Eliot_Rulez

medicore story/acting, some cringe/fluff, neither fish nor fowl

The trend of lazy writing continues with this show. They had a good novel, the first episodes where interesting and then they buchered the story especially in the finale. That was so lame and so badly acted, just unbelievable.

There are some highlights like cute moments, building up friendships, supportive parents, but there are very cringe moments (very fake guitar playing) and many communication issues (you see it and think "wtf is he doing?"). The showrunners could not decide to make either a comedy or a mature drama and so they decided to go the safe route delivering us the worst of both worlds. If there are too many comendy elements (with of course lot's of stupid sound effects) it's hard to take the story seriously, on the other hand the finale showed they did not really like doing it in a serious manner, so it felt extremly silly and unbelievable. They had an interesting premise but in the end it got from good to bad.

So for me it's neither fish nor fowl, just a medicore show, leaning more to the bad side. If I had not seen this show, I would not miss a thing, but there are even worse shows out there. 🤣

Read More

just cute without any bite ?

This is a short series best binge-watched, but at least we got two episodes per week. This should be called "My Secret Vampire-Family" imho, because there is just one who is not.

There are three full-blood vampires and a half-blood who agree to let a human stay with them. And this human has the attention of all of them, because they are out for his blood. While this could have been a drama, it is a romcom for most of the time. It's easy to understand, the story is not that deep but it's always quite funny and cute. But because it has a happy end, they all come to the conclusion that a human should not be eaten, because he cooks so well. 🤣 Of course there is some tension because one of the Vampires has his eye on the half-blood, but of course the half-blood was capitvated by the human before he even know him.

The most negative about the show is the side-couple, which is not developed and which takes away something from the story overall. It's just in the finale we see one of them going the step further. On the positive side, the script is not dumb, the cast is the show which elevates it from all the other average/medicore shows around. Production quality is quite high for such low budget effort, but there are some sound glitches sometimes. Overall this is a fluffy show, which makes you smile most of the time. So I can say, you should watch it, epsecially when you have a bad day.

Read More

OMG, they ruined the story....

While the first four episodes were entertaining and interesting it falls apart in the fifth and sixth.

Why did they need to do a timejump? I don't get it, especially if the actor is looking more or less the same. Secondly could they not have adapted the original story so they timejump would have been shorter so it would make more sense. Or if the timejump had to be that large, they would need an other actor and four episodes to explain if Aksorn a) recognizes Songjam and b) can love a twice as old person.

So for me, they ruined the series and I don't get a 10 review at all. Also even a 7.7 which is the rating now while I'm writing this is much too high. I can't understand why a director and screenwriter does not make the effort to keep that part of the story as realistic as possible and I also don't understand why the producer does not say "stop it, that does not make sense". I have to say, I'm really pissed that they wrecked this show which had so much potential.

Read More

They can act, when the script lets them...

This is hard to judge, because I'm not into religion at all and not into christian religion especially. The premise to be gay is bad in Gods eyes is an interpretation and translation errors due to the history of this incredible book. For me the bible is nothing more than like "Lord of the Rings" - an epic story madeup by many people and rewritten so often to fit the narrative of the people of the then religious power. Don't forget that the pope, cardinals and arch bishops had more power than any king or emperor. And to break that power we had for example the breaking off the Anglicans in England because the power of the papacy was too much for King Henry VIII. And soon after the christians fought themselves with the protestant movement and the excess corruption of the catholic church.

When I see people demonstrating against gay rights because they are christians, then I ask myself what's wrong with them. It can't be God is love for all or just for heterosexuals. That does not work out. This series never questions the stance of the christian religion at all and make it too smooth especially in the 90ties when gay rights are not as developed as they are now.

Edit: GMMTV did something different, but it felt like propaganda for the cathlic church. I know some where not even alive when all the sexual abuse scandals broke, gay priests f*cking innocent boys marking them with a trauma for a lifetime. Besides burning woman alive it was the most disgusting thing the catholic church ever did and they also kept it under the rug for a long time. Some will say but the church did not do it, and I say, of course they they did, because they knew. And not telling is the same as doing it. End of Edit.

GMMTV only did something different in the scope of the MLs. The struggle about the imho "false teachings" and his sexuality was perfectly done by Forth and I believe him, when he said this series was mentally draining. Other than that, the pacing was a bit off, the first two episodes were too slow for my taste, abruptly picking up the pace. For me the portrayal of the catholic faith was way too positive and unrealistic. I especially missed the struggle of Father Arnon. He was just too perfect for his times. He already knew what was going on, but he decides to let it go?

