Paint With a Jerk

Overall: We have the enemies to lovers trope along with the fastidious/uptight guy and the messy/carefree guy. I watched the first 6 episodes and then reactions to the rest

Content Warnings: sexual harassment, non con touching/posing, a punch, throwing an item at another person

What I Liked:
- I did laugh out loud at a few parts, mainly Phab who is #bestboy
- fun flirting and also burns in return
- I thought the actors did a good job with a bad script
- overall production value was pretty good except a couple of camera shots that I didn't like

Room For Improvement:
- the main issue is that I can't empathize with a jerk character who is a jerk and the reason is not shown, there is slow or no character growth until right at the end and then they are happily ever after with their former tormentor. Episode 6 and the preview for episode 7 made me drop this for now. Calling someone "stupid" and saying "you f*cking suck" and then throwing and hitting them with an object, nope (and before that, wth were those alarms/dumb schedule)
- the relationship between Maze and Nueng was so bizarre, when there was a perfectly reasonable explanation (and they should have been clear at the beginning to show why Maze has closed himself off so much)
- the cliche 'I don't remember anything last night although I totally remember what happened'
- that hotel manager plot was bizarre and not needed, also he didn't really have any consequences
- the basically blackmailing him, totally not realistic contract, someone can't just say they are your manager and take 40%
- was not feeling the side couple, wish Green had played Nueng
- I think I was not really understanding some of the plot at the beginning, what exactly Maze was doing
- that firefighter carry inside the art studio was odd
- the punch was also odd, I think they could have choreographed it right before but then one of them messed up the choreo. I would have liked that reason more than the reason they gave.
- taking pictures and posting to social media without approval, nope
- I'm not into the stereotypical/cliche scheming trans woman character

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misstep by misstep (watch ep 1, 2 and 10)

Overall: there was a solid premise here and I would like to see Man again but the writing/editing was lacking. I watched episodes 1-4, 10 and read through comments about episodes. Aired on YouTube, GagaOOLala and WeTV (depending on your country). Same production company as Lovely Writer.

Content Warnings: vomiting, harassment, sexism, non con picture/video taking, likely more

What I Liked
- the supportive friend group, talking about making your own destiny
- Pat pushing back on older people automatically deserving respect because of their age
- Pat almost punching that other dude who was harassing Pat
- a couple funny parts
- nice to see an established couple and Chot was great, that phone conversation in episode 10 was amazing, would have been even better as an in person conversation
- talking about getting a vasectomy is rarely mentioned and much appreciated
- NSFW scenes/kissing in episode 10 was fairly well done
- (neutral) has comedy sound effects (I really dislike the gulping noise that they use)

Room For Improvement
- the timeline/time skips, I dislike time jumps and the timeline here was pretty confusing, I think this took place over 5 years
- choppy parts (they get ready for a fancy event but then we never see them at the event? suddenly they are in a car?)
- the pacing was too slow, there are many scenes that could have been cut or shortened (toilet humor to start with),
- what do two attractive men see in Pat? I was hoping for some character growth but found it very lacking. He drinks too much in front of his boss and then does it again later? He is shocked by Jeng's declaration? He cries when confronting Jeng in episode 10? He cries several times at work, he argues with a client due to personal feelings, etc.
- Jeng bothered me at times as well, he doesn't get to tell another adult to stop drinking (and then bring him to a bar directly afterwards???), he was a bad boss, I was hoping to see some growth but he disciplined a subordinate in front of another subordinate, then somehow it appears that person was not moved to another team? And why on earth did Pat have to apologize to his harasser, he shouldn't have apologized even if he hit the dude. From an earlier episode, I thought Jeng would see he got those pictures and then apologize to Pat but that never happened. Jeng refuses to talk to Pat in episode 10 and goes back to sleep. Jeng had a decent plan in episode 10 but then months go by and he didn't implement it and instead did something that would make things even more of an HR headache...
- the side couple wasn't introduced well (I was never sure what their jobs were) and I wish Jen didn't have an (apparently nice) boyfriend because it made impossible for me to root for their relationship, also they took up too much time in episode 3, then randomly one of them has a new boyfriend???
- in episode 5 Pat (a character in a fictional BL series) says "bl couples profit off the identity of the LGBTQ community", I mean, they probably do but the queer community also benefits from bl series existing, many bl series are romcoms with happily ever afters instead of the normal tragic ending we get and maybe seeing two men end up happily together can change people's minds a little, it at least gives more exposure. And maybe it wasn't the creators intention but putting Zee and Nunew as the other couple insinuates that they are profiting off the LGBTQ community (when first of all they might even be part of that community for all I know) and I've heard they are major supporters of LGBTQ rights
- nonsense things, Jeng manages a restaurant and is a marketing manager?

