Sweet, mature couple.

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale).
The romance between the leads is very sweet and there's plenty of these moments. It's healthy and balanced. The two support each other emotionally, trust, and look out for each other. Both characters are fairly gentle people, but they have backbones and don't let other people walk all over them.

General Spoilers below.

A fairly realistic approach to domestic abuse and they showed some of the fear the victim can feel. I really liked the line by the FL: "...because with domestic violence, there's only zero times or countless times. And this is the bottom line." What didn't make sense was how the SML was able to freely harass the FL, purposefully cause a car accident, then stalk the FL again with no repercussions or legal restraints. He finally backs off at the end having learned his lesson, but it was really frusterating and disappointing that he was essentially let off the hook.

Some skinship and multiple hugs, though the hugs are upper-body (there's a space kept between lower bodies), and there are no direct kisses. There are a couple flirty moments though, which were enjoyable. The characters were definitely believably in love with each other with their eyes, but their bodies indicated that the actors weren't 100% comfortably relaxed with each other.

I did enjoy the FL's friends, the ML's brother and his wife, and the FL's parents. I also appreciated how multiple characters stood up the the ML's mother.

Overall this is a decent one-time watch, especially if you already like one of the actors, or like sweet and quick romances. I found the plot got more contrived in the second half, but the extended happy ending was a nice way to finish it off.

Read More

ML is the best thing in this Noona romance

A vertically filmed micro drama (I rate these on their own sliding scale). On the fence about rating it a 5/10, because Noona relationships are less commonly explored and it was ultimately a healthy and sweet relationship. But I felt like there weren't enough happy/joyful moments between the leads to be fully satisfying, the FL character was unmemorable, the plot was a bit overdone is spots, and I was disgruntled with how they approached queerness and the topic of AIDS.

It's an okay one-time watch for a Noona romance fan. The FL was good but the ML stole the show. Lu DanDong did earnestness, longing, desire, and heartbreak really well. He was believable as a 22 year old, and the FL was believable as a 35 year old.

General Spoilers below:

FL's godson (ML) is the son of her best friend (who is 40). The ML has been abroad the last couple years, is about to finish university, and is already a famous photographer. He's also quietly working for his father whom his mother doesn't like and seperated from a long time ago.

ML says he's loved the FL since he was 18. He pursues, supports, and protects the FL, though she rebuffs him for awhile. Once she makes up her mind to accept him and her own feelings, they refuse to back down in the face of opposition (mainly from the ML's mom). The mom tries to control the ML the whole show; she doesn't seem to care about his feelings or opinions.

There are a couple suggestive, heart-fluttering, and sweet moments but not much direct physical contact. There is a kiss or two but they were mostly head-blocked.

The ending is okay; happy but brief and without any physical contact.

I was disgruntled with the gay representation and then a bit weirded out by something the FL does regarding a potential infection of AIDS...

SPECIFIC SPOILERS on that below:

... ... ...

- The scum SML certainly deserved retribution, but it didn't sit well that the ML and FL threatened to out him (as bi) to the public to make him step down. In addition to sleeping with the SFL, the SML also slept with an effeminate man and the ML set up a recording of it.
- Also, after a rough fight between the ML and SML, the hospital finds that the SML has AIDS and there's a chance the ML could have been infected through wounds during the fight.
- So the "bad guy" is shamefully bi, sleeps with an "obviously" gay man, and also has a bad "gay disease" that threatens the protagonist. I didn't appreciate the tone they presented all of this in.
- In addition to that, while they wait for the results, the FL wants to stay with the ML but he wants to push her away. He cuts his hand and she purposefully sucks on it! I get that she wants to show how much she loves him and wants to be with him, but that was just stupid and seems to make light of, or brush off, the serious consequences that disease can have.

... ... ...

Read More

Watch for the spunky lead actress, otherwise forgettable.

