2024 in Review
2024 was an excellent year for film. Some may not feel that way, but there were highlights in almost all categories. We had winners in horror, sequels, original dramas, and adaptations.
As the year is finished, I wanted to highlight these winners, both from my perspective as well as others that may not have been my taste, but the world embraced. We hope you find something to your liking, maybe even a new favorite!
HONORABLE MENTIONS in this post are for films that stood out this year that I have not yet seen.
DISCLAIMER: Ratings are current as of the date of this posting. All films are narrative (fiction) and had theatrical releases.
HORROR FILMS THAT DIDN’T TAKE THEMSELVES TOO SERIOUSLY
LISA FRANKENSTEIN
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% Audience (52% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4.25 sparks of joy out of 5. A campy and deliciously stylized romp of a comedy horror romance set in the 80s. We follow the lonely Lisa Swallows as she becomes romantically entangled with a dead Victorian young man brought back to life. It has some wonderful personality and a lot of absurd and playful elements to it. This came out in the beginning of 2024 and gave me hope for the rest of the year. A future cult classic if there was one.
ABIGAIL
RATINGS:
Letterboxed: 3.1
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% Audience (83% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.5 sparks of joy out of 5. A fast paced stuck-in-a-mansion with something trying to kill you that is filled with fun performances, and ends with blood splattered satisfaction.
TRAP
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 2.7
Rotten Tomatoes: 65% Audience (57% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.25 sparks of joy out of 5. If you treat this film like the B-movie we all know it is, and you enjoy Josh Harnett, this is a slightly overlong and highly enjoyable thriller set at a major concert arena.
YOUR MONSTER
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Audience (78% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4.25 sparks of joy out of 5. Melissa Barrera kills a lead comedic role as a distraught stage actress learning to find herself while dealing with a monster of a roommate, charmingly played by Tommy Dewey. A romantic comedy horror for the ages that pairs well with the above Lisa Frankenstein.
LONGLEGS
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 61% Audience (85% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.75 sparks of joy out of 5. This film is a strange and interesting journey filled with suffocating atmosphere and Nicolas Cage being the most Nicolas Cage he can be. There are odd moments that are off putting and funny, and while not the most horrifying film of the year like the intense throwback marketing campaign wanted you to believe, it has some terrifying visuals and wonderful performances. Also, Nic Cage sings.
HORROR FILMS THAT DID SOMETHING INTERESTING
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% Audience (97% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4.75 sparks of joy out of 5. This 1970’s set found footage style film creates an incredible atmosphere and is led expertly by David Dastmalchian. This was one of my highlight theater watches, and played just as well when I rewatched it at home.
IN A VIOLENT NATURE
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 2.8
Rotten Tomatoes: 45% Audience (78% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.5 sparks of joy out of 5. This film obviously isn’t for everyone. It is a slow and meditative walk through the woods with the killer as he tries to get something back from a group of kids on a trip, with even paced violence along the way. As a horror fan it was one of the most relaxing watches I’ve ever had in a theater. If you embark on this, I recommend doing it with full focus and no distractions.
STOPMOTION
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.1
Rotten Tomatoes: 49% Audience (91% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.5 sparks of joy out of 5. An offbeat journey of a stop motion artist as she navigates trying to find her own way, and the film brilliantly uses stop motion itself to drive the story and make for some awesome practical effects.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
STRANGE DARLING
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Audience (95% Critics)
MADS
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 72% Audience (93% Critics)
FRANCHISE HORROR THAT DID SOMETHING RIGHT
SMILE 2
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 81% Audience (86% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4.75 sparks of joy out of five. As a casual fan of the first Smile, I had baseline expectations for this one. It threw me for a loop as it created a tension that followed me and my movie mate out of the theater and on the way home, with everything freaking us out, just like the villain of the story. It is a true sequel in the fact that it does the first one but bigger, and the visuals in this film will stick with you.
A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.2
Rotten Tomatoes: 72% Audience (86% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4 sparks of joy out of 5. Taking a sharp turn from the first two films and following a completely different set of people, this is my personal favorite of the series. The little found family that is played beautifully by Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, and an adorable cat(s), are charming and sweet and on a mission with a death wish that leads to an ending that had me bawling in the theater.
