#the writing is bad the direction is bad the acting is bad the cinematography is bad

[guardianspirits13]

And look. Netflix has cancelled a lot of beloved and well-received shows over the years. This is far from their first shameless cancellation.

But this one really feels like a tragedy in a way the rest really haven’t, for me.

If you have not seen it, this show has some of the tightest writing I have ever seen. It explores so many ideas and character arcs in the span of eight episodes, and there is not a dull moment to speak of. Every line feels intentionally crafted for the character it is assigned to, and the actors never fail to follow through.

Speaking of the actors, almost the entire main cast are in their breakout roles but you would never know it because they are phenomenal. Need I remind you that everyone’s favorite homosexual from hell (sorry, Cas) is played by George Rextrew, and is his first onscreen role beyond acting school. It’s easy to forget that considering how seamlessly he melts into such a nuanced and uniquely expressive character.

Steve Yockey, the director/writer/producer who made this show happen deserves accolades for his brilliant creative direction and an adaptation that took an under-the-radar comic property and made it into the show stopping narrative of cycles of violence and abuse and learning how to grow from your past and be loved as you are. In EIGHT EPISODES.

The cinematography is also stunning and combined with the sharp editing decisions make it just as visually impactful as it is narratively.

I have not enjoyed a show as thoroughly as this once perhaps since season one of Daredevil like, a hundred years ago. I’ve watched other shows, I’ve liked other shows, but none without a healthy dose of criticism. I struggle to find something bad to say about this show because it is just that good.

Now I’m not going to go into the fact that this show was unapologetically queer and that Netflix has a history of cancelling any show that features a gay character that isn’t either comic relief or has two lines. However, it is hard not to notice that the less divisive a show is, the more market appeal that it has, and Netflix definitely cares more about a majority audience of passive users with autopay subscriptions than they do a dedicated fanbase excited to have something to call their own.

To quote Bo Burnham, “Art is dead.”

[burst-of-iridescent]

atla live action thoughts: season one review

first things first: anyone who says the Movie That Does Not Exist is better than the live action is straight-up lying. the shymalan film fails on the criteria of even being a decent movie, let alone an adaptation. the netflix series, for all its problems, is at least an enjoyable watch with great effects, music and (mostly) appropriate casting. there's absolutely nothing to compare here - the netflix version clears easily.

now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's delve into the series, starting with the positives.

the good:

visuals and cinematography. they really did a great job of making it feel like a fantasy universe you wanted to be in & i love how vibrant the saturation and colour grading was. it made the world feel so much more dynamic and alive instead of the same flat, boring dullness that so many movies and shows have these days. sometimes i didn't even mind that i was being fed obvious exposition because at least they were giving me something pretty to look at lmao

effects and action. the bending was surprisingly good for the most part, and they did a good job of making the elements feel unique through the stunt choreography and the actors' movements. i'm immensely thankful they didn't try to skimp on budget by merely cutting away from fight scenes or showing us as little as possible. almost all the action sequences were fast-paced and engaging, and i was never bored watching them

acting. the main four were all great, but gordon cormier and dallas liu have to be the standouts for me. gordon brings such an earnest, innocent sweetness to aang that you can't help but like him, and dallas plays all of zuko's facets perfectly: the angst, the explosive anger, the bratty snark, and especially the deep-rooted pain that characterizes so many of zuko's actions in book 1. the range he has, especially when flashing from younger to older zuko, was insane. special shoutout to maria zhang and sebastian amoruso as suki and jet respectively, because they killed it

music. leaves from the vine instrumental had me tearbending and i love how they kept the iconic avatar theme while making it a little darker for this iteration of the story. in general, the soundtrack felt very true to the animation while still being a fresh spin on it

zuko and iroh's relationship and expanding on zuko's crew. i think the fandom universally agrees that lu ten's funeral and zuko's crew being the 41st division were the best changes in the series, so i'm not going to talk about it further other than to say that these scenes show me what the show can be, and that's why i'm not giving up on it

the bad:

characterization. almost all the main characters are missing the little nuances that made them so great in the original, but the greatest casualty is katara. i hate that they took away so much of her rage, and gave many of her traits and struggles to sokka. i don't think this is a problem solely with the writing though, because certain lines do feel like things animated katara would say, but the directing and line delivery don't have the same punch that made her so fierce in the original. this is an easily fixed issue though, so i hope they take the criticism and let my girl be angry and fuck shit up next season

exposition. this was primarily a problem in depicting aang's personality and the relationship between the gaang, because a) why are you TELLING me that aang is mischievous and fun-loving instead of just showing me and b) the gaang do NOT feel like close friends, mostly because they spend so much time apart in every episode that they have little screentime to actually bond and develop intimacy.

lack of focus on the intricacies of bending. for a show whose tagline is "master your element" the characters spend very little time actually... mastering their element. zuko is never shown to struggle with firebending (which is going to have ramifications when it comes to developing his relationship with azula), and neither aang nor katara ever learn waterbending from a master throughout the the entire show. i'm pretty sure aang never willingly waterbends ONCE in the entire eight episodes, discounting the avatar state and koizilla. bending isn't just cool martial arts, it's closely linked to the philosophies and spirituality of each nation, and i wish that had been explored more.

pacing. they really needed to do a better job of conveying that time passed between episodes because an 8-episode season is just going to FEEL shorter than a 20-episode one. the original animation felt as though they'd truly been on a long journey before arriving at the north, but here it feels like the entire show happened in the span of a fortnight or so because each episode seemed to pick up right after the previous. they needed to have more downtime within episodes instead of just rushing from plot beat to plot beat because it made everything feel a lot more rushed. give the characters and story time to breathe.

final rating: 7/10.

overall, i would describe the live action as a better version of the percy jackson movies - not an accurate or perfect adaptation, but a decent story that's very fun to watch. but what really makes me root for this show to get a season 2 is that it has a lot of potential and more importantly, a lot of heart. it's evident that the people who worked on it do genuinely love and respect the original series, and it shows onscreen.

regardless of anything else, this show created opportunities for so many asian and indigenous actors, writers and creators to tell the kinds of stories and play the kinds of roles they don't usually get, and that's something worth supporting. if they take the criticism from this season and improve, i believe they really do have something special on their hands which - although it might not be the original we all know and love - could still be a story to be proud of.

[olliandre]

10 TOP RANKED THAI BL ON MYDRAMALIST

+my opinion, since I’ve watched all of them for this post

1. I Feel You Linger in the Air (8,9/10)

DESCRIPTION: Jom is an architect responsible for the renovation of a historic house alongside the Ping River. There he discovers a wooden chest packed with old drawings, drawings that look strangely familiar. The contents are intriguing. However, Jom doesn't have time to concern himself with them; he has plans to reunite with his boyfriend. For years, Jom has been counting the days till his boyfriend would return from his far away studies, only to find him engaged to someone else on his return. Heartbroken, Jom comes to a place of acceptance as he mistakenly runs his car into the river. In the cold darkness, Jom catches the sweet scent of fresh frangipani flowers coming from the stream and in the distance, he can make out a deep, gentle voice pronouncing clearly, "Pho Jom."

MY TAKE: Well deserved first place. It’s the best Thai drama I’ve ever seen and I really hope we’ll get more like this one in the future. Everything was on point - the costumes, the acting, the cinematography. The relationship between the main characters felt real and absolutely believe, especially thanks to P’Bright (Khun Yai), who delievered everything well through his eyes. The story made me emotional to the point I cried like a baby at the end, which didn’t happen for a really long time. To be honest, I could rewatch this series without ever getting bored because of how unique and heartwarming it was. If I were to criticise anything, I’d choose the fact that Jom seemed quite bland during the first few episodes and also the way Khun Yai wasn’t cautious at all with their relationship despite living around the 1920s. However, it can be explained by some things from the novel, which I’m considering to write a post about. Aside from the romance plot, IFYLITA discussed the topic of women’s opression and offered a lesbian sub-plot that made the story even better. I recommend everyone to watch it, it’s ridiculous how little recognition the series got from the BL fandom!

2. The Sign (8,6/10)

DESCRIPTION: For as long as Tharn can remember, he's had premonitions about those around him, sensing both the good and the bad. Partners on a team of special investigators, when kind and cheerful Tharn met clever and charming Phaya, it felt as though they'd known each other for a long time.

