completely beyond what I could have expected out of this, good God

Lady Lyndon let Barry hit because he was goofy

Fucking hilarious he made this and then made The Shining. Saw this at The Coolidge on 35mm, the print was extremely dusty, sort of elevated the experience. First half is sort of a comedic runaround and then the second half is like mesmerizing. Couple next to me at the theater watched the Barry Lyndon x 21 Savage reel during intermission. Another great night at the cinema.

Remarkable piece of film. Will get ramen and then see almost anything at the Coolidge and be like yoo.

First third of the movie I think far outshines the rest though, the exposition from Wisborg through the village in Transylvania was genuinely really remarkably put to screen. The final third just did not do as much for me as my curiosity waned.

Overall though, felt unlike anything I've seen before in a good way! Being able to pull from a deep catalog of Gothic iconography and just fully hit the gas with it genuinely ruled, good stuff.

Slop, I gotta be real. Cynthia Erivo holds the whole thing up, Ariana Grande gives enough effort to keep afloat, but the thing is a trudging mess that somehow has zero artistic vision despite the budget. Every shot is visually incredibly messy and low-contrast, the pacing is way too slow, and even when the musical hits its clear emotional height in Defying Gravity, it's punctuated by chaotic direction choices and never dwells on the emotion. Cynthia's performance deserved way better