loved to have written, to be fair. I liked the film more the second time, mostly because I saw more of the growth of everyone else. I was too focused on my frustration the first time, so at least you overlooked that and was able to see other side of what makes the film decently good.  

Okay now I'm really mad at you. 

Hey everyone, I mis-spoke, Krista and I started a fan club for the movie. Everyone resume normal programing over most of these same stations.  

[Page Scrawler]

I bought a copy of this movie many years ago. You can tell by the silly voice of the narrator that it's from the 'turn of the century' era. It may not be the most enlightened, and certainly there are better movies available, but if you're looking for something lighthearted, this is good for families.

 

[Talo Segura]

On 2/10/2025 at 10:07 PM, Krista said:

I don't know about a "good" translation, but it is on Tubi.com. Unless it is geographically unavailable and all that.

Tubi is a US TV channel, which operates under strict rules. These “rules” are licensing agreements that allow the platform to work exclusively in the US. Go abroad and you'll notice the error that appears each time you try to visit it.

[Talo Segura]

On 2/9/2025 at 7:27 PM, Page Scrawler said:

From a French soap series called Demain Nous Apartient, we're blessed with Jack Dumas Roussell and Rayane Saeed.

The soap which has been running for years has featured various different teenage and young adult sexuality. Bart, the owner of The Spoon a bar, cafe, restaurant, was in a relationship with a guy, he declared he is pansexual. 

There is another soap Ici Tout Commence about a college for hotel restaurants, which is a sort of crossover and features teen, young adult themes, relationships and complications.

In the last ten years or so, at least here in France, the (gay) world has changed and it's no big deal to have a different sexuality. Ici Tout Commence featured a gay relationship which involved three students and a baby (two boys and a girl).

Demain Nous Appartient - Tomorrow Is Ours 

Ici Tout Commence - It All Starts Here

They air Monday to Friday at 18h30, 25 minute episodes and we're at episode 1109 for Ici Tout Commence, 5 seasons, and 1877 for Demain Nous Appartient, 8 seasons.

Search for the series and add English subtitles (Demain Nous Appartient English subtitles), but that's a lot of binge viewing 😁