Movie Reviews -
Gay Themed

This Taiwanese series is supposed to be an action-romantic-comedy, but it ends up largely being a silly, cutesy romance, with some elements of action and comedy sprinkled here and there. So, essentially, if you take away bits of spy-fights etc; it is once agin tier another series which is about two boys falling in love following the usual BL tropes. The series has 12 episodes of 24-28 minutes each, so thankfully easier time management. Story is that bold and the show could have easily been folded sooner. The show starts with Xiao Bai and Da Hei looking for an apartment as roommates together. They dont know each other well. Once they find an apartment, we find that Da Hen is actually an investigation officer, who has been sent to keep an eye on Xiao Bei, who works for a local gangster to raise some money for his sister's surgery who is in hospital and insurance doesn't cover. Da Hei has lied to his grandmother who runs a food stall near the gangster's office about the sister...

Taiwanese BL series used to be comfort watching , but the last one I saw wasn't very good and sadly the bad please continue with this one. I think the problem is that they have not evolved with time in their storytelling methods. They still keep mandatory 2 couples who journey of love story we go through. There is a bit of drama thrown in. Glossy apartments, good looking actors and some random storyline background but the actual love story following the same tropes of enemies turned lovers or 'I love you so much but can never confess' trope. C'mmon guys, please give us something more. With 12 episodes each of 25-30 minutes, this one is still a significant time commitment.  Wang Zhan is a wannabe musician who is content with his life. Until one day he is forcibly kidnapped by his older brother to train him to take over the family funeral business. Wang had never had an interest in the work and is quite shocked why his brother would do such a thing.The kidnapper guys an e...

While we expect shows from Taiwan to be quite nice, this one disappoints. The story is full of clichés, nothing new is told and it's the same old love story. No attempt has been done to detail out any of the characters and the story is just super simple. Honestly, I expect more from Taiwan. Having said that, its a cute little love story that gives you slight warm feelings but once it ends, you are left with nothing at all, and that's because this show doesn't offer anything new or different. The series is 9 episodes of about 30 minutes each. Since it is going to be hard to remember names, I will address them by their characters. A college art student is grappling with making something beautiful. His professor sends him to a coastal town for one month as a substitute art teacher, also hoping that he will get some inspiration to finish his art project. There he mets the homestay owner and his younger brother who studies art in the local school. This younger brother and the co...

Let's start with giving full marks to a very novel idea. A love story between a robot created using AI and a rich spoilt heir. Now on paper that does sound very interesting since this would be an interesting mix but sadly for me, after a promising first 3 episodes, my interest in the show kept dwindling after every episode. More on that later. With 12 episodes, each averaging to about 30 minutes, this does take sometime to watch and absorb. The more logic and brain you try to put in, the more you keep getting lost in the story, and not in a good way. I was watching a Taiwanese series after a while and my hopes were high. Maybe thats where things went wrong. The story is straight forward. We meet a rich spoilt heir to a rich father who cannot seem to control and keep his son in check. He hires and AI robot Ever 4, to be his son's personal butler. Ever 4 advocates for robot rights while revealing his quirky personality beneath a calm exterior. As Ever 4 bonds with his human compa...

Silent Sparks is a Taiwanese movie about two gay gangsters and their secret relationship. But more than a gay film, I feel this film was more focused on probably the cons of being just aging member na dhow there is no getting out of it. This slow-burn film moves too slowly and takes forever to come to a point. From uneventful scenes to mundane chats, I was mostly bored. The gay romance also takes too long to develop. By the time there's a spark, the movie ends. Whatever the film tries to show could have been better achieved by a short film, which essentially shows two gangsters trying to hide their feelings from one another and everyone around them. Pua is a warehouse worker struggling to make ends meet. In addition to his regular job and odd gigs, he takes on gangster work as an underling. His mother is always worried about him. He has just come out of prison and again doesn't hesitate to break the law to make ends meet. His boss pretends to care about him. We then meet Jimmy,...

