The BL Xpress
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This could have been so much better
What can another trite, tropey, cliché-ridden Thai series centering around a cooking theme say that has not already been said? Both from a positive and negative perspective that seriously does not sound like a broken record (I know that dates me).The story could have been an interesting one as it certainly did start out on an entertaining note. We have a struggling young man named Peach (Guide Kantapon) who developed a great understanding and finesse for baking from his Grandma (actress unknown). Both make a living by selling Grandma’s chiffon mini-cakes. Her chiffon mini-cakes have been instrumental in changing the direction of one individual in an orphanage where she has been delivering her cakes for many years. She gently dispenses, as a grandmother ought to, not just wise advice on baking but on how to live. She is pivotal to this whole story and is the fulcrum to Peach’s transition to fully realizing himself.
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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2023/12/30/bake-me-please-series-review-ep-1-to-6/
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Quite a Disappointment
Love is an unpredictable journey that leaves a lot up to chance and complicated individual human emotions. We don’t choose who we fall in love with. Sometimes that leads to heartbreak. Other times, it leads to joy and healing.Adapted from the manga Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka by Chiba Ryoko, the new Japanese BL Although I Love You, and You? tells the story of two men who find healing and new beginnings inside a love that takes them both by surprise. It follows Matsumoto Sakae (Kan Hideyoshi), a straightforward restaurant owner in Osaka, and Soga Hisashi (Nishiyama Jun), a shy, reserved office worker who instantly connect at Sakae’s restaurant before falling into a friendship that blooms into love.
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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/03/19/although-i-love-you-and-you-series-review-ep-3-to-10/
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A Beautiful Romance with a Historical Backdrop
If we did a crossover between “I Feel You Linger in the Air” and “To Sir With Love”, the end result would be “After Sundown”.Adapted from the novel “Dap Saeng Rawi” (ดับแสงรวี) by CEO, the movie is a rustic romance with a slight supernatural edge. The first thing I noticed about this movie is that, even though it was promoted as a horror thriller; the story is anything but that. The film is a delicately crafted romance between the main leads, Zee Pruk (Phraphloeng) and NuNew Chawarin (Rawi). The movie is full of cliche tropes- social divide, arranged marriage and revenge. This might make it sound old-fashioned, but that’s the charm of this movie which keeps you enthralled from the get-go. I wasn’t much invested in the horror aspect and only watched this because Zee & NuNew are a force to be reckoned with. And they do not disappoint, although their scenes here are a little less passionate (as compared to their romantic scenes in “Cutie Pie The Series), their chemistry shines through. Let me walk you through the best moments in this movie!
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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/01/12/after-sundown-movie-review/
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Most Disappointing Watch of 2023
This is a touching, sentimental journey of young love that was brilliantly done in the beginning but then got lost in its time journeys to recapture its past. While in some ways the story was exceptional, its execution was unfortunately lacking in logic. Initially it had me hooked on the strength of its young actors playing the parts of their younger selves. Simply put, they were brilliant.This is a story of destiny but not on a linear trajectory. It is a destiny of love between two young men who were meant to be together but had to traverse different directions to get to the promised land. The love story starts out so beautifully between Saunsoon (Mix Wanut) a pensive, withdrawn, perhaps a bit emotionally frail young man, pretty much a loner whose escape is to go the movies. His name literally means zero which adds to his feelings of self-loathing until he begins to realize the power and impact that the number zero has. Along the way, he meets Ongsa (Tor Supakorn) who is, without question, one of the most enigmatic and complex characters in any BL I have ever seen. Tor’s performance is one of the best as he has to traverse so many aspects to Ongsa’s dimensions.
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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/01/04/absolute-zero-series-review-ep-1-to-12/
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A Delectable Slice of Life
Short and Sweet, Coming of Age Story!!“You and My Stars” is a Thai BL miniseries about three boys who are experiencing their first crush, first love & first confessions where you feel shy and worried (basically it is a depiction of puppy love at it’s cutest). The webseries is so sweet and short that you can watch it without thinking too much. Win (Poom Jittipat) has a crush on his classmate Time (BM Chanatip Aumpu), who instead has crush on Win’s best friend Hunter (Photo Patawee), who is a casanova. To confess his love to Hunter, Time asks Win to deliver 999 stars he handcrafted to Hunter. Even though Win feels heartbroken, he delivers them without any negative thoughts. Hunter in my opinion is a very good friend and Win, even though in love with Time does not show any negative emotions towards anyone which depict a healthy and positive personality. Time’s struggle with his first heartbreak and his emotional turmoil is well portrayed; the actors, who actually do look like high schoolers, did a good job in acting shy and awkward.
