Movie Reviews

Film Review: Challengers – SLUG Magazine

Published

2 years ago

April 16, 2024

Press Room

Film Review: Challengers – SLUG Magazine

Film Reviews

Challengers
Director: Luca Guadagnino

Metro Goldwyn Mayer and Pascal Pictures
In Theaters: 04.26

I’m far from a sports person, though as a writer, I find them to be a useful source for metaphors, usually about life and overcoming struggles. Clearly, so does Luca Guadagnino, as we see with Challengers, which uses competitive tennis as a compelling, if at times heavy handed, metaphor for relationship dynamics, desire and sexual politics.

Tashi Duncan (Zendaya, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Dune) is a retired tennis phenom who is now a determined coach known for her dominating presence both on and off the court. Tashi’s husband, Art Donaldson (Mike Faist, West Side Story), a championship player, seems to have lost both his edge and his love of the game. Tashi hopes to help Art get his groove back by having him compete. However, this plan takes an unexpected turn when Art must compete against his fallen-from-grace former best friend, Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor, God’s Own Country, The Crown) who also happens to be Tashi’s ex-boyfriend. The story of the complicated past between these three plays out in flashbacks as the tense tennis match progresses, as the alternately playful and fierce back and forth of the games of life, love and loyalty bring into into question what it really means to win.

Challengers is easily the most mainstream film that Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Bones and All) has made to date, and it showcases many of his greatest strengths and most glaring weaknesses as a filmmaker. It’s beautifully shot and brimming over with style, though sometimes the latter element is to the film’s detriment. While the tennis matches are skillfully and creatively staged with a lot of brilliantly innovative camera work, including a dazzling shot following the ball itself back and forth through the air, there’s a maddening over dependence on slow motion throughout the film, whether it’s an endless parade of lingering shots of beads of sweat dripping down off of the players or pointless sequences of characters simply walking from room to room. This tedious and rather pedestrian indulgence makes the movie run too long by a full 15 to 20 minutes, and I found myself checking my watch more times during than Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer and Dune combined. The thumping, abrasive score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network, The Power of the Dog) is so self consciously cool that it becomes ridiculous , and it’s hard to be particularly excited by one overpowering techno theme played approximately 800 times with no discernible changes regardless of the situation. It’s not underscoring, it’s overscoring, and love it or hate it, you have to lay this choice firmly on Guadagnino. The character relationships at the heart of the film and are much more nuanced, and it’s most successful when focusing on that dynamic. Art and Patrick both fall hard for Tashi, and she finds herself coming between them, describing herself as a “homewrecker.” Tashi professes to loathe the idea of causing friction between them, but finds herself not only drawn to both of them but intrigued and excited by the power that she has over them. The screenplay by playwright and novelist Justin Kuritzkes (The Sensuality Party) is sly, and full of pithy dialogue exchanges, though the tendency to clumsily telegraph big moments betrays his background in the often too literal and spoon-fed storytelling style of the stage.

Zendaya is obviously the big draw here, and she exudes intelligence, power and sexuality in the role of Tashi. Zendaya’s performance is quite strong, though I find her to be much more convincing in the flashback sequences as the college age version of the character. Tashi’s self absorption and obsession with winning could have made her far more off putting if played by a lesser actress, and Zendaya’s undeniable appeal is critical to making the film work. Faist is terrific as Art, by far the most likable and interesting of the three characters, and his sincerity and authenticity kept me engaged by making me care about Art, even when I found myself growing apathetic toward the overall story. O’Connor is quite impressive as Patrick, a charmingly roguish and almost unbearably arrogant man child who embodies the stereotypical strutting jock who draws people to him like a magnet despite few redeemable qualities. O’Connor gives him charisma, though it’s largely up to the other two actors make us care about him simply because they do.

Challengers is smarter than average as a piece of fluff entertainment, though it’s almost insultingly predictable and not nearly as clever as it thinks it is, falling short when measured by loftier artistic standards. It could have benefited greatly from judicious editing and a greater emphasis on subtlety. It scores enough points to be called a winner, and it’s got style to spare, but it lacks the heart of a true champion. –Patrick Gibbs

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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: AFFECTION – Assignment X

Published

11 hours ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: May 8th, 2026 / 08:34 PM

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Jessica Rothe, Joseph Cross, Julianna Layne
Writer: BT Meza
Director: BT Meza
Distributor: Brainstorm Media
Release Date: May 8, 2026

AFFECTION is an odd title for this tale. While it is about a number of topics and emotions, fondness isn’t one of them. Obsession, definitely. Love, possibly. The kind of general warm fellow feelings associated with “affection”? No.

