Gay TV, Movies, and Books

[Joie J.]

Has anyone here seen We Are Who We Are? Can't remember if I have suggested it already 😅 but anyway...watch it if you haven't. It's an eight episoder gem that most people have overlooked. 

Personally, I think it's Luca Guadagnino's best work after Call Me By Your Name. It's full of tension and releases and beautiful pictures and score and marvelous acting and all that; but above all, the story stayed true to its theme: 'You are who you are and you love who you love. It's all okay.'

 

[Page Scrawler]

28 minutes ago, Joie J. said:

Has anyone here seen We Are Who We Are?

Jack Dylan Grazer at his finest. 

[Joie J.]

24 minutes ago, Page Scrawler said:

Jack Dylan Grazer at his finest. 

Yup, that goes without saying.

But can you blame me for I couldn't take my eyes off of Jonathan (Tom Mercier) 😍 

[Talo Segura]

 

[Page Scrawler]

 

[Page Scrawler]

Legends and Lattes, by Travis Baldree. An orc warrior named Viv has had enough of bloodshed---monster slaying really isn't good for her lower back---so, she decides to hang up her sword and settle down in the bustling territory of Thune. To support herself, she decides to start a coffee shop. The catch? Coffee is relatively unknown outside of the Gnomish lands. Also, could she possibly be falling for Tandri, the succubus she's hired as the shop's barista?

Edited February 26 by Page Scrawler

[Zombie]

US college ‘wrestling’ - surely…  

 

[Page Scrawler]

These guys are such a cute couple. Sadly, their original home was completely engulfed by the Altadena wildfire, but they're starting a new chapter now. 

 

 

[Zombie]

18 hours ago, Page Scrawler said:

These guys are such a cute couple. Sadly, their original home was completely engulfed by the Altadena wildfire, but they're starting a new chapter now. 

of course the cat 🐈 is going to totally ignore the ‘cat tree’ - like for-ev-vah!!  - and set up home on that cool desk

[LJCC]

Never watched this. Now I'm curious.

 

Edited March 4 by LJCC

[Joie J.]

On 3/3/2025 at 4:48 AM, Page Scrawler said:

These guys are such a cute couple. Sadly, their original home was completely engulfed by the Altadena wildfire, but they're starting a new chapter now. 

 

 

Yeah, I follow his partner Chris' YouTube channel. They are both really cute and they talk about books & bookstores 😊

Currently, they are redecorating their new house 'cause they lost their old one in LA fire. 😢 That house was really cute; especially the drawingroom with an awesome garden view.

[Page Scrawler]

2 hours ago, Joie J. said:

Yeah, I follow his partner Chris' YouTube channel. They are both really cute and they talk about books & bookstores 😊

Currently, they are redecorating their new house 'cause they lost their old one in LA fire. 😢 That house was really cute; especially the drawing room with an awesome garden view.

I'm following both channels, 'cause I enjoy watching every moment. 

[Ron]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet. I recently watched the first season on Hulu (with advertising no less) and it’s not bad.

The Ignorant Angels

Serra Ylmaz who plays the character of (wait for it) Serra is one of the supporting actors. About a dozen +/- years ago I had the pleasure of hosting Serra for dinner at my former home in Boston along with the contemporary curator from the Gardner Museum in Boston (visit if you’re ever in the city) and my ex who was then Curator of the Collection (a fancy title meant to convey the authority of the position) at the Gardner. I don’t remember to many specifics of the evening but I do remember having an overall sense that it was a pleasant event. Oh, and I was the chef, as always for these special occasions — well, and daily, too 😉, but I only remember serving a dish of mixed olives that I had nothing to with creating and a lump crab dish (I no longer have the recipe, I looked for it) served along with a absolutely delicious Chablis. That’s it, I can’t recall what the entree was or what wine I served with it — that’s what happens over time, I guess.

Edited March 14 by Ron

[Page Scrawler]

The Queen Bees of Tybee County, by Kyle Casey Chu. Available April 15th! 

After making the buzzer-beating shot at the Georgia basketball state championships, Derrick Chan becomes the star of Bayard Middle School, and Derrick’s dad could not be prouder. But there are parts of Derrick that no one knows about, like the toenail polish he wears under his basketball sneakers, his secret lip-sync performances in the bathroom mirror, and the feelings he’s developing for his best friend and teammate, JJ.

As the school year comes to a close, Derrick’s dad takes an out-of-town job and ships Derrick off to spend the summer with his estranged, eccentric grandmother, Claudia. Soon, Claudia introduces Derrick to the world of small-town southern beauty pageants, and Derrick suddenly feels he’s found where he belongs. But when the opportunity arises to compete in the town pageant, Derrick is forced to decide just how much of himself he’s ready to show the world.

Can he learn to love and accept the most unique parts of himself? And what will happen if others—like his father and JJ—can’t do the same? 

[Page Scrawler]

For those who are interested, Young Hearts will (finally) be released in North America, available from Strand Releasing starting on May 13th. You can buy it directly from their website, or get it on Amazon. 

