Movie Reviews

MOVIE REVIEWS: “Magazine Dreams” – Valdosta Daily Times

Published

12 months ago

March 27, 2025

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MOVIE REVIEWS: “Magazine Dreams”

Published 12:09 pm Thursday, March 27, 2025

: Adann-Kennn-J. Alexxandar

“Magazine Dreams”

(Drama: 2 hours, 04 minutes)

Starring: Jonathan Majors, Harrison Page and Michael O’Hearn

Director: Elijah Bynum

Rated: R (Violent content, drug use, sexual material/nudity and strong language)

Movie Review:

Say what you want about Jonathan Majors, but he has the best-toned physique of any actor. He fits this role physically because of that. More impressively, he can act. He delivers powerful performances. “Magazine Dreams” gives Majors a chance to shine magnificently, even if one resents his character’s actions here. Majors carries this movie as an optimistic but crazed bodybuilder.

Majors plays Killian Maddox, an amateur bodybuilder whose dream is to one day be featured on magazine covers like his idol, Brad Vanderhorn (a nice turn by pro bodybuilder Michael O’Hearn). His only interaction comes from taking care of his ailing grandfather, William Lattimore (Harrison Page). Maddox has a past that haunts him daily. He suffers from childhood trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder tendencies regarding violent thoughts, health issues from drug use, and social isolation. Maddox’s ambition for recognition leads him down dangerous paths.

Just when one feels compassion for Killian Maddox, he does something repulsive that makes him a priority case of confinement in a mental facility. He does retain some sympathy as one realizes he has been through multiple traumas in the past via flashback scenes. He also faces issues in the present. Majors is an impeccable actor in these scenes, even when Maddox becomes repugnant and difficult to tolerate.

One of this movie’s best moments has Maddox on a date with Jessie, played well by Haley Bennett. Jessie is a longtime crush of Maddox’s. He purposely goes to her job at a grocery store to see her often. When they finally go on a date, Maddox is anxious yet finally getting the attention he craved. The moment is awkward to the point that Bennett’s distraught portrayal of Jessie in this scene appears actual. The scene creates a nice mood of trepidation.

Killian Maddox’s idol, Brad Vanderhorn, is played by Michael O’Hearn, a fitness model and professional bodybuilder who is a four-time Mr. Universe and has appeared on over 470 magazine covers. This is a nice facet of this photoplay and works to make this authentic to the fitness sport that is portrayed. Maddox searches for perfection, and he believes Vanderhorn has achieved that.

Elijah Bynum’s directorial debut was the 2017 movie “Hot Summer Nights,” starring a youthful Timothée Chalamet. Bynum is also a writer. As such, his problem is he gives characters, primarily the main player, too many tragedies at once. Audiences barely have a chance to get to know his characters before Bynum has them endure continual catastrophes.

Otherwise, Bynum takes his audiences on a mental trek through the dreams of a megalomaniac. Bynum teases with foreshadowing, only to pivot and surprise his viewers. However, Jonathan Majors is the impressive main attraction and makes “Magazine Dreams” worthwhile cinema.

Grade: B (“Magazine Dreams” deserves some attention on magazine covers.)

“The Alto Knights”

(Biography Crime/Drama: 2 hours, 03 minutes)

Starring: Robert De Niro, Debra Messing and Kathrine Narducci

Director: Barry Levinson

Rated: R (Violence and pervasive language)

Movie Review:

Robert De Niro leads this cast, playing two actual notorious leaders of organized crime. While De Niro is incredible, this movie seems an attempt to show his skilled acting ability. Audiences know he is talented. But the crime drama aspects are repetitive tropes that clash with the documentary-esque scenes inserted in between one mob hit after the next.

De Niro plays Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. The two grew up as best friends in New York City. After Genovese returns from overseas, Costello has changed; he is trying to live a legit life with his wife of 38 years, Bobbie (an exquisite Debra Messing). Costello’s influence on government leaders, unions and charity organizations gains him considerable power without any crime syndicate tactics. He is known as a good citizen and for the people. He wants to leave his mob days behind him. Genovese does not like what Costello has become and wants to rub him out. After Genovese’s hitman fails to assassinate Costello, a mafia cold war commences.

