SarahD

Great little whodunnit with a side order of BookForce

There is so much to like about this story but I do feel the last few chapters could have been significantly shorter as once we get to the bottom of the mystery there are still several chapters to go and we end up watching a lot (ok so it was all cute) of padding so I docked a point for this.

The story centres round two characters Tankoon (played by Force) and Botpleng (played by Book). The former is a criminal psychologist and the latter a wealthy young man with no memory of his life following an unknown trauma approximately 10 years earlier.

One day (Bot)Pleng anonymously receives a diary documenting his life before his memory loss and in it he discovers he had an all encompassing love affair with a man called Tan(koon). Days later he finds a body in a suitcase and to his horror, as he turns round to see if there is anyone else nearby, Tan walks onto the scene which puts Pleng firmly in the suspect bucket as he is standing over the body when he arrives. Tan is immediately drawn to Pleng and as his curiosity (both personal and professional) is piqued he manages to get an invite onto the team investigating why the body they found belongs to a member of staff at one of Pleng’s many residences.

The plot thickens, another body is found, also tied to Pleng’s household and Pleng discovers that the man he waxes lyrical about his diary is not Tan but Tan’s dead brother Thunphob who for some reason says his name is Tan. Emotions run high and bonds of trust and friendship are built on pillars of sand.

Down the line we discover that someone is preventing Pleng from regaining his memories and he becomes worried that it was him that killed Thunphob. We also learn that Pleng is not really Pleng but a young companion called Tontharn brought into the family and unofficially adopted to become Pleng’s little brother. To top it all off a whole catalogue of lies and deception is uncovered when Pleng finally gets his memories back.

The chemistry between Book and Force is electric as usual with great banter and play fights. There is more skin than usual in their intimate scenes and Force spends quite a lot of time getting topless which is unusual for this couple but rather easy on the eye...

The other actors and their sub plots also add to the drama and we get to enjoy JuniorMark (from my perfect 10 liners) and Boun from between us) in all their glory too.

The penultimate scene paralleling Tan & Tontharn and Thunphob & (the real) Pleng on bicycles is really poignant and I will admit to feeling a lot sentimental and slightly tearful as I watched their carefree journeys on the same patch of dirt track. Kudos to the writers and direction for such a powerful scene.

The cinematography and the staging was great and added to the whole drama.

Would I watch it again? Probably not, but it was a lovely way to test the brain cells (the whodunnit) and enjoy Book and Force in action again.

Read More

As ever Force and Book are great together

As with all Force and Book dramas their chemistry is sizzling and the plot is a great all rounder Rom com. Don’t expect masses of skin or sultry moments so if you’re looking for the latter you’ll be disappointed.

The drama revolves around Cher a quirky and amusing intern at a gaming company and the boss and company owner Gun. Gun has been burnt in the past and has put up huge walls to protect his heart from both boyfriends and friends who are boys alike. Cher comes barrelling into his life and Gun has absolutely no idea how to deal with him. What starts off as amusement in Gun’s eyes soon becomes infatuation and then love. Cher is drawn to his grumpy and standoffish boss and what starts off ‘as annoying the boss as a way to pass the time’ turns into much more as he peels away the layers of distrust to find a gentle soul underneath.

Great production values, an amusing script and plenty of believable supporting characters with interesting sub plots of their own all adding depth to this drama.

Would I watch it again? Probably not but it’s only because there is so much more I want to watch out there.

Read More

WTAF?!

We meet up with the team a year later and Jack and Joke decide to get married. Their lives are settled, they have good friends around them, the bad guys have been thwarted and life is far more pleasant for everyone. Or so we are led to believe when wham! Out of nowhere Carbon comes back to mess things up.

I’m not sure what the script writer was on when he came up with this concept but quite frankly he should have just slept the effects off rather than making a special episode about it.