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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/01/20/you-and-my-stars-series-review-ep-1-2/
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An Angsty Saga of Lost Love & Redemption
For better or worse, we don’t choose who we fall in love with, but we can determine what we do with that love.And there’s no better example of this than the Thai BL My Stand-In, a series that explores not only love but finding the path to starring in one’s own life.
Starring Poom Phuripan as a stuntman and double named Joe, My Stand-In takes viewers on an emotional ride as Joe develops feelings for Ming (Up Poompat), a complex figure who sees Joe only as a stand-in for the famous actor Tong (Mek Jirakit). Tragedy strikes when Joe dies in an accident, but fate intervenes, and he awakens in another man’s body, also named Joe. When he reencounters Ming, they start on a rocky path of love and forgiveness.
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/07/30/my-stand-in-series-review-ep-3-to-12/
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One of the Most Mature Romances in a Long Time
It can be much easier to admit feelings while hiding behind a character who’s supposed to feel them than to admit them to someone real who has the power to break your heart.That’s precisely the kind of safety Hayama Asami (Komagine Kiita) hides behind when he offers to fake date his new costar Shirasaki Yuki (Niihara Taisuke) in order to help him learn about love.
In the Japanese BL At 25:00 in Akasaka, adapted from Natsuno Hiroko’s manga series 25 Ji, Akasaka de, the lines between art and life begin to blur for insecure but passionate rookie actor Shirasaki Yuki (Niihara Taisuke), after he lands a role in a BL drama opposite a famous actor he knew in his university days, Hayama Asami.
As the series unfolds in an interesting alternating POV that highlights both characters’ insecurities and growing feelings, viewers are thrown into an intense look at the unrequited love for Shirasaki Hayama has carried since university while Shirasaki discovers love for the first time with Hayama.
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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/06/22/at-2500-in-akasaka-series-review-ep-3-to-10/
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Could Have Been Better
“They gave us the privilege to know about their feelings.” – Quote from The ReboundThe above phrase was uttered by Grandma (actress unknown) and while it may be a throw-away line, it created an epiphany for me. I had never thought of ‘coming out’ quite like in those revelatory terms. That statement, given by a simple woman in a simple context, has such a complexity to it. It is indeed a communion of the most intimate feelings for another shared in the most vulnerable approach possible. Perhaps if we think of it like that, then the hysterical stigma about whom the love is shared with simply diminishes. They have created now a whole new world. It is indeed a declaration that someone has given freely to us, and we are being asked by them to participate in it. That really ought to be an honor; not some type of burden. We are becoming a part of their circle of life.
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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/09/12/the-rebound-series-review-ep-1-to-12/
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One of the Best Thai GLs in 2024!
"The Secret Of Us” is an emotional journey detailing the complexities of what it truly means to love and be loved.Quick Summary: Dr. Fahlada Thananusak (Lingling Sirilak) is a highly accomplished doctor, fluent in several languages and affectionately known as the “angel doctor” for her exceptional skills and nice disposition. Working at her parents’ hospital, Dr. Fahlada’s world is turned upside down when she encounters her ex-girlfriend, Earn (Orm Kornnaphat), who broke her heart years ago. As Earn joins the hospital staff, unresolved emotions, and painful truths resurface threatening to disrupt Dr. Fahlada’s life once more.
The main problem Fahlada and Earn have is that they don’t talk to each other. Their inability to communicate with one another is one of the root causes of their breakup. After being manipulated by Lada’s homophobic mother, Earn chooses not to tell Lada that she was pressured into ending their relationship to secure her mother’s medical care, instead, she chooses to lie and keep everything to herself. This creates a big riff between the two that leaves both heartbroken.
Lada and Earn are also both a bit immature throughout most of the series. While both have stable jobs and are responsible in other areas of their lives, they still have much to learn as it relates to romantic relationships. Throughout the series, they engage in petty attempts to make each other jealous, resorting to childish tactics like holding hands with or feeding other people.