Director Barry Levinson (“Rain Man,” 1989) and producers, led by Irwin Winkler (“Rocky,” 1977) along with Winkler’s sons Charles and David, have enough influence and capital to have cast someone opposite of Robert De Niro. The actor’s ability to superbly play two very different people is a diverting part of this period crime drama. His performance usurps attention away from a cyclical story. This is reasonable considering Nicholas Pileggi’s screenplay consists of overused mobster stereotypes interrupted by documentary-style interviews of De Niro playing an older version of Costello.

Grade: C+ (De Niro shines as usual, but this movie is not quite ready for full knighthood.)

“Locked”

(Thriller: 1 hour, 35 minutes)

Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Anthony Hopkins and Ashley Cartwright

Director: David Yarovesky

Rated: R (Strong language, gore, strong violence and drug use)

Movie Review:

“Locked” is an intriguing movie that brings together horror actors Anthony Hopkins (“The Silence of the Lambs,” 1992) and Bill Skarsgård (Pennywise in “It,” 2017). The two have an interesting battle of intellect, all from the setting of a luxury vehicle in this survival thriller.

Eddie Barrish (Skarsgård) is a thief and father to Sarah Barrish (Cartwright). Out of desperation, he attempts to steal a luxury SUV on a Friday. He manages to get into the vehicle but is unable to exit it. Enter William (Hopkins), a wealthy man tired of law enforcement’s inability to stop crimes. William has rigged the vehicle as a large snare for criminals. Eddie took the bait and is now William’s prisoner.

The best of this thriller is Bill Skarsgård and Sir Anthony Hopkins. They trade barbs regarding law and order, the nature of criminals, socioeconomic status versus need, and thoughts on family duties. Director David Yarovesky (“Brightburn,” 2019) should have made this the movie’s focus. Instead, the movie becomes something different ultimately.

This movie has a disturbing aura, although most of “Locked’s” runtime happens inside a very nice vehicle parked in a busy downtown parking lot. It could be a more intense thriller, but the writers did not know just where to settle their screenplay. The movie is an interesting psychological thriller but digresses into being a lesser terror-driven movie at points.

Grade: B- (Get locked in with an escape plan.),

“Snow White”

(Fantasy/Musical: 1 hour, 49 minutes)

Starring: Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot and Andrew Burnap

Director: Marc Webb

Rated: R (Violence, some peril, thematic elements and brief rude humor.)

Movie Review:

“Snow White” gets a modernized ending in this feminist version of the tale. The actual fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm is a short story that Disney expanded into an animated cartoon in 1937, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” This current “Snow White” is a live-action production that expands its story without improving upon the rich source of prior cinematic and literary works.

Snow White (Zegler) becomes the adversary of her stepmother, a vain evil queen (Gadot). With the help of seven dwarfs and a band of merry people led by a charismatic Jonathan (Burnlap), Snow White challenges the queen’s authority, hoping to return the kingdom to prosperity for all citizens.

This version of “Snow White” is easy to watch but its most memorable aspects are the Seven Dwarfs, whose parts are lessened here. They have always been an integral part of this fairy tale, but writer Erin Cressida Wilson’s screenplay makes this an empowerment story rather than an adventurous escape.

Grade: C (Not as endearing as its sources.)

“Ash”

(Science-Fiction/Psychological Horror: 1 hour, 35 minutes)

Starring: Eiza González, Aaron Paul and Iko Uwais

Director: Flying Lotus

Rated: R (Bloody violence, gore and strong language)

Movie Review:

Much of this science-fiction thriller happens in foggy outdoor scenes and dark interior spaces. It also features flashy psychedelic imagery. These aspects conceal bad set designs and a wayward narrative.

