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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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Dicke Mädchen (German) [Heavy Girls]

By Golu
This film was probably made on a shoe string budget. Definition of happiness is different for people and the way we all deal with grief is also different. This film is about 2 individuals, who come together and somehow influence each other win ways more than either of them could have imagined.

An overweight middle aged bank employee lives with his mother, suffering from Alzheimer's, taking care of her. While he works during the day, he gets help from a caretaker named Daniel. One day the mother locks Daniel in balcony and goes out of home. In the evening Sven and Daniel search for her together and this is when we see the first time Sven lightly flirts with Daniel. When Daniel returns home, his wife kicks him out because she thinks he is having an affair. He comes to Sven's home and the trio have a wonderful evening together. They platonically even sleep together. Next day the mother dies and Sven is all alone but a slow mysterious relationship starts between Sven and Daniel. Sven is definitely obsessed with Daniel and even watches him at home, but rather than getting mad, Daniel also enjoys it and the two start a relationship soon. But one day, Daniel has had enough and he goes back to his wife. This is when Sven figures out that there is more to life and decides to take time off and travel the world.

The film has some tender scenes that we could al relate to. For example, Sven is a romantic  at heart despite his age, trying to find some sexual privacy from his mother and rapturously dancing naked. Similarly, Daniel's son's complete dismissal of Sven that many gay people maybe able to relate to. Both Daniel and Sven are odd balls in their own way. They understand each other and their craziness is at par with one another. On a deeper level, the two men sense in each other the key to a type of escape. They have picnic around a lake where the two men end up chasing each other around, naked and muddy. Shot probably with just a hand held camera and literally no crew, the film sometimes feel like a documentary and other times a bit of cartoonish. But its a very intimate film trying to show us an interesting take on not rick, not buffed or good looking, no longer younger gay men trying to find love and find out their life. The film is ok but is help together with some terrific uninhibited performance by three principal actors. I reckon this will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I suggest do give it a try. (6/10)
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