MY TAKE: Another gem showing that the industry is slowly heading to a new, better direction. The plot contains lots of action scenes, investigations and Thai mythology elements, which I don’t think have been used in any series before, at least not in a well known one. I’m a sucker for reinarnation and soulmates motives, I wish Tharn and Phaya believed in each other more though. It was frustrating to see them fight so much. Some of the comedy scenes made me cringe, too. Still, the story was solid and engaging, especially thanks to Tharn and Phaya’s relationship complexity. During some scenes CGI was used and I have to admit they must have spent some budget on it. It’s the third Idolfactory’s drama and they definitely get better with every project. More series like The Sign!

3. Last Twilight (8,5/10)

DESCRIPTION: Burdened with heavy debt, Mhok, a technical college student, applies for a high-paying job as a caregiver to Day, a badminton player with partial blindness due to infectious keratitis. Day hires Mhok who—unlike other applicants—seems to take no pity on him. With so much time spent in each others' company, the two develop a deep bond. When Day learns he'll have approximately 90 days until he loses what vision he has remaining, how will the two weather the trials ahead?

MY TAKE: I’m gonna be honest, I fell in love with Last Twilight very quickly. The acting was top-notch - I think P’Sea portrayed a blind character really well despite having vision and P’Jimmy… P’Jimmy was just on another level of greatness. Just like P’Bright, his eyes told everything. Every emotion could be seen clearly and he efortlessly made Mhok the viewer’s favourite. Mhok itself was a mature, selfless person, but with Jimmy’s portrayal I think it’s even harder not to love him, not be enchanted by him. I found the story heartwarming and moving, beautifully culminating in the last scene of the 9th episode. At that moment I’ve felt that both Day and Mhok’s journey found some sort of an ending, maybe terribly sad, but also with some sweetness in it. Throughout the whole series it was Mhok teaching Day how to live again after losing his sight and encouraging him to stand on his own legs again. In the 9th episode though it seemed like the dynamic shifted somehow, showing that Day reached some maturity that Mhok haven’t had yet, and that he could help him with his grief too. The whole message of Last Twilight was delivered fully then. However, what happened later completely ruined it. I understand that P’Aof wanted LT to be realistic and because of that he decided to face the fact that Mhok can’t be Day’s caretaker forever. But all of this was handled poorly, seemed rushed especially after 11 episode and I couldn’t bear to watch one of my favourite series trashing itself. After that it was also imposible to ignore the issues I had with Mhok and Day’s relationship anymore, especially the August plot. I hated how although Day showed huge interest in Mhok on the beginning, he suddenly revealed his crush on other boy and he seemed really bothered by Mhok’s confession, too. What a mess. Porjai and Night’s subplot was great though, I liked both the characters and their relationship. I recommend everyone to just watch episodes 1-9 despite some disappointments on the way.

4. Not Me (8,5/10)

DESCRIPTION: Black and White are twins with a powerful connection. After their parents' separation, though, White’s father took him abroad, and their family effectively severed in two. It isn’t until fifteen years have passed that White—now grown—returns to Thailand. One day, seemingly from nowhere, White feels an agony like death. He recovers in the hospital, but they’re unable to determine the cause. Then he picks up a call from a childhood friend, Tod. Tod tells him that Black is in a coma following a vicious attack, and he learns that Black is in a motorcycle gang. Unable to endure the harm done to his brother in silence, and suspecting it was one of Black’s close friends—Sean, Gram, or Yok—who betrayed him, White disguises himself as Black to root out the traitor. But White doesn’t know his brother as well as he thought; he’s not behaving like the Black Sean knows, distrustful and uncaring about the feelings of others. Sean's suspicious. The difference gets under Sean's skin and makes him feel things he shouldn’t.

MY TAKE: I’ve actually first started watching Not Me around the time it was coming out, but I became bored around the half of it, so I’ve seen the rest of the episodes just recently. It’s refreshing to receive a politics and society problems oriented BL, this series without doubt was mature and one of a kind. Not Me took on many issues the modern Thailand still faces, struggling with democracy, human rights and equality. The relationship between White and Sean was another difficult thing here with its complexity, as they faced their opposite ideas for making a change - Sean being more reckless and hotheaded, while White more rational and fragile mentally. They went through many stages and although they were allies, it’d call it an enemies to lovers dynamic. I felt connected to both of them - to White because I agreed with his methods more and to Sean because of his abandonment issues. What they had was not pretty, no, it was raw and even rough at times, however, they managed to build mutual trust and the ending was satisfying. Definitely recommend!

5. A Tale of Thousand Stars (8,5/10)

DESCRIPTION: After a volunteer teacher Torfun dies in a tragic accident, her heart is transplanted into Tian. Tian learns about his donor’s life through a series of diary entries that reveal her secrets and interests. Included is her promise to count a thousand stars with Chief Forest Officer Phupha. Tian decides to follow in Torfun's footsteps and fulfill her promise. Now a new volunteer teacher himself, Tian attempts to befriend Phupha who initially gives him the cold shoulder. As the two grow steadily closer, Tian notices his new heart beats quickly whenever he's near the officer. Much like the heart’s previous owner, Tian cannot help but fall for Phupha. Treading on dangerous ground, can he still go through with the thousand-star promise?

MY TAKE: It’s such a classic that I don’t know if there’s anyone who hasn’t heard of it yet, but let’s proceed! 1000 stars for years took a special place in my heart, as it was one of few good Thai BL during the time it came out. I loved the rural atmosphere of Pha Pun Dao and the process of Tian adapting to life in the village. The story was slow, warm and sort of pure, although the tension and chemistry were there. Big kudos for the scene in which Tian came to the conclusion that his feelings for Phupha mean he likes men, since that wasn’t a standard in the „I don’t like men, I only like you” era. Another thing is, P’Mix (Tian), who was a rookie back then, played his role so well that I would never suspect it’s his first time acting! Recommend for anyone seeking comfort, even if it gets sad by the end.

6. My School President (8,5/10)

DESCRIPTION: Student body president Tinn has a secret crush on Gun, the head of the music club and lead singer of the middling band Chinzhilla. The son of the principal, Tinn is instructed to axe any clubs that don't boost their school's reputation. The music club tops that list and Tinn is therefore Gun's number one enemy. Desperate to save his club, Gun will do anything, even pledge servitude to Tinn. When Tinn learns Chinzhilla has a rule that band members aren't permitted to date until they win the Hot Wave Music Contest, he vows to do whatever it takes to help them do just that.

MY TAKE: At first the fact that the story takes place in a high school setting put me off, as I prefer watching young adult stories, but I gave it a shot because of the good reviews. And after watching it I can say it was definitely worth it. My School President is a silly rom-com that delicately touches some more serious issues. Nevertheless, it was a light watch. N'Gemini and N'Fourth delievered an excellent performance, accurately and realistically portraying the main couple. Maybe it’s because they are just slightly older than the characters, so it was easier for them to understand them. I also still listen to MSP soundtracks. Aside from being simply good pieces of music, they make me feel positive and refreshed everytime I hear them. It’s like an energizer.

7. Bad Buddy (8,4/10)

DESCRIPTION: Ever since they were young, Pran and Pat's families had a deep and raging rivalry, trying to one-up each other on everything. This also extended to their sons. Comparing their sons' achievements and merits,—whether it be academic or extracurricular—the two families leave no stone unturned to outshine and gloat in front of the other. The rivalry was passed down as a family heirloom and the two boys become rivals in turn. Until... they grow tired and become friends. Really good friends. However, because of their families' rivalry, their friendship has to be kept under wraps. And so began a journey of secret friendship... and then perhaps a secret romance?

MY TAKE: This is another series I’ve dropped in half and picked up just recently. Although the entire enemies since birth plot seemed a little bit Wattpad-ish to me, I’ve still enjoyed Bad Buddy a lot. The relationship of Pat and Pran was fun and realistic, they also had good chemistry together, probably due to the actor’s long-lasting frienship. There was something about them that just seemed so natural. Big plus for verse rights and lesbian sub-plot. The only thing I’m not content with was that instead of working things through with their families, the scriptwriters decided to just make Pat and Pran lie and avoid the topic. It could have been handled in a better way.

