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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...

Brotherly Love

Let me just say it out clearly, I did not enjoy this film at all. And this is for multiple reasons. This is supposed to be a very simple story, which, for no reason is unnecessarily stretched beyond need. There were so many instances where I completely lost interest in whatever was going on. This could have been a very simple and effective short story, something that told us things about homosexuality and religion. Unfortunately good intentions don't always turn into good cinema.

Vito is a young gay man and an Italian Catholic man in the final stages of taking his Brotherhood vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. He hasn't let go of his circle of gay friends, hasn't given up partying into the wee hours of the morning, but has given up acting out on any of his sexual/intimacy impulses. he has one closest friend who has been with him forever and he likes to spend time with him a lot. Neither of his friends and mentors agree to his direction of brotherhood and tell him that since he enjoys the regular life so much, he should not force himself on the path of God but Vito is hell bent on making sure he sees it through. His spiritual advisor sets him up on a summer sabbatical volunteering at an AIDs Support Home in Austin, Texas. During this time he is introduced to positive gay role models, alternate spiritual/Christian views on homosexuality. He also ends up meeting Gabe, the landscaper of that house, who potentially could be his soulmate. Gabe and Vito realize that they both share a lot more in common than they think. They get closer, while Vito constantly tries to avoid physical intimacy. One night finally, Vito gives in to his physical needs but hey remain friends. When Vito is back at his home, everything around him finally makes him realize that eventually he will have to choose Gabe over God.

As mentioned above, the biggest problem of the film is its length. It way way lengthier than it needs to be. It needs some serious editing. Acting is not the worse but can actually use some finesse. There were moments in the film, when I was thinking, is this supposed to be a spoof for something and then it would go back to normal. it was filled with stereotypes and the dialogues were over the top, it wasn't easy to take either the characters or the story seriously. Besides the fact that probably the makers intentions were honest, I really can't bring myself to think of any other positive that will make me recommend this movie to anyone.

To sum it up, this film is simply boring, dull, lengthy and just not interesting. (2.5/10)

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