New and forthcoming movie recommendations (2024)
Bugger the sequel virus, let's find original movies.
I may be curious about the sequels to Beetlejuice, Gladiator and the Joker, but follow-ups have gotten out of hand. It's a Hollywood virus. Studios are more interested in marketing long-term brand than making a flavour so delicious that we'll remember it after one bite. Instead of Japanese wagyu beef, we're getting McDonalds.
Generation X and its cult movies are almost dead. I'm sad and rebellious about that, so this 2024 expectation has nothing to do with the next versions of ‘Despicable Me’, ‘Planet of the Apes’, ‘Deadpool’, ‘A Quiet Place’, ‘Terrifier’, ‘Smile’, ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Kung Fu Panda’, ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’, ‘Ghostbusters’, ‘Captain America’, ‘Spiderman’, ‘Avatar’, ‘Venom’, ‘The Karate Kid’, ‘Ready Player Two’, ‘The Lion King’, ‘Godzilla’, ‘Transformers’, ‘Inside Out’, ‘Bad Boys’, and - shew, I’m breathless - Mad Max.
I'm not exaggerating. All those are coming, and I'm getting out of their way. Instead, let's look towards wonderfully abnormal and beautiful directors.
AVAILABLE NOW
‘Perfect Days’
A toilet janitor in Japan drives between jobs listening to rock music. It’s utterly sublime, hypnotic for the patient viewer, and one of my favourite movies in several years. It’s made by Wim Wenders, the now 78-year-old director responsible for the Eighties philosophical ‘Wings of Desire’ (which was remade into Meg Ryan’s romantic megahit, ‘City of Angels’). This is love and a lesson.
‘Monolith’
Australian low budget, dialogue, sci-fi mystery with one actor carrying it. You need to see it. One of the best indies this year. Superb!
‘The Zone of Interest’
A Nazi commandant tries to build a dream life for his family near the Auschwitz concentration camp. It’s about everyday life, and how growing flowers next to dying Jews can be made to seem perfectly normal.
‘Orion and the Dark’
Charlie Kaufman may be the greatest living screenwriter. He’s the brainfucker responsible for 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', 'Being John Malkovich', and the even more intelligent 'Synecdoche, New York'. He returns with ‘Orion and the Dark’, an animation for parents who think their children should watch ‘Edward Scissorhands’ and ‘Beetlejuice’.
‘The Promised Land’
A historical romance without gossip and fancy dresses. It’s an imagining of a true Dutch story of a man who wanted to grow potatoes but met a sadistic overlord. Stars Mads Mikkelsen (‘Hannibal’ and ‘The Hunt’) and Kristine Kujath Thorp (‘Ninjababy’). Director Nikolaj Arcel is previously famed for 'A Royal Affair' with sensational actress Alicia Vikander (‘Ex-Machina’), and as the screenwriter for the original ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’.
Monster (2023)
A mother demands answers from teacher when her son begins acting strangely, but not all is as it seems. This is made by my favourite Japanese director, Kore-eda Hirokazu, who became better known in the West after his Oscar-winning ‘Shoplifters’.
COMING SOON
MAY ONLY ARRIVE IN 2025
Robert Eggers, who gave us the wonderful art horror 'The Witch' and dramatic 'The Lighthouse', will hopefully deliver the 'Nosferatu' remake before the year finishes, but maybe not. Do not confuse it with the teen production of the same name.
South Korean director Bong Joon-ho received international acclaim for ‘Parasite’ but he was already famous back home for ‘Mother’ and ‘Memories of Murder’. There’s anticipation for his upcoming English sci-fi movie, ‘Mickey 17’ which finds Robert Pattinson (‘The Batman’, ‘The Lighthouse’) in the lead.
‘Polaris’
Lynne Ramsay is an alternative director whose only made a few alternate movies that are excellent despite the small budgets. ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ is in My Top 10 That Fucked Me Up. The only one with some money behind it was ‘You Were Never Really Here’, one of the best action movies that should never appear on lists with trashy ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, but deserves to be mentioned alongside ‘Eastern Promises’. Joaquin Phoenix’s acting was as responsible for that unique revenge tale, and thus I’m glad that he and Ramsay are reuniting for ‘Polaris’ which only carries the one-line description: “Set in Alaska during the 1890s, an ice photographer meets the devil.” It’s in production, so no trailer yet. Don’t confuse it with a 2024 movie with the same name about a warrior girl raised by a polar bear.
I don't know how you manage to view all of these films and previews, but thank you for sharing your recommended lists with your subscribers. I do want to check out the film with Mads Mikkelson and "Totem" from Mexico. Of course, how can I resist a movie review that begins with the sentence, "A mother demands answers from teacher when her son begins acting strangely..." Lastly, the remake of "Nosferatu" looks compelling. I have seen both the 1922 and the 1979 version, so it will be interesting to compare all three.
Maybe Gen X cult movies will have a second run like Gen X music which at least in the States has been on a tear recently, whether on the radio or tour circuits. It's weird seeing all the Nirvana floating baby t-shirts on teenagers again some thirty years later...