Riya (González) is part of a terraforming team on the planet Ash. Riya awakes with unexplained bruises. Even more, she finds others of the crew were viciously murdered. As she searches for answers, she experiences flashbacks of terrifying images she must use to determine what happened.

Voyage of the damned is the fate of this sci-fi story. The movie appears like someone did drugs and then decided to make a movie while under the influence. That may explain the 1960s-like trippy effects style.

González’s performance is engaging, but the story in which she exists is clumsily rendered. This feels more like a Syfy channel movie than the deep intellectual movie it attempts to be.

Grade: D (It is ashy.)

Movie Reviews

‘Project Hail Mary’ Review: Ryan Gosling and a Rock Make Sci-Fi Magic

Published

6 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

‘Project Hail Mary’ Review: Ryan Gosling and a Rock Make Sci-Fi Magic

In contrast to other sci-fi heroes, like Interstellar’s Cooper, who ventures into the unknown for the sake of humanity and discovery, knowing the sacrifice of giving up his family, Grace is externally a cynical coward. With no family to call his own, you’d think he’d have the will to go into space for the sake of the planet’s future. Nope, he’s got no courage because the man is a cowardly dog. However, Goddard’s script feels strikingly reflective of our moment. Grace has the tools to make a difference; the Earth flashbacks center on him working towards a solution to the antimatter issue, replete with occasionally confusing but never alienating dialogue. He initially lacks the conviction, embodying a cynicism and hopelessness that many people fall into today.

The film threads this idea effectively through flashbacks that reveal his reluctance, giving the story a tragic undercurrent. Yet, it also makes his relationship with Rocky, the first living thing he truly learns to care for, ever more beautiful.

When paired with Rocky, Gosling enters the rare “puppet scene partner” hall of fame alongside Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol, never letting the fact that he’s acting opposite a puppet disrupt the sincerity of his performance. His commitment to building a gradual, affectionate friendship with this animatronic creation feels completely natural, and the chemistry translates beautifully on screen. It stands as one of the stronger performances of his career.

Project Hail Mary is overly long, and while it can be deeply affecting, the film leans on a few emotional fake-outs that become repetitive in the latter half. By the third time it deploys the same sentimental beat, the effect begins to feel cloying, slightly dulling the powerful emotions it built earlier. The constant intercutting between past and present can also feel thematically uneven at times, occasionally undercutting the narrative momentum. At 2 hours and 36 minutes, the film feels like it’s stretching itself to meet a blockbuster runtime when a tighter cut might have served better.

FINAL STATEMENT

Project Hail Mary is a meticulously crafted, hopeful, and dazzling space epic that proves the most moving friendship in film this year might just be between Ryan Gosling and a rock.

Movie Reviews

Dan Webster reviews “WTO/99”

Published

18 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

DAN WEBSTER:

It may now seem like ancient history, especially to younger listeners, but it was only 26 years ago when the streets of Seattle were filled with protesters, police and—ultimately—scenes of what ended up looking like pure chaos.

It is those scenes—put together to form a portrait of what would become known as the “Battle of Seattle” —that documentary filmmaker Ian Bell captures in his powerful documentary feature WTO/99.

We’ve seen any number of documentaries over the decades that report on every kind of social and cultural event from rock concerts to war. And the majority of them follow a typical format: archival footage blended with interviews, both with participants and with experts who provide an informational, often intellectual, perspective.

WTO/99 is something different. Like The Perfect Neighbor, a 2026 Oscar-nominated documentary feature, Bell’s film consists of what could be called found footage. What he has done is amass a series of news reports and personal video recordings into an hour-and-42-minute collection of individual scenes, mostly focused on a several-block area of downtown Seattle.

That is where a meeting of the WTO, the World Trade Organization, was set to be held between Nov. 30 and Dec. 3, 1999. Delegates from around the world planned to negotiate trade agreements (what else?) at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center.