Long and the short, Joker falls into a canal gripping tightly to Carbon who has just shot him, twice, and just days later Jack is marrying a terrible cardboard version of him as they can’t find his body even though Carbon’s was found the next day.

We never really find out why Carbon came back onto the scene or what his end game was and the whole section in the casino our band of intrepid heroes go into to investigate a bizarre invitation makes very little sense either - it just seemed like a good excuse for some gratuitous violence IMO.

After the wedding’ we watch as Jack falls apart then one day, clutching tightly to the booklet Joker gave him detailing the ‘100 ways to say sorry without being there’ he sets off to find peace. At the end of his searching for some sort of closure we find him sitting on a park swing saying his final goodbyes to Joker’s ghost. Weird plot lines aside this is a beautiful ending to a realistic take on the unfairness of life.

However…

Would I watch again? Absolutely not, I ran out of tissues after the wedding and goodbye scenes but we do need another special episode…

Read More

Sweet little no brainer

The story centres round a country lad (Geum)who moves to the big city in search of fame and fortune only to find that the accommodation his grandfather booked was a scam. After a night on the streets he goes in search of a job and ends up not only employed but involved with a weird man-child (Bi Hyeong) who takes him home with him.

As the plot unfolds we find out that Bi Hyeong is a master-less goblin who has spent the last 1000 years searching for his master and I will admit that when we get the back story and work out what really happened I did have an ‘awwww’ moment!

We are also introduced to a goblin who was once a stone (Gil Dal) a tricky promiscuous fox (Ji Gwi), a goddess (SamSin) and a bad guy (or is he? It’s never made completely clear what he’s all about).

It’s a cute little story with a very simple plot and if you’re looking for some very shallow, harmless fun to kill some time then this might be a good drama to consider.

Would I watch it again? No

Read More

Loses a lot in translation. Literally

Each episode of this mini series is only a few minutes long so it won’t take long to watch, thankfully.

The story centres around two men who graduate from the same intake of trainee police officers. One stays on the right side of the law and the other ends up working for his foster (?) father who is a drug lord. One scene sums up this whole drama- the police captain congratulates the good cop for a drug bust that pulls a whopping 3 kilos of cocaine off the streets.

The lead actors’ chemistry in terms of the kiss scenes and between the sheets is of bodice ripping proportions but quite frankly the rest is all a bit rubbish and I think it was only about 30 minutes in that I realised they were working for the same side.

I watched with subtitles and I suspected early that they were translated by someone not particularly fluent in English however by the end I was starting to suspect they weren’t that good in Korean either as parts of the dialogue made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Would I watch again? Absolutely not even though the leads were pretty on the eye

Read More

About as clear as mud even by the end

I have just read ZellaKhan’s review and it now all makes sense! But please find below my own take before reading what she had to say…

The concept behind this story is very clever and it centres around two men (Great and Tyme) and their relationship before, during and after a near death experience (for both of them though separately)and what they experienced in the 4 minutes that their brains are deprived of oxygen.

I thought I understood what was going on but all of a sudden it got flipped on its head (round about episode 4, of was it 5? I’m so confused). Were the first half a dozen episodes during the time 11:00-11:04?

The bad guys mostly get their comeuppance (though the final scene between Korn and his boyfriend broke my heart) but at what point did Nan actually die? Why in the first few episodes did Great manage to save her only for the scene to repeat later with a different outcome - which one was reality?

So many questions and even by the end I wasn’t completely sure I understood what had happened and to whom - did the cop sleep with Korn’s boyfriend or not? Who was behind the cyber attack? Why were the night shots so dark that I could hardly see anything even in a darkened room with my tablet settings pushed to maximum brightness?

I think the director over complicated everything - or was that the screen writer?!

