TV Binge: Queer Eye (Season 5, 2020)

Queer Eye (Season 5, 2020)

Cast: Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness

A new Fab Five set out to Atlanta Philadelphia to help some of the city’s people refine their wardrobes, grooming, diet, cultural pursuits, and home décor. – IMDB

Season 5 of Queer Eye couldn’t have been released at a better time. With the world being hit by many things including pandemic. Its not been a great 2020 and yet, Queer Eye’s message from the first season always feels like we’re not defined by our differences but our similarities and that’s why every season, we see them moving to different place in the United States as well as picking different people with varying gender, backgrounds, etc. With the latest season changing base to Philadelphia, its yet another batch of “heroes” to discover all with their own touching stories.

At the fifth season of Queer Eye, its still full steam ahead. There are some very small changes to their structure. Its not really needed since they had a pretty good balance. With each person and what they need to makeover, its more about finding that more emotional change to clear out some of that emotional baggage and burden and then balancing it with the other external elements of style, home design/organization, food, grooming. In that sense, while Karamo’s role of culture is a big one, it meshes in with some of the other Fab Five’s task.

What really does stand out in Season 5 is that this season, they picked a lot of people who on different levels related more to one of the Fab Five group and gives them their time to guide each of these people with their own personal experiences. It feels like sometimes the show does help the people they choose but at the same time, it also helps the Fab Five grow as well as there is an obvious change (in a good way) of how they are as people. One of the best parts of watching shows like this is not only seeing the nice makeovers and the shock and often gratitude of the moment but also seeing these more personal stories being told that are very well relatable on different levels. Its the positive vibes that flow in every moment and the value of being able to embrace change that gives so much life to the show itself.

At the fifth season of Queer Eye, you pretty know what to expect from the show. Its a makeover show but somehow, it brings a lot more to the table than just that. Its about everyday people and their difficulties and how to get their life back on track. I’m sure that the show works on many levels because its relatable. Sure, we’re not going to go and do some intense makeover but its a way to look at the people around us as well as even our own lives and issues in a different light and with it, whatever positive message applies to the viewer. Bingeworthy, emotional and sending out positive vibes as always.

Hopefully, we’ll be seeing the sixth season of Queer Eye sooner rather than later.

What’s Up 2020: Week 24

Welcome back to another week of What’s Up 2020 as we look back at last week. In terms of entertainment, I’m definitely doing a lot more of everything. My time management does leave a little bit to desire though as a lot of things sitting in the to-do list. The next two weeks is something of a crunch time at work, its only going to slow down from this point until July. Before we get ahead of ourselves, lets check out what’s up!

READING

Currently reading: Call Numbers: The Not So Quiet Life of a Librarian

I’m going to flat out say that I did some massive push on reading the last 2 weeks so I didn’t get around to much reading this week. I might have advanced a chapter or something. Not enough to say anything too significant at this point.

PLAYING

• Hidden Folks: On Tour

Currently playing: Ori and the Will of the Wisps

I actually 100% completed Hidden Folks. I wrapped up the On Tour DLC which was a lot of fun to do  and then realized that I hadn’t finished a previous level so went back to do that. Hidden Folks is always a fun and silly gaming experience that makes me laugh. Its just a black and white funkier hand-drawn version of Where’s Waldo but its just so silly with all the characters you need to find with the quirky clues that its always so impressive.

As for upcoming game to play, I HAVE TO start playing Ori and the Will of the Wisps as I’ve been pushing it back over and over again and I’m a bit tired of this unnecessary procrastination.

WATCHING

• Hush (1998, Review)
• Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (2020)
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
• I Kill Giants (2017, Friday Film Club)
• Humanoids From The Deep (1980, Review)
• Jigsaw (2017)
• Blood Machines (2019)
• I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

As you can see, the most abundant section goes to watching movies, which is something of a change in normal pacing as usually movie watching has been very minimal. I needed to catch up with it for upcoming double features and whatnot. I watched a few meh movies and then some odd ones as well but then one of these is for Movies and Tea. To be fair, I had some surprising hits like I Kill Giants, Jigsaw and I Know What You  Did Last Summer. I chose I Kill Giants for the Friday Film Club pick so you can check out the link above. I may have a more fleshed out review when I do the double feature. As fun as I Know What You Did Last Summer was, it was very much the expected 90s cheesy slasher flick that I enjoyed whereas Jigsaw had a few bad movie sequels in the first run so I had very low expectations for this 2017 continuation which turned out to be really fun to watch and I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would.

