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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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Mia & Moi (Spanish) [Bringing Him Back]

By Golu
I am struggling to tray and explain how to categorize this film . Laced with just 4 primary characters, the film is about family, more importantly the bond that a brother and a sister share with each other. We are not shared much history about any of the four characters, its all subtle and you have to sort of deduce things, but it does make for an interesting story, if not for a very slow execution.

After their mother's death. Brother-sister dup of Mia and Moi decide to spend sometime in their family home in countryside. Moi is joined by his boyfriend Biel. Moi is dealing with some sort of mental, schizophrenia kind of issues and Biel is trying his best to be there for his boyfriend through thick and thin taking care of him, hoping he can being back the guy he fell in love with. The trio spend time getting rest and remembering old times and just taking things really slow in the countryside. Unexpectedly, Mia's ex boyfriend Mikel shows up one day. He is macho, a stoner and a troublemaker and wants Mia back and literally forces himself in the house. He has some sort of control over her, but he also likes to tease and trouble the poor Moi. He has some sort of obsession with him. Since Biel is starting to get tired of Moi's indifference he naturally starts making friends with Mikel. But one day things get too far when Mikel forces himself on Mia and Moi ends up killing him. This event has irreversible consequences on the brother-sister and also the love between Moi and Biel as a couple.

As I mentioned, the story was interesting, but yeah as you would expect how things move slow in countryside, this movie also goes really slow. We are not told much about anyone's past. What sort of trauma is Moi dealing with. He was probably never this way always since Biel tells us he is the only man he has ever loved. Was their father abusive to their mother? Have the siblings duo always been a more submissive kind of personality which makes it easy for people like Mikel to take control and charge? None of this is spelled out and is subtle. You decide for yourself. Mikel's obsession for Moi was real. I bet there are people like him all over. Every character has all kinds of hidden feelings just bottled up inside, ready to explode, but never getting a chance really. This film is truly a character study and it hots right notes most of the time, but having said that , the film dies test your patience, because you want to know here it is headed. The drama doesn't happen until Mikel's arrival and up till that point the story I swore around Moi being in his own head while his love Biel trying to do the best he can to stay put for his lover. I do not mind films like this, which are about surroundings, characters, inner thoughts, underpaid emotions and I connect with such films at some level. But I can see this film not being everyone's cup of tea. Thankfully the actors are pretty good at their job and they also look really good. I just wish I was able to understand Moi's background a little bit more.  (6/10)
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