TERRIFER 3
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 2.9
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Audience (86% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3 sparks of joy out of 5. The Terrifier series is not for everyone, not even close, as one of the most violent horror series you will ever witness (if you dare). While I believe the second film is still the best of the series thus far, as this one both drags and rushes through the storyline of final girl Sienna, it is still chock full of properly shocking displays of practical effects, and David Howard Thornton shining as the off-putting Art the Clown.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
THE FIRST OMEN
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 70% Audience (83% Critics)
ALIEN: ROMULUS
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.6
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Audience (80% Critics)
OTHER HORROR HIGHLIGHTS
THE SUBSTANCE
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.8
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% Audience (90% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 5 sparks of joy out of 5. This film is one of the my top three of the year. Director Coralie Fargeat crafted a gorgeously stylized and in your face body horror that says what it wants to say and says it loud. With magnetic performances by Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, this film was pure cinematic joy.
NOSFERATU
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.9
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% Audience (87% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 2.75 sparks of joy out of 5. While this film lacked for me in certain areas, it demands to be said that this film is gorgeous to behold, with Lily-Rose Depp pulling off an astonishing performance reminiscent of Isabelle Adjani in Possession (1981). Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, and Willem Dafoe are all excelling in roles that are what they are best at. What lacked for me didn’t lack for others, with many calling it one of, if not their favorite, movie of the year.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
ODDITY
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 78% Audience (96% Critics)
EXHUMA
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.6
Rotten Tomatoes: 87% Audience (95% Critics)
BLINK TWICE
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 70% Audience (75% Critics)
THE DEVIL’S BATH
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% Audience (90% Critics)
FRANCHISE FILMS THAT BROUGHT IT
DUNE: PART TWO
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% Audience (92% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4.25 sparks of joy out of 5. What is easily seen as one of the best pictures of the year is the epic that is Dune: Part Two. Being late to the game, I rushed to watch the first Dune so that I could see this in theaters. It was a ride of a cinematic experience, with out-of-this-world visual effects and a strong cast of performances. It is iconic, and will go down in history as a film to be celebrated for years to come.
FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.8
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% Audience (90% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3 sparks of joy out of 5. This is a film that though beloved by many, got lost in the box office, making numbers that were unjustifiable considering it’s quality. While personally it wasn’t for me and lacked the more practical visuals that made Mad Max: Fury Road special, it drove it’s own path and was something to behold, with Anya Taylor-Joy (as well as younger Furiosa Alyla Browne) doing their best to live up to Charlize Theron’s star performance.
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% Audience (78% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.75 sparks of joy out of 5. The culmination of the Deadpool trilogy ended with a bang (insert a Deadpool innuendo here), with the long awaited team up of the titular characters making for one of the funnest superhero movies in awhile. Hugh Jackman treats this with just as much care as he did in the spectacular Logan (2017), in a way that makes you sad to see him leave the character behind (again). Filled with awesome cameos (including the absolutely hilarious rendition of Gambit by Channing Tatum), blockbuster fight scenes, and the classic yellow and blue Wolverine suit, this was a fun and violent ride.
TWISTERS:
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Audience (75% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.5 sparks of joy out of 5. Twisters is the epitome of a popcorn flick, with grandiose action scenes and an easy to follow story. As a big fan of the first Twister (1996), for me this mainly lacked the charisma of the original cast, with only Glen Powell pulling that kind of weight. That being said, it definitely pulled its weight elsewhere, from the shocking first scene to the epic final tornado, and is a worthy successor to the original.
INSIDE OUT 2
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.6
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% Audience (91% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.5 sparks of joy out of 5. This sequel was a strange one for me. As a big fan of the first one, this one seemed to lack the ingenuity of the first, this second film feeling like much of the same without going much bigger. That being said, I seem to be a minority, with many fans old and new loving this follow up all the way up to number one on the 2024 Worldwide Box Office chart. It is still a beautifully animated and poignant film, with wonderful messages for the young and old alike.