There have been a lot of movies lately in which characters – mostly women – are grappling with false identities and/or false memories imposed upon them, mostly by men.

Let us stipulate that the protagonist (Jessica Rothe) in AFFECTION is not an android or in an artificial reality. However, we can tell something is way off from the opening sequence. A car is stalled on a tree-bordered highway. Rothe’s character is lying face down on the asphalt beside it, possibly dead.

But then the young woman rises, dragging a broken ankle. She experiences a full-body seizure. Fighting to recover, she sees oncoming headlights and tries to run, only to be hit by a car.

The woman wakes up in a bed she doesn’t recognize, next to a man (Joseph Cross) she likewise is sure she’s never seen before. One big confrontation later, the man says his name is Bruce – and that the woman is his wife, Ellie.

Ellie insists that her name is Sarah Thompson, and she is married to someone else, with a son. When she sees her reflection in a mirror, she doesn’t relate to the face looking back at her.

Bruce counters that Ellie has a rare neurological condition that causes her to block out her waking life and believe her dreams are real. This is why they agreed, together, to move to this isolated house, without the kinds of interruptions that can hinder Ellie’s recovery.

The set-up is presented in a way where we share Ellie’s skepticism. But Ellie and Bruce’s little daughter Alice (Julianna Layne) immediately identifies Ellie as “Mommy!” Alice appears to be too young to be in on any kind of deception, so what is going on here?

AFFECTION eventually explains this via a helpful videotape, though it’s so convoluted that viewers watching on streaming may want to replay the sequence to make sure they understand the exposition.

Writer/director BT Meza musters a sense of menace and lurking weirdness, as well as making great use of his location.

We still have a lot of questions, many of which are still unanswered by the film’s end. It may not matter to the points AFFECTION is trying to make, but a better sense of exactly how all this started might help our investment.

As it is, despite a heroically versatile performance by Rothe, a credible and anguished turn by Cross and appealing work from Layne, we’re so busy trying to piece together what’s important and what’s not and how we’re supposed to feel about all of it that it can be hard to keep track of the action as it unfolds.

Agree or not, Meza’s arguments are lucid and illustrated clearly by AFFECTION’s events. However, the movie is structured in a way that becomes more frustrating as it goes. We comprehend it intellectually but can’t engage viscerally.

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Movie Reviews

8News Reel Talk: ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ movie review

Published

24 hours ago

May 8, 2026

Press Room

8News Reel Talk: ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ movie review

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — In this episode of 8News Reel Talk, digital producer Julia Broberg is joined by anchor Deanna Allbrittin and reporter Allison Williams to talk about “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”

The hosts gave their reviews and assigned the following star ratings:

Deanna: ★★★★.5

Allison: ★★★.25

Julia: ★★

To watch more livestreams and digital video content, head to the WRIC+ Originals page. You can also watch full on-demand videos on your smart TV using the WRIC+ app.

Movie Reviews

“Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour” Movie Review – Spotlight Report

Published

1 day ago

May 8, 2026

Press Room

“Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour” Movie Review – Spotlight Report

Billie Eilish fans prepare yourself, the much talked about secret project has finally arrived on the big screens!

Billie Eilish has always been about intimacy over artifice, but her latest concert film takes that to a visceral new level. Co-directed by Eilish and James Cameron, Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) manages to bridge the gap between a massive stadium show and the quiet grit of life backstage.

The film starts 18 minutes out from the show and builds the tension until audiences are literally folded into a box with her. Being taken under the stage, passing fans who have no idea she’s inches away, sets a tone of total immersion. What makes this film different is the balance between the spectacle and the behind-the-scenes reality. We see the creative shorthand between Billie and James Cameron as they chase what she calls the “best kind of sensory overload”.

The film is very much fan focussed, with the sound mix being so specific that you can hear individual fans singing along in sync with the visuals.

There are so many standout moments, the handheld camera work during “Bad Guy” that gives a dizzying POV of the band, and the chilling minute of silence Billie requests from the crowd to record a vocal loop.

The film captures her unique stage presence. Influenced by rap culture, Billie refuses to have anyone else on stage, unlike many female artists that use back up dancers. Billie can hold the entire stadium in awe by herself which is incredible to witness, until Finneas joins her for a beautiful, emotional piano set.

Between the high-tech visuals and the “Puppy Room” (where she keeps rescue dogs for staff to decompress), the film feels incredibly personal. While the film doesn’t give us any new insights into Billie, Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) is an enjoyable experience that elevates the tradition concert film.