Reviews

Awkward first time

Our First Time is definitely not what you'd expect especially coming from WayuFilms who specialize in low budget brilliantly told and filmed short bl movies. This is their latest production and for the first time Mon & Oak are not starring in it but the author managed to find their clones and from the Behind the scenes footage you can see that Mon was very much involved!.

The story: a youtuber, suffering from a backache, finds a gift voucher for a free massage. He goes there and gets a royal treatment by a first time masseur who is his fan! And who probably sent him the voucher!

I really do not know what to think of this: it was long and slow and stilted and nothing really happens!
The actors look far too young and thin. That really bothered me! But I guess the story required it!
The conversations are slow, few words separated by long periods of silence, very uncomfortable and awkward silences! The receptionist/first time masseur is thrilled to see his youtube idol and it shows! The youtuber is a bit reluctant but accepts the service!
The actors are actually quite good! I was a bit doubtful but you need to watch to the ending in order to understand the awkwardness and the apparently bad acting! Cinematography is just fine: the colours are bright but it is basically a single interior set so it lacks the poetry of other Wayu Films made outside! Music is really good!
I probably should rewatch this to get a better idea but even during this session, I wanted to fast forward it because watching two guys having a three sentence conversation lasting 10 min is a bit too much to bear. Again, perhaps it was necessary to convey the excitement and joy the receptionist feels upon seeing his idol but it was a bit too much.

I am not a reviewer, I am just writing some thoughts and feelings going through my head as I was watching this movie. Maybe there was more to it which I failed to grasp and for that I do apologize. I am a huge fan of WayuFilmProductions and hope to watch more of their movies in the future!

Leia Mais

There are some movies that are obviously cheaply made, but you can see that at least some people cared while making them. This ain’t that. No one gave a shit about how the end product is going to look like.

The production was just awful. The continuation of movements and even the pacing of the walk was off almost every time the camera cut to a different angle. There is no excuse for the bad CGI either. Youtubers who do special effects as a hobby at home on their laptops can deliver better results.

Don’t get me started on the storytelling. Literally there was no way of differentiating between the present time line and flashbacks. And I truly mean no way. It made everything painfully confusing. You kind of need to guess what scene belongs where and what is the past and what is part of the present.

Where was the demon fighting? Where was the action? Where was the doom? It was all a basic love story. That horror genre is a joke and should be changed to romance…

Overall, while the performances were decent, everything around them was not even mediocre.

Leia Mais

Great entertainment that may make you smile

Wayufilm have once again produced a true little gem, a short film that is as beautiful as almost all of their movies. It is a quiet, sensitive story of two young men who meet for the first time, which is what the title refers to, so don't be disappointed when you notice that it isn't the ”first time” that you may have expected.

The plot is rather simple. Sud Yod (Klong Chindanai), a successful online gamer with a huge number of followers, has a pain in his back, so he decides to go to a massage parlour that sponsors his channel to get a free oil massage. As all the regular masseurs are busy, the young receptionist Num Un (Night Yodsakon), who is one of Sud Yod's followers, gives him a massage for the first time. Num Un is shy and afraid that he may not be good enough a masseur, but Sud Yod feels very comfortable and praises the young man. When Sud Yod goes online again after the massage at the end of the movie, Num Un sends him a message, promising him to ”massage him for ever and ever”, so we can conclude that those two may become friends or even lovers, but this is left to the viewers' imagination (or a sequel?).

Like most Wayufilm movies, the story is being told slowly and sensitively. But it is the actors who make the viewer feel the story, because both of them play their parts very naturally. In his amazing performance in his first lead role as tha ”Male Entertainer”, Klong has already proven that he is a talented actor, and Night plays the shy, reluctant ”first timer” so convincingly that his acting appears completely realistic. And just as Klong is a very attractive, handsome young man, Night is an adorable, cute boy.

In some Thai movies, it is embarrassing that actors stare at each other without saying anything for ages. In this movie, however, staring at each other isn't embarrassing at all, because it just shows how insecure, and at the same time attracted to each other the two characters feel. When they are silently thinking about what to say next, one can guess what each of them are thinking by reading their facial expressions. The credits say that Mon Hatsawatchon was the acting coach, and sometimes one can notice that it was he who taught the two young men how to act.

Director Nicchi has helped some young talents like Oak, Mon, and Ryu to grow into good actors who have made their way into the viewers' hearts and I am sure Nicchi will do the same to Klong and Night if they follow his guidance.

