etoks21

Please quote me where I wrote that "everybody else" has to "see it the same way" I do. Thanks, I'll wait.

But, if you're too lazy or disinterested to consider another view and respond with support for your own, you def fall into the I-see-what-I-want-to-see category. Just acknowledge that and move on.

Seeing what you want to see is a choice you're free to make. Own it.

bingo!

Really?
His character, who just ran like the Flash to the train station to catch up with and kiss Suziki? Who said, breathlessly, just before that kiss, "stop me if you don't want it" or words to that effect?

The character who ran that mile and gasped those words would cover his crush's mouth with his own, their tongues would meet and embrace, saliva running down chins.
Watch what Machida does...it ain't that. :)

THEN, to top those lame pecks off...Sugiki gets off the train and goes home, leaving Suzuki gasping for more, and...suddenly, it's two months later. wtaf? :D
Normal gay men, hell, a normal straight couple at that point, would have gone to the hotel or wherever and made love like animals. Not these two, oh nooooo. Machida don't do that seriously gay shit.

Then...nearer the end of the film Sukigi, who knows Suzuki is frustrated, pissed, and probably drunk, shows up at his room with a bottle of wine, cock-teases Suzuki some more, rolls around on the bed, gains the advantage, then...pulls back again...and leaves. Why? What was that?

After the train, but especially after the wine bit, I thought Sugiki HAD to be deliberately leading Suzuki on to draw out a spectacular performance or something, but no...that wasn't it either. Then, there was the weirdness with their 10dance, the disappearing and reappearing costumes, the used car salesman emcee...oops! I repeat myself. What a mess.

I know I'm ranting. That trailer cock-teased me too, prepping me for a spectacular ride. With Machida in that role, I should have known better.

Gotta love mdl's prude tag writers: "prolonged nudity." lol
Wow, I wish I'd seen that part, or maybe I accidentally watched the NF alternate, PG version, because the only nudity was 2 seconds of Suzuki's very fine butt early in the film.

There was zero other "nudity."
One man with his shirt off doesn't count.

You contradict yourself.
You wrote that Sugiki was after "love and inspiration" (he was), but then you drop the "love" part.

I have a question: After what we saw on the train, why did Sugiki abruptly leave Suzuki and go home? Then, it's "two months later." That bit was so clunky, I laughed.

This is what I mean about people seeing what they wanted to see, and not what was on the screen.

Hi Matt.
The mains' chemistry was smokin,' which made what transpired all the more frustrating.

If you choose to watch a second time, pay close attention during the smooching scenes. To my eye, Takeuchi fully commits to the kissing, while Machida does not. He holds/pulls back.
Some will argue that's "what his character would do." Really?
See behind spoiler button below:

Huge budget, lush cinematography, glorious choreography/dancing, and excellent acting in service to a fatally flawed, no-homo script that ultimately betrays its audience. Several clunky transitions and plot holes, as well.

Its minuses more than offset its pluses.
4/10

On edit:
Take the MDL rating with a grain of fan-girling salt.
Most MDLers were going to rate this flick highly, no matter what.
As is clear below, the ravers saw only what they wanted to see, whether it was projected onto the screen or not.

I already did.
Same old no-homo Machida.

You posted this twice.

I didn't assert that the entire manga should have been crammed into a 2-hour movie.
I didn't say time jumps should be disallowed, but that this one was handled badly.

I rarely say this, as I think the vast majority of dramas drag out beyond all reason, but perhaps in this case, the source material would have been done justice more by eight hours than by two. However, if you have a no-homo actor in a lead role, it's only going to extend the homophobic agony.

I'm not sure if you meant to respond to me, or if this is directed at someone else, because you seem to be responding to assertions I never made.

Gee...his character was conservative? Wow, I never would have guessed. Really? lol
Not all relationships are "easy?" I had no idea!

If you didn't see him holding back from kisses on the train, after running like a wild man for two miles to get there, then you saw only what you wanted to see.

You think the Cherry Magic issue was someone else's issue? Sure.
I think you are a big Machida fan, and thus unwilling to see the pattern right in front of you. I'd be a fan too, if he'd do his job.

