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Chained To My Bully Stepbrother (AI Vertical BL Drama)

By Golu
This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat.  The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
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Keep The Lights On

By Golu
I am lacking so far behind on catching up on some of the films, it is getting a little tiring but I am gonna try my best to keep up with it. Released earlier this year, in this film the central relationship is between gay men but the film manages to touch on failing/toxic relationships in general and offers up some noteworthy and humorous ensemble performances. We haven't seen in many gay films how you would like to hold on to your true love and would be ready to do anything for them and to keep the love of your life close to you.

Erik is in his 30s and is a documentary film maker. He is addicted to casual sex after breaking up with his long term boyfriend. A casual phone sex hook up leads him to meet Paul, who is initially closet. Friendship soon leads to love between the two men. Paul is a drug addict and self-destructive right from the beginning but Erik ignore these signs initially. When things get so bad and Paul stops showing up at home for days at a stretch, Erik decides to intervene. He forces him to go to rehab while getting his life back together. Erik's set of close friends give him a moral support during these hard times. After Paul is back, for some days things are ok and Paul is grateful to Erik but old habits die hard and Paul's disappearing acts soon follow. This time things get even worse. Occasionally Erik keeps going back to his habits of phone sex but deep down he still deeply deeply loves Paul. Years pass again. Its almost 9 years since the 2 have been together. Paul comes back again ( I guess from another rehab). They try to be friends and casually date. But Erik is not sure this time. He still truly deeply loves Erik but cant figure out what does he want to do with the relationship. How long can he stand being taken advantage of. Finally he takes a stand and tells Erik that he loves him but he cannot be with him anymore. He cant take it. The 2 part amicably but Erik has lost his love finally for good.

While writing this review, I can imagine the potential this film could have had with a little more polished direction. One of the major flaws is that the film is supposed to be happening between 1998-2006 but not once do we feel that era is talking, clothes, environment etc. The way people act, makeup, dress up etc, it could easily have been a story of just a month. Even the looks or clothes of the led actors hardly change over a period of 8 years. The film should have paced well a little. But the film had good moments too. It is hard to see someone like Erik, so madly and deeply in love with Paul that he sees everything that Paul does but still ignores all of it just for the sake of love. One of the most emotionally disturbing scenes in the film is when Erik finally finds Paul in a hotel room, all drugged up and he just sits with him while he is having sex with a random person. Things that you would do for love! Acting from Erik was good but as a viewer I was a tad bit emotionally disconnected with the storyline and this is where the film fails.

The film had potential to be really good but ends up just being average. (6/10)
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