Just like every year that has come before it, there are a plethora of new releases that are slated for release in 2024 that I am eagerly anticipating. From last year's list, I'm still waiting on releases for Tran Anh Hung's “The Taste of Things”, and Jeff Nicol's “Bikeriders”, so obviously these are still hugely anticipated and should be considered an extension of the below list (but I do not like including the same titles for multiple years). Besides the titles below that I am shining a spotlight on, 2024 will see a number of new and exciting films from talented directors, the likes of Yorgos Lanthimos (“Kinds of Kindness”), Steven Soderbergh (“Presence”), David Michod (“Wizards!”), Rose Glass (“Love Lies Bleeding”), Luca Guadgnino (“Challengers”), Ti West (“MaXXXine”), Denis Villeneuve (“Dune: Part Two”), Steve McQueen (“Blitz”), Ridley Scott (“Gladiator 2”), Francis Ford Coppola (“Megalopolis”), George Miller (“Furiosa”), Paul Schrader (“Oh, Canada”), Dea Kulumbegashvili (“Those Who Find Me”), Justin Kurzel (“The Order”), Roman Zurcher (“The Sparrow in the Chimney”), Jim Jarmusch (“Father Mother Sister Brother”), David Cronenberg (“The Shrouds”), David Lowery (“Mother Mary”), Bi Gan (“Resurrection”), Leos Carax (“It's Not Me”), Tom Tykwer (“The Light”), Paolo Sorrentino (“Parthenope”) Guy Maddin (“Rumors”), and maybe, just maybe, we will finally see Terrence Malick's latest (“The Way of the Wind”). All of the above I am looking forward to, but the below nine films are my most anticipated films of 2024:
JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX
It is rare that a film so mainstream is on my most anticipated list, but I really liked what Todd Phillips did with the original 2019 film, and his take on the clown prince of crime himself. Joaquin Phoenix was amazing in the title role too, so to have the two key creative personnel returning for this sequel has me optimistic. I am also under no illusions though that this could go down the route of so many other sequels by making it bigger and louder, and in the process losing what made the original film so great, and end up a total disaster. Whilst little is known in terms of the film's plot, what we have heard about the film has really got me thinking that the film could turn out to be a surprising gem. I love the title, first of all, and hearing it is meant to be some messed up kind of musical also warms my heart, but it was the casting of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn that really made me sit up. It is perfect casting in my eyes, and as much as I love Margot Robbie's take on the character, her version would not work in the real world aesthetics of the “Joker” film. Succeed or fail, I am looking forward to how “Joker: Folie a Deux” will turn out.
EMMANUELLE
The inclusion of “Emmanuelle” on this list is solely due to how great director Audrey Diwan's previous film, “Happening”, was. “Happening” topped my top twenty list from last year, so no matter what Diwan did next, I was always going to be anticipating it. I have never seen the original “Emmanuelle” films starring Sylvia Kristel, but from reputation alone I just assumed that they were smutty lowbrow entertainment. However, Diwan's interest in adapting the story once again makes me feel that there is more to it than what I assumed, as I couldn't imagine a talent like hers would be interested in making what I thought was one dimensional smut. Anyway, Diwan has cast the lovely Noemie Merlant in the title role, and I have just noticed that Naomi Watts is in the film now too. The film has already finished shooting which seems to suggest that a Cannes premiere is on the cards meaning we only have to wait until May to see “a woman and the series of erotic fantasises that she entertains”.
MARIA
For the second year in a row, director Pablo Larrain has made it onto my most anticipated list with his newest film. While “El Conde” didn't quite reach the heights I was hoping for (the film is still pretty entertaining), it has not cooled me on Larrain's next effort, “Maria”, which is a biopic on the world's greatest opera singer, Maria Callas. This will surprise no-one when I say that I know nothing about opera, so it may seem a strange film to be looking so forward to, but the reason for this has to do with the strength of the two previous female bio-pics Pablo Larrain made, namely “Jackie” and “Spencer”, both of which were phenomenal. Apparently the film follows the life of Callas from the mid-1950s until her final days in 1970's Paris. Larrain has cast Angelina Jolie in the lead role, and has re-teamed with cinematographer Edward Lachmann who also shot “El Conde”. The film has already finished shooting, and the big news for me was that “Maria” was shot on film, as Larrain and Lachmann decided that this was the way that Callas would have been seen at the time.
LONGLEGS
This is the fourth film directed by Oz Perkins, with the previous three being outstanding, and deserving of more attention than they got. His latest, “Longlegs” is a serial killer thriller that the imdb describes like so: “FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.”. While it does have a generic sounding plot, none of Perkins' films before would ever be called generic, even though they mine material of well worn genres. Like Perkins himself, the much under-appreciated Maika Monroe stars as Agent Harker, with Nicolas Cage apparently playing the killer. Monroe has excellent taste when picking horror projects to be a part of, while Cage has recently come out stating that he will be very frugal in the roles he plays now, only choosing to do something if he thinks the project is really special. The film has been fully completed and even has an MPA rating, so I am sure it will not be long until we see a trailer or at least a release date for “Longlegs” soon.
