Cute short movie featuring spicy chicken obsession

Overall: a 15 minute short movie about two friends who start living together. Bought/watched on Vimeo.

Content Warnings: none

What I Liked
- the obsession with eating chicken was kind of funny
- the sweet moments including the subverted wipe mouth trope
- I appreciated the good continuity, a character said it was late and the clock was 10:10pm

Room For Improvement
- this really needed another minute or two at the end, it ended so abruptly. If the one guy had just passed out, but then they had a conversation in the morning when non-drunk, that would have been great.

Citeste mai mult

Love With... painfully slow pacing

Overall: If you are into love triangles and a really slow moving plot, then you might like this. I would have dropped it if it was longer than 5 episodes. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: non con kiss and touching (character was asleep)

What I Liked:
- I think the three protagonists and the acting coach did well with the script that they had (I quite liked Gameplay portraying a moody/prickly character)
- the production value was decent for what I'm assuming was a smaller budget

Room For Improvement:
- the main problem was the pacing was too bit slow. If they had cut this from 45 minutes to 20-30 minutes, then I would have enjoyed it more. Everything was just too draggy and boring.
- also I didn't really see the motivation for changing feelings, it felt like the viewer was supposed to connect too many missing dots
- another stupid love triangle
- the acting coach being harassed, that whole bubble tea scene was not funny. I'm done with the stereotypical trans woman as comedy thing.

Citeste mai mult

a sweet commercial

Overall: this is basically a 7 minute commercial, but it's cute and a nice way to spend 7 minutes. Aired on Thai Mini Series YouTube Channel and their Tik Tok channel.

Content Warning: non con picture taking

What I Liked
- sweet/flirty moments
- that there was a decent "plan"

Room For Improvement
- wish they had released this as one 7 minute video on YouTube
- episode 6 had a Korean subtitle instead of English, apparently it was "hope we're on the same page"
- the ending felt incomplete
- wish they added all episodes to their YouTube playlist and/or added cards for the next episode (after it was available) to make it easier to watch them all (or combined them into 1 video as I mentioned)

Citeste mai mult

a more realistic countryside BL

Overall: this is a shorter movie (first part was 30 minutes) in two parts from a small production company Wayufilm. Their stuff is kind of hit or miss for me, I did enjoy Country Boy (both parts) and Country Boy 2 (second part). This ended up on my 'hit' list. I graded a bit on a curve because this is a small budget production. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: fight, vomiting, past tragedy

What I Liked
- the actress for the mom did a great job and I appreciate how a mom character doesn't look like the moms we typically see in series/movies. Was also really happy with her response at the end.
- I think they acted realistically drunk (though not sure about sobering up that fast for the one character)
- a nice 'getting to know each other' montage
- the color grading
- the countryside setting and music (one of the actors sings the OST)
- the behind the scenes clips (though they were unsubbed)

Room For Improvement
- I am not a fan of toilet humor
- it felt a bit close to "I don't like men, I just like you" trope but that line was never specifically said

Citeste mai mult

A Fun Bromance

Overall: although it would have been better as an actual BL, this was enjoyable overall

Content Warnings: side character death, fight scenes, near death

What I Liked
- the chemistry and dynamic between the 2 male leads was great (hence why I think it would have been better as a BL)
- the intro animation sequence was good
- the funny moments
- the merman as an adorable thug (did not think I'd put those two words together, but just look at his dimples!)
- a montage scene that I actually liked

Room For Improvement
- I know it had source material but I think they should have made this actual m/m romance because the two male leads had such great chemistry. Many things have been straightwashed so I think they should have gaywashed this one.
- lack of consequences for both that high school guy and the 2 adults and that things were just totally good between the son and his dad
- there was a continuity error in the first episode
- cliche family stuff at the beginning

Citeste mai mult

Fell apart at the end

Overall: a slow burn sports themed BL with 3 m/m couples. Watched on Viki. (minor spoilers)

Content Warnings: colorism*, dub con (Saen/Aii - Aii says to stop and Saen continues)

