Alex’s 2024 Favourites (So Far)

I set myself a challenge at the start of 2024: see as many new films as I possibly can, whether that’s in the cinema, or any new releases in streaming services. Personally, I think I’ve done pretty well in that regard: 48 films seen in the cinema, a couple more than once, and 52 films released in 2024 overall when factoring in streaming and screeners. And that’s just at the time of writing this article.

It really has felt like I’ve been living out the dream of just living in the cinema seeing whatever films I want. Sometimes curiosity has got the best of me (cough Madame Web cough), but for the most part I’ve seen films from a wide range of genres and styles and, even if I haven’t particularly liked them, I’m still glad that I saw them. With the exception of Madame Web and one or two others. To my flatmates next year, I promise you will see me. To those wondering what my bank account looks like after all these cinema trips, shush.

Normally I leave any roundups like this till the end of the year but I thought since I’ve already seen lots this year, I’ll shine a light on some of my favourite films of 2024 so far. By the way, some of these are technically 2023 releases but I’m classing them as 2024 since that’s when they were released (in the UK). Deal with it.

Starting with a film that should have clearly been released a month earlier, January gave us The Holdovers, a film that I still have pinned as my film of the year. It was a really charming and affecting drama that was made by some nice direction and a perfect cast, who have deserved all the awards attention they’ve got. Giamatti is brilliant, but Davine Joy Randolph is a revelation and I hope we see her in more things.

I’ve only seen it the once so far but I am very much looking forward to watching it again next Christmas, because why this wasn’t released in December of 2023? I have no idea. 

Those who know me know that my interest in any form of sports is passive at best, antagonistic at worst, so I normally don’t go in for films like The Iron Claw, but I went to see it inspired by the positive buzz and was very impressed. This might be Zac Efron’s best ever performance as just one of a family of wrestler brothers who are pressured into being wrestlers by their cold-hearted father. The film isn’t really about wrestling so much as it is about a family being torn apart by ambitions, egos, drugs and mental issues, and it gets more emotionally gripping as it goes along, leading to a devastating final scene. Even if you’re not a sports fan, this comes highly recommend. (Ed: the true story is even more horrifying)

Also, come the end of the year, I’m sure The Iron Claw will win the award for 2024’s best needle drop. The use of Rush’s Tom Sawyer over a wrestling montage was immaculate.

And speaking of immaculate, we have the fantastic nunsploitation movie starring Sydney Sweeney, Immaculate!

After seeing her for the first time in Madame Web (not a good first impression to say the least), Sweeney proved her worth by delivering a fantastic lead performance as a nun who becomes pregnant by immaculate conception, being controlled by an evil convent. The first half of the film is solid if a little run-of-the-mill, but it’s a good buildup of tension before the second half comes charging in with a gruesome, ferocious and intense experience that elevated it from good to brilliant. Immaculate just keeps on ramping up and up and just at the point where you think it can’t get any more insane, the last five minutes happen, an insane ending that will hopefully go down in horror history.

And, in a double-bill that puts Barbenheimer to shame, I also saw the sweet and lovely animation Robot Dreams right after it. It’s a silent film but it’s a really charming story about a friendship between a dog and a robot, with simple but excellent animation and some really touching scenes. Two great films in one day.

In April, Daisy Ridley showed the cinema world that she can move on from the mess that was the Star Wars sequel trilogy (not that it was her fault) by delivering a stunning performance in Sometimes I Think About Dying, an understated but really engrossing and moving romantic drama about Fran, a shy and reserved office worker who begins a relationship with a new employee. Ridley is fantastic here, but I’ve also got to give credit to Dave Merheje, who plays new worker Robert, as really the film is all about him helping Fran to open herself up. The ending feels a little abrupt but there’s some really phenomenal little moments in here, and it has two of the year’s standout performances, and there’s more of them to be found in one of the wildest rides I’ve had in a cinema this year, with Rose Glass’s sophomore directorial work, Love Lies Bleeding.

Since the Twilight franchise ended, Kristen Stewart has been shaking off any stigma those films may have given her by picking some fantastic projects and Love Lies Bleeding is one of her best ones yet. I described this as a wild ride and while I would class Immaculate as that too, that was mainly for its horror. Love Lies Bleeding, meanwhile, transcends genres seamlessly from scene to scene. One minute, it’s a queer romance. Next, it’s a revenge fantasy. Next, it’s a crime drama. It’s gut-punch after gut-punch after gut-punch, and just when that might become exhausting, there’s enough genuinely tender moments to bring us back down to earth – before the finale blasts itself into the stratosphere in a ridiculously exciting way. 

It’s a little annoying the trailer is comprised mostly of shots from the last ten minutes though. 

The Fall Guy is one of those examples of good old-fashioned popcorn entertainment that we get all too rarely nowadays. Young uneducated me had no idea it was based off a TV show, but it doesn’t really matter since The Fall Guy still delivers a really fun time on its own. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt make for a really funny lead pairing, there’s some great action sequences that obviously showcase amazing stuntwork, and the plot is ridiculous but fun and engaging. It’s the perfect escapist action film, even if it suffers from the usual moderm movie flaw of an unnecessary 15 minutes’ worth of bloat.

And the final film I want to shed light on today is Hoard, the directorial debut of Luna Carmoon. I went to see this having no idea the screening also featured a Q&A with both her and producer Loran Dunn, so maybe the different circumstances coloured my opinion somewhat, but I still thought Hoard was a really striking and daring debut, that took a simple domestic story of grief and told it in ways that were disturbing, freakish, visceral and really quite brilliant. The prologue is fantastic, but it’s even better as we track the course of our main character’s life and we see the disgusting but inventive ways her grief manifests herself. Carmoon also gave us details of her next film, which she described as “vampiric” and “gangy.” Maybe Hoard has set me up for inventive brilliance all the time, but if her homegrown drama is this visceral, then a vampiric movie should be an absolute riot.

And finally, just to rattle through some other things I’ve seen this year: Civil War was flawed but worth it for the terrifying Jesse Plemons scene alone, All Of Us Strangers was a beautiful love story, American Fiction was going really well then the meta ending made me want to punch something, Dune: Part Two looked gorgeous but didn’t engage me as a full story, I found Challengers to be a bit of a mess if I’m honest, and Poor Things is a really unique and funny film but at least twenty minutes too long.

There, I think that’s everything.

So overall, it’s been a pretty good year for films so far. Here’s hoping that the second half of the year keeps up the momentum, because there’s some stuff coming up that I’m really excited for. The Joker sequel, possibly a new Taika Waititi film, Kinds Of Kindness (which by the time you’re reading this is already out), and so much more.

And Kraven The Hunter. Because Sony are actively trying to lose the Spiderman licence by this point.

Alex’s Archive – 2024 Favourites (So Far)

Editor – As far as us covering this subject through the medium of podcasting, you’ll have to wait until the end of the year, I’m afraid. However, we will be collaborating pop screen and uncut together into one mega podcast again to give you about as conclusive a run down of the year in cinemas as we can manage.

We talk about some of the new releases each month on our patreon exclusive podcast, Last Night. Check it out and Subscribe Here