Surprisingly Good

I will say I didn’t have much expectations when I first heard about this series. I was not familiar with Krist's previous works while I knew Gawin from Dark Blue Kiss and Not Me, where his acting was very good but I was underwhelmed by his chemistry with his partners.

But it ended up being one of my favorite BLs of the year. Kawi and Pisaeng’s chemistry was so delicious on the screen and kudos to the writers for managing to write such a light but well thought story about time traveling and life.

“Be My Favorite” does not reinvent the BL wheel, it uses many tropes we are all too used to, but it never feels boring. Even the moments that I could criticize I actually can’t because the device of time traveling gave the writers a chance to fix and develop better the character’s relationship, so those moments either don’t matter or have been thankfully corrected.

The series does not have a second couple, so the whole focus is on Kawi’s growth and his relationship with Pisaeng and his friends, this does not mean that the supporting characters do not have space in the story, because they do. Pear, for example, is an amazing surprise when it comes to a female character first presented as the object of desire of the male lead, she was not left to be just the plot device that pushes the main character into his journey to find his true love, Pear actually has a story of her own and her scenes with her parents were so well acted and written, I have to praise Aye for the delicate way in which she played the character and conveyed her feelings.

Max also had a very interesting place in the story, he is the confident gay that guides his friend and his crush through their journey of self discovery, while I think that the role of the wise gay does need to evolve in order to give the character more of an agenda, Max had a few memorable scenes serving as a bridge that connected the reality of our world to the fantasy of the series.

Knot is an asshole, it was nice of the series to present a character that seemed to not have any urge to redeem himself without being your cartoony villain, he was simply a bad person and those type of people exist in our lives and we have to choose whatever or not to keep them around. I do think that they half-assed at the end of his arc by still keeping him in touch with the main group, but since he was nothing more than an cameo at the end, I will not judge what exactly may be his relationship with Pear, maybe it was just a polite invitation, either way I am just glad she didn’t marry him.

The drama wasn’t overdone, even though they did hammer the message a little too much at the end in order to make sure the audience understood what they were saying, what I thought was unnecessary, but still I will put this as one of my favorites BLs of the year and a good watch at any time you want a good story with a good message and a soft romance.

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It's Hard To Root For The Main Couple

The characters meet when one of them falls asleep and soon figure out they are stuck in a time loop, they met before but only one of them remembers it, while one is in the past, the other is in the present and one of them is about to die.

The first episode was underwhelming, if I was based on it, I wouldn’t stick around, but things do get better after the second one, unfortunately the show loses itself again at the end but at this point it does not make sense not to finish it. On a positive note, I have to say I loved the opening, from the music to the way it was edited, solid work there and in my humble opinion one of the best BL openings ever made. Another thing that I think deserves to be mentioned is the photography, it was so good, the scenes looked very clean and were pleasant to the eyes.

I am not a particular fan of this couple, nothing against Fluke or Ohm as actors, I just didn’t like their other works, but in this they did grow on me a little, they do show a good level of intimacy but it still feels like there is something missing, I just can’t tell exactly what.

I liked the characters Games and Vee individually, but didn’t care much for their romance or how they handled the toxic ex arc even with the shoehorned marriage equality message, it did not deliver. I liked the glimpses of Mint and Dew’s friendship,of course, from Mum’s world, which was sadly little. I thought the actors played well off each other, but I would rather prefer if they had kept it platonic from both sides, making Dew’s Mint a paranoiac jealous girlfriend would have worked better if they had developed more that dynamic, which they didn’t. The cheating didn’t reflect well on Dew’s character, while cheating can work in a story, in this case it just made Dew look very selfish and weak.

Aun’s character was a waste of time and space, but Joey deserves the award of the most patient and supportive friend a self-absorbed guy could have.

I confess I was a bit lost with the two different timelines because it is basically two different stories being told at the same time and if that wasn’t confusing enough the characters meetings were not chronological, I appreciated they trying to explain the logic of their universe even if it just made everything sound more confusing, I understood more near the end.

Unfortunately, the end is very anti-climatic, Dew from the alternative universe met his fate as nothing more than a footnote, it was like they couldn’t bother with it anymore, they needed to sprint to conclude the story, to keep up with the parallel universe theme they ended up with two different endings, one supposed to be like a fairytale where everything works out with no obstacles feeling very out of place and the other more depressing where characters make questionable life choices and everybody cries but seemed to actually connect with the story being told, both sadly a let down for what it could have been.

Watch it at your own risk, I can’t say it wasn’t fun.

