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Fake Fact Lips (Japanese Series)

By Golu
This Japanese rom-com is just a lighthearted, goofy love story between two guys who keep things entertaining the whole way through. Story wise it's pretty basic if you break it down, but what actually carries the show is the two leads, who spend the whole time bickering and getting under each other's skin, and somehow that's exactly what makes watching them so much fun. The chemistry between the two actors is off the charts. The series is 10 episodes, each 25-30 minutes. Zen and Ryo are our two leads, and they work at the same company together. These two have been trying to one up each other since their high school days, and that competitive streak has just carried right into their adult jobs. Like you'd expect, neither of them ever actually comes out on top for good. Outside of work though, the two of them actually spend a lot of time together, meeting up regularly at Ryo's place to drink and catch up. They've even got their own rule set up, whoever loses a bet...
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Four Seasons In Havana - Episode 3: Máscaras (Spanish)

By Golu
This Cuban series is your regular detective investigation series with a few recurring characters. The basics are straightforward. Homicides happen and homicides need to be solved. I am going to review Episode Three which is entitled Máscaras. In the scalding summer of Havana, the body of a gay young man and son of a diplomat is found, leading Conde to a world of sexual possibilities.

The episode starts with a man's body found dead in a park strangled dressed in a red woman's dress. Turns out that he is Alexis, the son of a diplomat, so the investigation has to be hush-hush. Investigations reveal that he was gay but not really trans, so why dress in red, then? Detective Conde meets his family and his caretakers who tell them that he left home almost six months back when he had an argument with his father. The cops then go to an older gay guy from whom Alexis was renting a room. The cops are frustrated because they do not wanna be involved in solving the case of a 'homo'. Regardless there they find out that Alexis had a lover Salvatore. When they visit him, they find out that he is married and could possibly have a motive. But before they could do anything, Salvatore disappears. Using the landlords help, Detective Conde and his partner being themselves to get familiar with the underground gay scene in Havana and eventually are able to solve the reason behind the murder.

Since I have not seen the entire show, I am going to review the episode as a standalone. Personally I wanted to watch this show just because it is set in Havana. Cuba is oe country where I would like to visit at some point and this episode (that came out back in 2016) gives a good glimpse of what city is like. That aside, if we talk about the suspense element itself, like many other shows, it has its pros and cons. I did suspect the perpetrator but there were never any solid grounds for that. Even the way eventually the murder is solved, you are not really shocked but then you do question the authenticity for the reason. It is still not very clear about Alexis and his mental issues, why was he dressed as a female etc. Many speculations are provided by the cops but nothing substantial. This would have ben very acceptable when it came out, but these days when globally, thriller and suspense shows have become so detail oriented, even small little things that are not explained stay back in my mind as a nagging explanation. Acting, production and everything otherwise is of pretty good quality. I am a sucker for detective thrillers and murder mysteries; so give me anything half decent and I would like it. At just about 90 minutes duration, this episode is a good one time watch with central them of a gay man's murder investigation. (6/10)
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