Is the sea in your eyes?

This series is just magical - from beginning to end. I always enjoy it when you can see the ordinary with fresh eyes - how would an otherworldly creature view us? What would something we deem mundane look like to an alien being? From having to cook our food, to our mating rituals - just watching us being observed by Li Ren Yu (the bossiest merman in history) takes this show somewhere special. I cannot even begin to describe what a fun ride this show is - you'll laugh (a lot), you'll cry (a little) but, all in all, a good time is almost guaranteed. Oh, and just keep watching after the words "The End" pops up on screen - it just next levels the whole shebang! Two very, very enthusiastic thumbs up!

And yeah - "Is the sea in your eyes an actual question" that's asked in the series...and it is a beautiful moment.

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Well, that was a fun ride!

First off - I really wasn't that interested in "The Player", to be honest. But I like the actors so I thought, "Why not give it a shot?" And I have no regrets. First and foremost, I really liked the script. It is a puzzle that you have to piece together. Scene after scene, episode after episode, the writers and the director would leave out just one small detail...that they would eventually get back to somewhere down the road and, by episode four, you'd be wondering who was lying and who was telling the truth. I'll give you a hint - there is a lot of lying going on. Characters that you would think are just passing through wind up being so vital to the plot. Things that were brought up in early episodes that you didn't even remember suddenly became so important in the end.

Okay. The Acting. First off - there is a clear villain from the get-go. Then another villain shows up. Then another. It got to a point where everything was so shady that I didn't know who to trust. And the actors just throw themselves into their roles. and play it all with so much conviction that you almost start to believe whoever is on and start watching the others suspiciously. By the end of the first episode you swear allegiance to one character but, I guarantee, you will switch allegiances before the end of the next episode. I remember at one point saying, "Is everybody lying?!?" The director does a really good with this great script and the actors are right there with them.

Look - if you're expecting something deep and profound and life changing...this is probably not the ride you want to take. If, however, you're up for a fun ride, just hop on board! A good time was had by all!

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Probably Not For Everyone

One thing that remains a recurring theme with a lot of BL Fans, I've noticed, is their aversion to various series where everything doesn't go according to their personal mandates in the world of fiction. As soon as reality pokes its unwelcome head in the door, they are quite ready to retreat. Fair enough. I mean we get enough real life on the daily and who needs more of that in whatever fictional world you decide to visit? Well, I do. One of the great things about proper storytelling, as far as I am concerned, is getting to take a good look at someone else's life and realizing that I'm not in this alone. All the mess that I've lived through and all the mess yet to come - someone's already been there, already done that. And survived. Now they can tell these stories of reassurance, in which I will find some measure of comfort.

So here we have a trio of parallel stories with three different levels of difficulty - Fah and Torn's "Love Before Memory" story. Having met as children, these two probably couldn't even remember when they first fell for each other. Seems like they've always been in love, even before they knew that "love" was a thing. Then there's Ai and Saen's "Long Distance Love" story - **SPOILER** - They meet, fall for each other and then, as we both expect and fear, Ai gets a scholarship to study abroad. I know I've been there - didn't work out...at all - but watching them walk that rocky road of long distance love...well, at least I got to watch from a safe distance this time. Then there's the most complicated in the bunch: - the "Impossible Love" story. Dome falls for Vee - his girlfriend's brother. Hmmm. That's a tough one.

So, how do they all fare? Well, I guess you'll just have to watch for yourself. What I will say, though, is that life just keeps on poking at the protagonists. Grounded by good performances from the young cast, good writing and some exceptional direction, "You're My Sky" constantly messes with your head. Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry. Sometimes you cheer them on, and at other times you stare at them in disbelief. Kinda-sorta like in real life. And, like I wrote earlier, whenever reality pops up in BL, you just know it's going to be picked apart on Social Media. Oh well...

Huge praise for the technical side of the production. The camerawork is awesome, but it's the lighting design that is spectacular. I think it's the boldest lighting I've ever seen in my life, and I am here for it!

To close off, lemme just say one thing - if you like stuff like "Gen Y" or "Don't Say No" or "Cutie Pie", you might want to give this one a miss. If, however, you like stuff like "I Told Sunset About You", "Utsukushii Kare" or even "'Cause You're My Boy" - and you don't mind a dollop of sport - then maybe you should give this one a try. I really liked it. That is all.

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And it was going so well...