GLADIATOR II
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% Audience (71% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 2 sparks of joy out of 5. This wasn’t a winner for me, in what I found to be a pale successor to the first film. It was held up only by an incredibly charismatic performance by Denzel Washington (with some support by Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn as the theatrical twin emperors). I wanted to focus on Washington and his story, and not that of our main hero Lucius, which was a sad introduction (for me) to the beloved up and coming Paul Mescal. That being said, I am not all, and a good bunch of the audience quite enjoy this film in all of its epic swords and sandals glory.
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% Audience (76% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 2 sparks of joy out of 5. Those two sparks are mostly for Catherine O’Hara and Jenna Ortega. Otherwise, this film lacked wildly for me and those I saw it with. It seemed to me to get lost in trying to capture the magic of the first one instead of finding it’s own identity. It does have some fun moments, and is pretty well regarded by others, including lovers of the first film.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
TRANSFORMERS ONE
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.8
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% Audience (89% Critics)
KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% Audience (80% Critics)
BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.2
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% Audience (65% Critics)
INCREDIBLE ORIGINAL ANIMATED FILMS
FLOW
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.0
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% Audience (97% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4.25 sparks of joy out of 5. In one for the most beautiful films of the year, this no-dialogue journey through a post-humans world with a group of various animals is a wonder. It is easy to become sucked into the world of our star cat as they attempt to navigate a great flood and an unusual found family. The lack of dialogue, with the animals only communicating via their true voice of meows and barks and caws and what not, is not a hindrance. Every look, sound, and action the animals take makes it quite clear what they are feeling and what is going on for the most part, and the animation is a true delight to behold.
THE WILD ROBOT
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.2
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% Audience (97% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4.25 sparks of joy out of 5. Easily regarded as one of the best films of the year, The Wild Robot is a vehicle for director Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon) to do what he does best: tell a story of a found family, consisting primarily of someone strong and someone small and picked on, to great effect. While I only wish that we had spent just a few minutes more with our title robot and their adopted goose child bonding, this really is a phenomenal film of extraordinary visuals, incredible voice acting by all (especially Lupita Nyong’o as Roz the robot), and a story that pulls no punches, treating it’s audience as mature and understanding of life’s nuances.
HONORABLE MENTION:
MEMOIR OF A SNAIL
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.1
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Audience (94% Critics)
A24 HAVING ANOTHER GREAT YEAR
I SAW THE TV GLOW
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 71% Audience (84% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 5 sparks of joy out of 5. A film that hit me in the gut, that numbed me in my seat at the theater, a fever dream like journey where I wasn’t sure how I felt until the very end. It ended up on my Four Favorites on Letterboxd until it was dethroned by The Substance (which made that fourth spot officially the Film-I-Love-Right-Now spot) but this film will always be in my top films of all time. It is unnerving and beautiful, speaking volumes about so many things using the simple idea of the power of nostalgia and fandom. It has powerhouse performances from Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine, bringing writer/director Jane Schoenbrun’s tale to life in the way it deserved.
LOVE LIES BLEEDING
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.6
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% Audience (94% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3 sparks of joy out of 5. While this film wasn’t as great for me as it was for many others, I can say that this is a visually intense film, with Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian firing on all cylinders as they lead this wild and original thriller.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
A DIFFERENT MAN
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.8
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% Audience (92% Critics)
SING SING
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% Audience (97% Critics)
WE LIVE IN TIME
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.7
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Audience (78% Critics)
PROBLEMISTA
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.9
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Audience (86% Critics)
JANET PLANET
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.6
Rotten Tomatoes: 48% Audience (85% Critics)
THE BRUTALIST
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.1
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% Audience (94% Critics)
QUEER
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 58% Audience (77% Critics)
BABYGIRL
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 52% Audience (76% Critics)
HERETIC
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% Audience (91% Critics)
WELL REVIEWED GEMS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
SATURDAY NIGHT
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% Audience (78% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 5 sparks of joy out of 5. In a highlight of my cinematic year, Saturday Night is a joy that didn’t get enough love. It could be the fact that it’s about the beginnings of a show that is currently nowhere near it’s hay day at the moment, but as someone who grew up with fans of the original first thirty or so years, this film about television is a captivating and fast paced in-real-time adventure. It is the epitome of an ensemble movie, filled with up and coming actors faced with the difficult task of playing iconic real life people, and they do it spotlessly. Even Gabriel LaBelle, too young to be playing Lorne Michaels at this time, manages to become a properly stressed but professional young producer trying to hold everything together.