BINGING

• Queer Eye (Season 6, 2020)

Currently binging: Go Fridge 6, You Are My Destiny, Me To Us, Produce Camp 2020, We Are Blazing, Woof Meow Story, Mr. Fox and Miss Rose

Nothing feels better when things around are fairly negative than a new season of Queer Eye. Season 5 of Queer Eye arrives at just the right time with 10 episodes in a new location, Philadelphia. Bingeworthy as always, of course and I’ll be getting the TV binge for this up soon.

As for the currently binging section, Me to Us is going to be ending soon and that one has really caught my attention. I have a band or two that I hope will win this whole thing in the final episode coming. At the same time, the newest addition to the list is Mr. Fox and Miss Rose that I was a little hesitant to start but has proved very light-hearted and binge-worthy. Its a little bit of a fish out of water story but also a little bit of gem-hunting schemes and mixed with some romance which blends pretty well together. I’m past the halfway point and its still going pretty strong so really looking forward to see where it will take the story. Everything else is still pretty fun to watch in the currently binging.

That’s it for this weekly recap!
What have you been reading/watching/playing/binging?

TV Binge: Queer Eye: We’re in Japan (Season 1, 2019)

Queer Eye: We’re in Japan! (Season 1, 2019)

Hosts: Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness, Bobby Berk, Kiko Mizuhara

Guest: Naomi Watanabe

In this short and sweet 4 episodes Queer Eye season, something of a spin-off, the Fab 5 head out to Japan to makeover four heroes as we’ve come to call the people nominated. Heading to Japan is a big deal as they tackle cultural differences but also share the niche slices of Japan from lesbian and gay bars to manga-themed restaurants and the general cultural family dynamic and the whole closed communication structure in relationships both families and romantic ones plus the general perception of how the community values become one’s own identity and how to break from it. Heading to Japan is a huge deal because it shows the reach that Fab 5 can give to those who need it and truly emphasize on how differences in gender, ethnicity are not so much hurdles as we all just need to find our self-confidence and learn to love ourselves and communicate.

Each episode in this season shows a very different story. The first is one about a woman who gave up her own personal space and life for the community as well as a hospice so others get the best care in their final days. Being in the older demographic and having the “hero” element with her selflessness, its a hurdle about the importance for loving herself and the perfect step to understand the Japanese values. The second story dives into the LGBTQ views in Japan and self-identity in a place that limits someone from being themselves completely. The third story also turns it around and looks at the family dynamic, parent and child communication, the tough love element in a household and especially the ideal woman of how a girl sees herself. The final story goes into the whole communication in marriage and it takes a rather emotional turn as they look at the “sexless” marriage which goes unspoken as well as opening communication to better relationships and facing the issues rather than ignoring them.

Looking at each of these stories, Queer Eye We’re in Japan emphasizes something they talked about in the first episode of the first season (at least I think it was there). While each story touches on a different element of Japanese values, views and culture which may be different to the Fab 5, they also tread carefully around it, each of these stories and how a person’s view changes and all these other elements to a certain extent are similar to everyone else. In reality, Queer Eye and the Fab 5 is about embracing our similarities rather than our differences because our stories are more similar than different when you take away the prejudices and stereotypes of gender or ethnicity, etc.

Its 4 episodes and I’ve gone on for far too long talking about not a lot in the review department. These 4 episodes are touching and well-executed. It has a lot of fun moments as well as expected with the Fab 5. Its nicely balanced and well worth a watch. Plus, they have some hosts that are big in Japan like their tour guide Kiko Mizuhara as well as a guest host from Naomi Watanabe, who are both unique icons. Just make sure to keep a Kleenex box nearby (just in case). I’m definitely hoping that they continue to do more episodes in Japan (or other places with different cultures).

