The Best (and Worst) of 2024
Let's look back at the year in movies
At the beginning of last year’s Year in Review , we proclaimed 2023 to be a good movie year and to relish that fact because 2024 was shaping up to potentially be a little bit on the weaker side as far as a slate of movies went. As 2024 wraps up, I think we got that one right. While it hasn’t been a disaster of a year or anything, there were entire weekends that went without a major studio release, something that almost NEVER happens. This is due, of course, to the WGA and SAG strikes of 2023, which delayed movies that were already in production and paused those who had yet to start rolling. Here in LA, there was a major slogan around both the movie and television industries: Survive ‘til ‘25.
And survive we did, sometimes even thrived! While this year might not have been as solid as years past, there were some good movies to be found, even if we had to look a little harder to find them.
I am joined, as I always am for this exercise, by my good friend, longtime Working Title contributor, and ball knower Steph Mill. This year, we’re bringing a new Movie Slut™️ into the fold: My buddy James Lockhart. James is someone whose movie opinions I really value and who has written some of my favorite Letterboxd reviews on the site. That’s right, we here at Working Title have ourselves a CHALLENGERS situation brewing.
Longtime readers will know this, but a little refresher if you’re new here. This is an exercise where we recognize our favorite movies of the year, not the best movies of the year. Granted, some of our favorite movies WILL BE some of the the movies you find on other “best of the year” lists that are out there. You won’t find a Top 10. This edition of the newsletter has always been (and will continue to be) a conversation and celebration about the year in movies. We try not to limit ourselves in the conversation, either with a cap on how many we can talk about or a qualifier like “best.”
Below you will find our Hall of Fame (good) and our Hall of Shame (you guessed it, bad) along with a few honorable mentions. Like previous years, there are a few movies where Steph, James, and I will overlap but perhaps one of us liked it more than the other. Rather than list them separately in the honorable mentions and favorites sections, respectively, I will make a note as to which section that movie belongs in for each person. We also have movies that we disagree on. When that is the case you’ll see that person’s opinion logged in the appropriate section. For example: If Steph and James like a movie and I hate it, their opinions will be logged in the Hall of Fame, were mine will be logged in the Hall of Shame.
As always, a final note: as much as everyone here loves da movies and tries to see as many as we can, we simply cannot see everything. Be it due to location, release dates, festival access, or simply not having enough time, there are some movies (sometimes fairly buzzy ones!) that we will unfortunately miss. If there’s one missing here, you can bet we tried our best to see it, we just came up short. The work continues.
Let’s get into 2024 in film. It’s our longest (and my favorite) newsletter of the year, so settle in and take your time.
2024 Hall of Fame
Film: Nickel Boys
Where You Can Watch: in theaters
Simply astounding. My favorite of the year. A movie that cracked me open so slowly that I didn’t realize it was happening until the credits rolled.
Incredible performances from everyone involved particularly Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (and a shoutout, as always, to my boy Fred Hechinger). Incredibly restrained in places that are usually exploited. Incredibly big in places other movies wouldn’t dare go. There is no grandiose display of violence against Black bodies to garner sympathy. The implication is there and director RaMell Ross trusts you to understand.
