Synchonicity

I make it a point not to post a rating or write a review until I've watched a series to its completion. TGIF ended nearly 3 weeks ago and the final episode has not been subbed. I did watch it raw, but didn't get certain answers I was hoping for, due to no translation. Grrrrr.

Anyway... I can't say that TGIF was particularly good, yet I still enjoyed it. The actors were young, but adorable (especially Jump and Home), and the whole series had a feeling of sweetness and innocence about it.

The story had problems. For one, this "Friday Music Club" is made up of a bunch of high school boys that have no experience playing music. They go off to Khom Kaen for the purpose of improving, with their sights set on winning a huge music competition. (That in itself is ridiculous.) This was the whole premise of the story, and yet, we see no music competition, even at the end of the series. (I have no idea if it was mentioned in the final episode, because THERE ARE NO SUBS.)

Couples: as mentioned, I thought Jump/Home were adorable. Nana/Lun annoyed me, because Nana was such a bitch to Lun (and everyone else, too), while he followed her around like a lap dog. Por/Yong: I thought Por was cute (and a good actor), but I did NOT like Yong at all. I would have rather seen Por end up with Talay, who was a total sweetheart. The other couple was Thengthai/Giant, which was okay... they didn't get all that much screen time.

The singing in this BL was about the worst singing I've ever heard in any movie or series, ever!

Overall, I enjoyed this, it was cute... nothing more, nothing less.

Read More

I somehow didn't get around to watching this until now. Since I've been watching WTD Final Call, I figured it was time to get caught up on the history.

For some reason, I thought this series would be kind of dorky and silly (sort of like Make It Right), so was surprised to find it a compelling drama. As for the actors, I love, love, LOOOOOOVE Strong (Oat) and was so amazed to hear that he sings the slow solo version of the theme song, at the end of the final episode (absolutely gorgeous singing voice). I do like OatPop as a couple. PreeRambo were certainly a handful of angst. I liked the actress that played Mo--a lot--but my biggest complaint here is that I couldn't buy into her being Pop's girlfriend at all. She looks like Pop's older sister by about six years, and is, frankly, way out of his league (not to mention being far more mature).

I give it an 8.0 rating.

Read More

Well...

During the summer of 2021 the BL offerings were not the greatest. I found myself watching six of them and felt that 1) a couple of them were pretty good, and 2) the others were disappointing but I watched anyway, due to lack of other options. For me, Hometown's Embrace falls into the latter category. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

CUTE GUYS. We had three main couples and, in my opinion, four of the actors were real eye candy.

MUSIC. It had a kind of "Tale of a Thousand Stars" quality that was pleasant enough.

TRANS CHARACTER AND HER "WIFE." It was at the very end of the last episode, but I appreciated that the writers broke stereotype by having the usual "seme" guy present himself as being the "wife," while the trans ladyboy would be the "husband." It may be rare, but this actually does happen in real life from time to time. Different strokes for different folks!

CONS

STORY. It was all over the place, it was really hard for me to keep track of what was going on, and why certain things were going on. The three couples looked to have established themselves without any real reason as to why. And whatever happened to the poetry writing guy and the ex-girlfriend of Mongwhatshisname?

LACK OF INTIMACY. I'm a gay guy, so I don't particularly need to see kissing and sex in BLs. However... this series was so weak, and the guys were (mostly) so hot, some kissing and skinship would have gone far to save it, in my opinion.

DULL. Much of it was boring. I found it hard to stay focused.

3.5 from me. Definitely not something I plan to ever rewatch.

Read More

Was it good? Sort of...

It was fun to see Ink/Pa (from Bad Buddy) and Korn/Win (from Cupid's Last Wish) again. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

GL. So refreshing to see Girls Love getting some air time. And they are cute together.

EARTH/MIX. They turned me into a fan after 1000 Stars (which is now one of my favorite BLs ever). They work so well together and I would marry either one of them... or maybe both, I would be up for a poly relationship. Guys, call me.

CUTE EPISODES. Each episode had an oh-so-sweet quality that, at least for me, was just a little bit more cute than cringe. (But just on the border of crossing over.) Let's just call it light and fluffy.

CONS

EPISODE 1. I didn't really get the time travel thing. Nor the "no pictures" thing.

EPISODE 2. I'll admit to not knowing these actors before this. They were okay, I didn't really feel much chemistry. But I wasn't buying the whole "triggered by anything round" spiel. I mean, if Maki freaked out just looking at someone's glasses, why didn't she freak out when eating out of a round bowl or off of a round plate? And then she turned into crazy alien Catwoman after looking at the moon. Huh?

