Wolfs (2024)

Direction: Jon Watts
Country: USA

Inspired by his admiration for solitary anti-heroes in films such as Le Samourai (1967), Ghost Dog (1999), and Collateral (2004), director Jon Watts sets up a New York crime story in Wolfs, but most of it feels worn-out and lackluster. This film reunites Brad Pitt and George Clooney, who portray experienced crime scene cleaners having extreme difficulties teaming up as requested by their clients. 

The film’s intriguing opening is engaging but it quickly unravels, descending into shallow banter, self-mockery (mostly revolving around aging), and formulaic action scenes toward oblivion. Though it initially seems to channel Coen Brothers’ dark, quirky tone, it takes a wrong turn, injecting syrupy moments that come off as laughably ridiculous and will likely irritate genre fans.

Wolfs is clumsy, overly formulaic, and incompetently lazy, following a banal, unoriginal plot weighed down by cheesy dialogue and underbaked story elements. Lacking any type of genius, it’s a waste of talent and energy on all levels.

Megalopolis (2024)

Direction: Francis Ford Coppola
Country: USA 

After more than 40 years in development, Francis Ford Coppola finally unveils Megalopolis, an ambitious sci-fi epic he largely financed himself. The idea for this eccentric, dense film came to Coppola during the making of Apocalypse Now, raising high expectations. However, despite its long gestation, Megalopolis unfolds as a bloated soap-opera-like spectacle that struggles under the weight of its convoluted themes and sprawling subjects.

The story follows Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a brilliant yet enigmatic visionary with a controversial past and the ability to stop time. His grand ambition is to construct a utopian “city of the future” in New Rome. However, his dream faces fierce opposition from the city’s conservative mayor, Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), while he finds both love and support in Cicero’s daughter, Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), a medical school dropout.

Though the film nods to cinematic classics like Brazil (1985), Metropolis (1927), and Dark City (1998), it feels soulless. Despite the weighty themes of political struggle, futuristic utopia, and satirical pop culture, the film feels surprisingly naive, a grab bag of ancient sci-fi ideas and plastic performances that fail to provoke. Copolla dedicated the film to his late wife but Megalopolis is already seen as the greatest disappointment of the year.

Between the Temples (2024)

Direction: Nathan Silver
Country: USA

Directed and co-written by Nathan Silver, the comedy-drama Between the Temples strives to be quirky and offbeat, but ultimately misses the mark. Starring Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane, the film is staged with a bunch of embarrassments that feel more flat than profound. 

The story revolves around Benjamin Gottlieb (Schwartzman), a 40-year-old kosher cantor struggling to cope with the death of his wife. He finds a glimmer of hope in Carla Kessler (Kane), his former music teacher, whom he agrees to help prepare for a late-in-life bat mitzvah. 

While the premise holds promise, the execution falters. The film never finds its rhythm, frequently losing momentum just when it should be gaining traction. Lacking the wit and style it aspires to, Between the Temples tries to inject energy into situations that implode under the weight of its own excessive pressure. 

Despite satisfactory performances from Schwartzman and Kane, the result is disappointingly televisual, culminating in a bewildering climax, full of emotional swings, that is the opposite of a knockoff. Not much in the material stimulates, and the film, sloppily rendered and off-punttingly screwy, doesn’t leave an impression.

Daddio (2024)

Direction: Christy Hall
Country: USA

Christy Hall's feature debut, Daddio, is a lackluster two-character drama that desperately seeks attention but fails to capture any. Set during a long cab ride from JFK airport to midtown Manhattan, the film—originally conceived as a stage play—stars Sean Penn as a chatty, self-important cab driver and Dakota Johnson as his passenger, a seemingly confident yet emotionally fragile woman returning to New York after visiting her estranged half-sister in Oklahoma. 

Visually dull and conversationally uninspired, Daddio lacks depth, maturity, and emotional resonance. The dialogue, filled with shallow confessions, unearned conclusions, and awkward laughs, does little to develop the characters beyond superficial traits. Penn's occasional watery eyes never feel authentic, and it's hard to believe Johnson's forced nonchalance and sudden curiosity about a stranger who seems to read and understand her. 

At its core, Daddio is void of any spark or substance. The film trudges along without ever offering anything fresh or meaningful, leaving the audience to wonder: why should we care? It feels like watching paint dry—only less captivating. 