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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/09/03/the-secret-of-us-series-review-ep-3-to-8/
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A Must Watch for Ardent Gun Atthaphan Fans
This is a serendipitous find and what a find it is. Sometimes one needs to go back in order to proceed forward. Admittedly, this is a movie that goes way back and by today’s standards in the BL world might be considered ‘old’ and maybe thought of as remote. Its reviews were less than stellar, which is incredulous, and I think based on a misunderstanding of what this movie was all about. I hesitate to reference it as a BL, however. More aptly, it certainly is a gay film. A gay film highlighted by elucidations from the inner thoughts of a mind of a tortured young gay boy, struggling with his ‘coming out.’ If you see it as that, it will have more meaning.Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/08/01/the-blue-hour-movie-review/
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Englot Chemistry at its Best
“Love Bully” ended up being a lot more fun than I thought it would be going in.I didn’t know what to expect since I have not watched any Club Friday story before this. For those unfamiliar like I was, Club Friday is an anthology based on stories submitted by listeners to the radio programme by the same name. The shows consist of dramatised retellings of the stories in a few episodes each. “Love Bully” is a part of the 16th season of Club Friday, and depicts the story of two women named Night (Engfa Waraha) and Irene (Charlotte Austin).
They meet at Night’s bar the night Irene returns from the US, and hit it off instantly. They are quick to realise their feelings for another and equally quick to get together, which to be fair, makes sense given the short runtime. However, their relationship is threatened by the classic soap opera tropes of a meddling vamp character who tries to ruin their relationship as well as Irene’s career, an evil ex-boyfriend who aids her, and the rich mother who scoffs exaggeratedly and demands Night to stay away from Irene, but comes around by the end to support them.
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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/07/25/club-friday-season-16-love-bully-series-review-ep-1-to-4/
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Did We Like it or Not
This is a surprisingly, shockingly smart, articulate, and very well-done BL with loads of moral precepts that I was not expecting. In other words, I loved this series through and through. It is very adult-like and tackles some sensitive issues in a veiled way that you have to peel away like an onion. The screenplay is very impressive. Sure, it has its weak moments, but they are few and far between and do not deflect from its core message.Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/05/28/deep-night-series-review-ep-1-to-8/
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A Brilliantly Scripted Thriller
I grew up on a stable diet of Indian mythological (Ramayana & Mahabharata), both have been remade again & again with different casting. The central character that remains at the heart of both mythologies is Lord Vishnu (both Lord Ram & Lord Krishna are his reincarnations). So, when the trailer for “The Sign” was released, I was intrigued; because it had two main characters based on Indian mythology. I was surprised to say the least; Garuda is the vahana/vehicle of Lord Vishnu while Sheshanaga is his mount. Although we know about the enmity between Garuda and Nagas, their story was never properly described/depicted beyond the fact that they both serve Lord Vishnu. So, to see two divine figures from the Indian mythology in a Thai drama was quite riveting. It was only after the show started that I realised that Thais have their own myths about Garuda & Nagas. The show is hugely based in modern era, but is fantasy drama based on the age long enmity between the two demigods. In Buddhism, Garudas are enormous predatory birds with intelligence and social organisation. The Garudas have kings and cities, and some of them have the magical power of changing into human form; as can be witnessed with Phaya’s characterization. The Garuda are enemies to the nāga, a race of intelligent serpent- or dragon-like beings, whom they hunt. Nagas are believed to live in either water bodies or in caves and have different clans; as witnessed by their attire. Tharn is mostly shown wearing green clothes, which depict his noble status while Chalothorn is show wearing black clothes which signify the fact that he is a royal. “The Sign” cleverly combines these age-old mythologies with the concept of reincarnation to script a thriller that is incomparable to most modern dramas in the BL world.Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/05/25/the-sign-series-review-ep-3-to-12/
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Be on Cloud's Attempt at Scripting a Thriller Fails
“Dead Friend Forever” (DFF) started out rather slowly paced, gained a lot of momentum in the middle, however, by episode 8, the show provided too much unnecessary exposition and plot that did not quite tie in, and fell short in their resolution which resulted in a subpar finale. However, as a slasher/horror series, it delivered on the scares, gore, and delved into the horrors of the human mind which acts as a cautionary tale against bullying and being complicit in the face of others’ wrongdoings.Read the complete article here-
https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/03/21/dead-friend-forever-series-review-ep-4-to-12/
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Not Exactly An Entertaining Watch
I’ll be honest from the beginning. This is not going to be a very positive review. If you’re an OffGun fan who loved the show and don’t want to read anything negative about it, I would suggest to stop reading this review right now. If you’re an OffGun fan who was massively disappointed by the show like I was, go ahead.As a long-time fan of OffGun, I had literally teared up out of excitement when “Not Me” was first announced, and to this day it remains one of my favourite BL’s. I am a big fan of the magic that they have created before, not just in “Not Me” but in “Theory of Love” as well. After doing great shows together, as I said in the first impressions, I was simply confused as to why they would choose a project that seemed to pale a little in comparison.
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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/03/08/cooking-crush-series-review-ep-3-to-12-cut-version/
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