Michael Jecmen

unbelievably out of pocket — like, jarring on a number of axes. reminded me of saltburn in that way — so many moments where i thought “awh what?? really???” mid-film but don’t get me wrong — that’s a compliment… i think. it’s boundary pushes are paired with incredibly entertaining creative storytelling, and the end result is a really fun, unexpected ride a wonderful origin story in gotham… gotham!! you heard me… this is a DC movie!! no idea how that flew under the radar for me and gosh the city of gotham has so much more character than any singular setting in marvel. you can feel the corruption in your bones while watching this movie. it’s awesome. hope the DC folks keep this up!! scary, funny, tense, hot. i’ll never forget those club scenes

disturbing. took years off my life — and a couple of those scenes are horrifying. you really don’t want it to be true, and yet, it is gripping as hell though. i was glued to my seat the whole way through

if any movie, even a kids movie, has a uninteresting plot, then it better make up for it with some other extraordinary quality wildwood didn’t make up for it. some cool action scenes and i liked the wolves with guns, but that’s about it i care little how the dish was made, if it’s ass

it took me a long time to settle on a numerical rating for this movie it’s incredibly entertaining, it’s very nathan fielder in all of (what i consider to be) his best ways, and, yet, with all that said, i can’t help but feel it is some large amount irresponsible to start — you see my rating. whatever this should be classified as, it slaps. if you are remotely interested in this movie, stop reading and go and watch it. it’s one of the most interesting experiences of the year and you’ll have the best chance of loving it if you go in blind it’s deserving of its hold on the zeitgeist. watch this movie. spoilers below i’m not sure i need to elaborate on why this movie is so enthralling. nathan fielder and lance oppenheim hit a grand slam. it’s a perfect execution of what i see as their vision, and the only real question in my mind is whether or not that vision broaches any ethical boundaries. i don’t really care to talk about the filmmaking. it’s great. it keeps you on the edge of your seat like no 3 hour movie i’ve ever seen. it’s an exhilarating time but to call this a documentary is in my eyes a pretty blatant misuse of the word. it is just obviously not a sincere foray into the subject matter. yes, unscripted footage of prolific public figures is its backbone, sure, but this film has a clear storytelling agenda, and its scenes and arcs are constructed with that in mind. there is zero intent to paint an accurate picture. it’s intentionally misleading to the viewer and i’m not really perturbed by elizabeth holmes and billy whoeverthefuck having their lives exploited for entertainment — like, they did ask for it — but it’s interesting that so many people will walk away from this year with a strongly held version of elizabeth holmes in their heads that was written by nathan fielder and (probably moreso) lance oppenheim the david blaine analogy feels somehow fitting here and this movie obviously is miles less entertaining if it isn’t a documentary. the idea floats less if you understand there’s an agenda behind it. so they hide it, and they hide it well — behind nathan fielder’s trustworthy, overly sincere brand of goofball journalism but of course in those 2 gap years between initial filming and the ending’s construction, you just know they were chopping up that raw footage choosing storytelling over accuracy every time will the world one day come to frown upon this twisting exploitation of mental illness? it probably should but, like, did i love watching the real life underwoods (house of cards) up close? absolutely do i truly mind the truth warping here? not really. i had an incredible time watching this. it’s hard to understate how impressive a feat of storytelling this is, to pull such a magic trick off this creative team had the opportunity of a lifetime when holmes & co reached out, and they stepped up to the fuckin plate bravo 👏👏👏 footnote: they did amanda seyfried so dirty here lmao. she’s not in on it, they let her get duped up close, and then they immortalized her bad takes 😭