8. Moonlight Chicken (8,3/10)

DESCRIPTION: Jim is an ordinary guy running a Hainanese chicken rice diner. One night, he meets breezy Wen when he stays past closing drunk. Brought together by fate that night, intangible feelings arise. Neither can stop thinking about the other despite Jim's efforts to remain unattached. Working at the diner are Jim's nephew Li Ming, Saleng, and occasionally chicken supplier Kaipa who doesn't mind having an excuse to see him.

MY TAKE: I’m a Chinese learner and liked P’Earth and P’Mix’s performance in 1000 stars a lot, so I was looking forward for Moonlight Chicken to come out. The relationship between Jim and Wen disappointed me a bit, as it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. They started off from a one night stand and Jim was doing everything he could to keep things this way, with Wen persistently trying to change his mind. I’m still happy though, because the series maturely portrayed real life problems of Thai people. Jim, as an adult, was a person tied by chores and responsibilities of a restaurant owner and legal guardian for his teenager nephew. It’s understandable for him to take more things than just his feelings into consideration, especially since he was older than Wen. The problems between them made the series even more realistic, but N’Gemini (Heart) and N’Fourth (Li Ming) undoubtebly stole this show from the main couple. Not good for people wanting to watch something romantic and fluffy, nevertheless, still good.

9. Triage (8,3/10)

DESCRIPTION: Third-year emergency medicine resident Tin has to cope with a deluge of different patients every day. Up until the eighteenth, that is. Tin's life is transformed when university student Tol's car is overturned, and he's rushed to the emergency room in serious condition. That night doesn't end when Tin fails to save Tol's life, though. When Tin next wakes, he finds himself in a time loop, a loop he won't be able to leave until he's altered Tol's fate.

MY TAKE: Triage was a slowburn and it took quite a few episodes for the main couple to start developing feelings, as the time loops didn’t help in building any kind of closeness. They had good chemistry though and I really liked the performance of every actor in this series. Also! The! Plot! It was truly a masterpiece. It turned out that Triage novel is another work of Manner of Death’s author and that those two are actually connected. Doctor Bun and Tan appear in one episode of Triage and if MoD season 2 actually happens, it will be a continuation of the mystery after Triage’s ending. About the ending itself, it wasn’t satisfying. Also, why do I feel like they got some inspiration from the movie Bruce Almighty?

10. To Sir, With Love (8,3/10)

DESCRIPTION: The Five Dragon Guild is under the leadership of Jao Sua Song. He's skilled and in control in business, but things in the family have become chaotic. By his main wife Li, he has his eldest son Thian. He has a secondary wife Jan with whom he has a son named Yang and he has a mistress named Bua. In a Chinese family, masculinity is prized. Thian is the face of the family, the one who will eventually succeed Song, who will carry the power his father has built. Khun Chai is not a position just anyone is suited to. The love between two men is obstructed by Chinese society.

MY TAKE: Everthing was good here - the acting, the costumes, the setting... a high quality series indeed. I especially loved brotherly bond between Tian and Yang, as it was the purest and the most wholesome thing in this drama. The murder plot was interesting too. However, all of this was simply too prolonged. Because everyone for 17 1-hour episodes straight was running around and trying to find that Tian’s homosexual, they may as well just name the series Tian’s secret. I got sick of it around 9th episode and there were still 8 more. It’s a pity that it completely ruined To Sir, With Love for me. Tian and Jiu, the main couple, didn’t receive many screentime, so it was quite unsatisfying too.

[there will be a link to 11-15 in the future]

[storiesofsvu]

Can you tell me about Elizabeth's role in homeland and house of cards?

okay, there are two slightly yet also VERY different answers to your question lol.

First: the short, sweet, imdb/wikipedia/netflix summary answer for you.

Homeland: Elizabeth Keane; -We meet Keane in season 6 as the President Elect of the United States (aka, this is the time between her winning the election her inauguration) and follow her journey to becoming the president at the end of the season and her slight downfall the next. We see her connecting (and making enemies) with the people on her team as she tries to navigate presidency. Personal facts we know: she's divorced, and we learn that her son was killed in combat in the middle east. -Homeland as a show itself: political drama, a LOT of political talk, the pacing is a bit slower and I have only watched the episodes Beth is in and even some of those I skimmed through lol. it's just not for me and some days i do find it boring.

House of Cards: Heather Dunbar: -Dunbar starts out as the solicitor general for government. She's previously taken the last president to trial and got him impeached because of it (im paraphrasing, don't come for me if that detail is wrong). President knows shes powerful and wants to get her on the supreme justice bench so she's not a threat in the upcoming election. She plays the reverse uno card and ends up running for president. Her eps/scenes are more scattered throughout 2-3(?) seasons and we eventually do see her downfall as the president fucks her over. Personal canon facts: she's married, has 2 kids, has been working the legal and political field for years, super experienced, also rich AF. -House of cards as a show: political *thriller*, I MUCH prefer it, the pacing is higher, there's a lot of darkness, double crossing, scandal, murder, sex and everything else going on. I think i've watched s2 to the series finale. It's also just an INCREDIBLE show from an analyzing perspective, costuming, hair and make up, cinematography, direction, acting, writing, ugh. it's so good.

the rest is going under a cut so this isn't five pages long. But here come the headcanons, the fanon lore and how myself and besties have perceived these characters/how we write them

Keane: -is a bad ass, has worked in the political field for years, she opposes the war (esp now that she's lost her son to it). We like to think that the divorce was brought on by their son's death, especially since she was not on speaking terms with him when it happened. -In DESPERATE need of therapy -After saying that, can go one of two ways; no therapy, we're gonna see the total isolation and internal turmoil and mental breakdown that lead to her nearly losing the presidency and thus stepping down. Our girl goes through a LOT of trauma in canon and it's never dealt with, she loses the one person on her staff who she truly trusted and is left surrounded by a team of people who are constantly stabbing knives in each others backs and she unfortunately chose to trust some of the wrong ones, resulting in even more isolation and downward spiral -With therapy, she'd be a little better at being able to read this kinda stuff and go about things in a better way -She can be super cold, standoffish, when things are professional, they are professional and there is a *strict* and very hard line between professional and personal relationships. She doesn't care how harsh or cruel something sounds in the oval, it needs to be said. if she's got to make it up/make it make sense to you when you're home, so be it. -Is low on patience, doesn't have time for bullshit -that being said, she can also be the absolute softest little beth-bear once she's in a diff environment and secure with your relationship -More masculine presenting -Also she is daddy -Can get kinky in the bedroom, but it is not always going to be kinky -Is *very* much about control unless she's absolutely 200% comfortable with you and is willing to be vulnerable -If she's had a bad day, she will absolutely be coming home to absolutely destroy you Heather: -Absolute bad ass bitch who is not afraid of going after what she wants, nearly to the point of not caring what takes to get it. (but normally does have her morals and ethics take over and she realizes that's not right). -Can get very power hungry and when she gets it, it's very easy for it to sneak under her skin and she starts to abuse it, that, linked with how much money she has, can lead to some bad decisions. -Lbr, she's kept grounded by her husband in like, all of these situations. -Grew up super rich, old money, family money, not snooty about it, but is also in the "it's one banana, how much could it cost?" circle. She invests, she knows how to be financially conscious so that that wealth doesn't deplete -Was on the fence about kids/a family, but did it because that was "what was right"/expected/knew that having a family behind her was the right image that she wanted to project when she got where she wanted politically/career wise. Thus, lots of house staff, kids had nannies and were sent to boarding school. She did not bond with them very well, esp at the school age and likely feels like she doesn't really know them until they're adults -Can be cruel and vindictive and toxic, all depends on like, literally one singular life choice that she made. (See, the power hungry up above). once she loses herself to that, there's no going back -Is Mommy. -Is also the kinkiest, dirtiest, hardcore bitch that we know -Enjoys a large variety of kinks, but is *always* the dom, sometimes not even letting her partners touch her. She uses the mommy title and expects it to be used back, if it's in private, she expects it outside of the bedroom too -Loves mess, loves teasing, resident brat tamer, her punishments are always extreme and sometimes can last days if not weeks or longer -Don't fuck with her -Obviously, sex is *always* kinky with her, there are no plain vanilla nights

Okay, so i don't really know what direction you were wanting me to go with that, but that's what you got LOL. feel free to check out either of their masterlists or hit up the inbox for more thoughts! <3

[eviltiddyproductions]

finally watched the final two episodes of Queen of Tears and oh brother…. while it was not AS BAD as I was picturing, it was still pretty bad and that’s on the #writers.