That said, I was glued to the end (er um…. was that because of the sizzling chemistry between all of the characters?). Although the two main leads were incredible (I will admit I mainly came for Bible who I loved as Vegas in KinnPorsche) and enjoyed his opposite number played by Jes, the other main characters (they may have been listed as support but were so essential that the plot would not have worked without Bas, Fuaiz, J Jay and Mio) were fabulous too. That said I think Fuaiz was underage when filming this yet was portraying a promiscuous man where his scenes left little to the imagination which is a little concerning to put it mildly.

Would I watch again? Probably not as I’m not sure I would get anything out of it by doing so.

Read More

Not what I was expecting

I decided to watch this after I enjoyed TharnType 1 so much but wasn’t sure what to expect.

After the first episode where all that seemed to have changed was the way the actors’ hair was styled, very little had moved on which was disappointing. Tharn was still laid back, cute as a button and totally smitten with Type. Type was still acidic, grumpy and totally in denial about the idea of the formal commitment that Tharn kept pushing for. I decided to persevere as I’d thoroughly enjoyed their pairing in TT1 and I’m glad I did as what could have been a pedestrian amble through their careers and friendships took several unexpected dark turns that made this so much more watchable.

The other actors seemed to be in much the same place, same relationships etc, but we get introduced to a spectacularly f*cked up couple one of whom is determined to win Type for himself. As you’d imagine with a very private man (Type) in love with someone far more comfortable with his sexual orientation (Tharn) the fall out leads to lots of tears, tantrums and heartbreak for all of the people involved. However, through the pain of things coming to a head, Type finally decided that coming out of the closet about his love was not such a bad thing.

Would I watch it again? Probably not but the flashbacks and subsequent wedding did make me grin like a loon.

Read More

Gotta love how love turns hate on its head

If you’re looking for a BL with tension, humour, sizzling chemistry (from all the couples but the leads - just wow) and a pretty decent plot line then look no further.
The story centres round Type, a homophobic first year university student who’s roommate Tharn turns out, to his utter horror, to be gay. Through some very amusing scenes, several twists and turns and a pretty nasty bout of flu that leaves Type both delirious and loose lipped Tharn discovers the reason for Type’s hatred of him and all that he appears to stand for.
Eventually they end up in a relationship (though you have to really squint at the logic Type uses that ultimately ends up with them being closet boyfriends) which is put to the test by Tharn’s best friend Lhong who is not all he appears to be.
Great production values, excellent acting from all corners and some very sizzling moments. What’s not to like.
Would I watch again? Probably as Type’s prickly yet cute character and Tharn’s crooked grin are rather pleasant to watch.

Read More

Great fun

If you’re looking for a fun and flirty BL that focuses on the heart rather than the NC scenes then this is one for you.

The plot focuses on three years in the engineering faculty of a university. As part of the buddy / peer mentor/ ice breaker system, each new student picks a mentor from a jar to help them get to meet people they would not socialise with otherwise. The opening scene is in a bar where the newly enrolled Wine is introduced by his peer mentor, Yotha’s mentor to Arm who starts to tell the story of his own experiences as a newby and the bond he builds with his fellow Perfect 10 Liners, a group famous for its good looks and huge fan base.

The first third of the drama follows Arm as he sits in the bar and recounts how he picked the Perfect 10 Liners group from the jar and met his mentor Pun who then introduces him to Arc and this section is all about Arm and Arc’s love story. I just knew this drama would be a doozy from the moment Arm sent a picture to the ‘Engineering Cute Boys’ IG account of a random hot guy he knew nothing about who turned out to be his ‘Perfect 10 Liner’ senior Arc. What he didn’t know was that Arc hated having his photos taken and swore he would kill the kid who posted it.

The second section of the drama is where we find out about the second year Perfect 10 Liner initiate Yotha a jaded, clinical Irish twin who thought his younger brother, Faifa, was a much better person than him and deserved all the love he didn’t think he should be entitled to. He meets Gun who is afraid of the dark and insists on sleeping with all the lights whereas his roomie, Sand, who realised that this was a serious problem for Gun can’t sleep because he needs darkness. Faifa, hearing about this situation offers to swap rooms because his brother ‘rarely sleeps at the dorm anyway’. After Yotha and Gun initially clash, they start to become aware that they are both seriously hurting and after one particular incident they start to realise they could just be what the other needs to heal.