What I Liked
- Torn was smart and solved problems (until he didn't, more on that later)
- humorous parts
- basketball scenes (I'm generally bored to tears by sports scenes but these were done well and some were super funny)
- production value including the color grading
- cinematography
- the consent with Saen/Aii (but not the morning after scene)

Room For Improvement
- it started cringey and ended cringey
- it felt like we missed a whole episode after the episode 8 basketball game. They should have shown things instead of just saying them in episode 9 (i.e. added an episode), then ended at the beach in episode 9 (which would have been episode 10).
- things really fell apart towards the end with time jumps, flash forwards/backs, bizarre character decisions, cliched plot lines
- *the main evil character has the darkest skin of everyone, wish he either had the same skin tone as everyone else or even better we had a protagonist with darker skin color (apparently he had a redemption arc but it was never explained or shown, Torn just randomly trusted him)
- Torn/Fah - I adored Torn's character until he had a supervillain origin story in episode 11, it made no sense to me. Torn was such a great problem solver and then he wasn't. Fah was a bit too stoic but they do explain that's how he is and he was burned/reluctant to trust again so I get it.
- Saen bordered on harassment instead of flirting. I wish Aii would have shown more interest to Saen especially earlier on, Aii could have still been nervous. Didn't like Aii's lack of communication with important decisions.
- Dome/Vee - this couple isn't controversial to me, life can be messy. I'm just sad the way that went/ended - felt very incomplete to me.

Citeste mai mult

cliched plot with cute moments

Overall: this series has a few cliches which I really struggle with hence my rating. 8 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI.

Content Warnings: non con kiss, non con touching, stalking, vomiting, past death, grief

What I Liked
- cooking
- cute moments
- remembering the same event differently in ep 2
- being upfront in the past to that woman who liked him
- Yoon Seo Bin's cameo in ep 5 & 8
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

Room For Improvement
- the non con
- many cliches/nonsense things such as: the "plan"/approach, poor communication, that conflict in ep 7/8, a restaurant owner with a lot of free time, the "I can explain" but refusing an explanation
- the work scenes dragged

Citeste mai mult

conflicted on this series

Overall: I'm fairly conflicted on the series as there are parts I really liked and parts I really did not like. Just know going in that this isn't a light and fluffy series (although it does have some of those moments) I'll bump it up to 7.5 if it gets an official international release.

Content Warnings: physical and emotional abuse, punches, manhandling, homophobia, attempted murder, murder, trauma, grief, mental illness, past character deaths, manipulation, body shaming, bullying, stalking, drugging, violence, voyeurism

What I Liked
- addressing serious issues like homophobia, there are some truly excellent conversations that occur
- I think the series is almost a cautionary tale of what happens when you don't accept your children for who they are, Nut was such a sweetie but then continued the cycle of abuse that he endured
- I was into the soap opera feel, I actually wanted more twists (Nueng isn't actually dead dun dun dun, Sib and his brother switched spots dun dun dun)
- I think the actors did a good job
- the cute/fluffy moments
- Gen's parents were great
- although the furniture animation was creepy, the talking furniture grew on me (and finally we found the Mrs. Left Slipper!!!)
- Song's dad character growth/apology
- the GL at the very end, though I wish it would have started sooner