What’s Up 2019 – Week 31: Going Back to Normal Routine

Another week has gone by! The last remaining bits of Fantasia finally ended and well, I’m still recuperating from it hence why some of the reviews are being worked on backwards now. There’s really only one more reviews and two Fantasia shorts compilation pieces to work on. Either way, we’re not here to only talk about movies but that part of my life is done for now so things are slowly getting back to normal, which means we’re back to a lot of TV? Yay! And reading is also back. A few reviews to get out on all fronts in the coming days and weeks, whichever and whenever my brain decides it wants to write daily again. For now, its going to be a tad sporadic.

With that said, lets check it out (before I ramble about everything before we get there)…

READING

Currently reading: Within

Within should be done by next week as I’m back to the reading on the bus. Currently about almost half way through. Its a pretty good one and has a decent shift in scenarios between chapters and such. It’ll be interesting to see how it all wraps up.

PLAYING

• Bonza

Gaming on the go lately and its been very much the same games over and over again between Bonza mostly and Rullo. Word and math puzzle games seem to be the way to go for me when I’m bored or need a change in pace from writing and everything else.

Gaming is going to get back on track as soon as I get back into the gaming bits which I probably will go back to some Linelight that I started in July and return soon with another Mobile Games Roundup.

WATCHING

• Aquaslash (review)
•  The Fable (review)
• One Smile is Very Alluring
• Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw (LAMBCAST #491)

Technically speaking, I’d have use Hobbs and Shaw as the highlight and it is because I went to go see it so that I could be on the show for Lambcast as a guest. Its my first time and just coming out of festival season, I was a bit rusty on the whole podcasting thing. Either way, I linked it above because the whole crew is super fun and was incredibly great to record with.

However, as for my highlight, I’d like to once again give it to Aquaslash, for which I think might take a while to get to a big screen seeing as its still in post-production editing however, the experience of watching something in the process of being complete and then seeing the whole majority of cast and crew at this unique world premiere for Fantasia was a pretty awesome experience plus, the concept is there.

Movies might slow down a little since I still have a few reviews to write from Fantasia and then some double features from before the festival started.

BINGING

• Sugar Rush (Season 2)
• Queer Eye (Season 4)
• Go Go Squid (2019)
• Orange is the New Black (Season 7)

Currently binging: We Grew Up (2019), Love Signal 2, The Coming One 3, Dream Space 2, River Flows To You

Film Festival ending means TV watching especially since a ton of the Netflix Originals decided to release in July so I ended up burning through Sugar Rush, Queer Eye and Orange is the New Black’s final season. Its not too crazy to think about considering the first two is only 8 episodes per season which is easy to get through. Aside from that, Go Go Squid also wrapped up and it was such a complete experience that I can’t wait to rewatch and write up the TV binge for that. Lots of TV binges in the works to be honest for a ton of series.

Currently binging is mostly things in progress except for River Flows To You which I got back to since everything else has pretty much ended. Its really good but a bit more on the emotional type of series. I started a new reality show called We Grew Up which is on one hand super cute but perhaps also one that might feel a bit odd to watch about kid siblings.

That’s it for this What’s Up!
What have you been reading/watching/playing/binging?

Whats Up – Week 29: Fantasia Takes Me On a World Tour

Another week has passed by in 2019 and its been a crazy week. For this and next week, I’m going to promise that life is going to revolve a lot around Fantasia. I probably got through one of my more intense weeks as a lot of things contributed to trying to get as many films done as possible. We’ll talk more in depth in the Watching section. Let’s just get to it!

READING

Currently reading: Within by Clare C. Marshall

Between constant movie review writing with any free time I have, reading is a bit slow. I’m only a quarter into Within and so far, I’m liking it quite a bit. Definitely looking forward to get finish this one.

