an indie production that missed the mark

Overall: too much of the story took place off screen. I watched all episodes together in a now deleted video, here is the official playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlpSUv8-x1mCRDCXRB4T7gHLWJxelv2Gy&si=JZNSs5NuiPy2hhbN
Note: around 15 minutes of ep 1? there is a very intense strobe lighting/effect

Content Warnings: manipulation, violence, held against will, stalking

What I Liked
- the premise
- beginning seemed spicy but that all vanished which is extra strange considering the setting

Room For Improvement
- we don't see relationships develop, just suddenly they are in a relationship
- no characterization other than their names and they wanted to make money
- rough subtitles hindered my understanding of what was happening (note: 'brother' doesn't mean biological brother, it means friend, I think the only people related were the woman, her brother/cousin? the club owner and someone's mom or aunt)
- that open ending/cliffhanger was bad when a 2nd season isn't guaranteed

Citeste mai mult

nice to see continued character/relationship growth

Overall: though it felt more like a season 2 than a movie, it was nice to see more smiles between them. The tone was a bit heavier than the special though. The movie is 2 hours long. GagaOOLala picked this up in September 2023 which is when I watched it (GagaOOLala picked up the whole franchise and the order to watch is: season 1, special, movie, season 2 which is airing October 2023).

Content Warnings: homophobia, past death

What I Liked
- comedy moments
- cute moments
- communication/relationship progress
- familiar characters

Room For Improvement
- the trumpet music doesn't fit at times
- they called that hairdresser guy a wisdom machine when he said you have to be honest with your partner (he called her an ugly hag) but maybe they were being sarcastic?
- felt more like skits/episodes put together than a movie with an overarching plot
- unrealistic that the neighbor hadn't met Kenji in over a year but that's also on brand for Shiro
- the blocks at the end

Citeste mai mult

steamy second season with a lackluster plot

Overall: though I don't love part of the plot, the production value/acting is good (and it earns its R rating :). 6 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired uncut on GagaOOLala, cut version on YouTube BL Pictures channel

Content Warnings: grief

What I Liked
- the beginning hooked me in right away
- NSFW scenes were realistic though I wish they hadn't been quite so choppy/broken up and we heard some of their sounds
- grief scene was very well acted
- production value

Room For Improvement
- wish they'd come up with different plots for second seasons of BL
- excellent long take in episode 4
- her actions didn't really make sense to me
- background noise/music was too loud in the pool scene
- did not feel they were ready for what happened at the end of ep 6, they need to work on their communication

Citeste mai mult

very cute and very short (binge them all at once)

Overall: each episode is 1 minute long (14 minutes total), so I'd recommend watching them all in one sitting. Watched on Thai Mini Series YouTube channel.

Content Warnings: none

What I Liked
- they have a bunch of cute/sweet moments
- Tutor and Yim have good chemistry
- good production value

Room For Improvement
- episodes don't really flow from one to the next, they are more like individual skits
- it would be helpful if the episodes were just a little longer, even 4 minutes per episode instead of the 1 minute
- there was something the characters should have done at the very end of the last episode but they ended it before we got to see it

Citeste mai mult

wish they would have made 3 separate movies for each of the 3 couples

This is a movie version (110 minutes runtime) of the original 6 episode series (220 minutes runtime https://mydramalist.com/680869-second-chance). There aren't any new scenes only half is cut out. I wish they would have made 3 separate movies, each one focused on a couple because this movie did not solve my two main issues.

1. With three couples and not a long runtime, each of the couples' relationships feels rushed and it can feel choppy overall jumping back and forth between them

2. Two of the characters look very similar (they are brothers in real life, they aren't related in the series - one is a barista and the other learns muay thai). The characters don't appear in the same scene until the very end and it was really confusing (I thought 1 character had 3 love interests and actually screamed in the last episode when I realized they were different characters).

By separating the story lines out, I think these two issues would not have been a problem or as much of a problem. They could put some transition scenes (a city skyline with time lapse) to show that time has passed before the next scene is shown.

Content warnings: bullying/beaten up, homophobia

Citeste mai mult

some realistic issues addressed (need a Bryan spin off!)

Overall: I loved season 1 until the ending of the final episode. I struggled a bit with season 2 but I appreciated that the creators brought up real issues affecting LGBTQ+ people. Watched on Gagaoolala.

Content Warnings: homophobia

What I Liked
- that there was diversity* with the queer characters and they felt like real people and not stereotypes
- real problems were addressed
- favorite characters were Jimmy (glad they didn't go the cliche character route with him) and Bryan (I need a spin off of Bryan's adventures in finding the love of his life)
- the CEO of GagaOOLala had a cameo in episode 5
- the final episode was cute (though I really think they should have chosen a different date, let people have their birthday days to themselves)
- note per a comment (I didn't understand this when I first watched it) The character in that scene {the cooking scene} is a member of an indigenous Taiwanese group and is wearing traditional headdress of his tribe. If you notice during his conversation with Jerry, he's taking part in the video in order to cook some dishes important to his community. For more, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_indigenous_peoples

Room For Improvement
- anticlimactic opening, only later do we learn that 3 months have passed
- the first episode with everyone lying
- *I was so excited to see the side plot in episode 4 as I know a family going through this and was very disappointed that it turns out Matt was doing it due to external reasons and not internal ones, this feeds into some harmful/incorrect ideas some people have that it's the parents forcing this on their children (in my experience it is 100% child driven) and also how the moms handled it was a let down though they did appear to have a bit better reaction later on
- a very predictable and cliche plot point in episode 7
- some people might have found the beginning of episode 8 cute but I just saw it as immature, I can't believe they have been together for that many years and have such poor communication skills
- why is this series incapable of safely securing a young child in a moving vehicle?

