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Al Mar (Spanish) [The Sea]

By Golu
This movie was just plain weird. I really went in wanting to like it, but the whole pretentious, overly poetic vibe, combined with this choppy editing that keeps hopping back and forth in these tiny five to ten second bursts, just made it feel dragged out for no real reason, way too self indulgent if you ask me. Honestly this could've been trimmed down to a fifteen minute short and lost nothing. And I still don't get what the deal was with women dancing along the beach while some overwrought, flowery narration plays over the top. The plot creeps along at a snail's pace, slowly building toward some confrontation that you can see coming from a mile away and that just gets duller the closer it gets. By the time it actually happened I'd totally checked out as a viewer, even with two genuinely good looking guys leading the film. The setup itself is pretty basic. Lorena and Diego are trying to settle into a new life in a small town by the coast, both nervously starting fresh ...
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Wishing Upon the Shooting Stars (Taiwanese Series)

By Golu

It's always nice when Asian production companies swing for something different and actually pull off a story that feels new. The opening episodes of this fantasy romance are genuinely delightful, with a concept that feels fresh and catches you off guard in a good way. But the deeper you get into it, the more the storytelling starts falling apart into confusion and misunderstanding piled on misunderstanding. And personally, the ending was a total letdown for me. The cinematography out on the island is gorgeous, and both couples give you that heart fluttering feeling, but it really needed more care put into how it all wrapped up, especially given how tangled the plot got by that point. The show runs 12 episodes, each around 35-40 minutes.

He Xiang Yong ends up back on a small island near Taipei after losing his job. Things with his father are already tense, and he can't shake the feeling that everyone on the island is silently judging him. Together with his best friend Li Wan Zhe, he wishes on a shooting star that nobody will recognize him anymore. The next morning, somehow, it's actually true. Nobody knows who he is, and his own father, running a B&B, mistakes him for an intruder and throws him out. That's when he spots someone working at the B&B, none other than his old school crush, Chen Hao Wei. Only Wan Zhe still knows who he really is, because it turns out Wan Zhe made his own wish to the stars too, his being about wanting to feel unconditionally loved. Wan Zhe sets Xiang Yong up with a fake identity and gets him hired at the B&B. Around the same time, Wan Zhe's wish starts working on his friend and customer Aomi, who suddenly starts chasing after him hard. As Xiang Yong and Hao Wei spend more time together, they start untangling old misunderstandings from when they were kids, and slowly fall for each other. But around episode six, another burst of magic hits, and both guys wake up in a completely different timeline, one where his dad is now single, Aomi's feelings for Wan Zhe have vanished, and everyone's dealing with fresh heartbreak. It comes out that this island has a whole history tied to these wishes, and there's one mentally ill resident who's apparently the only person who can undo the damage. The final stretch is riddled with plot holes and rushes toward an ending that leaves the romance feeling kind of unsatisfying. I was having a genuinely great time up until that point, but those last three or four episodes just drained all the fun out of it for me.

The show's biggest strength by far is the island itself and how beautifully it's all filmed. Every shot is stunning, those weathered old buildings, that skyline hanging in the distance, no matter where the characters wander off to, the series always finds the beauty in it. There's even some underwater footage thrown in, and honestly the production values are top tier across the board. Every episode weaves in flashbacks to Xiang Yong and Hao Wei's teenage years, and those scenes are wonderful, simple little moments that leave you with this warm, cozy feeling. I was completely hooked on their sweet childhood friendship. Thankfully that same chemistry carries over once they're adults too, and there's plenty of tender moments between them even with all the confusion going on. Both actors are good looking and do a great job in their roles, though the constant angst in their relationship does start to wear on you after a while. Luckily the second couple picks up all the slack. Honestly this might be one of the best secondary couples I've seen in any BL series. Watching one guy chase after the other, take care of him, and slowly win him over was just incredible to watch. Huge credit to that pairing alone. The supporting cast, Uncle Hue, the dad, the old lady running the shaved ice shop, and just the overall island atmosphere, all of it is handled really well. It's a shame they didn't put in the extra effort to stick the landing. They could've easily ended things at episode eight, right when the couple falls back in love and shares that kiss, but instead they stretched it out four more episodes. There's a lot here worth loving and getting invested in, but it's also maddening once the plot turns into a mess, and I'd bet barely anyone could actually explain what happens by the end. The show doesn't always make sense, but it's got so much love, heart, chemistry, and natural beauty going for it. That's what this rating is really for. (7/10)

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