Hall Bohlinger

Film of the year for me at the moment. Curry Barker’s *Obsession* genuinely impressed me. It’s surreal going from watching his YouTube skits to seeing him pull off a feature film this well made, especially on a $750k budget. I’ve never been one to really get scared from horror films, but this was a different experience than anything I’ve ever watched. Every shot feels so intentional, paired with the incredible sound design, making me treat every scene like a jump scare. I loved how simple this film’s concept was. It’s a premise that could be taken by any other director or production studio and made into another generic slop horror product. Instead, Curry Barker’s genius is able to shine, which is so impressive given that this is his directorial debut. Going into this film, you could’ve asked me to name any of the cast members and I wouldn’t be able to. They also have some of the best performances of the year. Most notably, Inde Navarrette.* *Give her the Oscar. I don’t even want to see any other performances. This film absolutely traumatized me but I can’t wait to revisit when it comes to digital.

A very genuine and wholesome film that had a lot more emotion to it than I anticipated. I expected a kid-friendly *Knives Out* type of film and it delivered. The voice cast got the job done with a standout performance from Brian Cranston. This was also my first time seeing Nicholas Braun in a major role since *Succession*, so that was pretty cool. I do feel like the uncovering of the murderer felt a bit rushed, and didn’t flow as well as I wanted it to. However, I really enjoyed the ending of the film and the message it was trying to convey.

1hr 46m of pure discomfort. *The Drama* takes an ambitious swing on a concept that initially seems like a traditional rom-com. (Spoiler warning), it’s not. This film had me relentlessly questioning the justification of things I never thought I would have to. It’s such an odd feeling to laugh at a scene, then ask myself, should I really be laughing at this? Although this feeling was fascinating, it made the movie move in slow motion, and I was honestly wondering when the discomfort would end. I’m glad it didn’t though, because the third act left me, and everyone around me, audibly reacting in the theater. Just an absolutely absurd sequence of events. I do feel like this film has a lot of ambiguity to it, but some of these moments come across more as plot holes imo. That said, this was still a very entertaining watch and I could see the rating going up another half-star after future viewings.