This year, we’ve got a rare treat: a film that belongs on both the overrated and the worst list. I’m not sure I’ve ever done that before, but something tells me it won’t be the last time, either. Scroll to the end to discover what it is.
The entire film is one woman yelling at the camera. The.entire.film. She has good reason to be upset: her new hubby is a douche and her new family are beasts. We have reason to sympathize with her: the film could have portrayed her as a gold-digger (on some level, she certainly is), but it didn’t. That said, you don’t get around the fact that she yelled at the camera all film long. One man’s Best Pic is another’s “when will this Hell end?”)
Nobody, but nobody wants there to be another Lord of the Rings quite like me. But just because you want it, doesn’t mean you have it. I know there are similarities: 20th century novel adapted sci-fi fantasy, rediscovered by a current generation just dying to explore a new world. But that’s where the comparison ends. The Dune series isn’t anywhere close to Lord of the Rings any way you care to measure. Not as entertaining, not as deep, not as considered, not as polished, and simply n
ot as good. And you’re seriously kidding yourself in pretending Dune 2 lived up to Dune.
So in 2024, there was a film about two Jewish people far beyond WWII exploring their Polish Holocaust roots. And then there was another. Why we all decided the latter was much better than former. I can’t guess. But it wasn’t.
Sure, cinema doesn’t have to be a delight … but you’ve taken that thought for an entire carriage ride in the park and a snow cone followed by a day-spa massage afterwards.
But only because Better Man exists … and is a Better film, you Better believe it.
A 
film so fascinating it will have your kids singing the songs from the original Lion King.
I suppose it’s better than your kids not singing any songs at all.
This is also on the Bottom 10 list. Well, sure, why can’t it be on both? After all The Brutalist is both terrible and disgustingly overrated. I put it to anyone reading this: name me a single moment in The Brutalist that you wish to see again. Any.single.moment. Every single other movie on the overrated list has at least one moment worth exploring twice. The Brutalist doesn’t. It would have been overrated with a two-hour runtime. The fact that it took over three-and-a-half to complete this thing? This one belongs in the Overrated Hall of Fame.
I’ve seen 187 2024 films according to Letterboxd (includes some limited TV series/specials, some festival films I saw last year that may have actually premiered in 2023 or 2025, and 77 shorts) but Anora is my #12, and A Real Pain is my #16 (though I will have to seek out Treasure which I hadn’t ever heard of).
A Complete Unknown is #58 and The Brutalist is #42. It may prove your point, but I wouldn’t mind listening to that score and seeing those driving down the road scenes on IMAX again. Loved those shots!
Still love reading these year-end summaries (even when you’re wrong)… :D
I knew you loved Anora. Me … less.
Never gonna backdown from Brutalist. Four hours of pain. Pure pain.
And thanks for chiming in. :)