PLAYING

• Rullo
• Bonza

I’m going back to some of the mobile games to clear my mind. Surprisingly, during these moments, what destresses are puzzles and number games. Hence why I’m back to Rullo to do some math. Its probably the contrast  between the writing and the gaming that makes it feel more like I can just let it all go as I get immersed into calculating and working out the logic and such.  The same applies to Bonza, which I play a little less mostly because its a very wordy new style of crossword puzzles.

WATCHING

• G Affairs (review)
• DreadOut (review)
• No Mercy (review)
• The Incredible Shrinking WKND (review)
• The Wretched (review)
• The Prey (review)
• 8
• The Moon Hidden in the Woods
• Door Lock

Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Spain, USA, Cambodia, South Africa are all the countries that I’ve been through this week’s Fantasia screenings. Talk about travelling the world through movies, right? If you want to see the ratings, you can check out my Letterboxd account HERE.

I haven’t disliked any of the films that I’ve seen to be honest just like them on different degrees and some I acknowledge the flaws but then it really works in their unique way. Its what makes Fantasia so fun to cover. Hands down, the movie that adds a unique twist to an under-explored horror subgenre is The Wretched who had the world premiere at the festival.

BINGING

Currently binging: Go Go Squid, The Coming One III, Rivers Flows To You, Love Signal 2, Queer Eye Season 4

You all know that I can’t stay away from Queer Eye when it lands so I have already started Queer Eye Season 4 and am about 3 episodes in or so. However, I’m taking it easy because I also know that its my companion series as I write plus, I truly love binging it. The few episodes that I’ve seen, its still very great so I’ll probably finish that up before Sugar Rush Season 2 lands on Netflix. Plus, while I’d love to say its my series of the week, the obsession for Go Go Squid is legit right now. Its on the way to being Top 3 TV series of this year or at least in terms of Chinese drama. I actually saved up a few days of episodes just so that I can binge a few episodes as a reward after I catch up with the reviews that were backed up on the weekend.

That’s it for this week recap on What’s Up!
What have you been reading/watching/playing/binging?

TV Binge: Queer Eye (Season 3, 2019)

Queer Eye (Season 3, 2019)

Hosts: Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, Tan France

The third season of Queer Eye is finally here! If you read my Queer Eye Season 1 TV Binge (you can find it HERE), I’m a huge fan of the show. I’ve probably watched seasons 1 and 2 a good five times on and off. So good that I spent so much time rewatching it and haven’t written up the Season 2 TV binge. I did debate doing it first but oh well, let’s stay current and catch up later, right?

Season 3 moves the Fab Five to a new city. This time, they are helping out people in Kansus City, Missouri! Its nice to change the location, even if it means nothing to me because I don’t live in the US. However, other than location, there is a few little changes here and there which are subtle but contribute a lot to making this show even more powerful and effective than before. It didn’t really need to change anything but whatever it did, has given it a smoother execution.

First of all, after 2 seasons, the Fab Five in Season 3 has really found their place in each of their domains. They jive together well and even better than before, making them even more genuine to watch and having that feeling of being approachable and knowledgeable makes their distance and a lot of the candidates undergoing these makeovers as they tell their stories even more relevant.  It is their dynamic and their experiences that lend to each of these stories and adds that personal touch. Its also the mesh of the more fun elements of the actual makeover and  then the more emotional elements of the candidates back stories and how they got to the place that they are in and the inner battles they have. Its the balance that the Fab Five and the show as achieved that makes the the more intriguing to watch.

The second thing that works here is that the show always picks a good balance of people doing it. They have zero boundaries in that sense. We see people of all ages, gender and race and then are able to see how they can help each of them improve themselves. This works because it also emphasizes that people shouldn’t see each other’s differences but rather see our similarities and that everyone tackles a lot of the same problems. It also works a lot on tackling feelings and inner (more psychological) issues while upgrading and educating on the outside beauty. It helps that Fab Five are genuinely supportive, encouraging and positive. The diversity of the people and families involved here make it really great to watch. In previous seasons, there was a bigger gap between how one story to the next would translate and connect but in this season, the stories all land in their own way, tugging those heart strings, breaking those boundaries and taking strides towards viewing this world and understanding the difficulties that a lot of people face and the hurdles that make them fall behind and need that nudge to move forward again in the right direction to find themselves, their identity and their confidence, etc.

