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The Storyline is Getting Wearisome
This is a sweet journey if you are drawn to sweet genteel cliché ‘friends-to-lovers’ romance narratives. All the characters are sweet. The story is sweet. The outcome is sweet. But be forewarned. You might slip into a diabetic coma from watching this rather short series because of all the sweetness that is pumped into your blood from this saccharin novella. However, I cannot say that it is not mildly entertaining, for it is. Curiously because of the symmetry between the actors. While there is nothing in this series you have not seen in other similar versions before, perhaps done much better and deeper than here, there is still enough hitherto to grab your attention.You can read the full review at BLBliss.com.
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Great Story So Disappointed In The Acting! Shame!
I was a bit surprised as to how inward and esoteric this series was. It was prodigiously reflective. I found myself surprisingly moved by its content and the detailed struggles of the major players. It is not just a BL; it was also a story about verity. To be sure, maybe too much scope was covered in such a short period of time. However, I appreciated its thoughtful efforts in coveting normal issues of everyday people in warmly touching routines. The screenplay is very good overall for this series. And admittedly, the individual acting is good to very good. Where this series utterly failed is the execution of its very theme. Although they were trying to convince us that they had, they never did. Love. Where the acting completely and I do mean completely failed and collapsed is trying to persuade us, one, that they were a couple, and two, they were in love with each other. It was obvious that the two of them had little to no screen chemistry together. I did not believe for a second that they were a ‘couple’. They were tense, uncomfortable, awkward, and insincere when together as a couple. It showed on their faces and in their movements. Secondly, ALL their kissing scenes, were ‘dead fish’ kisses. Honestly, I have never seen worse kissing in my life on screen from two guys. They could not even pretend to like it or enjoy it. Both looked like they were going to vomit. Their lack of physical connection was simply appalling.Was this review helpful to you?
A Red String That Is Soulful Indeed
Being a Westerner, I am completely drawn to the metaphysical construct of soul-transference prevalent in Eastern cultures. Especially if you throw in the mythology of the Red String of Fate. There is something so mesmerizing about the concept of two souls being bound forever via an invisible red string. The intensity of that symbolism is mystical for those of us from the West and I am compelled by its underlying intensity. Evocatively, I can think of no more intimate way to attach to someone you love, truly love, than by tying a red string around their wrist along with yours. Not only is that figurative, but it is also so romantic and shows a deep sense of commitment to a relationship. This series had all of that. Perhaps not in an intense way, and seemingly more peripheral than serious, but nonetheless, it remained its central theme. Read the full review at BLBliss.com.Was this review helpful to you?
Sink The Hermoso Screams The Director!
The best way to describe this series is to define it in terms of a psychological disorder. It is schizophrenic. It has all the symptoms of this condition. It is befuddling, full of mood swings, capricious, shows severe personality changes, weird periods of agitation with obvious emotional disorders as well, and psychological instability throughout. I could go on, but you get the point. It is not tethered to thinking, operating, or behaving clearly. The story is an incoherent mess yet sometimes just a whole lot of fun to watch. It was entertaining for some time but then lost its direction in the end as it did not seem to know how to conclude the story. This series started out so promising. And I enjoyed a goodly portion of it. The screenplay and directing did them all wrong. You can read the full review at BLBliss.com.Was this review helpful to you?
Great Acting With An Implausible & Sick Story!
Yet again, this is another example of a potentially good BL series that went awry. There is a lot of good acting in this series. The issue is, it was wasted in a noxious story. I want to cry over the content (or lack thereof) that is being used to construct BL stories. While I know there ought to be no topics off limits, I do wish more positive representations of ‘Boys Love’ could be portrayed. Or at least ones that are not always so pessimistic in nature and content and/or surrounded by such ugly and negative dimensions. Generally speaking, Korean BL tend to be dark and broody; this one was exceptionally morose and despairing, sprinkled with a mixture of odd personas that sometimes worked. And sometimes not.This is good acting wasted on a silly and sick story. You can't find better story ideas?
You can read the full review of this well acted but implausible story at BLBliss.com.
