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

The Third Country (Mandarin)

By Golu
This film would have been much better had it been a nice short film. The plot was nice but it just wasn't detailed enough to warn a full fledged feature film, also given how slow the film is. Granted, the scenery and filming locations are gorgeous, but its a paper thin plot with a tragic end. Thankfully its just about an hour long.

A young boy Lin Qingyu arrives to a small town in mountains. We find that he is trying to avoid facing death of his father. He soon realizes that he left his wallet in the bus. Unexpectedly, he gets hired by A Ren, the local village lad for him to teach small students in his village. A Ren is also a lonely man an every much loved in the village. Two lonely hearts soon get attracted to one another. But Teacher Li eventually ants to move out of the village taking A Ren with him and the latter categorically refuses to leave the village. When the village people find out about this, Lin Qingyu is asked to leave the village, leaving almost no choice for A Ren to choose between love and tradition. Another story which again deals with a tragic ending.

The romance between the two extremely gorgeous men was too hushed. There was no build up or flirtation. Except for an awkward, hey let me message your back and you massage mine, leading to kiss and sex; was just so odd and weird that to when its freezing outside. The village is a small knit community so you understand there reservations against a gay couple but there was no explanation given as to why A Ren's friend was so against Lin. The plot was just not convincing to me as an audience. The only good thing about the film was the gorgeous landscapes which makes you want to travel and explore nature, but besides that nothing really. Romanticizing suicide as the end is not something I vouch for and I would not wanna see that on screens more. The reference to the movie title is to an imaginary place or country where anyone can be themselves and live in love happily (Probably heaven or after life). Strictly ok. The only way to watch this film is in a fast forward mode. (3/10)
Labels:

Comments

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