The last point is that each of these stories seem to have this family/relationship theme revolving around it. It is one of those subtle changes but a lot of these stories is about their family members or someone close nominating them due to whatever reason or anticipating an event or just being better for themselves so they can be their best selves for the next step in their lives. Its because of the choices in whose stories are told and those different stages in life that make them more poignant and touching.

Queer Eye has reached Season 3 and this is the best season so far. The Fab Five are great together and provide both heartwarming moments and comedic ones as well. Its a warm and show that aims to spread love and a lot of positive messages about acceptance in the society. Its one that needs a box of Kleenex but in such a satisfying way. Its bingeworthy and I can’t wait for the next season.

Have you seen Queer Eye Season 3 yet?

What’s Up Week 11: TV Binging Through Staycation

Welcome to Week 11 of What’s Up! This week has been a little bit mixed. Some things happened more than others. Its what happens when I spend a lot of time having time off. I’m going to be super honest that I have massive TV binge tendancies that started the earliest so it is my best destressor. So, no doubt its a huge part of what I do when I go on staycation (regardless of the backlog).

READING

• The Two Sisters of Borneo by Ian Hamilton (Review)

Currently reading: Obsidio

I am focusing on getting back to book series that I have put down. Finishing The sixth installment of Ava Lee series, The Two Sisters of Borneo, was a great reading experience. Still a pageturner series, which is always great. While I have the next book released which was the prequel to the series (odd, right?), I decided to go back to The Illuminae Files final book in the trilogy, Obisido. I loved the first two books so much that I just couldn’t resist. I’m still fairly early in the reading for Obsidio but the book tends to go pretty quickly due to its immersiveness.

PLAYING

• Candies ‘n Curses
• Liar!
• Mortal Kombat X

I went lazy on gaming this staycation. Probably shouldn’t because well, we do have a game to review but I didn’t end up starting it until late. Prioritizing things that probably could have been pushed later in the schedule. Oh well, what’s done is done. I did a lot of mobile gaming. To be accurate, I played Liar! which is a visual novel sort of game which I’ll talk about in the next Mobile Games Roundup and went back to play Candies ‘n Curses that I talked up in the last Mobile Games Roundup (HERE) and also went back to polish some MKX skills. There’s not a whole lot to talk about there.

WATCHING

• A Monster Calls
• Battleship

Movie watching has definitely slowed down and I’ve hinted it enough. I did need a little break from it after the immense blogathon and marathon craze. It will pick up after I get through some piled up backlog, which should bring forth at least 2 more double features. With that said, the highlight movie (not that we had a lot to choose from) is A Monster Calls. I had a few issues with pacing for it but there is a lot of style and visuals to it and a nice twist to it all that I appreciated more and more as I watched further into the story. As for Battleship, I’ll talk about it when I do the double feature when we get there in a few weeks.

BINGING

• The Big Family Cooking Showdown (Season 2, 2019)
• Queer Eye (Season 3, 2019)

Currently binging: My Amazing Boyfriend 2, The Singer 2019, Mr. Swimmer, My Little One 2

The currently watching (that I haven’t discussed too much of in the last two weeks) has been pretty good. Some of them are nearing their final episodes. There is 8 more episodes of My Amazing Boyfriend 2 to go, 2 to 3 more episodes of The Singer 2019 and probably the same for My Little One 2. As for Mr. Swimmer, everything is out but I’ve slowed down as the drama has intensified but I’m about 10 episodes  more to go to wrap that up. As for what I did finish, I binged some newer shows (which I’ve prioritized TV binges on…or trying to) and that’s The Big Family Cooking Showdown Season 2 and Queen Eye Season 3.  The latter was almost a one day binge and that is just because its so awesome.

That’s it for this week’s What’s Up!
What have you been reading/watching/binging/playing?