Room For Improvement
- no amount of past trauma excuses Nut's behavior and few apologies don't make everything alright. Nut does the following: screams at his mom and Tofu several times, runs Tofu down, punches Tofu on more than 1 occasion, pulls both his mom and Tofu by the arm, kicks Tofu, kicks Tofu out of the house, treats Tofu like a servant, embarrasses Tofu in front of Nut's friend and friend's parents, drives like a maniac and makes Tofu throw up, uses Tofu to get back at his mom. Nut needs to go to therapy and anger management classes asap and not be in any romantic relationship. Oh, and Nut also sabotages his friend Gen's kind of relationship - because Nut wasn't a big enough a**hole already. In the final episode it says he is seeing a doctor for "emotional fatigue" is that a code word for "anger management problems", he was still yelling to the end and I didn't see character growth from him in this area.
- the side couple also annoyed me. It took Gen waaaayyyy too long to open up to Song.
- I was confused when they switched to the other plot line with Tarn in the beginning, I thought it was the script that Nut had written
- multiple cliche evil women who refuse to leave men alone who clearly don't love them
- several characters making truly dumb decisions
- it was odd that Nut and Tofu didn't actually have much physical affection shown once they were together, there were countless near kisses, I'd have been fine with occasional pecks on the cheek
- sudden/odd teacher redemption arc (did her son come out as gay and she changed her opinion from a few weeks/months ago?? ) This was too sudden/unexplained for me
- the mom made it sound like she caused her own mental illness and was blaming herself
- lack of consequences for several characters who did terrible things
- I don't know that I liked Nut's mom telling him everything, it felt like she was doing it to ease her guilty conscious instead of being helpful for Nut
- the whole ending with Tofu feels icky, I wasn't blindsided like another well known series, but he can see/hear everything and Nut doesn't know that...
- I was bored sometimes and mostly watched it at a faster speed

Citeste mai mult

slow frequency

Overall: a promising start was bogged down by slow pacing, nonsense plot things and a lack of chemistry. 8 episodes about 40 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI. Re-aired on Kantana Kol YouTube channel.

Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder, violence, coercion, manipulation, vomiting, drug dealing, non con picture taking

What I Liked
- Thames' manager and Mon's friend?/sister? was a good wingwoman
- Thames bought lube at that convenience store
- good reveal in ep 7
- ep 8 glad they didn't go a cliche plot route at the beginning
- negative consequences for the evil doer
- production value, natural light towards the end of ep 4

Room For Improvement
- the series moved really slowly at times
- because they didn't show right away why Thames liked Mon I couldn't enjoy their sweet moments (and even then that's a pretty weak reason to like someone that much)
- the first scene was horror/serious which then didn't fit with the fluffy intro, eventually we do learn what happened in the past
- not much world building/convenient world building (can't taste food, then randomly can taste food)
- nonsense plot things (terrible unbodyguards, why did the other ghosts look like zombies?, why is a stroke victim getting an mri and then appears to be totally fine a couple days later? why are they at docks but there is zero boats/water?)
- flashback transitions needed to be more clear
- very choppy, they'd be somewhere and then suddenly somewhere else
- dead fish lip presses

Citeste mai mult

could have been amazing

Overall: this had a slice of life vibe with two realistically flawed life long friends. Unfortunately, it fell into the trap of many KBLs before it, too broad of a plot and not enough runtime. 8 episodes about 20 minutes each, aired on iQIYI and GagaOOLala (depending on your country).

Content Warnings: hit/slap

What I Liked
- acting/chemistry
- sweet moments
- few funny moments like arguing over who pays
- realistic home lives and stress
- showed students studying for entrance exams
- avoided a cliche plot point towards the end but it was weird they didn't show the confrontation at all

Room For Improvement
- this is one of the few romances where I did not want the leads to end up together, did he kiss him only because he wanted to keep him in his life? Did he actually romantically love him at all? I wish they had had a conversation about this. Instead they are suddenly dating for 62 then 100 days. And that ending reminded me of 2gether...
- like many KBL, this suffered from a lack of runtime, scenes jumped from one to another and the flashbacks didn't help, some scenes were too short and were not well connected
- that awful camera blocked kiss
- needed to differentiate flashbacks more, they really should have gotten rid of them and just told the story in a linear fashion
- the cliche wannabe girlfriend but also that he gave her very mixed signals though he even says he rejected her (he didn't really...), later on he says that's how he is (so kind of a jerk), which is fine but now I'm nervous he'll be a jerk to his boyfriend in the future because they didn't show any character growth
- wanted the star struck to be explained sooner than episode 4