When I was watching the movie, I did not fall asleep like Sud Yod did when he was given his relaxing massage, but I calmed down, found myself smiling from beginning to end, and forgot all the daily trouble for half an hour. So in my opinion, this is a piece of great entertainment that may make you smile, too.

You can find all my reviews of BL series and movies here:
https://www.wattpad.com/user/DominicKebre

Leia Mais

Doubting Thomas

Original Sin tells a story of a moment in life of a young man who comes to realisation that the church's teachings are not necessarily true but they are too deep seeded inside him that it is difficult though not impossible to break free from them. And once you do, in spite of all the praying in order not to succumb to "sin", you realize that the world keeps on turning and that you are still there, alive and well and praying! But now it is all for show! He still believes but takes the lessons with a grain of salt!

Yohan is a devout christian, spending a lot of time in church and in prayer groups. He is also aware of his own shortcomings, as he is convinced the church considers as such, and tries to make them go away with fervent prayer. One day he meets a new member of the church and is fascinated by him. JooWon notices it and takes advantage of it by making Yohan's deepest desires come to the surface.

Even though this is a short movie, just two scenes were enough to paint the portrait of each of the two characters: one is closed off and fervently praying while the other one is a charming predator! Actors did their job brilliantly! Cinematography is dark and cold, underlying the rigidity of the church!

What I saw in this movie is a slight critique of the church indoctrination and unwillingness to open one's mind to the world. Joo Won points that out, using Bible quotes, during the prayer meeting and the other members are totally confused. Yohan wants to believe but comes to terms with his sin and decides to pray the sin away! Probably until the next time!

Some people here said that the movie supports the church. I do not agree. It is more like "Don't ask, don't tell!" conclusion!
An interesting watch!

Leia Mais

A handsome male lead with shirtless scene, romance and happy ending.

This movie is about finding artefact that written in the Silk Book called The stone of Nuwa. It can make the person who owned it travel back to past. One rich man hires Yuan Zhen and his friend to go to North Pole to locate the Stone.

7.5 here is because it's just an another adventure of finding Chinese artefact story. The flow is actually good in an hour movie (but in this MDL, there's no flow and script rating). I want a bit humor, Er Ha's humor just can't make something funny or ruined the moment.

Overall it's still a good movie. Because of it is predictable, I don't think I will re-watch the movie.

Leia Mais

An emotional roller coaster continuing from Part 1

All the emotions brewing during Part 1 of this story comes to the surface in this final part. The slow pacing in the 1st part continues here as well but if you didn’t mind it initially you will sail through this one too as a lot of raw emotions come to the forefront.

We left part one at the moment where Shino realises that the end of the week is fast approaching and he will just end up like of Seiryo’s multiple exes. Seiryo on the other hand is realizing the feelings that he has for Shino but is disappointed to learn that it won’t be reciprocated. With only 3 days remaining, the two characters try to spend as much time together as possible and in the process learn more about their feelings.

What can I say about the acting that I haven’t said in my review of the first part of this movie. The 2 leads have been exceptionally good. The movie takes us on a ride where we find the 2 leads enjoying each other’s company just to end up having an argument (mostly outbursts from Shino) to realizing they are running against a clock and getting back together.

A satisfactory ending to a unique storyline with great actors, slow pacing with much character development and loads of emotions.

Leia Mais

A slow burn with loads of emotions

Japanese BLs have always astounded me with their unique plotline and in most of the cases I have found that the stories have been handled masterfully by the director and the actors have done a great job at bringing those characters to life. I am so happy to state that this one certainly is an addition to this list.

The story is divided into 2 parts. The first part is about Shino Yuzuru, a beautiful and talented archer who is down on his luck when it comes to holding a relationship because he is misunderstood since he speaks his mind without a thought. Shino hears about Seiryo Touji who is well-known in his school as a guy who would go out with the first person who asks him at the start of the week but will end the relationship in 7 days. Shino upon meeting Seiryo on a Monday outside school casually asks him out. What we see next is the unravelling of the true nature of both these characters from Monday to Thursday.