Citeste mai mult

Overall: this was depressing and in the end also confusing. The same production company that made the series Cheat. Watched on YouTube.

Content Warnings: illness, death?

What I Liked
- we have a student who is actually studying and looks realistically stressed/tired
- I liked the opening credits/code which (according to my expert) are pseudo xml and actual javascript that has the name spliced in the middle with invalid syntax; I also liked the ending credits as well
- the realistic response to the message

Room For Improvement
- I think the editing/camerawork was too much at times and it made me dizzy
- the kiss was a bad lip press
- really confused by the ending

Citeste mai mult

4 established couples including one m/m couple, moved me to my core (minor spoilers)

Overall: I loved how this series focuses on established couples and realistic problems that they might encounter. This series touched on many real life problems, several of which are rarely discussed in media. I sobbed multiple times during this series which rarely happens (sometimes due to being happy and sometimes due to being sad). The series touched my soul, but I do recognize that it is not perfect, so hence a 9.

Content Warnings: homophobia, mention of past abuse, past character death off screen, trauma, fertility struggles, slap between a mother and daughter

What I Liked
- talking about rarely discussed issues
- the communication between characters
- characters supporting one another through various challenges
- character growth from several characters

Room For Improvement
- there were times that things got a bit too preachy/PSA (public service announcement)
- this kissing was bad, especially considering that these characters are in established relationships
- the cliche plot point in the m/m relationship with the woman, but I appreciated it that they didn't do the full cliche
- the new mom says men were not good/pure and germy, it was odd
- one couple especially annoyed me, although I was happy there was some character growth. I needed more backstory sooner in order to not really dislike one character.

Citeste mai mult

life, love and hijinks

Overall: similar to season 1 and 2, this had the mockumentary feel where Zik, the main protagonist, talked to the camera directly interspersed with other scenes. The first season was a crack comedy with a few poignant moments, I rated it a 9. The second season was a bit more serious and didn't hook me as much so I gave it an 8. This season had a ton of funny parts but also had serious plotlines as well. I think for having probably little to no budget, they did a nice job with the production. Watched on YouTube (Fourson Production).

Content Warnings: non con video taking/posting, drug addiction, pet death

What I Liked:
- some favorite characters returned, his friend Radar from season 1 and also Barbra is back!!!
- many hilarious moments during this season
- sweet moments
- caring/supportive friend group

Room For Improvement:
- a brief montage from the last season (or 2) might be helpful to remind viewers what has happened previously
- I wasn't into the running gag about the one character's sexuality
- wished they'd subtitle the bloopers at the end
- hoping for a season 4 because that was kind of open/cliffhanger
- I didn't deduct points, but I think the very irregular airing schedule hurts their views and it can be difficult to remember what happened earlier in the season

Citeste mai mult

It's definitely fanatical love (minor spoilers)

Overall: The title gives you a clue that this isn't going to be some fluffy love story, but luckily it isn't unnecessarily tragic like so much other stuff from China. Watched on Gagaoolala.

Content Warnings: attempted murder, kidnapping, manipulation, non con that turns consensual, violence

What I Liked
- the flashbacks to high school were very clear thanks to the different hairstyles/clothing
- there were a couple of funny moments
- I enjoyed the sci fi aspect even if I was super confused about how it worked

Room For Improvement
- the plot, especially in the beginning, is very confusing thanks to multiple flashbacks/forwards/dreams/maybe dreams?/cutting quickly to other characters/choppy editing.
- the audience is supposed to be happy with the ending but I'm kind of not based on what we've seen

Citeste mai mult

Timeline is a bit confusing, but an overall sweet short film

Overall: This 15 minute short film from Malaysia explores a major challenge to an established m/m relationship. Watched on gagaoolala.

Content Warnings: homophobia

What I Liked
- starts with an established couple
- that they communicate about what they are going to do instead of 1 person just ghosting the other
- cute scenes like at the beach
- the mom's growth

Room For Improvement
- the frequent time skips backwards and forwards made it difficult to know the sequence of events and made it feel disjointed. When the subtitles said Tokyo, Japan they could have also said X weeks, months or years later
- quite a lot of background road noise in a scene towards the end

Citeste mai mult

A Quirky Short Film

Content Warnings: none

Overall: a cute short film (30min) with an art house film quirky vibe

What I Liked
- the set design is really nice
- the camerawork and lighting made it have an art film/quirky/unique tone
- I could see this being a whole series and I don't think I've seen a fortune teller reading tea leaves in BL yet...

Room For Improvement
- I think I know what happened at the end but I'm not really sure...which generally isn't how I like to feel after watching something
- the goofy sound effects were okay, I liked that they toned them/got rid of them later on

Citeste mai mult