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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 Turns out he had an injury that ended his football days, and that's what pushed him into being more withdrawn, and it only got worse once his younger brother got picked...
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Memories Of Forgetting (Filipino)

By Golu
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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