A Complete Unknown

Timothee Chalamet’s performance as Bob Dylan is Oscar worthy. He completely transformed and embodied Bob

Dylan. Everything from the hair, to the costumes to the music was phenomenal.  At times I thought he sounded exactly like Bob Dylan. I think something that was really powerful in the movie is that Woody Guthrie was such a prominent character, yet the actor playing him didn’t have a singular line in the movie. I think that really spoke a lot.

Overall Rating 3 out of 5 stars 

Anora

Anora is a film that will make you feel every emotion possible in a two-hour time span. This film feels so real, Mikey Madison (Anora) makes you feel like you’re in her shoes. Something about her character is so relatable, not even on a surface level, but a deeper level. I feel like many young women can see themselves in Anora and that’s a really eye-opening, beautiful experience.

Overall Rating 5 out of 5 stars

Queer

Queer, a movie based on William S Burroughs 1985 novella, is a  cinematic masterpiece. It was the most raw and emotional film of 2024. I felt vacant and empty watching it, yet fulfilled. This movie detailed Lee’s (Daniel Craig) not only physical addictions, but subconscious addiction to be seen, loved, and accepted. The yearning and despair wasn’t only captured through the acting, but the cinematography. Daniel Craig’s performance was Oscar-worthy and the Academy snubbed him. Drew Starkey’s acting was also phenomenal. 

Overall rating 5/5

Challengers

Challengers made tennis something beyond tennis, beyond hitting a ball with a racket, beyond skill. Challengers made tennis a complicated, almost polygamous relationship. The movie wasn’t the acting, it wasn’t the cinematography (though, it arguably had the best cinematography of the year) –  it was the music. Not the soundtrack, but the original score. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross did their big one with Challengers. The sensual feeling in every song enhanced not only the acting, but the cinematography. Every scene is so perfectly crafted with music personalized to every object and layout of the scene that the viewer forgets about the poor character development. 

Overall Rating 3 out of 5 stars

Honorable Mention

Babygirl

Babygirl is a raw emotional masterpiece starring Nicole Kidman. It follows a CEO unhappy in her marriage, which leads to an affair with a much younger intern at her company. When I first saw this movie in theaters, I was left disappointed. I imagined something much different based on the trailers I watched. I was disturbed after I saw the movie. It was very hard to digest. In my eyes it wasn’t this exhilarating movie everyone on social media was raging about. I felt it was more about trauma and emotional abuse than anything. 

After sleeping on it, I realized Nicole Kidman’s performance was perfect, everything about how she performed her character. Her role had many parallels to her role in HBO’s show “Big Little Lies.” Kidman made this movie. I really think she got snubbed by not getting nominated for Best Actress. 

Overall Rating 3 out of 5 stars