MAI

"massaging your tonsils"
goodbye- 💀😭

In all seriousness, I imagine the term can be equivalent to "daddy" in certain contexts.

That was dumb. Boring storyline with nonsensical plot-twist. I found myself literally cackling at the reveal of the family secret. Not worth it at all.

Just a tiny suggestion for y'all: if you didn't know, it is possible to block users on MDL. That way their comments won't show up on your feed or in comment sections of dramas. Personally saved me some unnecessary frustration.

Heh. 😂 I mean, I totally understand dropping a backstory that involves nine-taled foxes and the like might not necessarily be a sensible option but, just know that, if I were Ha Yeon and you apologize but then subsequently won't explain why you've been acting like such a jerk, I will happily show you the door. Ha Yeon seemed real quick to forgive Yeon Seok's behaviour while he's never got to know the reason he's been treated like that in the first place. We're missing some crucial information here.

Dang, viki be ripping people off. 👀

Such a shame that this one wasn't received that well internationally. I guess most critics seem to have issues with the movie's ambiguity, arguing that the many allusions to politics, sexuality, racism, and even global warming were confusing. But I personally did not recognise elements of global warming at all nor was I bothered by the symbolism that this movie throws at us. For me, this movie offered a social commentary on xenophobia and illegal immigration as we watch the motel, as a microcosm of society at large, literally devour those who overstay their welcome. The house's bed offers no rest but instead gruesomely wipes out each and every person when they least expect it. I really liked this: not only does it have great dialogue and cinematography, it also shows the overall dehumanisation that (illegal) immigrants encounter. In the end, this movie leads us to ask ourselves who the real monsters are.

Top notch humour. 😂 Nobody gave him a piggy-back ride? We have been ROBBED!

Same, unfortunately. It missed all the elements which I had enjoyed in the previous episodes: the absurdity, the silly internal monologue, the sassy fox-lady, etc. This just ended up focussing only on the fluffiness but it never managed to come across as authentic since everything, including the love confession, was so rushed (and since they didn't even end up truly resolve their miscommunication. Sure, Yeon Seok apologised, but did he ever give a sensible explanation for why he was acting like douche in the first place? No!)

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x88iuug
password: firstloveagain

I get what you mean, it is not entirely out of character for Kinn do be a manipulative little shit, lol, so it makes sense in context (and realistic, as you said). But I do think that Porsche deciding to become a bodyguard himself indicates that the director has chosen to give his character more of a backbone in this adaption: if Porsche wants to actually be a worthy romantic partner for Kinn he will needs to be able to stand up for himself and take initiative, not be some toy Kinn can control.

Agree. This felt like they were pulling the fan-fiction trump card. It relied just a bit too heavily on the sex rather than the connection, intimacy, and sensuality that we got from the previous trailer. It might be me but it also seems like they also changed Porsche's character to be slightly more more cocky (which might actually be a good change since it fixes a bit of the power imbalance that was inherent to the story). Still excited, tho, this show obviously has some phenomenal production value and the acting seems great. I'm glad they seemed to have removed the silly humour too-- it didn't really suit the atmosphere anyway.

Yeah, I also kinda liked that dingy atmosphere of the last place, to be very honest. At least it seems that Porsche actually decides himself to become a bodyguard in this version (instead of being coerced into it) and that seems like a good change to me.

Thanks! That was legit really helpful! Most of it is definitely related to the promotional material (rather than the funding) but now I at least know more. Quite surprised by some awkward mistakes since GMMTV is quite an established company. Did they put all their interns on the PR for Not Me or something?

He really only be getting that romance subplot no one cares for. 😂 With so many characters there is simply no way to give everyone a complex character arc but, yeah, he def got the short end of the stick! He was even absent during Black's confrontation with Dan because apparently he went out to "get food" (wtf lol what even is that excuse).

The pleasure is all mine! It's not that often that I end up having such lengthy (and interesting) discussions with someone on MDL so I'm having tons of fun. 😊 You're a great discussion partner exactly because we seem to share an interest in similar movies/series and yet have such different opinions.

I think you're raising a valid question when you're asking me if I am ever truly able relate to movies with sexual themes, and after some contemplation, I must say that I don't have an answer. I don't know. There is really no way of really knowing whether I experience watching movies differently from the way you would, for instance. We can talk about our opinions, the way we interpreted the characters’ actions, or the cinematography, but I won’t ever know whether we have had the same emotional response to the story. I do, however, think the desire for human connection--whether this is physical or platonic-- is quite universal. When watching movies I have no issue sympathising with romantic plot: I want emotional intimacy just as much as the next person. I may not have personally experienced sexual passion or lust per se but that doesn’t automatically mean I am unable to understand the character’s sexual desires that come with these romantic feelings. At least, so I think.
Edit: Having thought about it some more, I am wondering whether understanding/sympathising is different from truly enjoying (?) a sex scene/kissing scene. To relate it back to the topic that started this whole discussion: I voiced a feeling of distain at people needing to overanalyse whether the actors in First Love Again actually kissed or whether it was all camera angles. For me knowing that the characters (rather than the actors) kissed was enough for me. Maybe my opinion does show a bit of a functional (rather than emotional) approach to a love scene. But I might also overthinking now.

