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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 New Member (Taiwanese Musical)

By Golu
This show is recording of an actual live musical performance with friendship as the core to the theme and a few BL stories. As you all know that musicals have never been my cup of tea, unless something is very extraordinary, so as much as I wanted to enjoy this show, it did really nothing for me. Also, its hard to appreciate songs in other languages when you have to focus so hard on reading subtitles to understand the whole context. Below is the synopsis presented by their official website.

Despite his best friend's protest, An, a gifted student, joins the rock music club just before the national high school rock band contest. But aside from the practice sessions, he also has to manage the pressure of the endless exams and the trouble that comes with being a teenager…all that is worth looking forward to, is the action – such as a kiss that was never meant to be, a burning desire that has been left unattended for far too long, and a realization that a person's sex – both biological and psychological –matters not in front love. In the sophomore year of high school, anything could happen – it is an unapologetic rock n' roll song, composed of passion and youth!

At almost 2.5 hours of total runtime, the is a huge commitment to sit through and I have to a admit that I struggled to keep my attention on what's unfolding on my screen. But having said that if a similar BL show was to happen in my city, I might give it a try to watch it live. By now, I have seen almost 4 shows that have been recordings of live musical performances, and honestly they are just not fun to watch. The whole excitement of watching live is not there and everything is diluted. The story was interesting with the y young BL couple and an older generation couple worrying about what the newer generation BL couples must suffer. The actors seemed ok, its not easy to dance, sing and act all at the same time. Also, there are way too many characters and it takes a good 45 minutes to realize who are the important ones and whom should you focus on. But thankfully most guys were cute, which by now, I have started to expect o most Taiwanese shows. Overall, the show was not my cuppa tea although I would always applaud the efforts and hard work that must have gone to make this stage performance. My rating here is for my interest in this musical show and not really a reflection of how good or bad it really is. (2/10)
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