The final section is all about Faifa who finally bumps into Wine when Wine comes to the university for an pre-enrolment orientation course. They meet again once more and then for the third time Wine picks a Perfect 10 Liner ticket from the jar. Over time they push past misunderstandings and insecurities as one learns to be brave and the other to focus on his own wants and desires.

There are plenty of amusing scenes, one of my favourites (which had me chuckling for ages afterwards) being when one of the professors on the interview panel that we see Arm, Gun and Wine attend comments to one of the others that the students are just getting weirder, moments after a flashback to Arm and Gun’s interviews in which they made the craziest comments about themselves.

My only criticism would be the unrealistic intimate moments. There were no bodice ripping, passionate kiss scenes when finally floodgates open. The lead up to a night of passion tended to be quick pecks on cheeks and foreheads and while I get that the actors are just playing a part and are not necessarily gay, there was no real chemistry in these scenes - there are plenty of camera angles, lighting directions and hand and body placements that could have been employed to make things appear more passionate without crossing any boundaries.

Would I watch it again? Probably not but I really enjoyed this one nevertheless

Read More

Just what you’d expect from a rom com but with a couple of great character flaws

What’s not to like about a rom com whodunnit?

In the beginning the story centres around the love story of Jiang Xinbai (Luo Yunxi) and Yan Nanxing (Song Yi) who are thrown together by fate as they seek to discover the mastermind behind the illegal distribution of a pernicious drug called zornia. As the plot unfolds we find out that they also met as children when they were abducted by ‘bandits’. Xinbai smacked his head on a rock and became face blind when they tried to escape whereas Nanxing is fed poison which led to her being able to shapeshift.

Before long we meet two other (eventual) couples Soulou (Sabrina Chen) a duchess and the jaded sister of Xinbai & Liu Ruoqian (Gu Zi Cheng) an intelligent, sweet and kind slave and Shang Beili (Ryan Chang) sceptical commander of the Zingu Guards & Tong Saier (Huang Ri Ying) a simple yet loyal country girl. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that these four will also end up pairing off though due to many challenges their road to happiness is paved by massive obstacles.

What’s to like?
There are plenty of funny bits (the male protagonist’s mother’s tantrums were excellent). There were several layers of baddies before we found the mastermind who wasn’t who I was expecting. The main pairings were complex with plenty of character growth. There were more weddings than you could shake a stick at and there were some really sad bits the most heartbreaking of all was when the ML finally found the FL at the end.

What frustrated me?
I found the first couple of episodes very strange and put this drama on hold for a while but I’m glad I picked it up again a few weeks later and tried again. The wooden kissing scenes (which were few and far between thankfully as they were cringe worthy - and we all know LY can do it if you’ve seen Love is Sweet) detracted from the chemistry of the main leads who were otherwise on point and so in love. There was a weird and pretty pointless (on the whole) price war between the FL’s beauty parlour and another across the road which just irritated me.

Would I watch again? Probably not but on the whole it was a pleasant way to pass time.

Read More

Realistic view of teenagers discovering themselves

This is a gritty story of a group of late teenage (mainly) boys with too many hormones and not enough life experience as they crash from one bed to another leaving a trail of confusion and heartache in their wake.

The story centres around 4 kids who, as part of their end of year project, decide to create a business plan and renovate an old hotel with the intention of running it together. The kids consist of Mew, an innocent, nerdy gay virgin determined not to lose his V card via a one night stand. Boston/Ton, the son of a politician, who is a complete man whore. Ray, a wealthy young man whose mother died from alcohol poisoning who seems determined to follow in her footsteps. And Cheaum a lesbian in a stable relationship who seems the only one with little or no axe to grind.