When a series brings a smile on your face every time u see a protagonist smile or when you see a couple's romance blossoming with heartfelt exchanges, you know that something has been done right. This 13 episode Taiwanese series of 25 minutes each is one such show. The show balances love with practicality and some funny moments that keeps you wanting to watch the next episode almost immediately. Zi Xiang is from a wealthy family an dis in Taiwan from US to complete a real estate deal. He is there with his assistant Jonathan, but Zi Xiang doesnt want it. He is not interested in family business but it seems he has no choice. But to things in Taiwan are different. This deal comes with risks and Zi Xiang is attacked a couple of times because of high they both have to now live in a safe house. Jonathan is irritated by his employer's behaviour and refuses to help with non-business matters. We also meet Shao Peng, a deaf and mute person who wants to be a caretaker but no one gives him...

I have very mixed feelings about this show. I understand the art of being subtle and let things take time to grow, but I expected more from a Taiwanese show. Had this been a Chinese production. I would understand that there were limitations of the law, but we all know the Taiwan can and has done more direct BL shows. Here, pretty much everything is left for viewers to imagine. Yes, this is a teenage love story between two boys , who fate has brought together as step brothers, but they are trying to understand and deal with their feelings for one another; but this show is way too slow . I did enjoy the first 6-7 episodes but then not much was happening and it was more like witnessing some chapters. Also some other parallel stories were left unfinished. I think there might be a sequel but let's see. At 12 episodes roughly of about 50-55 minutes each, this will take a significant investment of your time.  The story is simple. Sheng Wang has moved to a new school where he clashes immed...

Oh my god!! What were the makers thinking? This series is so painfully dull and boring. After paying attention for 3-4 episodes, I Was so lost and really couldn't care less about our main protagonist. With 10 episodes each of 15-20 minutes duration, this series and its purpose made no sense to me. I expected better from Taiwan. Also, I am quite shocked to see some glowing reviews about this show. I am clearly missing out on the hidden trend here. Raccoon is a handsome and famous gay influencer. One night at a bar, he hooks up with a guy, they have a great chemistry and the next thing you know they are sharing intimate moments. Raccoon, who struggles with severe insomnia, admits he relates to Endymion. Every time Raccoon tries to sleep, he hallucinates, blurring the line between dreams and reality. He has had these issues for a while and when pills did not work he is seeing a sleep therapist. Instead of improving, Raccoon's condition worsens. Each night, he experiences bizarre d...

Do you have control over your own destiny, are you controlled by your fate, or are you a mere puppet in the hands of the gods? This is a question that this queer time-traveling film implicitly asks through its heartfelt melodrama. Whether it succeeds completely in passing on the emotions is a separate thing but with its gorgeous cinematography and some brilliant performances by the 4 leads, it does manage to keep you captivated an interested in the proceedings. Chen Yao Hua, a young man works in the Huan Nan Market at the butcher stall run by his family. His father Bao Ding, has seemingly gone mad with despair for mysterious reasons.  Accidentally traveling through time back to 1991, he joins the younger version of his father and his two friends, soon forming with them a happy gang of close, intimate friends. The gang mistakes him for a missing high schooler and he now finds himself being friends with younger version of his father, a close friend Anjian and the only female member. ...

This series started off really well, especially given the sizzling chemistry that the leads have and the situations that lead to their first meeting and eventual spending time together. Things go on fine till episode 8, but oh man!! what a nosedive after that. The show completes different route from there on and it feels like I was watching another show altogether. The focus suddenly shifted on many other things and it felt that the main couple was sidelined only to be brought back in the last episode. I am not sure what happened there.  Anyway, with 13 episodes of about 24 minutes each, at least it goes by fast. Bai Zong Yi, a 17 year old exemplary student has dreams of becoming a doctor and he works hard for it. One day he finds an injured stranger Rui, who literally forces himself on Bai to help him out and nurse him by getting bai's fingerprints in the knife. Bai's medical knowledge helps Rui's recovery and somehow he starts falling for Bai (or maybe just flirting, we d...