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I Enjoyed This One For Its Intrinsic Value
This is yet another brilliant art film from China that is misunderstood. Because it is so cryptic, its message does not consistently flow and so therefore, it feels a bit uneven. But I loved it. It is raw, feels organic, and presents life as it truly is. For just a moment. I totally got it even though it is a short series and involves literally only 2 people. Others are there but they are, as you will see, only become secondary figures and end up for our protagonists, being a mistake that they made in their lives. All we see is a slice-of-life as it transpires. I simply enjoyed being given the experience of seeing two guys meet, find their truer selves through their cosplay. Right or wrong; good or bad. Their lives after this is a whole other story. What arises afterwards is unknown.Was this review helpful to you?
Zero Chemistry But Compellingly Entertaining
I absolutely enjoyed this series and if you asked me seriously why, I am completely at a loss to comprehensively answer that. The plot is ridiculously contrived. The story itself is all over the map. Even if one could attempt to summarize, it might sound illogical and laughable. Yet, I valued its warmth, its positive relationship to the rural lifestyle, its spotlight on idealism, and most of all its unwavering path to taking the high road to bends in the road when it came to the moral compass. It is simply a fun story to watch that is ginormously entertaining with a steady sense of humor that never is completely off the wall but occasionally is tongue-in-cheek yet remains relatable enough that we see the humor presented in down-to-earth fashion. I may have overrated this series, but sometimes the likability factor outweighs all its negativity. This series simply has charm, fun, and astonishing entertainment. So, for a few precious hours, we can drift away into a make-believe BL world where all will be well. Sometimes, we just need that feeling. I just loved watching the shenanigans of the characters in this series. They made me smile!Was this review helpful to you?
This Deserves a Red Envelope!
Sometimes, remakes are disappointing or miss the point of the original, but this version is everything that was, while adding a Thai flair to substantiate its own genesis. Therefore, this stands out as truly unique. Essentially a comedy, but do not let that define how this movie should be classified. To be sure, some parts of it are funny, even quite humorous. But it is not all that. If you are also expecting the story to be a BL, you are also going to be somewhat disappointed. It is not. Yet, it is a gay mythos that will, by the end, cause you to laugh, force you to think about death, and possibly make you cry. You might even sob as there are many astonishingly poignant moments in this movie. Parts of you could also make you angry because it shows how easy it is for an unscrupulous character to take advantage and use someone’s gullibilities of decency, love, and trust for personal gain. As the saying goes, however, karma will be proven to be a ….One of the best adaption of a previous movie from Taiwan that is also exceptional. But this one has a cute Thai flair to it!
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Cute But Take Too Long to Go Anywhere
This was a hard series to dislike. Conversely, it was also a difficult series TO like as well. Overall, what brought this series down was its production value and the way it was presented. A comprehensive story cannot be told proficiently in 30 episodes of 8 minutes or so stretched over 3 months. No one’s attention span can last that long or retain details or nuances of a story in that sporadic of a time frame. Especially this series as several episodes were tedious, repetitive, and lackluster. While the concept was great, it simply droned on too long with the same mundane storylines going nowhere which caused one to lose interest. What was entertaining was the fact that, at times, the main protagonists were quite good and surprisingly effective, given the fantasy nature of the story. Then unfortunately they too slipped into banality and repetitiveness. It undoubtedly would be more impactful watching it in toto. In terms of total time, it is only about 4 hours.Was this review helpful to you?
Wolves in Sheep's' Clothing
This was indeed a very involved story of crime, corruption, and mayhem. I am assuming it was trying to mirror or channel, at least a little bit of “KinnPorsche.” A very mafia-type flair was established early on with the projection that some protagonists may not quite as bad as others. Of course, it is simply based on what you are more willing to turn a blind eye to compared to other options. I could not relate to any of it in the sense of being able to find anything ‘good’ with any of its characters. The protagonists were ALL bad. I am fascinated with how one can take immoral and nefarious characters and marry them with illegal actions/activities and somehow try and make the story feel like they are do-gooders. Or somehow worthy of some respect. They are not. They are criminals and are doing criminal activities even though at times it might seem for the right reasons. If I am going to be truthful here, I honestly paid little attention to the story. It was just too abusive and criminal for me to even remotely value. You can read my full review of this series (I did like the bad guys) at BLBliss.com.Was this review helpful to you?