I love a little bit of a almost dying situation here and there in kdramas sometimes because there’s nothing like it to up the ante but the entire show is based on one of the main characters dying so maybe don’t throw all of the tropes in one go? 😭

I was low-key happy that till episode 15 we hadn’t seen anyone from the main leads get physically hurt unnecessarily to the point of death because haven’t they been through ENOUGH ? but nope Hyunwoo got hit by a car and Haein got kidnapped ?!!! my poor Soo Choel got beat up !? someone’s gotta put their pen downnnn because we didn’t have enough time with any of this in general and then Hyunwoo gets shot….

at least later on the side characters are real about the fact that this is an insane run of events (they say: shooting in Korea?! is this a drama)

also the shooting scene was so lifeless to me. I guess I never really connected with Eun Sung’s character in any manner because he would illicit 0 emotions out of me. so when he’s manipulating her post surgery and when he’s truly going insane with the gun I just thought saw all that coming and did not feel the emotional intensity of it at all. in fact, I thought Haein might take the hit for Hyunwoo to throw one surprise in there but they just went hard on cliches with the last two episodes. Also in retrospect, if she did I’d be mad because my sister has been through hell and back so idk this is just me being a viewer in two minds 😭

thankgod for the few scenes of peace and quiet and laughter that we got with Haein and Hyunwoo in the hospital. It did make it up for me to be honest.

wanted to know from others if the whole Eun Sung and his mom being these bad guys was interesting for anyone? I swear even with the information about the boat accident and everything I was just like 😐😐😐 okay? I just didn’t care about it at all. nothing throughout the show made me gag or go wow! they’re so smart!!!!

also, I just knew that if they avoided the baby conversation pre surgery, we were never getting a proper moment with these two and that’s what happened. they deserved more because they’re both writing it in passcodes, have been sleeping in different rooms and were on the brink of a divorce if it wasn’t for a fatal illness and we leave this important and required conversation for 1 minute 😭??? in a timeline where Haein doesn’t have her memories ???

to be fair the writing had already missed to capitalise on a lot of things for me here and there so this isn’t surprising except that it’s just weird.

I wish someone in the production had taken time with the last 4-5 episodes of the show because it ruined the dream run for me a little bit.

One thing I cannot fault them on, the acting, direction and GOD the cinematography. I could go on for daysssss.

(Shout out to the music, the Crush song and the intro song makes me tear up immediately)

I’ll now go rewatch the beginning episodes for a bit because woah, cinema.

Lastly, I’m glad everyone got to be happy, I just need some time for this to settle in.

[visualtaehyun]

BL/QL Ask game : The Ugly, the Bad and the Worst

Thank you for tagging me @twig-tea 🙏 I read your post and the questions while going Ohhh interesting but when I actually tried to answer them myself, I realized that I'm usually pretty positive about the shows I watch or else I just move on from them. Most of the time, I don't fault characters or a whole show for being bad anyway, it's more the writing/script, directing choices, or editing that I tend to have gripes with.

So! Of the entire 22 original questions (by @clara-maybe-ontheroad), I'll only be answering a handful. This will also only be about Thai BLs because they make up the vast majority of QLs I've seen.

1 Worst soundtrack / weirdest song choice in a BL

My knee-jerk reaction was "Never Let Me Go country song NC" lmao but then I went to rewatch said scene and it barely stood out to me. So after re-thinking I'll have to nominate two shows: Dangerous Romance and Until We Meet Again, for basically the same reason.

Chimon's OST สายลม (Wind), which I actually fell in love with when it dropped because Chimon's voice was such a pleasant surprise, is being entirely overused in DR, to the point that I'm starting to tire of a song that I actually like. Honorable mention: The completely random and unnecessary stage performance of Perth and Chimon's ซบกันไปนานๆ (Sunset) in ep. 5. Was it not enough to have them sing and vibe to it in the car earlier in the same episode??

Similarly, UWMA's OST is either entirely by one guy or entirely one song but it sure was grating on me, my patience and my enjoyment of the show. P'New series are already hit or miss for me but that singer/song/OST had me so fed up.

5 Worst plot line

The first show I ever dropped was Star In My Mind which is ridiculous considering how short it is. But the entire premise of Kluen being unable to open his goddamn mouth frustrated me to no end. I did pick it back up again at a later point though, so I could watch Sky In Your Heart and indulge in the JoongDunk cuteness from there on out.

7 A show people love but you find bad

I'm sorry to say but- it's Vice Versa. It was one of the first Thai QLs I watched along with as it aired but ultimately I gotta say Oof. It has a fun premise, the cinematography is super nice, and it's genuinely sweet. But the amount of product placements was staggering! I also just didn't vibe with JimmySea's chemistry, they just gave too much Friend energy for me to find them believable as a couple. They're not the only ones or the only series where I didn't really find the spark but that's not a Them problem. That's a me 'Needing my fictional couples to be head over heels for each other for my acespec ass to see/experience the attraction and connection' problem lol

8 A show people find bad but you will defend

Cutie Pie! And I will die on this hill, @twig-tea 😂 It has everything I love: good production quality, good acting, tangible chemistry between the couples (see last question lol), complicated emotions, push-and-pull between the romantic leads, a dedicated cast and crew, a great OST, I'm certain I'm forgetting a lot of stuff but there's just so much I love about this show.

At its core, it's about two people who turned themselves into the versions they think they should be for each other, based on their upbringing, expectations placed upon them, status differences etc. and how they learn to be honest with themselves and each other.

I've re-watched this show a number of times, each with different levels of Thai proficiency, which made me consider that this show might've been such a hit in Thailand but not as much internationally because there's maybe a language and trope/culture barrier here? On my first-time watch, I knew no Thai and was largely unfamiliar with what tropes are common in Thai romances and such. At the time, the show didn't hit me very much, I struggled to make sense of that pivotal fight in episode 1, I enjoyed the singing, it was mostly just a nice romance. On my most recent re-watch a few months back, I had reached the point where I could follow a spoken conversation in Thai as long as there were translated subs to guide me along. And suddenly the full weight of episode 1 but especially the fight at the end, setting up the central conflict, hit me and I realized: Oh wow! This is good writing! Introduce your characters, their backgrounds, their goals, and the show's core conflict and that's how you hook viewers.

This has already gotten long enough but I wanna mention how much it means to me to have this show not just call for marriage equality repeatedly but also to have them shout it out to the world by having their mlm couple fully make out in what is arguably one of the busiest corners of Bangkok - Siam Square! More specifically it is the area with the fountains between Siam Paragon on one side and Siam Center on the other, and the skywalk (that connects the various malls in the area) as well as the central BTS station Siam both overlooking that space. It's also called Parc Paragon, there's frequently events there, and it is busy as all hell!! And they not only cleared it for filming a lengthy queer kiss scene but, in the show, the huge LED/ad screens are used to project pride colors, a call for equal rights, and a queer marriage proposal in plain view of the entire square!

If you've never been to Bangkok, I beg you to look up photos, via Google Street View or the IG location tag for Parc Paragon so you get an idea of what I'm talking about. 🙏 (this isn't the only busy prominent location they used btw but djdjhdjsdj let's not write a whole damn essay here)

10 A bad show that you kept watching because you were intrigued/fascinated

Dinosaur Love - I watched the first episode, excited for Tonnam and Pepper, and found it charming with its low budget, pink-filtered tropey-ness. Except I quickly realized that this show was Actually Bad. The framing and blocking were often a big question mark to me. The pink filter and the background music got annoying quickly. The acting was subpar. At some point in episode 2 I started questioning if they ever even did more than one take per scene. There was a panning shot involving a mirror where the crew is just fully visible in the reflection?? Suffice it to say that I dropped this show like a hot potato when episode 3 very suddenly and very graphically had a side character self-harm. Squicked me out like nothing before, moving on!

11 A bad show that you kept watching because you were horny

I mentioned this already but I'm on the aro/ace-spectrum (...somewhere, don't ask me specifics lol) so I don't really watch shows for horny or eyecandy reasons. If I don't vibe with the characters or dynamics then I won't even perceive them as sexy, to be honest.