Let's start by saying that this is NOT a gay themed film. If anything, this falls more in the category of coming-of-age movie about students and friendship with a very significant focus on the LGBTQ+ aspect of people, life and things and hence it deserves to be reviewed here. It tries to deal with various spectrums, what is love etc and evokes a sense of nostalgia, capturing the whimsical adventures of youth. It may not be trying to say anything new per se, but I think the way the screenplay is set and the interactions between the friends is shown, I found myself quite enjoying the film. The setting is a cram school in 1994 where not so brilliant students are coached to pass the university entrance exams. We meet friends Cheng Heng and Cheng Hsiang, who are just treble makers and do not focus on studies. Cheng Heng wants to study film making but his family is opposed. The friends live together since Change Hsiang comes from a very poor background and Heng's family essentially t...

Taiwan has historically given some really memorable BL shows. Unfortunately this show is so predictable and boring and simple and basic, that it doesn't offer even one single thing that is new. In fact, it uses almost every cliche of this genre, doesn't even pretend to rehash it and give an interesting spin or anything like this. The only positive thing I can think of one of the leads is kinds good looking. But other than that, this 10 episode, 22 minute each series about a soothing romance between an author and a chef just doesn't click. Liu Li is an author who goes by the pseudonym Morris. He has two successful books published but is struggling to write the third one. Base don his experiences, the first book is about Liu Li secretly pining over a teaching assistant at the university. The second story is about him getting rejected and coping with the heartbreak. On a plus side he enjoys going to this new restaurant in his building that specialized in beef noodle soup. He b...

This 10 episode Taiwanese series was surprisingly good and novel and entertaining at the same time. At the onset it feels another one of those enemies turned lovers story, which it is, but the story's supernatural twist adds unique scenarios and nuanced relationship dynamics to keep the romance compelling. This visually dazzling series delivers many BL-friendly moments, which will delight fans of the genre. Sure, it's not without its flaws but I was willing to ignore them because of the extremely cute lead. Also like many shows from Taiwan the episodes are about 22-23 minutes long and the whole show is a very easy binge watch, if thats your thing. Bu Xia is a university student who lives alone in his dorm room which is rumored to be haunted. He and his sister were raised by their grandfather who was a spiritual medium and he has some history of ghosts trying to reach out to him. Like most youngsters, he is messy, love himself and is great at basketball. Enter Jiang Chi, a new t...

This low budget, just an hour series is about two friends who slowly discover their feelings for each other, and how their relationship changes from friends to lovers. Spanned across 6-7 episodes, each of about under 10 minutes, this does feel like either a hushed project or something that had to be changed midway because of covid. The show may feel low budget but thankfully the actors do a decent job and do their best to pp up the show. Xiaotian used to be a gang member but when one day they bully a young boy Xingkong, he stood up against them and has been away from the gang since. He became a better person with his new friend Xingkong and two other friends. While hiding after being chased by the gang, he realizes that he actually loves Xingkong. This feeling s new for him a din fact the feeling is seen reciprocated by the young boy but neither is willing to accept and confront. Going through some denial and confirmation, he finally begs that the gang leave Xingkong. He does get beate...

First of all, this film is not supposed to be taken seriously. The idea is to provide entertainment and this is exactly what the film tries to do. Sure, it may not always succeed, but with its charing leads, some funny dialogues and situations; it is a decent combination of emotions, goofy antics, humor at right places etc. Released on Netflix, this Taiwanese film may not ideally be classified as a queer film, but the lead character, as the title suggests , is gay and t he story mostly revolved around him. Ming-Han is homophobic misogynist detective, and has a female work partner Tsu Ching. On use of excessive force and homophobic slurs while apprehending a perpetrator who ends up having strings connection, Ming-Han is demoted to a smaller police station. Things change when both the folks are chasing a drug dealer. After getting his car stuck in the chase, he’s forced to pick up the leftover evidence while Tzu-ching chases down the criminal on foot. He mistakes a red envelope as part o...

