Elijah Bynum’s directorial debut and A24 release, “Hot Summer Nights” is not a by-the-numbers coming of age story as an unlikely teenager winds up in a sticky situation dealing drugs to the locals in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Not the ideal way to cross the threshold into adulthood, but still—a right of passage nevertheless.

Navigating the space between self-expression and simply fitting in, “Hot Summer Nights” follows Daniel Middleton (Timothée Chalamet), a scrawny, inward-thinking and socially awkward young man struggling to escape the trappings of his teenage years.

Continue reading ‘Hot Summer Nights’ Avoids Being A Complete Hot Mess Thanks To Timothée Chalamet [Review] at The Playlist.

For most of its running time, “Forever My Girl” is surprisingly inoffensive, the type of movie that you’d watch on a plane and not feel too embarrassed by – at least until it made you cry. (Pro tip: this is why you pick the window seat.) However, the country-fried romance written and directed by Bethany Ashton Wolf becomes a victim of self-sabotage as it nears its (predictable) conclusion, removing any good will it created in its first half.

Continue reading ‘Forever My Girl’ Is Mostly Perfect, Predictable Plane Viewing [Review] at The Playlist.