What an enchanting and funny movie this is! In addition to being so relatable to everyone even though it is centered around an Indian family. The issues that arise may seem unique to the Indian culture but candidly, they are not. Predicaments with parents and family dynamics are universal and are culturally neutral. That is what made this movie so captivating. It can be universally understood (except by the homophobes, of course) and they gave us a splash of Bollywood at the end!
All posts by PPBongi
“Lover Merman” Series Review (Ep.1 to 8)
Frankly, I am not sure how I sat through this miscue. It is an inferior story with pedestrian acting. There I said it and am glad I did. I just do not know when these sappy BLs will end. This is yet another in a L-O-N-G line of them. What saved this series from being on my Worst List is the cinematography. The water scenes are exceptional, but there are not nearly enough of them. If you are going to have a story about mermen, how about showing more of them and their communion? Also, I like the idea that mermen could live on land and become a part of regular human society. The notion that during the full moon, mermen HAD to go back into the ocean to cleanse themselves of their ‘toxins’ was quite intriguing, and I found that to be a nice twist to the story. Further, one figure, and a minor one at that, altogether makes this series worth watching, overall, for the depth of his characterization and his intense understanding of the persona he was portraying.
“Ha Noi, I Love You” Series Review (Ep. 1 to 10)
“Once a cup is cracked, there is no way to make it whole again; the more you use it, the more it cracks.” – Quote from Ha Noi, I love You
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“The History of Sound” Movie Review
“What happens to it all? All the sounds released into the world never captured?” – ‘Quote from The History Of Sound
“Takumi- Kun Series” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)
Confusion. I just did not get this series. Perhaps had I known this was composed of snippets of movies/series, I might have appreciated it more. I assumed it was a stand-alone series. Not having seen any of the previous references, I was at a loss as to the subtle references. Frankly, trying to make an anthology out of several movies/series is a fool’s errand and those of us trying to watch this are engaging in a fool’s task. Having said that, the account as presented does have some merit, and I found several subplots it was trying to emphasize, noteworthy. The rest of it merely became fluff and was perfunctory.
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“Rearrange” Series Review (Ep.1 to 10)
There is no doubt in my mind that some may find this series entertaining and maybe even cute. Unfortunately, I am not in that category. For me, this was yet another in a long string of endless high school cliché dramas that was unoriginal and trite and filled with every conceivable trope you can think of. Admittedly, it started out interestingly enough. But here again, it moved too inextricably and set up a false premise that from a logical perspective did not make any sense that was never explained nor fully clarified.
“You Don’t Know” Series Review (Ep.1 to 4)
This is such a story of contrasts that when you watch, it will no doubt make your head spin. It is not a BL yet has such a deep undertone of attraction between two male figures that you cannot miss its elucidation. It also is a story of ornamented family ties that at the same time their underlying behaviors upgrade the definition of dysfunctional family – they go from a ‘loving’ unit to sociopaths capable of committing unspeakable evil acts as well as treat each other with contempt. We see a ‘bad’ person accomplish acts of kindness yet be interpreted as evil actions. At the same time, ‘good’ people executing exploits of atrocities and interpreting them as justifiable acts. The whole series has example after example of oxymoronic tableaux. In the end, however, despite the conflicting messages, its arc is quite clear.
“Mission to the Moon” Series Review (Ep.1 to 30)
This was a hard series to dislike. Conversely, it was also a difficult series TO like as well. Overall, what brought this series down was its production value and the way it was presented. A comprehensive story cannot be told proficiently in 30 episodes of 8 minutes or so stretched over 3 months. No one’s attention span can last that long or retain details or nuances of a story in that sporadic of a time frame. Especially, this series as several episodes were tedious, repetitive, and lackluster. While the concept was great, it simply droned on too long with the same mundane storylines going nowhere which caused one to lose interest. What was entertaining was the fact that, at times, the main protagonists were quite good and surprisingly effective, given the fantasy nature of the story. Then unfortunately they too slipped into banality and repetitiveness.
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“The Nameless Season” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)
This is a sweet journey if you are drawn to sweet genteel cliché friends-to-lovers romance narratives. All the characters are sweet. The story is sweet. The outcome is sweet. But be forewarned. You might slip into a diabetic coma from watching this rather short series because of all the sweetness that is pumped into your blood from this saccharin novella. However, I cannot say that it is not curiously entertaining, for it is. Mainly because of the symmetry between the actors. While there is nothing in this series you have not seen in other similar versions before, perhaps done much better and deeper than here, there is still enough hitherto to grab your attention.
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“Dating Game” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
I loved this series! It has charm, wit, sweetness in all the right spots, and a bunch of endearing human warmth. While not overly saccharine, it is also not traumatizing. Curiously pensive and reflective, it has all the elements of a most believable love story told in soft, subtle gentle tones that simply make you feel good all over. There are two love stories, actually. Both are surprisingly compelling. While the various protagonists are interconnected, their individual love stories take very different paths to fruition. Both end up being (well, more-or-less) plausible and credible sequences.
The BL Xpress 