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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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Colorful Melody (Thai Mini-Series)

By Golu
This is just a 4 episode mini series with episodes of 20-25 minute duration. So even though this doesn't have too much time investment, it still is a story that should just have been a simple short story of about 20-25 minutes. The show is stretched for no reason. The only good thing about the show is that the visuals of the countryside, village, classic train, waterfalls are really pretty to look at. But besides this, the overall show is just meh.

Day is a young musician and violin player who has an audition coming up for an orchestra. Ti prepare for it, he decides to move to a quiet surrounding so he can concentrate on music. He takes up part time job of teaching at a school. This is where he meets Mem. Mem is an art teacher. He loves to draw, even in his free time. Mem likes going to various outdoor locations with his drawing kit and paints for hours. The duo start to get along and Day hangs out with Mem enjoying the local scenery. One day Mem kisses Day after which Day starts to completely avoid him, until one day he again suddenly appears as if nothing has happened. They go on a hike and outing which is when Day kisses Mem this time and they both fully unfold their feelings for one another. The last episode unfurls a surprise where Day finds out that Mem has a heart condition and he won't be living for long. Mem pushes Day away so he can focus on his dream.

The mesmerizing backdrop helps establish a romantic atmosphere. It's easier to believe the characters have fallen in love when surrounded by natural beauty. However, the couple's relationship scenes are mundane and very unconvincing. Even as the characters, both are very monotonous and don't really have a personality which can give actors an edge to perform. There is no explanation given on why Day gets mad and suddenly resurfaces as if nothing has happened. And the tragedy in final episode was like wtf! A gentle love story suddenly gets turned to a melodrama and suddenly there is also a connection where turns out that. The two boys met as kids because their dads were friends. The mysterious illness, the childhood connection, to Mem driving Day away completely (I mean he always probably knew he was sick); everything just goes downhill, not that the show was anything great to go by in t he first place. The only saving grace is the short duration, which IMO should have been even shorter. Don't waste your time on this one, even though the locations are gorgeous. (3/10)
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