The finale also was a bit off. First I was confused in which timeline we are in the beginning after the emotional end scene in ep 5. So did they run away or what happened? And because it's GMMTV we get a happy end. Could not have been that Tanrak broke and went to be a priest as he always has envisioned - which would the more realistic and plausible scenario in that time.. Of course that can never ever happen with any GMMTV show.

So, is this a bad show? No. Considering all the other medicore to crap shows GMMTV mass produces, this series did at least attempt to show the struggle of being of faith and being gay. We see that ships can act, when the script lets them. I don't think especially Forth did improve, I think he always had the capability but with 08/15 BL scripts there was no chance he could shine. Production quality was very good as expected but for me this show is not a master piece because it does not question the catholic church and their teachings. On the other hand it's also not the standard BL which makes you to switch off your brain which is an improvement generally speaking.

Overall it's a good show with many flaws, but you need your brain switched on to process the content.

Read More

Again, a very underwhelming GMMTV production...

This seems to be again one of the fast produced GMMTV productions without much thought or deepness. The story is weak, even the first episodes started really awful imho, but in contrast to most GMMTV productions it gets better. Of course lazy writing was prevelent. Why give us a military coup in a country, but not going through with that storyline? It just resolved itself without us knowing exactly what happened.

Of course the characters are also cliché BL, part childish, part pubertal behavior with actors way over 20. Yes, after a horrible start this series got better, but it's not enough to make me like it. It's one of the series I will only remember of not even being medicore. Also the production quality is nothing compared we have seen from GMMTV this year. It feels like they just created the series to fill a slot and that's it. While I wished for Winny & Satang to have a strong series, this was just a disappointment.

Should you not have watched this, just skip it. Better to watch all the recent JBLs (except Takumi-kun) and you will have a much better experience, more fluff (except the Yakuza series) and especially more story. So, I will wait for "School Trip" which bring me amusment and tingling sensations. 🤣

Read More

a real chinese BL, an emotinal rollercoaster

After the first four episodes:

While I am not a fan that this show starts with the ending in the first scene, it's ok when the story makes up for it.
The dynamics of the characters is interesting, including marginalized people like a nearly deaf boy is also a plus.
While the story may not be as polished as I prefer it, it is much much better compared to all the Thai crap we get now. We get a serious mature story with some funny and fluffy moments as well. Acting is also good and cinematography is also well done. The only downside is a still one-dimensional abusive father.

So far this show is a must watch and done very well.

Update:

First, we were lucky to get this BL completed, after the snafu after 4 episodes. Why they need to get censored so heavily while all the thai shows are shown in China without censorship is beyond me.

Second, the only flaw of this show is that Tan is able to speaks too fast and too easily after getting his hearing aid. If you have not been able to hear, it would not be that easy to learn to speak.

After watching the first four episodes I thought we got the outcome of this show in the first episode, but that's not the case. It was just a flash forward to happy times but this show is mostly not happy at all. All leads did an incredible job conveying their characters and emotions to give this BL a realistic feel.

It was an emotional rollercoaster with lot's of very sad moments, especially the disgusting Father of Qi Lu who is abusive and such an disgusting asshole that words can't describe him. Both couples are leads here and both couples had their own story and neither was an add-on like in some other shows. The final left a bit to be desired story-wise and it is a bit confusing to know what really happend to Qi Lu if you don't read the text AFTER the credits. I would have wished they would have altered Tan for the final scenes, because he looks the same. The first couple sacrifices for their partner and the second couple have their happy end a bit earlier after overcoming some traumatic past of Liu Ming Yang.

Overall this show was a must see and due to the acting I rated it with the highest rating even when story-wise it was not perfect. Regardless the show was well thought out, well scripted, amazingly acted and with great execution, cinematography, OST and casting. I also appreciate the inclusion of a handicapped character, who is a minorty of a minority.

If you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend it even if you need some tissues over the course of the twelve episodes.

Read More

An unpopular opinion: I hate this!

What a overblown rating again... The story is sooooooooo trashy, I can not find other words for it. It's like one of the 1000 episodes telenovelas. The story is just melodramatic and with excessive pathos. Everything is either black or white without any shadows. Everyone who is bad is absolutly bad in a two-dimensional way, with no nuance to their characters at all. The father may have some nuances but of course he is right and his son is wrong. But the finale is just ridicilous....

