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Hello anons, what were your top flicks of the year 2024?
I admit i have seen less than 10 movies this year and only one from this year in the cinema, mainly because i had to go.
For some reason my brain thinks i cannot watch something new if i don't finish reading a couple of books about art theory i have in my backlog, and i don't read them because i am much more easily distracted than before. Been replaying countless movies, tho
Architecton dir. Kossakovsky | ? | ?
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass dir. Brothers Quay | ? | ?
The Wolves Always Come at Night dir. Brady | ? | ?
? | Grand Tour dir. Gomes | Scenarios dir. Godard
Pepe dir. Arias | ? | ?
? | ? | ?
? | ? | Tristan und Isolde dir. Grandrieux
Replies: >>3576
lobby.jpg
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I haven't seen a single new flick this year. Not one. I went months without watching any flicks at all but now I'm back to 1-2 flicks per week.
Adaptations of Hourglass Sanatorium are obviously interesting but in general I've never been motivated to stay on top of new releases. I'm fine waiting a bit to see what remains relevant over time.
This was the first year in over a decade where I actually went to the theaters more than one or two times, more for social reasons than anything. Every movie I saw in theaters was very mediocre but I enjoyed the gore in Terrifier 3, I like horror movies so it was enjoyable watching an actual practical splatter movie in theaters. I have never been to film festivals so I am not up on new releases outside of the most mainstream stuff. I also somewhat enjoyed Romulus for the practical effects too even if it was mostly a retread (insofar as miniature photography is concerned it was extremely well done). 
The most standout new film I saw was Digital Devil Saga by Cameron Worden. At the very least it has stuck with me since watching it and I like how it's on 35 mm film. I was also in LA for awhile visiting some family and had the opportune chance of catching a rare screening of The Decay of Fiction, which I really enjoyed (to my memory it hadn't been screened in many years).

I also saw some really terrible movies that had no redeeming qualities whatsoever: Nosferatu, Heretic, The Order, The Substance... The price you pay for a night out.
Replies: >>3569
>>3568
>The Substance
That i have fond memories because it made me win a bet which led a buddy to lose quite the sum and his integrity. Man is highly suspicious of A24 now.
>no redeeming qualities
I recall maybe two shots in that movie that did make me raise an eyebrow, technically speaking. The art direction/concept idea was at moments interesting (70's interiors and designs) but were quite shallow in their execution. The problems of a femoid directing and also being the writer, editor and producer.
Replies: >>3571 >>3572
do not watch movie called magnolia it is massive shit
>>3569
I found the lighting to be terrible and don’t remember any standout shots. It was just a garish ugly movie tbh. Most A24 movies are generally riddled with cinematography that looks good if you’ve never used cameras but the more you develop an aesthetic palate over a long time it becomes readily apparent that they don’t actually look good, lighting is truly the lost art form.

The problem imo has less to do with the fact that a woman spearheaded the movie and more to do with how many movies in general are simply bad. The creator themselves has done nothing to develop themselves and their sensibilities, so in effect they’re making things that essentially their 19 year old selves would have created. The alternative is the arduous task of self-denial, refinement, and being very critical of your own work all with the intent of creating something better. Essentially only great spirits can create great things, and we live in a spiritless age where social statements are lauded more than transcendent ideas and images.
Replies: >>3572 >>3577 >>3578
>>3569
>>3571

My bad, A24 wasn’t involved with The Substance at all.
Replies: >>3577
Secondary.mp4
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Replies: >>3575
>>3573
This is DRAWING RESTRAINT 26 right? Do you have a link?
Replies: >>3580
>>3566
r2c3 - Afternoons of Solitude (Albert Serra)
r6c1 - Abiding Nowhere (Tsai Ming-liang)
r7c2 - Journey of Shadows (Yves Netzhammer)
don't know the rest yet
Replies: >>3579
>>3571
>I found the lighting to be terrible
I found it to be obviously overdone at times, notably in the bathroom where strong lighting appeared outside the lamp positions. 
>Most A24 movies are generally riddled with cinematography that looks good if you’ve never used cameras 
I am not fond of A24 cinematography but i've used cameras and it highly depends on the personal and particular palate of every person IMO, i've seen tons of stuff but i keep coming back to flashy complex camera movements which are considered pure trash and unnecessary by the few actual technicians i've met, their reasoning is that the camera should be discreet and pragmatic which in my opinion and recent experience ends with placing it stationary and not following the action at all, might as well put the gaffer to be the cinematographer if it is that simple.
But i also sadly consider those dear friends cattle-tier because they think the cinematography of Tarantino is good but John Woo bad despite both using the very same techniques often and for the same uses, so i don't know their full reasoning.
I recall The Substance overusing many placements quite fast, for example the contemporary audience zoomers by today's trendy vocabulary loves zenithal shots due to i don't know, food videos and overall product photography bombarded at them?, and in the first 10 minutes i think they used that placement 7 or 8 times, i even pointed it out to my friend so he could start planning how much money he would lose.
>lighting is truly the lost art form
Now i am retarded with light but perhaps the problem is the same? technicians going for the minimalistic approach and doing the bare minimum? and when they want to do something flashy they put more hardware quantity rather than quality design?
>don’t remember any standout shots
I don't want to defend that movie but i guess i will download it so i can find the examples i mentioned, they were 3 seconds at most but i recall smiling at the editing, remind me a lot of 90's action movies.