The Substance (2024)

Direction: Coralie Fargeat
Country: USA

Coralie Fargeat’s sophomore feature, The Substance, is set to be hailed as the shock film of the year. A grotesque blend of body horror with sharp satirical overtones, it escalates in bizarre intensity until it reaches the brink of madness.

The film stars Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle, an aging TV star who injects a miraculous substance designed to unlock her DNA, creating a younger, more beautiful version of herself. That version is played with mischievous charm by Margaret Qualley. However, Sparkle fails to adhere to the crucial condition—switch bodies every seven days—and struggles to comprehend the delicate balance needed for both versions to coexist.

The pumped up narrative swirls us up in this woman's obsession, invoking the transgressive and visceral visual traits reminiscent of David Cronenberg and John Carpenter. At its best, the film maintains a tense and unnerving atmosphere, but just as it has you on the edge of your seat, it spirals into gratuitous violence and excessive gore.

Fargeat's creation is undeniably horrific, but she pushes it too far, especially in the final act. The relentless gore feels less like a narrative necessity and more like a transgressive indulgence, ultimately undermining the careful creepiness that initially made it gripping. The last section is so filthy and exaggerated that it risks alienating viewers, leaving one to wonder why the director chose to tarnish what could have been a chillingly effective film.

The Substance is nauseating but undeniably powerful, shocking yet audacious. It’s an outrageously bloodthirsty dark fantasy that demands a strong stomach. Had Fargeat reined in the excess, it could have been a standout horror. Nevertheless, both Moore and Qualley deliver striking performances.

My First Film (2024)

Direction: Zia Anger
Country: USA

In My First Film, filmmaker Zia Anger, known for her music videos for alternative singer/songwriter Mitski, ventures into meta-cinema by reflecting on the failure of her first feature attempt. The story starts off pleasurably introspective with an indie vibe, but gradually burns our patience with redundant scenes that go around in circles. At 100 minutes, it feels much longer, and for good reason—the narrative gradually loses its grip, spiraling into a disappointing, self-indulgent conclusion. 

While some experimentalism is welcomed, and Australian actress Odessa Young does the best she can, the film becomes so taken with itself, that we have no option but disconnect from it. Is this a personal diary, a therapeutic hallucination, a fictional whim, or a cry for help? Perhaps all of the above. And it’s not incoherence that drags the film down but rather its exhausting execution, which ultimately fails to make us care about the characters. 

Anger, who briefly appears in the movie to thank her actress (or herself), showcases boldness that could bear fruit in future projects. But for now, I’ll have to pass on these supposedly dovetailed ideas about artistic creation and gestation as sometimes sitting through this film feels like chewing on cardboard—bland and disengaging, with both joy and sorrow strangely out of reach.

Rebel Ridge (2024)

Direction: Jeremy Saulnier
Country: USA

Rebel Ridge is a gripping crime thriller written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, who, despite exploring new tones, remains true to the spirit of his filmmaking style. In his fifth directorial effort, Saulnier delivers a taut, intense film that keeps viewers hooked from start to finish, brimming with a sticky, vicious atmosphere and a relentless sense of unease. At its core, the film tells the story of a man doing what’s right in the face of injustice. 

The director has an ace up his sleeve in the form of Aaron Pierre, who, making use of an impressive restraint, gives a convincing performance as Terry Richmond, a former Marine who tries to bail his cousin out of jail in a broke, small American town where police corruption reigns. To confront the provocations of Chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) and his racist crew, Richmond, who silently boasts a particular set of skills, welcomes the assistance of a young lawyer (AnnaSophia Robb) marked by a troubled past. 

Though the script may not dive deep into complex layers, Pierre’s portrayal of a decent man, disrespected and pushed to his limits, lends emotional weight and authenticity to the film. Saulnier, known for the brutality and darkness of Blue Ruin (2013) and Green Room (2015), opts for a more measured approach here. He crafts a thrilling ride filled with suspense, permanent tension, and tight action sequences. Rebel Ridge moves with confidence, combining raw intensity with a streamlined narrative that evokes a modern Rambo. It’s a well-executed crime thriller that positions Saulnier as a rising master of the genre, offering a dynamite-packed summer hit.

Didi (2024)

Direction: Sean Wang
Country: USA

Didi is a thoughtful and heartwarming coming-of-age comedy-drama that offers a slice of Asian-American life, marking the debut of Taiwanese filmmaker Sean Wang, who also wrote and produced. The film draws on his personal experiences growing up in the Bay Area, delivering an authentic and emotionally rich narrative.

