Flash Frames

Abel Tesfaye in Hurry Up Tomorrow What I like to show in these reviews is an exercise in bias. Every single person has their own bias to something, whether they realize it or not. I feel like I’ve stated this in at least one other review on this site, but let me promise you this: The statement “exercise in bias” will permeate throughout this review, mainly because of this movie’s star/driving force. I like Abel Tesfaye, who grew to popularity as his stage name The Weeknd, a lot. The man’s got insane musical talent, and as I think you know, he’s not a great actor. Some people say that he isn’t an actor at all. If you don’t know, Tesfaye has already tried acting in the HBO series The Idol , which was a massive disaster for nearly everybody involved. You know a show is bad when they cut the last episode and gaslight everyone into thinking that it was 5 episodes instead of 6 the whole time (yes, that’s real). However, it’s not to say that he won’t quit. This movie here, Hurry Up Tomorrow ,...

Still from Baby Invasion There aren’t too many movies where I think of what I think “movies” can and cannot be. I like to keep my mind open for a lot of things, even if I haven’t seen some of the widely agreed-upon classics yet. A massive standout in experimental film I’ve seen recently was AGGRO DR1FT , the first venture for acclaimed erratic filmmaker Harmony Korine into his multimedia company, EDGLRD. I thought AGGRO DR1FT was surreal to watch in a theater, and true to his statements on that movie and this one, it really didn’t feel like a movie. I have good memories of watching AGGRO DR1FT in a theater, even though it’d probably be a one-time event. Korine isn’t stopping with this, though. Outside of AGGRO DR1FT and his latest “film,” the one we’re about to talk about, his next film is already set: The Trap , his first animated movie which was originally going to star Idris Elba, Robert Pattinson, and Benicio del Toro before it imploded right when it was going into production. T...

Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey in  Queer Luca Guadagnino has slowly become one of my favorite directors working right now. Ever since 2017’s gorgeous  Call Me by Your Name  (which helped rocket Timothée Chalamet into stardom), Guadagnino has just been, as most filmmakers do, making films. His loose remake of Dario Argento’s cult giallo flick  Suspiria  and  Bones and All , his reunion with Chalamet, were fascinating dips into horror. Earlier this year, though, was when  Challengers  exploded, which is one of the best movies of the year. He’s not stopping there, though.  After the Hunt  with Andrew Garfield and Julia Roberts, an Austin Butler-led  American Psycho  adaptation, and  Sgt. Rock , a potential dip into the world of comic book movies with Daniel Craig, are all on the horizon. Right in the middle of all that is  Queer , an adaptation of the William S. Burrough’s novella, and it’s Guadagnino’s most surreal film ...

Vera Drew in The People’s Joker Boy, did this have a rocky road. I remember reading articles about The People’s Joker , actress/director/co-writer/editor Vera Drew’s low-budget, punk rock, mixed media comic book parody of various DC properties, and how it was hit with a cease-and-desist at the Toronto Film Festival back in 2022 by Warner Bros. itself. It wasn’t until April of this year when it finally received a small theatrical release, and I’m kicking myself for not making the time to see it in a theater. At first, I thought I hadn’t seen anything that Drew has worked on, but after looking over her credits, I saw that she edited An Evening with Tim Heidecker , an hour of comfortably unfunny stand-up that’s practically anti-comedy. The People’s Joker lays claim to the term “anti-comedy,” and this Joker runs wild with it. For its characters alone, it’s a surreal remix of what Batman fans and DC fans in general know that feel almost nonsensical. Ra's al Ghul isn’t the head of the L...

I’m going to be honest, this is one of my most anticipated movies of the year. AGGRO DR1FT has fascinated me since it was announced last summer. Its director, Harmony Korine, who’s made movies like Gummo and Spring Breakers , has also actively shown his distaste for movies right now. He’s even dubbed AGGRO DR1FT as “gamecore,” being much more inspired by Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto cutscenes than other movies. After premiering at the Venice Film Festival last September, it’s mainly gone on to be screened in strip clubs and be the background for Boiler Room sets by Yung Lean. So, whether or not I’d think it’s good or bad, AGGRO DR1FT was basically being set up as something new for the film industry, even if it’s a deep dive into experimental film and, at certain points, video art. Against all odds, though, AGGRO DR1FT does end up occupying a very strange space in my head. It’s worth mentioning what the plot is, even if it isn’t the focal point of the movie. Jordi Mollà play...