Magazine Dreams

Wow saw this at Sundance. Honestly had no idea what this was going in. This was intense! Jonathan Majors is great, no surprise there. He is totally believable as Killian, a probably somewhat developmentally disabled amateur bodybuilding competitor. It ranges from cringeworthy to edge of your seat to weird to shocking to horrifying. Such an amazing performance.

The cinematography was claustrophobic and off putting and the music was often jarring, with dramatic shifts that mirror Killian's mental state.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but this wouldn't be one to take your grandma to. It gave me Nightcrawler vibes in the way it just keeps escalating and getting more frantic and surreal, mixed with a little Bullhead. Unless that sounds like something your grandma would be into, in which case, take her, she'll love it!

What can I say , movies to me are meant to take me out of reality and transport me into other worlds as I escape my own issues and problems , not to mention battles with reality.

That being the case this movie does just that although it specifically took me into a place that mad me very uncomfortable not in a bad way just in a way that I wanted a lil more payoff that I feel I didn't get .

Majors does a great job carrying this weight around and giving ,I believe an honest and compelling performance. It just needed a tiny bit more action at certain spots that could have taken this movie to the next level . Again a worth while movie theater experience.

Killian Maddox dedicated himself to bodybuilding and dreams of one day leaving his mark on the sport and the world. With a traumatic childhood and struggling to connect with others, Killian forges forward toward his goal with reckless abandonment.

This movie takes a very artistic approach to bodybuilding. The story has many different things occurring quickly, with little backstory given to the protagonist, making it a challenge to follow. The two-hour and four-minute runtime is wild, from intense lifting to posing to twists and unexpected turns. This movie is not for everyone but might be worth a stream for someone looking for something different and artistic.

Magazine Dreams centers on a body builder gripped by ambition, toxic masculinity, and violence. Jonathan Majors shines in Magazine Dreams for nearly every frame of this film, well-suited by bringing his even-more-buff body builder physique with the talent to bring the complex vulnerability and intensity to the Killian Maddox character. Because of the directions of this film, it's a difficult watch. As mentioned in the Sundance Q&A by writer:director Elijah Bynum, the movie rides the edge in keeping the audience's empathy for the character. Undoubtedly it may be a push too far for some viewers. There are a lot of ideas in this film, some of which feel tonally off or extraneous to the core, but it's impossible to look away from this movie.

Hear me out-Jonathan Majors might just be the best thing to happen to Black Hollywood since Denzel Washington. The man is seriously gifted. He can act, he has the physical presence, he's versatile, and most importantly-he's never boring. I honestly can't think of another Black American actor right now who can command the screen the way he does.

In this movie, Majors took a relatively simple script and turned it into a gripping, edge-of-your-seat experience. Every scene was hauntingly captivating. The director did a great job maintaining suspense, constantly shifting the tone and direction. What started off as a bodybuilding tale of grit and determination turned into a revenge drama-and then escalated into something way darker. It was intense.

I genuinely don't understand why Jonathan isn't landing all the top-tier Black roles. Compared to some of his peers like Anthony Mackie or Michael B. Jordan, he brings a different level of depth and complexity. He deserves way more recognition.

The only thing that held back this incredible performance was the script itself. After building so much tension and anticipation, the climax completely fell flat. All that buildup, all that powerful acting-only for it to lead nowhere. It felt like a major disservice to both Jonathan Majors and the audience.