“You are not the Prince, and I am not Cinderella”. from Mr. Cinderella Season 2
Continue reading “Mr. Cinderella Season Two” Series Review (Ep.1 to 8)
All posts by PPBongi
“Dangerous Romance” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
Yet again, another Thai BL that, one, doesn’t live up to its expectations, and two, does not live up to its title. This was a typical formulaic standard, trite, and tropey BL that I could have written even if I were in a coma. It is pretty much epigonic. Only the names were changed.
Continue reading “Dangerous Romance” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
STAY Captures the Heart of the San Pedro International Film Festival: Meet Its Creators
Recently, the San Pedro Film Festival was held in one of the most beautiful and majestic art deco old movie theaters in the whole of the Los Angeles area. Built in the 1930’s, the Warner Grand Theater, funded by the Hollywood mogul Jack Warner way back in the day, is located in the port city of San Pedro. San Pedro feels like an isolated area of Los Angeles as it sits far from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood and Los Angeles itself. But it continues to remain a thriving and very diverse community. Once a year, it features a film festival for short films of diverse backgrounds. This year one of the more interesting BLs for 2023 was chosen to be honored. That was “STAY”, which stars Sebastian Castro as Andre and Ellis Gage as Joshua in a contemporary and perhaps distinctive love story, yet all too common for a city like Los Angeles. I reviewed this series and enjoyed it considerably when it came out. But there is something still so magical about seeing films on a big screen with the booming sound, and forgive me, eating popcorn.
“Love of the Sea” Series Review (Ep.1 & 2)
“Think of us as the sea. The wind…. It creates the waves. The waves create the beautiful sound and the beautiful scenery. Where the wind blows, that’s where the current will go.” – Quote from Love of the Sea
“Be Mine SuperStar” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
If you spend more than a nanosecond of time analyzing this series, you will find it so logically implausible with the story so full of holes that literally makes no sense, it will make your head spin. But if you watch it merely for pure entertainment value and put yourself on the couch with ‘Grandma’ and watch it as a Soap Opera, you will love it. I loved it, so I guess I sat next to Grandma. (You will get the reference if you watch the series. I do wish she had a bigger role. She was so entertaining). In general, there are two main characters, two more or less minor characters, and a slew of supporting characters, one of whom really steals the series, while others should have been written out of the series or actually never written in.
Continue reading “Be Mine SuperStar” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
“Be My Favorite” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
This story is one of the most remarkable BLs in redefining the concept of what love is or at lease perceived, especially how we see it between men. It re-conceptualizes its beauty, enhances its endurance, redefines intimacy, and solidifies the virtue of a relationship. And it does this all through the magic of fantasy. This narration broke down all the traditional stereotypical Thai BL stories and told a saga so deeply personal and profoundly moving that you became a part of its journey.
Continue reading “Be My Favorite” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
“Papa, What is Love 2” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)
This is the continuing story from Season One but a bit tamer. By now, Greg (Anyhony Flores) and Tupe (Rex Lantano) are well into their relationship. They are firmly established as a couple, with Tupe now ardently wanting to become more productive in the relationship by going back to work. Greg’s father, Rich (Arnold Reyes), has now moved on from the anguish and embarrassment he must have experienced when Tupe also fell in love with his son. As trite as the saying might be, time does heal all wounds, and Rich has begun to realize that this was meant to be. And now he is back on the prowl. While he has encounters, Rich is still looking for his ‘Mr. Right’.
Continue reading “Papa, What is Love 2” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)
“The Star- Season One & Two” Series Review
For the BL purist out there, this is undoubtedly not a series that will be high on your list of want-to-sees. And you will be making a big mistake if you let its foibles outweigh its content and message. And it does have a lot of flaws requiring patience, understanding, and a genuine love for BL to get through. But the payoff is so worth the effort.
“Vian” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
This BL starts out rather non-descript and frankly, a bit boring. While the initial premise is interesting, it is only referenced once in the beginning mysteriously and then only tangentially afterwards, which made me wonder about the whole series. True to its Vietnamese roots, it has some powerful and poignant dramatic resplendence. However, its sustainability wears off rather quickly.
“Stupid Genius” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)
For pure entertainment and good, clean, fun peppered with a good dose of moral lessons thrown in for good measure, there is nothing like a good Vietnamese BL to do the job for you. To get there, however, you might have to sift through some unorthodox translations that may or may not make sense. But that doesn’t matter, because the overall story will. You will see at the end when the story is presented in full, how absolutely adorable the whole story is.
The BL Xpress 