I am hesitant to say more because, quite frankly, any words I have wouldn’t do it justice. It must be experienced. - Saul
Film: Challengers
Where You Can Watch: Prime
Horny in the silliest of ways, and silly in the horniest of ways. Been blasting the score since I left the theatre. I need Team Patrick and Team Art merch made (a la Team Edward and Jacob, respectively) like, yesterday. And yes, obviously I’m Team Patrick. - Steph
I went deep on Letterboxd about my fascination with this movie’s bizarre Tennis Universe, so I’ll direct you there for those thoughts and save about 500 words here. Everything people have said about CHALLENGERS is true, it’s the most fun movie of the year. Here’s my contribution to this round-up as a tennis-obsessed person: Challenger TV is free on the ATP website. You can watch this stuff happen in real life. A couple months ago I watched live as Bernard Tomic, who is basically the 31 year old Australian amalgam of the two male leads in this movie, tank his match in the final of a Challenger tournament in Fairfield, California, all while fully mic’d and arguing with his influencer girlfriend during the changeovers. Just throw on the Trent Reznor score in the background and you can have CHALLENGERS forever, baby. - James
3 Way (The Golden Rule) by the Lonely Island and Lady Gaga: The Movie. The hardest I laughed in a theater this year might have been when Patrick slapped his boy Art’s boner after their would be ménage à trois. 2025: Boner Slapping Your Boys is in. - Saul
Film: La Chimera
Where You Can Watch: Hulu
My favorite film of the year. If you like Josh O’Connor and want to see him be somewhat less of a piece of shit and dressed much better than he was in CHALLENGERS, this is for you. Beautiful, unique, dreamlike but not in the annoying way at all. This movie has so many delightful tricks up its dirty linen sleeves. I can’t recall anything else I’ve seen that’s this devastating and this whimsical in equal parts throughout. There’s just something so special about a film that concerns itself with such a small corner of the world, a group of people that feel so removed from society, that still manages to say something universally relatable about losing someone or something that you cared for that you will never find again. - James
Another film, another huge W for our guy Josh O’ Connor. Indiana Jones if all his friends sucked ass. This movie features one of my favorite representations of Italy in some time. It’s beautiful and ramshackle all at once. This one went a little under seen and under discussed and that’s a real shame. It’s one of the best of the year. - Saul
Film: I Saw The TV Glow
Where You Can Watch: Max
Outside of NICKEL BOYS, this was pretty far and away my favorite film of 2024. I like it so much I dedicated a whole edition of this newsletter to it, so I’ll point you there instead of going too long on it here. I will just say that I think this movie really nails the feeling of loving and being transformed by something that cannot possibly reciprocate those feelings but asking the question “what if that’s not true? What if these things can love you back? And what if that’s not a good thing?”
There is no bigger scare than suffocating under a life you have created for yourself to bury the life you could have had and person you could have been. - Saul
While I don’t think everything in this film worked, it was so emotionally convicted that I couldn’t help but respect every choice made that was made. Personally, it’s hard to imagine revisiting I SAW THE TV GLOW, I can’t really think about it at all without feeling a pit in my stomach. There’s certainly a decision made by Jane Schoenbrun to keep the audience at arm’s length, plenty of impressionistic filmmaking going on, a whole lot of what some people read as “vibes” and I think that’s fair. But I also don’t necessarily have a desire to watch a movie that tackles what this movie tackles that takes like, the GREEN BOOK approach to the trans experience, and I’d be willing to bet most people who relate to this film would feel the same. I loved how this movie treated nostalgia as an enemy, the part of your lived experience that you should maybe trust the least. Very, very excited for more work from Schoenbrun. - James
Film: The Brutalist
Where You Can Watch: in theaters
A film that reaches for, aspires to, and sometimes even achieves greatness.
I found the second half to be a little lacking in the face of the beautifully constructed first but that feels in step with what this movie is about. The American Dream™ is manufactured, shoddily constructed, maybe not even real. How can you achieve something that doesn’t exist. America is a cruel place, as hard and jutting as the buildings constructed by the movies namesake. It will assault you one day and invite you to dinner the next. Come build your dreams for us to steal. Can you stick to your vision? Would you even want to? And what is the price you’ll pay for doing so. - Saul
Film: Dune 2
Where You Can Watch: Max/Hulu/Prime
