Melancholy and the missing ring

I was absolutely sure I won’t write this review, but I couldn’t stop thinking about this series whole night. I was left with an uneasy feeling and a veil of melancholy. In general, the end cannot be defined as happy or sad, it is just somehow bittersweet. I cannot find the better word at the moment.

The scenes and aesthetics are wonderful. I love the costumes a lot and a few episodes left me speechless, mostly because of the emotions that overflowed me.

The episode with the theater performance is masterpiece.

One detail caught my eye at the end of the last episode, I was looking for the ring on Phats hand. I understand why it is not there but I was hoping in the last scene he would wear it.

Overall, living lonely life that Phat was left with after Phobs passing - broke me. But the lack of sadness once the Phat realized he is dying of cancer (knowing that he will be reunited with the love of his life), made me feel a little bit calmer. Dark parts of my soul loved this a lot. I will not forget this series, the flaws are so unimportant because the impact the whole story left on me is much stronger.

Read More

I had so much trouble focusing on the story, it was slow, which can be charming at a time, but this time I was not that much into it. The lack of chemistry was the problem for me. As I want to watch everything BL ever made, so I can write the best possible BL story, I will consider this movie as a part of my research! As for entertainment, I wasn't that much entertained! I could finish my review just here, but there are still some mandatory characters to fill in. Which says a lot about the movie - I was just so not impressed that I cannot write review of a decent length.

Read More

As deep as the budget allowed

After letting this movie settle in, I had an urge to write the review. Even though many might find the whole story kinda questionable, I think the overall idea was great. Rage, jealousy, sadness, and aggression could be psychologically explained, and I will try to do so in my own manner. Kurata is repressed homosexual and has an extremely deep fight within. We can see that from the very start. He has been in love with this boy since day one, but he waited for him to take the first step. I understand his character, being a person that does not go for what she wants due to fear of rejection, fear of looking weak… well just fear in general. I felt the character very well. And then, building a facade to keep himself safe, acting like he does not care about anything besides sex, acting out with rage outbursts when it is so transparent that he feels jealousy. All the emotions built into this character made me feel the movie intensely. As for Tozaki, I loved his gentle, kind, and patient side. I believe that these characteristics tore the walls around Kurata at the end of the story. I loved it honestly and I think about this movie a lot.

Read More

Artsy flatline

The first review in 2023, I was thinking about why I should review this one, and I still do not have a good excuse. Lol

This series is calm, to the edge of being super monotone. No questionable moments, it is real and totally preoccupied with everyday problems life brings us. No spice, not heavy tension, or some deep passion, except the grief that is portrayed very well...

If you do not prefer slow pace, clash of a bl and bromance (lack of passion and intimacy, well the amount of it is so tiny to make me happy). The biggest issue (personally) is the boredom. I caught my mind wandering and sometimes it was just too slow for me to keep up. Most of the time it is just flatline.

If you like these types of series, please give it a go, it is so well done, colors are wonderful, acting is good, music follows the story so well, diversity is included on so many levels, emotional and psychological obstacles are all there, dealing with real relationship and family problems…

Wigs are so bad. Lol

Remember me has a value, even though it is just not built for everyone.

Read More

Almost there...

Okay, this could be one of the better titles I watched but unfortunately it did not deliver entirely. I will elaborate.

This is kinda my jam, estranged lovers meet after some time, the emotions are there, the whole the-one-that-got-away shebang is there, the chemistry is escalating, flashbacks of the past also there, and then, there is some really lovely skinship. Everything I like is there. I mean, the kisses were good, realistic, my guts react to these type of things and I loved it.

However, it felt a bit weird, the whole thing did not have a flow and it felt like a loop, one runs away the other - the writer Night is incapable to communicated like a decent person. And then all over again just faster. I know they wanted to create a character that is actually scared and emotional but there was not enough time to develop it. So it was really impossible to connect to the characters.

Of course, the character Day was just thrown it like here is an obstacle, a bad bad bad guy and in like 45 minutes he is good good good guy some of us were even routing for. The whole thing could last longer and the character could develop better. If you know what I mean!

I noticed that when we have longer BLs (the ones that are actually not that good), we have many filler characters or NC scenes that are just forced. I liked that in this series that was not the case, but I really needed more. I will conclude this with - it is short, cute and it is not the waste of time. it is not that bad, not good, but not that bad. And if you liked The promise this might be something you could watch!

Read More

Brand new walk!

Everyone is probably so bored with Step by Step. I honestly am, not by the series but by the endless theories of this and that.
I loved Step by Step from the first moment, WHY... because it had that real-life element. People will do stupid shit, people won’t be logical, people will run if they are scared of being hurt, people will manipulate and people will be manipulated, people will lose the people they are head over heels in love over stupid things, people will lie...people will DO AND SAY STUPID S*IT and that is the one and only truth...

THE BIGGEST FLAW:

The 2nd couple is robbed of a great story, but I believe they might be having new project. But still robbed. Not many things can top the hotel forbidden kiss. That story could be awesome!

OVERALL:

I love this series, it was long enough to develop the characters in all their aspects. I did not find all the side characters equally interesting to be honest and I am not supposed to.

I loved the controlled chemistry so it looked more real life than fairy-tale BL love stories (I love fairy tales as well:P). Just like Love Mechanics, this series had the same back-and-forth dynamics, and it just felt real to me.

Also the best memes came as a product of this drama.

