Lovely Writer

Thai BL/Y series is not something uncommon for me. I have watched more than a dozen of them but I can only recommend a couple of them. They’re usually laced with toxicity (no hates only facts) and I would disrespect myself for recommending something that didn’t pass my own quality control.

Score

Storyline          : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Plot                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Pace                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Acting              : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Storyline

The story is about this BL writer, Gene, who got his novel being made into a series. Despite the novel being successful, he actually wants to write mystery novels instead. He then meets and falls in love with a new actor, Nubsib, who was castes as the main character in his series. This is more than a love story, though. There are so many things that happen in the series that tells us about the dark side of the BL industry.

The love story between Gene and Nubsib is the main story with two other side love stories that are also worth watching. They were also tackling gender norms and sexual harassment issues, emphasising consensual relationships, giving examples on healthy communication between everyone, dealing with coming out, bonding with family and friends, reminiscing childhood memories, severing ties with family when necessary and so many great things that should’ve been portrayed in many bl series. In shorts, this series was a burn to the BL industry and to obsessive fans out there.

Characters

I love Gene. He’s introverted and awkward but that’s what makes him so lovely. He’s mature, wise, and just a nice person to be friends with. Gene is played by Up and he’s a very talented and capable actor. I love how organic his acting is. Even when I don’t speak their language, I can tell by his voice and expression that his acting was very natural. I love how healthy his relationship with Nubsib is. They communicate almost everything and there was no unnecessary miscommunication.

I also love Nubsib. Kao’s acting is not as seamless as Up but he has done a great job portraying Sib. Nubsib studied abroad and had a life before meeting Gene, which made me so happy because that is what usually happens in real life. I also adored how Nubsib stood up for himself, Gene, and their love towards the end of the series (it was a rollercoaster of events).

I hope many more people will watch this amazing series and take something good out of it. This is the first Thai series that didn’t make me cringe in the middle of watching it.

Where to watch

• Youtube (freebie)
• WeTV

Recommendations

THE OBITUARY OF TUNDE JOHNSON

Found this movie by accident. Barely even watched the trailer and was already intrigued mostly because of the loop day storyline. I have watched several movies with the same theme, loop day, and this is by far the most satisfying.

Score

Storyline          : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Plot                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Pace                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Acting              : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Storyline

This movie is about a college student, Tunde. He’s black and he’s gay but he’s forced to stay in the closet to protect his closeted boyfriend. Tunde is struggling with depression and drug dependence, so he’s being portrayed as being a bit bullied by his peers and very quiet. I wasn’t quite satisfied with the portrayal because it’s a bit cliche. In spite of his struggles, he has supportive parents that love and care for him. They’re very loaded and quirky, to say the least (I like them, tho). I also have to mention, Tunde’s boyfriend is two-timing him with Tunde’s best friend (that’s just wack honestly).

One day, on the way to his boyfriend birthday party, he was stopped by two white policemen, shot dead, and started the day from the beginning again. He was quite clueless about what was really happening in the beginning but then stressed the f-up after realising what was happening. Well, the story starts from there where he tried to find a way to survive.

The scenes where he dies are the most heartbreaking scenes ever. The fact that these things really happened many times in real life is just disgusting and heartbreaking. Throughout the movie, Tunde tries to change his paths and make new choices to make sure he survives in the end. Like trying to survive is not hard enough, he also has to deal with the lies Soren created to stay in the closet.

Characters

I seriously don’t know what to say, I have mixed feelings. I want to say that Tunde is likeable and he’s just a normal kid but I don’t think there was enough time to know him better other than feeling gutted after seeing this guy dies in so many ways. He’s resilient and very aware of everything that is going on around him.

Then, I thought I understand why Tunde and Soren are in the closet but Soren just had to ruin that. There is a time when I thought “okay these kids are in love, so they’re a bit crazy” but then shit happens. Tunde’s best friend, Marley, isn’t my favourite person either. I want to say that she’s a victim in all this but I would say that she could have handled everything in a different way. Idk.

Throughout the movie, the only characters that are consistent (they don’t really change to the extreme) are Tunde and his parents. What I meant by that is no matter what Tunde does to change the course of the day, the parents are still the same people. The others? Like Soren and Marley…you can see that they’re pretty volatile.

