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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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My Sky (Vietnamese Mini-Series)

By Golu
This mini-series has only 5 episodes of about 12-15 minutes each and was probably sponsored by Uber, given how blatantly it is promoted in every episode. The story of the show is pretty straight forward and basic. There was scope for lot more love, romance and drama but for whatever reason, the show wasn't explored much and even the ending seemed rushed.

One day, while driving Thien gets into an accident and hits another boy named Khanh, who is wearing a girl's dress. Scared o going to hospital, Thien brings him home. He is not serious, he takes care of him and that nightie two boys get into a one night stand and Khanh leaves early morning. Two months later when Thien sees him at school, he has many questions that he wants answers to. Thien, who is an upcoming singer, uses the help of his friend who manages his business. Together they find out that Khanh lives with his adopted uncle who beats him every night and possibly also assaults him sexually (its never explicitly told). Thien saves him form that man and bring shim soon and soon the two boys start a relationship. This doesn't go well with the manager but Thien is happy and he wouldn't have any of it. Khanh continues to be the supportive boyfriend. But when one day the news of Thien being gay goes public, suddenly he is very scared of his future and image. To top that, his friend cum producer threatens him to ruin him if he continues his relationship. Scared, Thien fights with Khanh and asks him to leave immediately. Completely heartbroken, Khanh decides to end his life to save his love's career.

The idea behind the story was ok but  the execution was amateurish. Firstly we are not given any proper introduction to who Thien is. Also, when you take a man/boy home to take care of, why on earth Ould you give them a cocktail? And to top that you have sex with that guy. That first night of their meeting is absurd beyond belief. It gets worse from here. The way Thien's manager friend try to find Khanh by installing camera in his room made me shell shocked. Despite all odds, Thien and Khanh end up being a cute couple. Thien knows the struggles this guy has been through, so obviously when his manager threatens him, you think he will do the right thing. But surprise, he drops his life like a piece of hot cake. Just like that. No remorse, no apology, nothing. His character takes a complete u-turn in that last scene which doesn't even make sense. And then the suicide happens. So, my question is what is the message that the makers are trying to send with a show like this. It was alright while Thien was nice and he actually was a good boy. The duo made a good couple, spent time with one another and cared for each other. I bet, the makers could have come up with a happy positive ending to the show rather than this lame climax, which I guess has to be one of the worst ending of a BL series, and probably done just for the shock value. I mean, I can't think of any other reason. If you wanna watch this, go ahead and just watch the first 4 episodes only. The last one just ruins everything. (4/10)
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