Read More

Bittersweet

I watched this movie a few days ago and I let the impressions settle in. I enjoyed the story, because it is really original one. I kinda felt sad watching it. The whole story missed some intimacy and I wanted more. But this didn't ruin the movie for me. Lately I felt that growing older triggers me, so this might be the reason I felt the sadness while watching it. I am highly recommending this movie, specially for older audience. It might speaks to us more. If I could review this movie with one sentence, it would be - bittersweet love story, family story and the story about the effect of making wrong and right choices. It is life story with a Sci-Fi twist. Could be longer and could be more detailed, but overall not bad at all.

Read More

Made me feel good

Ok, I cannot gather my thoughts to write this review for last 10 days. So I will keep it very short. As short as I am capable of doing.

If you are picky BL lover this might not be for you. The Promise is somewhat in between when it comes to the quality. It is not a masterpiece nor massive produced soapy romance, in my humble opinion. Even though it goes toward soapy dramas. I honestly expected tragedy because it starts with – inspired by actual events...hopefully this one is just as 99% of BLs, the one with the happy ending.

Originality: Well 6 .5/10 – childhood friends future lovers plot but it brought me some sense of warmth

Acting: It was fine by me, I loved the chemistry. Kissing was so-so, but the last scene of intimacy kinda looked good

Flaws: Unbalanced plot, some unimportant things were dragged and some were rushed but they needed more development

Conclusion: I do not believe it is waste of time, because I cannot remember when was the last time I was watching pilot episode (in this case two episodes) that hit me with that warm and fuzzy feeling. It made me wanting to watch it so bad. My review is not harsh, I am solemnly focused on my feelings. I enjoyed the mood, I did not enjoy the waiting (so I envy the bingers now).

Overall, I ended up loving this more than I thought I would. This is a decent watch and I possible re-watch some of the episodes but not sure just yet!

Read More

Thrilling butterfly effect

I had problem following it in first 10 minutes, but I blame myself because I had lack of focus. But once I got on this ride it was really hard to get off. This movie is dynamic, very energetic and interesting. It is not the most unique and innovative plot but it has some unique elements.

I think I need to rate things following the way I was invested and how much I enjoyed the experience while watching it. I was there, very present and I was having fun. So it did so well for me!

I LOVED the music. This movie made me remember how much I missed watching Korean horror movies lol

I was honestly scared just watching Jeon Jong Seo, she did magnificent job! Cannot wait to see more of her!

Read More

Barely scratching the surface

As the title says, this story - barely scratched the surface - it was good idea, but poorly executed. I loved the energy through the movie, and the chemistry was decent.

Let's get back to the story, the fact that one of the main characters was dead in the 1st part of this movie, bringing him back was and (in my book), will always be an amateur move. I am a bit sucker for happy endings but the whole idea of "playing dead" was unnecessary. It has to be very strong reason for something like this.

Just as the 1st part problematic moments were rushed. Emotions were fine, some even touching. I missed more affection, but there was some...like not totally - we are in relationship and our intimacy is deep stare into loved ones eyes and hand holding. It was more than that, yet not enough. I did not expect Pornographer (Novelist) but I started to hope that more and more real intimacy will be portraited in movies and TV shows from 2021.

Overall, one more bl checked on my list that was not total waste of time. If you are picky and have no intention of watching every single bl ever filmed you might skip this one.

Read More

Fractured universe

It has been a while since I wrote a review, but I can’t resist this one. I wanted it to be a heartfelt essay, but it may end up feeling more analytical. Or not, you be the judge!

• Depth was achieved in just eight episodes under an hour, proving that Koreans can do it.
• There’s a rich diversity among the male characters, though the female representation is notably lacking.
• I love the exploration of love, which is just another word for pain, and pain itself is a source of artistic fuel.
• The actors delivered outstanding performances
• Bangkok was a particularly nice touch

Me aspect:
On a personal level, what made this series special for me was the writing. I could relate deeply. I’ve been writing for over 20 years without any intention of being published; I write to sort through my thoughts and emotions. The pain expressed in words resonates with me. His overwhelming love and unbearable behaviors in long-term relationships moved me deeply, and I found myself feeling a surge of anger—was it because I recognized myself in him? His constant need for companionship, paired with an equally strong urge to be alone, created a powerful tension that mirrored my own experiences. The way these feelings collided, allowing him to find comfort in his loneliness, illustrates a vicious cycle of self-sabotage and the solace that writing provides.

Overall, I haven’t encountered anything in ages that captivated me and stirred my soul. At times, I even felt hurt and offended and heartbroken and warm.And as I said, I find myself relating to it, yet struggling to fully grasp why. For me, this is undoubtedly the series of the year.

Read More

Weird

I thought about writing the review on this one, and I was afraid I lack the words to explain the depth of disturbing feeling that I was left with. I think that the story and the plot is deep, but it is so lightly presented. More than one scenes are disturbing, and these are not the ones with cross-dressing.

Relationship between characters is forced, I could not sense any emotions, except one sided sexual desire.

I watched it carefully and I cannot even begin to write the problems it has. There are some good moments, like fully acceptance of ones identity (but I am also walking on the edge here) because some scenes showed this very well and some not so much.

I would not watch this again, and I think I would forget it probably too soon. In my personal opinion it lacks the feelings and emotions that I could feel just by watching. I am not sure, and my indecisiveness made me rate higher than expected.

Read More