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I'm really shocked at some of the gushing reviews for this film. Despite looking forward to seeing it, not only did I find it to be a huge disappointment, but I was angered at how one-dimensional and manipulative it was. The film purports to be about a road trip throughout the United States with Farrell and his transitioning friend Harper, and yet besides less than three minutes of footage displaying a few nasty tweets they received while in a Texas restaurant, everywhere they go Harper is welcomed by absolutely everyone with open arms and friendly acceptance! There's even a scene of them in a redneck Republican biker bar and no one blinks an eye when Harper announces she's transitioning, lol!! Did the filmmakers think the audience would be too stupid to realize that the reactions were obviously because she was flanked by the well-known actor Will Farrell, who everyone is mostly focused on, along with an obvious entourage carrying cameras and lights?

Is this the filmmakers' idea of an accurate representation of the life of a trans person in America right now... all acceptance and love? The film's message seems to be that Harper's happiness depends on her self-image... that may be somewhat accurate, but tell that to the many transgender individuals who are continually ostracized in their communities and are often terrified to even leave their homes because they're afraid for their lives.

I really enjoyed Coralie Fargeat's 2018 film "Revenge," but I think "The Substance" is even better. While the theme of seeking eternal youth and paying a high price for it isn't new in horror, the sheer outrageousness of this film sets it apart. What I loved most was its freakish, sarcastic style and Fargeat's use of wide-angle lenses, which deepened the film's brooding sense of alienation. It 's also commendable that two fairly well-known actors trusted the process enough to step outside their comfort zones, taking risks with the frequent nudity and extreme excesses.

Despite how much I was awed by it, the film felt about twenty minutes too long-some of the repeated aerobic TV footage of "Sue" could have been trimmed and long scenes of Demi Moore's character alone in her apartment became slightly tedious. There were also a few improbable details, like how the main character, a TV personality, is able to effortlessly find a vein to give herself an IV or stitch up a body with surgical precision. But this is a fever dreamed, metaphorical horror film so it's easy to overlook those minutiae.

I'll see "The Substance" again, just to re-experience the last thirty minutes; there was so much going on that I feel like I couldn't take it all in. It eventually became obvious to me how the film was going to end, but then it just kept going, outdoing itself in extremes and gooey, viscous gore (to call this a "body horror" film is almost an understatement). It eventually became so insane, cartoonish and excessive that I felt I was laughing along with a nightmare.

That "The Substance" stands out is a reminder of just how few films today possess an original vision. It rises far above the endless stream of safe, cookie-cutter superhero sequels that are being churned out purely for profit. I hope this film makes a sizeable profit -it's high time audiences show studios they want to see something fresh and unconventional for a change.

I finished watching this very charming little film feeling a bit conflicted, as I'm not sure I agree that the ending presented was actually the happiest one for DOG and ROBOT. And obviously I understand that "Robot Dreams" is an animated film and not to be taken literally, but I also couldn't help wondering throughout the film why DOG didn't just inform the beach staff who had closed the gates for the season that ROBOT was left lying on the beach and ask them if he could simply retrieve it.

Despite that, I thought "Robot Dreams" was an often moving and whimsical comment about loneliness and the myriad of ways we try to deal with it. There are a number of very cute and observant moments about the isolation of big city life in the film, and some of those moments are also quite sad. "September" by Earth Wind & Fire has been a song that has always had a lot of memories for me, and it was an unexpected pleasure to hear it used in the film. There were moments I felt that the film had been given a little too much padding in order to qualify it for feature-length, and I think it would have been even more effective if it were maybe twenty minutes shorter.

But like others here, I found myself teary-eyed at the end. "Robot Dreams" has a lot to say about the value and importance of friendship in our lives, and I enjoyed it.