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The Guardian list of the best 2024 movies

  • 16-12-2024 11:40PM
    #1
    Did you smash it
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,904 ✭✭✭


    I’ll try and keep it short. Going by the brief synopsis offered the vast majority of these movies sound at best inaccessible to the average movie goer, at worst woke culture war fodder.

    Where’s basic genre movies like classics like Heat or more recent good movies like Hell or High water?

    Is this list just very guardian?

    I’m not opposed to arthouse movies, Aftersun for instance is a fantastic arthouse movie.

    I think I’ve only seen no 9 the holdovers from the list. It’s wasn’t anything worth recommending or remembering

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/dec/09/the-50-best-films-of-2024-in-the-uk?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other



«13

Comments

  • #2
    batistuta9
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,512 ✭✭✭batistuta9


    sponsored by Mubi



  • #3
    khamilton
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 67 ✭✭khamilton


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058384725/the-guardian-list-of-the-best-2024-movies

    Perhaps rather than the list being wrong, you might just be someone who doesn't enjoy film in general and instead just liks entertaining movies? Which of course, there's nothing wrong with, but it does put into context the fact that you think the list is some sort of 'woke culture war fodder' and full of 'inaccessible' movies.

    I have seen #39, #34, #27, #25, #23 and #7 (and will soon see #17 and #9). None of them are inaccessible or 'woke'.

    The movie that you don't think is worthy of the list is rated very highly by both critics and users on IMDB & Rottentomatoes.


    The reason there's no Heat or Hell or High Water is because one is from 1996, and the other from 2016.


    Ironically, the guardian have waxed lyrical about both in the past e.g.

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/may/16/hell-or-high-water-review-cannes-film-jeff-bridges-chris-pine

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/11/hell-or-high-water-review

    https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/17/heat-crime

    Have you considered that maybe you might just be a little bit insecure about your movie taste and that you're projecting?



  • #4
    AMKC
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,814 ✭✭✭✭AMKC
    Ms


    "Wicked" is there. I would say it's is a very accessible film to the masses and family's especially as that is who it was aimed at. Seen it. Thought it was very good and enjoyed it.

    "Queer"is also there. Have not seen it yet but want to.

    Live long and Prosper

    Peace and long life.



  • #5
    Did you smash it
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,904 ✭✭✭Did you smash it


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122964713#Comment_122964713

    that’s one movie among 45, it would be accessible to women. Most men wouldn’t want to see it. Which is fine.



  • #6
    drury..
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,203 ✭✭✭drury..


    Those lists do be like that

    A dollop of pretensive arty movies in



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  • #7
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 30,624 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    I mean, if you have only seen one film from the list, how can you judge whether or not the films belong there? Besides, plenty of ‘pop’ genres are represented.

    Wicked and Emilia Perez are musicals.

    Heretic and Sleep are pulpy horror comedies.

    Hundreds of Beavers, Poor Things and Anora are big broad comedies.

    Conclave is a paperback thriller adaptation.

    Dune and Furiosa have a good chance of making the top five.

    Hell, there’s two old fashioned Christmas movies on the list.

    It’s a perfectly standard list - things I agree with, things I don’t. And honestly good arthouse and indie films releases are nine times out of ten more interesting and engaging than whatever Hollywood is churning out in a given week.

    Post edited by johnny_ultimate on


  • #8
    ~Rebel~
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,686 ✭✭✭✭~Rebel~


    How amazing is it to have a rake of good interesting movies out that aren't all remakes or sequels or prequels? We forever hear that nothing original is being made, but once ya look beyond the tentpole studio movies there's a tonne of things worth watching. These lists are brilliant for bringing attention to some great stuff that mightn't have had such a huge marketing budget and ended up passing people by.

    Could easily add in the likes of Night Bitch, The Luckiest Man in America, I'm Still Here, Blink Twice, Longlegs, Anora, The Substance, Challengers, Snack Shack, Civil War, Immaculate, Babes, A Real Pain, and (falling into the previous IP bracket) things like Smile 2, Dune 2 and Furiosa.



  • #9
    Romario11
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 43 ✭Romario11


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122964711#Comment_122964711

    Lovely passive aggressive vicious response with a full range of insults lol.

