Tag Archives: A24

Film reviews

The Front Room Review

Leave a comment

Brandy Norwood (left) and Andrew Burnap (right) in The Front Room

The subject of being included in a family takes a clever turn in this unique classic. Directed by Max and Sam Eggers, The Front Room is a dark comedy that offers unexpected gems hidden below the surface. The writing of the film has plenty of twisted humor. It leaves the audience wondering how much tolerance there is for the situation. Brandy Norwood makes her return to a one-of-a-kind dark comedy. The Front Room will leave its viewers gasping with laughs and shocks. This is by far one of the craziest and most massive achievements I have seen from the Eggers’ brothers.

The film gears on Belinda (Norwood) and Norman (played by Andrew Burnap). They are a couple waiting for the arrival of their newborn baby. Their lives as a growing family begin to get more complicated. Norman’s stepmother Solange (played by Kathryn Hunter) moves in with them. She is rude, belittling, condescending, and obnoxious. Hunter plays the role of an old naggy woman extremely well.  Solange has no filter and is machine of negative words. As Belinda is trying to tolerate Solange, their home begins to hit all sorts of plateaus due to the aggravation that Solange causes daily. She constantly talks about respect and uses that as the reason she frequently puts Belinda and Norman down. She is also a religious fanatic. With Belinda and Norman awaiting their first-born child, how much of her abuse and unexpected, dramatic episodes can they tolerate? Solange is wicked and acts like a queen witch in their home which once belonged to her.

Given the frequent and repeated terror caused by Solange, The Front Room never stops exploring what reality would be like if people were in the same situation as Belinda and Norman. The film is a cinematic jolt of dynamic adrenaline. The sense of entitlement is on full display in the ongoing disagreements throughout The Front Room. The witch goes full throttle and her persistent effort to do everything she can to make Belinda lose her mind makes The Front Room a cohesive journey of bashing heads.

Audiences will get angry at Solange. They will feel her wrath. They will also feel the frustration of Belinda as she keeps struggling to put up with the bipolar patterns of Solange. Norman feels like he cannot do much, since Solange is his stepmom. It is clear, however, that he does not like her much. It is a situation where there are two against one, but Solange is very strong with her words and quirkiness which are enough to mentally burn Belinda and Norman out. The question is how their newborn will be raised around Solange and her intense personality and weird religious notions. The writing and continuity of disturbing cycles is at a championship level in The Front Room. The question is, can everyone just get along? Find out in The Front Room. It is a cinematic gem where the comedy lies within the cycle of tolerance. Four out of four stars.

Film reviews

MaXXXine Review

Leave a comment

The three Xs in the title are the correct context of MaXXXine. Ti West is back with a sexual and prolific adventure with no boundaries. The 1980s Hollywood era is mixed with tons of lethal drugs and behaviors. MaXXXine is a dangerous expedition. West did a thriller with the adult film industry in  X and Pearl. Both films opened in 2022. Mia Goth has been in both and continues to be the frightening and audacious actress in MaXXXine.

The eras of Hollywood are always a joy of grandeur for me especially when it makes its focus to be risky or risque scenarios. All the stories many have heard about Hollywood’s history play well into MaXXXine. MaXXXine though, had me in a bind. It is bonkers and quickly curated around its dangerous aspects, but is there meaning behind it? The film itself. The film tends to go down the road of being sexually horrific for the sake of it.

To explain the concept of the film, Goth is Maxine Minx. The three X’s make the point clear that she is an adult movie star. She is one of the bad choices. She does tons of drugs and is addicted to fuels of fame. She even has a nasty attitude. Regardless, she feels she is the sexy queen that conquers the world. However, the film takes place in the era of the night stalker scenario. Maxine finds herself with people who have been killed after the fact that she has seen them. Detective Torres (played by Bobby Cannavale) and Detective Williams (played by Michelle Monaghan) try to get to the bottom of Maxine’s involvement. However, Maxine is oblivious and only tries to remember she is the best.

