There are still a few movies to be released (https://www.movieinsider.com/movies/2024), but it's still probably a good time to have a look at the best movies from 2024 and discuss them.
There will be similar threads on !showsandmovies@lemm.ee, and probably !animation@lemm.ee
Feel free to comment with the movies you liked the most, ideally one comment per movie so that other people can chime in and discuss.
Man this was a rough year where even the big movies that we hoped for were mostly middling at best and lots more were outright bad.
But to support something I did like
Smile 2
I actually hadn't seen Smile 1 before seeing this but it had a really great classic horror movie vibe of tension and uncomfortableness leading up to a payoff of just downright hard horror in the style of Edgar Allen Poe or Hereditary. And a second watch is actually great for picking up a lot of clever writing.I saw Smile 1 and it was fine - Smile 2 took that basic premise turned it up a notch or two. I went I'm with pretty low.expectations but it really delivered. One of the best horror films of the year.
Amazing cinematography. I wasn't the most convinced by the pacing, but it was definitely worth to see it in IMAX
Agreed cinematography, set design and costumes were top notch, same as with part 1, but i agree with you that pacing was an issue. Imo the root cause was a change they made from the books
book/movie spoiler (not sure if the spoiler tag is necessary)
By deciding to keep Alia Atreides (Pauls sister) unborn it drastically shortened the time frame they spend with the Fremen, getting immersed in their culture and gaining their trust/support, from years to to months. That means everything feels rushed and they also e.g. cut the death of Paul and Chani's first child. But then again this change was probably for practical reasons, because the movie was already long as is and it also avoided having to cast a child actor.
I had the same sentiment about the implications of
spoiler
Alia not being born
in the movie, but I also understand they were already running at almost 3 hours. Maybe an extra montage to show time passing by? Or maybe that's too cliche. Either way, it's still the best film of 2024 for me.
Part 2 was the pay-off for all the set-up in Part 1 and it was a thing of beauty (that B&W sequence really stayed with me). Not my favourite film of the year but a definite contender for top 10.
I still haven't seen part 2 yet but I bought both in 4k from a black Friday sale. These comments are encouraging. ☺️
Yeah, if you liked Part 1 then Part 2 takes all the groundwork and builds on it.
Zone of Interest
The Substance
I didn't exactly watch a ton of new movies this year but these two were both fantastic. I was thinking about Zone of Interest for weeks after. Still haven't seen Anora.
Still need to watch Zone of Interest but agreed on the Substance. Great movie that stayed with me for a while afterwards.
Deadpool & Wolverine - a blast from start to finish. Probably going to finish the year in my top.three, likely #1.
I worry the movie won't be able to have staying power.
It was so good and I enjoyed the movie greatly but it's clearly and very much for the moment film. Touching on the nostalgia and emotions of the end of an entire collective universe and shared history of media that won't be for people moving forward.
So can it be movie if the year if it's only valid for this year?
Not a judgement but a question. I'd say yes, but understand it can't be easily recommended later.
Just having a look at websites tops (https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/best-movies-2024/, https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-lists/best-movies-2024-1235079024/), I realize how many movies I missed ha ha
https://www.businessinsider.com/best-and-worst-movies-this-year-critic-ranking-2024
Borderlands and Madame Web are definitely topinv my list of worst. I'll give the nod to the latter as the firmer seems to have been almost deliberately sabotaged by the studio, while Madame Web was, apparently, exactly the film Sony wanted to release.
Less about movies I missed and more just ones I didn't see because: a) I have more... "low brow" tastes than some critics and b) they got showings at film festivals but didn't necessarily trickle down to movie theatres (and/or they are on streaming platforms).
I will likely get around to some of them, I was trying to catch Anora before it left my local multiplex but couldn't.
Yeah, i am kind of having a hard time with the choice because there are still so much gaps like Anora, the Burtalist or Nosferatu.
Another issue is how to decide which year some movies belong to. For example "Perfect Days" from the rolling stone list.
Perfect Days premiered on 23 May 2023 at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or and won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the Best Actor Award for Kōji Yakusho. It was nominated for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards
Wikipedia. I assume it made the 24 list because the US release was in February this year, but it debuted last years in other markets and was even nominated for an Oscar.
Personally i find it easiest to just go with whatever year Letterboxd uses, which in this case is 2023. But if for this poll we decide it to be a 2024 movie, then it might get my vote over Dune II.
I just go by the date of first release on IMDb, which should be pretty much the same.as Letterboxd.
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In - went in pretty blind and loved it, definite Kung-fu Hustle vibes. I'm finalising my top ten of the year but this will end up in the top 3.
Well that's interesting...
Been a while since I've seen anything compared to Kung Fu Hustle
Sure, feel free to make one either you or @BoozeOrWater@lemm.ee and I'll pin it. Otherwise I'll probably do one in a few days.
