shanaepraystoo

The synopsis of this film really does it no justice as I would've never expected 'Magazine Dreams' to take me on such an intense and emotionally charged journey in 124 minutes! Having kept up with the film since early 2023 when I first heard of it, I was very disappointed to learn that 'Magazine Dreams' lost its distribution deal later that year because of the scandal around Jonathan Majors. As a matter of fact, I only found out about the film's release date in a gossip column about the actor's recent marriage.

Anyway, I was blown away by 'Magazine Dreams' and it was everything I expected and then some. I'm not aware of Elijah Bynum's previous work and it's Majors that really drew me into this film. And there is only one word I can use to describe it: intense.

Between the cinematography, the soundtrack and Majors' portrayal of Killian Maddox, I was on the edge of my seat! 'Magazine Dreams' is a bodybuilding 'Whiplash' that will make you rethink your own values. It's one of the best films I've seen this year.

These Christians took several serious subjects (domestic abuse, adultery, homosexuality, suicide) and made jokes of them. I'm so embarrassed as a Christian. The writing is all over the place and the story makes very little sense, so they've added narration to connect the dots. It's a shortcut that results in bad filmmaking. That said, the film looks nice, not low budget or cheap, and you can tell they tried. I'd pass on this film had I known how the filmmakers would treat such serious topics though.

Quite early on I could tell what was going on in the film. I even had a guess at what the end would be. Despite this, I continued watching expecting more, something big, something shocking and I never really got it. The director does a great job at showing the ins and outs of a toxic relationship, however, it's just not enough.