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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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Perfect Propose (Japanese Series)

By Golu
There’s very little that sets “Perfect Propose” apart from the dime-a-dozen romantic series out there, and the pace of the show is quite flat. Still with only 6 episodes of about 24 minute each, it did manage to hold my attention. Yes, things get repetitive with very little focus on romance and more on one of our protagonists workplace madness; but still I would look forward to the genuine interaction between two friends who are lonely in their own ways and are looking for company but wont admit. My brain says the show is strictly average but I was still able to cherish it. Having said that, I will not remember much of it in a few weeks time.

Hiro works in an IT company is grossly overworked. His manager continues to give him more and more work Hiro endures all the workplace abuse, lacking the courage and motivation to defend himself. One night suddenly a guy named Kai enters his life. Turns out Hiro and Kai were briefly friends as kids and Kai used to joke that he will marry Hiro. They have not seen each other for 10 years. Kai explains that the restaurant he worked for, his owner has taken ill and he needs a place to stay. Kai brings up their engagement in the past, a memory that Hiro didn't take seriously. Kai also reveals he's gay, shocking Hiro. Hiro lets him stay and in return Kai returns the favor by cooking delicious meals for him, which Hiro had forgotten all about given his over work. Hiro slowly realizes that he enjoys Kai's companionship. Since moving in together, he doesn't feel as depressed anymore. Even though Kai keeps telling him that he will hopefully ignite romance in Hiro.  Day pass and Kai still loves Hiro and would like to know if Hiros feelings have changed. Eventually as you would expect, Hiro comes to realize that there is more to life than just work and he also realizes how much he crushes Kai's presence. We finally have a happy ending.

Workplace toxicity is areal thing and this series shows a mean boss who is always on his team's case. It was nice to see how the story portrays emotional and psychological struggles of Hiro, illustrating the nuances of occupational burnout. His monotonous life changes with arrival of Kai. But how I wish we knew more about these individuals. Sure, Kai's father died when he was young leading to him being a loner. But why does he think of only Hiro when he doesn't have a place to stay. If he was so much in love within, why didn't he try to connect with him earlier? These questions and more are not explained. But to be honest, I didn't care. It is like Kai enters like a miracle in Hiro's life to make his life better. Although eventually we fid that in their own ways both Hiro and Kai are helping each other out. But since both these boy shave subdued and reserved personality, their romance doesn't develop fast enough (despite Kai offering to keep Hiro a handjob so he can sleep better on the second day itself, which by the way was a nice funny scene). I think the show demands it, but the spark between the leads was missing and as shown , it did feel like an arrangement of convenience. This again is one of those shows that uses food as a common pint to bring two lonely souls together, but how I wish there was more of romance involved this time. Despite its shortcomings, personally the show kept me engaged with its short episodes. (5.5/10)
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