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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 Exploding Boy

By Golu
This film is a gay coming of age film of an angry teenager. The film takes us on a journey into the life of a 16-year-old boy, grappling with his intense emotions. I thought the film was extremely basic and amateurish. The dialog is bad, the acting is awful, and the camerawork needs help. But the story is quirky enough to be interesting.

Alex is a misfit at school, enduring bullying and harsh scrutiny at the hands of the hall monitor. Alex takes solace in the world of puppetry and filmmaking. His neighbors are quick to judge his every move. At home, his father is a strict disciplinarian, constantly demeaning Alex and never trying to understand him. His mother attempts to bridge the gap, but Alex remains distant. She herself is dealing with issues of her own, dealing with identity crisis and likely extremely unhappy in her marriage. When Julius, a new student joins the class, things start to change for him. They have instant connect and friendship and start to hang out. As their bond deepens, their friendship blossoms into something more of an attraction with boys exploring each other's bodies. Can Alex accept his growing feelings for Julius, especially after they have an intimate moment together?

Alex is shown obsessed with puppets with thats not well explored in the film. The film focuses more on Alex's mother and Alex himself. Alex portrays the confusion of a teenager who does not really understand what’s going on with him or what it is that he wants, but we never know why is he so angry? Is it because of his parents situation or confusion around his own sexuality? Despite Alex having a gay vibe, the LGBT content takes forever to show up. There’s a scene early on where Alex’s mother hints that she suspects that he’s gay, but that doesn’t mean he is. It’s also not clear why Julius is interested in Alex. And it doesn’t help that Alex is such a loner. When Julius tries to get close to him, Alex pushes him away, causing the romantic angle to take a while to get going. Julius is also a bit of a mystery. He’s embarrassed to admit that he lives in a hotel and doesn’t divulge a lot about himself. We are never told much about him or his situation. Overall, the film feel more like a project done to learn direction and storytelling rather to make a coherent story telling medium. (2.5/10)
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