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Review by Garrett's World ★★★★★ Liked

i will never insult a man’s deltoids again

Review by Amanda the Jedi ★★★½ Liked

Eminem's Stan meets Whiplash moments with strong Taxi Driver vibes but still tackles the subject in an interesting and fresh way.

Still need to mull over it a bit and I'm not sure how I feel about aspects of the second half but an amazing performance out of Majors

3

in theory: Taxi Driver
in praxis: Joker

10

Magazine Dreams s the canon of films fixated on lonely, obsessed, and rage-filled men. The narrative beats are familiar but Jonathan Majors delivers a staggering performance as Killian Maddox, a bodybuilder who's turned his physique into both armor and prison.

Killian is a paradox, a mountain of muscles with the fragility of a kid, and Majors effortlessly switches between these two extremes — in one moment, his wide eyes radiate like a child yearning for affection, in the next, they flash with anger, his rage leaving you uncomfortable and on the edge... it’s easy to feel sorry for Killian as he unravels, Majors brings so much humanity to the character that we brace for his collapse but really hope for…

14

I was completely transfixed by Jonathan Majors’ performance which is enough to give this film a recommendation. His portrayal of the singular Killian Maddox is a thing of beauty, but his Magazine Dreams quickly turn into real nightmares as he grapples with personal demons. Though Killian has a singular focus that he is pushing himself towards, the film‘s narrative by contrast feels very scattershot, touching on steroid use, toxic masculinity, celebrity, violence, mental health, gun violence, suicide….you name it, and it’s probably in here. That left me with a bit of a question mark in of how I feel about the film overall. But truly, Majors is an incredible talents and I’m so looking forward to Creed III, and he absolutely makes this film a must see. 

2023 Ranked
Sundance 2023 Ranked

Degrees of Kevin Bacon: 2
1. Haley Bennett and Ed Harris in Rules Don’t Apply
2. Ed Harris and Kevin Bacon in Apollo 13 

107

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

3

C'était nomination à l'Oscar s'il n'avait pas agressé sa femme.

5

Fellas is it gay if your only room decor is posters of half naked oiled up men?

1

Ashton Hall?

1

Magazine Dreams is too long for the straightforward story it’s telling, especially one we’ve seen before (the Taxi Driver/Joker comparisons track), but Jonathan Majors is mesmerizing, playing a man on the margins who is simultaneously tragic and terrifying.

2023 Ranked

3

MAGAZINE DREAMS is a dark & intense character study with career best work from Jonathan Majors. Despite the uneven storytelling and the runtime, Majors is the primary reason to see this. I can’t recall the last time I saw a performance so this much heavy lifting (pun definitely intended) to save a film. Eliciting sympathy one moment, then fear the next, his obsessively committed performance will leave you in shock & awe. A terrifying look at toxic masculinity & mental illness.

2

If it weren’t for the scandal surrounding Jonathan Majors, I firmly believe he would have been in serious contention for awards recognition. His performance in Magazine Dreams is nothing short of transformative—raw, bruising, and profoundly human. He vanishes into the role with such intensity that it becomes difficult to look away, even when the film dares you to. Though it debuted at festivals in 2023, it’s officially being released in 2025 in the U.S., and already it stands among the most striking and memorable films I’ve seen this year.

Magazine Dreams is a haunting, slow-burning descent into the mind of a man undone by longing. It tells the story of Killian Maddox, a bodybuilder whose muscles are as exaggerated as…