General spoilers below.
The lead actors have talent especially the FL, the FL character is feisty, strong and optimistic, the SML is likeable and respectful of the FL's feelings and choices, and the ML puts in a lot of effort to win back the FL. However, character progression is choppy, especially for the ML who feels like he's written as a completely different person about half way through. There isn't really any sexual tension, and the few brief kisses are either DFK (dead fish kisses) or head-blocked. There is the typical obsessed SFL who resorts to immoral means to get her guy and there's no retribution or consequences shown for the last drastic thing that she did. There are a few moments of sweetness here and there, and there is a happy ending.

This is a vertically filmed mini series just under 2 hours, and I watched it in "movie" format on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/8C4y-___VBM?si=C9A-MTS2Kw8uDdmH

Read More

Ep 1-5 are the strongest. Light & easy watch with great chemistry.

Ep 1-5 (and 9-10) were better than comments lead me to expect. The story is simple and not that memorable, but if you want an easy watch with sensual, realistic making-out, some sweetness, and decent acting, then you might enjoy this. Or at least parts of it.

Viewing recommendation: If you like jumping back to see the ML's point of view, watch Ep 9-10 after Ep 3; it integrates well with the story at that time. Then Eps 4-5 would have been a satisfying ending to me, so you could stop there. If you want to see the leads navigating their life choices at the end of college watch Ep 7-8. Skip Ep 6 altogether (I explain why in general terms below). Eps 6, 7, & 8 aren't very well written and aren't needed to have a satisfying conclusion.

The intimacy between the leads is both hot and sweet. The kisses contain emotions and are realistic. And there are a lot of them (in Ep 1-5, not so much after that). Very satisfying in that regard.

GENERAL SPOILERS below.

Notes for Ep 1-5:
The ML lead's revenge thing is short lived once he and the FL talk through their mutual misunderstandings from 4 years ago. They are uncertain of their footing but really sweet and do communicate (even if there are lags in communication it's not super drawn out or unresolved ).

I liked how the ML and FL never wavered in their affection, and really appreciated how the ML *didn't* get upset at the FL when he learned that the SML had forced a kiss on her. I was expecting all the usual unreasonable jealousy clichés, but the ML handled that whole scene/situation really well.

Kazuha (SML) and and Nina are horrible "friends" to Kaeda. Their one-sided feelings, for the FL and ML respectively, are obviously not reciprocated yet they do morally grey things because they can't accept that. They are the most annoying and trope-filled thing about this show.

Skip Ep 6 because almost the whole thing revolves around Nina being nasty in ridiculous ways. At the end she's given excuses and understanding and not only forgiven, but praised. I get the point they were trying to make, but she didn't deserve such consideration, and the writing was really ham-handed with it. It detracted from the story instead of adding value.

Ep 7-8 are full of telling vs showing and thus feel rushed, a bit empty, and not that satisfying (in my opinion). The writing is clunky and the time skips don't help.

I can see re-watching parts of Ep 1-5 (& 9-10) at some point, but I won't re-watch the rest.

Read More

Bizarre.

Bizarre. A 12min long film that's not worth the time except for a realistic kissing scene at 5min 40sec in. Or unless you want to laugh at the cringness! It's a string of WTF moments.

It felt like scenes were shot to compliment the dramatic classical music chosen, instead of the other way around. Kind of like mini music videos with not much connecting them together. The pacing is weird; more time is spent on the music video vignettes than on conversations or realistic/meaningful interactions.

There's not much dialogue, but what is there is awkward and overly dramatic, starting with a sob story that felt like over-sharing in that context. There's an immediate power imbalance with a director and a newbie actor and after their first meeting, the film jumps to them acting like a couple for awhile, then jumps ahead again. There's nothing to get emotionally invested in because we're not shown any of the progression in their connection/relationship.

I found this on YouTube in the USA.

Read More

Silly and more fun if not taken seriously. *Not a romantic story! The twist at the end was unexpected and somewhat humorous; it felt like a lot of build up for one big joke though. 29min. I was expecting a little more depth (with characters and emotions) in this longer short film since it's produced by Strongberry and they can do so much with 10 to 20 minutes. If you don't expect that, you may enjoy this more.