Javier Bardem took this movie from pretty good to really good for me. Not many people come to mind that could have inhabited the otherworldly desert freak side of his character while also bringing a much-needed levity to a movie which, at times, was way too stiff and serious for me. I mean we’re talking about keeping the juices in the body and riding the worms, somebody on screen at some point has got to acknowledge that this shit is hilarious. - James
Straight up monumental achievement in not just science fiction cinema, but modern day cinema as a whole. Saw this in IMAX on shrooms and straight up thought I was riding the worm. (literally this feels like it came out years ago. Was 2024 54 years long?) - Steph
One of the most overwhelming theater experiences of my life. A movie that has its flaws but a movie that is so grand in scope and design that those flaws can be easily overlooked. There were several different things in this movie that i have never seen before. That's special. - Saul
Film: Anora
Where You Can Watch: in theaters/available to rent wherever you normally rent
I know some people start to hate on this in the slapstick-y second half, but I am here for it. Love the fine line it balanced constantly between amusement and deep sadness, always on the horizon but never quite reaching there until the last few minutes, where we get punched in the gut much harder than I was anticipating. ADDICTING accent from Mikey Madison too, would like her to read me a book sometime. - Steph
New York City movies tend to rely on grime or glamor to bake in that big city feel, and Sean Baker did something really special with placing this story squarely in the middle of both. In all of his movies I’ve seen, he has such a knack for telling stories about that part of town that you either never get out of or have probably have been told to stay away from. The ending of ANORA completely blew me away and honestly kind of saved it for me. The kind of decision that you make when you know you’re getting maybe the biggest stage you’ll ever get. I hope that’s not true, but if it is, what an apex in a terrifically interesting career. - James
I have been rocking with Sean Baker since the THE FLORIDA PROJECT and that stock have been steadily rising. While I don’t think this movie is perfect (I think our main girlie gets hung out to dry a little bit in a few aspects) there is no denying how strong this movie is. The opening sequence is mesmerizing. Mikey Madison is a capital S Star. The second half is basically a Loony Tunes episode. Then the last 10 minutes hit like a hand grenade. Sean Baker, you’ve done it again king. - Saul
Film: The Substance
Where You Can Watch: Prime
What could I say that hasn’t already been drilled into everyone’s skull? The least subtle, most unserious, and probably the most disgusting movie of the year. Also saw this at TIFF with a Q&A from [Director]Coralie Fargeat and Demi Moore (no dog, sadly). There is really something special about listening to two beautiful, articulate women talk about shooting an actual firehose of fake blood into a crowd of screaming people. - Steph
I just want to talk about the most fun theater experience I had this year, sat for THE SUBSTANCE at Williamsburg Cinemas. Packed house on a weekend night, so many obvious dates happening, so many gals, so many gays, so many people stoned out of their minds. Unreal movie experience. I’m honestly not sure how I would feel about this movie in a vacuum, but I know that if you can get as many people in a room as possible and let it rip, it’s incendiary. - James
One of the grossest movies I’ve seen in some time (Complimentary). Think it’s really impressive that this movie features two extremely attractive and famous Hollywood leading ladies in the nude for most of the movie and not for one second did I feel horny about it. Just dread at how their bodies would eventually betray them and be torn asunder. One lady in my screening started crying and laughing at the same time but she didn’t look away once and I think that’s a perfect encapsulation of this movie. - Saul
Film: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Where You Can Watch: Max
Probably the most amount of times I’ve said “holy shit” in a movie. Anya-Taylor Joy is always an all timer for me, but (here it comes again) holy shit, Chris Hemsworth? Career best performance AND nose. Doesn’t top Fury Road but it was worth the wait. I vote that we give George Miller access to a dumpster after Burning Man every couple of years and see what he comes up with. - Steph
A movie that had the unfortunate task of trying to follow up one of the best films of the last decade and falls short in that endeavor but one that hits it’s own soaring highs in the attempt. Terrific stuff from both Anya-Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth. Movies are about doing weird little voices and he gets that. - Saul
Film: Nosferatu
Where You Can Watch: in theaters
So fucking sick that when you break the plot down to its core it’s just about a girl who’s obsessed with an ugly ass dude that everyone else hates and no matter what anyone says or does she cannot help herself but continue to be obsessed with him. I totally get it. Plus he’s tall!! I deeply, deeply loved this. Coming off the tails of seeing how poorly lit Wicked was (we’ll get to that later), this fucked me up real good. Never has darkness been so inviting, often penetrated by only blue or yellow tones, just like the original Nosferatu. Perfect homages, the shadow of the hand over the city made me beam from ear to ear. And don’t get me STARTED on Lily-Rose Depp. She dug so deep into this role, the noises and contortions she performed were fucking insane. Count Orlok full frontal is a crazy choice too. Here for it. - Steph