    This list is 90% inaccessible for the average movie goer. Because only a couple of them were in the cinema. So it essentially an arthouse list that unless you are downloading them illegally it's gonna be very hard to find the majority of these.

    While I'd disagree that its woke, it's hardly accessible.



  • #10
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 30,624 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965180#Comment_122965180

    At a rough count 80-90% or so of those films got commercial releases in Irish cinemas, and the majority of the rest got at least festival screenings. I’ve seen approx half the list so far and they’ve almost all been in Dublin cinemas.

    Granted, I agree completely that they should be more accessible - there’s no dedicated arthouse cinema outside the main cities, and even in the cities outside Dublin the selection tends to be more limited (shout out to Palas, Triskel and Belltable for the work they do though). But that’s why local art centres and film clubs exist, to pick up that slack. And streaming means a lot of those films are already readily accessible anywhere - Mubi alone is a godsend in that regard.



  • #11
    Did you smash it
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,904 ✭✭✭Did you smash it


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965180#Comment_122965180

    that a lathimos flick is called broad in another post just shows the level of bad faith arguments being used.

    Nothing Lathimos will ever make will ever be “broad”.

    The almost absolute absence of any conventional Hollywood movies with recognised name actors from the list in addition to the unappealing plot descriptions being given just means the list is a hard pass for the average movie lover.

    And then the holdovers is apparently a better film than the vast majority of these arthouse flicks anyway and that was a schmaltzy dead fish of a movie.

    I think the list could have saved if there was an initial 5 paragraph review of the year at the start maybe describing that in the critics’s view it was a poor year for Hollywood or something like that.



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  • #12
    jeremyr62
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 181 ✭✭jeremyr62


    I predict Civil War will be number 1.



  • #13
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 30,624 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965388#Comment_122965388

    Yes, it is ‘broad’ - it’s fundamentally a big, absurd, wacky sex comedy with multiple Hollywood stars. Of course it’s also defiantly unconventional in some respects - visually especially - and deals with some dark themes under its absurdist, often laugh-out-loud surface. But it’s still a broad comedy, so nothing bad faith intended about the description at all.



  • #14
    Did you smash it
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,904 ✭✭✭Did you smash it


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965438#Comment_122965438

    the wedding crashers is broad. The hangover is broad. I’d like to see you call it broad to the maker of the movies face.



  • #15
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 30,624 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965454#Comment_122965454

    Sure, would happily do so!

    The dictionary definition of broad as ‘marked by lack of restraint, delicacy, or subtlety’ applies totally to Poor Things. But going by your first post you haven’t actually seen it?

    Having ‘broad appeal’ is a different thing entirely, and I didn’t say it. But it obviously had some, as it’s one of the bigger box office hits on the list.



  • #16
    Did you smash it
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,904 ✭✭✭Did you smash it


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965460#Comment_122965460

    one of the bigger box offices? Well that’s a low bar given the list.

    Broad, a certain type of broad maybe. I doubt there are many fart or fat jokes or mild racism or homophobia or transphobia.

    Anyway it’s fine. The overall point doesn’t really apply to poor things



  • #17
    Did you smash it
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,904 ✭✭✭Did you smash it


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965410#Comment_122965410

    any good?

    I’d say the zone of interest if I had to guess.

    #4 presented a vision of the real Mumbai through the eyes of three women



  • #18
    Fysh
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Regional Abroad Moderators Posts: 11,170 Mod ✭✭✭✭Fysh


    So, setting aside the risk of "the average movie goer is anyone who shares exactly my taste in film"... What do you think should have been on the list but wasn't, and why should it be there?

    About the only thing I can think of where I'm a bit disappointed not to have seen any mention of it on any end-of-year lists is MonkeyMan - genuinely a lot better than I would have expected given the normal standard of films where the writer, director and main actor are the same person, and managing to make a crunchy & visceral action film as well is downright impressive IMO.

    (I've not seen as much as I'd have liked of this year's releases, but I don't see any specifically objectionable entries on the list based on stuff I'm aware of wanting to watch).



