Pinoy BL Series
Thailand
Paano Kaya Kung Tayo Episode 2
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While substantively passable, Episode 2 suffered from technical weaknesses. On this episode, Sef continued to picked on Andrei. Their banters and shenanigans were mostly cute. Minus the stereotypical line that men shouldn't cry, script was largely fine. In terms of acting, Allen, Ivo, and even Clark were watchable enough but the supporting cast members were kinda off. For the most part, they telegraphed their acting. They lacked flow with their delivery of lines. Production technicals, particularly cinematography and editing, were substandard. Scene flow and scene transitions need to get better. All in all, I hope this series improves in succeeding episodes.
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Saan, Sana Tayo sa Himig ng Musika Episode 3
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Episode 3: Pursuit of Happiness continued with the pace and tone of previous episodes. In terms of plot/storyline, not much happened on this episode. I get why some commenters find this series boring. It's a dialogue-heavy series and the lines, while mostly conversational, weren't always relatable given the lack of strong character backgrounds. It's difficult to empathize and sympathize with the characters and their dramatics when you can't relate to them. It's a pity especially since Drei and Gus were quite good on this episode. This series also regressed in terms of audio-visuals. Sound volume remained an issue. While there were nice camera shots, a cameraman who was filming using a phone camera was caught in one of the frames! Overall, this was a backslide when compared to previous episodes.
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Episode 4: Venomous Love was a terrible finale. Plot/storyline was rushed. This series lacked character depth and character development. I don't even know what happened to some of the characters. Relationship development wasn't established. Script was lazy. Because build-up was missing, acting was quite off. This series was a disservice to the actors. Production technicals especially with regards to scene flow and scene transitions were very poor. Overall, this series was a waste of talents.
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My Chinito Prince Episode 4
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Episode 4: Abduction was an eventful episode which started with Niko and Prince making love and ended with Xian taking a shower after engaging in sex for pay. Both scenes had awkwardness but on the whole, they were still tastefully done. In between these scenes, Miray had a cheesy yet touching moment with her father (apt for Fathers' Day!) while Rain got physically sick and then showed he's also mentally sick when he hired guys to abduct Niko. Obsessed Rain abused Niko. At least this episode had no qualms taking on big social issues like poverty, sex work, sexual abuse, etc. I just hope this series eventually resolve these all these issues in a realistic way. Even with some corny lines, script was mostly fine. Acting was a bit overdramatic at times but was still alright. Production technicals were remained challenged. Overall, because of this episode's unpredictability, I continue to be engaged with this series.
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Lust Never Lasts Episode 2
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Episode 2 was just plain awful. The handling of sensitive and serious topics like bisexuality and intersexuality was dreadful. The creators of this series should educate themselves about these topics to avoid propagating problematic stereotypes. Script had so many misinformed lines. Acting was terrible. The actors need to undergo acting workshops! Production technicals were very poor. If this series doesn't improve, I pray that this madness ends very soon.
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Worth the Wait Episode 3
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The scenes with Ethon and Martin on Episode 3 were actually cute and funny in parts. But the fillers and secondary cast scenes, including the girls' love (GL) subplot/secondary storyline were wearisome. Screenplay continued to do a disservice to the actors with repetitive and whiny lines. Aki and Solo needed a little polishing with their acting but they were mostly ok. Audio-visuals were uneven. Overall, it was a passable episode.
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Episode 4 revealed more details about Alex and Gino's backgrounds. I'm just not sure if a mini-forum for sharing one's thoughts and feelings was the best way to do it. It felt awkward. Anyway, to start this episode, Alex went shirtless again, lol. Script was mostly alright. Acting by the leads was fine but some of the supporting cast members were a bit tentative with their portrayals. Audio-visuals were uneven with some background noises and poor lighting. For next week's episode, I'm curious to know more about Derrick.
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Stuck on You Episode 2
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Episode 2: Alternative Living was an adorable and sensible episode. Aside from highlighting the leads' character contrasts, this episode also delve into JM's past relationship with Aaliyah. JM and Reb's alternative living predicament was also effectively contextualized in Philippine social realities like poor internet connection and strict community quarantine policies. For those asking, yes, the Philippines has strict lockdown policies compared to other countries. There was a time when a quarantine pass was even required in order to move around outside the house within specific schedules. And only one person per household can use the pass. It's only recently that the vaccinated elderly are allowed to go out of the house. Stuck On You might exaggerate a bit here and there but for the most part, this series presented realistic situations. Related to this, script was realistic and relatable with cute, funny, and heartwarming lines. Acting was on point with impressive subtleties. Iyo, with or without shirt, lol, is charming while there's something mysterious and unfathomable about Yves. Production technicals were mostly fine although there were a couple of bad camera shots. Editing was alright. The Spotify playlist for this series' official soundtrack was recently updated. It's a really good playlist. For the next episode, I'm curious what happens to JM and Reb given the sudden electric power interruption (yes, sadly, sudden power outage is also part of Philippine social realities).