12 A bad show that you kept watching because of that one character

Why R U (the og Thai one), I guess? Everyone who's seen it probably knows that the production and filming suffered because of Covid so I wouldn't hesitate to call this show bad on that basis. I set out to watch it because I wanted to see more of Zee Pruk's acting, in another role, after having seen Cutie Pie. And Fighter ended up being most of the reason I stuck around till the end. The nuanced struggle with his own sexuality was so well-portrayed. Tutor is a very memorable character as well! And I'm entirely 🥰 about Hwa, she just perfectly fits this character archetype that I will always, without fail, completely adore.

21 The show that disappointed you the most

Most of the time, I either don't have big expectations or I let go of them quickly enough once I get a vibe for where a given show is going. The closest thing to 'disappointment' would then probably be all the shows that I kept seeing being recommended and hyped but that didn't leave a lasting impression on me after watching, like KinnPorsche, Love Mechanics, Manner of Death. None of these are bad OR disappointing and there's things I genuinely enjoyed and liked in them but ultimately I just didn't Get why they're so popular. I'm sure part of it is to do with me not having been around to follow along on a week-to-week basis but watching them long after they were done airing, basically in a vacuum. But alas!

I don't know how you managed to do all 22 questions, Twig Tea, when this fraction has already taken me like five hours 💀 Passing this time-eating curse on then to @airenyah @cangse-sanren/@zeesqueere @sadwetcatray @sorry-bonebag @telomeke @thegalwhorants @pharawee I'm sure this tag is making the rounds so some (if not all) of y'all have probably done this already. If anyone I didn't tag reads this and wants to play, feel free to tag me in it, I do enjoy reading hot takes and impassioned essays lol

[spider-xan]

Honestly, I feel like there would be a lot less frustration with the Coppola film if it was completely irredeemable trash with zero good things going for it bc then we could just write it off as an awful film and laugh at it for what it is - but the fact that there are SO MANY great things about it that are worthy of praise, and we know Coppola generally isn't a bad filmmaker, is what makes it so frustrating, precisely it could have been an amazing high-budget film adaptation that was accurate to the novel and the indisputable definitive version, and then it swerved and made the framing and other choices that it did, with its specific vision superseding the actual text; and ofc there's the title issue of including Bram Stoker's name and implying a faithful adaptation, though I think Coppola tends to do that with straight book adaptations to credit the author, like how The Godfather's full title is actually Mario Puzo's The Godfather.

Like, the casting is amazing! Winona Ryder is perfect as Mina! Anthony Hopkins is inspired casting for Van Helsing! Even Keanu Reeves, with his questionable acting and accent, is at least cute as Jonathan, and his star power at the time makes sense for why he played the role. The costumes designed by Eiko Ishioka are honestly among the greatest film costumes ever, and she rightfully won the Best Costume Design Oscar that year! Love the liminal creepiness of Dracula's castle and how his shadow has a life of its own! Everything about the way the scene of Lucy entering her tomb as a vampire is filmed is sublime - the lighting, the cinematography, the camera angles, the eerily chilling on a visceral level music and sound design, the make up and costume, the way the candles supernaturally light themselves, etc. Quincey is actually included for once! Even some of the epistolary format is retained, with things like the log of the Demeter narrated over scenes on the ship, Mina typing on her typewriter, Jack recording on a phonograph, etc. There are honestly a lot of positive things that can be said about the film, and Coppola does know what he's doing on a technical level, along with the talented cast and crew.

And obviously, no adaptation is going to just copy the text exactly for various reasons, like film being an audio-visual medium with a shorter length than a novel, adaptations being filtered through the lens of their creators and reflective of the social milieu they are being created in, commercial box office considerations bc capitalism, etc., and I think being faithful to the spirit of the source material is more important than textual purity, and a lot of this is going to be subjective on the part of viewers as well. But yeah, it's like, personal preferences aside, the Coppola film just came SO CLOSE to being a film adaptation that's both accurate to the novel and incredible cinema at the same time, but then it made directing and screenwriting choices like Mina just being Dracula's love interest and having none of her heroic moments (all removed or given to the men), everyone being a total asshole, Dracula going back and forth in characterization bc the film can't decide if he's a sympathetic romantic hero who just wants true love or a scary monster villain who wants to take over England and eat people, and you kind of need the latter to drive the plot outside of the romance, etc.

We could have had it all, and that's what is so frustrating to me, along with how the film is so definitive that it gets projected back onto the original novel and just about anything Dracula.

[mirageofadesert]

C-Drama Review: My Journey to You

Broadcast: iQIYI, 2023, 24 Episodes Genre: Romance, Wuxia

My Rating 7/10

A beautiful show with a promising premise, ultimately disappointing with a poorly realized asynchronous story-telling and unsatisfactory ending.

Acting: 6/10 World-building: 7/10 Production: 9/10 Storytelling: 4/10 Pacing: 7/10 Re-watch Value: 6/10  Bonus: for Jolin Jin's and Tian Jiarui's characters. One of my favorite big sister and little brother!

Summary with minor spoilers: My Journey to You tells the story of two assassins, Yun Weishan (played by Yu Shuxin) and Shangguan Qian (played by Lu Yuxiao), who are sent to infiltrate an enemy sect territory, the Gong residence, disguised as potential brides. However, their respective objectives are in conflict with each other, and so are their targets. They encounter two very different young masters and their respective families. Young Master Gong Ziyu (played by Zhang Linghe) surprisingly attains the title of Sword Wielder of the Gong family, but faces accusations about the legitimacy of this status and title. Only by completing three challenges can he prove himself and take up his family's legacy. He falls in love with Yun Weishan early on, meanwhile Shangguan Qian future husband Gong Shang Jue (played by Cheng Lei) distrusts his new bride. In a balancing act, she must win his trust without revealing her true intentions. Thus begins a dangerous game, wherein the lines between friend and foe are blurred. The price? Freedom from the oppressing employers - and their own survival.

My review - spoilers ahead!

The show started out incredible promising: A captivating premise, a darker tone in both cinematography and theme, beautiful sets and costumes, decent special effects and a different voice for Esther Yu. And while the show had great moments, it overall failed to deliver what it promised. So what went wrong?

The short version is that the show suffered from the typical shortcoming: mediocre acting, misguided directing and bad writing.

Esther Yu and Zhang Ling He never stood out to me as particularly great actors, and this holds true in this show as well. However, I don't think the problem with My Journey to You can be blamed on their unconvincing acting, but is rather a product of the direction the writing took them.

The tension arcs get boring really fast: Again and again the female leads are in danger of being exposed (or better: exposing themselves), but by the third time it doesn't feel exciting anymore. The other major plot line is the conflict surrounding the succession of the sword wielder title, which I was never able to care about. I think a different story-line for the ML would have greatly benefited the drama. Trying to make the audience care about him by putting a lot of emphasis on his hard childhood early on in the show, didn't work, because it felt so irrelevant compared to the backstories of the other characters. It didn't give him depth, it actually took it away.  Therefore, the dynamic between the main couple wasn't working either - she was too cold, he was too immature for them to create any interesting chemistry.

The second couple not only had the better written characters, their storyline had more suspense. I have seen mainly Esther Yu being criticized for this drama, so my potentially controversial opinion is, that it's actually the fault of the dull main storyline and the bland ML.

The other big problem are the poorly build-up plot twists. Some of these plot twists themselves were great, like the switch of the medical document and the death of the little sister. While these were great plot points, the narrative build-up wasn't. In retrospect, it made sense we got so much information about the MLs unhappy childhood and complex relationship with his parents, because that build-up both to the medical record swap and the betrayal of the older brother, however... it was just done in such an annoying way, that it made the ML look unnecessary whiny and the storyline boring.

As the show progressed, they increasingly used the element of time-jumps and flashbacks to tell the story. There should have been a better way to deliver tension and twists, than constantly making jumps in order to catch the audience off guard. Part of the fun in mysteries like this is to make guesses while watching, but that only goes so far, when it is all in the editing and crucial information is simply being withheld. And what made this even worse, it that the final plot twist (e.g. the brother coming back) was so predictable, all the asynchronous story-telling wasn't even necessary!

