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Stop! That! Train!

By Golu
Coming out of the same studio that gave us RuPaul's Drag Race, and stacked with a whole crew of former contestants, Stop! That! Train! plays like RuPaul basically taking a bow for the entire franchise she's built. It's not really a gay film in the traditional sense, but with so many drag stars from Ru's shows popping up alongside a few cameos from well known out gay actors, I figured it earns a spot on this blog anyway. The whole thing is completely over the top, packed with GenZ slang, loud flashy visuals, and humor that's constantly winking at you knowing how ridiculous it is. Going in you'd assume it's meant to be a laugh riot, and a lot of critics online seem to be eating it up, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I've never really been someone who vibes with campy silly stuff like this, so honestly my reaction doesn't surprise me one bit. The setup follows Tess and DeeDee, two low level stewardesses who sneak onto the fancy Glamazonian E...
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Sommersturm (German) [Summer Storm]

By Golu
Another one in the category of 'I have seen this before but have to watch it again so that I can review it on my blog'. I saw this film about 5 years ago and vaguely remembered liking it. I still loved the movie but having seen a lot more gay films, the perception changes. Had I reviewed this movie 5 years ago, I would have rated it very high but now my expectations are very high , so maybe not that high but this movie was still pretty good. Tobi and Achim, 2 teenage boys, the pride of the local rowing club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp to win a big tournament in the countryside of Germany. As Achim's relationship with his girlfriend Sandra, who's also on the team, grows more and more serious, Tobi starts to realize that his feelings for Achim run much deeper than he's willing to admit to himself. He feels confused, unsure of himself. When Sandra's best friend Anke shows her interest in him, his anxiety starts to grow. When it turns out that the much-anticipated Berlin girls' team has been replaced by a team of athletic, cliché-bursting young gay men, Tobi and his teammates are suddenly forced to grapple with their prejudices, their fears, and, perhaps, their hidden longings. Tobi is intrigued by the queer team specially when it is obvious that one of the members of the team is definitely interested in him. Soon the truth is discovered by all that Tobi is gay and after a lot of internal fighting, Tobi is ready to accept it and come out to everyone. His relief comes when Achim also accepts him the way he is but only needs more time. There were a few moments in the film that really stood out. Like Tobi trying to really do his best to make Achim fall for him and not trying to understand why can't Achim love him physically when they are such good friends. Achim tries to balance love and friendship but fails. The guy from queer group who makes Tobi realize that he is gay and helps him come out of his shell. The love making scene between the 2 boys is done very tastefully. IN fact overall the film is made with emotions and truly show the struggles of a teenage boy to come out and be socially acceptable. I would recommend this film for it shows coming-of-age story of teenagers. Eevry gay man at some point can relate to it. (7/10)
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Pitbullshark said…
I'm just going to be shallow here, in my comment, but has there ever been a more beautiful guy than Kostja Ullmann? I don't think so. There's a lot to be said about "Sommersturm", but ultimately what I liked and what I remember, it all boils down to Kostja Ullmann. His beauty is so outstanding that I recommend a truly terrible movie, you would mostly likely give a 0 to, but it has Kostja Ullmann in it, so I, would have to give it at least a 6 simply because he is in it and on top of that, is sometimes naked: "Punish Me", in which he, a masochist, manipulates a hideously ugly female sadist into regularly beating him. The movie really goes nowhere and I can't really imagine what the filmmaker was trying to say, but Kostja Ullman naked, I'm there and in fact, that DVD is there, right of my shelf (and "Sommersturm" is not).
July 17, 2011 at 7:56 AM
Golu said…
wow!! I will have to keep that in mind and add it to my wishlist
July 17, 2011 at 9:51 PM
Pitbullshark said…
Here's a link to the preview of "Punish Me":

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x94mq0_punish-me-trailer_news

For some reason, on the Internet Movie Database they call it "Hounded".

Quite a lot of people liked it and it won some awards, so my negative feeling toward it is not universally shared (no surprise there, I guess!).
July 18, 2011 at 9:36 PM
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