Review: $POSITIONS | SXSW Film Festival 2025

Score: D

Director: Brandon Daley

Cast: Michael Kunicki, Vinny Dress, Trevor Dawkins, Kaylyn Carter

Running Time: 97 Minutes

Rated: NR

Well, we officially have our worst movie of the fest, folks.

$POSITIONS (yes, the symbol is part of the title) is one of the most thoroughly unpleasant films I've had to sit through in some time. Newcomer Michael Kunicki stars as Mike, a perpetual screw-up who becomes addicted to riding the cryptocurrency wave. Foolishly dumping his meager savings into this scheme, he spends a good amount of the movie checking his phone and seeing how his fortune rises and falls. Unsurprisingly, he lives lavishly when the "coin" hits new highs, then sweats it out as it drops into the red.

The film tries to keep up a frenetic pace by constantly cutting to graphics of Mike's latest balance, but that's arguably more annoying than Mike himself. He's such a self-deluded idiot that it's impossible to root for him. In the film's second half, writer-director Brandon Daley tries to lay on the pathos, as Mike comes to regret being a bad brother, bad son, bad boyfriend, and bad confidant. But he had no charm, wit, or decency to begin with, so it falls flat. And all this emotion falls flat coming after scene in which Mike is tricked into drinking urine at a party. Trying to have it both ways comes off as gross.

Daley was clearly influenced by the Safdie Brothers and Adult Swim shows. Whether those do anything for you or not, it's easy to see this is just a pale imitation. It's not like there's anything else to wrap your arms around in this movie. None of the performances are especially bad, but aside from Mike's violent, drug-addicted cousin Travis (Trevor Dawkins), no one is a real character here. They're just another obstacle in Mike's way, or someone who sticks by his side despite all logic and reason.

Be smarter than Mike. The only bigger waste of your time than investing in cryptocurrency would be to watch this movie.

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About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.