  • #19
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 30,624 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965576#Comment_122965576

    #4 All We Imagine as Light is one of the year’s absolute best, I for one can’t recommend it highly enough. Should still be knocking around some cinemas at the moment too as it’s a recent release. Just a beautifully observed and profound character study and city portrait.

    A deserved poll topper on the Sight & Sound 2024 list.

    Post edited by johnny_ultimate on


  • #20
    Thelonious Monk
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,361 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    Civil war wasn't great. Pretty forgettable apart from Jessie Plemons cameo.



  • #21
    Bellbottoms
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,441 ✭✭✭Bellbottoms


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122964721#Comment_122964721

    I have seen a lot of these movies and I think it is a strong list. With that said Love Lies Bleeding should be a lot higher and is maybe in my top 10. But that is personal taste.

    What films FROM 2024, do you think should be included, that were not?



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  • #22
    Bellbottoms
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,441 ✭✭✭Bellbottoms


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965829#Comment_122965829

    The sound design was fantastic.



  • #23
    ~Rebel~
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33,686 ✭✭✭✭~Rebel~


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965829#Comment_122965829

    loved it myself… one of the few I made a second cinema trip for.



  • #24
    Thelonious Monk
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,361 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    I couldn't buy the whole photographers being allowed follow swat teams around so closely thing either



  • #25
    Bellbottoms
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,441 ✭✭✭Bellbottoms


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122966067#Comment_122966067

    They do it. John Simpson is a TV journalist, but he rode into Baghdad with the Allied Forces when they "liberated" it. He was also badly injured aswell by friendly fire when embedded with US special forces.



  • #26
    jeremyr62
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 181 ✭✭jeremyr62


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965576#Comment_122965576

    Zone of Interest will be second.



  • #27
    Dial Hard
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,754 ✭✭✭✭Dial Hard


    I really, really, really, really, really wish the mods would update the charter to ban all use of the word "woke" on this forum, other than in its original context.

    See also: Box ticking, diversity hire, and culture something something



  • #28
    Romario11
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 43 ✭Romario11


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965388#Comment_122965388

    Thats pretty harsh on The Holdovers, I enjoyed that and found it warm and funny.

    The lathimos flick Id agree is a long way from broad however you would like to define ‘broad’. Brain and good taste need to be firmly set aside for parts of that solely in the interest of ‘the art’.

    Problem with this list could also be that 10-20 years ago there was a lot more decent films being made that were mainstream. Mainstream is now dominated by what are essentially films for kids and teenagers, but with a nostalgia market for the middle aged.

    As another poster mentioned what should be in there instead?, and actually I cant think if much. The Substance, The Apprentice, Im struggling to think of more? The reality could well be that film is changing a lot due to distribution and streaming changing the landscape of profitability and its arty or its tentpole with it not being worth making those ones in between anymore.



  • #29
    Romario11
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 43 ✭Romario11


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965371#Comment_122965371

    well that is surprising, as I hadnt heard of most of these let alone seen them advertised in the cinema. And i’d consider myself a serious film enthusiast. Maybe im not subscribed to the right things or these films have no budget for marketing. But they passed me by…



  • #30
    Irish Aris
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 7,178 Mod ✭✭✭✭Irish Aris


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122966280#Comment_122966280

    I think some of them weren't advertised in the traditional sense. You would need to follow specific cinemas/distributors/magazines etc to be aware of some of them. In Dublin at least, the cinemas to keep an eye on for more diverse releases are the IFI and Lighthouse.

    Another thing to note for such lists: sometimes films on these best of lists didn't have a general release yet, are due later on. Film critics have seen these in festivals etc. Not sure if this is the case with The Guardian list, I'm pretty sure though this is the case with the Sight and Sound list.

    2025 gigs: Selofan, Alison Moyet, Wardruna, Gavin Friday, Orla Gartland, The Courettes, Nine Inch Nails, Rhiannon Giddens, New Purple Celebration, Nova Twins



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  • #31
    flasher0030
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,075 ✭✭✭flasher0030


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122965868#Comment_122965868

    I hope Love Lies Bleeding picks up for the second half. I watched 50 mins of it last night. Not much too it so far. Going to watch the remainder tonight.



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