2024 Superlatives

Anthony and Livia's year in movies.

Spoilers ahead for Smile 2, First Omen, Conclave, and Nosferatu.

Scariest Moment

Livia: Smile 2

Smile 2 was hands-down the most stressful movie-going experience I had this year. I never knew what was coming next, especially in one particular scene. Our protagonist, Skye Riley is sleeping next to her ex-best friend after they reconcile their friendship. Skye has just abruptly woken up from a nightmare about the car accident that killed her boyfriend, so naturally, the monster that is invading her brain uses car headlights in place of her friend’s eyes and mouth to deliver one of the most effective jump scares I’ve seen in a while. I mean, I jumped so high I was practically standing.

Anthony: Nosferatu

While the scariest moment I had in the theater was also in Smile 2, for the sake of diversity and my admiration of clever storytelling, I’ll share the scene that was a close second. There is a moment pretty early on when Nicholas Holt’s character, Thomas, has been feeding Orlok and has been getting progressively more sick. It gets to a point where he has had enough and starts exploring the Count’s manor to confront him. Down in the cellar, he finds the coffin with Orlok in it and slowly creeps his way forward to open it. As he picks up and raises a pickaxe, you can see the small sliver of sunlight on the wall to the left of Thomas. As the sun sets, the sliver gets smaller and smaller. It’s the most unique and effective visual technique to build tension that i’ve ever seen. I wasn’t even upset at the jump scare that followed—Eggers fuckin got me good.

Most Surprising Moment

Livia: First Omen

I wish I could have seen First Omen in theaters because the moment Margaret realized she was the baby in the picture with the weird scar on her scalp and looked at the camera, it genuinely shook me. Moments like that where characters suddenly break the fourth wall always freak me out.

Anthony: Conclave

The pope is dead and Cardinal Lawrence, Ralph Fiennes, has to lead the other diva cardinals to elect a new pope. We learn that Lawrence has had a recent crisis of faith and claims to not want the power that comes with papacy. As the rounds of votes go by, Lawrence gets more and more votes. As they go into the second to last round of voting, it’s clear that Lawrence is a real contender. For the first and only time, Lawrence votes for himself. Right before he can cast his vote, there is a suicide bomber who destroys part of the Sistine Chapel. Before the explosion, the protests were solely used as a device to highlight the divide between the liberal and conservative sections of the religion. Lawrence is punished for seeking out power for himself despite his crisis of faith. The explosion was a jump scare I was not expecting to force me to reflect on cathoic guilt.

Favorite First Watch

Livia: Aftersun

I’d been avoiding watching this movie for a while and now I know why. This is hands-down one of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. The last sequence still haunts me.

Anthony: Sometimes I Think About Dying

If you’re familiar with the film festival circuit, you’ll know the feeling of finding about a new film and getting the chance to see it’s world premiere. If you somehow miss it, the odds of seeing it outside of that festival are slim to none. Only a tiny fraction of these films get bought by a distributor—and even fewer get a wide release. This was one of those films for me.

Last summer, I found it on the ‘New Releases’ list on Kanopy and watched it immediately. I’ve had very few experiences watching a film that I could connect to on an intimate level. It’s a beautiful film about human connection seen through the lens of an antisocial protagonist.

Best Letterboxd Review

Most Likely to Stick With You

Livia: I Saw the TV Glow

I saw this movie by myself in a semi-empty theater. I didn’t know what to expect since I didn’t love Director Jane Schoenbrun’s first feature, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. I was stunned after the last scene in I Saw the TV Glow. And that feeling hasn’t worn off since then. This movie reminded me of why I love horror so much. It’s a genre that can be used to tell such painful stories in beautiful ways. I cannot wait for what Schoenbrun does next.

Anthony: Monkey Man

Monkey man was a film that I was really sad to have missed in the theaters. It wasn’t until I had time off during the holidays that I sat down and watched it. All of the hype around the action and Dev Patel’s direction did not disappoint. You can tell how much passion was put into this and see the admiration he has for action films.

Favorite Line of Dialogue

Livia: Conclave

“We’re mortal men who serve an ideal. We’re not ideal men.”

Anthony: Dune

“Power over spice is power over all”

Favorite Performance

Livia: Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain

I had such an intense love/hate relationship with Kieran Culkin’s character in A Real Pain. I honestly didn’t know how Director Jessie Eisenberg expected the audience to feel anything but disdain for Kieran’s Benji, but once the film went on, I found myself feeling for the guy. Sure, there are a lot of similarities between this role and others Kieran’s played (like Roman in Succession) but the pain Benji is experiencing in this film is so raw and palpable.

Anthony: Koji Yakusho in Perfect Days

We spend a majority of his screentime watching Yakusho’s character, Hirayama, clean toilets yet his performance is still compelling. It’s impressive how much he is able to convey in the little moments throughout his routine. We learn so much about his character just by watching him react to the other characters around him. I want to be like Hirayama.

Favorite Score

Livia: Challengers

I mean, you cannot beat Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Anthony: Godzilla Minus One

I was fortunate enough to see this in the theater in black and white, Godzilla Minus One—Minus Color. I have seen a handful of the Godzilla movies over the years with a few of them being in the theater. This was the first time that I felt the impact of the score.