Entertainment

Now Playing: Pride Edition

Celebrate the LGBTQ+ community!

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Happy Pride! To celebrate our LGBTQ+ community all over the world, we asked them and their allies about movies, shows, music, and podcasts you can watch and listen to, along with books you should read.

This list is also a good start to understanding the lives and struggles of our beloved LGBTQ+ community. You may refer to this article — Pride month or not! Here’s what’s Now Playing at Her GadgetMatch!

Videos to watch

Pride Conversations

MJ: Google concluded the Pride Month with a live stream entitled Pride Conversations, comprised of powerful members of the Filipino LGBTQ+ community sharing their remarkable and inspiring stories — from tales of coming out to their journey in owning their sexuality.

Movies to see

Love, Simon

MJ: A modern classic in today’s generation, Love, Simon is about yearning, secrets, and struggle of everyone in the LGBTQ+ community — coming to terms with your identity and getting out of the closet.

Prayers for Bobby

MJ: A heart-wrenching, tearjerker film that every parent must watch, especially when their religion and faith get in the way of truly loving their child.

The Half of It

MJ: Lighthearted yet revolutionary, The Half of It explores an introvert’s young love, sexuality, and loving in secret expressed through a love letter.

Holding the Man

MJ: Raw, honest, and genuine. It’s difficult not to weep after watching a touching piece tackling a love affair weathering the struggles of coming out in the 70s and 80s — remembering the horrors the stigma surrounding AIDS caused.

Free Fall

MJ: Jokingly known as the German version of Brokeback Mountain, Free Fall is a complex, hot, and passionate story about a married man’s internal struggles of falling in love with a colleague.

Blue Is The Warmest Colour

MJ: Blue Is The Warmest Colour is a moving film portraying a French teen’s beatific, intimate attachment to another woman.

Metamorphosis

Vincenz: Intersex is one of the minorities in the LGBTQIA+ community. This is a locally-produced indie film that shows how one explores and discovers him/herself. Just like the process of metamorphosis, s/he finally accepts and reveals who s/he really is to the eyes of many.

Sila-Sila

Vincenz: A depiction of complicated homosexual relationships: from hook-ups, break-ups, losing people you value the most, and even getting back together. A slice of life that shows laughs, joys, and tears of gay people throughout their relationship with their friends, family members, and partners altogether.

Shows to binge-watch

Queer Eye

Chay: The Fab 5 spreads love in Pennsylvania back in the US in the latest season of our favorite feel-good makeover series. Whenever I’m feeling distress or despair — especially during these difficult times — Queer Eye is the series that never fails to restore my faith in humanity.

Pose

Chay: House Evangelista is back for another season of ball culture, voguing, building new relationships and rekindling old ones, and confronting crises LGBTQ+ people of color faced in the ’80s. Prepare not just your favorite bag of chips but your box of Kleenex as well!

Love, Victor

Chay: If you enjoyed Love, Simon and find yourself wanting for more a spinoff series premiered on Hulu this month. Love, Victor tells the story of a new student at Creekwood High School — the ups and downs at home, making new friends, and exploring his sexual orientation.

Looking

MJ: Being in your late twenties and early thirties can be mind-boggling. Such is the case in Looking, where three best friends in San Francisco tell their explorations in love and in life while each taking separate paths.

One Day at a Time

MJ: A refresh of a hit sitcom in the ’70s, One Day at a Time is a modern comedy that has an upbeat take on tales of coming out yet still portrays the struggles of coming to terms with your sexuality within a family.

TharnType The Series

Vincenz: Not your typical sugarcoated Thai BL series as it eradicates homophobia as well as how they openly portray the sexual desires of two men. Expect a rollercoaster of emotions when you watch this series.

Gameboys

Vincenz: One of the first Filipino BL series that is timely and relevant — especially during this pandemic. Can you believe two gamers ended up falling for each other even with just a series of game battles, chats, and video calls? In my own thoughts: “Sana all hindi pang-quarantine lang“.

Hello Stranger

Vincenz: What would you do if you were paired up with someone you truly dislike? Hello Stranger exhibits unexpected love at an unexpected time, reminding us that love simply happens for everyone, regardless of your orientation.

Albums/Songs/Podcasts to listen to

Music Universal: PRIDE

 

Chay: Pop icon and ally Carly Rae Jepsen and artist and activist Mark Kanemura put together a Pride-themed playlist featuring music from different artists and eras that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and our right to express our true selves. This 90-minute playlist is perfect when you’re working out, experimenting in the kitchen, or walking to your neighborhood cafe for your iced latte fix!

Chromatica

 

MJ: Lady Gaga’s return with “Chromatica” has sent the LGBTQ+ community reeling over the nostalgia evoked by this eccentric album — bringing back the days of dancing to Gaga’s fabulous and bizarre pop music we loved.

Help by 10cm

Vincenz: Although the music video only showed minor scenes of how people consider same-sex relationships in public a taboo, the song’s message should dig deeper into our minds and hearts that we should ask for somebody’s help when all of these deep-seated issues come in mind.

Oh my God by (G)I-DLE

Vincenz: Originally a Now Playing: Volume 3 entry, the message of the song this time is clearer because it’s in English — and we can’t deny it’s all about two women having love and affection for one another.

Books to read

What If It’s Us?

MJ: Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera’s novel about two men stumbling upon each other in New York City is a refreshing take on common, gay love stories. It tackled love, signs, and universe — reminding us that we meet people in our lives for a reason.

