Earlier this year, I reviewed 4 of my favourite films from the first third of 2024.

As the evenings get darker and the weather gets wetter, and the world seems more precarious, I highly recommend these four films from the 2024 mid-point for your viewing pleasure!

In no particular order:

LA CHIMERA: Rohrwacher’s Tragicomic Drama Finds The Light in A Tomb Raider.   

Director: Alice Rohrwacher / Screenplay: Alice Rohrwacher

Arthur (Josh O’Connor), a former British archaeologist, is released from an Italian jail after serving time for stealing prized possessions from a grave. He returns to his home on the edge of a town in rural Italy, distancing himself from his former gang of tomb raiders while attempting to reconnect with the family of his ex-girlfriend Beniamina (Yile Vianello). Yet, due to his unusual talent for finding buried treasure and experiencing troubling visions of his past, he is soon pulled back into a life of crime.

At first, much of Alice Rohrwacher’s moody film is a curiosity: the gloomy setting, the abrupt beginning, and the unclear crimes of the enigmatic Arthur. It requires patience, but as the background, eccentric characters and plot gradually unfold, La chimera becomes intriguing. The blend of social and magical realism in the drama raises thought-provoking questions about the nature of tombs. In a living world of poverty, should wealth always stay buried with the dead? Or is the grave an inviolable place of mourning and remembrance?

In line with the film’s mythical title, O’Connor portrays a complex creature beneath the outward appearance of a slouching, disheveled tomb raider. It’s a consistently believable performance, particularly as his demeanor needs to shift between boorishness, melancholy, and the otherworldly energy that fuels his treasure-hunting instincts. While there are moments of comedy in Isabella Rossellini’s portrayal of a matriarch in denial, living in a crumbling mansion with a troublesome brood of daughters, Rohrwacher’s film is most striking for its unexpected, extraordinary moments that bridge the sacred and the mundane.

Where to Watch: La chimera can be watched on Amazon Prime Video and Curzon Home Cinema.

My Verdict // ★★★★☆

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FURIOSA – A MAD MAX SAGA: Taylor-Joy Brings the Fury in Miller’s Bombastically Bonkers Prequel.

Director: George Miller / Screenplay:  George Miller, Nico Lathouris

Decades before Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), a young girl (Alyla Browne) from a lush, abundant enclave is captured by brutal mercenaries and taken into the wasteland. After they kill her mother (Charlee Fraser), the girl, determined to seek revenge, swears to take down the mercenaries’ warlord leader, Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). This unholy vow will make the name of Furiosa legendary.

After almost a decade, creator George Miller returns to his arid, petrol-soaked, biker-punk apocalyptic wasteland with all the bombastically bonkers action that you’d expect from his earlier Mad Max entries. But the plot takes it’s time to get going due to a completely formulaic origin story (beloved parent + murderous wrongdoer = revenge-seeking orphan). It’s half an hour before Anya Taylor-Joy appears with her own interpretation of Charlize Theron’s tough protagonist. But when she does finally emerge, Taylor-Joy’s stoic performance brings the bionic avenging angel to life with quiet charisma.

While Furiosa throws the audience into one carnage-filled action set-piece after another, it never allows its chaotic energy or raucous humor to get weary. A prosthetic-laden Hemsworth (biblical beard, prominent beaked nose and an overbite) cranks up his insanity gauge to twelve when thundering commands to his hapless lackeys. Miller maintains a relentless pace and an unflinching focus on the gore throughout keeping the audience gripped. Undoubtedly, this prequel is a fun journey that will captivate newcomers and lead them to the ultimately superior Fury Road.

Where to Watch: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga can be watched on Amazon Prime Video.

My Verdict // ★★★★☆

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SKY PEALS: In Hussain’s Sci-Fi Debut, No One Can Hear the Internal Screaming.

Director: Moin Hussain / Screenplay: Moin Hussain

Adam (Fayaz Ayub) is a night-shift worker at a remote motorway service station in England. He is adjusting to recent changes in his life: the sale of his family home, a new day-shift position, and unexpected contact from his estranged father. When Adam discovers that his father has died after attempting to visit him at the station, he decides to investigate the mysterious events. He believes that the truth is out there.

