Two things: Love a reboot of a known property that doesn’t default to origin story (even if MUTANT MAYHEM is the origin story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ coexistence with humans, it keeps their first fifteen years post-ooze a fun flashback montage) and love that director Jeff Rowe, producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and that trio’s other co-writers let the heroes-in-a-half-shell be teens (what a great, young voice-acting cast to make it believable too).
The story itself is…
Only with [this experience and] knowledge, as well as the tools to make it work for them, can women Eya and Tayssir's age attempt to finally break the cycle of exploitation and persecution into which they were born.
Where so many Hollywood-ized "gay" stories end on a positive note of rebirth and optimism, Guadagnino is helming a love story unafraid to highlight the suffering one always contains. Love is only able to live up to its name if its absence rips out your heart to the point of numbing yourself from ever risking such pure emotion again. Love isn't sex. Love is pain.
my full review at BuffaloVibe and archived
It's a familiar trajectory portrayed with a boldly wanton disregard for the consequences. Whereas most dark comedies of this ilk would play it all for redemption, however, Shephard understands the value of holding horrible people accountable.
my full review at The Film Stage and archived