I am a big fan of the Robert Eggers Project™ as a whole and this feels like a really good representation of what he can do so well. This thing is lit on X Games mode, absolutely incredible to look at. Nicholas Hoult continues his run of great performances, he is the most cucked man alive in this movie. Lily-Rose Depp is on a different planet in a role that could easily get annoying as hell. Count Orlok is scary from the moment you meet him. This was one of my most anticipated and it didn’t disappoint - Saul
Film: Babygirl
Where You Can Watch: in theaters
Coming from someone who watches Eyes Wide Shut every Christmas season, this is extremely my shit. Sexy yet mature, intense yet playful. Control as both a metaphor and a pathway to sex - but with the woman’s desires at the forefront for fucking once. Nicole Kidman eats this up, but lest not forget about Thee Harris Dickinson. I’ve had Father Figure stuck in my head for literal months. (Saw this at TIFF in September, hehe!) - Steph
Ripping cigs. Fingering. Nicole Kidman in a horny movie. Fear of computers. 1999 is back folks (Honorable Mention) - Saul
Film: Longlegs
Where You Can Watch: for rent wherever you rent
I’m not gonna dive into the tired discourse of “is this is the scariest movie of all time OR is it a pile of garbage” but I do want to suggest a possible third option which is “can’t a movie be maybe a little scary to some people but really scary to other people and also what if it’s just a cool and weird movie and what if I would die for Maika Monroe?” - Steph
I think this movie was done a disservice by how good it’s marketing was. It got people expecting a movie that was so scary that they’d be literally going mad in the theater. For me personally, this thing WAS extremely scary, but maybe not for the reasons expected. There is a scene that is just the camera pushing through the open door of a barn that is maybe the most unnerving thing I saw this year. Each shot of Maika Monroe is framed in such a way that you are expecting something, anything to fill the blank space behind her. I can't honestly tell you which is scarier: when something does or when nothing does. - Saul
Film: Red Rooms
Where You Can Watch: for rent wherever you rent
Calling this movie “unsettling” feels like calling DUNE “sandy.” It’s absolutely unrelenting. Expertly written and directed. It ventures into the minefield of making a movie largely about the internet, and manages to avoid the corny pitfalls we see all too often in contemporary work of that nature. Really hope we get to see a lot more of the two female leads in this movie, both of whom I’ve never seen in anything before and were tremendous. - James
Film: A Different Man
Where You Can Watch: for rent wherever you rent
And for the surprise underdog of the year: I liked this more than The Substance. Call it The Seb Stan-ce. So funny, so weird, so GOOD to feel seen on the big screen through the most honest representation of what it feels like to be a hater, deep down in your soul. Adam Pearson has got so much rizz, as the kids say. Hilarious ending. Can’t wait to rewatch. - Steph
Film: Love Lies Bleeding
Where You Can Watch: Max
- Steph
Putting this one in the "I not only support women's rights, I support women’s wrongs" Hall of Fame. One of the more visceral movies of the year. Absolutely killer score. I want Katy O' Brian to throw me through a window.
There is a scene in this movie where a guy orders a Mt. Dew at the gym. He just like me fr. (Honorable Mention) - Saul
Film: The First Omen
Where You Can Watch: Hulu
I kinda love how much I doubted this, and how audacious it turned out to be. I also love when a horror movie is really beautiful to look at because that’s not often top of mind in this genre these days. Always fun to see a ***** **** coming out of a ****** too. (Fill in the blanks with whatever here, it’s still probably not what you’re imagining.) Thank you Disney!! - Steph
2024 Honorable Mentions
Film: Conclave
Where You Can Watch: Peacock
This is how it feels when you become important at work - Steph and Saul
Film: DiDi
Where You Can Watch: Peacock
Was really charmed by the performance from Izaac Wang as the 13 year old “Chris” who endures a 13-year old summer that at times felt so real it was almost too cringey. Also appreciated the kind vibe that emanated from this one, even if it did feel a bit too hokey by the end. - James
There is a scene in this movie where one of the characters has the song “Touchdown Turnaround” by the band Hellogoodbye as their ringtone and it hit me so hard in the chest I had to pause the movie - Saul
Film: Civil War
Where You Can Watch: Max
