movies

Furiosa

Maybe controversial, depending on who you talk to I suppose. It's no Fury Road, at all. But it's in the same world and it's a good film. I'd imagine following with Fury Road directly after works quite well as a pairing

• The Fall Guy was one of the most fun times I've had at the movies this year. It's an action romcom involving a Hollywood stuntman trying to solve a murder mystery.
• Mars Express is technically from 2023, but it got a limited theatrical release a few months ago, so I'll include it here. It's an animated futuristic sci-fi adventure, with a police detective and her robot partner solving a conspiracy.
• SPYxFAMILY Code: White is an anime film based on the series. You don't need to know anything about the show to watch it, they explain everything in the exposition. Another fun and action-packed film to add to your list, when it eventually releases in the US.
• Civil War is not actually about the war in the movie, it's about the journalists trying to get the perfect shot. Though I haven't seen it yet, I've heard it's very chilling, and the sound mix is amazing.
• Of course, I'm a fan of the less cerebral and "turn your brain off" films like Kung Fu Panda 4, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and Despicable Me 4.

My updated (but still provisional) top 10 so far:

1. Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
2. Dune 2
3. Civil War
4. Late Night With the Devil
5. Abigail
6. The Holdovers
7. A Quiet Place: Day One
8. Poor Things
9. Furiosa
10. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

I expect Deadpool & Wolverine to steal the top slot. Other contenders: Longlegs, Joker 2, and possibly Alien: Romulus.

Worst: Madame Web

I'll go based on letterboxd release year. Often times it's hard for me to judge towards which year I should count a film that might have had a limited release in the previous year, but then a wider cinema run later.

So far I've enjoyed:

• Dune part 2: epic sci-fi and that is exactly my jam, so thus far my favorite movie of the year.

• Civil war: Imo flawed in some ways and not quite what I expected (expected it to be more social commentary and less about war photograpy), but overall still very much a recommendation and good movie. Alex Garland has made some of my favorite films of all times (ex machina and Dredd, also enjoyed annihilation), but it didn't reach those heights, so I'd rank it below those.

• Exhuma: usually not a horror fan, but I guess I very much enjoy the Korean ones. More direct compared to "The wailing", which it somewhat reminded me of, but that had more of a mystery aspect.

Movies that don't yet have a wide release, but that I already saw at a film festival:

• Black box diaries: Documentary by the journalist Shiori Itō about her own sexual assault case and her battle against the outdated judicial system and social views in Japan. Sadly I missed the screening with q&a afterwards. I found it interesting and overall well made, definitely gets a recommendation for whenever it gets a wider release later this year.

• All we imagine as light: Drama set in india. Feels like comparatively I've seen less movies set in India, so it's always nice to get a view into other cultures. Overall I enjoyed it and can also recommend it to people that like this type of movie.

Also watched "the substance" (body horror) during the festival, but while decent that just isn't quite my cup of tea.

Some movies that I found "meh" so far include Furiosa and monkey man, but there is also a lot that I haven't seen so far.

@Blaze my picks would be Fall Guy and Perfect Days - entertainment and philosophy.