Where to watch?

• Amazon prime
• Apple TV

Recommendations

Dear Ex

I have wanted to watch this movie for a long time but I couldn’t remember the trailer name. I accidentally stumbled upon this movie again while searching for movies on Netflix. I saw the Netflix’s poster of this movie and was kinda scared but then I read the short synopsis. IT WAS THE MOVIE THAT I WANTED TO WATCH!

Score

Storyline            : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Plot                    : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Pace                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Acting                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Rewatch value  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Storyline

The story revolves around these three people, a kid who just lost his dad, his mom, and his dad’s male lover. The story starts with the mom asking for insurance money from the male lover since the husband changed the beneficiary right before he died. I would not want to say anything more since it can spoil the movie. The story is simple, so it’s hard to explain it without spoiling the story.
Throughout the movie I kept myself from taking sides, I positioned myself as an outsider looking inside. Even when I didn’t take sides, I could empathise with every single one of them, though. It’s not hard to empathise with them really. They are all very raw.

Characters

I really tried not to take sides but there were times I took the kid’s side. He is a confused kid and it’s not hard to relate to that. I also like the therapist and the male lover’s mom, they’re both very comforting. I like the fact that they showed the background of every character.
The movie, when it ends, didn’t leave me feeling confused. I felt at peace when the movie ended. I said to myself “everything is going to be okay”. However, right after watching the movie, I read a thread on Reddit. I saw one comment saying that they watched the movie with their mother and the mother sided with the mom character. I felt sad then. I don’t think the Reddit user’s mother really get the message behind the movie. Those things that happened in the movie, at the end of the day, was not anyone’s fault. The fault lays in our society where we are too focused on the idea of being normal. We are so obsessed with the idea of being normal that we sometimes forget that NORMAL ≠ HOMOGENEITY. There’s nothing more normal than being different. Also, being true and staying true to who you are is more important than pleasing people around you, fam.

Where to watch

• Netflix

Recommendations

Mulan

THIS MOVIE IS NOT A REMAKE OF MULAN! LET ME REPEAT IT, THIS MOVIE IS NOT A REMAKE! THIS MOVIE IS A RETELLING OF MULAN! RETELLING OF MULAN!! I dived into this not knowing what to expect since almost everybody has bad things to say about it.

Score

Storyline          : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ (8/10)

Plot                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Pace                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Acting              : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (9/10)

Rewatch value : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Storyline

The story is about Mulan (duh!), a woman who disguised herself to be a man to save her dad from going to war. Her dad is a war hero and unable to fight in a war, so she took his place. She has a strong chi (IDK what that really means but I guess it’s some kind of inner strength?) that will help her become an excellent warrior. The problem is that she can’t be a warrior because warriors are for men only and women can only honour their family by marriage. This is why she disguised herself as a man…to become a warrior. The story begins from there.

This movie received so many backlashes and it kept me away from watching it for too long. I understand why people are mad though, Disney Mulan is one of the most loved Disney princesses out there. I’m one of her fans too tbh. My brother watched Mulan first and he told me to watch it since he didn’t find it weird or bad. He told me that he likes the movie because of its more realistic approach.

The movie made me tear up when Mulan’s father tried to appear strong when he said he was going to war. I have this soft spot for parent-child interactions in movies. Yes, the story is about Mulan, but I also remember at the beginning of the movie there was a monologue saying that there are many stories of Mulan, and this one is ‘his’ version of the story. Mulan’s name changed from Fa Mulan to Hua Mulan in the movie. She also has a sister, I don’t think she has one in the animated movie. Mushu isn’t there but he was kinda replaced by this Phoenix character. I’m not mad about it, though. In the beginning, I was like “why would you do such a thing?” but then after watching the live-action I understand why. It would be so weird to have Mushu there while the entire movie is quite serious.

Characters

I love child Mulan and the grown-up Mulan. She’s a badass! I love badass women on television! I love how the movie showed how Mulan liked when she was a child. The most realistic part was when the father shouted at Mulan saying “learn your place!” because that makes everything so real. So realistic. I don’t know what year it was but it was what happened back in the days where women were expected to do one thing and men to do the other thing. That statement made what Mulan did afterwards become more substantial, more important. Her place is to honour her family through becoming a warrior, not to becoming someone’s wife. She’s an icon, really.

