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Si Andy, Si Lauren o Si Peng? (Filipino Series)

I cant even begin to start writing on what a terrible show this was. I have seen many Filipino really low budget series made just for the sake of it and this one just gets added to that list. 8 episodes averaging to 20 ish minutes each, these are atrocious. There are way too any characters and the story line, even though, could have been developed into something a lot more meaningful, focuses on simply forced sex scenes. The four Magbuana cousins, Peng, Andy, Lauren, and Kenji, all live together in the same house with their uncle. They are all different in their own way. Peng is their uncle's favorite, Andy is the wealthiest, Lauren is arrogant and naughty, while Kenji is the outcast of the family. Their close cousinly bond is tested when Coby temporarily moves in. He is Peng's best friend. Coby was sexually assaulted sometime back and he doesn't remember it much but has vague memories of it. All t=of these cousins want to have something to do with Coby, but Coby is eventua
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Down Low

Down Low is an outrageous comedy about one wild night, it is raunchy, over the top but also funny yet inappropriate at the same time. It is interesting to see and hear all the jokes that are made within the leads. The story is about an unlikely friendship between a repressed middle-aged gay man and a young masseur, who ends up being his guide/counsellor/friend. Sadly the film tris to achieve a lot but sadly doesn't really go anywhere. Gary is a divorced man, whose wife left him bitterly after he came out gay. Ready to live life to the fullest, Gary hires a masseur/sex worker to give him a hand job and maybe something more. When the hired Cameron (Gage) learns that Gary has only recently come out and has never had sex with a man, he nixes the hand job and decides that he will make sure Gary lives his full life and has a proper sexual experience with another guy using one of the many gaydating apps. Despite Cameron's insistence, Gary doesn't create a profile on the app, so Ca

If It's With You (Japanese Series)

This Japanese series charts the beginning of Amane and Ryuuji’s friendship and eventual love story in a short and sweet format of 5 episodes of about 22 minutes each, making it w a very enjoyable and easy watch. This heartwarming BL series captures the intimate journey of falling in love. The best part if that it is non-pretentious, very down to earth and something that you can imagine happening in real life to someone. Surely, teenage romances can be a hit or a miss, but thankfully this one just flows like a river, nice and swift; thanks to the pure souls of our two individuals and their honest portrayal. A young student Amane is closet gay. Having ben debuted before by one of his classmates for being gay, he now acts as being cool and funny. He moves to a small town to live with his grandma, where he accidentally meets Ryuji while chasing a cat. As an apology Ryuji invites Amane at his restaurant for a meal, which he loves. Amane, who has a bubbly personality, praises the cooking eff

Pharm (Web Series)

I mean I knew this was a Signal23 TV's web series with black guys (popular for series like About Him shows etc); so I expected paper thin story, overacting or bad acting and a whole lot of sex. This show had it all. That doesn't mean that it makes it any better. It wad still as much of a trash as I expected. Also in certain places this show is knows as "First High" ; just in case someone finds it hard to find it. Latham’s high is blown when a pill pushing, pizza delivery guy, named Pax slips into his life. Instantly a lust-struck Pax is hooked on Latham - a handsome individual who indulges often in a mind altering affair with a medicine called ‘Pharm’. Latham’s delusional ex-lover Quentin and Pax’s desperate quest to settle his money problems adds unwanted conflict to their new bond that’s destined to become a formula for success - or disaster. I laughed so hard when I read that this from the director of the show "This series is similar to such shows as Breaking

Baby Steps

A sequel to the 2018 film "Say Yes", this film takes the story forward in the truest sense. But even if you haven't seen the original film, this film still makes sense as a standalone experience. Despite the subject being nice and a lot of relevant issues being brought to the forefront, the aim somehow fails to make an impact. More on that later. It's been one year since Beau's wife Lily died and now Beau and Lily's brother Caden have been living together as a couple.  They receive a post dated letter from Lily informing them that she had frozen her eggs before she got cancer and she would love if Beau would have kids with that which would help Lily live on. Initially both Caden and Beau are not sure and they discuss all kinds of potential challenges and issues that could arise because of having kids. For one, Caden feels he has never been a responsible person and other, how will they manage. Eventually they agree and meet the doctors and decide to give it a g