The comedic style didn't really work for me (didn't make me laugh) but it was consistantly applied throughout by the actors and director. There was a lot shown for the sex scene, but it’s also done in a comedic vein and I didn't find the way it was approached very enticing.

Edited: The Hangul that shows up by each person at the end are not speech bubbles (as I originally thought) but the names of the character / actor.

I won't rewatch.

Read More

Lovely, With Heart-Warming Plot Twist.

The plot twist is easily missed because the translation of a word at the end is ambiguous in English! When the word "couple" is said during a phone call, think of it as "life partner" or "romantic partner". That will clarify the twist. This is based on Stongberry's (the production company) responses to viewer's comments here & on other platforms.

20min. Loved this, only wish there was more, but it ends at a good spot. The 2 leads actually interact like an established couple. It's realistic and so cute/sweet. The arrival of the brother leads to both humorous and emotional moments. The twist at the end made me rewatch the film immediately and I enjoyed it even more!

Yes, the brother is rude and annoying when he arrives, but there IS a reason for this that the shift in perspective at the end explains. (Details under "spoilers" below, but I highly recommend watching the movie first.)

A nice comment from Strongberry on Vimeo said, "Sometimes we argue, but I think trying to understand each other is a true family. This movie wanted to show that kind of family."

Watch the movie first, then, if you still want clarification on why the brother acts as he does, I've shortly explained it then pasted another viewer's comment below that summarizes the situation AND Strongberry's response confirming it:

.........

SPECIFIC SPOILERS

.........

At first, the brother is rude on purpose to test out his brother's partner. At the end, a month has passed and the way all three of them walk up the hill with arms around each other shows they have grown a strong comaraderie, which indicates the brother doesn't stay unlikable.

Comment by estar:
"This was so sweet - especially when u get to the end and u "get" that the mother and brother know all along, and are just checking up on the big-brother's partner to make sure he is an "ok" worthy person. Yeah at the start Yeong Min is a total abrasive brat, that u wanna punch - but "getting" that he's not being a d*ck just to be a d*ck, it was a sweet conclusion to a otherwise fun, well thought out plot."

Response by Strongberry:
"...You have a good grasp of the meaning of this movie. Thank you."

Read More

Made me laugh. Only the idea is interesting.

Made me laugh... because it was terribly done. It's kind of an interesting idea for the premise, but you can probably imagine it better than this film shows it. 14 minutes long yet with some slow filler shots that don't add anything. Obviously low budget. Nothing good to say but it didn't mentally scar me, so it gets a 1.5.

SPOILERS:

........

The "sex" is very awkward bunny bumping, the classical music chosen doesn't fit at all, the stalker walks around so blatently creepy there's no way people *wouldn't* notice him, the "pervert" acts like another stalker actually who wants to be in a relationship and gets upset when the other guy doesn't want to, the non-consent & rape struggle goes on for a bit before it's interupted, and what exactly is keeping the cloth in the perverts mouth at the end- he could just spit it out, but doesn't because that would mess up the end tableau!

Read More

Laughable Attempt At Both Realism Or Fantasy.

General Spoilers about the first 33min only.
Not much substance, the dialogue is corny, and the acting is wooden. The club setting is dark and grimy so I was, appropriately, expecting more gritty physical transactions rather than romance. Even so, I got to the first sex scene and... burst out laughing! That's just... so unrealistic it was awkward to watch; it's not how anal sex goes at all, especially for someone's first time receiving (stradle and down immediately with no prep and no lube).

And the cringey "love confession" in the middle that's based on nothing, especially since there is basically no foreplay, was weird (even for the lust-at-first-sight angle they were going for).

Also, no condom with the guy who says he's had sex with 2-3,000 guys? Yes, thousands. I shudder in horror at the thought.