Unless there are rare contractual restraints, producers/director/screenwriter are free to adapt source material however they please, taking out and adding in as they see fit. Your assumptions about Machida playing gay roles are naive to say the least. BL and gay films in Asia are chock-full of idols and cowardly actors who sign on to play gay, but only to a point and no further, to protect their brand in homophobic Japan/Korea/China. I suspect the director wanted Machida for his marquee value and thus bent to his no-homo contract requirements.

In the future, please consider using paragraph breaks. I almost skipped your comment because it's one, solid block of text.

Beautiful film, huge cop-out ending. Read my comment above if you care to.

So they sort-of made out on the train (well, as much so as Machida was willing to pretend to, anyway), and there was all this supposed passion, but then, not only did they NOT do what any normal two gay men would do that night, which is to go home and bang their brains out, but that never became an issue during two months of rehearsal for Blackpool? Sizuki, who was clearly besotted with Sugiki, and a passionate, sexual man, never raised the issue during that time? He rehearsed for two months and they never slept together and it was never addressed? Spare me.

I call BS.

Later, we had Sugiki showing up late at night to the room of a drunk, horny, and frustrated Sizuki, but wait, he's only there to...what, exactly? Do some more cock-teasing, roll on the bed a bit, and leave?

Off and on through the movie, I thought "OK, Sugiki is torturing Sizuki to get the best performance out of him, and that's it," but that didn't turn out to be the case either. So, Sugiki's dance partner not showing up on the floor for their dance so that he would ask Sizuki to dance instead, which was a huge stretch, which seemed like it had to be this massive coming out, joyful thing, turned into a weird montage with the announcer proclaiming like a used car salesman, Sizuki magically taking his shirt off and changing outfits mid-dance or something, and ending with Siguki saying "see for the 10Dance," and walking away...wtf?

Lame. It feels like a feature film, huge budget, big star version of the cop-out, bizarre ending of the very early Thai BL "The Love of Siam." I half expected Siguki to say to Sizuki as they left the dance floor, "I love you, but I can't BE with you because my mother guilted me into taking care of my dying, alcoholic father instead."

Fuck that shizz.
Right now this is a 1/10, homophobic disaster for me.
I don't like being slapped in the face at the end of films.

Can someone explain to me why I shouldn't be annoyed af at that abrupt, messed-up, inconclusive ending? Felt like a huge cop-out to me. I was so pissed when the credits began to roll that I pulled off my headphones and threw them to the end of my couch.

I'm seeing a pattern with Machida Keita here. He seems willing to PLAY gay, as long as he doesn't have to commit all the way. That ending made no sense whatsoever. He clearly held back from the mid-movie smooches. He pulled the same BS with Cherry Magic. I don't know why directors cast this dude in gay roles he's unwilling to own. He was Heaven to behold in that tux, but he seems to be a cowardly actor.

Takeuchi Ryoma, who 100% slayed as Shizuki here, on the dance floor and off, deserved to play opposite an actor with the courage and commitment to match his own. Machida ain't that actor.

The film is gorgeous, the acting is excellent, and the dancing is spectacular. All of which only made the conclusion more of an insult to the audience. The through-line of the "romance" or whatever the hell that was, not so much. I was going to watch this at least one more time before rating it, but now I see no point. There are a great many films just as beautiful, well-acted, and technically proficient. Knowing how this one sells out at the end, why would anyone re-watch this?

Another oddity was that bizarre two-month time jump midway through, between the subway train cock-tease scene and the Blackpool competition. The rest of this point is behind the spoiler button below...

My pleasure! :D Hope you enjoy it.

https://onetouchtv.xyz/detail/flying-boys

I'm simply asking the question I just asked.
I don't dislike the film, but it's on none of my custom lists, so I've no idea why it would come up as "featured."

hmmmm...so it must pick random films as "featured...?"

Where did you see it on my profile, in my 150,349-film "completed" list? :)

I'm going to give this a second watch...perhaps I misjudged the first time.
For worthy films, one watch is never enough...