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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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The Perfect Son (Canada)

By Golu
I had mixed feelings about this film. A subject like this could offer viewers a very moving experience , but somehow I just didn't connect. And this is no fault of the makers. I think the subject itself was ok but to make a full fledged film probably ended up making it gloomy rather than a touching and moving fare. Thankfully two brilliant performances save the day.

Estranged brothers Ryan and Theo meet anther father's funeral. Growing up Ryan was the perfect son, while Their was good fo nothing drug addict. The duo reconnect trying to get to know one another better. Theo realizes that he hardly knows anything about his brother Ryan, his wonderfully fabulous gay life past. Ryan also reveals that he has AIDS and that he will eventually die soon, making Theo realizes that he wants to do everything he can to make his brother's life comfortable. The film involves Theo getting comfortable with Ryan's life. Meeting his friends and taking good care of him in hospital and home, all this while he also tries to win his ex-girlfriend back.

The film is extremely slow and solely relies on heavy dialogues and the wonderful performances of the two leads. Trust me, there were plenty of times, when I was yawning and kept wondering if something important would happen. But I now realize that this film is actually the director's personal story. He wrote the script based on his own relationship with his older brother who died of AIDS in 1995. It feels the film is about how people connect and how family is inescapable. The imperfect Theo finally finds some connection with Ryan whose flamboyant lifestyle has inevitably led to his HIV+ status and more dependence on drugs than his rowdy younger brother. Yes, the reconciliation is genuine and heartfelt, but as audience, I never felt their emotion, but thats probably because by the time final climx happens, I was already bored. If not for the brilliant acting, this film would have been an absolute disaster. The two men at least manage to salvage the film, to a certain extent. (4/10)
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