Despite Being Pollyanna, It Worked!
This is a ridiculously shallow, rather empty, plot of a story. It had fluff and was soft and squishy just like a marshmallow – you can see it, feel it, but it has little substance to it. While parts of it were indeed funny, a lot of it was lame, and, yet in a few cases, it attained some very insightful moments. Despite all the irregularities, I loved its diegesis. In a weird, deranged way, while it was so Pollyanna, it never veered far from being relatable to everyday people leading everyday lives. The reasons why we do the things we do in life were so beautifully portrayed. Every road, from why we might choose a career to why we move to be with the people we love, is traversed. It all made sense in the most basic, loving manner. It dealt with the painful life-changing issues honestly, openly, and matter-of-factly. And it did not get too maudlin about any of it. More importantly, parts showed how by putting our most innermost pain in perspective so that we could see how we can move on from it. In that sense, this series does deserve kudos for showing contextual acceptance and peace. I wish it could have given more focus to its protagonists. It then would have been a great series.Was this review helpful to you?
It The Ship!
Once I completed this series, I asked myself what was the premise of this series? And I honestly could not figure one out. It is your standard formulaic BL, full of tropes, cliches, customary setups, and unremarkable contrived crisis. But through at least some portions of this series, I found myself being avidly entertained chiefly because of the charming effect of the two main leads. The remainder, however, not so much because it was your standard flat setup. The whole concept is absurd, really. These two guys were the antithesis of their personas. They simply could not pull off these roles or at least not seriously enough to be believed and therefore the whole premise almost became a parody. BUT oh, it was so much fun to watch them go at it! This is one of the most enjoyable and fun ‘spy thriller’ series that never was to come out in a long time. Perhaps, if they made this as a comedy, it might have worked better!Was this review helpful to you?
A Tale of Two Stories
The title of this movie is aptly named. Aichaku literally means in Japanese ‘attachment’. But an attachment to an object that is more like a feeling of affinity – what the object means. It takes on an emotional attachment. And this movie is certainly that. It is a movie filled with a lot of emotional bonds. This is a story about dreams where destiny seemed inevitable. Yet, destiny is not a given and it may not happen at all, no matter how hard one believes. Then the synergy of two men who happen to meet, fall in love, brought strengths with them to make each of their dreams a reality. While the first half was slow-moving, the second half carried the story to fruition. It became relatable, less centrist to one or the other character, and together combined to make dreams happen with a result being a new beginning for both men. Overall, the movie ended up being a very moving and poignant story with periods of humor and touching interactions. Read the full review of this rather entertaining movie at BLBliss.com.Was this review helpful to you?
Silly, Sleazy, Sloppy
I had hoped to enjoy this series. I really did. It had so much going for it but it ended up being a semi-hot mess. It had its moments to be sure but there were not enough of them to save it from itself. Too bad because the subject matter was one that was unique and interesting. It was about the world of male pageantry. If it had only focused on that, this could have been a really great series. Instead, it went into the sensationalism and sleaziness of the industry. While I do not doubt that some of that does exist, the world of male pageantry would have been quite entertaining in and of itself to see. The world around the pageant became secondary to individual stories of some of the contestants, which for the most part was either dull and boring or titillating. The plots to these substories were insipid and vapid and/or the characters around them became caricatures rather than examples of real people.Was this review helpful to you?
The Usual
Lately, I want to cry every time I watch a South Korean BL. Why? Because I am always feeling as if I am intruding where I do not belong. Everything feels so inconvenient, dark, depressing, angsty, and most of all invasive. And no one, and I mean no one, is ever happy, smiling, or appears to be human. I KNOW that is a sweeping generalization, but I feel it deep down to my core. They are seem so repressed and unwilling, or more aptly, unable to truly be themselves. Everyone and subsequently everything feels suppressed and gets repressed. A certain righteous order and decorum must be maintained at all costs. I am not judging, honestly; merely observing. From an outsider looking in. I am frankly not sure how they define happiness or even if they could (especially sexual fulfillment). This is your traditional tropey love story. I wish I could be more creative describing it, but I simply cannot. It all wallows in the same tired old tropey trite theme of no communication and/or miscommunication. Isn't this getting old?Was this review helpful to you?
