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...
This Thai BL tries something a bit different by mixing a gaming theme with a typical workplace romance. You definitely shouldn't overthink the logic of the plot, because the way they go about developing this romance simulation game doesn't actually make any sense, but the chemistry between the leads is definitely there. I was really into the first few episodes, but it eventually turned into a standard story filled with way too much filler just to stretch it out to 12 episodes. And let me tell you, these episodes are long—almost an hour each, and sometimes even more.
The show follows two love stories, the main one and a side romance between their friends. Hill is a young guy who is totally addicted to a romance sim game on his phone and is obsessed with the main female character, Yuka. This AI-generated girl helped him get through some really tough times and provided the emotional intimacy he needed, so he’s thrilled when he lands a job at the company that created her. However, his boss Junji tells him that Yuka is being shut down soon, which leaves Hill devastated. Seeing how much Hill loves the character, Junji puts him in charge of a project to create a new male character so Yuka’s loyal fans can have a proper goodbye. Hill and his coworker decide their boss is the perfect model for this new character, so Hill has to complete three tasks to "woo" Junji just to collect enough data for the game. As they play along with this pretend romance, things get real between the cold, distant Junji and the clumsy Hill. Despite their differences, they find a connection that keeps getting stronger. Meanwhile, Junji’s chef friend, Phat, ends up falling for Hill’s coworker, Bay. Even though Bay is known for being a player, he falls hard for Phat, and after some family drama and hesitation, they eventually get together too.
I liked the idea of blending the gaming world with a workplace setting, and the first few episodes where they’re hunting for a game model were actually pretty fun. But once Hill started those "tasks"—like having to touch Junji’s hand or flirt with him for "data"—the logic completely fell apart for me. Everyone knew it was just a work assignment, so how were the feelings supposed to feel genuine? If you can ignore that, the romance does grow fairly naturally as they spend more time together. An ex-boyfriend shows up to stir the pot, which finally makes the leads realize how they truly feel. There’s also a big twist where it turns out Yuka’s personality was actually based on Junji all along. I thought Hill did a great job, and while the actors for Bay and Phat were familiar faces who did fine, I think a stronger actor for Junji would have helped. The last few episodes felt like pure fluff, and the finale was way too rushed and tied up in a bow that didn't really make sense. Everything just kind of floated to an end without a clear direction, leaving the whole thing feeling unfinished and uneven.
It’s an interesting concept that eventually gets bogged down by weird logic and a messy ending, making it a decent but forgettable watch. (6/10)
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