SNACK SHACK
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.6
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% Audience (81% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4 sparks of joy out of 5. A movie about friendship and the hardships that can tear you apart or bring you together, all during one work-filled summer. Conor Sherry and Gabriel LaBelle (in a role playing about 15 years younger than he plays in Saturday Night and also pulling it off) shine in their lead roles, and the film itself gives you those ah-summers-in-the-nineties vibes that can make for a vacation of a film, all the while pulling no punches in it’s final act. A movie that got lost in its early 2025 release and deserves a watch if you’re in the mood for a solid summer film.
THELMA
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.7
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Audience (98% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4 sparks of joy out of 5. There could not be a sweeter film to come out in 2024, showcasing June Squibb in all her charming glory as a grandma trying to get revenge on the people who scammed her. It is a little offbeat and endlessly funny, with a lovely cast giving even lovelier performances, especially Fred Hechinger as her doting grandson and Richard Roundtree as her longtime friend and partner-in-’crime’.
HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.2
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Audience (97% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4.75 sparks of joy out of 5. A delightful and wholly unique film that shows how innovative you can be for not a lot of money (at least in the film world), this wacky journey of a man trying to make a life for himself in the freezing wilderness while making enemies with hundreds (possibly thousands) of beavers is a sight to behold. Using the old school style of sight gags with a sprinkle of modern sensibilities, this low-dialogue movie is easy to love for everyone who still thinks the cartoons from 1920s-40s are hilarious.
MY OLD ASS
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% Audience (91% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.75 sparks of joy out of 5. A short (89 minutes) and sweet coming of age summer film that follows a free-spirited teen as she meets her older self after a strange drug trip, and how she tries (and fails) to follow her adult self’s advice. With chuckles throughout and a bittersweet ending, this film is a gentle reminder to embrace every moment as it happens, good, bad, and in between.
JUROR #2
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% Audience (93% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.5 sparks out of joy out of 5. This film is a callback to the sort of films that use to come out all the time. A solid and simple in scope drama with fine performances. This court drama about a man in a strange position as he knows an important detail (and that’s putting it lightly) about a high profile case that he is in the jury for seems to take a lot of inspiration from the highly rated 12 Angry Men while also doing a lot of its own thing. It’s a tight watch that’ll make for an entertaining time.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
DIDI
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.0
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% Audience (96% Critics)
GREAT FILMS THAT DON’T FALL INTO OTHER CATEGORIES
CHALLENGERS
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.9
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% Audience (88% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4.25 sparks of joy out of 5. It feels like there isn’t much to say that hasn’t already been said about this movie. Before and after it became the film-of-the-moment back in early 2024, I wasn’t particularly interested in seeing it. I thought of it as just the ‘sexy tennis movie’ and that was it. However, it’s popularity didn’t give up and I finally gave in. It was instantly enthralling, with magnetic performances by it’s lead three, all of whom have chemistry in all directions. It had my eyes wide and my mouth open as it handled the drama like a never fumbled fuzzy tennis ball.
CONCLAVE
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.9
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% Audience (93% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4 sparks of joy out of 5. Another film where I was just like ‘the pope movie’ and I couldn’t believe the hype it was getting, and again it was indeed not just ‘the pope movie’. This is an endlessly engaging thriller, with great performances all around and a lusciously strict color pallet that makes for a visual feast along the way.
THE FALL GUY
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Audience (82% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4.25 sparks of joy out of 5. One of the funnest theatrical experiences of the year, it was too bad more people didn’t take the time to see this on the big screen as was intended. Punctuated by incredible stunt work and endearingly hilarious performances by Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, this is a popcorn flick that created a lot of joy for me and my movie-going group.
HIT MAN
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.4
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% Audience (95% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.5 sparks of joy out of 5. A fun romp that delights in showcasing how lead Glen Powell can pull off any outrageous look and still be the most charismatic guy in the room, while having wonderful chemistry with the magnetic Adria Arjona. Writer and Director Richard Linklater does it again by making an easy watch that will turn into a cult classic.