 

[Krista]

I have definitely fallen into the "weird' arena of gay films of late. Attempting to find something to watch. Which, I'm not afraid of weird, or films where no one is likeable, and there's a lot of strange aspects to characters that make them outliers of society really. I can't really recommend the films I watched recently, as they weren't really 'gay films' and the aspects were negative at best. So I won't put anyone through the tortures of watching the two films that I recently watched. Unless you honestly want me to. Then I'll post a more in-depth review of both. 

Other than that, I've been frustrated. I've rewatched my classic go-to films some over the weeks. What are some of your classic go-to gay films? Maybe I've missed some along the way... 

There are some up and coming films listed here that I want to watch upon release as well. 

[SilentandBroken]

I don’t know if this is the appropriate area to post this but ..I felt the need to share. It hit me right in the feels. Sigh…

 

[Krista]

I liked it, a bit short on originality, but the theme will not truly be frowned upon by me. I've seen the trauma of such similarities played out in my friends' lives, so the impact still hits if done well. 

[SilentandBroken]

5 hours ago, Krista said:

I liked it, a bit short on originality, but the theme will not truly be frowned upon by me. I've seen the trauma of such similarities played out in my friends' lives, so the impact still hits if done well. 

It may have been a bit originality but in the end the fight is the same every time. Us vs bullies or society

[Zombie]

2 hours ago, SilentandBroken said:

It may have been a bit originality but in the end the fight is the same every time. Us vs bullies or society

It’s easy to dismiss short films like this as ‘slight’ because not much happens, not much is said, and it’s all been done before

But what’s actually happening (as those who have lived this experience will understand) is all internal - the thoughts, feelings, loneliness, longing, and of course the disappointment and fear. All these things this short film conveys well

And the message is important - keeping these things ‘internal’ can have terrible consequences. ‘Silent Secrets’ should not stay silent

[SilentandBroken]

5 hours ago, Zombie said:

It’s easy to dismiss short films like this as ‘slight’ because not much happens, not much is said, and it’s all been done before

But what’s actually happening (as those who have lived this experience will understand) is all internal - the thoughts, feelings, loneliness, longing, and of course the disappointment and fear. All these things this short film conveys well

And the message is important - keeping these things ‘internal’ can have terrible consequences. ‘Silent Secrets’ should not stay silent

Exactly. Well said.

[Page Scrawler]

 

[Krista]

14 hours ago, Zombie said:

It’s easy to dismiss short films like this as ‘slight’ because not much happens, not much is said, and it’s all been done before

But what’s actually happening (as those who have lived this experience will understand) is all internal - the thoughts, feelings, loneliness, longing, and of course the disappointment and fear. All these things this short film conveys well

And the message is important - keeping these things ‘internal’ can have terrible consequences. ‘Silent Secrets’ should not stay silent

Not really, I've seen short films of similar lengths totally gut me with this theme. This one, the writing especially the character of the bully lacked all nuance. It was blatant idiocy, which gets the message across, but with little effort. The Main character did his part well, it was too bad the writing of the others were a bit lackluster. I still felt something when viewing it. I don't like to see people at the end of all hope, because I've seen it play out in front of me twice. I was the one that helped pull them up from that, so maybe I just wanted this short to reach for it a little more than it did. 

[SilentandBroken]

2 hours ago, Page Scrawler said:

 

Damn..

[SilentandBroken]

8 minutes ago, Krista said:

Not really, I've seen short films of similar lengths totally gut me with this theme. This one, the writing especially the character of the bully lacked all nuance. It was blatant idiocy, which gets the message across, but with little effort. The Main character did his part well, it was too bad the writing of the others were a bit lackluster. I still felt something when viewing it. I don't like to see people at the end of all hope, because I've seen it play out in front of me twice. I was the one that helped pull them up from that, so maybe I just wanted this short to reach for it a little more than it did. 

I think both films have merit but there is a lot of things that could’ve improved them both for sure. I think it’s important to recognize these are both amateur films and for what it’s worth, they’re much better than anything I could’ve done. Even in this site there’s many stories that would make excellent films, both short ones like these and big time budget films. I think sometimes these short films are deliberately left thin on dialogue to keep it short so it fits the time limit, which unfortunately, can affect the quality a lot too. Still, these are giving these kids a chance at being seen and getting noticed if they’re aspiring actors way more than any other time in history or any other opportunity that they could possibly get in a more professional setting. Contextually speaking, story wise, sure I think there are many possible outcomes that happen in real life. The writers chose these for whatever reason. Perhaps that’s what happened to them, their story perhaps. GA uses stories. These folks used YT. I think both have pros and cons to using. Just the fact these topics are no longer taboo and removed from the web speaks to the success of the advocacy that has been done. 30-40 yrs ago, all of this was a but a dream for some, in its infancy for others. Frankly, I love it all. I think it’s courageous. Hopefully it inspires young gay teens in real life to stand up for themselves.