Worst of all was the ending: A twin sister out of nowhere? A villain that was poorly build up? No resolution for the second couple? A cliffhanger for a next season that does not fit the tone of the first 23 episodes and is unlikely to ever happen? Frustrating.

It wasn't all bad: The supporting cast was great. Ryan Cheng, Jolin Jin and Tian Jiarui were amazing! The dynamics between all the other couples were engaging as well. Gong Zishang was my favorite comic relief in any cdrama, and she gave the whole show such a unique vibe! Tian Jiarui's character was right done my alley - I just love my twisted little psychopath in emotional turmoil!

Just one last thought ... please no more Chen Duling? She has been in most shows I have watched this summer and has failed to charm me every time. She is a decent actress, but the type casting of "sad, whiny girl" isn't doing her any favors.

Overall, I think this was a decent drama. I still would recommend you to watch this show, especially if you value intriguing characters over plot!

[low-budget-korra]

Comments on Love Lies Bleeding

-Katy O'Brian smile is the sweetest thing ever, and her 80's hair (or wig, Idk) is such a look man, I'm in love

-Lou waking up in the morning to make breakfast for Jackie after their first night together is honestly the gayest shit 😭

-Katy and Kristen's spouses are the strongest soldiers

-Ed Harris knows how to play a bad guy, his presence on scene is so powerful, he doesn't need to say anything to be noticed

-Kristen would rock as the Ellie Williams from tlou part 2. I'm sorry , but Lou is so Ellie coded, I mean, Kristen appearance alone as she looks just like her and she is so damn good on screen. I know Ellie already has an actress and Kristen is too old for the role but let a girl dream ok? Lol

Also, they didn't pick Katy as Abby cuz it would be so weird to see her big muscle ass beating the shit outta Bella's Ellie. Def wasn't about acting skills cuz Katy is also a powerful and captivating actress

-"Im wanna stretch you. I wanna see how far you can go" OMG and Kristen delivery too?🥵

In Brazil we have this expression "quero ser marmita de casal" that basically says "I want this couple to eat the shit outta me" and boy I want to be Lou and Jackie's marmita so bad

-Jackie's murdering JJ was so damn satisfying.

-Its enough of me being a gay mess, let's talk about movie shit.

It's so well done, everything. From writing, to directing, soundtrack, cinematography and the acting. The acting was 10/10

The way the tension is well built and the plot and the characters reveals itself, without rush or expository dialogue.

It also has a message on drug use like, don't do drugs y'all. Jackie high on steroids was terrifying to watch and that's the thing. It doesn't matter how good it makes you feel, it still fucks you up in the end. It ain't worth it. Yeah is an already well known stuff but they did execute this pretty well in the movie, mostly with visual storytelling

And Lou family drama is so real and painful, like, how many women suffer as Beth?

Katy is already fit but for sure she did some prep for Jackie and for women it is twice as hard to look strong and ripped as she did in the film so yeah, great work.

Ive saw some comments about giant Jackie and like bruh it's a metaphor for her to stand up for Lou and herself. She became a monster after saw Lou heartbroken after seeing Beth all beat up and now to save her , she became a giant, a hero. That's love, it makes you bigger

And they got a happy ending.

[d0gbrained]

the most disappointing thing about the fnaf movie is that you can very clearly see everything it could have been but it’s sabotaged by its own writing. Half the film I was sat there like ‘just let me write the damn thing’ because of how obvious all the fixes seemed.

The setting, direction, acting, most of the cinematography, etc etc were all really good and actually super unique for a mainstream “horror” release (I say horror in quotes because I hesitate to call the film a horror, which isn’t something I mind as much as most people seem to) you can really tell Tammi had a vision which is further backed up by her talking passionately in interviews about the theme she was going for.

There’s a sort of dreary late-stage-capitalist nihilism to it all. Our protagonist is struggling to hold a job because of his mental health issues, he’s constantly fighting to prove to his family + society at large his ability to raise his sister and is worthy of the resources he needs to do the bare minimum. His surroundings are full of dead grass, sprawling suburbs, concrete and dreary colors. Even the most exciting pieces of the set (mostly at freddy’s) are in complete decay, and are further destroyed by his aunt in a desperate attempt to pry her away for monetary gain. Childhood joy falls away to reveal the tragedy of adulthood and the realities of our world.

Abi slowly comes to this realization not just in interacting with the ghost children, but finding the exchange of custody papers. Later on, learns the hard way that there are people out there with bad intentions, that people you see as friends can turn around and hurt you. In a way, the ghost children are acting out their trauma with Abi, repeating the cycle, betraying her with friendship and pulling her deeper in because they don’t know better. Mike repeats his own trauma every night, vanessa is passive in her cycle of trauma, etc etc. all these threads exist and yet are not tied together in any way that’s satisfying. There was such a perfect setup here and yet at the end of the movie Abi seems to be the exact same, learning nothing. Mike does show signs of character development which come down to ‘i need to be a better brother’ and some closure, but a lot of the reasons he was a bad brother were entirely systematic and not under his control, so it’s a sort of hollow conclusion.

Idk i have a lot of thoughts on this but most of them sum up to “the reason this movie falls flat because in so many aspects it just doesn’t make sense.” Scott Cawthon is actively killing his own series with his egotism because he just can’t have a single fnaf project come out that he hasn’t written in some manner despite claiming he was stepping away from the series. I will write something more coherent about it at a later point methinks.

[desirableendings]

how bad is it (the bear s3)? give it to me straight doc 😓😓

I’m going to be real with you, it’s my personal worst kind of bad… which is bad writing.

Because, if you see the season it still looks great, it has wonderful editing, cinematography, sound design, direction, production. Even some episodes work great as stand alones. My favorite is the first one because it honestly it’s so artful in how it looks and how it moves. But, overall, you finish the last episode and you leave feeling disappointed. Cause the plot goes nowhere and so do the characters. To the point they even feel at times ooc. Like I have no idea who Carmy and Syd season 3 were. I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but they act very one dimensional and it’s… not great. The dialogue feels too explicit at times and the amount of flashbacks is… too much. And there are some continuity errors that I honestly cannot look away from.

[estellaestella]

I'm nearly an hour and a half into DONT WORRY DARLING and its been brilliant so far! Cast, acting, writing, direction, cinematography, atmosphere, art department, costumes, the 60s feel - all on point. So much so that i'm almost afraid the last 30 or so minutes is gonna ruin the experience if all the breadcrumbs dont lead us to a satisfying conclusion. Paused the film to write this (i hvnt looked away from the screen even once - thats how good it is)

All that stupid bad publicity is such a shame. This seems to be a blend of Get Out + Truman Show + Stepford Wives and other barbiecore dystopias. I wonder if Olivia can truly pull off a decent cocktail with these. Will update after finishing the movie.

[boys-love-tension]

GMMTV 2023

Sorry BL fam, it’s been a while. I was involved in creating content for TIKTOK, so I couldn’t make time for Tumblr. However, as you know, GMMTV announced its 2023 lineup last month. I wanted to write a post talking about my thoughts about each series.

1. Cooking Crush

OffGun is one pairing where I trust the actors 100%. I trust their choice in the series they choose to act in. Cooking Crush wouldn’t be a series I usually watch, mainly because I am not that into cooking or culinary stories. However, Gun, Off, Neo and Mark will be in this series, along with Victor, who will play a side character. I am honestly looking forward to this. After Not Me, which was a series very serious, demanding a lot from the actors that were on it, this will be more lighthearted. Honestly, sometimes, all we need is a good rom-com. I hope they don’t make the humorous moments whacky since I don’t laugh at slapstick comedy. I prefer subtle humour or innuendos. Lastly, its great that Off and Gun want to work together even after years of being a pairing. I really admire their bond and the energy they bring to the table. Nothing can replace that for me, no new ship.

2. A Boss and a Babe

A boss and a what? The title honestly made me laugh when I was watching the live. I couldn’t believe it. I really hope they change the title to something less “babe” LMAO.

Let me be honest; I don’t like the Boss and Employee dynamic. Mainly because I have a full-time job in a company where they really follow these structures, and often you hear about harassment from directors and partners to senior associates or associates. When I heard the storyline, I wasn’t happy. This is the same reason I don’t watch any secretary Korean dramas because I can’t romanticise them.

