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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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Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japanese Series)

By Golu
This series is the Japanese remake of Thai series of the same name. I wasn't sure of what to think of this remake, but as I started watching it, the memories of original Thai show kept coming. The premise and everything is same but with the Japanese flavor. The show has 8 episodes plus 2 special episodes and each varies between 24-30 minutes of run time. I am so glad that they reduced the runtime of this show drastically compared to the original Thai version (maybe something that Thai shows need to learn).

The series follows the chaotic, steamy romantic lives of architecture students Rei and his best friend Kai, both architecture students. The show doesn't run them parallels, rather divides 4 episodes each to focus on their love life. Rei's meeting with his college alumni Arashi doesn't start on a good note. Arashi likes cars and bikes and works in a mechanic shop but also participates in illegal races. Although starting on the wrong foot, their romance eventually grows where Arashi sort of teaches Rei on the value of studies and keeping your life in order while Rei realizes that there I more to Arashi than just hi handsome personality that everyone is after. Then we have Arashi's fellow rider friend Fuma who ends up meeting Kai when Kai and Rei have gatecrashed one of the racing events. That night they both have sex with each other but soon Fuma realizes that he has stronger feeling for Kai. But Kai has a dark past. His ex-boyfriend really used and abused him and had him gang raped multiple times because on which it is extremely difficult for Kai to trust anyone. With patience and resilience, Fuma eventually succeeds in winning Kai's heart. The two special episodes have nothing noteworthy to speak of honestly and can easily be avoided.

There’s not a lot of fresh material in terms of plot: two hot men fall for “damsel-in-distress” sort of younger college kids. Things work out in the end, and there are some steamy scenes in between. In Rei and Arashi's relationship what I liked was uplifting of each other. Arashi is rich, street smart, accomplished, and yet he never falls back on his achievements. Instead, he endeavors to improve; something that inspires Rei. Rei is brash, lazy and naive. He is also exceedingly annoyed by Arashi until they grow closer, and he starts falling for his senior. Their chemistry was good. Actors playing Arashi had this broody demeanor, but somehow he didn't fit my definition of that "hot" guy. Rei plays the mischievous, carefree character very well. For the other couple, I feel they eventually standout with their chemistry. There storyline had more promise and the series doesn't stretch it unnecessarily. We see and feel the trauma that Kais endured but thankfully focus here in on Fuma using his love to bring him closer and try to forget his past trauma. As I mentioned before, there is nothing new here, especially considering that it is a remake. Having said that it is a well edited and tightly put together. Simply put, the remake is equal parts similar and different from the original live-action; it retains imperative portions and adds its own unique distinctions. (6/10)
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