IF
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 2.9
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% Audience (50% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 3.5 sparks of joy out of 5. A lot of my love for this movie comes from its potential. It was always right at the cusp of doing something spectacular before being too scared (and too messy) to go for it. While most wouldn’t consider this a great film, there was a certain magic there that you can see simmering under the surface had it been handled differently. I commend it for being the first on the Worldwide Box Office list that is entirely original (everything above it is a sequel, reboot, or based off a book), and take that as a sign that people do want to see a fantastical and original family film. Let’s hope this means that we can get more, and better handled, types of films like this in the future.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
MONKEY MAN
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.7
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Audience (89% Critics)
NICKEL BOYS
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.1
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% Audience (86% Critics)
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.7
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% Audience (78% Critics)
THE APPRENTICE
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.6
Rotten Tomatoes: 84% Audience (83% Critics)
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.9
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Audience (94% Critics)
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.9
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% Audience (100% Critics)
FILMS WITH BEST PICTURE POTENTIAL
ANORA
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.1
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Audience (95% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 5 sparks of joy out of 5. One of the best pictures of the year, both for myself personally and in general, is the Sean Baker gem that is this film. A modern age screwball comedy that hits you square in the chest at the end, this was a phenomenal theater going experience. The first part of the film is spent falling in love with Mikey Madison in the title role, showcasing this gigantic character in even the smallest of details, and then we get the gift of Yura Borisov as he slowly simmers in the background of a radically overthrown Anora. The whole piece is a melting pot of high comedy, intense confrontations, gorgeous cinematography, and great performances from beginning to end.
WICKED
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 4.0
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% Audience (88% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 5 sparks of joy out of 5. As someone who was a casual fan of the stage musical (seen it on tour once in 2017) and semi-frequent engager of belting out a quarter of the original soundtrack, I felt a strange anticipation for this film adaptation. It was as if deep down I knew I was stepping into something special, and boy, was that correct. I have been charmed and captured by the cinematic excursion that was Wicked: Part One. I have become a huge fan, even allowing it to replace The Substance in the rotating spot in my Four Favorites. It lives rent free and happily so in my soul. While it is not for everyone, it was the epitome of Joy in the Cinema this year, and I can only hope that the second part can live up to it.
A REAL PAIN
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.8
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% Audience (96% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 4 sparks of joy out of 5. This tight 90-minute trek to Poland with two cousins as they navigate who they are and where they come from made for a lovely film experience, with solid performances by its lead actors. The film, like its main characters, is both charming and uncomfortable at times, moving at a proper pace of not too slow and yet allowing you time to let the messages of the story sink in. The humor in it might not land with everyone, but I don’t believe it needs to be hilarious to make for an enjoyable film.
EMILIA PÉREZ
RATINGS:
Letterboxd: 3.0
Rotten Tomatoes: 69% Audience (76% Critics)
Spark Your Cinema: 2 sparks of joy out of 5. This film was definitely not for me, and I was glad to be aware of its possibility as a Best Picture contender so that I was able to seek it out in theaters before it hit Netflix, or else I’m not sure I would’ve been able to give it the proper attention. It is a bit of a mess, trying to be so many things at once and not managing to do any one of those things greatly. The musical numbers leave a lot to be a desired, with the songs in English laughable and the ones in Spanish better but not supremely memorable. The story is unsure of itself, and the themes it wants to convey fall flat. What stands out in this film is some good visuals and solid performances, especially Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofía Gascón. It does have its fans, and you might fall in love with it as some have. Expect to see lots of nominations for it during awards season.
OTHER POTENTIAL BEST PICTURE NOMINEES PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED:
CONCLAVE
THE BRUTALIST
DUNE: PART TWO
SING SING
NICKEL BOYS
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
THE SUBSTANCE
CHALLENGERS
SPARK YOUR CINEMA FAVORITES
WICKED: PART ONE
THE SUBSTANCE
ANORA
I SAW THE TV GLOW
SATURDAY NIGHT
HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS
SMILE 2
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL
YOUR MONSTER
LISA FRANKENSTEIN
