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Contrast (Japanese Series)

By Golu
This is basically a high school BL where two guys who have nothing going on in common somehow end up getting really close to each other, and that's kind of the whole point of the title too. There's barely any drama or fluff packed in here, it stays pretty straightforward the whole way through. A little bit of friction pops up here and there, but it's nothing compared to what you'd normally get in this kind of show. Runtime wise you're looking at 8 episodes, each one sitting around 25-30 minutes. The two guys carrying the story are Akira and Kanata, and funny enough they knew each other's faces way before they ever knew each other's names. Kanata's the type everyone likes, always got people around him, popular guy, but there's this distance to him that people can't quite place. Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...
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The Living End

By Golu
Neo-noir movie, a gay Thelma and Louise are some of the ways to describe this film. Released back in 92, I can see the film being relevant and doing quite alright for its audience. There is something that people could connect to, but I don't think it was relevant much today, not from a story perspective but from the message it is trying to give (Is it trying to give a message?). The film at least doesn't take the route of self pity after being disgonsed with AIDS and our protagonists wanting to live their life on their own terms. 

The story is really simple. Jon and Luke, one os film critic and the other is a hustler are both HIV positive and a chance encounter enables them to rethink their life. Rather than self pity, they decide to take life head on and life their remaining life on their terms and decide to go on a road trip. The film follows these young guys on this road trip as they rediscover love with one another and as they discuss sex, death and the afterlife, and begin to come face to face with their fate.

The film doesn't trivialize AIDS in any way. What it does instead is give vibrant, angry substance to the phrase "till death do us part." The two characters could not be more different from one another. Compared with the more conventional Jon, Luke seems a real rebel, but the two soon overcome their differences to begin a fervent love affair. When they begin having sex, Jon forces himself to acknowledge his recent diagnosis, but Luke's response is typically cool. "Welcome to the club, partner," Luke has seen more of the real world in his time (including witnessing a murder), compared to Jon who has had a relatively stable sheltered life. uses crime as a way of extricating its characters from everyday society, and not as an occasion for passing moral judgment on their behavior. Getting out is what matters, not getting even. Its hard to judge films like this and it would be a very personal opinion. I can see some people really liking this movie for it does have a lot of perspectives to offer leading to some very interesting discussions. But, somehow the film didn't connect with me at a level that I would have wanted it to. You be your own judge on this one. (3.5/10)
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