I can't fault the series with the production quality, besides some rare audio problems. Costumes were fine, staging was good, music was good and even the acting was good in the way what the script & director wanted them to do.

So for me, it's on the same level as The Next Prince. Differently bad, but bad. It's a real pain to watch this.

Update: This review is only valid for the UNCUT version, not the crap ONE31 (GMMTV) puts out on their Youtube channel which even cuts story elements which makes every show much worse. MDL does not have a policy to ALWAYS put uncut and cut versions on the page, sometimes it's done and most of the time it's not for unknown reasons. If you watch a series only on youtube, don't bother with reviewing them because you don't get the full experience.

Read More

Would it be too much to ask for age appropriate actors?

In the month of crap Thai BLs, we got this. This is a mixture of a lot of crap and some good to make it just an average show, because the crap is overwhelming. First the actors are 26 and 30 and play 18 year olds... They don't look old but they also don't look super young. Which is a shame. Grandpa was never shaved correctly, with some exceptions, having hanging out a white hair from his face most of the time which was annoying... did nobody see that?

Then we have the classic cliché a so called "hetero" is confessed by a gay guy. Of course the hetero rejects him. That is before grandpa is forced to write a BL to bail himself out... And then "of course" he tries ... and falls in love - crap.

On the other hand we have a lot of cute kids in the orphanage which are the cause of grandpas debt. Running a orphanage without goverment support is a chore and expensive. So grandpa the seasoned writer is forced to adopt to times, because "normal" literatur is hard to sell. At least he is learning and opening his mind while writing a BL novel. There is of course also a medical condition because grandpa has troubles with his eyesight and only an operation can save it and when you don't have public heathcare, it costs money...

Between all this crap there also tidbits of wisdom. Production quality was good. The show does not prioritize the BL couple, they have a little kiss but no nc-scenes. Overall it's ok to watch, but nothing I will revisit again.

Read More

fun to watch, but a lot of cliché

The weakest point of this series is the storyline. The pacing is off most of the time. Either it's too slow or it's too rushed, espeically in the finale. Also the stereotypes are not my cup of tea. We have a "model" who does not like anything besides eating and earning money with least effort as possible. The chef who looks stern and unapproachable but can cook exceptional well. There is an ultra-capitalist who thinks everything can be bought with money and a physio-therapist who thinks helping others is his call even when he is annoyed with his lazy friend.

These characters are ingredients for a show full of cliché and little character growth. What is nice about this show, it's not overly silly or over-acting comedy. But there are scenes where you ask yourself "WTF?", like kicking a competitor out because the kitchen is not clean enough but five minutes later fucking in the same kitchen (Did anyone clean afterwards?).

While it would have been nice if we could see characters with more nuances and more depth, it was overall fun to watch. First eat before watching, otherwise you will get hungry for sure, because all the dishes they serve look really amazing. Then turn your brain off and just enjoy the ride and the drama. At least the characters all had a variety of emotions and could act on them. Also the chemestry of all couples was top notch, even when sniffing your partner may be a bit cringe, but who am I to judge? 🤣 One bonus point goes to the OST, because I think they did better than most shows and not used "canned" music for the background and the songs were nice as well (6->7). Overall, better than I would have expected, but not good enough for a really good show, but it was entertaining at least.

Read More

Just a cheesy moneygrab...

If you ask yourself, where goes all the budget of GMMTV, you found part of the answer. This is a highly polished money intensive production because GMMTV is all for milking the cows as long as they have still milk. I thought we would also get a conclusion of our forgotten side-couple from the first series, but they had exactly as much screentime as before - I guess 15 minutes of 4 hours is enough.

While I don't expect much of a story in a "special" episode, I would have expected some story in a four-parter. But there was nothing of relevance in it. There was not much in it except tons of cheesy lines, ridicilous fighting choreography and even the kisses where not that long or that good. And yes, P'Klien can create star constilations, that was cringe ³. Even the kids where strange, like puppets with wing nuts which can be restarted by a view turns. Whenever the president of GMMTV is involved in a production, you can bet it will be successful but will lack a story.

Overall we got a mediocre four-parter with nothing of substance just some entertainment. You could use your time with better series but of course you could also turn off your brain, watch it and rate it a 10. Sadly I can't turn off my brain and I can't rate this a 10 either. At least no story means, they could not ruin a story and that's some improvement.

