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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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L'homme blessé (French) [The Wounded Man]

By Golu
All the time I was watching his film, I kept thinking "What is going on?" and you know how that is never a good sign. Expectation that this film will son start making sense,just always go downhill. Not much dialogue and only actions makes watching this film very boring and hard. I wonder if this has anything to do with not having context of homosexuality life in France in 1980's. I doubt because that should be no reason to not understand the context of a film.

A young man named Henri goes to the railway station with his parents to bid farewell to his sister, who is leaving on a vacation. The train is late, Henri has time to linger, and on a trip to the men's room he discovers that he has great passionate interest in men. One man in particular, Jean, a thug who implicates Henri in a robbery and then gives him a violent kiss, becomes for Henri a figure of enduring erotic fascination. Henri comes out of his shell that she starts getting obsessed with Jean. After a bit of gamesmanship, Jean takes Henri home, where Jean's girlfriend Elisabeth also lives. And then mutual mischief sets in. Jean sets a trap for Henri, who falls in. There is an older guy who is always after Henri and he then takes him to his home where Jean is also there and there is some hot-action there. I am not very sure of the time lapse  but its never clear. The old man ultimately takes Henri to this desolated place where Jean is sleeping. By then, the lust and passion and longing for Jean has built up so much in Henri that he takes drastic steps in the end of the film.

As I mentioned, I was quite confused most of the times as to whats actually going on. Who is the old man. Sure he fancies younger blokes but what is it that makes him want to help Henri all the time. What does he know about Jean. Does Jean have  medical problem or emotional issue? Why is Henri going all crazy over Jean. Why is Jean playing games with Henri, when he keeps saying that he doesn't want Henri to do anything. My list of questions will not end. Why is Henri always wearing dirty clothes. Why does he spend so much time in rushing and running form one place to another only to stop and look about ... left, right, left, right. This action of his would happen every single time and it started to bother me so much after a while. Jean has a comfortable life style at home, then why is he so attracted to the street life with hustlers. Shame, my questions will never be answered :(

In short, this film was just not meant for me. Portrayal of the turmoil of a young man wanting to escape from his boring socially acceptable family life while feeling disturbed and offended by the alternative world to which his emotions are driving him. Yawn! (2.5/10)
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