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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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Better Days (Filipino Series)

By Golu
This six part mini series was a very simple and cute story about 2 childhood friends who reconnect during the Covid lockdown. The show isn't fancy or anything. It is pretty basic but the two leads have enough charm to see it through. Also the run time of every episode is about 15-18 minutes, so its an easy breezy watch.

Kian returns to his childhood country home to spend time during lockdown. He is hoping to reconnect with his childhood friend Aron, who is their caretaker's son and whom he hasn't seen in many years. The two friends are excited to see each other and Aron can't get enough of the amazing food that Aron cooks. They have affection for each other but neither knows exactly what it is. There are bouts of jealousy when Kian sees Aron with a neighbor girl and similarly the feeling is returned when Kian's friend comes to visit him. Kian, doesn't get along well with his father, so he wants to reopen their family restaurant with help of culinary skills that Aron has and this is the only things that excites Kian. Meanwhile Aron has just received scholarship to go to school to live his dream. Even though they are both confused about their feelings for one another, they decide to follow their own path and dreams.

I am not sure if this can strictly be called a BL series because there is only a hint if jealousy and affection for one another. They both secretly admire one another but feelings are never confronted or told. It's more like a bromance. The ending where Aron holds Kian's hand is sweet but I was also expecting a kiss. There is an undertone of servant/master through the whole thing making any sort of possible romance between these two unbalanced, despite the love and affection. It was also a bit slow burn where we just saw their friendship naturally develop but the show doesn't end at anything concrete (probably it is the makers way of making a sequel). I can see people will have mixed feelings about this show and I myself fall in the same category. For me, the best part of the show surprisingly was the opening credits. The two kids and them playing around fooling with each other was so cute and nice to watch. The grown ups continue with their charm but just never go beyond that to actually make an impact. The two leads looked good and acted well and I have to say this is definitely much better than some recent crap that I have seen. (5/10)
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