In this surreal and atmospheric debut film by Moin Hussain, the concept of alienation is explored in different forms, never settling for one specific interpretation. The film weaves together themes of extra-terrestrial encounters, autism, depression, and migration, creating a tapestry of unusual and recognisable moments that alter each interpretation.

Ayub delivers a compelling and sympathetic performance at the film’s core. The setting of the Sky Peals station, with its tacky ‘futurism,’ takes on an almost otherworldly quality under certain lighting and framing, adding to the palpable strangeness. Despite the abrupt ending, Hussain’s movie leaves much to ponder afterwards.

Sky Peals can be watched on the BFI Film Player.

My Verdict // ★★★★☆

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SING SING: Kwedar’s Tribute Film Shows That Joy and Hope Are Not Easily Incarcerated.

Director: Greg Kwedar / Screenplay: Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley – Based on the play ‘The Sing Sing Follies’ by John H. Richardson and ‘Breakin’ the Mummies’ Code’ by Brent Buell.

Set in the Sing Sing maximum security prison, the Rehabilitation Through the Arts Programme (RTA) is searching for its next project and actors to join its troupe. John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield (Colman Domingo), the RTA’s renowned playwright and actor, recruits the unlikely actor Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin to the group. The yard bully-boss, Maclin, suggests comedic projects to lighten up the RTA’s usually serious performances. As the group generates haphazard ideas and starts to bond, ‘Divine G’ must confront a real climax in his own life: an upcoming parole hearing that could potentially lead to his release from prison.

Greg Kwedar’s prison drama is a tender tribute to a highly successful rehabilitation program, evident through the fact that most of the cast are former inmates and beneficiaries of the RTA. The performances of these former inmates are so convincing that Domingo and the fictional director (played by Paul Raci) stand out against their authenticity. Domingo’s lead performance often competes fictionally and literally with Maclin’s magnetic presence.

At its most profound, Sing Sing delves into the lives changed by the drama circle. Ironically, through the act of ‘play,’ the performers are liberated from their roles in everyday life to reflect on their own challenges, choices, and aspirations. The harsh reality of prison life is occasionally glimpsed, but it doesn’t detract from the emotional liberation of these incarcerated actors.

My Verdict // ★★★★★

And here are some more honourable mentions from the last few months, most of which are now available on streaming services…

Inside Out 2 (Dir. Kelsey Mann, Screenplay. Meg LeFauve, Dave Holstein): A year after the events of Inside Out (2015), Riley is now settled in San Francisco and on the cusp of puberty. Her dedicated cast of emotions must make room for a whole new bunch of feelings– Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui – who are determined to take over the next phase of her life. When Joy and the gang are shoved to the back of Riley’s mind, the teen’s life begins to take on a new direction that may change her sense of self forever. This creative sequel expands on the original’s premise with equal cleverness and aplomb. Not only does it reunite audiences with the enjoyable voice cast from the first film, but adds the impressive talents of Maya Hawke, Ayo Edebiri, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Paul Walter Hauser as the new ‘sophisticated’ emotions (designed ironically to look more childish than their predecessors). This is a worthy follow-up with a thoughtful message on the trials of teen-hood that Pixar-Disney, at its best, is renowned for. My Verdict // ★★★★☆

Deadpool & Wolverine (Dir. Shawn Levy, Screenplay. Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Zeb Wells, Shawn Levy): After the events of Logan (2017), Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is assigned by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to save his dying universe by finding a new Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, ironically). It won’t be easy when the replacement Wolverine found is the worst in the multiverse. Director Shawn Levy creates a buddy comedy that sends Reynolds and Jackman into a Mad Max-inspired hellscape filled with new enemies and old heroes. There’s enough bloody brawling along the way to make even Quentin Tarantino blush. Both lead actors are on top form as their anti-heroes, with Reynolds bringing all the characteristic irreverence so beloved of his masked mocker. After a seven year hiatus, Jackson doesn’t phone in his performance nor shows any fatigue when re-donning the mutton chops, snug costume, and adamantium claws. While there are an eye-rolling number of cameos, this multiversal movie remains true to the Deadpool brand: gleefully ultra-violent, satirical, and even a bit bawdy. My Verdict // ★★★★☆