As the four of them move through the year the boys crash and burn, heal and move forward. Mew learns that changing your outer appearance and trying a relationship out of obligation doesn’t heal heartache but standing up for your principles might just get you what you want. Boston starts to develop the beginnings of a conscience as he learns that pretending to change to make someone happy is pointless and only ends up hurting that person more. Ray learns that he deserves sobriety and that unconditional support and patience can lead to a better, happier life. And Cheaum learns that being honest rather than saying what you think your loved one wants to hear makes for a better relationship. Along the way we also meet Top, Sand and Nick who all become integral to the plot and, towards the end one final character Boeing, appears who seems hellbent on making several of the other characters as miserable as he is.

At the outset of the series, Mew and Top’s roller coaster relationship seemed to be the main focus of the drama but about a third of the way through I began rooting for Ray and Sand who had a much more subtle, slow burn, sometimes dysfunctional and often toxic one.

The whole series is incredibly well acted and the various plot lines interweave brilliantly and for a plot as steamy as this I was surprised at how most of the NC scenes stopped at chest shots rather than full s*x scenes which was quite refreshing even though there was plenty of chemistry. In fact the lack of explicit action did not stop things from being totally believable.

In fact the acting and plot were so good that I became really invested and spent a lot of the time tsking, saying “No! Don’t do it!” or just wanting to slap the characters as they wove from one drama to the next but I was spell bound from the beginning and rooting for 4 of the relationships that did eventually gain solidity. That said, I was rolling my eyes at the last scene where another Boston/Boeing manwhore pitched up.

This BL is worth a look if your wanting something gritty and ugly but with honest and sometimes happy endings.

Would I watch again? Probably if I didn’t have a hundred others out there waiting for me.

Read More

Slow burn but deep, meaningful pairings

If you’re looking for lots of casual skin scenes then this is probably not for you. The first few chapters are slow burn but set the scene for what is to follow very nicely and this a well cast, well acted team who deliver beautifully.

The plot centres on Team, a first year student with a scholarship because of his swimming talent, and Win a third year student with commitment issues.

They hook up almost immediately upon meeting each other for the first time and for them the rest of the story is one of the development of love as well as trust that the other person in their life feels as they do and accepts them flaws and all. One is wracked with guilt for what happened in his childhood and the other has a dysfunctional family that he is trying to keep together.

The majority of the support characters, who are predominantly students as the same university, explore their own feelings through a well balanced, well written plot as young, inexperienced adults tentatively navigating their way through the ups and downs of life.

The chemistry of all the actors is great and the production values areexcellent though I will admit that the regrowth length of Wim’s hair (which was dyed blonde) kept changing which I found off putting. There were a couple of scenes that were a bit wooden or stilted (Wim’s father for example came from the Ham School of Wooden Acting) but on the whole it was a well performed series.

As a retired swimming teacher/junior coach was pleasantly surprised that the actors could actually swim (ok, so much of the technique was that of a 12 year old competitive swimmer but even so) and that the races looked reasonably realistic so hats off to all those involved in these scenes.

Would I watch again? Maybe not as there are so many other dramas out there on my list, but if I have a spare few hours to kill I could revisit it.

Read More

Every emotion possible, brilliantly acted

I came here for Nat Natasit as I struggled with his character in Cutie Pie and wasn’t sure whether it was his acting or the director that spoiled his performance in that for me. Turns out it was the direction he was made to take because in this he was absolutely amazing. His chemistry (as Kram) with Max Kornthas (who played Tai) was off the charts even though they don’t meet for quite some time in this drama.

The story revolves around Kram a sweet, open, honest and loving young lad that meets and falls in love with Phupha (played by Gun Thapanawat) who is the son of a wealthy and successful businessman who wears his heart firmly on his sleeve. Unfortunately Phupha is killed by Tai’s gang boss father and this sends Kram into a tailspin of heartbreak and despair. He then finds out about a mythical blue lake that, legend says, will allow him to jump to a parallel world. One where he can be potentially be with the love of his life again and maybe even save him from the same fate in his own world.

