Be Mine SuperStar

Not a university BL, but...

So, I stayed away from this so I could binge watch it, and I'm not sure that it was actually a wise choice. I've just started on episode 3 and I'm finding it a hard slog. First of all, I don't think that a 13+ rating is correct. The one initial scenes with the doctor is not something I'd recommend for children, and I'm guessing there will be other similar scenes down the track. At the very least it should be 18+.
I thought the concept was different, but did they really have to make the lakorn they're shooting so cringey? I thought that the behind the scenes shots, where Aschi accidentally hit Title, would have made a more interesting concept - shooting a lakorn about producing a popular TV series.
I like the Thai songs, but I have to admit that I really do not like the use of English songs, which seems to be popular these days.
There are so many actors that I really like in the show - JaFirst, Bosston, Ben, Lee Long Shi, and the very talented Jo, and luckily, I know they can act because of their previous series. One actor I can't seem to like very much, is Kokliang, and I'm sure I'm doing him a disservice, but it's all because of his, in my opinion, miscast role as Tar in TharnType. I really dislike when series recast characters, and I just wasn't able to get my head around his version of Tar. I shouldn't let it affect anything he's been in since, but every time I see him, I can only think of him as Tar. Yes, Ben was a recast Phana too, and whilst he didn't fit the character either, I found his acting decent enough to keep me interested, as long as I could 'forget' the original series. Lee Long Shi was also a recast character, and whilst I don't want to delve into the whole Unforgotten Night.Love Syndrome III debate again, he's another actor who was interesting enough to make me forget that LS III was a recast sequel.
The opening scenes where the younger brother is defiling Punn's personal 'collectibles', and being downright annoying is just plain ridiculous. I know he's Punn's younger brother, but he's obviously not a little child either. But then Punn wakes up... To have one childlike adult son seems unfortunate, but two, makes me question their genes.
I really didn't like the scenes between the constantly bickering managers, which were not only extremely annoying, but also terribly boring. I might have liked Noon's character better if her 'offscreen' character had been even slightly more redeeming than her 'onscreen' character in the lakorn. It reminded me of her OTT portrayal of the titular character in Rose In Da House.
That brings me to JaFirst... It's such a shame that their swansong as an onscreen couple should be in such an unfortunate series. I haven't read the novel, but I'm assuming from the title, that Punn is supposed to be a cute, dopey, bouncy and fun character, much like your typical puppy. Unfortunately, what we've ended up with, is a 3rd year university student, who acts more like a kindergartner most of the time. It's not cute, nor remotely appealing, yet we're expected to believe that this is normal behaviour for a man in his early twenties. If Ja is playing the character as he is written in the novel, then the fact that he's so annoying, is testament to his acting skills, but I still don't like him.
I really wanted this last onscreen pairing of Ja and First to be as good as Don't Say No, but I'm sad to say it isn't. As I said, I'm just about to start episode 3, so there is hope for improvement, but I seriously doubt it. I really wanted to be immersed in JaFirst's story, but I much prefer Dr Ming's story, and he's hardly had any scenes. I know these guys can all act, and I've always believed that what we end up seeing is down to the company/scriptwriter/director and/or acting coach's interpretation. The actors can only do what they're told to do, and work with the script they're given, so I tend to give a lot of leeway to them, especially if they've not had a lot of experience. It's such a shame, because this had the potential to be a memorable series. It is, but for all the wrong reasons.
No one should judge a production by the reviews of others, so I'll always recommend that viewers form their own opinions. I would have missed some of my favourite series if I'd simply listened to other people's reviews, including Love Sick and Secret Crush On You. SCOY also has a childlike and possessive main couple, but there was a lot more to keep me distracted. I also will always watch the whole series, unless it's really bad and that's only happened once - I'm currently struggling to get past ep 5 of Tin Tem Jai, which is another series with 2 characters who despite being men, act like 2 year wolds when they're within shouting distance of each other, but the reason I doubt I'll finish that series, is because the main couple is so totally mismatched and has absolutely no chemistry whatsoever. Though I watched until the end, I struggled to get through Check Out. Even the fairly explicit sex scene in the final episode couldn't save this one, which had such a promising start with episode 0. Apparently, according to Best, his character Daonuea was supposed to be autistic, but that was never conveyed. Knowing that afterwards, still didn't change my opinion of the show. I also struggled through Dinosaur Love, (where all I could think about is that this is how Saifah, Payu's twin, should have looked, instead of being like some random uncle off the street), and Future The Series - again mismatched main couples, with immature and possessive characters. Is this the current trend in BLs now ? If it is, despite so many BLs to choose from, I feel that there will be so many I will be choosing not to watch. After almost 10 years of watching Thai BLs, I'm totally over the cutesy content, and I want something more mature, and I'm not talking explicit...
If you find Ja's character cute and entertaining, then this series is for you.
I probably will re-watch it at some point, but I suspect that I'll be doing a lot of scene skipping, unless someone out there decides to make an edit of the best scenes, then I'll happily make do with that.