Kensuke’s Kingdom (Dir. Neil Boyle, Kirk Hendry, Screenplay. Frank Cottrell-Boyce – based on the 1999 children’s novel of the same name by Michael Morpurgo): After his parents decide to travel the world on a sailing boat, headstrong Michael brings their dog Stella in secret. It’s a decision which leads to disastrous consequences when he’s swept overboard and ends up stranded on a mysterious island. He encounters the only other person on the island, a quiet old man called Kensuke, who has private regrets of his own and a secret mission of protection. This is a beautifully animated adaptation of the sweet novel by beloved children’s writer Michael Morpurgo. Both the finer details of character expressions and the sweeping vistas of natural beauty, often designed from a bird’s eye view, are wonderfully illustrated. Furthermore, the vocal talents of Ken Watanabe and Aaron MacGregor bring the two unlikely friends to life. This is a touching, comforting watch that both children and adults can enjoy without much challenge. My Verdict // ★★★★☆  

The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Dir. Wes Ball, Screenplay. Josh Friedman): In Wes Ball’s new film, set centuries after Matt Reeves’ rebooted Planet of the Apes trilogy, we witness the lives of the primates living in Caesar’s legacy (the remake’s ape messiah that was created impressively in motion-capture by Andy Serkis). While a benign tribe of bird-taming apes strive to live in peace, the megalomaniacal Proximus (voiced by Kevin Durand) and his aggressive, technologically-advanced clan seek total dominion over all ape-kind. When the bird-tamers are attacked by Proximus’ forces, naive protagonist Noa (voiced by Owen Teague) must rescue the survivors with the aid of an unexpected human ally (portrayed by Freya Allan). Despite the clunky title (surely it should be Kingdom ‘on‘ the ‘Planet of the Apes’?) and the tediously long runtime, Ball’s film can be intriguing and satisfying in moments. Nevertheless, it struggles to shake off the feeling of being both unnecessary and derivative. Noa’s transformation from a loser to a leader feels too reminiscent of the previous trilogy’s hero. Only the underlying tension simmering between Noa’s tribe and Allan’s laconic, dubious ‘Nora’ moves the film in some unexpected directions. Ultimately, Kingdom reveals that Twentieth Century Studios are playing the same game as Warner Brothers’ (now defunct) Fantastic Beasts franchise: making several needless pre-sequels to bridge the franchise’s 2010 reboots with the 1968 original. Audiences can only hope that future Planet of the Apes movies stop monkeying around like this one. My Verdict // ★★★☆☆

Freud’s Last Session (Dir. Matthew Brown, Screenplay. Mark St. Germain and Matthew Brown – based on the play of the same name by Mark St. Germain): On the brink of the Second World War, Christian scholar C.S. Lewis (Matthew Goode) travels to meet the famed father of psychoanalysis, Dr. Sigmund Freud (Anthony Hopkins). The encounter between the believer and the atheist is less of a cosy chat on a chaise lounge and more of an academic wrestling match. This screen adaptation of the play, crafted by playwright Mark St. Germain, imagines a compelling showdown between these two iconic intellectual figures of the twentieth century. Hopkins’ intensely eccentric impersonation of the psychotherapist, at times bordering on the melodramatic, goes toe-to-toe with Goode’s nuanced portrayal of the polite, cautious Lewis. However, the timeless debate between religion and science can be stale and diverts attention from the characters’ underlying traumas, which are the true essence of St. Germain’s story. Nonetheless, the chemistry between the actors has amusement enough to keep audiences engaged in a heavily dialogue-driven script (such as the witty ‘Thank God!’ Hopkins mutters absentmindedly at one point, birthing an infamous verbal slip). My Verdict // ★★★☆☆

MaXXXine (Dir. Ti West, Screenplay. Ti West): Mia Goth returns as Maxine, the sole survivor of the bloody massacre in Ti West’s X (2022). Living as a peek-show performer in 1980’s Los Angeles, Maxine still harbours dreams of true stardom. When a serial killer known as the ‘Night Stalker’ starts targeting Maxine’s close friends, she decides to confront her past and grab her future by any means necessary. Proving his skill to capture a past era’s style and aesthetic, West shifts the rural sexploitation and delirious Technicolor satire of X and Pearl (2022) to the greasy, seedy LA underbelly. It’s a luridly-lit landscape of pornography, pseudo-religious cults and pervy serial slashers that’s straight out of the oeuvre of Dario Argento and Alfred Hitchcock. However, unlike the first two films in this trilogy, MaXXXine feels excessive and disjointed. Worst of all, Goth’s leading performance as the steely titular star begins to wane as the film progresses into its weaker third act. Despite the promise of the earlier chapters, this movie is not the one the audience deserves. My Verdict // ★★★☆☆