...and then, in the last couple of episodes, it just completely flew off the rails. Sigh. Of course, "Enchanté" is one of those series that depend on the chemistry of the two leads - and they've got that in spades, but the entire plot is just too nonsensical to take seriously. Once the entire set up of the series is revealed in a later episode, you can't help but think, "Huh...?"

The acting is okay. Nothing too great, but neither of the two lead roles are particularly taxing. And I'm fine with that - "Enchanté" is RomCom 101 and the demands on any actor is never too much. The four Enchanté guys are effective enough, but - once again - the plot is so dumb. From the first episode we meet Akk and Theo - childhood friends who've been separated ever since Theo left his family behind and headed Paris to be with his grandmother. Again...huh? For a story about someone who believes in true love (and his parents' love for him and each other are supposed to be "ideal love") yet he never questioned the fact that they just sent off their only child to live almost 10,000 km away in another country? Wait...what?

The last couple of episodes are just manipulation on top of manipulation. I sooo wanted to love this series that I was willing to get past all the plot holes - holes you could drive a truck through - but, ultimately, I couldn't. The ending is just too forced and, above all, fake and dishonest. Disappointed. These guys deserved more - and I would be surprised if they don't get more from GMMTV - but I hope the next time they'll get a sturdier vehicle for their abundance of charm. Oh, and we clearly need more houses for these series. Theo's house was in "Don't Say No", "Baker Boys", the interior of Lian's home in "Cutie Pie", and I was just waiting for Phob from "Something in My Room" to show up in Akk's house. Also, final add - the "Baker Boys" shout out in the final episode alone almost makes up for the messy plot - almost.

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Not really that much here, TBH.

It's an awesome premise - going from lifetime to lifetime to lifetime, connecting with your true soulmate and then - BLAM! - reality gets in the way. The pacing is relaxed, everybody's ultra stylish, and we take our own cool time enjoying the ride without any thought given to the destination 'cause we know we're going to get there. It's BL - we all expect the happily-ever-after ending, and we get it 99.99% of the time. But, somehow, at episode 7 the entire enterprise just flies off the rails. Try to imagine someone going from lifetime to lifetime, risking everything to try and find you and, at no point, do you think, "He did what?!? Is it fate? Is it destiny? Am I losing my mind!?!" Nope. It's the old you-don't-love-me-for-me bs. There was a moment when it could have been absolutely magical but...nah. I loved the first two episodes when Yeon Seok discovers that the woman he has transcended time and space for turns out to be a man - the realization, the denial, the wonder of it all. Beautiful. But then...sloppily written melodrama.

I should've stopped at episode three. Giant nothing burger here.

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Elegy

I was not prepared for this. It's that simple. What I assumed would be a light comedy with some pulling at the heartstrings had me mulling over life, death and the hereafter. "Something in My Room" is so chock full of life lessons - love, family, selfishness, regret, mortality and...beauty and marvel. And the people behind this wonderful series just take it all the way to the end. Okay, so here comes the inevitable comparisons to "He's Coming to Me" and "Peach of Time", both of them dealing with similar themes - boy meets ghost, boy and ghost forge a relationship, boy helps ghost find the missing pieces of his saga so that he can move on. All three are actually very good, but "Something in My Room" has a little something extra.

Let me start with the performances. Supanut - it actually pains me now to say that I really didn't have high expectations where he's concerned. The only previous performance of his I'm aware of is his turn in "Oxygen", and to call that performance wooden would be an insult to wood, TBH. I did, however, like the song from "Oxygen" and that led me to his YouTube channel. The Supanut of YouTube was completely different to what I'd anticipated after slogging through "Oxygen" - here's a guy with a sense of humour who takes his work very seriously without all the posturing, etc. He comes across as a real good guy, and clearly the director and the casting director saw something in him that was just right for "Phob". Nut is perfectly cast, does a wonderful job and I, for one, cannot wait to see what comes along next for him. Then there's Plan who plays "Phat". I really couldn't ask for more - he gives such a wonderfully honest and elegant performance that I couldn't imagine "Phat" being played by any other actor. The entire cast is really good, but I have to mention Green who shows up for a rather short arc following the relationship between "Phob" and "Ben" - a guy he briefly dated in Uni. Wow. What a performance...short but excellent.

Finally, let me talk about the director - Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee - whose previous work includes "TharnType" and "Lovely Writer". His work just keeps on getting better and better and better. J'adore. With little left to say except to shout out the writers for their beautiful work, musical director and (I have to include) the costumer who dressed the most stylish ghost in the history of ever. Job well done everybody.