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It's About Brothers

The story is about three siblings, but the main focus is on the two brothers, Korn (played by Ohm) and Win (played by Perth), it starts with the brothers being very close to each other despite their father constantly bullying and bellitling Korn for believing he is cursed, but obviously everything is about to change. The brothers befriend their new neighbor’s daughter Rung (played by Film), it is clear both brothers are infatuated by her, but Korn denies his feelings as to not get in his brothers way, but it’s in vain since Rung also has feelings for him.

It’s obvious from the moment that Rung is introduced that she will serve as a tool to build up the brothers’ rivalry, which may explain why so many people seem to dislike the character, but particularly I think most of the hate is unwarranted. I was pleasantly surprised when her character finally showed some agenda and wasn’t only used as a plot device, Film continually delivered a solid performance

The father, on the other hand, is an absolutely despicable character. It has been a very long time since I disliked a character so much, for that I think I should congratulate the actor for his commitment to the role and the writers for coming up with the worst father in a fictional setting winning the award straight from the hands of Vegas’ dad (KinnPorsche). Everytime that man spoke I wanted him to get killed off instantly, while understanding the importance of the character, he overstayed his welcome very quickly.

I really hated the convoluted way they brought up the main drama, it was in a way that if one single thing didn’t happen as they showed, if the character didn’t do exactly what they were supposed to, no matter how nonsensical it was, it wouldn’t have worked and because of that it felt very fake and forced.

Now I don’t want to sound like I hated the series, because I didn’t. I actually really liked the brothers' relationship, I thought Perth and Ohm worked really well together, in a way I didn’t expect, I really believed these two were brothers and that they cared for each other as I needed to in order to be involved with their story. Their fallout, even if convoluted, as I said, still pulled my heartstrings.

Baotoei brought the perfect air of maturity to the older sister character, Li unconditional love for her brothers is the glue that keeps the family together making her the unsung hero of the story. Ohm’s acting is a highlight for me, I feel like he really found himself in the character and was able to play it in a very believable way. Perth suffers from extreme baby-face, which is not his fault, but his acting is also growing, despite that he held his own on the more emotional scenes.

Light Spoiler

The ending felt a little rushed as if they were in a hurry to tie all the loose ends and not really let any moment breathe. Thinking over it I didn't like how the story painted Rung as in the wrong for seeking revenge, what made her arc not so satisfying. I also think they pushed a lot by having several years go by while only changing the characters' hairstyles, but I will let it pass. Overall, an enjoyable watch with good performances, an interesting story and an unexpected twist.

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It Was Worth It

I just watched the 7 episodes that have been released and I'm pleasant surprised. The acting is very good, the plot is intriguing, I like how it is slowly build with lots of throwbacks and we are learning about Dan's past with each episode and conecting it to the mystery of the Shadow. I'm so curious to find out what happened to Trin, who is the Shadow supposed to be and how Dan and Nai's relationship will develop whatever romantically or not.

I may change my mind once the second half is out, but for now I think it's one of the best thai dramas I have watched this year, from the writing and directing to the acting, everything is on point. Possibly Fluke's best work and a strong come back to Singto.

Now I anxiously wait for the second half to drop.

Update: After watching the second part I stick with my original opinion, while I think that the first part was stronger and better developted, the ending was very satisfying. While some people are asking for a second season, I think it is much better the way it ended letting the audience finish the story, because that type of story truly couldn't have a closed ending, the set up for the plot twist was well done.

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Everybody Got Played

Starting with “Cruel Intentions” vibes, we are introduced to siblings through marriage, Tim and Giwi. Giwi’s mother was the owner of a gentlemen’s club that is connected to the main drama, Tim’s father is on the verge of death and after he passes a fight starts over a holiday house that means a lot to Tim, but was given to Giwi who is not willing to give it back to him at least he helps her in her plan to marry a politician’s son who is in a long term and apparently perfect relationship with Eve who is the owner of a clothing line named “All About Eve”.

Unfortunately for “The Player” what could be a great revenge plot story crumbles with an unpolished script and a message that falls short.

Miriam’s character is extremely important for the story, her choices move the plot, her disappearance start off the drama, she is supposed to be an intriguing yet flawed character, an anti hero of sorts, but in the end a lot of her choices don’t really make a lot of sense and don’t seem to directly impact her enemies as much as it makes people that care for her and would be willing to help suffer.

It’s a very convoluted and unsatisfying revenge plot. I could not root for Miriam, because she was too bitter and victimized. She couldn’t admit her faults without being cuddled by other characters reaffirming that she really did have a hard time and everyone else was mean. I much enjoyed Giwi’s character arc and motivation. Namtan was perfect in the role, in my opinion she gave too much more than the story deserved.