Citeste mai mult

slice of life with pacing issue

Overall: I enjoyed the slice of life feel but the beginning dragged and then the ending felt rushed. Aired on iQIYI and on YouTube (varies by country)

Content Warnings: a slap/punch not between the 2 leads, manhandling, vomiting, and something else at the end that is a major spoiler

What I Liked
- opposite personalities, a slacker/carefree extrovert and a studious introvert
- shows the power of representation, how Eiw thought he couldn't be happy because of the movie he saw whereas Cake had seen guys happy and figured he could have that too
- cool that they released it on August 12th and that was the day circled on the calendar in the intro animation and the 12 is in the title
- cute and funny moments
- the friend relationships, sibling relationships
- avoiding a certain cliche trope in the 2nd the last episode
- displays of consent
- color grading

Room For Improvement
- it was too slow and felt repetitive but then at the end felt really rushed
- Cake's extreme possessiveness and jealousy wasn't cute, telling Eiw he had to change clothes and couldn't talk to Cake's friends was not fun to watch
- Cake not checking/discussing with Eiw about some really important things that involved them both
- Kung, time and place dude, time and place
- the PSA in the last two episodes was heavy handed (and also you can't say that with total certainty)
- everyone pressuring Eiw in the final episode, let him be

Citeste mai mult

pretty well done complex series

Overall: they handled a taboo topic fairly well, though the flashback to when Yuan was a child during a certain scene in episode 11 was cringey. This was a Taiwanese adaptation of a Chinese danmei (Da Ge by Priest). I have not read the novel and reviewed the series on its own merits. 12 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on Youku's app, Youku's YouTube channel and Viki.

Content Warnings: non con kiss, punch, blood, past parental abuse, violence/beaten up, kidnapping, coercion, unwanted outing, homophobia, manhandling, vomiting, (some people may include another one, I didn't based on how everything played out)

What I Liked
- a few central characters, got to know their personalities
- how characters cared about each other
- a grittier/more realistic tone
- sweet moments
- a few funny moments
- We Best Love actor cameo as the doctor starting in ep 3
- a well done antagonist, I could see his reasoning but he meddled and was hypocritical though he did redeem himself at the end
- a non cliche female character in ep 6
- one of the few times I was happy for a years-long time jump (end of ep 7)
- sassier/more confident Yuan starting end of ep 7
- intimacy/tension
- production value

Room For Improvement
- (neutral) I generally don't like series that start with flash forwards but I understood why they did this
- confused in the beginning as to who was biological siblings, adopted siblings and friends (Iikely compounded by the use of brother as a term of endearment/closeness and not reserved for biological siblings)
- the timeline/character ages took some effort to piece together
- Li Li was supposed to be in high school before the time jump in episode 7 but she acted like a middle schooler (went into a random guy's car as an example, also she outed another character), even at the end when she was 23 she felt like a high schooler
- should not have done the flashback montage in a scene in episode 11
- cringey the coworkers talked about their sexual positions at work
- introduced a very serious plot point only to never resolve it, also didn't feel that the gang issue was clearly resolved either

Timeline Notes (the series wasn't clear where we were in the timeline/ages, feel free to correct me)
2008 (eps 1/2 flashbacks) - they first met in 2008 because that was the first date on the wall with the heights, Yuan age 7, Qian age 14, Li Li age 8
2016 (eps 1/2 present) Qian graduated university at the end of ep 2, Yuan age 15, Qian age 22, Li Li age 16
2018 (ep 3) Yuan is age 17 & Qian is 24, note that Yuan skipped a year or two so he's in university already at age 17, Li Li age 18
2019 (eps 4-7) Yuan turned 18 in episode 4, Yuan age 18, Qian age 25, Li Li age 19
the series eventually mentions that the gap was 4 years as I guessed
2023 (end of ep 7 up to the end of ep 12) Yuan age 22, Qian age 29, Li Li age 23
2024? (end of ep 12) Yuan age 23, Qian age 30, Li Li age 24

Citeste mai mult

cringiest series with the best subtitles (need a Daisy/Touch spinoff)

