Materialists

Definitely not a Rom-Com. (And that's a good thing.) - Some false advertising with this one. There's romance, yes. There are a few laughs, yes. This, however, is not a romantic comedy. What it is is a two-hour philosophical journey on the themes of self-worth, value, and materialism through the lens of three very flawed characters. As a cynic, I appreciated that. With such beautiful principal actors it would be very easy to gin up a 90's or 00's type of rom-com, but this was exceedingly more thoughtful and interesting. If I have any complaint at all, it's the ending, which (IMHO) did not fit…

Celine Song's Materialists is a stunningly mature, emotionally intelligent romantic drama, one that redefines the very concept of modern love without falling into the usual pitfalls of the genre. Anchored by three outstanding performances, Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal share extraordinary chemistry that feels raw, layered, and heartbreakingly authentic. Song's screenplay dissects with surgical precision the transactional nature of today's dating world, where intangible values like affection and vulnerability often struggle against the ever-growing checklist of material,…

What is going on with Hollywood? Hollywood HDR is a fudging cancer. It means "destroy the image completely, turn off all the lights, and present the audience with moving shadows." Yet another movie that cannot be watched, because it's so insanely dark. Zero stars. Not a movie.

Given that so much of modern-day dating goes on online between people who have never met, nor ever intend to meet, the person they are courting, I had hoped this would deliver a more brutal critique of an industry that is predicated on shallowness, fickleness and downright lying, but it just didn’t do it for me. “Lucy” (Dakota Johnson) is the $80,000-a-year matchmaker whose job it is is to dress in over-sixes suits and to tick and reconcile as many boxes from each of her clients as she can then hope that when they do actually sit down in front of each other, they don’t take their fork to…