Deltopia

Irony. Any streaming series you pick today has main arcs, sub arcs, hidden arcs, long arcs, short arcs. Arc overkill. Because the #1 goal of any series in 2023 is to get renewed, to lockup both the audience and the cash flow. Deltopia is the opposite. The ambitious 1:45 runtime is almost all characterizations and not much on story. But it works. It holds the attention. It feels authentic. It engages. And it also works as a showcase for new talent who may one day have this in their Highlight Reels as a legit breakout performance. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Yes, this is along the lines of Project X, but this a step up. While both films share common themes of wild parties and teenage rebellion, they differ in terms of tone, narrative focus, character development, and visual style. Project X is a raunchy comedy with slapstick humor, whereas Deltopia leans more towards drama and dark comedy. Deltopia has more depth in terms of character development and exploration of internal conflicts and motivations, whereas Project X prioritizes humor and spectacle over character depth. Overall, Deltopia is a far better watch, the films depicts the real challenges faced by young people as they transition from teenagers to adulthood, grappling with issues of identity, ambition, and belonging. Enjoy the ride.

Really loved this film. It was raw, relatable and very entertaining.

The dialogue can sometimes be vulgar and shocking but it does seem true to how teenagers spoke in 2014, so it only adds to the believability of the characters and the story.

All the actors give very impressive performances, my favorite stand outs being Luna Blaise (who plays Hannah) , Hart Denton (Who Plays Bones) and Will Peltz (who plays Slim). The characters are rich and interesting, which is a credit to the great writing.

The music, score and cinematography are all top notch. All in all it is a very impressive feature directorial debut by writer/directors Jaala Ruffman & Michael Easterling. Am eager to see what is next from them.

It seemed like an ok showing of what a 'dazed and confused' looks like for aimless modern day teenage angsters looking to find their way. Not in the same league as dazed, fast times, the wildlife or graffiti, but fairly entertaining for the most part. Still holding on to the police-are-bad concept, it stumbless through what poor, but rich modern teens have to deal with in order to get their inspiration in life- between social media, inciting activist violence, and the next drug infested party. There are quite a few films like this out there, and none of them are awe-inspiring or glamorous. It does however, lend credence to where all the hunched-over zombies walking around the big cities come from; they must have struck out getting followers. I prefer the muscle car era for these types of films, personally. Less dreary, more fun.

I thought it was just going to be a party movie and it was anything but. It made fun of the college frat and sorority life and had great sense of non obvious dark humor in the writing. The characters all felt real and had depth, and the performances were impressive for this genre film. I like that parents didn't make an appearance in the movie, avoiding corny unneeded predictable scenes. It's about the teens, 24hrs, coming of age. The story felt raw, grounded and relatable. It was like watching parties and experiences I went through at that age. It had strong style and tone and is a great calling card for the first time directors.