However, Force and Book as actors are amazing. I wish GMMTV would give them a good storyline (cough Only Friends). Book and Force, if you are reading this, please know that I love you both as actors, but this storyline isn’t something I am looking forward to. We also get to see Drake, Mike, Fluke and Ohm as side characters in this series. Really looking forward to seeing them shine as well. Also, GMMTV, when are you going to give Drake a main role? I’m waiting.

3. 23.5

THE FIRST GIRL LOVE FROM GMMTV. Honestly, I have been waiting for this. Ever since Bad Buddy ended, I have had this emptiness in me. LOL seriously. I have been thinking, what kind of storyline would they give MilkLove?! Ongsa (played by Milk) is a loner who falls in love at first sight with Sun (played by Love). Thinking she would get rejected, she creates another identity - Earth and approaches Sun. As things develop between Sun and Earth, will Ongsa get the courage to be honest?

While I would’ve preferred only MilkLove in the series but they also decided to introduce a side couple in the series. I love GeminiFourth but I hope they let MilkLove shine over here.

I also love the trope for this series, its simple and to the point. I hope the director is able to convey the emotions properly as GLs are different from BLs. Lastly, I’m excited to see the industry take an interest in GLs. Excited to see this come through 🙈

4. Last Twilight

Directed by the greatest - P'Aof is coming back with an ORIGINAL series. Last Twilight talks about how Mork (played by Jimmy), a mechanic by tradition, is forced to take a job as a caretaker of Day (played by Sea), who has partial blindness. Not only is the premise of the story beautiful, but even from the mock trailer, we can see spectacular cinematography, which only makes me curious about the end result. I enjoyed Jimmy and Sea's acting in Vice Versa (which is underrated). I am excited to see them come back together with another show. P'Aof is known to make some of the best series in GMMTV, so my expectations for this are genuinely HIGH. Also, I hope I don't come across as creepy, but I want to know what P'Aof is thinking when he is directing a series or planning a new one. He truly comes up with the best pairings and the best shows. I hope Last Twilight gets to be a success and JimmySea gets the recognition they deserve.

5. Dangerous Romance

Perth and Chimon are playing leading roles in this series, so you can be assured that I am EXCITED. Firstly, I have been watching Never Let Me Go, and both of them are a side couple/roles, but they play their parts well. Specially seeing Perth on the screen after so many years has been refreshing. Dangerous romance is a story about Sailom (played by Chimon) who is a poor but studious student who starts tutoring Kanghan (Perth) who is a school bully. The series also has Pawin and Marc playing side characters.

6. Only Friends

Three friends Mew (played by Book), Ray (played by Khaotung) and Boston (played by Neo), run a hostel together. Does that sound good to you so far? Remember this info because it gets messy. Mew has no interest in sex or relationship because he has been focusing on his studies. However, Boston introduces Mew to Top (played by Force) so that Mew can experience a one-night stand. However, Mew and Top get more serious, leaving Boston unhappy. Ray is a rich lad who is also a fuckboi. He meets Saen (played by First), and they probably hook up/see each other a few times. Eventually, Saen wants to start an exclusive relationship with Ray. However, Ray has feelings for Mew and isn't keen on getting exclusive. Nick (played by Mark) finds a sex tape in Boston's phone, and they start a friend-with-benefits relationship things take a terrible turn when he starts falling for Boston, but Boston won't return his feelings. Firstly, one of my favourite directors - P'Jojo Tichakorn Phukhatong, is directing this masterpiece with P'Ninew Pinua Chookamsri (he has been an acting coach for many GMMTV projects). I trust P'Jojo would be an understatement. I worship him. I genuinely believe both directors can make this series into something we will absolutely enjoy. Honestly, this is the series I am looking forward to the most. Most of my queer friends, including me, have experienced similar relationship dynamics. Seeing these actors play a more serious and realistic role will be fantastic. Lastly, I look forward to seeing First and Khaotung again in a leading role. Also curious to see bad boi Neo and Force! :D

7. Cherry Magic (Thai Version)

Tay and New are back. Honestly, I never thought I'd be repeating this sentence ever again. If anyone has been following BL for a long time, they know what went down and how bad things had become at a point, but I had faith that one day...one day, we would get to see TayNew again, and now we get to see them in leading roles. Tay will play Karan (yes, they've changed the Japanese names to be close to Thai ideals), and New will play Achi. We also have Sing and Jan as a side couple, Mark (a different one than the one in only friends), and Junior. We don't know much about the storyline yet (not sure if they are changing it much or keeping it original) since this trailer wasn't released due to some licensing issue. However, I will update my thoughts on this once the trailer is released. Welcome back, TAYNEW! Sending you lots of love, Tay. He is an excellent actor and will ace this role. Tay is a ball of sunshine, and I fully believe in him. I know people have been sceptical because it is a remake but hear me out - remakes do take place, and we can't expect both series to be the same. An office setting in Thailand would be different from one in Japan. Let's just have some faith that we see ACE representation in this series. As someone asexual, I hope the side couple has an ace rep, just like in the Japanese version (although the Japanese version didn't have a side couple).

8. Hidden Agenda

Zo (played by Dunk), a university student, wants to date someone (for the first time in his life), and he settles for Nita (a trendy girl - played by Jamie). He asks Nita's ex, Joke (Joong), for advice. We have seen this or a similar trope many times, and it has always been successful. Look at BrightWin's 2gether. I am sure this series will be a hit. Honestly, it doesn't excite me as much as other series because it doesn't feel original. However, I trust the actors (JoongDunk), and the director, P'Tee, has directed TharnType and LovelyWriter, so I am hoping this one will turn out to be insanely good and convince me to watch it.

9. Our Skyy 2

We will get to see after stories of the following:

A Tale of Thousand Stars (EarthMix) Bad Buddy (OhmNanon) Vice Versa (JimmySea) The Eclipse (FirstKhaotung) My School President (GeminiFourth) Star and Sky: Star in My Mind (JoongDunk) Never Let Me Go (PondPhuwin) A Boss and A Babe (ForceBook)

I am excited to see them all, especially EarthMix and OhmNanon since they don't get a complete BL series this year. I am curious to see how they play out the story of The Eclipse and Bad Buddy because they felt like a complete ending to me.

Lastly, I hope there is no cheating, breakup and such sadness involved because I am not sure if I will be able to handle it. I just want full sugary content - give me diabetes.

Lastly, some of the series are yet to air (as of 4th Jan 2023), so I assume this will air in the latter half of the year. Many directors are coming together to work on this, so I am excited to see what happens :)

Which BLs are you looking forward to?

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

I don't watch a lot of US tv shows. Not because I think they are "bad", but more because they barely hold any appeal to me.

The last few I tried were like : let's start with a pointless sex scene, because dang, regular american boy loves that! Also, let's not pay anyone to do the light. Better if it's too dark to see anything at all 60% of the time, wow we're so gritty.

That said, I happened to stumble on Night Sky. And the reason I got interested was that for once, our two heroes were old people (and it's sci-fi, which I have always loved). And as the heroes, the tone of the first episode was very much slower, calmer and yet super interesting.

It had zero useless sex scenes the whole way, the plot unraveled at a pretty slow but good rhythm, the acting was good. Lovely.

and then.

and then, the number one reson why I've been mostly staying as far from US shows as humanly possible.

The reason why I absolutely despise 99% of all american TV shows.

They can't ever write a freaking ending, and you never know if a show is going to be "renewed" or not.

I've been watching so much shows from other countries where the show is clearly bought to last a set number of episodes, so there is always an ending. Good, bad, I don't even care, as long as it's there.

Now I'm left with no ending, more questions than answers, and the absolute certainty that this was my last ever foray into "made for the US" series.

What are your thoughts about that format? You obviously watch older movies, so I'm not sure if you are into shows at all. I'm curious.

Pfff, I watch sort of everything anon. And definitely tv series.

I wasn't sure how to answer your questions because there is a lot to unpack and honestly? In order to get an encompassing answer, I'd have to write a thesis. But I'll keep it short.

In terms of American shows not getting an ending and in turn, becoming a frustrating viewing experience, I'd say that it has more to do with current production practices and the industry at large, rather than the shows being American. The US has produced most of the greatest tv since its invention and we have experienced the golden age of television for the first couple of decades of the 21st century.

