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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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Paris (Portuguese Series)

By Golu
A story of teenage love. We have another series from Brazil, which, by the way, I just slowly started to build up their backlog of BL/gay series, so you may find them amateurish at some point. This series is not set in Paris, but Paris here symbolizes a young man’s fantasy image of a faraway place of freedom where you are at liberty to be yourself. With 8 episodes ranging from 20-30 minutes, this show was an ok watch, primarily thanks to its very cute leads.

A troubled teenage Noel comes to live with his aunt. Only much later towards the end we find out that he was beaten and kicked out of hime for being gay, which eventually led to their parents separation as well. His two cousins Carol and Leo are very welcoming and friendly and soon he starts to feel at home. Leo's best friend is Fred and they have been friends since kids and is considered part of the family. When Noel and Fred meet, they feel a spark but obviously neither of them is going to do anything about it. Also Noel finds out that Carol has a crush on Fred too. Thankfully, Fred, as gently as he can, explains that while he loves her, he only loves her as a sister. Slowly the attraction between Fred and Noel starts to grow stringer and they both fall head over heels in love with each other. Noel already has history of abusive father, and Fred doesn't know if he will be able to come out with his strict parents as well. We see how their love grows, how the family and cousins find out and are extremely supportive. There is a bit of drama with Noel's father coming back in picture and wanting him back, but together they all fight back. It's time that Noel and Fred will create their own Paris in their city.

The best thing Is liked about this series was family. This is a beautiful family that was able to overcome a lot of emotional baggage and pain. And when needed, encouraged each other to be themselves, as a family should. This is a ‘feel-good’ series that makes sense. After the initial shock of the relationship between Noel and Fred, all three embrace Noel and Fred’s as being gay with complete acceptance and their relation is accepted as valid and normal as any other relationship. Having said that, it still needs to go a long way before it feels like a polished show. It is still pretty rough and amateurish at multiple places. Thankfully the show never gets overdramatic at any point and keeps it very relatable. The acting by everyone is strictly ok. Again, we have to remember that this is probably done by a very small production company with a limited budget. Noel and Fred make a great couple. They are both handsome (Fred is slightly more). They fall in love, make no apologies for that, and are not hesitant in wanting to display to each other their affection for one another. The way their love slowly develops is handled really well. I liked how Leo respects the boundaries of both his best friend and cousin when he sees them kissing, but is also extremely supportive at the same time. Similarly for Carol and the aunt to be there for young love was very reassuring. As a story, this was quite good, but the makers would still need a bit of time and experience to hone their skills and make a world class product. This series as is, was a pretty good attempt and I salute them for it. (5.5/10)
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