Months before the meeting, however, a loose coalition of groups—including NGOs, labor unions, student organizations and various others—began their own series of meetings. Their objective was to form ways to protest not just the WTO but, to some of them, the whole idea of a world order they saw as a threat to the economic independence of individual countries.

Bell’s film doesn’t provide much context for all this. What we mostly see are individuals arguing their points of view as they prepare to stop the delegates from even entering the convention center. Meanwhile, Seattle authorities such as then-Mayor Paul Schell and then-Police Chief Norm Stamper—with brief appearances by Gov. Gary Locke and King County Executive Ron Sims—discuss counter measures, with Schell eventually imposing a curfew.

That decision comes, though, after what Bell’s film shows is a peaceful protest evolving into a street fight between people parading and chanting, others chained together and splinter groups intent on smashing the storefronts of businesses owned by what they see as corporate criminals. One intense scene involves a young woman begging those breaking windows to stop and asking them why they’re resorting to violence. In response a lone voice yells their reasoning: “Self-defense.”

Even more intense, though, are the actions of the Seattle police. We see officers using pepper spray, tear gas, flash grenades and other “non-lethal” means such as firing rubber pellets into the crowd. In one scene, a uniformed guy—not identified as a police officer but definitely part of the security crowd, which included National Guardsmen—is shown kicking a guy in the crotch.

The media, too, can’t avoid criticism. Though we see broadcast reporters trying to capture what was happening—with some affected like everybody else by the tear gas that filled the streets like a winter fog—the reports they air seem sketchy, as if they’re doctors trying to diagnose a serious illness by focusing on individual cells. And the images they capture tend to highlight the violence over the well-meaning actions of the vast majority of protesters.

Reactions to what Bell has put on the screen are bound to vary, based on each viewer’s personal politics. Bell revels his own stance by choosing selectively from among thousands of hours of video coverage to form the narrative he feels best captures what happened those two decades-and-change ago.

If nothing else, WTO/99 does reveal a more comprehensive picture of what happened than we got at the time. And, too, it should prepare us for the future. The way this country is going, we’re bound to see a lot more of the same.

Call it the “Battle for America.”

For Spokane Public Radio, I’m Dan Webster.

——

Movies 101 host Dan Webster is the senior film critic for Spokane Public Radio.

Movie Reviews

Movie Review: ‘Scream 7’ – Catholic Review

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Movie Review: ‘Scream 7’ – Catholic Review

NEW YORK (OSV News) – As its title suggests, “Scream 7” (Paramount) is the latest extension of a long-lived horror franchise, one that’s currently approaching its 30th anniversary on screen. Since each chapter of this slasher saga has been a bloodsoaked mess, the series’ longevity will strike moviegoers of sense as inexplicable.

Yet the slog continues. While the previous film in the sequence shifted the action from California to New York, this second installment, following a 2022 quasi-reboot, settles on a Midwestern locale and reintroduces us to the series’ original protagonist, Sidney Evans, nee Prescott (Neve Campbell).

Having aged out of the adolescent demographic on whom the various murderers who have donned the Ghostface mask that serves as these films’ dubious trademark over the years seem to prefer to prey, Sidney comes equipped with a teen daughter, Tatum (Isabel May). Will Tatum prove as resourceful in evading the unwanted attentions of Ghostface as Mom has?

On the way to answering that question, a clutch of colorless minor characters fall victim to the killer, who sometimes gets — according to his or her lights — creative. Thus one is quite literally made to spill her guts, while another ends up skewered on a barroom’s pointy beer tap.

Through it all, director Kevin Williamson and his co-writer Guy Busick try to peddle a theme of female empowerment in the face of mortal danger. They also take a stab, as it were, at constructing a plotline about intergenerational family tensions. When not jarring viewers with grisly images, however, they’re only likely to lull them into a stupor.

The film contains excessive gory violence, including disembowelment and impaling, underage drinking, mature topics, a couple of profanities, several milder oaths, pervasive rough and considerable crude language and occasional crass expressions. The OSV News classification is O — morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.