Another officer John Labat (played by Kevin Bacon) comes around. He has got that dirty cop vibe. He is on the list of hatred for Maxine. The film is a dynamic of Maxine meeting bizarre individuals as the night stalker murder abounds. What is more invigorating? The fact that Maxine is an adult film star? The fact that it is around the night stalker scenario? The film begins to go down a road where personality is damaging. From that, I found the writing to start to have a blur.

Even around the personalities of the film, it is a ride that is average. “Average” in terms of performance and quality. Goth’s performance may be surreal, but her role in this one did not do it for me as much. That is more because I felt she was playing the same role in X and Pearl. Only this time, her way of revenge is getting people crushed in their vehicles. It is also one where bizarre exorcisms come around, and they are hard to take seriously.

The concept is interruption of fame. With all the murder moments zooming back and forth, it is Maxine being distracted from her privileged life. MaXXXine deserves three X’s because that is all the film cares about and so does the role of Goth. Drugs, sex, and murders, just keep going down the aisles. The presentation is bulky which is hard to manage. I found myself thinking how much more over-the-top grotesque moments do I have to endure? Will anyone find joy in this one? I will say I did on some levels. But I wish there was more meaning than over-the-top celebrity nonsense mended with a murder scenario. My rating falls at two out of four stars for MaXXXine.

Film reviews

I Saw The TV Glow Review

Leave a comment

I Saw the TV Glow operates within the context of spellbinding fascinations with hobbies and moments of connections searching for understanding and empathy.  The film was written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun. Schoenbrun’s direction is audacious in its grandeur and colorful revelations. The film is experimental and worthy of awards. I Saw the TV Glow made my head spin in a positive way. The film centers on a reality TV show and its impact on a set of viewers throughout their lives.One that will build connections and memories that will mesmerize the minds of its audience.

The film’s focus is on the social disconnect of its main characters in the beginning. One is a boy with this feeling namedOwen (played by Justice Smith). Owen finds love and connection to the other, his close friend Maddie (played by Brigette Lundy-Paine). They are both fixated on a TV show called The Pink Opaque. It is a reality TV show based on the supernatural. It brings Owen and Maddie closer to their hearts and their feelings of where they sense they are meant to be. Owen has always struggled with loneliness. Maddie is also disconnected, but she tolerates being an introvert. The Pink Opaque builds a certain power within Owen. One that he will carry with him for years. Ultimately, his love for Maddie and his love of the TV show is where he feels there is meaning to life.

The era of the VHS days is portrayed in this film. Looking back at the era of having to watch programs in their scheduled time brings its audience back to a more structured reality when television viewers had to plan out when to watch the shows they loved. Owen collects VHS tapes of recordings of The Pink Opaque. He says, “I watched these tapes over and over again, and they never got old.” The fascination with a TV show is just the beginning of the story in I Saw the TV Glow.

The time when technology was limited in repeated views paints a portrait of how special this show is for Owen and Maddie in the film. It creates their bond of closeness in a surreal and experimental direction. The direction is breathless. The film shines with radiance. The friendship of Owen and Maddie thrives indefinitely in correlation to their love for a show they are obsessed with together.

The direction of Schoenbrun is artistic in its creation of an atmosphere where sharing an obsession creates a euphoric world. The presence of Owen and Maddie’s relationship brings a sense of urgency to what they have shared for years. Their love for The Pink Opaque goes to the horizons of imagination with sparks of wonder. Schoenbrun knows the depths of experimental value among in exploring aspects of personalities that bind and are inspiring. 

In the performance of Lundy-Paine, I saw the loving side of her wonderful aura in I Saw the TV Glow. It brought me back to her performance as Casey from the series Atypical. She has that personality where hardship in personal life is something she tolerates with a firm attitude. Her attitude is even firmer and revolutionary in I Saw the TV Glow.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? What are the chances of discovering the hidden treasures that tempt the characters in I Saw the TV Glow? This mesmerizing and in-depth trail of fear and friendship compounded by reality is off the charts. A true and surreal film that feels scientific in its search for a light of truth to the highest perception. Four out of four stars.