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decent follow up to the series

Overall: this was not the follow up plot that I wanted but I think they executed it fairly well. I originally bought/watched on Amazon Prime Video in 2021, re-watched on GagaOOLala in 2024 https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4290/hello-stranger-the-movie-2021

Content Warning: homophobia, vomiting, punch, manhandling

What I Liked
- supportive friend group
- maybe I read too much into it, but I liked how Mico took the top bunk and said he was used to being on top and Xavier said that was okay and he'd adjust
- non cliche female love rival
- character mentioned having 2 moms
- Mico had self respect

Room For Improvement
- very confusing start based on where the season left off, and the timeline took some time to figure out
- we didn't get nearly enough time with them as a happy couple for me to want to really root for their relationship to succeed
- wanted Xavier to do a bit more groveling for what he put Mico through
- the guy love rival was unnecessary and I kind of wanted them to be end game
- cliche thing that happened to Mico

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pandemic era enemies to lovers BL

Overall: I enjoyed it when it first aired on YouTube in 2020 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL87uyU6xM7Lfd2QD0K93fthRzAkA51x2B&si=ititymR4vVArHhXN and I enjoyed it 4 years later when I re-watched it on GagaOOLala
https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4270/hello-stranger-2020-e01

What I Liked
- dynamic
- music
- sweet moments
- non cliche female characters
- the friend group (they were maybe a bit harsh at 1 point but I understood their frustration)
- that there were some in person scenes, it wasn't 100% video/phone call/text interactions

Room For Improvement
- comedy sound effects in episode 1 (either went away or I didn't notice them in later episodes)
- that there were 2 female antagonists/the rushed side couple that developed
- (neutral) although Xavier bothered me at times, I thought his reactions were realistic

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an okay follow up to My Biker

Overall: I was a bit disappointed with the plot in the sequel, though I did like the more realistic vibe. About 35 minutes long. Aired on Wayufilm's YouTube channel https://youtu.be/-JNhFEbulXc?si=MfBagI18jMzGWIdb

Content Warning: homophobia

What I Liked
- sniff kiss attack
- production value for an indie production company

Room For Improvement
- pacing too slow/dragged at times
- though I appreciated looking at internalized homophobia, I didn't have any confidence that there was enough character growth to lead to a happily ever after

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soap opera musical with cute BL side couple

Overall: this a series with some cutesy music numbers interspersed with soap opera stuff. 14 episodes about an hour long each. Aired https://youtu.be/la9YzvKhaAI?si=DcAq0zPNhbgvWM8E (episodes 11-14 were never subbed)

Content Warnings: past death, grief, intimate partner abuse, child abuse, fights/punches, held against will, homophobia

BL Couple Scenes
- episode 2, 17:10-30:10 and 55:50-56
- episode 4, 14:50-17:50
- episode 6, 16-19:20
- episode 8, 38:30-40:05
- episode 9, 50-53
- episode 10, 28:40-29:40 and 45:35-48
- episode 13, 30-33
- episode 14, 54-54:30

What I Liked
- the BL couple was sweet, needed more scenes
- character growth

Room For Improvement
- BL side couple needed more screentime
- not a fan of love triangles but it ended fine
- never subbed episodes 11-14
- cutesy music numbers interspersed with some serious topics was a bit jarring

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disappointing special, mostly recap

Overall: I was hoping to see some progression of the relationships, sweetness and spice, but it was mostly recap and insurance product placements (only 17% or 8 minutes was new footage not related to product placements). Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/deep-night-2399g3ygk5o?lang=en_us

"Special" Breakdown (47 minutes total)
first 2 minutes was the same scene as the ending scene of episode 8
1.5 minutes of intro credits
1 minute of new footage which looked like it was from the real world/was not scripted
30 seconds of new footage
22 minute recap with Wela doing a voice over (happy Wela clarified something, but didn't like that he basically did a relationship game)
2 minutes of mostly new/extended footage with 1 relationship (this was cute)
6 minutes of insurance ad product placement (new footage, this was okay but wish they hadn't done the product placements back to back)
4 minutes of new footage starting with the mom and then Wela and Khem, some kisses and beginning of something with a very abrupt end to the scene
2 minutes of ending credits
4 minutes of the same aerial silk performance in episode 8 but slightly longer and without cuts to other characters (they could have released this as a special clip separately)
1 minute of more credits
(adds up to 46 minutes but close enough)