Overall: this series has some of the cringiest moments (especially the beginning episodes) that I've ever seen in any genre. There were aspects that I disliked, but it also had several amazing things. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: stalking, taking photos/video without permission, dub con touching/kissing (drunk), non con kiss between m/f, cyber bullying, body shaming, attempted suicide?, violence in a dream sequence

What I Liked
- this series has the BEST subtitles, we were given additional information about references non-Thai audiences likely would not know about
- the friend groups, especially Toh's, they really supported and loved one another
- Daisy/Intouch, I'm sad we didn't get more scenes with them, they could have left off that pointless new character towards the end and developed Daisy/Intouch more
- acting, as much as I dislike some of the characters' behaviors, the actors did an amazing job. I don' t know how some of them didn't die of embarrassment while filming. I cried when Som cried and I believe those were real tears/crying instead of the frequent fake tears that I see
- the stylists, some of these characters look soooo different in real life you wouldn't even know they were the same person
- how Toh and Nuea are horny for one another, I appreciate that there isn't just 1 kiss at the end in this series
- the GL though it was not shown that much
- the funny moments, I laughed several times throughout the series
- the poignant moments, characters have some really good conversations
- Toh's parents
- I was happy that they revisited the bathtub scene with Toh and Nuea a second time and Nuea said "of course" because the first time it seemed that Nuea was setting up Toh to fail
- good production value

Room For Improvement
- serial killer stalking level: taking a can out of the trash, vacuum sealing things, an entire wall of photos, projector image, sticker on his phone, pillow, life size standee and then actively stalking him. This is played as comedy and the characters do address it later but it was not my thing.
- not enough screentime with Daisy/Intouch, crucial moments seemed to happen off screen and we really needed more scenes with these two
- Nuea kind of plays games (as does his dad) which is also not my thing
- that dream scene with the dad at the wedding was disturbing and unnecessary
- the cliche evil woman wannabe girlfriend
- Jao was too reluctant, there is a difference between nervous and unwilling and he was on the unwilling side. Even in the last episode he scrunched up his face preparing for a kiss which is uncomfortable to watch.
- the stereotypical trans women at the food stall
- some bad consent examples, saying that kissing is better when drunk, giving a hand job when the other person is drunk
- the theme song was nice but they played it over and over and over again

Citeste mai mult

promising start that fizzled (watch suggestions)

Overall: I was excited after watching the first episode, but the thin plot swam in circles. 10 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4205/at-2500-in-akasaka-2024-e01

Watch Suggestions
- watch episode 1
- watch episode 7 until 21:50 or the whole thing (this explained why a character liked another character)
- watch episode 2 at 17 to the end if you enjoy dating scenes/montages
- can skip episode 3, there is a short cuddle around 15 min
- can watch ep 4 at 6:30 for a sensual gnocchi making scene and 21:30 for a brief kiss
- can watch ep 5 around 10 minutes for a hot bod and 19:20-20:40 for meh kisses
- watch ep 6 beginning to 10 minutes
- skip episode 8
- watch episode 9 at 3:30-5 and 10:20-12
- watch episode 10 (can end at 14 minutes or watch to the end)

What I Liked
- premise was set up well, the end of episode 1 was awesome
- the kneading dough scene was sensual (needed more scenes like that)
- managers cared about their actors
- that they looked realistically sweaty in episode 10 during the NSFW scene

Room For Improvement
- voice over for plot set up and voice overs in general
- slow pacing
- waited until episode 7 to show why one character was extremely attracted to the other character, this was much too late
- in episode 6 nearly doing something when the other person was sleeping
- cliche overheard something, made a stupid assumption, then ghosted/refused to communicate (communicated halfway thru episode 10 which was too late)
- a character said he had no idea how to reach the other character....I don't know maybe try....talking... #sarcasm
- some lackluster kisses
- odd wide shots during intimate scenes made me feel detached, I couldn't feel the characters' emotions
- episode 10 had a natural stopping point and then the ending half felt anti-climactic with the behind the scenes part, them acting in the series, them watching the series, then suddenly a different scene.