Read More

No expectations is the way to go.

It should be a general rule that one should not go into watching a series with expectations. Having a preconceived idea about what should happen takes away from what actually happens and more often than not leads to disappointment.

I think this may be the case for most of the negative reviews this series is getting. That and the fact that when we see the same pairings over and over, we get into the mindset that these characters should be playing a certain role in every project they do. I think some people forget that these are actors and they can be anything and anyone the script calls for them to be.

Unfortunately, I think this is what hurt this series the most. Sure, it just finished and there's still a lot of watching to be done, but I'm concerned the bad reviews will turn people away before they even give it a chance to make their own opinions. In my opinion, it was a decent watch though it certainly wasn't anything to write home about. And, while I can't see myself watching it again, I may look up some scenes occasionally.

Regarding the main actors and their roles.. I get it. I know this is based off a novel but it really feels like a manhwa or manga. It's got the "everyone chasing after one of the lead characters," an older uke with an innocent, puppy-like seme, not much dialogue between the couples... etc. And the second couple was practically non-existent except for their NC scenes. I even remember thinking at one point, "why doesn't the doctor have many lines? Are they not confident in his acting and only using him for eye-candy?"

In this respect, I though Ja actually portrayed the character well, actually. I may prefer him in a more serious, mature role but that doesn't mean he didn't capture the essence here. It was almost believable that he was younger and more immature than First's character. First, on the other hand, in the attempt to seem older and more put together, seemed to be mostly expressionless throughout 80% of the series. I think he just has way too much passion and charisma to try to pull off that aloof, in control older-man vibe. I appreciated the attempt because I like it more than the whiny brat he was in TharnType 2 and the start of Don't Say No, but it still felt a bit flat and 1-dimentional to me for the most part.

Early on in the first few episodes, I was about ready to drop the series on account of the supporting female cast.. the actress doing the series with Ashi and the 2 managers were driving me nuts but, thankfully they don't get all that much screen time as the story between Punn and Ashi progressed. The managers just get enough to actually further along the plot which was nice after a while. Even Worra became amusing after a while with her over-the-top performance in the lakorn within the series. I wonder how many times the real actress, Noon, had the crew cracking up with her antics and found myself looking to the other actors to see if they crack any smiles.

Ming was a very good character. He is the best wingman and "daddy" to Ashi and Punn. His scenes with the doctor were nice to watch too, being that they were always banging. But hey, it was hot and well done. It was hard to get invested in the doctor as a character since they didn't develop their relationship much or even develop him as a singular character until they gave him a half-assed backstory in the second to last episode. The writers/director put more emphasis on and effort into explaining how Title became such an a-hole than they did with showcasing the doctor and why we should care about him as a supporting character.

Speaking of Title, he was your standard, cookie-cutter villain where he is so in love with the main character that he will do horrible things in order to get his crush to notice him. It's a trope I'll never understand because what good guy "hero" is going to be like "wow, look at how awful that guy is.. he must really love me. I want to be with that guy." And then you have Title doing the whole "well, if he won't love me then he can't love anyone" thing. Like, he flat out says it, not just hints at the mentality with his actions.

Them going to Japan was a nice change of scenery as I don't think I've seen any Thai BL use this storyline yet. Usually if a character goes abroad somewhere, we don't usually see them in that country. Off the top of my head, I really only remember Kirin briefly being in Korea in Cutie Pie and Shi De being in the US in We Best Love. The scenery and architecture in the Japan portion of the show was stunning, especially with the snow. It was mainly because they were filming a period piece but it provided some great visuals and of course the use of hot springs.

The pacing felt a little weird since Punn and Ashi's story at times felt dragged out while Ming and the doctor could have used so much more. It made the whole thing feel unbalanced though I was still invested enough to watch to the end and feel entertained all along the way. Again, it's not the best series but it was an enjoyable watch for what it was.

Read More

Denle una oportunidad ?

Al comienzo no me parecía tan buena, pero decidí darle una oportunidad y ver su potencial. Sinceramente, extrañaba las escenas nc de jafirst, su actuación es muy buena. Después de ver algunos spoliers y el trailer de la serie, quiero pensar que se va a poner buena. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….byeee

Read More

Pour JaFirst, uniquement

Les critiques étaient si mauvaises que j'ai été favorablement surprise par ce drama que je n'attendais pas du tout.
Ou en tout cas par le couple JaFirst qui, fidèle à lui-même, associe charme et alchimie. Ils sont sincèrement adorables, ensemble et séparément. Et l'inversion des rôles habituels, à savoir un Ja mignon, extraverti et enfantin, et un First beau, introverti et sérieux, n'a pas été pour me déplaire. Contrairement à ce que j'aurais pu penser, ça a bien fonctionné, et je les ai suivis avec un plaisir qui m'a étonnée.

