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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...
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Jayson Bend: Queen and Country (UK)

By Golu
How come no one overthought of a gay super-spy, a James Bond-is character before. Surely this film is not as old, and it feels like this idea was right there for someone to just pick it up and build. And now we have Jayson Bend. This film is a great time pass spoof with gay secret agents, bad guys trying to take over the world and more puns than you could shake your weapon at. Leave your brains, forget the bad CGI and average direction and just try to enjoy.

Jayson Bend (also known as “Agent 009”) is an openly gay British super spy! He drives fast and plays hard - always with other hot boys - flirting with them and more. In this film, Jayson teams up with a sexy Swiss counterpart Alec DeCoque to stop the activation of a newly launched satellite that will turn Raymond Perdood, the billionaire owner of the largest global chain of hair salons, into the most powerful man in the world. In the process he meets a Twink doctor 'Tu Yung' who has been making a special chemical.

The story is basic and at about 50-55 minute duration, the film moves very fast. It tries to follow the typical James Bond film formula using all the stereotypical gay perspectives and characters, which makes it funny. Right from the very first scene when Bend shows up to get hair cut and his flirting with the hair dresser, you know exactly where this film is headed. We have fancy gadgets (condom, vibrator), we have bond-girl (mr. DeCoque) and bad Bond-girl (Dr Yung) etc. Playing the conventions straightforwardly, not veering into heavy camp, works very well and is a key to enjoying the film. The film was probably made with much less budget which is evident in a few places, but surprisingly all the actors playing their parts do a very good job. They are not cringe worthy at all. The film feels spoof but also legit at the same time. The dialogues are witty and cheeky and gays will connect with most of it. Davis Brooks plays Jayson Bend as a person with an underlying sense of humor, not grimly. The story moves along with logic and excitement. This film was a total guilty pleasure and is a beautifully-realised and gloriously silly love letter to the world’s greatest secret agent. I actually would not mind seeing another film in the Jayson Bend series. (5.5/10)
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Sailor Maan said…
Haha total guilty pleasure indeed, thanks for the review. Of course it's very average as a normal movie, but it's brilliant as a (low budget) parody. Not even sure they would do it as good if the real James Bond ever turns bisexual for the sake of its mission (I'm sure it will happen one day to that good old James ;p)
June 19, 2022 at 11:12 AM
Golu said…
Naaah. The actual James Bond getting queer probably won't happen anytime soon. For now we will just have to be content with seeing some of the villains being gay.
June 19, 2022 at 12:39 PM
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