Matt was such a hard character to read, I wasn’t really sure if I should or not root for him, but the story was very forgiving with him, Mek gave a good performance and had a good arc only sabotaged by Foei limited acting skills. The story is very female driven, women are at the center of everything and the men are tools used to move things (and bodies) around. I thought Inspector Tin was such a pathetic character, his love for Miriam guided all his actions and errors, he was the most miserable of them all, losing just to Dan. Mickey ended up being the wild-card and I was surprised by Drake’s performance, the script wasn’t giving him much, but when it did he delivered. Pitch’s mother is the ultimate self-sacrifice and the one who gets shit done, she and Giwi were going at the same speed from opposite directions and to watch them clash made it worth watching.

Maybe too long, but mostly enjoyable. The performances cover where the script lacks, most of it.

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Left With an Empty Stomach

While OffGun chemistry is undeniable, this BL felt like a letdown after the high from Not Me, even if it is expected and even a welcomed change of pace to a more heartwarming story to fill the audience's time, the series just didn't seem the right pick for them, in my opinion they were completely miscasted as the characters of Ten and Prem.

Neo coming from Only Friends straight into Firefly's shoes, didn't feel right or organic, it would have been better if he was given a time to breathe between the characters, the same thing happened to Mark, but his character didn't have the same amount of screen time and neither did it give too much of a whiplash as seeing Neo go from narcisistic and sexual deviant Boston to repressed and quirky Firefly. Aungpao certainly came in strong filling in last minute in a role that requires a lot of charm from the actor, he is young and as a debut role did do a fine job, I'm curious what he will bring to the table in his next projects.

Some other characters felt like too much of a throwaway since there wasn't much to do with them, the grandmother being one that kind of disappeared in the middle of the story and only showed up in mention or to "be there". Changma was played by the handsome Victor Chatchchwit, so while I did like to see him on my screen, I did not understand the point of his character at all as the idol with an unrequired crush, a little bit Nurse Betty esque.

The story is sweet, with some unexpected drama, but nothing too hard to digest. The dishes looked delicious, I certainly would like my own copy of Prem's cooking book (if there isn't on GMM's shop, they are missing out), the antagonists are extremely annoying with a very unsatisfying ending. But overall, it is a happy-go-luck story to break OffGun's hiatus, because one thing that OffGun will do is work together as many times as possible, but it does not, neither it has to, bring anything new or challeging to their filmography. It's there just as much as Prem's grandmother is.

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Beautiful But Incomplete

I have learned with time to lower my expectations so I can be pleasantly surprised. Saying that, the poster for this drama intrigued me and the plot sounded interesting, the first episode surprised me and overall the story was very well-written and unique, but there was always something that bothered me.

I understand that they were going full out with the special effects, the story was daring and hard to adapt to the small screen, so it was a huge risk taken by the company. But it annoyed me that they didn't dedicate more of screentime to the flashback scenes, even in the present it felt too much that I was being told what happened instead of showed what happened and I'm a visual person, so it really made a difference to me.

I loved the build up of the main couple, flirting and bickering being my favorite dynamic, up until the point that they consumate their love, I can't really explain why, I don't think it was either the director or actors' fault, as they still delivered masterfully done love scenes, but the writing did feel a little bit lackluster at times and I stopped being pulled by their epic love story, what was bad for me since it was the main point of the story.

I didn't really care for the secondary couple, they couldn't even work as a comic relief for me. Yai was the highlight of the series, he was not just a great friend and a wonderful boyfriend, the support he gave Tharn warmed my heart and I really believed in their bond, he was ultimately a great person.

Heng Asavarid was giving it as the villain Chalothon, but unfortunately Chalothon didn't give much as the main antagonist making his redemption very undeserving.

For that and other reason I say, The Sign gave a lot to the genre, it was an audacious adventure with a lot of heart and a pinch of experience. It was beautiful, but for me, it was incomplete. Making it a good start, but hopefully, not the best fantasy BL we will ever see.

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The Friends We Made Along The Way

