Mainstream

Once "Mainstream" locks into its purpose - showing the vapidity, cruelty and calculation of certain YouTube stars - it soars.

A more incisive film would have something to say about using empty spectacle to comment on empty spectacle.

[Mainstream] drills down hard into its subject, jettisoning Coppola's previous restraint in favor of a more confrontational and graceless hyperactivity.

The film has the knowing swagger of something on the cutting edge but none of the self-awareness to realize it's late to the party.

A horrifically empty "social media satire"...

Mainstream takes a while (and a lot of hipster costume changes) to get there, but it eventually throws up some pertinent questions to ponder...

Not only skewers social media stardom and the very nature of the Hollywood machine itself, but also the way both reflect the increasingly shallow core values of contemporary society.

Mainstream tackles one of the most debated themes of our time in an interesting and innovative way: the (at times, unhealthy) relationship some of us have with social networks and their stars, the Influencers.

Though some of Mainstream’s criticisms are understandable and others questionable, the film proves unafraid and daring in its ambitious stylistic choices, memorable central performance and dystopian vision.

...a progressively hit-and-miss endeavor...