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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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Frisk

By Golu
I can see this movie being a talking point way back when it came out in 1995. But so much has evolved since then in stories, story-telling and overall cinema that it is hard to sustain interests of today's audience. This film explores the underground, less explored territories of desire in its darker manifestations and hence makes for an uncomfortable watch. Also the events sometimes don't feel linear. The film constantly goes back n forth between present and past and makes it difficult to keep a track.

Dennis is big time into S&M. He is on this path between what is real and what we can only hope is surreal. We get to follow his journey that he has written to his friend and former lover Julian and his younger brother Kevin, an object of desire to Dennis. We are told how as a teenager he is drawn to the extremes of porn and sex via a bookstore owner Henry. When he hears that Henry has been the victim of a grisly murder, Dennis fantasizes carrying out increasingly elaborate sex murders. He becomes friends with one of the famous hustlers but is somehow unable to kill him. For another murder, he becomes friends with a couple (or were they friends?). Dennis recounts all murders in gruesome details and the two brothers wonder if this is all made up. When they both turn up to meet Dennis, the film ambiguously ends with another possible murder.

The narrative of the film as mentioned above is very diffuse and all over the place. After a while I couldn't keep my hands on reality vs dream. All the murders and sex was pretty detailed, which were really not needed in my opinion. There is not much justification for the behaviour. Most people in the film seem like random people, making the plot more confusing to follow. As a viewer, I am subjected to squirm-inducing sado-masochistic rape/murders which are done on-screen for sexual pleasure. But there seems to be no point behind it. On a positive side, the acting according to me was pretty good. I mean the lead's character is supposed to despise you and you do that.

It is disturbing movie and the acts are not even shamed. I am sure there are people who may enjoy the film, but it is definitely not for me. (2.5/10)
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