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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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O Silêncio da Singularidade (Portuguese) [The Silence of the Singularity]

By Golu
This was more like an extended short film running to about an hour or so, which could easily have been squeezed into a 25 min film. There a re a few obvious scenes that can be eliminated and the message that this film is trying to say would not have been diluted. Story is about 18 year old boy who is obsessed with universe, space and astrophysics. He is also a religious boy thanks to his mom and how his knowledge of science and religious interferes with his confusion when he starts to have feelings for his friend.

Thiago is a young man of 18 who is simple, Christian, and passionate about astrophysics. He lives with his religious mother and sister in a happy family. His best friend is Lucas, who is not very good at studies and Thiago helps him a lot. His life takes a turn when he realizes that he is developing feelings for his best friend. As their friendship deepens, Thiago is confronted with unexpected feelings that go beyond his comprehension. Intrigued, Thiago embarks on a quest for self-knowledge and acceptance, seeking to complexities of the human heart. He meets a trans girl, who gives him some info on how to balance his feelings alongwith religion and how Jesus mens to love everyone. But he is still confused. Interestingly Lucas feels the same and one day he kisses Thiago leaving him even more confused. As he dives into this journey, some obstacles make him question his faith, the universe, and his growing passion. This is when his mother reminds him that love can never be wrong and manages to make sure Thiago never thinks he is doing anything wrong just because he is gay. He returns his love and kiss to Lucas.

The film is a sensitive story that addresses themes such as faith, identity, and the challenges of youth. The story focuses on the internal conflict of a young man dealing with his feelings and the expectations of society and religion. The acting is decent but I found some scenes were unnecessary like the conversations around God feels repetitive just because it happens between so many people. Also I am not sure how Thiago's love for universe and space fits into all this? The boys are both cute and have good chemistry. The mother's character is the best since at one side she is deeply religious but is also modern in the sense that she knows love cannot be wrong. And if you push your kids too much, it could have consequences. Most scenes between mother and daughter also could be deleted. They offer no value except showing how understanding the mother is. Overall a decent attempt at telling a story of acceptance and self-discovery and how to reconcile religion with being gay. (5.5/10)
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