I'd say that the problem is represented by the streaming services and the run of the mill and cancelled shows are a product of that culture. Binge watching, too many projects getting a green light leading to a lot of trash as well, focusing too much on algorithm and quick social media response lead to abrupt cancellation. And sometimes they do it for tax purposes as well. It's the same in the film industry.

Getting out an entire season to streaming immediately hurts the people behind it. With cable tv, writers had a more long-term job, each season had more episodes, the episode was written specifically to fit in commercials as well. Direct to streaming changed that for the worst, hence the writers strike. There's a lot more to be said on this and you can watch this as well, it will help

Poor lighting has indeed been another criticism which I can understand. It's because they're shooting on digital and somehow it gives this illusion that it's more "realistic"? It's not, it's just lazy and it's a shame. Lighting in cinematography is an art and there's plenty of examples out there.

Lastly, the "useless sex scenes". I wonder what constitutes as useless for you though? The existence of a sex scene is not just for some "regular american boy". It's part of a lot of people's lives and being depicted in fiction is to be expected. There's nothing wrong with watching it, for everyone. Would it have a point only if it advances the plot? Could it not be another means of characterization? Of setting a mood? A commentary? Perhaps a glimpse into a life? There's plenty of reasons, even if it appears "pointless". It's unfortunate to see this trend nowadays, but at least it creates debates from people on all sides. I'd actually say that the lack of eroticism and the abundance of sexless characters in a lot of mainstream cinema/tv is creating a false, artificial image of a world that gets boring really fast and certainly a fictional Hollywood subpar to everything that came before.

[hastings727]

Shangri-La is one of my Favorite Anime Shows in the Last Few Years.

I'm a gaming nerd at heart and this show oozes such a specific vibe.

Our Main Character: Rakuro Hizatome is a fan of playing and beating trash VR games, but is tempted one day by the newest and most popular MMO: Shangri-La Frontier. Armed with his knowledge and skill of bad games, can he succeed in a god tier video game title? And the answer is: yes. yes he can.

I mentioned the specific vibe at the top of this and here's the thing. There's been plenty of VR game anime over the years, but what really sets this one apart is the writing. Rakuro or rather "Sunraku" (His username in-game) is clearly written to be a mix of classic shonen youthful determination, tempered by the knowledge and skill of a veteran gamer. At no point does his personality veer towards the more annoying shonen stereotypes, or veer towards what I would call the "Kiriko from SAO" edgy knowitall. Sunraku is by no means a one note character. He doesn't look or act like a cartoon nerd stereotype at all, far from it. The author (this was a webcomic and then adapted to manga) and subsequent anime scriptwriter clearly either did their research or are very into the gaming scene. Sunraku talks about glitches, bugs, exploiting game mechanics, social gaming aspects, and all manner of other stuff over the 25 episode run. There is also very few specific gaming references in the show either. You're not seeing Mario or Zelda popping in, but you will see pixel art, inventory screens, and other classic gaming tropes. Sunraku is very playfully written. Initially, he's alone in his adventure, and you get a lot of his thoughts about a given situation. And while you get all of that standard anime teenage boy determination, you also get some of the best sarcastic comedic lines you'll ever hear in anime. He's also occasionally punny, and later on when he meets friends from previous games, downright catty during situations. The animation also keeps up with these situations, as you'll see Sunraku and his standard bird mask (Yeah that's not his head don't worry) be twisted and curved about to suit the comedy of the moment.

Speaking about the animation, it's good! At very few points do I ever catch myself looking at a specific shot and thinking that the animation feels stiff or slow. The staff at Studio C2C clearly knew where to allocate the appropriate amount of frames to a given situation. I don't feel like this show ever made my jaw drop with the animation either, but there's nothing to complain about. The cinematography is what really sells this show for me. It's not overly stylistic, but the studio certainly knew how to play up moments with these characters with good posing and fun use of lighting. The direction truly is the highlight of this show.

The initial few episodes where Sunraku is by himself are fun and it does really hammer down that he understands quite alot about gaming stuff and knows how to apply it. That's really the foundation of this shows writing, but my favorite parts are when he meets other players. This is an MMO after all, eventually you'll have to interact with another player, and even the first encounter with two throwaway characters is entertaining and fun. But when he reunites with two friends, Oikatsu and Arthur Pencilgon (yes those are their usernames) is when the writing really pops. You now have three smart mouth gaming nerds all constantly poking fun at eachother, each from different gaming backgrounds. It really helps break up the more serious action sections. What really struck me though is that other shows would have kept the group together, but after the group's goal is completed, the writer lets them each do their own thing. It feels very realistic in that sense, as MMOs these days don't generally require you to do EVERYTHING with a group. It really shows that the author did their research.

Shangri-la Frontier also doesn't ignore the "IRL" sections of a gamers life either. We meet Rakuros family, who each have their own quirky hobbies, such as moms obsession with having bugs as pets, and his dads love of fishing. It's all shown somewhat briefly, but its enough to understand that the family is each quirky in their own way and while a tiny bit dysfunctional, they all care about eachother. Recurring Characters Oikatsu and Pencilgon also have glimpses of their lives too. That being said, while the anime does a good job with these sections, I wouldn't be surprised if the webcomic had more to the IRL parts, but the anime had to cut it for time constraints.

I initially watched this show in Japanese, but tried the English dub and was absolutely charmed. Comedy always hits stronger in a language you understand, but I can tell that the English scriptwriters really put a lot of thought into this show. I didn't watch both versions, nor do I speak Japanese, so I can't tell you definitively if the English dub moves away from the original Japanese writing. What I can tell you is the performances were fantastic. My favorite has to be Eric Vale as Sunraku, who really put his all into this character. He hits the serious moments as perfectly as the catty, sarcastic sections, and is probably the reason I vibe so hard with Sunraku as a character.

Shangri-La Frontier should be out completely by now in sub and dub forms, please watch it!

[byneddiedingo]

Lindsay Duncan, Jeff Fahey, and Kim Delaney in Body Parts (Eric Red, 1991)

Cast: Jeff Fahey, Lindsay Duncan, Kim Delaney, Zakes Mokae, Brad Dourif, John Walsh, Paul Ben-Victor, Peter Murnik. Screenplay: Patricia Herskovic, Joyce Taylor, Eric Red, Norman Snider, based on a novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Cinematography: Theo van de Sande. Production design: Bill Brodie. Editing: Anthony Redman. Music: Loek Dikker. 

How can a movie with a car chase, a fight in a barroom, and an abundance of gore turn out so dull? Body Parts is based on an old trope, that of severed members taking on a life of their own. Adaptations of W.W. Jacobs's 1902 story "The Monkey's Paw" are so numerous they have a Wikipedia page of their own and Maurice Renard's 1920 novel Les Mains d'Orlac, about a concert pianist who receives the transplanted hands of a murderer, has been filmed several times, including Robert Wiene's 1924 silent The Hands of Orlac and Karl Freund's 1935 Mad Love, starring Peter Lorre. The many adaptations of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein also play on the notion of reanimated body parts. But it's not that the idea behind Eric Red's movie has been done to death, so to speak, it's that Red and the various screenwriters who worked on the movie find so little new and interesting to do with it. It's adapted from a 1965 novel, Choice Cuts, by the writing team known as Boileau-Narcejac, who provided the source material for some much better movies: Diabolique (aka Les Diaboliques, Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955) and Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958). The acting isn't bad. As Bill Chrushank, a psychiatrist who receives the arm of a murderer after losing his own in an auto accident, Jeff Fahey does a solid job of suggesting the ways the transplant brings out the worst in what may have been his own latent tendencies to violence. Lindsay Duncan plays the surgeon who does the transplant as a cold-blooded scientist with just a touch of hauteur that turns malevolent when her breakthrough technique is threatened. Brad Dourif overacts a little as the artist who receives the other arm and finds that it actually feeds his imagination and produces darkly disturbing paintings that sell. And Kim Delaney does what she can with the role of Chrushank's wife, who bears the brunt of his emotional transformation. But Red's direction never builds suspense, giving us time to anticipate the shocks we expect the material to provide. There's also a completely unearned "happy ending" that saps any lingering tension from what has gone before.