Set in Fremont, California, the story follows 13-year-old Chris (Izaac Wang) who grapples with family tensions, the awkwardness and insecurities of first love, and guilt over past mischief. At the same time, he navigates the complexities of friendship, discovering a passion for videography and skateboarding. An introspective posture mixed with inopportune words creates challenges in expressing his true self.

Chris’ struggles are presented with realism and relatability, immersing viewers in the embarrassment and cringe-worthy moments of adolescence as he tries to carve out his own identity. Didi delivers both funny laughs and meaningful moments. It’s an understatedly charming little movie that hits the mark; a debut with a real heart that radiates vulnerability, resilience, and authenticity, offering plenty of pleasurable rewards.

The performances are the heart of this observant film bolstered by a sharp-witted script that explores and examines teenage angst and frustration. Wang is certainly someone with a promising future, layering all the dramatic elements with poise and weaving together humor and drama into an engaging story that feels both personal and universal. The competent cast, which includes Joan Chen as Chris’ single mother, gives us reasons to care about the characters in this gratifying contribution to on-screen cross-cultural teen environment.

Strange Darling (2024)

Direction: JT Mollner
Country: USA 

JT Mollner delivers a sledgehammer blow to the audience with his sophomore feature, Strange Darling, a violent, electrifying, and psychologically twisted thriller designed to shock and unsettle. Shot in 35mm and presented in six non-linear chapters that subvert conventional thriller narratives, the film unfolds in rural Oregon in the 1970s, carving a bloody path while generating palpable suspense and a constant sense of dread. 

Darkly humorous and perversely amusing, the film provokes queasiness and anxiety, ensnaring viewers in a tangled web of questions about motivations and personality disorders. The vicious game is rendered with sharp close-ups, unexpected twists, and appropriate use of light, sound, and editing. Mollner reveals this routine inclination to extract poetic resonance from moments of pain and bloodshed—an artfully conceived exercise in disturbance, but not particularly cerebral. Still, the film succeeds by refusing to let the audience catch their breath, compelling them to accept it on its own, wild terms.

Without revealing the serial killer’s past, Strange Darling would form a compelling triptych with Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge (2017) and Ti West’s MaXXXine (2024). It’s a visceral, provocative, darkly feminist thriller that occasionally laces its brutality with humor. Willa Fitzgerald (The Goldfinch, 2019) seizes her moment to shine, but it’s Kyle Gallner (Dinner in America, 2020) who truly stands out. A special mention goes to Giovanni Ribisi, the former actor and first-time cinematographer, for his impressive work behind the camera.

Kinds of Kindnes (2024)

Direction: Yorgos Lanthimos
Country: USA

Collaborating once again with screenwriter Efthimis Filippou, Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos offers a cruel absurdist triptych that is too zany to be taken seriously. The film features a recurring A-list ensemble cast—including Emma Stone, Willem Defoe, Jesse Plemons, Hong Chau, and Margaret Qualley—in three dark stories about empowerment, where controllers/abusers humiliate those under their control. It is illogic, extreme, sexually daring, and obsessively moody, embodying a contemporary exploitation of relationships whose levels of darkness are deeply unfamiliar.

Visually neat, the film is filled with farces and traps, embracing a stylized approach that often succumbs to its more nonsensical ideas. If Poor Things (2023) was irreverent and magically astute, Kinds of Kindness feels tiresome in its fixation on provocation and shock, dwelling in gloomy places for 164 minutes. While it occasionally achieves a hypnotic intensity, the experience ultimately feels aggressively unsatisfying. 

Frustrating in its irrational depictions of life, this anthology film feels more like an indulgent exercise in Lanthimos and Filippou’s signature weirdness and attention-grabbing writing. Potentially interesting ideas simply can't fill the emotional void at the film's core—a disappointment, given that Lanthimos has demonstrated inventive brilliance in films like Dogtooth (2009), The Favourite (2018), The Lobster (2015), and the aforementioned Poor Things. Viewers seeking more substance than mere shock value may find themselves infuriated by this latest offering.