Citeste mai mult

started strong, but way too many characters

Overall: I was pleasantly surprised with the first few episodes and the tension/yearning; however, the relationship progression stalled and the 24 support characters including several love triangles had me confused/not interested in the side relationships. I have watched the original series adaption; I have not read the book. I tried to write this review based on the current series' merits. Aired uncut (~1 hour) on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/love-sick-2024-episode-1-1mki2ks9q5g?lang=en_us and cut (~45 min) on Tia51's YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR99-9wCOObG0rFQTm5mqfiLeR0eyARyx&si=dU0m-CXh1LffpvC8

Content Warnings: bullying, joking about attempting suicide, homophobia, fight, non con picture/video taking/sharing, cyber bullying, child abuse?, slaps

Watch Suggestions (to center on the 2 leads/get rid of love rivals/music competition, these are the uncut timings)
- watch all of episode 1
- episode 2 watch the beginning to 53:35
- episode 3 watch the beginning to 11:15, 28-50 and 54-end
- episode 4 watch 8-9 cameo, 25:30-27:30 and 38-45:45
- episode 5 watch 11:45-13:50, 26:15-28:35, 53-54 and 58:15-end
- episode 6 watch 17-19 and 37:50-42:30
- episode 7 watch 14:40-15:40, 39-40:30 and 56:30-58:10
- episode 8 watch 18:30-21:30, 28:30-30, 35:45 to 49:30
- episode 9 watch 41-43, 1hr5 to end
- episode 10 watch 5-20 and 45-end
- episode 11 skip 35:30-51
- episode 12 watch 6-8, 16-17, 29:30-35:45 and 44:30-46
- episode 13 watch 4-6, 24:45-36, 40:15-42, 46:25-47:25
- episode 14 24-17:15 and 56:15-end
- episode 15 watch 30-31:45, 36:30-37:45, 40:30-43:20 and 1hr6:40-end

What I Liked
- how the first episodes are focused on the 2 leads
- sweet/caring moments
- staring/tension/chemistry
- that Noh didn't do something in episode 3
- cameo in episode 4
- a trans character wasn't a comedic character
- character growth
- production value

Room For Improvement
- the intro was beautiful but it made me confused about the context for it (they do explain it in later episodes, not a favorite way to start a series), then the 2 year time jump
- a ton of characters (says 24 support roles in addition to the 2 main characters) were introduced and I was fairly lost with everyone except the leads, just when I'd get into a side couple romance it would jump to other characters
- new characters and love rivals introduced in the last two episodes instead of resolving other plotlines
- tension was great at the beginning but seemed to stall, there wasn't a good enough reason for me as to why the characters couldn't get together for so long
- a few fast cuts/scene jumps even in the uncut version
- the scene with diarrhea
- in episode 14 a character lectured about not trusting him and then soon after didn't trust the person he had lectured
- so pg that it felt unnatural, the refusal to shower together even when an established couple, doing a nose kiss instead of an actual lip kiss, multiple near kisses with a lame non-kiss at the end
- (neutral) comedy sound effects

Cut Version Differences (it seemed that the cut version removes some of the scenes with the female characters which I liked but it unfortunately removed some of the scenes between the male leads which I didn't like, I watched the uncut only after episode 2)
- in episode 1 it doesn't have that first scene from 2 years ago which I liked because I found they looked older 2 years ago, in part 2 they cut out Noh trying to get thru the gate, in part 3 they cut out the sister entering the room and them jumping on the bed/fighting over the sheets, cut out a group scene with the girlfriends, end of part 3 they cut out a scene with Noh's family, towards end of part 4 they cut short phone call with friends and with some other guys moving chairs
- in episode 2 they cut a scene that interrupted their cuddle, but then they cut the head on the shoulder in the taxi, in part 2 they cut out a girlfriend scene and some of the evil mom stuff

Citeste mai mult