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

Please Baby Please

By Golu
A queer fantasy musical set in the 50s. The queer part excited me, but nit as much the fantasy and musical part. Of course, I still had to watch it :) Please Baby Please is the kind of movie a freshman or sophomore might conjure on their dorm room bed, riding a contact-high from absorbing all that a liberal arts education offers to malleable minds. It for me, for a total campy film, made for I don't know who, and wasn't even interesting or fun to watch barring a very few scenes here and there.

Newlyweds Sue and Arthur start off their marital bliss by arriving at the wrong place at precisely the wrong time: A murder scene right outside their apartment building by a gang of members dressed in leather slinking in dance routine. In a surprising move, the gang lets them go after they ask their address. From here the film takes a weird turn where the couple starts feeling some desires and horny sexual yearnings. Arthur has now hots for one of the gang members and he goes to meet him in a bar and there is a massive sexual tension between the two on two-three occasions that they meet. Sure has her own thing going with her latent machoism,  dancing and acting out and honestly I didn't even understand or cared what her deal was.

The film has this theatrical feel to it laced with neon lights, weird choreography , some poetic dialogues. Arthur disowns his masculinity and trails after Teddy, the gang guy like a numb limb, baffled by but powerless to resist his fascination. I would have been very happy if just this trait was explored in detail and the whole focus of the film had been on their evolving relationship. Sadly they just get few scenes. The entire storyline and plot felt tedious. It feels the film was trying to give its own definition or perspective of what gender is, which is very obvious everytime Arthur refuses to be the macho man, and also with Suze's latent machoism. This is a film that turns what could otherwise be a glib throwaway theoretical query — “What is a man, anyway?” — into a seminal question of style and sensibility. But what a boring way to bring this to the screen. The film may pay homage to queer aesthetics, but it fails to make any coherent points about gender or sexuality. In my opinion, this is completely avoidable. (2.5/10)
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