P.S. There are two versions out there - the 45 minute episode version and the 1 hour plus version. I only watched both versions one episode of the series and the difference was stark. Do yourself a favour and try to catch the longer version. There's so much more that you're missing. That's all.

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Where to start?

"Love at the End of the World" is a great title...and that's the last time I am going to be using the word 'great' in this review. Clearly it's meant to be profound, but it fails. Here's a golden opportunity to take a step back and look at ourselves and look at what seems 'important' to us. I always feel that at the end of our time most of us would look back and marvel at the absolute nothingness that we wasted so much time on and wonder, "Was any of that important?" We really didn't need those stylish (but expensive) shoes, we shouldn't have wasted time being mad at loved ones, we maybe shouldn't have been so caught up in so much unimportant stuff...but somehow we were. And, somehow, "LATEOTW" manages to miss every single mark along the way.

Clearly, in the Philippines, a lot of gay men are going to be depressed, suicidal and horny. There's a lot of nudity, a ton of talk about suicide, some drug taking and a heck of a lot of psycho babble being spewed left, right and centre. It's just a bunch of nothing, on top of nothing on top of nothing. Lemme cut this short...this whole thing is a mess - from beginning to end. And, if you think I'm joking, just wait until the final (and totally unnecessary) scene pops up on the screen. One final thing: - as the characters dance around their regrets as they face their final curtain, you the viewer are left to wonder about your own regrets. Well, yeah, I have one major regret. I regret watching this drivel. "Love at the End of the World" is very, very bad.

There. You have been warned.

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It Has Been My Pleasure.

Let me start by putting it very simply: - "Bad Buddy" is one of the best series I've watched since "I Told Sunset About You" (and ITSAY is one of the best series ever made, IMO). It's very difficult to separate and break down the various facets of the show because they all go so well together. The casting is sheer perfection. Nanon Korapat and Ohm Pawat complement each other in a manner that few actors can achieve. Their chemistry is off the charts. Not a single false step along the way. You watch the characters grow and mature – from secret tin-can-phone buddies to working adults who come to terms with their relationships with each other, their families, and their friends. BTW, kudos to Pattamawan Kaomulkadee who plays Pat’s mother. It’s one of those tricky parts that should be what I call a “non-part”, but in the final two episode she manages to pull the entire Pat’s Family storyline together without saying more than a dozen words. On the topic of the supporting cast, what can I say? It’s a two-man show, and the supporting actors hold their own against these two powerhouses.
Speaking of actors, let me just say, I’ve been following the careers of these two recently and Ohm Pawat never fails to impress. I’ve been a fan of his work ever since I saw him in “He’s Coming to Me” and I don’t think he knows how to give a bad performance. Nanon Korapat, on the other hand, wasn’t one of my favourites, having first seen him in “Blacklist” in which he barely changes expression from scene to scene, episode to episode. As a matter of fact, when I started watching “My Dear Loser: Edge of Seventeen” I remember thinking, “Not this guy again…” And he was wonderful in that! Now when I’m watching him in “Bad Buddy and “55:15 Never Too Late:” and I can hardly believe it’s the same actor from “Blacklist”. He is brilliant in both series while playing two completely different characters. Bravo!
As for the rest of BB: - the story and screenplay are a great reimagining of the “Romeo & Juliet” tale (with a happy – and a believable – ending) and the director Backaof Noppharnach Chaiwimol does an incredible job of bringing the whole thing to life. I waited over a year for “Bad Buddy” – occasionally thinking that it must have been postponed or cancelled due to all this COVID madness. To say it was worth the wait would be the understatement of 2022.
Hats off to everybody – and I do mean everybody – who brought the story of Pat and Pran to life. You guys should be very, very proud.

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Going nowhere and getting there.

Where should I begin with this mess? First off about the score - 3. There are four story lines, so let me take the couples on one at a time.

Wayu and Thanu: - Imagine meeting these two in real life and I'm certain you'd never want to run into either one ever again. The most boring couple in history. Mopey, dull, self-involved and have never heard of the concept of fun. Yawn. Score: 0.

Mark and Kit: - In season one I was calling Mark "Mister Personality" because, no matter how nonsensical his story would become, he sold it on his charm alone. Charm, however, could only go so far. There was no story there. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. Basically, it's, "If we were ever to part ways we'd be miserable. Sooo...let's practice being miserable!" Unlike every other couple in history who want to cherish every last second together, this pair decide that misery just may be their "thing". Score: 0.