Alien: Romulus (2024)

Direction: Fede Alvarez
Country: USA 

Set chronologically between the first two films of the saga, Alien: Romulus marks a return to the basics, reviving the franchise with a blend of old and new elements. Without Sigourney Weaver, this visually captivating, energetic, and intense science-fiction horror flick is enhanced by magnificent sets and thrilling action sequences. It relies on a rejuvenated cast that delivers, even if most of the characters lack full definition. The standout exception is Rain (Cailee Spaeny), a young space colonizer who, along with her friends and humanoid brother, explores an abandoned space station named Romulus, only to face the most terrifying life forms in the universe.

Directed by Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, 2013; Don’t Breathe, 2016), who co-wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues, the film is invested with awe-inspiring ingenuity in some sequences and details for the sake of a deliriously entertaining experience. While it borrows elements from its predecessors, it still manages to find originality in its design and tone, delivering impactful moments. The beast’s drool still causes some frisson; the velocious, creepy Facehuggers inject new excitement; and the humanoids makes us feel the coldness and indifference of machines. 

Alvarez directs with a blend of technique and artistry, crafting a visually arresting experience. He knows how to create suspense in confined, claustrophobic places and pumps this new chapter with nauseating fluids and relentless adrenaline. Alien: Romulus never reaches the potential of Ridley Scott’s original or James Cameron’s sequel, but it’s terrifically executed and, just the same, viscerally monstrous.

Janet Planet (2024)

Direction: Annie Baker
Country: USA

The feature debut of filmmaker Annie Baker, Janet Planet, is an absorbing drama that deserves your attention. Set in rural Massachusetts in 1991, the film poignantly captures the emotional complexities and uncertainty of a volatile single mother (Julianne Nicholson), who works as an acupuncturist, and her lonely, highly dependent 11-year-old daughter (Zoe Ziegler). Their lives are momentarily altered by the arrival of three different people, leading to a story that is both patiently observant and ultimately caustic. The film provides an unnervingly naturalistic look at a teen's life, anchored by convincing central performances, with the potent chemistry between the mother and daughter being crucial to the film’s success.

Janet Planet earns its dramatic moments through strong writing, unexpected outcomes, and a nice restraint. The film effectively contrasts the maturity found in some of the conversations between mother and daughter with the imbalance of some of the mother’s choices. Despite being presented in an unhurried, episodic manner, the nearly two-hour runtime never feels sluggish. The screenplay's subtlety and quality stand out, maintaining a steady yet delightfully quirky tone throughout. 

It’s safe to say that Baker has a promising career as a filmmaker and storyteller ahead of her, as all the elements are assembled with prudent sincerity, building a story that is both touching and deeply affecting. Janet Planet is a rare gem, so earnest in its approach that it resonates with a poignant, almost painful, honesty.

Ghostlight (2024)

Direction: Alex Thompson, Kelly O'Sullivan 
Country: USA

Ghostlight, set in Chicago, is an intimate drama that delves into themes of family, loss, art, and healing. Directed by Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan, the film stars Keith Kupferer, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, and Tara Mallen — a real-life father, daughter, and mother trio who portray the same familial roles in this fictional account.

Dan (Keith Kupferer), a stressed out construction worker, finds himself reluctantly drawn into a local theater company by middle-aged actress Rita (Dolly de Leon). The group is rehearsing Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy that stirs painful memories of Dan’s own personal loss. Yet, the chance to escape into another character's life might be exactly what he needs to begin healing. 

The film manages to sustain tension, though it occasionally undercuts itself by resolving conflicts too swiftly. Without trivializing the emotions involved, the filmmakers craft a poetic melodrama that doesn’t strive for perfection but rather for honesty, offering moments of piercing observation. The scope of the plot actually widens with the theatric representation, an emotional expression that further fuels the narrative. 

Ghostlight confronts viewers with a keen understanding of the cracks that emerge in people over time as they wrestle with grief and the mysteries of life. The movie denotes a bit of formula and calculation as the directors put out a play for us — so, if you’re looking to be wowed, this may not do the trick. With that said, I still believe it’s worth checking out just for its newfound parallels and poignant exploration of human emotions.

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Direction: Shawn Levy
Country: USA

Deadpool & Wolverine, a Marvel misfire directed by the uninspired Canadian filmmaker Shawn Levy (Free Guy, 2021; The Adam Project, 2022), falls flat despite the return of fan-favorite antihero Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds, who also co-wrote and co-produced) as Deadpool. This time, he asks for the help of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to save his universe from extinction. These volatile superheroes can go from fighting each other until unconscious to forming a powerful alliance within minutes. 