EPISODE 3. What was with all the fat inferences toward Mix (Win)? I haven't noticed a weight gain. And it really didn't need the body swapping (yet again). To make matters worse, it was confusing to know who was who half the time. Oh, this is Korn as Win now... or wait, it's Korn as Korn. No wait, it's Win as Korn. I didn't always get it... and I didn't even want to get it. My brain is tired. Two Tylenol, please. Oh screw it, just give me a bottle of whiskey.

The actors did their best with what they were given. I doubt I will rewatch, but it was a no-stress way to pass the time. It's a 6.5 from me.

Read More

Surprisingly adorable!

I say "surprisingly" because, at least at first, it looked to be another same old typical and forgettable BL from South Korea. (I have really enjoyed some SK BLs but, it seems to me that, a number of them have been just kind of okay.) After a few episodes, I was hooked and did a binge watch! Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

CHEMISTRY. As the series progressed, so did the chemistry between the main couple: they were damn hot together. While I sometimes get a little turned off by too much sex as opposed to a decent story, this was one case where I would have appreciated a good sexy bed scene!

LENGTH. I really liked that they told this story in just 8 episodes, 23 minutes each. It was engaging, succinct and no dragging on of unnecessary scenes and episodes. Kudos to the writers.

CONS

DEX. Okay, I admit I'd never heard of it, but it looks to really exist as a Scientific & Technical Consulting service in France. But it was just casually mentioned near the end. As a viewer, I had no idea what it was and why it was supposed to be important. Nor did I have any sense that it was some big dream of Jae's to go there and be part of it. Was it?

THE "GIRLFRIEND." She ended up being cool at the end but -- honey -- if there was ever a case of "he's just not that into you," this was it.

But I'm picking. Overall, this had an engaging, feel-good vibe to it.

8.5 from me.

Read More

I enjoyed it. Still...

So this series received a lot of hate in the MDL comments. And some of it was deserved. Still, I liked it. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

MUSIC. Say what you will about Oxin Films, you can't deny that they always come up with good OSTs which, of course, is understandable, being that the Philippines have some of the best singers in the world.

STEAMY SCENES. The series had plenty of slutty and hot scenes. Well, I enjoy slutty and hot. Sue me.

LEMUEL. I've watched enough Oxin series to know that Gio Emprese is quite a fine actor. I prefer seeing him in dramatic roles, but he does play the creepy perv character very well, as shown here.

COMEDY. Some of it was over the top but, overall, I enjoyed the comedic moments.

EYE CANDY. Plenty of that to go around.

CONS

TOO MANY CHARACTERS. I find this to be a flaw in just about every Oxin series. Do they have an obligation to a large number of actors for each outing? There were so many characters I had a difficult time keeping track of everyone. Too many story lines.

GIN'S MOTHER. For me she was the most annoying character, I found her so shallow and fake. And what's with her acting like a teenage girl half the time? Not a good look, honey.

JENNIFER. Another annoying one, she was just unlikeable. Even with that, what happened to her? She was a credible villain, but then she was just... gone.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Despite many flaws, the series kept my interest and I looked forward to it each week.

It's a 7.5 from me.

Read More

Worth the watch

As I have enjoyed and supported Wayufilm Productions in the past, I looked forward to this one, featuring Klong in a lead role. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

KLONG. What a fine actor. He has quite the range.

ATYPICAL BL. Not even a BL and, despite the story being about a male hustler, there are no sex scenes. But the story got its message across without them. I liked it.

THE HOSTESS AT THE BAR. She was an interesting character, I liked her. Her take on how she felt she provided security and stability to sex workers seemed somehow... genuine.

MAX AND PRINCE. Their relationship was heartbreaking but, at the same time, we could understand where both of them were coming from.

CONS

MISCAST. As much as I liked Klong here, it was a little hard for me to believe that he would have that many people (of both sexes) salivating after him for hours every day and night, to the point of offering him more money than most people make. While I appreciate "different strokes for different folks," I didn't buy Klong as being that level of a high class rentboy. (Mon, another Wayufilm actor, might have pulled it off.) And even the horniest of hot, beefy porn stars can't go for hours on end.

HOW MANY DRINKS? So according to Max, he would sometimes consume 50 to 60 drinks a night. Umm... no. He would have ended up dead (or at least in the hospital) long before 50.

