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Stop! That! Train!

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...

Fuego en el Alma (Spanish) [Fire in the Soul]

This film is actually a collection of three short dramas focuses on the interconnectedness of Puerto Ricans living in both New York and on the island, while addressing the devastating effects of September 11, 2001. Three stories of couples passion, jealousy, doubt and infidelity - couples that are burned by sudden and unexpected feelings and are pushed to make the decision that will change their lives, forever.

The first story follows frustrated baseball player Millo, whose efforts at getting noticed by a talent scout result only in an offer to become a coach. He takes his frustrations out on his wife, Luisa, whom he abuses physically before she finally decides to take some action of her own. She leaves him to go to New York, and her day of departure is September 11. In the second story, a pilot leading a double life maintains a family in Puerto Rico while keeping a gay lover, who is a flight attendant with whom he works. His life is rerouted, along with his plane, on the morning of September 11. The flight attendant's mother, Anhelo, is at the center of the third short, as she falls passionately in love with a younger man. Her affair with a photojournalist threatens both her marriage and her career as an artist.

On paper the film sounds like a good idea but IMO, the direction was very amateurish and so was the acting. These individual stories should have been nest left as individual shorts, and not make a film out of them. The first story was the most interesting of all, where Millo's frustration with his career and his possessiveness with his wife was very evident. The other 2 were just ok. And just because one of the stories had a gay character, this film features on my blog here. Otherwise, this one had no chance.

I would not recommend this film. Save your time for watching some really good short films instead. (2.5/10)

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