Maggi64

I just watched it. You're right; he does this thing where he extends the tip of his tongue through his lips, such that it's a tiny bit visible. I agree that this was not something the director told him to do, but clearly his own, personal thing that he likely does even in his real life when he's turned on. It was too instinctive and tiny for it to have been directed.

Oh, and I am genuinely interested in why you like K-pop. Can you describe for me why you enjoy it? Is it the songs themselves? Or is it the theatricality of the performances? Because I've seen some of these idols perform and was forced to respect the enormous amount of training that goes into their dancing. Indeed, I see Asian idols as dancers, not musicians. And when I judge them on dancing alone, I gotta say, these guys are good (eg, the guy from "Semantic Error" is an amazing dancer). But the music? Well, you already know my opinion on that, lol.

In all fairness, I qualified that my age distanced me from appreciating this phenomena. I assumed that qualifying this would soften my comment and avoid offending people such as yourself. Clearly, it did not work. I regret this and apologize. As for your being 45 and me 55, those 10 years make a big difference because you'd have been a teen when boy bands like "New Kids on the Block" etc were suddenly big, whereas I was already an adult. Meaning, boy bands were never part of my generation, while they were prevalent in yours.

As for your question about why I bothered to bring this up when the series does not bring up K-pop, well, a number of comments here discussed the idol singing that song. Scroll down and read them, because my comment was in response to theirs. Besides, the very fact that the idol's management cleverly (and advantageously), got it written into his contract for the song to appear in this show makes it relevant to viewers such as myself. I mean, the song is THERE in the show, isn't it? Its very presence makes it, ipso facto, an open topic for discussion.

That said, I want to thank you for noting my presence on non BL pages. I discovered Asian Cinema 3 years ago and not only adore it, but have learned so much about Asian culture. Hell, the only reason I even learned about BL is that I was already watching Asian movies and the term kept popping up. For instance, I never heard of BL when I watched "You're Name Engraved Within" in 2020, and watched it because I was into Taiwanese Post New Wave Cinema. I was googling for discussions of the movie and found a Reddit thread where people kept using this odd term "BL." Before that, I'd only heard such films labeled as LGBT. The Reddit thread led me to watch a BL that was referenced; which took me to another BL, then another, then another. Ultimately, I fell into the rabbit hole and have been there ever since.

Ok, I'll tie this up by saying that you and I simply have different taste in music. I regret that I offended you and hope to continue seeing you on different MDL pages in the future.

Earlier eps showed them enjoying each other's company when they went out for grape soda and were laughing and messing around at the store, etc. There was also a scene of them eating lunch together and, again, laughing and messing around. Most importantly, there was a scene in Ep 1 of Han Joon sending a text to Yoo Jae right when Yoo Jae's parents were fighting as usual, and Han Joon said, "It's stressful at home again right? Want to meet at the park?" The park is significant because it's where they've been meeting since the 1st time they met there as children.

All in all, the screenplay has shown why they are friends. The real problem with this show is poor editing wherein there are sloppy quick cuts from past to present, and poor transitioning between scenes. For example, some scenes feel as if they've been cut short, and the transitions to the next scenes feel overly abrupt. The director of this show has a lot of experience, and did shows that flowed well, such as "Mr Heart" and "Color rush," so I'm assuming the blame here lies with the film editor.

MAGGI'S OLD PERSON'S RANT ON THE IDOL'S SONG

The song the idol sang at the bar sounded as if it had been composed by a computer rather than a human being. Indeed, all K-pop music sounds like this. It's also why all these songs are utterly indistinguishable from each other. Why do they even bother giving these songs different titles when they all sound exactly the same? It's all the exact same sound and the only thing that changes are the costumes for differing dance sequences of the boy bands on stage (none of whom can read/write music, compose lyrics or play instruments and only know how to dance).

I'm showing my age here, but I grew up when bands wrote their own music and played their own instruments. Thus, the music felt vital, authentic, and -- in a word -- raw. I'm 55 incidentally, and my fave band is Nirvana. For a comparison, consider Nirvana's rocking, rhythmic beats and the way you can hear each instrument accompanying the lead singer. Then consider the way this idol was squealing some tripe (his voice sounded like a squealing pig), and the way the, ahem, "music," was not composed by people playing individual instruments but, rather, was entirely synthetic. It was anything but "raw."

To be clear, I get that the whole Idol phenomena is about cute boys doing choreographed dances on stage while girl fans scream. I get it. But what I don't get is why anyone would buy this music and listen to it afterward. In other words, if you're not looking at the cute boys anymore, what the hell is the value of these awful, computer-generated, synthetic songs that all sound the same? Why do people pay to listen to this shit alone at home?

Wait, what do you mean by you "don't feel like Han Joon likes Yoo Jae"? Han Joon is portrayed as being massively in love with Yoo Jae.

I agree that the wide angle shot not showing their lips was lame, but I'll withhold criticism until next week. You see, the kiss came at the very end of the ep and, as I'd said elsewhere here, this film editor has a habit of cutting final scenes mid-action and then continuing them in the next ep (eg. he cut the confession at the end of ep 4, only to continue it in ep 5). In other words, we might still see the rest of that kiss.

As for Yoo Jae touching Han Joon's neck, well, I found that sexy. After all, the neck is an erogenous zone on most people. So consider that Yoo Jae could've touched Han Joon's back or shoulder to go in for that kiss, but went for Han Joon's neck instead -- and touched it tenderly at that. That touch evoked a lot of intimacy and I'm glad the director chose to zoom in with the camera and show it.