Jumping into the water, on one of the rare occasions that it turns blue, does in fact bounce him into this other world where he meets both Phupha and Tai who are the same but different in many ways. Although his mission is to save Phupha, somehow he ends up falling deeply in love with Tai instead.

This drama is only 10 episodes and as the plot seemed to be resolved by the middle of the 8th I wondered what on earth could be used to fill up the remaining ones. Quite a lot as it turns out.

I sobbed, cheered and rooted for a happy ending for Kram even though I really couldn’t see it happening. The pre-penultimate scene had me reaching for the tissues as once back in his own world Tai sacrifices everything for him (but in hindsight he was too damaged to live). Did Kram get his happy ending? What do you think?!

There’s so much to like about this drama. The actors are so beautiful and the director made sure we got to see their incredible features in close ups, yearning looks and love filled actions. The NC were few and far between but this added to rather than detracted from the plot and they were meaningful and almost precious as a result. The plot was believable, the sets stunning and the side plots enhanced rather than just added extra minutes to the whole story.

Would I watch this again? You betcha I would.

Read More

Sweet little spin off from Cutie Pie series

This story continues the complicated love story between Yi and Kondiao who we meet through the Cutie Pie series. Additionally all our favourite characters pop up throughout the series. Including Yi and Liam’s quirky secretaries who have tiny but amusing cameo roles.
The plot is slightly different from Cutie Pie in that Dian is attacked by a tiger not a dog (who has one for a pet, FFS! The adults are the ones at fault not Yi who spends his whole life atoning for the accident that occurred when he was 14 and Kondiao 7).

In this drama Kondiao (Diao) is determined to escape a life that he feels is wrong - Yi, his fiancée seems to want to own him, due to some unknown obligation, while having a string of women by his side. Diao’s always wanted to go to Switzerland so packs everything he owns up and heads off to catch a plane, Yi finds out and is determined to stop him but has a nasty car accident that leaves him with no memory and a fiancé determined to atone for the escape plan that left him with no knowledge of him. The ending is fun and exhilarating as once again Khondiao is determined to run away but will Yi catch him in time and will they escape the contract that led to him making a second bid for freedom?

My only criticism is more of a concern in that the actor who plays Dian (Nat Natasit) still seems very uncomfortable in his own skin and spends most of his time looking like he’s about to have a full body seizure or a serious bout of diarrhoea. For someone with a black belt in Taekwondo his coordination and overall movement is really uncomfortable to watch from his slight hunch to stilted arm movement - perhaps it was the choice of the director that his body language is so timid and robotic. That said he is a great actor and I look forward to seeing him in something else. (Authors note: I’ve now seen him in something else and he was fantastic so I think it was the direction he was made to play)

The chemistry between the two main characters is absurdly good even though the kissing is very over exaggerated. Max, who plays Zi shows great range as he goes from scared and confused through to indulgent and finally deeply in love. I also love how Dian is not afraid to ask difficult questions or stand up for himself which is a breath of fresh air. Bravo boys (and script writers)

The gentle, loving and playful relationship between Lian and Kiera from Cutie Pie is also lovely to see as their characters have clearly progressed to a deeper level of happiness and Syn and Nuea (also from CP) have become a strong couple too - I just wonder how Syn’s lessons in the bedroom are going? Did they break anything?!

Overall a decent performance, with a slightly shaky back story, that entertained me (my favourite scene is when Yi and Dian fall off the end of the bed - I was so not expecting that but it made me burst out laughing). The production values were great and I have to mention the wedding costumes as they were as insane as the ones in Cutie Pie 2. The wedding night scene was equally as powerful but in a completely different way.

The ending was utterly gorgeous and inspiring too.

Would I watch it again? If I had a few hours to kill then maybe but not any time soon

Read More