I am sure that I shall have my official passport granting me entry into the BL world revoked for this review, as I know this series is universally praised as exceptional. However, I honestly was not enamored with this series. I have a difficult time with movies and series trying to make gay life ‘perfect’. This even went beyond that. It gave an individual an opportunity for a second chance to relive his life. A do-over. What the series called a reset. But frankly, I was unsure why he deserved a do-over nor did I think he deserved one. It was simply baffling. He reached a pinnacle in this life for which most of us will never accomplish or attain or even dare to dream about. He found out that individuals around him were nefarious and murderous. Too late. My cynical and questioning mind then asked: So what and why him? What was so special about Armin?
All posts by PPBongi
“The Red Envelope” Movie Review
“I want someone to share my life with, take care of each other, and grow old together…. I may never be able to fulfill this last wish.” – Quote from Marry My Dead Body
“Delivery Guy” Series Review (Ep.1 & 2)
Raw, gritty, and astonishingly bold. These are some of the adjustives that can be used to describe this parable from Nigeria. A country certainly not known for its embracement of homosexuality. In fact, it is just the opposite. This short series is both a BL and a LGBTQ+ saga, virtually impossible to separate one from the other. Its underpinning is as old and familiar as gayness itself. The story itself is abound with tropes and cliches about the vileness of queerness. But here, it is the way it is presented that makes it so unique. The protagonists are not familiar to the usual world of BL. They are not teenagers and are Black from a country steep in religious disapproval of gay behavior from both the Muslin and Christian faiths, compounded by a deep cultural conservatism heritage against anything resembling an attachment between two men.
“My Sweet Brother-in-law” Series Review (Ep.1 to 5)
There is so much to unpack in this short series. It is a prodigious tale as well. Initially, the way it was presented felt as if it might be a light, even comedic tongue-in-cheek story. Full of fun. But true to the nature of Vietnamese BLs, it emerges into realness. The human drama becomes honest, sincere, and relatable especially because of what happens when we simply are unable to truly be ourselves. It is a story of gayness and the inability to be free and open about who you are and the person you love. The Vietnamese have mastered the perfection of being able to portray these emotions with such intensity.
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“Fight for You” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
Once I completed this series, I asked myself what was the premise of this series? And I honestly could not figure one out. It is your standard formulaic BL, full of tropes, cliches, customary setups, and unremarkable contrived crisis. But through at least some portions of this series, I found myself being avidly entertained chiefly because of the charming effect of the two main leads. The remainder, however, not so much because it was your standard flat setup.
“The Sparkle in Your Eye” Series Review (Ep.1 to 12)
This is a surprisingly effective series that is deeply rooted in the realms of movie making and BL specifically. The more light that is shed on whom represent characters in movies, specifically in the BL genre, fans will hopefully gain a better appreciation not only of the work that is involved in the making of a movie but also understand the complexities of the underlying production to a movie. And a lot of it is ugly. I do think the story is a relevant one to tell because it represents the ills that go on in this industry. It can be a brutal, impersonal, and cut-throat industry and make no mistake, it is an industry.
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“I Promise I Will Come Back” Series Review (Ep.1 to 8)
Every once in a while, something comes along that touches your soul in a way that you were not expecting. I am quite old, and I have buried many experiences in my life, but this small gem helped me to recall lost memories that were uncannily close to the content of this story. Perhaps I am alone here, but I simply loved this story for its romance. It portrays romance in its purest form – carefree, youthful, deciduous. In a way that only happens once, if ever, in one’s lifetime. If you are fortuitous enough, it is serendipitous, intense, fervid, and fills your life with a burst of joy that you will never ever experience again. It is your first love. But your first love is with a person who is everything you dreamt that paragon would be, wanted to be. He was your knight in shining armor, your Prince Charming. Your Romeo. Your Adonis. Everything you imagined a fairytale love experience would be. I remembered mine and my experience was such ecstasy and therefore, I understood this BL series at its core. While my ending was certainly not as dramatic, my fervor was. Despite the diegesis’s many flaws, I only saw its beauty and the passion for the underlying message of its storybook love. I wish others would see it in this light as well.
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“Moon and Dust” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)
Just plain weird. Honestly, there are not many instances that give me the ‘willies’, but watching this series frankly did. Everything about this story left me disquiet. And the way the narrative was fashioned felt like what the two protagonists were somehow involved in, between the two of them, was ‘dirty’. Therefore, the whole drama felt – unclean. Sadly, it did not need to go down that road.
“Golden Platform” Series Review (Ep.1 to 43)
“SALUTE to the unsung heroes who silently contribute to society. SALUTE to you and me who never give up in adversity.” – Quote from Golden Platform
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“Loy Kaew First Love” Series Review (Ep.1 to 6)
This series can best be described by a quote from Charles Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities” – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” It had an exceptional storyline only to slip into banality and nonsensical story arcs. Here is yet again another Thai series that simply had no idea what a great diegesis it actually had. If only they had followed through with their main title.
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The BL Xpress 