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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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Struggle (Canada)

By Golu
Watching films from almost 15 years back feels so nostalgic. The time that were, the kind of independent films that were made with minimal budget and production and sometimes very amateurish acting and direction. They used to be a good mix. This film, even though had its heart in the right place and must have been ok watching when it came out, felt very jaded watching it now.

A young boy Darren arrives who arrives in Toronto seeking a new life. Running out of money, and with nowhere to live, he quickly is befriended by a group of rent boys with whom he had locked eyes a few times during last few days. The give him shelter and food while he figures out next steps. The group has Alex, another young boy very dependent on drugs, hallucinates in sleep and someone who feels like a problem child. His boyfriend is Steve, mature of the two, loves Alex and genuinely takes care of him. And then you have the big guy who makes sure everyone does enough "work" to have fodder" He tries to get Darren also to do sex work but Darren flatly refuses causing wrath. Complicating matters for himself, he falls in love with Steve, which as you can imagine, with his situation for Alex is already complicated. While desperately trying to avoid becoming a prostitute himself, Darren's loneliness and infatuation with Steve eventually sets him on a downward spiral with tragic circumstances.

Films like these are tricky. I am sure the makers want the audience to feel empathy for these characters (depending on their back stories), but here all I felt was pity. Sure, Darren ran away from home, but the reason he gives is not very convincing. Running away with no experience, no knowledge of the horrible thing the world may be is going to be tricky and one is bound to find people who will be willing to take advantage of you at any given point. It feels like the bus have good intentions to help out Darren but the pimp won't have any other way. It's eventually Steve who gets sandwiched between the problem child Alex and his growing attraction for Darren, who doesn't leave any chance of flirting with him. The direction was strictly ok and the film felt unnecessarily stretched at multiple places. I guess the message is that the world is not a kind place for anyone, especially with young boys on the street.  You may find love but will that be enough? (4/10)
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