TV Binge: Queer Eye (Season 1, 2018)

Nailed it Season 2 (TV Binge HERE) gave me the push I needed to start up Queer Eye on Netflix. I never saw the original on TV so I’ve only ever heard of what it is and never really knew. However, the mini special episode on Nailed It was so fun that I knew that I had to check it out.

Queer Eye (Season 1, 2018)

Hosts: Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, Tan France

A new Fab Five set out to Atlanta to help the city’s straight men refine their wardrobes, grooming, diet, cultural pursuits, and home décor. – IMDB

Queer Eye starts off with the opening segment with the Fab 5 talking about being a part of this team and what they say is exactly the perfect way to start it off with two key quotes:

“The original show was fighting for tolerance. Our fight is for acceptance.” – Tan

“My goal is to figure out how we’re similar as opposed to how different we are.” – Antoni

Queer Eye does a great job at delivering on their goals of acceptance and highlighting what makes LGBT similar. Other than when I was a child and found it odd, I’ve always been open-minded about the LGBT community so I don’t quite understand what the difference is other than the fact that they like a different gender. However, the show itself delivers more than that. For one, there’s the Fab 5. Second, we need to take a look at these makeover stories and how impactful and meaningful they are and finally, the message it wants to deliver as a whole and the overall enjoyment of the series.

Like I said before, I’ve never watched the original so I have no comparison (not that I think it needs to be compared). This Fab 5 is comprised of Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown and Jonathan Van Ness. As a group, they take care of food & wine, fashion, design, culture and grooming respectively. As a group, they blend so well together on screen from how they admire each other’s work and how to approach their game plan of the overall makeover. There are some great moments as a group throughout the season because they each have their expertise. With that said, each of the Fab 5’s expertise brings a lot to the table. They each know what they are doing and it really makes the viewers feel that the knowledge they bring is educating the public. They never go extreme and stuff anything down anyone’s throats but they feel so genuine to watch because of their dedication to the cause. I’ve watched and rewatched the show a lot of times and their reactions and expressions always bring me so much joy and whatever emotions. They are all so unique in their personality that it blends so well to make it an entertaining watch.

As we look at the makeover stories here, the first season was our introduction to what the Fab 5 wanted to achieve and determine what they were capable of. In that sense, the first episode set the tone perfectly with an older gentlemen who was open-minded but also fell into some misconceptions in how gay men were identified. For example when he asks who wears the pants in the relationship. However, be it the age difference or the lack of confidence of their first makeover person, it all works well to show what the Fab 5 is all about even if you’ve never seen the original. They educate not only in their own domains and its not only a physical transformation but also a mental transformation as they try to help build confidence or help them see a better version of themselves that someone will want to be. Be it this first episode called “You Can’t Fix Ugly” or the other episodes in the season, you can see the different backgrounds and the different perspectives as the Fab 5 remain open-minded and honest about the feelings and views as they also learn about the people they are dealing with to not only transform the person of the week but also take away from that experience. Its a really fantastic thing to see communication especially in the current state of the world and all the news we hear about the bad stuff going on. Season 1 followed along very strong in the candidates that were chosen in the following episodes. There were local heroes like a fireman trying to get ready to raise enough money for a fireman program, a man coming out to his family, other one dealing with opening up himself to the people in his life, a father of six trying to make it all happen in the everyday chaos then of course one of the best of the season, was the police officer. Its a lot of variety and that makes it fresh and new to watch as well as educational to see the different views people have on the different topics in the society. There’s a lot of heartstrings to be tugged here and a few times, I was looking for my box of Kleenex (and I mean, in some cases, every rewatch gets me all over again).

Suffice to say that I’m a huge fan of the show. Queer Eye delivers on so many levels. The show itself and the Fab 5 have a great personality that works so well in the realm of what they are doing. In many ways, a lot of what they are saying and teaching is relatable because its not just a physical transformation. At the same time, it works well to showcase the initial statement of how its about acceptance of everyone no matter the differences but rather to see the similarities that everyone has. I think the message is a great one and because of these heartfelt stories and the makeover, its entertaining and educational and that makes for some great positive reality TV and something I totally recommend for everyone.