Stay_away_from_the_Metropol

As a big fan of Scandinavian metal, and some form of metalhead myself, I really wanted to love this movie, but it didn't work for me at all. It started strong, especially considering the band's music is VERY GOOD. This is the one thing I loved about the film - clearly the filmmaker's have good taste in tunes, because the band's music was super legit, and I vibed very hard with it every time they played. However, that's where the positives end for me. I found the majority of the jokes to be unfunny and uncreative, and this is the biggest fault of the film, considering it is very much meant to be pure comedy through and through. Towards the beginning I was starting to get flashes of 90's teen stoner classics like Detroit Rock City and The Stoned Age, but that dwindled rather quickly as the film trailed off into its own special brand of going nowhere. I will say it's rather surprising how quickly the viewing seems over, as looking back, almost nothing happens through the entire film. Am I extra butt-hurt because the entire band seem like epic losers with no personality? Maybe. But that's certainly not the only reason the movie failed for me. Far from. Even having the vocalist wear a Bloodbath shirt during the finale couldn't redeem it for me. The writing was just way too dorky and bland - I'm sorry. This had serious potential - I guess it's just not what I wanted to see them do with it. But other people seem to like it a lot, so please, enjoy your dorky stuff, guys.

Well, this certainly takes the cake for most disturbing movie of the year. This year definitely had it's share of trauma-inducing moments between The Substance, Kinds of Kindness, The Beast, and more, but none are as committed to the tone and the message as cripplingly as Red Rooms. There are a handful of notable films that cover the topic of snuff from the last 40 years, but none of them have ever taken this approach: focusing on the sickos who participate in the purchasing and consumption of such abominable media, rather than focusing on the sickos who create it. I'd have to say that outside of maybe The Beast, this was the most intrigued I felt while watching a 2024 film. It also made me feel the most passionate about needing to understand every detail of what I just watched when it was over.

While the striking lead actress Juliette Gariepy may not give the performance of a lifetime as her character Kelly-Anne, she does manage to confuse the viewer enough to scare them, again and again throughout the film. This is an upper-tier case of "Are they a good guy or a bad guy?! I cannot figure out their intentions for the life of me!"

Red Rooms is a meticulously balanced French-Canadian psychological horror movie that will creep its way under your skin without you noticing, and when its over, it's highly likely you will feel as if you just watched something that is genuinely cursed, and maybe a little too real.

First, I just need to say, to all the people I spoke with before I saw this movie who told me "This movie is not horny, not hot, not sexy, not interesting, not good, should have gone straight to streaming, or, it was so boring", we are not the same. If you don't find this movie "horny", I honestly have no idea what could possibly capture on-screen sexuality to you outside of straight-up pornography. If this is not a "horny movie" to you, honestly, what is!? What were you expecting from this movie? I am dying to understand. My only thought is that perhaps people who don't understand the psychological basics of S&M don't understand what's going on here???

That aside, I naturally came into Babygirl expecting something "mid" and walked out extremely impressed by what I would consider a flawless film, and definitely a standout in the history of film. Nicole Kidman maintains her status as an absolute queen of delivering complex, provocative characters in erotically charged films that always manage to have just enough separation from one another, yet they are all fully believable as separate fleshed-out individuals (Eyes Wide Shut, and especially To Die For, come to mind first, the latter being one of my favorite movies ever). Noting that, it is INSANELY IMPRESSIVE that relatively new star Harris Dickinson (Triangle of Sadness, The Iron Claw, etc) could get dropped into a movie this intense and FULLY hold his own with the legend Kidman herself. Dickinson delivers one of the most complex and bizarre characters this year, remaining wholly unpredictable and mysterious in a very unique manner, even when the film is through.

This movie is a grower, not a shower, and it absolutely gets better as it goes, one scene after another, the tension slowly grows as it burns hotter and hotter. As things unfold, it becomes more and more clear that Dutch writer/director Halina Reijn has a deep understanding for people with sexual personalities and sexual preferences that go beyond the basic realm of "sex with the person you love". The film absolutely nails the way it showcases the double-edged sword of debauchery: the utmost thrill, and the utter plague.

If you need to see the good guys win in the end, Babygirl is not a movie for you. There are no angels in this film. Trouble is lurking around every corner. It's a film about inner psychological warfare, and it's very real. The soundtrack is phenomenal. The pacing is ace. I honestly can't believe this is by the same person who made Bodies Bodies Bodies - while that movie was fun, it was also pretty dumb (consciously though, I believe) - but this one is almost a spiritual opposite, bursting at the seams with sincere human complexity. I was beyond impressed. Definitely Top 10 of 2024.