Read More

Something different from GMMTV...

Sometimes there is a mircale and GMMTV does take a risk and does something different. The first couple Kant & Bison did not catch most of the viewers, because it was not a romantic meeting of two persons. Kant did approach Bison for a reason, because he had a deal with the police and he wanted to clear his name. While Bison was fully in it from the beginning, Kant was just a calculating bastard :) The other couple is different. While Style did it first to get a car and help Kant, he pursued Fadel on his own after a while. Something klicked and he did forget the car and was serious for a change.

I would say Khaotung delivered a top notch performance, while First was mostly solid. Joong did the most usual as in any other show (starting off distant) and Dunk was much improved even when his over-acting sometimes was annoying and cringe. But this is only from the view of their relationsships. As hitmen they did not deliver at all.

Other than that, the story of the "Mom" was a bit shallow and not very indepth. It was over in an episode and I don't know I felt underwhelmed. The rest was ok, production quality was, as usual, excellent. Other than that I had not much connection to the whole show... something felt a bit off. I can't explain it, but I was not really in it. For me it was ok, the NC scenes were of course what the fangirls expected and they did not disappoint. Some people will of course tell you, that this is the best show ever, but of course, it's not. I guess lazy writing prevails which is typically in GMMTV tradtion. It's ok and GMMTV did take a risk, but I guess it payed off. At least for the actors it was a good development not playing the same stuff all over again, which I think is positive, but the story itself is lacking.

Edit: Also the tattoos are lacking... especially when you compare with people with real tattoos, so that was also a cost optimizing option to use foils instead painting.

Read More

What Campus...

While I don't mind low-budget productions, an empty campus without any other students is just ruining the premise of the title. And what's with the over the top lipstick in the opening scene (and other), but forgetting to face-powder the one actor in the next? I don't really feel a professor who gives "love" advice. And finally why end a series with a cliffhanger? Sometimes I was reminded of Thai shows with the silly sound effects which are still annoying as hell.

This was an easy story but I guess the third person could have been spared and they should have more concentrated on character building. So few cast was a downer for me, but at least we get sensible kissing scenes which don't look forced at all.
So, this is an ok show with some length in the story telling and for me some unneeded scenes and a cliffhanger. I suppose an ex will come up in Season 2, if there is a Season 2.

Read More

And the Oscar goes to....

Many say Season 2 is better than Season 1... But I disagree. It was different, less toxic but more bitchy.

We have a couple Jack & Dean which overshadowed anyone and we have one actor who did overshadow all of others: Mix. This was a role written for him and it pays off. He is the overwhelming star of this show and everyone else looks pale compared to him. We have Rome & Raffy and they are decent but nothing which made me gasp. And finally we have a couple with Arnold and Tua and they are misplaced. The do not fit in this series, they look out of place and I could not give a rat's ass about them.

Then we got Boston back for about three episodes, herding a couple together which is so against his nature when you have seen Season 1. We also got Nick aka Mark back to reconcile with Boston, so there are no bad feelings anymore. Mark did that beautifully, as expected. Of course TopMew are back for a bit and SandRay to give fans a sense of continuity. Nothing this series really needed but I consider it a fanservice.

Of course we have two "villains", first Raffy chasing Jack and not be very successful with it and Pete who wants to get Rome but Rome has already decided that Raffy is the man for him. Pete gets even worse when he took money from the theater production and caused harm to JackDean & ArnoldTua by releasing a bit of a video which gives viewers a wrong impression. While Raffy confronts Pete in the episode before the final, as in usual GMMTV tradition we don't know what happened to him and this scene was also not emotional enough. I would have thought he would be gone after he took the money, but no all the others are too forgiving and kept him in the theater production.

Also in typical GMMTV tradition everything must be a happy end. Jack & Dean seperating would have been the perfect ending for this season. They could have done a special to get them together again, but no, it had to be done in the final epsiode. As usual the script is lacking and the direction is "wobbly".

Regardless this series was for the most parts entertaining, but my quite high rating is only because of Mix. This is quite the same as with the first season where Mark left a lasting impression. Those two can act in a big variety and there are only a few other actors who can reach them. So for a GMMTV production this was good. For a thai BLs it was better than most. But the script quality was all over the place ranging from stupid to very good in the whole series.

Read More