Then, of course, asexuality is an umbrella term and there is a wide variety of people claiming the label, some of which are very much aversive to sex whereas others approach it in a much more apathetic or neutral way. I would say I personally identify more with the latter category. Unfortunately that also means that I feel a general hesitancy to truly identify as ‘asexual’ hence I also put 'potential' between brackets in my previous post. It is a whole lot easier to recognise a strong aversion to sex than to recognise you experience this ambiguous feeling of neutrality. But then, I'm also in no hurry to box myself in, and me not knowing doesn’t impede on the way I live my daily life, and that’s why I don’t think it ought to be a big deal when watching movies either.

What also helps ground my thoughts is knowing that sexual identity/orientation is not the only thing that divides or unites people. The way we consume media is always influenced by our own life experiences, class, ethnicity, race, geographical location and the like. People are simply unique and will have different interpretations of the same exact stories, regardless of their sexuality. I can overthink and ask myself 'what if I experience this movie differently from the way the majority does’ but I can also just acknowledge that, most likely, there is just a more general diversity in the ways people interpret movies, none of which are essentially good or bad. Even if I would have a different experience when watching a sexually-tinted film than my peers (whoever they are), what matters in the end is whether I enjoyed the movie and whether I feel like it enriched my life in some shape or form (even if this enrichment just means that a movie made me grin).

This went a bit more philosophical than I initially intended, lol, I feel like writing this comment was an exercise in self-discovery itself, heh. I also want to make sure, by the way, that I am not sure whether you should take me as a representative of the ‘asexual’ perspective! I’ve spoken purely from my own experience so take this as it is: just the opinion of 1 person. I’m sure there are a ton of asexual people with different experiences and who also might have much more life experience.

Edit: darn it, I really can't be concise, can I? 😂

Did they add some of Luke's dialogue in post production? I'd swear some of it is dubbed, lol.

Ha! Now your comment made me smile. It's totally fine, we can agree to disagree. I can appreciate a good sparring session, that's only one of the fun elements of watching a series! Plus it gives my brain some exercise after watching these overtly sweet romance plots (fun fact: my autocorrect corrected this to 'sexercise' and I'm holding you accountable now 😜).

To respond to your first argument: I don't disagree at all, kissing and sex scenes are indeed legitimate elements of screenplay. Sex can be an important plot advance and show dynamics that you can't really capture in mere dialogue. Your comment reminded me of the Filipino movie Espirit de Corps I watched only recently. That film thrives on its homoerotic elements and it leans very heavily on physical seduction to get its message across (I also believe you might enjoy this movie, if you haven't seen it yet, since I garnered you appreciate darker stories). There is simply no way the story could have existed without this display of nudity and sex. I think we still very much agree on this point.

Now then, I do think there is a difference in the "celebration" of sex and simple fetishisation since the latter denies the personhood of the people involved (even if this person is fictional). When you're reducing a complex individual to an object of personal pleasure--which essentially happens fairly quickly in movies where the spectator is the one doing the gazing-- we must ask what real life consequences this consumption has. When we are used to see queer people as objects of pleasure on screen what stops people from seeing them like this in real life? I acknowledge the boundary between celebration and fetishisation is blurry (much like the whole discussion about the boundary between the celebration of certain Asian cultures vs. the fetishisation of said cultures being elusive for instance), and I do admit this discussion is a bit of a slippery slope, especially because some people don't always even mind being objectified (think certain sex workers who often willingly do so in order to make money off other people's fetishes). But I just see the potential danger of people hiding behind the mask of 'celebration' to justify their objectification. I don't have an issue with nudity and sex but I would be naive not to acknowledge that people don't always have the intention to 'celebrate' when it comes to these matters. We may be talking about ourselves and our closest friends when discussing these issues so I am hesitant to make light of this.

I think you're touching upon an important issue with your second point about BLs and the lack of proper queer representation in Hollywood. Over the years I have also found myself slowly (and unintentionally) gravitating towards watching exclusively LGBTQ+ romances exactly because of the lack of representation in most media and my general dissatisfaction with the recycling of traditional gender roles and tropes that remain so common in these shows and movies. So believe me when I say I completely understand that desire to seek out romances that go beyond the the heteronormative mould. Most of the BL audience are teens anyway so it's only natural that all of this approached with excitement and fan behaviour. That’s also why I said that I didn’t really care about Bl-kissing-compilations: whatever floats your boat. But there is no harm in acknowledging that they do function similarly to soft porn (which is a statement I make without moral value, by the way, I am not against the existence of pornography).