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shorter movie that focuses on bullying and discrimnation

Overall: although it's very low budget, I gave them points for trying to address serious real world problems in about 43 minutes. Aired on YouTube https://youtu.be/p3vl7la7-oA?si=OVtJfstzAUw1aF55

Content Warnings: near suicide, sexual assault, bullying including physical bullying, cyberbullying, non con picture taking/sharing, unwanted public outing, held against will, manipulation, violence/punch, homophobia

What I Liked
- the scene of them eating ice cream
- addressing issues like homophobia, marriage inequality, bullying
- friend called out the teacher and the bullies
- supportive parents

Room For Improvement
- they shouldn't have had the friend do that if they wanted the viewer to want two characters together
- bleeping the Thai swear words was distracting, they likely would have been fine with not bleeping them on YouTube
- not translating text messages
- subtitles, though I didn't really take off points for this because at least they added something
- an open ending with the m/m romance aspect

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great visuals with an annoying plot

Overall: I love to see established couples and hate this plot which we've already seen many times before. Aired on GagaOOLala and later released on YouTube. Special was 35 minutes long.

Content Warnings: manipulation

What I Liked
- visuals
- the scene at the end (but it needed another minute or two)
- although they shared 1 brain cell, the friends were supportive
- message on the cake

Room For Improvement
- everyone is just back to being friends with everyone else
- we've seen similar plots with established couples before
- comedy sound effects

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separate short stories with sci fi elements

Episode 1
Overall: although I enjoyed the premise, it could have used a few changes in its execution. Watched on Imagine Thailand's YouTube channel https://youtu.be/EJR6eFGFOpc?si=Kavwt6G82dBMeO7_ They also made Romantic Station which I enjoyed.

Content Warnings: punches played as comedy/it's complicated

What I Liked
- premise
- production value for an indie production

Room For Improvement
- the comedy sound effects
- camera cut away right at the end


Episode 2 Swop
I liked the sci-fi element, wish they had taken out the non con kisses and replaced it with actually spending time together instead of doing a flashback montage. Glad a character thought about the ethics of it, not sure that I'm totally sold on the ending. Content Warnings: past death, non con kisses, non con touching

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an okay follow up to Ossan's Love: In The Sky

Overall: though there were some fun parts I felt this 2 part special lacked in some areas. This should be watched after Ossan's Love: In The Sky. 2 episodes about 20 minutes each and you need to watch both. Aired on GagaOOLala.

Content Warnings: manhandling

What I Liked
- funny parts (i.e. the pillow fight and the beginning of episode 2)
- hair drying was nice
- some good advice

Room For Improvement
- wanted them to split out the two couples, so 1 couple in ep 1 and the second in ep 2
- still seemed to lack resolution
- characters were antagonistic for too long

Citeste mai mult

another crack comedy in the Ossan's Love franchise

Overall: there is a lot of ridiculousness with the plot and characters but it's obviously intentional and I did laugh several times during the movie which is about 2 hours long (make sure to watch the very cute post credits scene at the end). Aired officially internationally on GagaOOLala in December 2023 when the platform picked up almost the entire Ossan's Love franchise https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/2118/ossans-love-the-movie Note: the movie should be watched directly after the 2018 series, the Love in the Sky takes place in an alternate universe/totally different plot and is not a continuation of the 2018 series

Content Warnings: past death, threatened violence, kidnapping/held against will

What I Liked
- how the movie started with that chase/action scene and then another action scene towards the end
- fun comedy moments
- the actors made me cry towards the end with talking about marriage equality, the challenge of having a family and their love for each other

Room For Improvement
- how Maki wouldn't let him explain
- could have used a few more sweet moments before the conflict started
- how a character asked a certain person for permission to marry before asking her

Citeste mai mult

loved the destination but not the route to get there

Overall: I loved the ending to their story but wish the writers had done something else plotwise. This is one hour, aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/ainhai-episode-1-26ex87suy4w?lang=en_us

Watch Suggestion: watch the funny dream sequences at 5 minutes and 21:30 then skip to 29 minutes and watch thru to the end (and watch after the initial credits)

Content Warnings: manipulation

What I Liked
- the two dream sequences were funny
- caring/sweet moments
- good kissing/intimacy
- the supportive dads

Room For Improvement
- such a terrible "plan" from Ai who is supposed to be the one with more brain cells, Ai could have just said, "I have a surprise for you, meet me at this location on this date and time" instead of the first half that we got
- several errors in the subtitles but I didn't deduct points for that

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