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Journey With You (Chinese Series)

I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...

Drift

I am not too sure about this film. It was well made but something was really odd about the whole thing. I just couldn’t connect with the characters. When the lead says, no one understands him, I was in same category, because everything weird or strange in life was somehow oddly romantic for him, including someone’s rape. I mean, we have to draw a line somewhere. The film shows three different possible outcomes when a couple decides to break up.

Ryan is a struggling writer who has been with his boyfriend Joel for 3 years now. On their third anniversary, Ryan meets Leo, a college student and they hit it off immediately. Apparently Leo is the only one who understands Ryan’s off taste in movies, books etc. Though he loves Joel, Ryan feels stifled by the relationship's stability and senses that Joel doesn't appreciate his artistic temperament. Ryan decides to leave Joel and this is where 3 different scenarios are shown. In the first version, Ryan gets together with Leo and the two form a deep connection rooted in romanticism, sex and shared cultural references and Joel connects with a high school friend. In the second take on the Ryan-Joel breakup, Ryan realizes he's made a mistake and pleads with Joel for a second chance. In the third, Ryan pursues Leo, who actually has the hots for Joel. But Joel is not interested in him. Each time Ryan's dilemma is played out we see fragility of human emotions. In every scenario Joel makes a concerted effort to remain friendly with his ex.

Honestly the movie is not too bad, but its just very very dull and very amateurish. The dilaogues are so lame. None of the three scenarios actually stick with you and you just wait for the movie to end. The acting was strictly ok and was more like a college project, which I am willing to discount given that the film came back in 2000. The one good thing that I liked was that Ryan never cheated on Leo. Even though he liked him and there was a connection, neither of them did anything stupid until they officially broke-up.

Not only is the movie quite dull but also the major characters simply lack sufficient charisma to get and hold your attention. Spend your time on something better. (3/10)

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