Now, considering your last comment of my attitude being “sex-phobic, sex-obsessed and prudish” …Ouch! I must admit that hurt. As someone who is in the process of coming to terms with her (potential) asexuality you managed to hit a bit of a sore spot there. However, your blunt comment has made me reflect on my overall standpoints for a while and I have come to the conclusion that I still politely disagree. If I come across as sex-phobic yet sex-obsessed then, by all means, you’re free to think so (it is a bit hard to gauge someone’s entire personality through a few comments anyway so I wouldn’t blame you). You may indeed be right that my opinions are tainted by a general sense of apathy towards sex in fiction but I was also born and raised in a country where depictions of full frontal nudity and sex scenes are not uncommon on TV. While this does, of course, not reveal anything about my individual views on sex, I think, in this case, my personal views on fictional sex and nudity have been very much influenced by the cinema I’ve consumed. If I hadn’t been clear: I see no issue with sex and nudity in movies—I think they can function as great plot advances– but I just personally like to see the sex be an integral part of the overall plot. You're not gonna convince me that the majority of the BL content fits that requirement. Queer movies do generally have meaningful engagement but, for many BL shows, sex (or the kiss) is often the end goal, not a plot advance (of course there are exceptions). That's okay with me, there is a place for the consumption of sex in that way, but it is not something I’m interested in (here we come full circle with the ‘fetishisation’ argument, lol). I think, in the end, we expect and want different things from our movies/stories.

Edit: I completely forgot I had not addressed this. I have to admit I laughed when I read your comment about TharnType-- that show is just bound to haunt me in every discussion about BL material--and it must be some ironic joke from the universe or something because, no surprise here, I really dislike the way that show depicts relationships. They're are excellent actors when it comes to depicting sex (less so when it comes to normal dialogue) but that reluctance/manipulative dynamic they have going on is not my cup of tea. Now, this is a discussion I am really tired of having, lol, so please don't come at me for this 😂

I think this has been translated with a Western approach in mind. Since English doesn't really have honorifics, the way to convey closeness/intimacy is to call someone's name. So it's actually a good translation but it just doesn't capture the full nuance.

My god, now, that's some kinky shit 😂

I think my partners will indeed very much appreciate that, lol! 😂

You make valid points and it made me realise that I clearly did not do a good job at conveying my opinion! By no means did I want to suggest that BL romances are pornographic material-- if I were to apply that kind of reasoning every romantic comedy could classify as porn simply because they feature some type of physical intimacy. I also see the potential for queer kisses in series as a way to normalise and represent public displays of affection amongst queer individuals in the real world. So, reflecting on my previous comment, I think what I actually wanted to say is that I am quite wary of the fixation on (and the hyper-analysis of) the fictional queer kiss amongst viewers because I feel like their responses often border on fetishisation.

To elaborate, (and maybe this is just because I don't watch enough straight romances) I've only ever seen queer movie kisses being picked apart/scrutinised in such great great detail before. Over the years I have read various comments on BL series which suggested that, even though people thought the storyline sucked, they stuck around simply because of the explicit romantic scenes. Production companies know this and see daring sex scenes as a means to still sell stories with an underdeveloped plot. Moreover, I find that BL kissing scenes often end up getting a life on their own: there are a plethora of YouTube BL-kiss-compilations in which users mash every gay kissing scene in existence together. These scenes then end up being completely detached from their original stories and, at this point, I would indeed say that is basically soft porn for teens. I am not saying that people can't make these videos--like, heck, whatever floats your boat-- but I am saying that watching these videos in this context is not so different from consuming pornography.

Now, I can see how the kissing scene is often considered the final climax of a show: it is something that is highly anticipated by the audience and it usually happens in the final episode but (at least for me) it is not the most important part of the screenplay. I value a good build-up, chemistry and emotional connection more so than the leads locking lips. For example: Cherry Magic, a Japanese series, did not even finish its season with a proper kiss and, still, I thoroughly enjoyed every single episode. Admittedly, this is my subjective opinion, and many people were disappointed by the lack of physical contact between the leads. But this case does demonstrate that, as an audience, we seem to have a bit of an obsession with the KISS.

I'm rambling now, lol, but, essentially, what I wanted to say is that I see no real point in discussing whether the actors truly locked lips or whether it was just the camera angle-- the characters kissed and it looked real. That is enough for me. I suppose my critique is directed more at the response to the queer fictional kiss than at the kiss itself.