Alors tout n'est pas parfait, très loin de là. Les personnages secondaires sont extrêmement faibles, leur écriture tient pour certains de l'anecdote. Le couple secondaire, incarné par BosstonKavin, qui est séduisant sur le papier et visuellement, est le scandale de ce drama. C'est simple, ils n'apparaissent que pour coucher ensemble, il n'y a aucune histoire, ou elle est si mince qu'on y voit à travers, ces deux acteurs ont réellement été payés pour ça ? C'est comme si les producteurs ou le réalisateur s'étaient dit "il nous faut des scènes de sexe, on ne peut pas en demander trop à JaFirst, allez hop BosstonKavin pour compenser"... D'abord, il n'y a rien à compenser car les scènes NC de JaFirst sont très belles, pleines de tendresse et hot. Alors ? Pour faire parler du drama ? Sincèrement je ne sais pas, mais je suis très déçue et j'espère qu'on pourra les revoir avec des personnages autrement plus travaillés.
J'ai juste aimé le personnage de Worra qui m'a sincèrement fait hurler de rire plus d'une fois.

Le scénario est malheureusement bourré de trous et par moment inconsistant et la mise en scène typique d'un drama BL de seconde zone (slow motion, scènes coupées, mauvais raccords...)

Alors pourquoi le voir, pourquoi cette note somme toute plutôt bonne ? Pour JaFirst, et uniquement pour JaFirst.

Read More

Bon départ mais crash à l'arrivée.

C'était tellement bien parti, mais à l'arrivée c'est un crash gigantesque.
Ok Naruto et Sasuke sortez des ces corps. On démarre classique avec le joyeux débile de service qui court après son dark sasuke.
Mais l'alchimie entre les acteurs est là tant pour le couple principal que le secondaire (que j'aurais aimé plus développé).

Même si les clichés de départ m'ont fait peur, le scénario les évite de manière très agréable durant les 8 premiers épisodes et jusque-là j'étais sous le charme de cette série .
Et c'est là qu'on retombe comme toujours sur l'éternelle scène de rupture. Et comme ils ne savent pas quoi faire, on invente un prétexte bidon, sans aucun sens et qui va même à l'opposé de tout ce qui est fait dans les 8 épisodes précédents. (On dirait que le scénariste était malade et qu'ils ont attrapé le premier crétin qui passait dans la rue pour écrire la fin).
Ça brise tout le charme, c'est pénible à regarder et j'ai trouvé ça pathétique.
J'aurais préféré qu'ils s'arrêtent après le 8ème épisode, ça aurait même été parfait.

Voilà si vous en avez assez des scénarios faciles et sans originalité, ne regardez pas la fin.

Read More

O CASAL SECUNDÁRIO É A MELHOR COISA DESSA SÉRIE MAS TEVE POUCO TEMPO DE TELA

Vamos por partes.
1° A premissa era boa mais foi mal desenvolvida;
2° O casal principal não tem química e muitas cenas dão muita vergonha alheia por conta do Punn que é um personagem tão chato que chega a ser irritante;
3° O casal secundário é muito superior ao principal mas tiveram pouco tempo de tela;
4° (ALERTA DE SPOILER) Ainda falando sobre o casal secundário, aquela cena de traição facilmente perdoada no final é intragável pois mostra justamente que por não ter tempo de tela tudo foi corrido, inclusive os conflitos e resoluções
5° As cenas sexuais são muito boas e salvam esse drama

No geral essa é uma série meia boca mas uma coisa ou outra se salva. É tolerável.

Read More

terminada...

Vaya.... esta es la segunda vez que escribo esta reseña, puede que falte algo pero valor, se me borro la otra...

LO primero, no me gusto la serie, esta tenia la formula (couple) para ser una serie increíble y la verdad es que no lo dio, desde el guion y la dirección de esta historia fue todo en picada, la inicie pensando en que serie increíble, que seria una historia digna del JaFirts y la verdad es que no fue así, solo fue una historia plana con casi nada de desarrollo de personaje y dios el personaje de Ja era la verdad un dolor de ver, sentir que estaba viendo un desperdicio de actuación.

LA musica ni la recuerdo, quizás si la busco descubra que me gusta una canción, pero la verdad no fue memorable.

La actuación no fue mala, pero tampoco fue la mejor, esperaba mucho mas.

La premisa de la historia era interesante y me llamaba mucho la atención, pero la ejecución no lo fue, solo fue mas de lo mismo en casi todos los ep.

No la recomiendo, si eres fan del JaFirts seguro que la querías ver, que nadie te detenga, pero ten encuesta que no es la mejor historia, pudo haberlo sido. Si no eres fan y la quieres ver, no la tomes muy enserio, tiene escenas disfrutable, aunque no creo que sean memorables.

No creo volverla a ver, aunque no soy de volver a ver series, soy mas de buscas escenas o momentos y listo, Peri esta no he da la impresión de que hace eso, hasta le momento no lo he hecho, y la verdad no fue tan memorable (al menos no para mi) como para ver escenas.

Aun en mi corazón tengo la esperanza (que es lo ultimo que se pierde) de volver a ver al JaFirts actuando juntos una vez mas, y espero que con mejor guion, porque ellos son buenos y merecen mas trabajos.

Read More