I left the theatre feeling very ‘meh’ about this, impressed by the filmmaking of it all but underwhelmed by the lack of conviction - only for it to sit with me for weeks on end. Maybe because of the way it was marketed, or I set different expectations for it, but it didn’t scratch the itch I was hoping it would until after the fact. Maybe it’s because it made me uncomfortable, the way it doesn’t subscribe to ‘choosing a side’ or outline clearly defined lines for the audience to root for or against (well expressed with the “he’s shooting at us, so we’re shooting at him” moment). Something that I initially thought was lazy was maybe actually the thing I came around to liking about it. Something about how ‘getting the shot’ is the only thing that matters, whether with a camera or a gun. All that to say: Jesse Plemons best supporting actor award when? - Steph
Like Steph, I was very much whelmed when I left the theater after this movie and also like Steph I found myself thinking about it weeks after and when I was thinking about movies in general this year. I initially thought that this movie had nothing to say, but I don’t think that’s true, I just think I wasn’t really happy with what it was saying and that’s very different. A shoutout as always to my guy Jesse Plemons. The 5 minutes he's on screen are the tensest of the whole film and I was absolutely locked in - Saul
Film: Twisters
Where You Can Watch: Peacock
Not going to lie, it took me a really long time to get on the Glen Powell hype train. He has not done it for me. Until Twisters. My guy walked out of that house into the pouring rain in a white t-shirt and I almost stood up and saluted the man in the middle of my theatre. I had such a good time with this movie that I am even letting Daisy Edgar-Jones slide for digging around in the couch cushions for a new accent every 15 minutes. - Steph
Film: Juror #2
Where You Can Watch: Max
What an interesting late-late-late-career film from Clint Eastwood. The script is complete trash, but I really bought Nicholas Hoult and enjoyed the duel between him and Toni Colette a great deal. - James
Truly some of the best late-era Eastwood and easily my favorite of his most recent work. He’s great at building tension with little bits of information and this thing is shot beautifully. Script is not ideal, but ultimately it doesn’t really matter. It’s such a crime that people weren’t able to see this in a movie theater if they didn’t live in LA or NY. David Zaslav, you will not see heaven - Saul
Film: The Idea of You
Where You Can Watch: Amazon Prime
This is one of those ‘it’s bad in a way that makes it good’ but who am I to shit on two hot people for having very good on screen chemistry? Inject 5 of these movies into my veins every single calendar year. - Steph
Film: A Quiet Place: Day 1
Where You Can Watch: Paramount+/Prime
A lovely surprise. a much smaller, intimate movie than I was expecting while not sacrificing the tension the franchise is built on. Really, really melancholy in very effective ways that I wasn't expecting but that were very welcome. - Saul
Film: Problemista
Where You Can Watch: Max
I feel like I heard about this movie for like 5 years and wasn’t able to see it until this spring, but it does appear that was when it came out in the US. Incredibly funny, good-hearted, and inventive movie that 100% made me cry. Julio Torres has a singular style and I hope he makes a ton more movies, my only request would be that he try out like half as many ideas in each of them as he tried out in this one. Delightful film, but kind of a lot. - James
Film: A Real Pain
Where You Can Watch: still in theaters
Everyone has a family member or friend that absolutely lights up a room but that is also maybe the most annoying person in the world at times. Maybe that person is me to some of you, which is totally fair. A fun little movie with a terrific central performance from Kieran Culkin, he’ll be collecting an Oscar this coming spring - Saul
Film: Kneecap
Where You Can Watch: Netflix
This movie came out of nowhere and totally knocked me on my ass. I had fun for every single minute it was on screen. That sounds crazy for a music biopic about rappers from Ireland rapping in their native language, but it’s a thoughtful examination of the power of identity and music. - Saul
Film: Y2K
Where You Can Watch: rent wherever you rent
I know a lot of people did not like this movie but that’s okay. I was essentially pre-programmed to like it. I really respond to Kyle Mooney. I grew up watching Good Neighbor Stuff YouTube sketches and was really tapped into SNL during his run on the show. His stuff with Beck Bennett (both from SNL & GNS) stays in my quote lexicon to this day (“this place has mad party potential”) and I can easily see some of this lines from Y2K joining that tradition.
I’ll be the first to admit the plot here is thin at best and pretty slowly paced but idk man. I just had a fun time hanging out with all the characters in this movie. I like Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, and Rachel Zegler. I like that Kyle got to do one of his classic Kyle Characters™️. I laughed for the majority of it and it has some of the funniest off-screen dialogue from a movie that I can remember recently. I like that it reflects things I like about the time I grew up in while also parodying them to the cringe degree. Sometimes a movie just passes a vibe check.