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Paano Kaya Kung Tayo Episode 1
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Based on the plot/storyline presented on Episode 1, this series seemed to improve on One Day Pag-ibig. While the enemies to lovers and rich and poor characters falling in love with each other tropes are nothing new, at least we get to see Allen and Ivo together again. They look cute together. Screenplay was conversational enough even though there were some awkward old Tagalog words used. Acting was largely passable. Audio-visuals were better than those of One Day Pag-ibig. The original soundtrack "Paano Kaya Kung Tayo" (What If It's Us), while ok, needs proper mixing and mastering. On the whole, I'm just glad Allen and Ivo are back with this new series.
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Saan, Sana Tayo sa Himig ng Musika Episode 2
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After almost a month, Episode 2: Starry Night was finally released today. This episode started rather slow but picked up the pace towards the end, especially given the nicely done shower scene, lol. There were gaps in the script (e.g. about fixing the car; on providing the owner of the house with a more convincing explanation, etc.) but overall, this episode was fine. Acting was mostly on point. Production technicals were still uneven though. There were issues on sound volume and camera shots. All in all, this episode was still ok.
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HeartBreak Mountain Episode 6
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This series ended with a very short and silly Episode 6. It was revealed that Engkantito mistook Austin, the subject of the former's ire and vengeance, as Paolo. Unknown to Engkantito, Paolo's Austin's twin brother who failed to meet up with Engkantito because he met an accident and died. Seeing Austin, Engkantito thought Paolo betrayed her that's why she wanted to exact revenge on Austin. Everything's made known at the end with the ghostly appearance of Paolo. But not everything's resolved on this finale episode. What happened to Austin, John, and Rafael especially given all the cheating that transpired? Screenplay was mostly dull. Acting was generally uninspired. Audio-visuals were poor. Overall, this was a disappointing finale episode.
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How I Let You Go Episode 3
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Episode 3: Friendship Talks introduced Markie, Lucas' friend. Similar to the previous episode, this episode didn't excite or intrigue. Screenplay was at least conversational enough. Acting was a hit-or-miss though with some tentative performances. Audio-visuals were weak with sound volume fluctuations and dark camera shots. Overall, this episode regressed from the previous episode.
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How I Let You Go Episode 2
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While Lucas struggles with his studies, it was also revealed on Episode 2: The Call that he had to let go of his love for Jonas because the latter got their friend Liezel pregnant. This episode also gave out some details about Lucas' family background. While the plot/storyline became clearer on this episode, with Lucas doing mostly monologues and with a distracting phone conversation between Lucas and Jonas, this episode got dull real quick. Script wasn't bad and Harold's acting was fine. But production technicals were mostly weak. Jonas' voice on the phone sounded terrible. I hope this series improves on the next episode.
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Lust Never Lasts Episode 1
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I'm not quite sure what this series was trying to convey about bisexuals but based on Episode 1, it seems that this series promotes the problematic stereotypical depiction of bisexuals as lustful and sexually promiscuous. In general, the scenes lacked flow especially given the rough scene transitions. The blowjob scene was poorly executed. Screenplay wasn't conversational enough. It felt unnatural. Acting was horrendous. Needless to say, the actors need massive improvements with their performances. Audio-visuals were substandard. The original soundtrack "Ang Yakap Mo" (Your Hug) by JM Nazareth featuring Jhay Santos was amateurish. All in all, this was a weak pilot episode. I hope this series improves in succeeding episodes.
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While there were still numerous unnecessary scenes, the plot/storyline nevertheless became clearer on Episode 5. There's a possible love triangle among Algiro, Monsour, and Tina/Dzrey. Script lacked flow with patchy lines. Acting was tentative at times. And audio-visuals were weak. Editing was especially bad on this episode. All in all, technically, this wasn't a good episode but at least the plot/storyline went somewhere.
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