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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 Time of Fever (Korean Series)

By Golu
Set in a coastal town of South Korea, this series is a visual treat with some stunning cinematography. With only 6 episodes each of 20 minutes, this is a very breezy watch and luckily the two leads are extremely charming. They portray this romance with tenderness and sensational chemistry, especially when the couple kisses. A story of unrequited love, this is supposed to be a prequel to 'Unintentional Love Story', but sadly don't remember much of. I mean, there is so much content being consumed these days, I just cannot keep up watching, forget actually remembering anything. This was apparently released as a film and then later cut into 6 different episodes.

Hotae's father has just passed away and his mother return to their coastal hometown for a fresh start. Hotae is excited to reunite with his childhood companion, Donghee. And Hotae lives with latter's family since the school is close. The two friends haven't talked in a while so while Hotae is excited to meths off friend, he finds his friends standoff ish behaviour a bit weird. Anyway, the dup soon reconnect and become close friends again. Both the guys have some sort of feelings for each other but cannot completely fathom what it is. Hotae even tries to date a couple of girls, but always prioritize Donghee over them. They are both fighting against their feelings. One day at school Hotae takes the bold step of asking Donghee to teach him kissing and they share a passionate kiss, igniting feelings for one another. The feelings start to change and so do the dynamics between them. After a few nights again Hoate kisses Donghee, but this time something is holding him back. He soon decides to move to Seoul for further studies leaving Hotae totally baffled (and me too. I still don't understand the motivation behind the action). The series then randomly ends with two friends reuniting. We are not told about how much time has passed in between.

This short series is a simple romance between two childhood friends. Both protagonists experience joy, sorrow, passion, heartbreak, and many complex emotions. Early on, the story depicts their bond through delightful banter and tender moments. As their attraction deepens, the interactions become charged with ambiguous sexual tension. While the couple grows closer and takes bolder risks, they hesitate to express their feelings completely. And the two brilliant actors play their part perfectly. They share a natural rapport with each other and we even get two see two amazing kissing scenes. Despite the cutesy frame of the series, it does feel rushed at many places, especially towards the end. Also we never get to understand the details between Donghee's abusive father. A little more of family context might have helped us understand his actions better. All said and done, the story wasn't new but it felt fresh in its delivery. The moments were realistically light and not bogged down with melodrama. This series works primarily because of the two charming leads, but besides that it doesn't offer much. (6/10)
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