Everything about the movie is extreme as it takes an ‘everything-but-the-kitchen-sink’ approach, attacking from all sides in every department with an ‘I-don’t-give-a-damn’ posture. It even borrows from Mad Max while relying heavily on multiverse chaos and an eclectic array of Marvel characters. The result is an eccentric, flimsy parody with ferocious, often self-referential dialogue that mocks the film industry and other Marvel figures. However, the screenplay quickly gets bogged down in eye-rolling contrivances. 

While the ridiculousness occasionally lands some laughs — thanks largely to Deadpool's irreverent charm — the movie's attempts at subversion can't mask its numerous plot incoherences. The narrative feels half-baked, dragging along in a bloated mess of confused and conflicted scenes. Ultimately, Deadpool & Wolverine offers nothing new, with Levy seemingly content to toss these characters together and hope for the best. Unfortunately, the result is a muddled and forgettable entry in the Marvel franchise.

A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)

Direction: Michael Sarnoski
Country: USA

A Quiet Place: Day One, the third installment in the A Quiet Place film series, is a patchy and uninspired apocalyptic horror film that functions as both a prequel and a spin-off. Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski (Pig, 2021), the film fails to surpass the intrigue of the two previous films directed by John Krasinski.

This early chapter follows the journey of two survivors in a silenced New York: Samira (Lupita Nyong'o), a courageous, terminally ill woman craving pizza, and Eric (Joseph Quinn), a terrified British law student who never takes off his tie. Amidst the chaos, the real hero turns out to be Samira’s intelligent and surprisingly quiet cat.

Overall, the film offers too little and nothing new, with Sarnoski overly confident that style can substitute for substance. For the most part, the film is just a tired tread through the usual elements. It is well-produced, acceptably performed, and features decent special effects packing in some impressive dystopian imagery. However, we’ve seen it all before. There’s no reason to stay invested in something so uninventive. A Quiet Place: Day One is nothing but a dull apocalyptic routine that doesn’t pay off.

Twisters (2024)

Direction: Lee Isaac Chung
Country: USA 

Twisters, a belated standalone relative to Jan de Bont's Twister (1996), fails to captivate. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung (Munyurangabo, 2007; Minari, 2020) from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith (The Revenant, 2015), based on a story by Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion, 2013; Top Gun Maverick, 2022), the movie sorely lacks a sense of reality and fails to evoke deep emotion during the dramatic, life-threatening situations depicted.

The story pairs Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a former storm chaser haunted by a deadly tornado incident from her college years, with Tyler Owens (Glen Powell), a boastful social media celebrity who thrives on posting his tornado-defying adventures. What could have been a thrilling, eyeball-popping natural disaster flick, instead devolves into a cheesy romance between uninteresting characters. Viewers won't find anything new here to sink their teeth into, not even those who are big fans of the genre.

After giving us the soulful Minari, one of the standout dramas of 2020, Chung shifts from distinctive to banal with a blockbuster marred by emotionless narrative and repetitive action. The occasional powerful images are incapable of balancing the whirlwind of tediousness felt from start to finish. It’s true that Chung replaced Kosinski in the director’s chair at short notice, but that shouldn’t excuse such a debilitated outcome. Both Edgar-Jones and Powell delivered unremarkable performances.

We Grown Now (2024)

Direction: Minhal Baig
Country: USA 

Minhal Baig (Hala, 2019) wrote, directed and co-produced her third feature, We Grown Now, a poignant coming-of-age drama about two inseparable best friends who discover the joys and hardships of living in Cabrini-Green, a public housing complex in Chicago. 

The year is 1992, and Malik (Blake Cameron James) and Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez) are sometimes short on food. The former lives with his single mother (Jurnee Smollett), his grandmother (S. Epatha Merkerson) - whose roots are in Tupelo, Mississippi - and a sister, while the latter lives with his widowed father and an older sister. The escalating violence in the neighborhood allows the police to enter their houses in the middle of the night without a warrant, searching for drugs and gang members. Things between Malik and Eric momentarily change when the former’s mother considers applying for a new job and moving to another city.

The meaning of home and social change are deeply embedded in this story, with the director blending tenderness and cruelty in a disillusioned atmosphere softened by true friendship and routine. Placed under the sign of adolescence with heartfelt intentions, the film also reconnects with the theme of holding onto one's origins, capturing the urgency of moving toward better conditions and the yearning for what is left behind.