Exactly, I have the same hope. Especially since Asians are so faithful to source material. Thanks for the link!

I loved your review and "pining" is the perfect word for what is being evoked. But I have a question about how you said Han Joon bit his tongue twice in the show. I never saw that even once. Where was it?

Yes, it hurt to see those same chocolates trashed not once, but twice. But when the guys get married they can exchange Ferrero Rocher chocolates every anniversary as an inside joke. lol

You know, one reason I think we'll get a genuine kiss is that the manga on which it's based is actually tagged "pornography," lol. How can the director whitewash the source material so much that there won't even be a proper, intimate kiss between lovers?

We've already discussed the kiss in your reply to my comment below. So I'll just say here that I also freaking love Yoo Jae's constant jealousy. You can see how he's not only annoyed by the objects of his jealousy (eg, the girl and the boxing dude in college, and Jin Hwan in high schoo), but roiling with frustration and confusion about just why the hell he's so jealous to begin with. Talk about a guy who's out of touch with his feelings! But that is precisely what makes it so compelling to watch him inch toward the slow realization that he's in love.

And his face when Han Joon said, "You're all I think about"! The #1 sign of being in love with somebody is that you think about them all the time, right? So that line made Yoo Jae finally get it that Han Joon's love was way more than platonic BFF's and, hence, could never be "sorted out" as he put it.

I also love what you so aptly called "The unwavering undercurrent of need (Jo Yoo Jae) and desire (Seo Han Joon) for one another." Well put Andrea. I think the show has done a stellar job of conveying this. The actors are also doing a fine job and have brilliant chemistry. I mean, the sexual tension is palpable.

All in all, I don't get why the rating is so low. Granted, there are problems with editing. For instance, some sloppy quick cuts from past to present at the start of ep 5. And the film editor's misguided decision to chop up the confession scene rather than give it to us as it unfolded in continuity. But those problems still don't explain this rating being so low.

That's a good point. I can use my imagination for that kiss even if we did not see their lips up close, because the director showed something else up close that did evoke intimacy. That is, the camera zoomed in on how Yoo Jae put his hand behind Han Joon's neck, and touched it very tenderly. Did you notice that?

I hear you. But consider that idols have done great kissing scenes in BL's such as: "Semantic Error," "Cherry Blossoms After Winter," "Kissable Lips" "Happy Ending Romance," and many others. Idols who are using BL's as a stepping stone into wider acting careers know that they must please fans. And that means they've also noted how fans give a negative response when the kisses are lame. Hence, they now bring their game.

A perfect example is the idol playing Kiyoi in "My Beautiful Man." He got tons of online criticism for his lame kiss in season 1, so he totally brought it for the kiss in season 2 and got tons of praise. I think this is why we are seeing such an increase in kissing scenes in J-BL's and K-BL's. In short, the Koreans and Japanese have finally learned from Taiwan and Thailand that a gay kiss is not a career killer and, to the contrary, can even boost one's career.

People are complaining about the angled kiss. But remember, that was the final 1 second of the episode, and this show's film editor has a habit of cutting scenes right in the middle of action at the end of each episode, only to continue the action at the start of the next. In other words, we're likely to see the boys still standing there kissing at the start of Ep 7. After all, KBL's have been good with kissing scenes lately, so we still might see the boy's pent up sexual tension manifest in a kiss. Of course, there's also a chance we won't; but I'm betting we will.

Thank you. I live on the East Coast in the USA. I just checked and we got the new eps too. I'm going to watch them right now. I hope they're good!

That makes sense. Thank you.

A surprisingly good sequel to the original movie. We not only had our wonderful 2 leads with their brilliant bromance chemistry, but it also brought back some of the minor characters whom we loved in the original. The screenwriter/director devised a truly original plot involving a dangerous cult, and had the characters reveal more of their personalities and backstories in ways organic to this plot. I recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the original. If you have not seen the original, then I suggest you watch it before this because it will enhance your enjoyment.

Do the new eps come out tonight or tomorrow? It says Thursday here, but last week I noticed that some people had seen the new eps on Wednesday night.

CHARMING MOVIE ABOUT LIKEABLE LOSERS

The film is not a mass market, crowd pleaser because it has no major plot arc. It is, after all, about two slackers who just do handyman jobs. Thus, the pace is as meandering as their lives. But that is also it's charm. Because they are likeable losers and their conversations, antics and encounters with clients are all quite entertaining and funny. Moreover, it's endearing to observe them slowly -- and unwittingly -- develop a little bromance.

The most wonderful thing, however, is how they also unwittingly change their clients' lives in tiny, tender, ways. And it surprises you with moments of depth, such as when one lead tells a neglected child that life doesn't always have to be so cold because, as he puts it, "You can give the love that you did not get. You can offer love to someone else as long as you are alive." There are also bits of warm wisdom, as when a minor character tells one of the leads, "You don't look too good. Remember, smiling is the door to heaven."

Many comments here compared it with the sequel, which was created as a 12 part series. The series stars the same two leads, but it's written and directed by a different person and, hence, the sensibility is quite different. The main difference is that the series has a lighter sensibility designed for broader appeal, while this has the sensibility of an Indy film. In other words, the series lacks the darker, deeper qualities of the original film. I still recommend the series, but the film is superior, and you should either choose the film over the series, or watch the film first.

After all, it is a film with an abundance of depth, tenderness, careful character development, brilliant chemistry between the leads, offbeat humor, and true heart.