THE LAST FEW THINGS I WATCHED AND WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THEM: FYC EDITION

Hey, your Movie Friend here, catching up with a lot of titles for year end awards consideration, and here’s some capsule reviews of films that are either in theaters now (with the exception of Dìdi (弟弟) and Babes, which came out last summer and are now available to watch at home), or will be coming in the next few weeks and months during awards season. Since I know it is a challenge to make ANY film and it’s a miracle when a film comes together, I tend to only write reviews for those films that resonated with me in one way or another (and keeping it to myself when I don’t like something), and my thoughts are to help convey not only what I liked about them, but also the experience of watching them so you can make your own choices and form your own opinions.

*Dìdi (弟弟) (2024, Sean Wang) - Writer/director Sean Wang’s solidly hilarious, alternately abrasive and tender teen time capsule of the summer of 2008 tells the story of 13-year-old Dìdi (to his family), or Wang-Wang (to his school friends) or Chris (to his new friends) as he navigates how to be a young man at a crucial crossroads in a young man’s life, with a little help from the people in his life, and a LOT of help from the Internet. Running a welcome and swift 93 minutes, it features a great turn by Joan Chen as the boy’s mother, and would pair well in a double feature with Kelly Fremon Craig’s THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN.

*Babes (2024, Pamela Adlon) - Ilana Glazer (who also co-wrote) and Michelle Buteau are a dream team in this raunchy, laugh-a-minute pregnancy comedy. Those comparing this film to BRIDESMAIDS are not wrong. I don’t know if it will gain the popularity or have the staying power of something like BRIDESMAIDS, but we laughed a lot.

*Nightbitch (2024, Marielle Heller) - It’s a joy to watch the usually quietly intense Amy Adams let loose, and when NIGHTBITCH lets Adams’ stay-at-home mom on the brink off the leash, it’s a blast. For a story about a woman who believes she may be turning into a literal dog, Marielle Heller’s direction however is curiously reigned in, and while at first I thought that was a fault, it was almost like the movie was acting as mother to the story, and keeping everything together and running smoothly. Moms may find a lot to enjoy and commiserate with, and it’s a must-see for dads (and very relatable if you’ve ever been a stay-at-home dad).

*The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024, Mohammad Rasoulof) - Easily the year’s best thriller. Writer/director Mohammad Rasoulof famously fled Iran to escape eight years in prison and flogging for criticizing his government, and escaped with his life and this spellbinding film (made in secret), which is a perfect concoction of stomach-churningly tense paranoid thriller, family chamber drama, and act of revolutionary courage. The film follows Iman (Missagh Zareh), a husband and father of two teenage girls, who is promoted to a position of an investigating judge, which will help raise his profile and improve the life of his devoted family, but when political unrest takes hold in Tehran and he is forced to make decisions that go against his values, not even his own family can be trusted. Not only does this film have a deeply compelling backstory, but the film itself is superb.

*Mothers’ Instinct (2024, Benoît Delhomme) - Following INTERSTELLAR and ARMAGEDDON TIME, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain star in their third film together but the first time appearing onscreen together, and they are terrific in this diverting 1960s melodrama/thriller. You may have trouble believing some of the twists and turns, but the film boasts creamy and poppy colors in its gorgeous costumes, production design and cinematography by its director Delhomme.

*Queer (2024, Luca Guadagnino) - You may have trouble connecting with this one if you’re not familiar with the work of William S. Burroughs, but that may be part of the point, as it is all about the longing to connect and all we do to get in our own way. Director Luca Guadagnino reteams with his CHALLENGERS screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes for this disjointed, deliberately-paced but stylish adaptation, set in 1950s Mexico, with arresting visuals (including frank depictions of sexuality), a yearning score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and an incredibly vulnerable Daniel Craig as Burroughs surrogate William Lee, a writer and a junkie, whose intellectual bluster and nervous laughter barely mask deep loneliness and desperation to transcend his personal pain.

*A Real Pain (2024, Jesse Eisenberg) - Jesse Eisenberg writes and directs this mismatched buddy comedy/road movie of a tender sort, in which David (played by Eisenberg) reunites with his abrasive cousin Benji (a terrific Kieran Culkin) for a tour through Poland to honor their recently deceased grandmother, a survivor of the Holocaust. Running a sweet 90 minutes and featuring the always-welcome Jennifer Grey, I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would.

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Zach is a proud member of the Minnesota Film Critics Association (MNFCA). For more info about Zach, the organization, or to read other great reviews from other great Minnesota-based film critics, click here: https://mnfilmcriticalliance.wordpress.com/