>The problem imo has less to do with the fact that a woman spearheaded the movie
My problem was that it took a very partisan view of the topic, it wanted to propose a serious theme about it but employed hyperboles that went into cartoonish lengths and didn't explore it meaningfully, didn't help that it was redundant at times, the messages were very obvious to read but it kept hammering them down. My problem is that writers and directors make stuff considering the audience is mentally stunted or downright retarded.
>so in effect they’re making things that essentially their 19 year old selves would have created
I think 19yos can create great things but they need either a great spirit like you mentioned and moderate experience in life, while also a very important point is someone or something that can put the creator back into square one and make them watch everything critically. A problem in the movie i suppose was that the safety positions like a critical producer and a creative editor are done by the same person, the director who was also the writer, so she was probably suffering from tunnelvision and/or drowning in their own mind and ideas to look back and see the absolute mess that was appearing. 

>social statements are lauded more than transcendent ideas and images.
Statements are trendy and in the moment like most people, they live on the spot, transcendent products are often enjoyed by people who take into consideration several ideas and times, and to be fair those are people with time to spare to think which is not the case for many due to either their rhythm of life or intellectual capacities.
>>3572
It wasn't? well then i swear i saw the logo somewhere in the credits, either opening or closing.
Replies: >>3578
LackOfSubstance1.mp4
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LackOfSubstance2.mp4
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LackOfSubstance3.mp4
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JewInTheHat.mp4
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>>3571
>>3577
I downloaded the thing and shamefur dispray, i can't see the A24 logo and the shot i recall the most wasn't near as interesting as i remembered it, first vid here from 0:19 to end: I recall the zoom out transition from backg to foreg was way faster and covered more distance, i also don't recall the focus pull being that slow, i don't know why i remembered it was already in focus when the zoom finished. I guess all this was because i saw it on the big screen and was quite close it, hence feeling a bit more drastic and my eye movement forgiving some speed details. I apologize.

Also second vid for those who might be remotely interested in this topic: This is what i mean when the movie goes to cartoonish lengths to explain a message or intent, here being the ruthless nature of producers which was shown a minute with 30 seconds before by the same character being overly rude and cold when discussing a business decision, so the director chose to do this to explain further that the guy was quite rude.

Third vid is to support an opinion using fourth vid as genre reference (which is itself another concept failure story): If this shit was worked as a comedy, an absurdist one that doesn't take itself seriously at any point other than plot coherency (and only remotely), it would've worked a bit more interestingly, for example in this third vid we are supposed to be expectant and serious about the whole thing SYNTH HORN EFFECT. This comedy comment applies even and especially to the ending sequence which i won't waste time trying to go into it, it's like the trend of the french new wave trying to end things in a crazy, out-of-tone way but taken to a blinding extreme that would make even the Abraham & Zucker bros blush in modesty, 15 minutes of edgy randomness but if done by a woman. 
I do also want to point out the director and the main character being foids do play into consideration for me, all male characters are jokes each representing something different, perhaps one could say that's an interesting idea on its own but other than The Producer none are explored even slightly and there's not enough to make a good joke routine.

Yeah can't really defend it that much, also Cannes smoked a bit fat one or got good ameribux to give this a prize for screenplay, i forgot to mention that, because the movie was filled with holes or silly reach-outs that beg massive leaps in suspension of disbelief and i don't mean the entire aspect of being able to multiply oneself.
>>3576
Architecton dir. Kossakovsky | ? | ?
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass dir. Brothers Quay | ? | Afternoons of Solitude dir. Serra
The Wolves Always Come at Night dir. Brady | ? | ?
? | Grand Tour dir. Gomes | Scenarios dir. Godard
Pepe dir. Arias | ? | ?
Abiding Nowhere dir. Ming-liang | ? | ?
? | Journey of Shadows dir. Netzhammer | Tristan und Isolde dir. Grandrieux
Replies: >>3582
>>3575
Secondary is a series of films and multi-media installations. I saw commencement, Astroturf and all in a gallery. Can’t help with a link. Drawing Restraint is an entirely different installation.
>>3579
Architecton dir. Kossakovsky | ? | ?
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass dir. Brothers Quay | ? | Afternoons of Solitude dir. Serra
The Wolves Always Come at Night dir. Brady | ? | ?
? | Grand Tour dir. Gomes | Scenarios dir. Godard
Pepe dir. Arias | Lolo & Sosaku: The Western Archive dir. Caballero | ?
Abiding Nowhere dir. Ming-liang | ? | ?
The Garden Cadences dir. Komljen | Journey of Shadows dir. Netzhammer | Tristan und Isolde dir. Grandrieux
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