Also, if you had told me that two movies that I loved this year would heavily feature Fred Durst I probably would have believed you but thought it was weird that it was more than one - Saul
Film: The Beekeeper
Where You Can Watch: Prime
AKA The Beequalizer. The most politically incoherent, batshit crazy movie of the year. Josh Hutcherson is back and getting an insane amount of fits off while playing fictionalized Hunter Biden. This movie is either 1 star or 5 stars. Either way, you gotta watch. - Saul
2024 Hall of Shame
Film: Mean Girls
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: Amazon Prime/Paramount+
This takes the cake for worst movie of the year. Not even going to dive into it even though I love being a hater and complaining about things. Laughably bad. Lindsay Lohan is rolling in her grave. - Steph
Film: Trap (In a good way - Steph)
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: Max
This is legitimately such a bad movie, but I had the best time watching it. Just.. so many questions. What time did this concert start? Why does every conversation sound like two AI bots talking to each other? Why did nobody whisper about this top secret plan to catch the killer? Why did Josh take his shirt off in his own home when revealing his true identity to his own wife? Why didn’t he fuck Kid Cudi? - Steph
We have got to stop doing this thing with M. Night. Someone else needs to get this gig. OLD, KNOCK AT THE CABIN, and TRAP function as a trilogy of sorts of conceptual thrillers that do enough in the marketing campaign to get you in the door, and then pretty much just waste your time. Classic Shyamalan chatbot dialogue, a truly embarrassing performance from his own daughter, a bizarre Kid Cudi appearance, six endings, this movie really had it all. It really doesn’t make sense to me how much good will surrounds each Shyamalan release at this point after such a low batting average, but I’ll probably still show up for the next one. We just can’t quit him. - James
Josh Hartnett they could never make me hate you - Saul
Film: Wolfs
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: Apple TV
This movie isn’t like, unwatchable or anything, but when you look at the sum of it’s parts it’s maybe the most frustrating movie of the year. George Clooney and Brad Pitt teaming up for a movie about lone wolf fixers forced to work together over the course of one night, directed by a promising director in Jon Watts and it’s the one of the most boring movies I watched this year. A complete waste of everyone’s time and talent. I’m getting mad thinking about it. - Saul
Film: Wicked
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: in theaters
Alright, who’s got 45 minutes to spare? I’ve got something to say.
I could go on for ages about how I really did love the stage play, and how obsessed I became with the soundtrack, but in an effort to make me seem normal and maybe even passably cool, I will stick to reviewing the half-movie on its own - and it’s not great. I had really high expectations, and have seen MANY soaring reviews, and I just didn’t have that experience. Ariana is as good as everyone says, as is Jonathan Bailey, and Cynthia’s voice is goosebump-inducing (although I do not feel the same about her acting in this). But my GOD was this poorly constructed - both visually and narratively. Heavily reliant on CGI in the worst moments (Defying Gravity Quidditch scene), everybody lit either directly from above or with no key light whatsoever, bloated beyond belief, AND Ethan Slater getting more than 5 minutes of screentime. And yes, I will be watching part 2. Shut up. - Steph
This movie somehow seems to accidentally backlight everybody at once and also features a MF-er named Boq. Not everything is meant for me and that’s okay! - Saul
Film: Civil War
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: Max
I have long been an Alex Garland hater, and I remain convinced he’s a dumdum after seeing CIVIL WAR. He has such a pointlessly cynical perspective, and has nothing whatsoever to say here about America that isn’t already being said every single day by the most annoying people you know. Then you have a truly mystifying performance from Kirsten Dunst, who is doing the emotionally vacant thing for plot purposes but at a certain point just totally disappears into it, leaving Cailee Spaeny out to dry to carry the emotional core of the movie forward with her lil camera. Total wet fart of an ending. I’m on Garland boycott until further notice. - James
Film: I Saw The TV Glow
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: Max
Really wanted to dig this but found absolutely nothing to attach myself to. Genuinely feels like I’ve seen iterations of this in my first year art school classes, wherein everybody is inspired by Lynch and has a lot to say about themselves only. Fine to glaze over in a classroom setting, but in a movie I’m voluntarily watching 15 years later, it’s frustrating stuff. Isn’t doing any favours (a reminder for readers: Steph is Canadian) for A24 in the ~trauma dump basked in neon~ vibe that they continually bring to the table. - Steph
Film: Longlegs
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: for rent wherever you rent