SHADOW OF FIRE
While technically a 2023 release in Japan, the rest of the world will finally get to see director Shinya Tsukamoto's latest film, “Shadow of Fire” in 2024. The film is apparently about the immediate aftermath of WWII, and the struggles of the Japanese people to move on and live after the events of the war, particularly focusing on a young boy orphaned during the war, and a woman forced to sell her body in an attempt to keep on living, and fight the crushing despair within her. As you can see, it sounds like it will be quite intense and very confronting, but I have total faith in whatever Tsukamoto comes up with, as he is a true original in today's cinema landscape. Through interviews I have seen with Tsukamoto in the past, he is particular struck by war and the fact that his generation never went through it, fearing that lessons learnt from these past wars may end up being repeated due to how little today's generations know about the war, so I am sure it will be a very personal film for Shinya Tsukamoto, and one that I cannot wait to see, as I have been thoroughly impressed by the already released trailer for “Shadow of Fire”.
LE CHEMIN DU SERPENT / CHIME
2024 has the rare distinction of having two new films by Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa ready to be released. The first, “Le Chemin du Serpent”, is actually a French language remake of “Serpent's Path”, which Kurosawa made in Japan back in 1997. The new film is described like so: “A mysterious woman team up with a man whose daughter was killed and who is now seeking revenge. Together they kidnap members of an organisation and torture them to find out what really happened.” This sounds pretty close to the original although it appears that one of the characters has now been changed to a woman, which will be interesting to see how that changes the story's dynamics. I was happy to see Kurosawa reuniting with cinematographer Alexis Kavyrchine, who shot his previous French language film “Daguerrotype”, for this and with Mathieu Amalric who also had a role in that previous film.
Kurosawa's other film coming out in 2024 is a Japanese film called “Chime”, and is about “a schoolteacher whose life is disrupted by a chime that brings with it an increasing sense of dread.” What is most interesting about this is that the film is apparently not a horror film, but something else entirely. Here is what Kurosawa himself says about the film: “This is a work that aims to shock the viewer and leave them with a strong sense of fear after watching it. Nothing that is necessary in a normal story is explained. Also, it doesn’t fit into genres like horror or suspense. That’s the aim of this work: a crazy movie, a movie that’s out of this world.” Very intriguing, but what I love the most about the film is that the producers told Kurosawa to make what ever he wanted, so whatever “Chime” turns out to be, it is going to be 100% Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
MICKEY 17
I have said this before but any film directed by Bong Joon-ho will always end up on my most anticipated list. The man is a phenomenal director who has still yet to make a bad film. Something I had forgotten until writing this list though is this is Bong's first film since “Parasite” took over the world and the Academy Awards back in 2019-20. The pressure on the man to try and replicate the success of “Parasite” must be huge, and yet I am sure he doesn't feel a thing, as he has always gone about his career making whatever he wants, and what feels right to him in the moment. As such I am sure that “Mickey 17” will both impress, and be nothing like he has made before. Here is how the imdb describes the film: “A return to speculative sci-fi fantasy for Bong Joon-ho, who went stratospheric with his Oscar-winning psychological satire Parasite. Adapted from the novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, this stars Robert Pattinson as an "expendable" - a disposable crew member on a space mission, selected for dangerous tasks because he can be renewed if his body dies, with his memories largely intact. With one regeneration, though, things go very wrong.” As it says above, Bong has cast Robert Pattinson as his lead (hey, that means my wife may actually watch this film with me!), with Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette and Steven Yuen rounding out the cast. Darius Khondji is the cinematographer on “Mickey 17” re-uniting with the director after shooting his “Okja” back in 2017.
NOSFERATU
My most anticipated film of 2024 is none other than Robert Eggers' take on “Nosferatu”, a passion project for the director who has been talking about making this film from the very beginning when his debut film “The Witch” came out. This will be the third incarnation of the story and the previous two have both been mind-blowingly good, so Eggers has a lot to live up to. The original silent film is one of my all time favourite films; it is so good that you would think that no remake could possibly live up to it, and then Werner Herzog's 1979 film did just that. It is just as brilliant and just as terrifying as the original film, thanks in no small part to Klaus Kinski's portrayal of the Count. Will lightning strike three times with this new version of “Nosferatu”? I am not sure, but I would never bet against Robert Eggers as he is the type of director who will not stop until he gets exactly what he wants, and exactly as it was in the time period he is portraying. His attention to detail is second to none, so I am expecting to once again be blown away again by this new version of “Nosferatu”. It is a long wait though, as the film currently has a release date of Christmas Day. For those that do not know, the original “Nosferatu” was an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker's “Dracula”, however the Nosferatu movies seem to take on a darker, rougher edge of the classic vampire story, which makes it even more chilling. Eggers' cast consists of Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Hoult, Emma Corrin, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bill Skarsgard in the role of the terrifying Count Orlok. I cannot wait!!
Well, that is it. My enormous round up of the year that was 2023 is finally over. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it and got something out of it, but how about we go back to watching some new films now?
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