Jack and Kho. Their story is too stupid to even address. Score: 0.

Pok and Tong: - The only story I stuck around for. At least these two characters had personalities, conflict and resolution. Of course, they had to turn into sappy drips in the final episode, but it could be forgiven because the actors really sold it. Score: 1.

I threw in an extra 0.5 for Sandee because if he had minded his own business there would be no story at all. Here's a side character doing the protagonist's job.

I'll say one thing about this unholy concoction - whoever write this has clearly never met a real human being. Ever! Booooooooo!

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A simple story well told.

Well, the title of my review kinda says it all. Boy meets boy, boy - against all of boy's "better judgement" - falls for boy, boy's emotions take control of boy. And that's what happens to both boys. "Semantic Error" is just an old-fashioned love story without the unnecessary forced complications thrown in to create drama. Whatever drama unfolds is about as natural as you can get - and it's one of the most realistic portrayals of a budding romance that I've come across in a long time.

The actors work beautifully together - it's like watching an evenly matched tennis game. There are so many moments of "I know that guy/girl", that at times I felt like I was watching my own friends fall in love. Couldn't ask for more. Well written and well directed, I gave its "Rewatch Value" a straight up 10 because I'm planning to re-watch the whole thing this weekend.

One last thing I'll add - I loved the lighting. I know it's an odd thing to say, but I work in film and television and I was so happy to see that neither the art director nor the lighting director just randomly throw up a million twinkling lights in every other scene. That alone managed to pull me even further into the story without them distracting me for a second and taking away from the story. Well done.

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Game Changer

At first I didn't know what to expect but...they got me. Excellent series. I don't know what else to say but let me start with the basics...

First up - the performances. Gun's double performance absolutely caught me off guard. Two completely different characters, both of them top notch performances (Gun as a badass action hero...whoa! Who saw that coming?). And the rest of the cast isn't too shabby either. Watching Off go from dripping with contempt for Black, to wondering what the heck is up with Black to falling for Black to - THE BIG REVEAL! - his expressions just say it all. There's the second tier couple - Dan and Yok - that are so well written (down to the bitter end) that I was rooting for them no matter what turn the story took. They're my second favourite side couple of...ever(!)...right behind Uncles Cheep and Dej in "My Ride" (but that's for another day). Then there's the understated performance of Papang as "Gumpa" - the glue who holds this entire thing together. Love him.

On top of that here, is so much that I did not expect: - Politics, Disillusionment, Rebellion and Art as a means of Protest. There's so much more, but I refuse to spoil the experience for anyone.

Well, 2022 has been an exceptional year for GMMTV, that's for certain - with their stories of Anarchy in Thailand, Ageing and facing one's own Mortality "55:15", a Romeo and Jules Love Story ("Bad Buddy") and their Epic
production of "F4 Thailand". I hope they can keep it up 'cause I'm rooting for them.

There's so little else to say about "Not Me" except I love! LOVE!! L.O.V.E!!! it!!!!!!

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It's short. It's sweet. That's it.

No forced complications, nobody falls and lands on anybody else's mouth, no villainous female out to get the male lead at any cost - just a simple story of two people meeting, getting to know each other and liking one another. The cast does a good job with the material, the wiring and directing works just fine and it all works. All in all it's just a pleasant way to pass the time. Will I rewatch? Probably not. Did I regret investing time in this series? Definitely not. It's like spending a good time with a few new friends for a short time and then all going your separate ways. I had an okay time. That's all.

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The Second Time Around

"Haunting" is a word that I find is thrown around a lot. Too much for that matter. Having said that, I found that after my initial viewing I just couldn't get "Utsukushii Kare"/"My Beautiful Man" out of my head. And I couldn't figure out why for the longest time. On the one hand there's "Hira" - the shy, self-conscious loner/loser (who comes as close to a psychotic stalker as you can imagine). On the other, there's the impossibly beautiful "Kioyi" - brash, self-centered, obnoxious....

Basically it's the story of two people you probably wouldn't like if you'd met them in real life. Except for one thing - I have met them in real life, and they - at least Kiyoi - reminds me of people I know, people I've met and, most importantly, people I have befriended.