The movie is slow and many scenes have dialogues sprinkled between silence and just the 2 characters reacting to situations. You might feel that something like this would take you out of the movie experience but on the contrary you get to enjoy the brilliance of acting where much is conveyed just by the reactions of the 2 actors. The actors playing the 2 characters have done a fabulous job emoting the scenes. You can see these flawed characters growing and realising their feelings for each other slowly and you are rooting for them till the end

If you like slow burners that is full of character development do give this one a watch

Leia Mais

Asian horror movies creators have to start using their imagination a bit more. How many times can we get horror about the vengeful spirit of a woman that was either betrayed or abused and then died in an unjust way? Too many movies are more or less a copy paste of the same story with few details changed, and this one is no different.

You can still have a fun horror movie even with a basic story, sadly the writing here was just not that strong. They did not really establish anything. One hour into the film I still did not get all the characters' motivations. Why was the female lead even assuming there were any issues with the paintings? Why did she think from the start they were haunted? It’s not like they can give me exciting plot twists with such a basic set up, so why not just explain it from the start?

Thing that frustrated me the most about Cracked was how they played ominous music for random and normal moments. A woman is standing in the background? Cue the scary sounds… She did nothing. There was no real foreshadowing. Nothing.

Also, that ending? I don’t know how I feel about it. Kind of makes me annoyed knowing the full story.

Not all was bad. It had quite a few fun visual moments. They even used the kid to deliver some eerie body horror. Last 30 minutes were just comedy. There was one scene that almost made me cry from laughing. I just did not see that coming at all. Acting was also good. Compliments go to Nina - with kid actors it's either hit or miss, and I think she did quite a good job here.

Overall, decent. It made me question “why” a lot of things were happening a few too many times, but overall, even if I was not that satisfied with the ending, it did give a closure to more or less everything they introduced.

Leia Mais

Back at it again with building the atmosphere…

And not relying solely on jump scares. While it did not have a well structured plot nor interesting characters, it still managed to present an interesting style of filming with ambiguous and distorted visuals.

That said, I did enjoy it more for the “vibe” and not the plot itself. I don’t think the story had much to offer. The mystery and the past was presented in an unnecessarily confusing way and some bits of it were added just for the shock value, as they made little sense in the context of the plot itself.

They spent quite some time building up the female lead and her ability to see ghosts, while it had little to no impact on the story itself. And there were quite a few random plot points that were there just to fill the screen time. Since they took their sweet time with that first act and second act, the ending seemed rushed making the pacing of the whole movie seem a bit off.

Acting wise I don’t have any complaints. Big props to Miyano Hina who played Maya - the girl had some moves. Miyoshi Ayaka as the lead felt flat. With that type of story and with how much her character was involved in it, the emotions seemed just too diluted.

The visuals though were truly nice. There were a number of scenes I thought were cleverly shot and presented.

Overall, a nice watch, but there are other movies I would recommend before this one.

Leia Mais

A Touch to Coming Out Gay

"Every knot got untied"
STORY
It started simple in a school. A guy bumped to a girl bought a BL merch. She was afraid of him leaking out her tight-kept secret. Henceforth, she asked him out to accompany her buying other merch on Sunday. Unexpectedly she fell for him. After weeks struggling she finally confessed to him. Their feelings were mutual. Thus, she marked her Double Peace signature.

After sometime they tried to make it out in his home. They failed. The girl started to introspect her shortcomings. Was it her chest? So she drank milks. (like it would matter@.@) Was it her hair or her make-ups? Little did she know when she called his name, he remembered his "seme" called out to him. Therefore he couldn't erect it.

The next encounter was happened in town-onsen, perhaps like Japanese modern spa. His seme kissed him, she threw a water baloon to their lips. This was the first knot, Makoto the "seme" shouldn't done this knowing he would got caught by his wife orJun's girlfriend. The worse response was blurt out by Jun, "Does it matter?" answering Sae's query.

Next day they meet-up at backroom of the class. Jun clarified his true feelings. Sae didn't know whether she should break him up. Unfortunately the second knot coming when Ono, their classmate purposely listened to them. And scream it out loud in the gym full of what-not. (Are you for real?)

Of course the hell is coming up to Jun the next day with the whole school knowing his. He misunderstood Sae leaking his truth and rebuked her. That day Ryohei, his childhood friend, reminisce about watermelon promise they made. Back in class prepping for PE, busy body Ono evicting Jun feared for his body drooled over. Eventually, Jun jumped over the window after saying, "We'll meet again after 100 watermelons grow" to Ryohei. Luckily it was only second floor. So bruises and broken limbs were guaranteed not life-threatening act I suppose.

