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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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Amar Sin Miedo (Spanish/English) [Love Without Fear]

By Golu
I have mixed feelings about this film. At every point it talks about 'going with the flow', let your heart experience new things, make yourself open and explore new things, but the way it has been setup is quit contrived. It is definitely an interesting story to tell but besides a totally random ending, even the way two men come together wasn't completely established. The one good thing about the film is that they shot in the beautiful city of Taxco, Mexico; which is now added to my bucket list of cities I Want to visit in Mexico.

Josh, a white American is visiting Taxco with his Mexican girlfriend of few years. They are very much in love and she can't wait for Josh to experience her childhood memories. On their first day, they see a guy proposing to his girlfriend, a very loving scene but in a stark contrast, they both having a huge fight in the evening leaving the couple apart. They both laugh it off and continue with their life. Next day when the girlfriend gets an upset stomach, she insists that Josh should continue to explore the town which he does. To his surprise he meets Leo, who is the same guy who was proposing to his girlfriend. He is a musician, They both hang out and hot off very well as friends. Since Josh is a photographer, he offers to take head shots of Leo that can help him for his music cds. They both continue to expose different parts of the town and on day 3 (while girlfriend is still sick), Leo invites Josh at his place. They drink, leading to Josh taking nude photos of Leo and soon them kissing and having sex. Josh feels guilty but he cannot control and forget what happened between them. He visits Leo who says that he shouldn't think much about it and just let feel and go with whatever his soul wants to experience. And hence the affair begins. But the girlfriend soon finds out when she sees naked pics in the camera. Josh rushes to Leo to get his opinion only to be surprised to see his on and off girlfriend back in the picture. A lot of drama unfolds involving Leo and his girlfriend and also Leo and Josh. Eventually in a weird finale when The four are face to face, the two girlfriends end up having sex and the two men smile hoping for a poly amorous relationship, an ending that came out of nowhere.

Loo, I am not judging that how can a straight man, (or two supposedly straight men) suddenly want to have sex with one another. Anything is possible. The film establishes that the two men are totally enjoying each other's company and having good time, but what surprised me was how suddenly Leo makes advances on Josh. Till that point we dont even see stealing glances or them looking at each other lovingly. Leo asking for nude photoshoot clearly was leading to something but that did not come out in the acting. Having said that, that screen was quite electrifying. I mean anyone who has had such a sexual experience with hot guy out of nowhere can be quite HOT!. The film is equal part English and Spanish, and it did take some time getting used to because subtitles language would also change accordingly and I would now know whether to hear or read. That is minor issue. As actors I think both male leads needed a lot of polishing. They were strictly ok and not the best. The direction style and cinematography was quite good though. Several film clips were taken with the camera focus split between one character, and another character's reflection in the mirror, allowing the viewer to see both expressions without having to constantly cut between close-ups. The way Josh's girlfriend reacts was fine but what I di don't get was the complete toxic relationship of Leo and his girlfriend. My god!! I would shoot myself. Overall, I think the film was visually beautiful but needed some tight editing and some more lessons on acting. It somehow had that soap opera feeling. I dont know how to explain. And that ending was really not needed. (5.5/10)
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