Longlegs (Dir. Osgood Perkins, Screenplay. Osgood Perkins): In the early 1990s, FBI Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is assigned to follow the case of the elusive serial killer called ‘Longlegs’ (Nicolas Cage) – a ruthless criminal who can annihilate families without leaving a trace. With her uncanny psychic talents, Harker descends into the eerie world surrounding the murders. But as the chilling investigation unfolds, she realises that the fate of the victims could soon become her own. Director-writer Osgood Perkins’ satanic-panic thriller is all mood, but not good. While the dim, bronze-red palette and suggestive angles create a queasy, prickly atmosphere, the film leans too heavily on clichés, tropes and jump scares. Eventually, Longlegs is undone completely by Nicolas Cage’s ridiculous performance as the titular killer. Adding to his filmography of diverse, if consistently quirky, roles, the actor is heavy-handed when portraying psychopathy and looks even sillier in the heavy character make-up. On the other hand, his final shot is such a chef’s kiss to high camp villainy that it might just be worth watching the entire movie for this one moment. My Verdict // ★★★☆☆

Kinds of Kindness (Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos, Screenplay. Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou): After his award-winning Frankenstein-revisionist adaptation Poor Things (released earlier this year) director-writer Yorgos Lanthimos brings audiences a triptych of stories exploring the absurd, the perverse, and the heartfelt. In the first, a desperate man tries to take control when his life is sent into chaos by his domineering, jealous benefactor. The second story revolves around a police officer convinced that his missing wife, who has returned, is not the same person. Finally, a cultist with a habit for reckless driving throws herself into the search for the messiah while feeling guilty for her estranged family. Each sorry tale is tied together by the enigmatic initials – R.M.F. Lanthimos’ odd depiction of modern life (last depicted in his 2017 disturbing family-horror The Killing of A Sacred Deer) portrays humans in a completely uncanny way, almost as if they are alien creatures existing behind glass for the audience’s inspection. While the theme of ‘kind’ and ‘kindness’ is raised obliquely through the trio of stories, this anthology movie becomes tedious in its deliberate perplexity. The recurring cast (featuring Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau, Margaret Qualley, Hunter Schafer, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie and Yorgos Stefanakos) are very disconcerting across their multiple characters, though Dafoe plays a similarly nasty, creepy type in each episode. There’s a thin line between quirky and irritating, evocative and obtuse, and Lanthimos is crossing it with this over-indulgent project.  My Verdict // ★★☆☆☆

Alien: Romulus (Dir. Fed Álvarez, Screenplay. Fed Álvarez, Rodo Sayagues): In the distant reaches of space, Rain (Cailee Spaeny) dreams of escaping the drudgery of colonial work with her ‘brother’ android Andy (David Jonsson). When she realises that she won’t get a transit permit off the colony planet for decades, she sets off with a crew of twenty-somethings to salvage valuable cargo from a derelict space station in orbit. However, once aboard, she will discover a deadly nightmare that has haunted cinema audiences since 1979. After creator Ridley Scott scuppered the franchise with Alien: Covenant (2017), director Fed Álvarez takes the cosmic-horror series back to its roots. Avoiding any attempt to deepen the Alien lore (lessons learned from Covenant and 2012’s Prometheus), Álvarez faithfully re-creates the retro-futuristic aesthetic, foreboding atmosphere and nail-biting tension that made Scott’s original film so frightening. However, there is no innovation with the concept and after its two-hour runtime, it is difficult to suspend the belief that Romulus is merely an extended homage. Only Jonsson’s compelling performance as an android that turns sharply from a friendly stutterer to a cold, calculating machine is a standout here. Otherwise, while watching Álvarez’s impotent movie, everyone can hear you groan. My Verdict // ★★☆☆☆  

Check back in December when I’ll be deciding my four favourite films of the year and reviewing any movies from the last part of 2024! See you then!