In hospital, Sae asked Jun to come for the last time to watch her awarding of her painting. She won city-wide high school accolade. He come albeit late to avoid gaze and sneer. Her speech was her coming out being her as "fujoshi". It was a heart-wrenching speech. I myself dotted tears. In this the second knot got untied when Ono aware of his mistake and cried over a ramen cup. They got along well afterwards. Jun didn't hold grudge against him.

The first knot was untied when Jun decided to break-up with Makoto. It was well deserved ending for him having family and such. The last fragment was Jun visiting his deceased online friend. And, ultimately the big knot is untied. when Sae decided to break him up seeing him going to Osaka.

After credit we finally can see her prize-winning painting. "Hatsukoi".

ACTING
Yamada Anne did it again. Her performance was top notch. The Male Lead felt like woods sometimes, but maybe that is due to her role as "Uke" to be timid. The supporting characters are adequate, none standout of their performances. Except maybe for
Maeda Oshiro. His light-hearted childhood friend role helped lighted out the dim ML performance.

MUSIC
I do not remember nor heard any music worth mentioning here. They talked about Queen, but did they really played it there?

REWATCH
Easily re-watchable just for the cinematography. I like the transitions and subtle nuances they brought it out. e.g: From the Sea World's aquarium to home aquarium, The sunset billboard on the final scene.

ps: I didn't watch the drama so I have none to compare. I just see as what it was.

Leia Mais

dont believe the negative reviews

cherry magic the series is one my favorite bls of all time so i was nervous looking at reviews for this movie and seeing mixed reception. but trust me if you liked the original series you will like this movie.

PRODUCTION:
i feel like the quality was overall nicer looking than the original series - maybe due to a bigger budget. i dont really recall the music but the absence of the opening from the orignal series is dearly missed. though the callback to it was brillant. dont have much to say other than that.

STORY:
now i do think the story has some continuity issues - esp if you have watched the specials you'll question if the specials are even canon anymore due to the timeline of the film. there is another thing also but i do want this to remain spoiler-free. i also do feel like the movie jumped around a lot - it honestly could've aired spilt up into a couple of special episodes or a 2nd season. but the writing does very much still line up with the quality of the series tho i dont find the movie to be as funny as i do the series.

CHARACTERS / CASTING:
adachi (akaso eiji) is one of my favorite bl protagonist. and he still shines through here but you can tell he has grown from the series and even in this film you see him grow as a character to be someone different compared to his beginning.

kurosawa (machida keita) the loml. the BEST bl love interest. can never do wrong. i dont really think we get to see as much of his dorkiness and lovable personality as much as we do in the original series which is a shame. but i still love every moment kurosawa just looks at adachi in this movie.

akaso and machida's acting together is what really sells cherry magic in general. you compare the amount of intimacy to other bl airing these days and even at the time it originally aired. i see bls where couples do much more than adachi and kurosawa do on-screen. but i will still take adachi and kurosawa anyday just them sitting next to each other and talking or even just looking at each other carries so much weight. seeing their relationship struggle but eventually grow in this film is such a delight. every second that adachi and kurosawa are on screen they sell this movie. i dont think anyone else ever could. i will truly miss not being able to have anymore of them in the future i love them.

i do wanna say if you are looking for more tsuge and minato you dont get much - which honestly for me was a good thing because they were the only thing i didnt like in the series so having less of them made this even better.

CONCLUSION:
altough i think if i had to choose i do prefer the original series. i think was its own season rather than a movie thus couldve taken more time with its story it wouldve maybe matched up completely to the series. but i still really loved this film as a continuation and ending (cries) to cherry magic. there are scenes and dialogue that will speak to you and just seeing adachi and kurosawa together should be reason enough. you have been holding back on watching this film because you want it to be as a good as the series - dont do that. if you enjoyed the series you'll enjoy this film as well ♡

Leia Mais

Interesting premise and heart-wrenching ending

I really loved the whole setting of futuristic scenes, AI war and brain copy, it's just that it wasn't utilized that much. The story focused too much on the emotional aspect of a mother who has unconditional love for her daughter and a daughter who feels guilty for her mother's demise.

As usual the action scenes and the CG is top notch. I really like how Hollywood like are the CGs of Korean movies recently. The action scenes are also great. Kim Hyun Joo did a great job portraying a strong female mercenary.

Overall, I enjoyed watching the movie and got a bit teary eyed towards the end. It might disappoint those people though who wants a 'Sci-Fi' plot because it's not really about that. It's more of like just the settings. Still I consider this worth the watch. You should try it too.

Leia Mais