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Chained To My Bully Stepbrother (AI Vertical BL Drama)

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 ...

Apostles (Mandarin / Cantonese)

If you have been following gay films for as long as I have, I bet you have come across the name SCUD before. He is an experimental film maker from Hong Kong. His films are very experimental and weird (for lack of a better word), and I have personally never enjoyed his work. Sadly, not much has changed even with this film. Look, I am all up for experimentation and film makers getting freedom to express their thoughts and ideas in a manner that speaks to them, but if there is no audience fo sit and no one understands what you are trying to say, then is it worth it?

In “Apostles,” a scholar claiming to be an apostle to Socrates and Plato, finds it hard to face his end. With the help of his wife and his ex-partner’s family, he recruits 12 young men to come to his secluded manor to pursue the exploration of death. Philosophical discussions aside, the practices encompass climbing the volcanic summit of Mt. Fuji, bondage, sexual activities, and even living sacrifice. Throughout it all, these thrilling experiences are filmed, leaving everyone involved facing life changing revelations.

This film, like most of his previous work, feels like an excuse to show these men, for much of the film, in the nude. There are sex scenes in gyms and restaurants. There is an opening masturbation scene. Later there is an actual death sacrifice. But all of these look and feel dull. They lack elegance and has no art to it, something I would like to think that the director was going for. Sure, there are some brief discussions about reincarnation, the existence of ghosts, and the possibility of immortality but these aren’t given serious contemplation (but then no one really cared about that, especially anyone watching this film). Perhaps anyone that feels an affinity for nudist colonies might appreciate this but it seems a bit unnecessary to what Scud is apparently trying to express. The only so called positive thing is a lot and lot of naked ripped male bodies. (1.5/10)

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