The film already felt like it was probably a waste of time but that sex scene clinched it and I dropped it at 33 minutes. It didn't leave a mental scar though, so 1.5/10.

Perhaps the movie gets better because the average MDL rating is a 5.4, but the first 33min didn't make me interested to find out.

Read More

2 parts. Review for One Night only.

2 parts! Night Bug and One Night. I watched One Night. *My rating is for that only. Watched on GagaOOLala (Dec 2023).
General Spoilers below.
The theme of expectations vs reality came up repeatedly throughout, in big and little things, though in a way that was intrinsically part of the storytelling (not hit over the head with it). It was a well done 35min film. It is not a happy ending but it's not tragic either, and it IS a realistic young adult gay experience. The feelings can be relatable for others too- the ease and naivete of young crushes, especially when sex is involved, and disappointments from realities.

The bond and playfulness between the three young friends is great and often humorous. I loved them. For two of them, their experiences from their visit to Seoul will leave an emotional wound but they will continue on with their lives. The acting felt natural, especially from the three boys, as did the intimate scene between Geun Ho and Joon.

Read More

Toxic Adaptation Removes The Fun.

An unsettling adaptation from both the manga or the Japanese movie. The comedic elements that make the manga and movie work, get twisted oddly in this melodramatic re-imagining. The plot and characters (especially the secondary and tertiary characters) are all over the place and poorly written. I only got through these 10 episodes by watching at 2x the speed and fast-forwarding in addition to that.

General Spoilers below.
There is so much toxicity in this series. Everyone treats Anda like sh*t and emotionally manipulates him. He's always made to feel like he should say sorry when other people are the ones out of line. Parents are abusive (forcing him to do entertainment work when his stage fright is so bad that he can faint or get fevers) and his brother is massively controlling and secretly installs a gps tracker on his phone. Ryou does become supportive eventually but before then his actions are disturbing.

The way Ryou forcibly removes Anda's shirt to make him "prove" he isn't a girl is so wrong. And he NEVER apologizes, instead turns what happens in that scene into a way to coerce Anda into doing a photoshoot with him- knowing it's going to trigger his anxiety but wanting to make him "conquer" it, which is also the wrong way to go about that (and Ryou doesn't apologize for that either). Ryou non-consentualy kissing Anda repeatedly when he's sleeping is uncomfortable enough in the Japanese movie but at least they try to keep the tone light and only do quick pecks on the lips; though it's tasteless, it's kept as a joke. In the series, Ryou very seriously fully makes out with Anda's lips while he's dead asleep and it is flat out creepy.

The makeout scene in Ep 6 part 4 and love scene in Ep 7 part 3 are passionate (though the characters have drunk a lot for the first one). Sadly, that's the best thing to say about this series.

There's more that is uncomfortable/unsettling, silly, or frusterating with this series, but I don’t want to waste any more time on it so I'm ending my review here.

Read More

Realistic And Quietly Touching.

Spoiler only at end of review. A beautiful, somber yet hopeful film. Thoughtful, touching, and deeply resonating. Addresses multiple thoughts and internal struggles in a realistic way. I really appreciated how the film explored the relationship between a gay man and a heteroflexible man. The story shows how insecurities from past experiences, societal expectations, and different gender identities can influence someone to hold themselves back from happiness out of fears that are often warrented in the real world.

I found on YouTube (in The USA Jan 2024). In the comments I learned that the word written on the cigarette box means "forbidden". This is really helpful to know because it has a symbolic tie-in with the characters.

The physical intimacy was a little stilted but part of that could have been the editing. It ultimately didn't detract from the film.

The thing that frustrated me was how many wide-angle shots there were. Even though it was beautiful cinematography, it was emotionally distancing. Watching scenes from half a room away meant that I often couldn't see the actor's faces clearly (and sometimes not at all). I think the film could have been even more emotionally powerful had I been able to tune into the character's emotions playing across their faces as they talked and looked at each other. This did impact my satisfaction and my rating.