ENDING. A bit abrupt. Did they really have to kill him off? I mean sure, it could happen. But it struck me more as a way to get to the end of the story and portray Prince, ironically, as following in his brother's footsteps.

Overall, I liked it. 8.0 from me.

Read More

An okay way to pass the time, I guess

With the exception of Light On Me, I haven't seen a BL (or, in this case, a partial BL) series that I've really loved this year since A Tale of a Thousand Stars. But 7 Project was not the worst. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

LIGHT HEARTED. For the most part, this was a light hearted series, somewhat fluffy. Ep. 1 was probably the most serious, dealing with bullying. But, overall, this was a pleasant enough way to pass the time.

SAMMY. So happy that Wabi Sabi gave Samantha a lead role, rather than the supporting/bit comedic parts she usually gets. We got to see that she has some serious acting chops! (And she looks fabulous.)

BL EPISODES. No, it's not because I'm gay. I honestly liked the BL episodes better than the others. Especially liked Boom/Peak. My favorites - in this order - were Ep. 6, Ep. 1, and Ep. 4. Honorable mention for Ep. 7 (Perth/Fairy).

CONS

MESSAGE? I've written a question mark here, because I'm basing this reaction on my own assumption (which could be wrong). I've read for a while now, that some well-known BL actors have made it clear that they no longer want gay roles... and I'm okay with that. Among these are Perth and Plan, both featured in this series playing straight roles. I felt that this series was to reintroduce these two young men as "the true straight guys that they are." It just seemed a bit contrived, in my opinion. And Plan looked even more awkward kissing a girl than he did when he kissed Mean (I'm thinking Plan is just a lousy kisser).

UNRESOLVED EPISODES. Many of the episodes were left open ended, and not in a good way. Are we really supposed to leave everything up to our imaginations? Sorry, the episodes weren't compelling enough to inspire me to work that hard.

GL EPISODE. Kudos for putting out a GL episode. Too bad it fell flat.

YACHT. Loved him as Pond, and pretty much everything I've seen him do. And he's VERY attractive. Finally he gets a lead role... and all I could think was that he could possibly benefit from some strong antidepressants.

My ratings, from best to worst: 6>1>4>7>3>5>2

Overall, 6.0 from me.

Read More

Inconsistent but at times effective

It looks like no one has written a review, so I'll put in my two cents. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS:

TRANS CHARACTERS. It was nice to see three trans characters as the leads here, and not relinquished to comedy relief.

ACTING. The acting was pretty good for a low-budget series, definitely better than average.

THE LITTLE KIDS. The little kid version of PaLoMa at the beginning of Ep. 1 was adorable.

ENDING. It was powerful, really well done.

CONS:

STORY. It wasn't a bad story, but it rambled and there many unanswered questions, for instance... what happened to Tonyo and his gang? Were there any consequences?

FAILED ATTEMPT AT COMEDY. For me, the episode where they're all in the gym and fighting for Tonyo's attention was exceptionally cringeworthy.

All in all, an interesting enough diversion. It's 6/10 for me.

Read More

I was a Tin/Can shipper from Season 1 and, as such, I was royally pissed at the way Season 1 ended. Overall, I was okay with how the Tin/Can story was handled here. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS:

TIN & CAN CHARACTERS. I just love them. Mean plays Tin so sensitively, and Plan brings out the over-the-top craziness of Can to a T.

MUSIC. That was one of the things I really liked about Season 1, so it was nice to have so much of the same soundtrack used here in Season 2.

TUL/HIN KISSING SCENES. Hawt. Nothing more to say.

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS. Nice to see Pond and Bow back. Would have liked to see more of Bow. Mai and Job were welcome additions.

FOOD SCENES. Seriously! When Tul made the spaghetti with bacon and chili sauce for Can, it looked so good that I learned to make that dish myself. (And yes, it was delicious!)

CONS:

TOO MUCH DEVOTED TO TIN/CAN BACKSTORY. I suppose if one never watched Season 1, this wouldn't have mattered. But SIX episodes devoted to backstory? Okay, we got some insight that we didn't get in Season 1, but it was just too much.

OTHER COUPLES. Kla/No would have been fine and cute, if it weren't for the fact that Kla RAPED No, and it was swept under the rug. Tum/Tar were non-existent and had no more than three minutes of screen time for the entire series (and they had only about 15 minutes of screen time in Season 1). Was there a point to them? Tum got together with Keen, so I guess it's all good... whatever.

TUL/HIN STORYLINE. Weird as hell. So, it seems, Tul served as a sadistic master to Hin for years. Then, when Hin comes back, it's as if they're the sweetest couple in the world, as they become Phupha's two dads. And speaking of Phupha...