Cool movie that for me just did not end up feeling very finished or good. A nice homage but doesn’t do all that much to improve upon or morph its source material. I did find sequences of this film genuinely suspenseful and terrifying, but the ones that were really supposed to pack a punch ended up falling pretty flat for me. The casting of Cage almost feels like it’s at fault here - I have seen that man do damn near everything, what can he do on screen that feels unexpected at this point? Didn’t hate LONGLEGS so much as just felt like it was annoyingly close to being good, and didn’t care to get there. - James
Film: Hit Man
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: Netflix
I’m so tired of movies like this looking like crap. The most Netflix-ass color grade in a sea of Netflix-ass color grades. Linklater has devoted some serious years to technique and vibe, I’m not necessarily surprised he wanted to team up with Glen Powell and make a silly goof-off movie, but I just couldn’t stomach it at a certain point. Then there’s the obnoxious voice over, a complete lack of chemistry between the leads, a script that feels plucked straight out of a Lifetime movie, an absurd amount of insisting no, really, these two are doing SO much sex to each other…..I dunno man. Happy for millennials to have an age appropriate leading man to thirst over, but I am pretty convinced after this one that Glen ain’t it. - James
I almost didn’t post this here. Not liking one Hit Man is fine, but to rail against our king Glen Powell like this is something that I simply cannot allow. It’s outrageous. And another thing. I’m not mad. Don’t put in the paper that I got mad. - Saul
Film: Gladiator 2
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: for rent wherever you rent
Recycled hot garbage - it would piss me off if I actually had any expectations for this but I did see Napoleon, so I knew what I was signing up for. Ridley used to have the juice and he has unfortunately squeezed the majority of it out. While I appreciate him letting Paul Mescal be a Movie Star™, there’s not much he can do with this besides be hot. 2 stars for each of his thighs. - Steph
Film: Madame Web
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: Netflix
This movie is so full of plot holes, ADR dialogue (the villain doesn’t say one line that isn’t dubbed in, no exaggeration) and insane visuals (derogatory). lol and, if you’ll allow me, lmao. - Saul
Film: Joker: Folie á Deux
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: Max
I have never watched a movie or a director so antagonistic to the audience. Songs don’t really work, especially in the weird whisper-sing register they all seem to be in. They don’t let Lady Gaga sing like Lady Gaga (who was the best part of the movie, imo). I understand all of this is by design and the message here about society that director Todd Phillips is conveying is pretty clear! It’s not subtle and when it’s delivered with such a sneer, it’s hard to miss. But it feels like there’s a way to convey that message that isn’t loaded with contempt. I saw a tweet that said that it was “punk as fuck” that Todd Phillips got a studio to shell out $200m to make a movie he wanted to make. Sorry, but words have meaning. A millionaire director who made THE HANGOVER series making a movie that kind of sucks shit but is his “artistic vision” or whatever is not punk. It’s not transgressive. It’s not even interesting. - Saul
Film: Rebel Ridge
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: Netflix
Something just never fell into place for me with REBEL RIDGE. I liked Aaron Pierre in the moments where he felt like a real human being, but for the most part he read more to me as a very naive person’s idea of a Super Cop, capable of rescuing us from the Bad Cops, but ultimately still very much a figure of physical imposition and authoritative force with a personal agenda and confused politics. It’s kind of a wild choice to make a movie about civil forfeiture of all things in the world of bad cops, and I just couldn’t take a plot seriously that heavily relies on the acquisition of SD cards. GREEN ROOM is a favorite of mine, I’m still excited for more Jeremy Saulnier in the future, I’m ultimately glad this one is being warmly received. - James
James, you are on THIN FUCKIN’ ICE bud- Saul
Film: Immaculate
Where You Can Watch, Sicko: Hulu
Of the two “woman shipped off to Italian convent to get impregnated by the devil” movies that came out this year, this is not the better one. However, it gets props for the final 10 minutes where Sydney Sweeney gets her scream queen moment. Another stark reminder that being pregnant is the real horror movie. - Steph
*Horniest guy in the world from the 2023 version of this newsletter voice* haha I thought this movie was pretty good. - Saul
There you have it. 2024 in film according to the team here at Working Title. Thank you (and also I’m sorry) to those who took the time to read our end of year roundup and a HUGE thank you to anyone who anyone who has read, liked, subscribed, shared, or otherwise engaged with anything we have written this year at Working Title. It’s a big deal to us.
In 2025, I am planning even more ways for myself, Steph, and James to discuss and engage with you about the cinema of past, present and future. Keep your eyes peeled for that.
In the meantime you can find me on Letterboxd here.
You can find Steph on Letterboxd here.
You can find James on Letterboxd here.
We’ll see you soon with our most anticipated of the year and much, much more.