Otherwise, the cinematography and lightning is gorgeous and had a beautiful lonely feel to it that underscored the long-standing psychological state of the characters. The composition of frames and the contrast of light/dark and colors was masterful, especially in the longer still shots. The instrumental music was understated and complimented all the scenes well.

Side note: I also like Yuan's review on MDL.

SPOILER ON THE ENDING:

While the technicalities of how the two will proceed when they work in different cities is left up in the air, the reunion and reconciliation is successful. The ending is mostly satisfying. The end shot felt like an add for Marlboro cigarettes though, which wasn't to my taste (and it wasn't like that in the manga). Update: However, after learning that the translation of the word on the cigarette box is "forbidden", the ending tableau makes a lot more sense.

Read More

Two Friends Moaning On Every Bite Of Food.

If you like watching other people eat while exclaiming their exaggerated pleasure loudly then I would recommend this, otherwise there's not much there. It's kind of cute but I mainly found it annoying. 50% of it is over-the-top "OMG" noises when eating and 40% is yelling/screeching so the 10% when anybody talks normally I had to briefly turn the volume up for before turning it back down again.

EVERY bite of food (or drink) is the SAME level of moaning/squealing inducing "orgasmic", lol! Rice with mayo is just as amazing as a gyoza with kimchi and cheese, or a sip of beer, or a sundae, or ramen with vegetables, or a plain baked sweet potato, etc. It's ridiculous and boringly repetative. The only thing that got a normalized "yum" was the corn soup (likely because it had an emotional tie-in with the characters' joint history).

General Spoiler below.

The movie also felt like only part of a story. It's a slow burn bromance that barely grows before the movie is done. The characters individually come to some conclusions about how important the other is to them in a way that is alluded to vs spelled out. With each other, they confirm they will continue on together as they have been without really saying why. And that's it. The movie does stop at a good pausing point, but that's not very satisfying as an ending.

The acting is decent except Aki is vocally childish. There's not much plot or script that isn't noise for the actors to work with so it's a bit difficult to ascertain their talent.

Cinematography was good and soft.

Read More

Cute & Fluffy With Manga-style Acting & Humor.

An easy 84 min watch; low plot and low angst fun with a happy ending. As it's based on a manga, it's not surprising that they employ a purposeful silliness in telling the story. The exaggerated situations and acting are not everyone's cup of tea, but it's done fairly well here even though it's a low budget production. It succeeded in making me smile and quietly chuckle multiple times. (The slippery sock chase around the sofa was my favorite bit.)

Mahiro (as Izumi) is the strongest actor. Even within the acting style chosen he shows range and some nuance. The others are flatter in their abilities but no one really drags the story down.

The camerawork needed work. Everything seemed hand-held (even still shots) and any panning movements were slightly jerky/stuttering. I was able to ignore it most of the time but I would not have wanted to watch a full series of this as too much of it would give me a headache (but my eyes are sensitive to this kind of thing).

Read More

Cute And Mostly Realistic.

29min and enjoyable. Believable attraction and love, lots of cuteness, and an amazingly realistic heavy make-out scene. Also realistic hyper-awareness of interactions and pda around others.

FYI there is a tiny scene after the credits.

General Spoilers below.
There was one spot where the cinematography was very memorable; the mom and the boys along the fence after she finds out about their true relationship. Very striking and emotional.

What didn't work for me:
-The disturbly weird thing the mom says about her chest and her son. Just, why??? What parent would say that?
-What was the point of the guy sleeping outside his boyfriend's home if he wasn't going to stick around to talk to the mom?
-Seok Yi didn't cry at all believably in the scene with the girl drinking. But it's a very short moment.
-Cuts between scenes were always abrupt.
-The song montage at the end. Apart from the fact that the version I found didn't have subtitles for the song, it was still weird; it felt like a completely different film all of a sudden. It went from a realistic slice-of-life feel to a surreal symbolic feel.

Read More