There was one thing that annoyed me about this series once it started, I did not believe the core group of friends actually liked each other, if anything it felt like they only hang out together out of convenience but wouldn't miss an opportunity to belittle or mistreat each other.
But I think it was concise, since the story starts when the group starts to fall apart, when they reach the limit of what they can take from each other. It almost feels like a coming of age story where the main lesson is self love and worth.
The acting was top notch, while I think that Force and Book struggled with their characters and had a more lackluster performance compared to the others, at the start everyone still needed to break in their roles, Neo was the one that I felt was the most comfortable and ready for the challenge from the get go, Boston was probably the most different character he has played and it fit him like a glove, I was in awe by him. Khao had the hardest scenes to film and just like he did in Moonlight Chicken, he showed once again that he is one of the greatest actors in GMM, his character can give you a lot of mixed feelings from hate to pity, but it's certain that he will make you cry. While I think First bit a little more than he could chew with Sand, he still gives a strong perfomance, the chemistry he and Khao have is undeniable and allows the relationship between the characters to be believable and captivating even when it shouldn't. Mark was a pleasant surprise, Nick is a character to feel sorry for, with a lot of vunerability, I think Mark's performance was well done.
I feel that Cheum as the only girl of the group and the lesbian representation you rarely see, could have had more space in the drama, I would like to know more about her relationship with her girlfriend, while they treated her as the glue that keeps the group together, she seemed so out of the loop most of the time, her character was the hardest to relate to.
The story wasn't the best, but the execution justify why Only Friends got so much attention and praise, it is about people, about relationships, friendships, drugs, sex and betrayals.
I can't even say if it has a happy ending or not, because the end doesn't feel as a end, because life doesn't end after the credits roll, it keeps going, so I can only imagine that it will be the same for these characters, they will keep going and we will see Nicks and Sands and Rays and Mews walking around making mistakes and trying to get things right just like everybody else.

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Be Careful

This movie is an art house movie, most things are not said but rather show in a poetic way. But you must know that there is a very strong gore scene near the end, this movie will not make you happy. But the intention behind it is very interesting, I would just say you have to be very aware of what you going to get from it or you will be quite shocked.

I really like the interview they did with the actors at the end, you would think a movie with so much nudity, it would be hard to focus on the personalities and struggles of the characters, but they being naked was part of the exploration and it really showed how willing anyone would go for their dream.

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Don't Waste Your Time

I gave this series two chances but it really wasn’t my cup of tea, the dialogue is cringe, the acting is extremely forced and there is no chemistry between the main couple. I would not recommend this series. There is really nothing that could save it, but if you still dare to experience it, I would advise to go for the movie, so you will have less to endure.

I liked the photography in some scenes and the second couple even if being there for cringe comical relief still had a better chemistry than the main couple, but still not enough to make it worth watching.

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No Saving Grace

Watching this is like torture. The acting is atrocious, actually the closest I could call acting was from the girl playing Calix's little sister, the dialogues seemed to have been automatically generated in no way resembling how real people talk, the characters were badly introduced so I didn’t even know who was supposed to be the main couple in it, the audio sounded like they were talking with the microphone inside their pockets. I understand it is a very amateur project, but I have seen good low budget dramas so I wouldn’t use it as an excuse.

I also wish they would drop the random English or at least not use it for full sentences, because the broken English was very distracting. I think a lot of the weirdness in the dialogue came from using a foreign language they didn’t speak fluently.

I got a headache watching 5 episodes, I can only assume if I watched 10 it would give me an aneurysm.

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The concept was better than execution

From the first episode Hidden Agenda felt like a improved version of Star In My Mind with some elements from Fish Upon The Sky, but it showed some potential having a lot of the situations being solved with dialogue what is something that you don't see happen a lot in those type of stories where misundertandings are the base of the plot. But soon the series became too much talk and little to no story.

The pacing was weird, some things were dealt with too fast and others too little too late, multiple arcs coming and going without a really satisfying conclusion. It is like the writers were rushing in to put all the elements that they had planned without worrying if it would add or not the the overall plot.

They carried the parents approval arc until the very last minute, making it the core of the story, but still were not able to build it up as they should. Introducing Joke's father on the second to last episode felt like there was little thought before writing, making the resolution fall flat and out of place. Zo needing two different talks with his mother to finally accept and understand his feelings for Joke and his mother's feeling for him, looked as if they had wrote two different version of the same scene and in the end decided to keep both instead of bothering to write another one.

Acting wise, it is clear that there was some improvement, Joong had some solid acting moments even if his character was underdevelopted and with little to no space to shine in more dramatic scenes. Dunk would favor himself by taking some acting classes that could help him control his expressions better to learn how to emulate the characters feelings without so obviously struggling to do so. They do have good chemistry what makes me believe that if they were given a better script with better directing they would do much better than they have been doing so far..

The story was all over the place, the second couple was criminally forgotten, the third and possible couple that actually seemed to have something interesting going on were left as a foot note and Nita was there to serve as a type of foil to Zo's character, once as the objection of his affection and later as his rival.

In my opinion the story managed to walk well for the first four episodes but after that it started to go downhill, on the last two episodes it was nothing but a shadow of what it could have been. I can safely say we are tired of this type of story being told and retold thousands of times in the laziest way possible. It's time to write different characters in different sets with different plots and then maybe we can get something good out of it.

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