This film feels more like an educational pseudo documentary film rather than an actual feature film. I couldn't find too much information about the film, but it feels as if it was made for TV to educate and make people aware of hardships of queer people and the challenges of creating a family. It also brings to light the struggles the community has to face to be accepted by not just the society but in many cases, their own family members. Kim is a new lawyer who takes up the case of helping a lesbian couple to adopt a child without any support. He is heavily inspired form his father who was always about helping people. He knows that this going to be a long and tough process, but he is still willing to take it. During the process of getting his clients through the process, he decides to spend more time with them so that he can understand them closer and make a case. During this time he meets two other individuals who will have a significant impact on his life and understanding of th...

This 8 part, 15-minute each series feels like an old sitcom style comedy series. It's campy story told from a fujoshi's point of view, so yeah, this is not your typical BL story. Since it s short series and every episode is like a story of yet another comedy of errors, it's an easy breezy watch. Having said that, there is nothing really memorable about the show at all. Guo Xiao Mei, a rich girl that one day crosses Gu Zhi, a young actor that works as an instructor at this VIP gym in the same building as her office. That same instant because of a misunderstanding, she thinks of him as gay. Given that she is a fujoshi, she goes to the gym to sign a 5 year VIP membership but would only do that if Gu Chi admits he is gay, and so he pretends to be gay to lure her into buying 5 year premium membership at the gym. When when the girl sees the gym supervisor, she immediately end sup shipping them together as a couple. During the 8 episode there's a lot of funny scenes including ...

This film could easily have been a short film and would have been lot more effective. It is a story of love, loss and redemption, but the film moves at such a slow pace that it really tests your patience. Xue Ping is an out of town war veteran, who on a particular day is on a mission to meet someone. We also meet Ahong, a young 17 year old high school student who just wanders around, plays video games etc. Through flashbacks, we see the old man had a young lover when he was in army but he was captured by enemies. We also see him spending every year with his best friend celebrating retirement from the army. Turns out on this particular day, Sue Ping is actually looking for Ahong. He had seen him exactly a year ago for the first time and he immediately reminded him of his young lover in the army. He keeps following the young student and that day he confronts him and gifts him a portrait picture of a young him and his lover. The young boy completely snubs the old man, lashes out at him an...

It feels like everyone is on the time travel bandwagon these days, if not on the whole multiverse concept. Here also, our protagonist travels into future (from 2000 to 2022) and gets into love and all kinds of antics. Despite the story having its own awkward charms within the convoluted plot, my point is that if you are choosing a basic concept, at least do it right. The time-travel element in this series is not only confusing but doesn't really add any significance to the show. You really could take the whole element away and it really wouldn't change much to the overall story plot besides minor tweaks. So, then what's the point. Anyway, more on that later. This Taiwanese series has 10 episodes each pf about 50-55 minutes duration and they do warrant quite a of time commitment. It started in the last week of 2022 but was mostly telecast in this year. In year 2000, Bo Wie lives with his grandmother and is very close and works as a delivery boy. Somehow magically on the new ...

Although this Taiwanese series may seem full of cliches, the charming leads ( at least one of them) and the sweetness and the everyday charm of the show keeps it floating at an above average level. This series combines an attractive cast, romantic banter, and vibrant chemistry to create an engaging story. Intermittently it ended up using some stereotypical hindrances on the way (like reappearance of an ex), which slow down the pace, but the incessant flirting between the leads another charm make up for all of it. The show is 12 episodes of 30-35 minutes each. Bai Lang is an owner of a bistro bar who is suffering from toothache but he has phobia for dentists so he keeps hiding it. When the situation gets really bad, his sister forces him to go to a dentist who also happens to be her friend and junior from college. Of course, Bai Lang resists dentists interactions during appointment but consistent persistence from the dentist leads to successful treatment. At sisters insistence, the dent...