Ever After (Filipino Series)

OK. This is like the lowest of lows when the shows can go. Surely, I have seen a few Filipino shows where the direction and execution was so poor but at least the story still made sense. But with this show, if anyone can tell me what was the plot of this and what really as happening, I would be really really glad. Because, u know what I really tried to keep my attention on this one hoping. That with every next episode, it will slowly make sense, but I was so wrong. And intakes 12 episodes of about 16-18 minutes each to constantly remind you that this series will not make sense how much ever you try. Right in the first episode, way too many characters are thrown at us. Almost 10-12 and we are not sure whom do we need to focus on, because even though they are being introduced, there is really nothing substantial happening. Who are they, who do they like, what is their relationship with one another? I wish they had focused on just 2 characters and made it shorter instead of having so many

Why R U? (Korean Series)

I am not sure still on how I feel about this show. The two love stories were interesting to watch at some level, but I feel that when it comes to editing there were way too many jumps and the characters just would change their mind in a second. One second they are lovey lovey, and the next moment they are avoiding each other. In any case, this 8 episode Korea series is about 25-30 minutes episode length. (Also, I don't think I have seen the original Thai version of this show, which is good because I don't have any reference to compare to and I can judge it as a standalone piece) There are two parallel stories going on. Two students are taking film classes in a university. One of them hopes to become an actor while the other is looking for a director career. They had an initial argument and cant stand each other but many times they are forced to work together on acting projects. Ice of the guys sister is writing a BL novel because somehow she thinks these two guys make for a gre

Rainbow Rishta (Hindi/English) (Documentary Series)

India hasn't produced that many gay series or shows to talk about (although my blog will probably give you a different statistic). Amazon Prime's 'Rainbow Rishta' comes in as a breath of fresh air. At a time when queer relationship portrayal and dating is somehow focused on negatives, this show depicts life with all its burdens, joys, and the need to keep going on, day after day. It leaves you with a sense of hope, of finding moments of relief in everyday strife, and embracing life for everything it has to offer. Featuring six episodes focusing on three queer couples and three singles, this series gives a more balanced view IMO but also gives you hope. Gauhati-based lesbian couple Aneez and Sanam , tired of finding space for themselves in their parental homes, are in search of a flat. But their being a couple keeps becoming a deal-breaker, as they go through one refusal after another from prospective landlords. Trinetra Haldar , an MBBS doctor-turned-actor whose trans c

Gay Short Films : 107

Outdoors (UK) When Nathan meets Bim, there is an undeniable pull between the two of them and they soon embark on a steamy romance. However, as the two grow closer and start to form a relationship, Nathan discovers that Bim is homeless. As Nathan’s perspective is forced to shift and he decides to put love before preconceived stereotypes we see a heartwarming story of acceptance and hope play out on screen. Gulis (Philippines) [Lines] Andrei is a thriving painter whose father, Jun, isn't in full support of his passion. Their lives take a turn when, Andrei finds out he is HOV positive after taking a home test. The news brings family together  and help them heal their wounds of the mother's absence. Ice (South Korea) Seung Jin and Tae Yoon are friends with benefit, both of whom are drug addicts. When they take drugs, they experience utmost pleasure that can't be compared to anything in the whole world. However, as they experience this false pleasure, they also feel anxious in t

Vian (Vietnamese Series)

Oh my god! This series was such a drag. Literally nothing happens ove the course of the exhausting 12 episodes (25-30 minutes) of this series. It just waxes and whines throughout. Even if I was to squeeze this into a short film, I wouldn't be able to make it longer than 10 minutes. So imagine having to sit through this atrocity for such a long time. There are no significantly strong moments in this series. Shot in the phone format, apparently for TikTok, you get used to it while watching but when the story itself has nothing to offer, there is only so much attention that we, as audience can pay to it. A young guy Vienh moves to countryside to take. Break from everything. He finds a cheap rental house because it has 'haunted' reputation. When he moves in, there is a cat lurking around and he takes it in. The next morning when he wakes up, he finds a young boy sleeping next to him. Soon, he realizes that somehow cat has transformed into human An. He just an accepts this inexp

Our Gay Wedding: The Musical (UK) (TV Special)