And now the explanation. I work in film/television and theatre, and the place is lousy with Kiyois, and every single one of his problems (nobody knows me/nobody understands me/everybody just wants to use me) is real. Kiyoi reminds me of one of my former students - a fairly successful model who was so accustomed to doing whatever it took to please everybody that he simply couldn't just be himself and that is what stopped him from being a good actor. He had lost touch with himself and his humanness - he had to keep his true self buried so that nobody would see him as "imperfect". And he had his real-life "Hira"- someone else who worked in the theatre who absolutely adored him. It was just odd. It was, however, the basic plot of "Utsukushii Kare". Talk about something being too real.

So, did I enjoy it? I don't know if "enjoy" is quite the right word...but I did recognize it. Every last bit of it. So I watched it twice.

About the second viewing. What is interesting in the second viewing is how differently the story unfolds. We are now aware of everybody's motivations, so there's no "big reveal" to look out for. The thing is, though, that's when you realize how brilliant their performance are. Everything about Hagiwara Riku's "Hira" is spot on. From his fawning and adoration of "Kiyoi" to his desperation to not even be noticed, but to just be in Kiyoi's presence is just brilliant. As for Yagi Yusei - what can I say? I am in awe of his performance. He is heart breaking. What you toss away on the first viewing as "beautiful people problems" you recognize as "people problems" the second time around. So, yeah - don't just watch it one, watch it twice. Once for the writing. Twice for the performances and the direction.

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The Sweetest Ride Ever!

I have never been a fan of Romantic Comedies. Sugary. Treacly. Syrupy. No thank you. But every now and again one comes along and charms the heck out of you - and this is one of them. The set up is simple - Mork (a motorcycle taxi driver and one of the sweetest guys on Planet Earth) is dumped by his girlfriend when she latches onto "someone better". Pretty soon he meets Tawan, something lights up in both of them, and off we go.

Now we know they are made for each other from the word go but, of course, they don't, so we just have to take the ride to the land of true love with them, but this is where things take an unexpected turn. Along the way we meet some of the best supporting characters you'll ever come across - from Mork's trio of motorcycle buddies, to the hospital staff (especially Doctors Toy and Boss), to the baristas at the local coffee house...and when we meet Mork's uncles - Uncle Cheep and Uncle Dej - it's game over! Cheep and Dej will probably remain my favourite side couple forever. They bicker, they harangue each other, they support their Mork but, most of all, their love for each other is almost palpable. Best! Couple! Ever!

As for the series villains - what can I say? There's Tawan's idiotic first boyfriend who wants to have his cake and eat it too (what Tawan see in him, I'll never know), and the aforementioned girlfriend (there's an attempt of a redemption arc in the finale, but I don't think anyone's buying 'cause she's beyond redemption). The villains are annoying, but there is too much sugar here to be seriously bothered by these few drops of bitterness.

Recommendation? Yup. It doesn't break new ground, but it will charm the pants off of you, and if the kiss on the mountainside in the final episode doesn't take your breath away, then you need help. Ahhh, what a sweet ride.

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Stunning - one of GMMTV's Best.

Seriously - 'stunning' is the only word to describe "55:15 Never Too Late". I don't even know where to start. On the surface it's just another gimmick - suppose (at 55) you woke up one morning in your 15 year-old body...what happens next? Now let the awkward old people (unable to fit into today's 5G world) try to adapt and let us start chuckling and guffawing at them old-timers. Hardy-har-har.

But then...that never really happens. What we get instead, is a beautiful essay on life and death, regret and rebirth, addressing the past and embracing the future. This series is so beautiful in every aspect. ALL of the five leads are magnificent. Just watching these young actors embody their 55 year-old selves...man, you have to see it to believe it. Just watching Thanawat Ratanakitpaisan go from excited to confused to smitten to in love within minutes - I just kept thinking, "Is this really that kid from 'Tonhon Chonlatee'? When did he become an old soul?" Of course, the standout performance, IMO, is Nanon Korapat. He is brilliant, and watching him in "Bad Buddy" on a Friday and in "55:15" two days later - mind blown. His performances in both these series is the stuff of legend.

The writing is incredible, the direction is flawless - everything is top notch. Even the Costuming Department throws in some minute details - like the five "teenagers" dressing like 1980s hipsters or Jaya's hairstyle that she refuses to change (girl, just move on from your teenage heyday!) to Jarunee's old-lady outfits. Job well done.

I really have nothing much to say except - please watch this. It'll definitely be among the best for 2022, trust and believe. Oh, just a warning - there will be crying. You can rest assured.

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