TOP PICKS: The Best Films To Watch This Weekend

<p>If you are at home keeping warm and dry this weekend and have a yen to watch a really good movie, then THE GAY UK recommends BFI PLAYER from the people who run FLARE, London’s Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.</p> <p> </p><p><img src="http://www.thegayuk.com/communities/8/004/009/928/388/images/4568548681.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="" title=""/></p> <p>It has one of THE best-curated collections of films to stream that include some of the top gay movies of 2014 and some of our favorites from the past. Their carefully selected eclectic mix is full of great edgy indie movies (both straight and gay) that will delight the most discerning cinephile, and better still, you can view some for as little as £2.</p> <p></p><p>Here’s our TOP TEN LIST of UNMISSABLE MOVIES of the BEST OF BFI</p><p></p><p>1) I AM DIVINE: It’s the definitive documentary on the late and great actor who was both John Waters’s muse and his favorite star.</p><p></p><p>2) KEEP THE LIGHTS ON: A very tender story that plots a loving relationship between two very likable guys in Manhattan through all its highs and lows over a decade starting in 1998. </p><p></p><p>3) WEEKEND: One of the very best Brit gay dramas of this decade from Andrew Haigh (producer of TV’s LOOKING)</p><p></p><p>4) STRANGER BY THE LAKE: The French controversial homoerotic thriller that swept up Awards at Cannes Film Festival before wowing audiences for its sheer brazenness.</p><p></p><p>5) IDA: Tipped to win the BEST FOREIGN PICTURE OSCAR next month, this compelling Polish drama is about a Nun who needs to confront her Jewish ancestry.</p><p></p><p>6) THE GREAT BEAUTY: This Italian total opulent visual smorgasbord that almost tips into sensual overload at times with its highly meticulous stylized details is a sheer delight and was an Oscar winner in 2014.</p><p></p><p>7) G.B.F.: This rather charming 'boy-lit' high school comedy is peppered with some very good performances including one from Megan Mullally (Will & Grace’s Karen)</p><p></p><p>8) TWO DAYS ONE NIGHT: We confess to being a big Marion Cotillard fan and she is nothing less than superb in this Dardenne brother’s drama from Belgium. It has earned another Oscar Nomination for Best Actress (she won in 2008 for ‘Piaf’) </p><p></p><p>9) EYES WIDE OPEN: From 2009 this sad tale of forbidden gay love between a married Israeli Kosher Butcher and a Jewish Student will have you reaching for the Kleenex.</p><p></p><p>10) THE LUNCHBOX: From 2014 an utterly delightful Indian film about an unlikely romance that occurs after lunchboxes get mixed up. A sheer joy.</p><p></p><p>P.S. Be sure to check out the section called WTF – A BIT OF ODD. It’s a delectable selection of the most bizarre and kitsch short films and clips that they have dug out of the archives that have rarely been seen. Our favourite is ‘Everything But Everything in Br-Nylon’ from 1959, which is a wonderfully futuristic promo about a girl who dreams of a husband and home clothed entirely in Bri-Nylon. </p><p></p><p><a href="http://player.bfi.org.uk/">http://player.bfi.org.uk/</a> from the British Film Institute.</p><p></p><p>P.S. the movies are even cheaper if you become a member.</p><p></p><p>by <a href="http://www.thegayuk.com/RogerWalker-Dack">Roger Walker-Dack</a></p><p> </p>