This 2024 Channel 4 special TV program cum documentary offers viewers front-row seats at an extraordinary gay wedding, which the grooms are staging as a musical, from sung vows to show-stopping ensembles and a duet from their mums. This has the twin advantages of being both a real musical and a real wedding. Grooms Benjamin Till and and Nathan Taylor both work in show business and they wrote, scored and staged a sung-through their marriage, with commentary by Stephen Fry, and various celebrities wishing them on their big day. Stephen Fry, who narrated the program in the inimitable style of his, for which he is so treasured, fittingly emphasized the paramount importance of the 29th March, 2014 in his opening monologue, describing the day as ‘extraordinary and historic’ and paving the way for a series of poignant reminders about the many highs and, unfortunately, many lows that LGBT people have faced through the years. Benjamin and Nathan had a mere seven weeks to write the lyrics and ar

Capture Lover (Chinese Series) [Love Trap]

China hasn't done many BL series. We can count them on our fingers easily, so naturally when I heard of this show, Iw as keen to see it. Although, timely sense prevailed and I kept my expectations extremely low, just in case. The show was clearly shot during covid days likely because you don't see any single person in big buildings and offices and homes besides the actors acting. The show has 10 episodes of about 16-18 minutes and is an easy watch. This drama tells the story of Ding Junjie, the deputy general manager of a cosmetics company, and Ying Jiaming, the son of the cynical chairman of the board. Ying is always sleeping and his boss Junjie is always at his case, without realizing who he is. Things turn when Ying becomes his boss but Ying continues his playfulness, almost annoying Junjie. One day, to get rid of her possessive ex-girlfriend Ying introduces junjie as his boyfriend and request him to play gay with him. Things take a turn from there. Clearly Ying is too much

Only Friends (Thai Series)

The first thing that you notice while watching, not just in the first episode itself, but in every episode after episode is that how many sizzling sexual encounters fill this steamy series. Surely, slowly Thai series were slowly coming out of shell; but the sheer numbers of kisses, sex scenes that fill this series is something not seen before in any Asian BL series IMO. This series also has a lot of Thai BL stars and many couple and all of them get equal footage. All the actors are confident and share a passionate chemistry with their partners. The show of 12 episodes of 50-60 minute episodes , although, is a show about friends, messy relationships, complex encounters, history and sexual promiscuity. Mostly what kind of hot mess young adult can be. This is a long show and will take up a lot of your time. The center is around 4 friends Mew, Ray, Boston and a girl Chuem. There are gonna be lot of names and characters, so I am going to try my best to summarize. For a college project, they

Tie The Not (Filipino Series)

This is a pretty simple straight forward (or complicated in its own way, depending on how you see it) story about exploring sexuality, finding love and accepting love for what it is. This 8 part series of about 15 minute each episode could easily have been a film and even shorter because from a story point of view it is pretty basic. The production and acting is above average, thankfully. The show initially reminded me of this other show 'Wedding Plan' but later it came on its own. Shao, son of a rich businessman is about to marry Louise. This is an arranged marriage purely for business reasons. Louise actually is lesbian and has a girlfriend, meanwhile Shao is a shy guy and is just going along with what his parents want. We then meet Briggs, an orphan living with his aunt who works in the bridal car business and is always busy to even look for love. When Shao comes to this store looking for a car, Shao and Briggs have instant chemistry and they decide to become friends and sta

Tore (Swedish Series)

Everyone has their own way of dealing with grief. Some tackle it head-on, while others live in denial. In this series, a gay young adult Tore, our leading man walk a path of self-destruction. As audience it sometimes become frustrating for us to not be able to understand why Tore is doing what he is doing, but if you delve in the character depth enough, it feels like an honest portrayal of grief and escapism. The actor playing Tore also happens to be writer and creator of the show. And what's more interesting is that even though the show may sound all serious and drama; it's actually a dark-comedy, tragedy and drama. At six episodes of half an hour each, this Swedish Netflix series was a very good binge watch. The split is simple. Tore is a 27 year old gay, virgin, young adult, socially clueless boy who lives and works with his father at the funeral home. In the first episode we see father and son fighting over why isin't Tore leaving the house to live on his own. Essential