Skip to main content

Journey With You (Chinese Series)

By Golu
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...
Post a Comment

Sakristan (Filipino Series) [Altar Boy]

By Golu
This was such a silly series to make. I am sure when this was scripted on paper, it would have sounded as path breaking, but OMG! the execution is so bad, you will be cringed. The crass so-called comedy does even worse. A potential decent storyline gone wrong with awful direction. At 16-18 minutes each, this series is 8 episodes in total.

An athletic student Zach, is ordered by the school board to become an altar server as a punishment for an offense he committed so that he can stay away from mischievous activities. As part of this program he is put under Christian as part of the buddy program, who is a senior altar boy. Soon love starts developing between the two boys and Christian even tells the church about it. Just when things were going well, Christians' Best friend Wolf confesses his love for him. Zach always thought that Wolf has feeling for Christian and to prove to him that Wolf is also gay, he kissed him which Christian sees. The misunderstanding between the two boys keeps growing and they make peace eventually citing the rushed circumstances of them getting into a relationship. The ending was a bit weird where Zach also joins the church now and maybe they will have a future together.

As I said before, there was a hint of a decent story but instead we are left with some amateurish acting, bad direction and horrible sound quality. I found myself not really caring about any of the characters or their motivations. It feels the makers were trying to make a bold statement about church being accepting of all sexualities and God loves all, but by keeping all the gay stereotypes in the series,  it ended up looking like a student project. This stereotyping is not helping anyone's cause. The screenplay just randomly kept moving from one point to the other. It was very shabby and corny. The awkward dialogues intended as jokes weren't really funny at all. And gosh! why so many scenes of people stuffing food in their mouths? Thats not funny by any means. The lead actors had potential but total lack of chemistry and conviction laced with such a bad direction made them look bad on screen.

There are so many Asian BL stories out there these days, that it is hard to keep up. I wish someone had told me to avoid this one or watch only if you have nothing else better to do. (2.5/10)
Labels:

Comments

Hedgehog said…
There’s a lot of Filipino BL series and to be honest I haven’t seen any of them. Cause I don’t know which one to watch. Based on your review I definitely not going to touch this one. Thanks for guiding in finding the right series to watch.
December 12, 2020 at 2:08 PM
Golu said…
you are welcome. and Now I hope someone can guide me also to help me save some of my time.
December 12, 2020 at 3:01 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Tuxedo (Thai Series)

By Golu
When I saw this series with 8 episodes of about 20-25 minutes each, I thought, good: Finally someone has come to senses and made a show which is not stretched out and they have tried to squeeze in a decent storyline in a good small episode format. But unfortunately, despite a decent premise on hand, the clunky writing, bad screenplay and an extreme tasteless portrayal of mental illness makes this show, not a fun watch. By the time it finishes, you just want to laugh off at the entire absurdity of it all. Aioun is talented tuxedo designer and very much in demand but he has handful of clients and he builds suits only for people who he feels a connection to. One night when his younger brother is about to get mugged, he is helped by a total stranger named Sichol. Since he tears his suit in the fight and has an interview the next day, Aioun gifts him a suit form his design as an expression of thanks. Sichol's interview is for. Personal assistant of a man named Nawee, a wealthy heir to h...
25 comments
Read more

Heartstopper: Season 2 (Web Series) (UK)

By Golu
Heartstopper Season 1 was a universal hit. You could not have read one bad review or heard from anyone who has seen the show not liking it. It was the kind of series that is easy to love, with sweetness exploding out of every scene without overwhelming you. So naturally, when Netflix greenly Season 2, expectations were naturally high and the same happened with me. I didn't know what to expect, but I had high expectations of this very very sweet teenage love story. And with eagerness and being a little late to the game by a few days, here I am, pouring my t thoughts down having just finished one of the most anticipated shows of the year. The second season also has 10 episodes and has all of our loved ones from the original season. The show continues from where it had left off in Season 1. Charlie and Nick are a couple and only their very close circle of friends know about it. This includes Charlie's best friend Tao and his trans best friend Elle. The center of the show is still ...
19 comments
Read more

Gaya Sa Pelikula (Filipino Series) [Like In The Movies]

By Golu
Pinoy BL series seem to be catching up to the popularity of the Thai shows. And I must say that they are doing a pretty good job at it. Where Thai series started to get repetitive with so many shows based in a college setting with seemingly similar storylines, Pinoy series are offering the viewers with new and interesting stories and some really good sets and surroundings. This series was 8 episodes of about 25-20 minutes each. Karl, a 19-year old introvert architecture student is in the middle of an identity crisis. Prior to the start of the second semester in college and forced by his parents, he moves into his uncle's condominium unit so that he can learn to be financially independent. Karl takes on odd jobs online to do so. But when one of his major clients suddenly goes MIA, he is left short on funds and without a means to pay for his utilities. An opportunity presents itself when his cocky neighbor Vlad has to hide from his family and proposes to share Karl's space for th...
23 comments
Read more