PHUPHA. Most annoying little kid I've observed in quite a while. Couldn't stand that twerp.

THE FATHER. Wth was that all about? I couldn't follow his story at all... especially when it came to Hin. Did the father send Hin as a sex slave to Tul? And dad just sits in a home office all day and lets his two sons fester in their emotional problems? What a weirdo.

LAY. She started out kind of cute, but then became super creepy and unlikeable. Yecch.

AE. Perth is a fine actor, but his self-destruction seemed over-the-top. And please, PLEASE... don't let him sing in another series. Ever. And I've always been upset with Ae, for treating his good friend Pond like a total pile of shit (in both this season and last).

I'm rating this on the high side -- 8.0 -- which is strictly because of Tin/Can.

Read More

Well... this was different! (I put some of these comments down as a post, but seems appropriate for a review.)

On the plus side, I like Saint sooooo much better in this (I wasn't a big fan of his one-dimensional Pete character in LBC). Glad to see TinCan back together (ok, MeanPlan). Perth is always great. It's nice to see some favorite actors again. The story was just kind of okay. At least there were conclusive (and happy) endings.

On the flip side, Plan became kind of a dick, and I wasn't totally sold on wimpy, all smiles Mean. The writers/director pretty much went for the TeeMork storyline of Our Skyy... not too original there (and not nearly as good). Saint really can't sing. And, while it's not LBC, did they have to use all of the background music and the same songs? It's all just kind of... bizarre.

But it was an okay diversion.

Read More

Loved it!

Could I pick at this? Sure. Did I still love it? YES! Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

MUSIC. I thought the music was great.

CINEMATOGRAPHY. Breathtakingly beautiful.

ACTING. Very, VERY good... from the skilled veterans to the over the top characters. Absolutely LOVED James Ramada, who played psycho Marcus!

JUNJUN/FOURTH. Chemistry was off the charts! Entirely believable as a couple. The sex scenes were definitely directed by gay men who have experienced them, including gay sex parties and threesomes.

CONS

STORY. I enjoyed the drama/craziness, but there were times that had me scratching my head. So what happened to the snobby girl that Natalie sent to Sky Valley? She just disappeared. After Fourth was bitten by a poisonous snake, why did the help choose to break into a silly dance at such a crucial moment? Jabo became everyone's friend at the end, and in the blink of an eye? What happened to Marcus, did he end up in the psych ward where he belonged? There were other ??? moments as well.

Still, I enjoyed this and, for the first time in quite a while regarding BLs, found myself eagerly awaiting each episode. And this is, by far, the best Oxin Films series I've seen yet. My Day was okay while we were all locked up during the pandemic. My Day 2 was less good, and Our Story was a complete disaster. But Sky Valley was refreshingly fun... and, thank goodness, it didn't include the incredibly annoying dog, Chukchuk!

I'm giving it a 9.0 for entertainment value.

Read More

I really liked this series! However...

Revenged Love really packed a punch! I enjoyed it, with some real reservations. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

ACTING. This was some of the best acting I've seen in a BL in ages. Everyone was great.

CC. Interesting character. I could have done without the snakes, but that was part of his makeup, so who am I to judge? He had a lot of sexiness and charm. I do have some reservations, which I will list under cons.

YUE YUE. The girlfriend I loved to hate. I just would have liked for her to get more of a punishment.

MUSIC. Loved it!

CONS (I posted this as a reply in the comment section and decided to repost it here)

FLAWS IN STORY. I, like some others, was bothered that the gang rape scene in Ep 1 was just brushed off as a "character flaw" in CC. I can take watching a rape scene, as long as it's portrayed as the violent act that it really is.

I am a gay guy, and the part that bothered me even more was WSW barely being able to walk the day after the first time he had sex with CC. I've engaged in all kinds of sexual acts -- even rough -- and I've never been so sore I could barely walk the next day. A guy (even into BDSM) would seriously have be so brutally raped for hours against his will for that to happen, likely to the point of rectal bleeding.

And many viewers' reactions were "Oh! Look how WSW can barely walk!" As if that was so cute and CC was such a hot sexy stud. A number of women BL writers go this way (MAME, anyone?), and there's nothing cute about it, it's gross. What if it were a woman that had been banged so hard she was limping around in pain the next day? Still cute? Still romantic?

If you want to write THAT story, make it a thriller/drama, not a love story.

I've given RL an 8.0.

Read More