I also like that Li Shang’s character was divided into two characters in the movie. I read about the reason behind this, it has something to do with the #MeToo movement and I respect that decision. It never crossed my mind that Li Shang could abuse his power but that’s probably because Li Shang is an animated character. I do actually like Honghui and the fact that he said Hua Jun/Mulan and him are equals. It makes more sense too, they’re soldiers and friends so they would spend most of their time being together, there would be no power play.

I like the witch! I knew something like that would happen to her (you have to watch the movie to understand what happen). She’s basically Mulan with a different life path.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoy the movie and people should do too without comparing it to the original animated movie. Let me say this one more time, this is not a remake, it’s a retelling of the legend Mulan.

p.s. I watched a movie called Mulan years ago (a Chinese war movie), and it was one of the most heart-wrenching movies I’ve ever watch. If you want the more realistic one, you should go watch that. So stop whining about this one.

Where to watch?

• Disney+

Recommendations

Gaya Sa Pelikula

My first time watching Filipino anything, it was an adventure. Their language has some words that are similar to my native tongue, which is Indonesian. There are times when my brain decided to ditched the subtitle because their intonations and words are too similar to Indonesian. Because of that, I had to repeat some scenes more than once.

Score

Storyline            : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

Plot                    : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Pace                  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Acting                : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Rewatch value  : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (10/10)

Storyline

The story is about this guy, Karl, who just moved out of his parent’s house to attend uni in a different city. It was a break before any semester starts, so he has a lot of time to apply for works (he’s a ghostwriter). Long story short, his landlord and the landlord’s brother had an argument that resulted in a lie. The lie is that Karl and the landlord’s brother, Vlad, are in a relationship. Vlad paid Karl to keep quiet about their fake relationship and paid Karl to stay at his place. Then, that is where the story begins (the story itself is quite simple, but the plot made it all so so perfect).

Ugh, I can’t find words to describe how amazing this was. I need longer episodes thoooo! The casts are excellent, the storyline was so well written, and the vibe was immaculate. They gave every single attention to details and boooy, it was worth it. They made and told one of the best love stories out there. For those of you who are looking for a feel-good vibe, I’d advise you to watch this even though the ending is a bittersweet one. I kinda love the ending actually, it’s very rational. You can relate to so many things said in this series. It was that good!

Characters

Love the characters! Love every single one of them, I love how the side characters also shape the whole story. Like, you know those movies or series that throw in some side characters that don’t really do anything except exist. I love Vlad to death, he’s so chill, he’s so open, and he’s just so mature. I love Karl, I understand his feelings and I understand his struggles. Vlad’s sister? I couldn’t relate more to a character. Even the neighbour that I thought would become an “accessory” made the story flows together in harmony. I cried and I laughed with this movie. I cannot recommend you enough to watch this.

Where to watch?

• Youtube (freebie)
• Netflix

Recommendations

Rotten Mango

I’ve been trying to listen to more podcasts lately but I’ve only been hooked with so few of them since I get bored very easily.

Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (8/10)

What is it about?

Rotten Mango is a podcast that talks about true crimes. Stephanie Soo and her fiance are the hosts. The podcast doesn’t sound like a podcast since it always seems like Stephanie is telling the true crime stories to her fiance. I like that kind of setup because it makes me feel like I’m there with them. I like her fiance’s responses towards her stories, he asks a lot of questions that I most probably would ask if I was there with her. I also like her voice, she sounds very friendly and makes the chilling story kinda less depressing.

Review

Stephanie does her research before telling all these stories so when she was being asked by the fiance, she have answers. Granted, the questions are not super complicated or whatever, but they’re enough to ease my curiosity. I like her and her fiance’s opinions about things too.

The crimes she talks about in each episode are very gruesome, some are worse than the others but what makes them even more obnoxious and chilling is the fact that these crimes happened to other human beings and are being committed by other humans too. Just the thought of someone out there capable of doing all these evil things is just so…I don’t even know a word to describe it.

I’ve only finished two episodes, but after episode two, I seriously needed time off from hearing more of the cruel things that happened to another human being.

Where to listen?

• Apple podcast
• Spotify