Baig shoots each scene with ardent attention, projecting a strange mix of innocence and awareness. Her assured direction ensures realism, bolstered by the young actors, who hold the stage with truthfulness.

Longlegs (2024)

Direction: Oz Perkins
Country: USA

Written and directed by Oz Perkins, the elder son of late actor Anthony Perkins, famous for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), Longlegs is a dry horror thriller tinged with occult malignancy that, despite its enticing premise, doesn’t hold up in the end. The film stars Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, who also produced.

The plot centers on the sleepless, cold, and often absent-minded FBI agent Lee Harkin (Monroe), the only person who seems capable of solving a series of massacres involving entire families as she’s gifted with psychic abilities. The perpetrator, known as Longlegs (Cage), is a satan worshiper who likes to leave coded messages based on complex algorithms next to the victims. What is more intriguing about him is that there are never any signs of forced entry into the houses. 

Longlegs rings hollow, quickly melting as its banal plot is unveiled. It is a sluggish exercise in horror that stands on its feet in its first half, just to nose-diving into the abyss in the second. The gloomy side of things is there, but thrills don’t abound, and it’s all too predictable toward a bland ending deliberately left open for a possible sequel. While Monroe stands out for her credible introspective temperament, Cage, looking like a cross between a decrepit heavy-metal legend and the Joker, delivers very few moments of creepiness. 

Films like Seven (1995) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991) may come to mind, but Longlegs is miles away from them in many crucial aspects, including originality. It’s all surface psychodramatics, sporadically watchable yet mostly inert. Hence, quickly forgettable.

MaXXXine (2024)

Direction: Ti West
Country: USA 

Writer-director Ti West likes his films infused with blood and anger. Due to his successful past collaborations with actress Mia Goth in X (2022) and Pearl (2022), everyone was curious about the third installment in his X film series, MaXXXine, but the film fails to deliver, soon plummeting into ridiculousness and a mutilated sense of justice. 

Encouraged by her father from a young age, Maxine Minx (Goth) seeks fame in the movies, growing up with his advice in mind: “I will not accept a life I do not deserve”. At 33, after starring in porn films, Maxine finally has a chance to work in a real Hollywood film, The Puritan II, directed by the ruthless British director Elizabeth Bender (Elizabeth Debicki). However, due to a dark past, she’s followed by a shady private detective (Kevin Bacon) and a couple of LAPD agents. The events take place in 1985, when The Night Stalker, the satanic serial killer who murdered at least 14 people, is still at large on the dark streets of LA. 

Buckling under the weight of trying to subvert expectations, MaXXXine ends up being a muddled, trashy piece of madness whose narrative jolts rather than compels. It is a gory B-movie with no style or rhythm, plagued by a lamentable script populated by obnoxious characters and terrible dialogue. This silly satire tries to sell a murderous psycho with a conscience for justice, but anyone jonesing for clever plots should look elsewhere as the last part of West’s trilogy is a significant letdown. Skip it.

Thelma (2024)

Direction: Josh Margolin
Country: USA 

Thelma is the first feature film by Josh Margolin, who drew inspiration from the real-life experience of his own grandmother, now 103. Gorgeous to watch, the film alternates belly laughs, dramatic considerations, and startling occurrences, following the improbable adventures of the title character - compellingly portrayed by June Squibb. 

Thelma is a 93-year-old fascinated by computers who falls victim to a phone scam, losing $10k. Realizing that most of her friends are gone, Thelma turns to Ben (Richard Roundtree in his final role), who lives in a nursing home, and to her geeky but over-controlled grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger). The narrative unpacks with a refreshing, feel-good vibe, spreading an infectious charm that outweighs some of the predictability around the edges.

Thelma is smoothly crafted entertainment, never grounded in pain despite the sad reality that getting old sucks. A funny ride made with precision and verve, this senior-focused comedy uses veteran actors to bring out the joys of a rowdy journey evoking the old times. Margolin is often successful in eliminating the too-sweet taste of sentimentality, favoring laughter instead. He summons Squibb and Roundtree to do the job, and they deliver with graceful charisma. 

Tune out the hype for countless other comedies as this one is delivered with poise and understatement, most refreshing qualities in a genre that often bombards viewers with forcible and imbecilic situations.