Skip to main content

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...
Post a Comment

Come Into Your Own

By Golu
Here we go again. Yet another self-indulgent film, where the director probably insisted to play the lead of the film as well. Yes, sexual identity is a complicated thing. We have seen many films showing a supposedly straight character realizing he is gay but not many come to mind about a reversal scenario. So, in that sense, it is interesting concept but the purpose or the message behind the film is never clear.

Lirim has been with his boyfriend for about 3 years. Their friends wedding suddenly makes his boyfriend also want to marry Lirim, but something is going on with Lirim. As a person he is a recluse and doesn't talk much. A middle aged man at work is his only friend. One day when he suddenly find a broken cell phone, he ends up meeting Audrey, who is owner of the phone. They have some sort of connection, which I guess further confuses Lirim. He randomly decides to break up with his boyfriend when he proposes him and starts living with his colleague/friend for a few nights. During this time he also starts dating Audrey without telling her the truth about himself. They end up getting physical and Lirim is enjoying this new phase. Despite warnings from his friend that Lirim should tell her the real story, he doesn't do that. One evening at an important party, Lirim's ex-bf is also present and the truth eventually comes out. Audrey asks Lirim to go away and figure out what he wants from life. He says, he is gay, he has always been but he is self discovering. And the film just ends presumably with the idea that Lirim is leaving town on a self discovery trip.

The biggest flaw of the film is it never really goes into the idea of sexuality itself. One day the man has a boyfriend , next day girlfriend and third day, no one. There is absolutely no explanation on why is his behavior so irrational. And why we, the audience, would care at all about him. There is no explanation given on why there seems to be a friction between the two men. They have absolutely zero chemistry and were really looking like they were forced to be together in the same room. Maybe someone went through these events in real life, but clearly they didn't learn much from it and the makers didn't care either. All characters talk and put their hearts on sleeve about what's going on in thier head but Lirim is the only one self centered guy. Lirim fails both as an actor and a director. He doesn't have the either the charm or the talent to sustain a full fledged film completely on his own. At the very least, it was important to understand the character and what's going on inside that head before you direct and act.

This is waste of time. I have seen worse films, I will admit, but really, there is absolutely nothing to look forward to in this film. (3/10)
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Phor Lae Lukchai (Thai) [Father & Son]

By Golu
I think the budget of this film was probably too small, but for that, the film definitely offers a different and unique storyline without over dramatizing anything. Yes, some scenes were a bit amateurish but in the bigger scheme of things, that can be overlooked. The film is both beautiful and sad in its own unique way. Aek is a gay dad, whose partner died right around the time their son Nueng was born through surrogacy in a road accident. The relationship between father and son is unpleasant and unstable. We are not really told why, but it seems the father has been unsuccessful in caring and loving his son because of his partner's death. Aek continues to hook up wit hookers. Also, Nueng is constantly bullied by everyone around him for having a gay dad. He has no friends, except Nat, a neighborhood boy, who also happens to be Nueng's boyfriend. In a sudden turn of events Nat is found murdered along with another boy naked. Saddened by the events, Nueng jumps from roof and k...
1 comment
Read more

Gaya Sa Pelikula (Filipino Series) [Like In The Movies]

By Golu
Pinoy BL series seem to be catching up to the popularity of the Thai shows. And I must say that they are doing a pretty good job at it. Where Thai series started to get repetitive with so many shows based in a college setting with seemingly similar storylines, Pinoy series are offering the viewers with new and interesting stories and some really good sets and surroundings. This series was 8 episodes of about 25-20 minutes each. Karl, a 19-year old introvert architecture student is in the middle of an identity crisis. Prior to the start of the second semester in college and forced by his parents, he moves into his uncle's condominium unit so that he can learn to be financially independent. Karl takes on odd jobs online to do so. But when one of his major clients suddenly goes MIA, he is left short on funds and without a means to pay for his utilities. An opportunity presents itself when his cocky neighbor Vlad has to hide from his family and proposes to share Karl's space for th...
23 comments
Read more

The Tuxedo (Thai Series)

By Golu
When I saw this series with 8 episodes of about 20-25 minutes each, I thought, good: Finally someone has come to senses and made a show which is not stretched out and they have tried to squeeze in a decent storyline in a good small episode format. But unfortunately, despite a decent premise on hand, the clunky writing, bad screenplay and an extreme tasteless portrayal of mental illness makes this show, not a fun watch. By the time it finishes, you just want to laugh off at the entire absurdity of it all. Aioun is talented tuxedo designer and very much in demand but he has handful of clients and he builds suits only for people who he feels a connection to. One night when his younger brother is about to get mugged, he is helped by a total stranger named Sichol. Since he tears his suit in the fight and has an interview the next day, Aioun gifts him a suit form his design as an expression of thanks. Sichol's interview is for. Personal assistant of a man named Nawee, a wealthy heir to h...
25 comments
Read more