Call Me by Your Name

MJ: A powerful, coming-of-age, and tale of coming out stirring a pot of raw emotions. Call Me by Your Name explores sexual awakening, yearning, and obsession over the course of summer in Italy, in the year 1983.


Now Playing is the GadgetMatch team’s favorite games, movies, TV shows, and more each month. If you’re curious to know what we’re into at the moment, this is what you should check out. So grab your popcorn, get some drinks, and enjoy what’s now playing!

Entertainment

BINI, KATSEYE among top worldwide Google Searches ahead of Coachella

Coachella to kick off this weekend

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Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

BINI and KATSEYE topped recent Google Search trends ahead of their Coachella performances this month.

It’s clear that Coachella attendees are curious about the popular Philippine pop girl group, as well as the Los Angeles-based global girl group.

That’s aside from dedicated BLOOMs who are eager to see Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna, and Sheena take part in the legendary California music festival on Friday, April 10.

According to Google Trends data, global searches for the term “BINI Coachella” hit a perfect
score of 100 on April 8.

This indicates that the search term briefly became the highest-ranking search trend.

Meanwhile, “KATSEYE Coachella” scored 98 on April 7 on Google Trends, followed by a perfect 100 on April 8.

The timing of KATSEYE’s new single, “PINKY UP” couldn’t have been better as it dropped just a day before their Sahara stage set.

At the same time, the Filipino octet has also released “Blush” as their new comeback song — just hours ahead of KATSEYE.

As such, EYEKONS have also been scouring the interwebs for the global girl group.

And as these are worldwide search data, the recent Google Search trends somewhat prove these artists are effectively breaking through the global mainstream, and introducing their respective cultures to the global stage.

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Entertainment

Metal Gear Solid is getting a film adaptation

It will be directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein.

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Metal Gear Solid

Videogame adaptations are so hot right now. After the mainstream success of The Super Mario Bros. duology, several other franchises have committed to seeing their favorite characters on the big screen. Now, Metal Gear Solid is the latest to make the jump. Sony has confirmed that a film adaptation about the stealth franchise is in the works.

Though the game’s movie announcement is a big deal on its own right, it’s attached to an even bigger announcement: Sony has signed the up-and-coming directing duo Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein to direct a number of its upcoming projects.

The deal’s first confirmed project, via Hollywood Reporter, is an adaptation of Metal Gear Solid, produced by Avi and Ari Arad.

Spanning multiple decades, the Metal Gear series is a stealth-based franchise that often goes off the rails with its supernatural elements. Naturally, it’s all thanks to series creator Hideo Kojima, notoriously known for his unconventional storytelling. When Kojima left Konami, the franchise has since been shelved but still enjoys a lot of hype, thanks to the occasional remake.

Right now, it’s unknown how much of the film will lean into the craziness of the franchise. It should still be a crazy ride to see, though.

SEE ALSO: Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.2 launches August 27 on PS5

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Entertainment

LE SSERAFIM Chaewon flexes Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display

She says the feature is cool

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Collage. Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display | Edited image of Chaewon holding a Galaxy S26 Ultra
Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display | Edited image of Chaewon holding a Galaxy S26 Ultra

LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chaewon didn’t set out to show off a feature. But somewhere in the middle of a Weverse live, she ended up doing exactly that. It’s a pretty good flex.

In a clip that’s now making the rounds online, Chaewon shared that she recently switched to the Galaxy S26 Ultra and has been enjoying one specific feature in particular:

“I just changed my phone lately to Galaxy S26 Ultra. And it has a privacy screen feature, right? It’s so cool. You really can’t see anything from the side. I show this to everyone I meet and make them jealous.”

It’s just someone genuinely impressed by a feature — and casually flexing it.

A feature that makes sense instantly

The feature Chaewon is referring to is Privacy Display, one of the headline additions on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

When enabled, it limits the viewing angles of the screen. That way. only the person holding the phone can clearly see what’s on it. Anyone looking from the side gets a dimmed or obscured view.

If you’ve ever used a privacy screen protector, the concept is similar. The difference here is that it’s built directly into the phone and can be toggled on or off, or even set to activate only for specific apps.

It’s a small addition on paper, but one that solves a very real, very common problem — especially if you’re using your phone in public spaces.

Samsung contract renewed?

It’s worth noting that LE SSERAFIM has been using Galaxy smartphones for a while now. That’s likely due to a partnership with Samsung and/or Google.

The music video for their track “Come Over” heavily features the smartphone, along with Google Gemini features integrated into the experience.

Another member, Sakura, also mentioned to fans recently that she has switched phones — from a Galaxy Z Flip to now also using a Galaxy S26 Ultra.


Whether this points to a renewed partnership or just continued preference isn’t something officially confirmed. But moments like Chaewon’s certainly keep Galaxy devices in the spotlight.

It’s easy to imagine the same scenario playing out anywhere — on a commute, in a café, or sitting next to someone who’s just a little too curious about what you’re doing on your phone.

It’s also something we’ve explored ourselves.

In one of our reels, we showed a straightforward demo of how Privacy Display works. We tilted the phone to show how the screen becomes unreadable from the side. In another, we leaned into a more playful skit: someone trying (and failing) to peek at what’s on the screen of the person beside them.


The result is the same. From certain angles, the display practically disappears.

The kind of feature you show off

Privacy Display isn’t the flashiest feature on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. But it’s the kind of feature you end up showing people. Not because you have to — but because it’s surprisingly satisfying to see in action.

If Chaewon’s experience is anything to go by, it’s also the kind of feature that makes people just a little bit jealous.

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