XOXO (2016) Reviews

• Terrible

  cameronspencer942016-08-27

  I seem to be finding rather mixed reviews about this movie everywhere and I just felt it necessary to write my own review. First off, the movie itself has so many flaws that it's nearly impossible to take seriously. I really wanted to like this movie, as I do have an interest in Hayley Kiyoko and Sarah Hyland, and because I love other movies with similar aesthetics (Spring Breakers, for example) but I guess they could only work with what they had. I don't understand why either of them would stoop to this level of garbage, but sure enough they did. Money is more important than substance. The writing. The writing is so god awful that it's almost painful to watch it play out on- screen. The acting was obviously not top-notch but I blame that mostly on the terrible script itself. The characters were stereotypical and had very little redeeming qualities, not to mention they were so thinly written that you could care less about what happens to any of them. The story itself was also bad; nothing that exciting happened throughout the entire film and there were so many moments that randomly turned into an entirely aesthetic-fueled music video. In addition, the script seemed to find it very difficult to find any balance between negative and positive exploitation of the EDM festival scene. I constantly kept asking myself, "Is this trying to mock festival goers or is it trying to embrace them?" The only redeeming qualities about this movie was the music (as an EDM fan, I did appreciate the soundtrack choices). The only other thing I would say was moderately decent was the visuals. Many of the visuals were well-done while some were very cheesy, so it was a mixed bag in that department. I was looking forward to this movie and was extremely disappointed because they could have done so much more with the story. Overall, I would not recommend this movie unless you simply want to watch it for the aesthetics, visuals and music. Do NOT expect a good story going into it and you may end up liking it more than I did.

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• From the perspective of someone who attends these events, the movie was very enjoyable, albeit a bit predictable.

  niahklotz2016-08-27

  Let me start by saying that I am a raver, a DJ, and a straight edge, meaning I don't drink, smoke, or do any sorts of drugs at these events. Just to give you a bit of perspective on where I'm coming from. Personally, I really enjoyed this movie. It captured very well the many different aspects of festival culture, from the bro-tank crowd, to the slutty girls, to the people only there to take an extreme amount of drugs, to the people who come to enjoy the music and hardly if at all participate in the party scene. The chaos and bliss of walking around a massive, multi-staged arena of people who are just there to enjoy themselves in the best way they know how, dancing to the music that we all love. Even the shocking and thrilling experience of running into your best friend in the middle of a crowd, in a festival with 24,000 people in it, something that has actually happened to me, as unlikely as that sounds. The depiction of PLUR was a bit cheesy, not that there is really a non-cheesy way to portray that element. The film also captured a bit of DJ culture, and the constant struggle between the people who are in it for the music vs. the fame, which I appreciated, although that might not resonate so much with the general audience. With a solid combination of outright, and background comedy (pay attention to side characters that are being talked over), and serious plot, this movie is a good example of what a 'dramedy' should be. Without spoiling anything, the plot has enough twists to keep you engaged, although it does grow a bit predictable as it goes. Some parts did seem a bit forced, plot-wise, but that's to be expected in film nowadays. I would have liked if the film had more diversity in the music, as it was almost entirely main- stage house in the soundtrack, but to be fair, that is the only type of EDM that really works with general audiences, so I understand why they choose to stick so closely to the genre. If you've never been to a festival, do not by any means form your opinion of what they are like on this movie, but if you have, sit back and enjoy, and let XOXO take you back to what is, for many people, the most surreal and magical few days of their entire lives.

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• 1 hour and 30 minute of clichés

  stonyandre2016-08-29

  So many clichés that i had to finish the movie in 3 sessions. The biggest cliché. The love interest. She meets the guy and hes of course dumbfounded and cant speak. Shes all smiley and we already know that these 2 are getting together. But wait, shes got another guy shes meeting and rejects our hero because hes an awkward little boy, who stutters a lot, and has 100% Prakinsons making it impossible to insert a USB-stick. And also he f#*ks up his set, and I'm sitting here like awwww, this is gonna end so badly for him. Like embarrassed on his behalf. But lo and behold, he manages to pull of a good set at the last minut of the movie, like just before the end with all the scrolling names. Shiit, talk about perfect timing. And he also gets the girl, because hes a bigtime DJ now. Golddigger. And also, wtf is up with the couple going into the sewers? 1st they lose the tickets because riot, naturally. Then they go into the sewers. Then they get lost, take a nap, break up, get back together and magically finds the ladder they need just around the corner. 5deep3me man. Edgy story. Only reason i give it 3 of 10 is because of Tariq and his drug overdose that gives him a great revelation. No its not, its because he crawled into a RentaLoo and that was a true wtf moment for me. OK, ill give it 4 of 10 because they got the stereotypes of rave correctly.

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• Vibrant, colorful, and passionate!

  Ramascreen2016-08-26

  XOXO is the perfect film for the millennials. It's vibrant, colorful and passionate. I really enjoy this film and personally I think it's because it speaks to the younger self in me that's wishing I could party at a music festival but now at my age I don't know if I have the energy to do it. Written by Dylan Meyer and directed by Christopher Louie, XOXO is essentially about six early 20-something strangers at the biggest EDM festival in America and their lives collide in one dream-chasing hopelessly romantic night. Graham Phillips plays DJ Ethan who gets to perform at the festival, he finally gets his big break, but situations leading up to that are quite rocky, plus his manager is going through his own separate ordeal. This is one of those ensemble films, meaning it features several key characters and all of them have equal share of screen time and you see their respective stories cross paths with each other. First of all, I think any of you who've been to a festival before can certainly watch XOXO and plainly see the lengths to which this film went in order to accurately depict such event down pat. And once the sun goes down, the place is jumping with all kinds of folks, some are even there to just get high on drugs. It's basically a mini woodstock but with ten times the energy. The emphasis on the lighting, the wardrobe, all kinds of colors, the way the characters' lips or eyelids just glow in the dark, XOXO sure wants you to know that you are in for a party film where everybody is just there to live in the moment. The film features some of today's young talents and rising stars who are just right for their roles whether it be to captivate or inspire. At the heart of the story is this struggle or a conflict between following regular norm or hoping for something different like pursuing your passion or pursuing romantic encounter, as silly as that may sound to people, which is why I said earlier that this is the perfect film for millennials because we are the generation of not knowing what the future holds for us, we are the generation of taking chances and hoping for something more to come around. For all intents and purposes, XOXO is here to tell us that despite uncertainty and anxiety, somehow everything's going to be OK. -- Rama's Screen --

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• sweet feel good movie

  izzyclancy2016-09-03

  This is a short and sweet movie with an infectious positive feel and a great soundtrack. It's an easy watch that is good fun with some laugh out loud moments. XOXO is not blow your mind amazing but worth a watch on a lazy day. The acting is pretty good and there are some beautiful visuals involved. Especially good if you've been to a festival as it shows festivals for the drug crazy mad places that they often are, just with a lot more mud than in this movie! XOXO handles the multiple story lines quite well, but more emphasis on the older guy's story would be better.Some finer details in the plot seemed to be brushed over but it's understandable as there are multiple plots occurring. Overall this is one of the best things Sarah Hyland has done outside of Modern Family.

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