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A Man Who Defies the World of BL 2024 (Japanese Series)

After a couple of years off, the creators finally dropped a third season of this show, oddly titled with 2024 in it for some reason I genuinely can't figure out. The story basically picks up right where things left off, following our lead Mobu as he keeps trying to survive inside this whole BL universe, just another character desperately trying not to fall for another guy. Season two left us with his relationship with Kikuchi, and this season kicks off right as Kikuchi heads off to university, which means Mobu's single again and honestly couldn't be happier about it. With six episodes, each running about 23 minutes, this is a quick, easy watch. Now that Mobu's back to being single, he's got to stay alert for every signal or trope that could end up pulling him into another relationship with a guy if he's not careful. So across these episodes, we watch him run into two of these signals per episode through the people around him and how they end up falling for each ...

Memories Of Forgetting (Filipino)

What a train wreck of a film. I am all about experimenting, not just with story but also with film making style, but this film just doesn't work. As if the paper thin story wasn't enough, the various, inconsistent stylistic choices are distracting and annoying. Also, the dialogue  delivery is strange; it gives a feeling of theatre or bad poetry. I saw it as a film, but I believe this was aired as a 6 part series.

The premise is very basic and simple. Jim, 30s, is a filmmaker who had a special relationship with Michael, 20s, an actor he worked with five years ago. In the midst of shooting a film, Michael quit from the project. While the city is in a lockdown, the two meet again. Their dynamics becomes volatile, fighting at some point and making love the next moment. During this time, Jim's mother becomes ill, and dies which somehow comes in between the relationship of these two men, halting their relationship once again. After sometime, at a wedding, Jim and Michael meet again. Will they finally seize the chance to realize their protracted relationship?

This hour long plus film could easily have been a 15 minute short story. I guess what the maker is trying to say is that true love will stand the test of time and a couple truly in love may meet a few times and feel that their relationship is not headed anywhere but destiny will give them chance. But what is annoying was the overtly used poetic tones which annoyed me as a viewer. We have shots of stairwells and staircases that do not appear to allow exits and entrances. Lines of walls crisscross and shoot up to tiny apertures letting in the blue sky or, maybe, some artificial light. Hallways are photographed in blistering red and pus yellow. The long dialogues with the mother, the random music and the almost love-hate relationship between the couple; none of it made any sense at all. The actors are strictly ok, but what can the poor folks do, when there is hardly a script and the director is probably getting free money to enjoy his experimentation phase of making films. I am sure there are people out there who would possibly describe this film as a beautiful work of art, but of my cinematic sensibilities tell me anything, it is a sheer waste of time and money and art. (1/10)

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