One of the most divisive films of 2024 was Halina Reijn’s (
Instinct)
Babygirl. Much of this may be due to the film being Reijn’s follow-up to the highly successful
Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, while of this may be due to the film’s taboo topic of a workplace affair between a superior and subordinate, revolving around domineering and submissive sex. Some filmgoers likely lined up on opening night to see this much-talked-about movie since its 2024 Venice International Film Festival screening. For many others, this would be a film they could never watch. While I am willing to give most films a fair chance (10-15 minutes at least),
Babygirl is not one that I would have felt comfortable watching with someone else. It’s a film that takes a far too taboo subject for most social settings and groups to converse about and gives it a home. However, as well as the film felt genuine and honest,
Babygirl did not venture into lanes we may have wished for. Presumably, what we thought would occur did exactly that. While it did those things well, many may be disappointed it didn’t try to go for something more profound. I lay somewhere in between.
Continue reading Babygirl (2024) →
The moviegoer is in for a treat each time when either Danny Boyle or Alex Garland is involved in a project. Whether it be Boyle with a timeless filmography of directing credits that include Sunshine, Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, and 127 Hours, or Garland’s vision with outside-the-box, ahead-of-his-time instant classics, such as Annihilation, Ex Machina, or Civil War, you can be confident you will be thinking of the film long after its view. 28 Days Later was the first time the two teamed up (Boyle as director, Garland as screenwriter). They struck a perfect accord of a tense, suspenseful, and foreboding film, painting a grim picture of what humanity could look like under the direst of circumstances.
My first viewing of Jon Amiel’s (Entrapment, Copycat) Sommersby was when I was 17. I liked the story, was intrigued by the slow unraveling mystery, and ate up the sentimentality created by Richard Gere (Pretty Woman, The Mothman Prophecies) and Jodie Foster (Panic Room, The Silence of the Lambs). Had I reviewed the film in 1993, I likely would have given it an A-. As I watched the movie most recently, some 30 years later, I was impressed by how well it once again grabbed and held my interest. Much of that was trying to spot each clue that connected the start and end, which rewatches allow. However, as simple as the story was, I fell victim to Jack Summerset’s (Gere) six-year return to Laurel (Foster) following the U.S. Civil War.
Veering away from the supernatural-themed movies with unique twists that defined the first decade of his career, M. Night Shyamalan (Signs, 
Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall could be the Oscar darling of 2023. The film has received a lot of awards season buzz. While mainly shown in art house-type theaters, this tour de force has sustained a long theatrical run. Positive critic reviews and word-of-mouth conversations have helped the film tremendously and at the right time. A lock to be nominated for Best International Film, Anatomy of a Fall has a chance to receive nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress in a Lead Performance (Sandra Hüller), and Best Picture. Far from an earth-shattering film, or even one that you’ll think about much after your viewing, it is a worthwhile watch that will have your mind switching back and forth through its 150-minute run-time, anticipating how it might end.