Parents' Guide to Magazine Dreams

A deeply troubled and troublesome movie in the vein of Taxi Driver and Joker, this bodybuilding drama has—off-screen controversy notwithstanding—an undeniably brutal, committed central performance. Magazine Dreams premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023 and was picked up for distribution with a planned release later that year. But during the summer of 2023, Majors was arrested on allegations of assault, leading to a guilty verdict in December that year. He was fired from his role as Kang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Searchlight Pictures dropped Magazine Dreams from release and returned the rights to the filmmakers.

Its theatrical release by a different distributor came more than two years after its premiere, and it's impossible to watch it now without considering the off-screen drama. Viewers will need to decide for themselves whether they want to give the movie their time or money. But it's difficult to deny that Majors is a talented performer, a physical powerhouse with the force of a young Brando. He digs inside his character and truly feels Killian's pain; there's not a fake or dishonest second in the film. We tune in to his emotions and feel the crushing sadness of his life. The movie itself is a little more disjointed, a collection of powerful moments that don't necessarily connect to each other or comment upon one another. (A troubling diagnosis about halfway through the movie never comes up again.) Ultimately, Magazine Dreams packs a punch, and it's here for anyone who has the wherewithal to go someplace dark.