Hey everybody. This is the time of year when we start reflecting on everything in a very numerical way. Spotify Wrapped just dropped as I begin drafting this, and I’m writing shortly after listening to Professor Skye's "Why I don't Spotify Wrapped" I’m thinking more about how to write fun columns without playing into the cult of individuality that’s made us all the same. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got fresh takes, and this year I’ve felt myself sticking to my guns more confidently than ever, in contrast to how most of the decade has kept me in a process of development. I’m surer of myself than ever, even as I continue eagerly learning and growing and exercising. If you’ll indulge me for a bit, I want to start with my favorite things I did this year.

The Best Jender Theory Moments of 2024

In real world news, my academic side is flourishing. My first college class I’ve taught is rounding out and I’m proud of my students and myself. A research paper I wrote with three friends and previous co-workers is set for publication this Spring, I’m presenting at my second conference in February, after presenting at my first earlier this year in Chicago and making a damn good first impression. I’m working on my thesis which’ll be the next semester’s big project, and applying to PhD programs. I’m totally not stressed about that at all. Now onto the column.

Bad blockbusters usually provoke eloquent ire from me, and I had another film to drag across the hot coals this year, Deadpool and Wolverine. a movie so bad I refuse to hear anyone call it anything close to queer. One of the most miserable theater experiences I’ve ever had, and I sat through Spider-Man: No Way Home. (To be real, that movie is kind of solid - it just makes me feel bleak for the culture.)

Deadpool and Wolverine - Review - by Jennings Collins

I have never met a sadder, more attention-starved jabbering little prick in my entire life.

In a detour into talking about games, I wrote about the recent PC Gamer “The top 100 PC games” list. This was more of a rambling about cultural instincts that I think are keeping us stagnant, especially in games culture, but there are a few specific criticisms of games in there that might give you an insight into my still developing gamer mindset.

Examining the PC Gamer top 100 list because I hate myself.

Jen pivots to games journalism.

Speaking of games, now’s probably a good time to talk about-

My Favorite Gaming Moments of 2024

Note that this is not a ranking of new releases, because I didn’t play a lot of new releases. Death Stranding Director’s Cut, my first foray into the works of Kojima, was (mostly) a riveting experience that gave me a lot of complicated emotions about America and game design. You can read more about that on my backloggd. I found a lot of joy with the throes of grad school regressing into my most comforting gaming instincts. Getting into Street Fighter 6 was challenging. I love fighting games but SF has always alluded me mechanically. It has a rhythm I can never quite get with, but I’m really enjoying the inviting single player campaign. In other fighting game news, I’ve gotten really into shooting the shit with my fiancé over a few rounds of Marvel VS Capcom after buying the wonderful fighting collection on my Switch. Same goes for Super Mario Party Jamboree, which has given us an unironically great bonding activity of beefing with CPUs who are too good at minigames. Getting into the rhythm and embracing the difficult finesse of Sifu and Hades II has been really rewarding, and TCG Card Shop Simulator has been a perfect game to kick back with while also having the thrill of gambling on opening packs of Pokémon cards (never embraced it myself, really). I restarted No Man’s Sky on my PC after finishing the campaign on my Switch, and I’m not far into my playthrough yet but I’m really enjoying the open-solar system experience yet again. I also finished Portal 2 for the first time and man, what a game.

My Favorite Music of 2024

My Favorite Films of 2024

A quick rundown of the honorable mentions.

18. Orion and the Dark - dir. Sean Charmatz

This operates in a zone that kids' movies haven't in a long time, taking a wild metaphysical concept and personifying it to a ridiculous degree to tell a story about growing up. Think Inside Out with less corporate bureaucracy. Kaufman writing it adds bizarre and hilarious eccentricities to the proceedings that give it a special touch that no Dreamworks movie has really had in the past.

17. Monkey Man - dir. Dev Patel

A classic hard as nails action movie, constructed with sharp contrasts in rigid sleekness and abstract meditation. Wild variations in tempo make it so exciting from moment to moment, and Patel shows a strong sense of direction even as he’s beaten to a pulp in front of the camera.

16. A Quiet Place: Day One - dir. Michael Sarnoski

While it’s disappointing that after such a strong and unique debut with Pig Sarnoski churned out a studio hack job, he made a surprisingly good one that retains much of Pig’s charm. Lupita Nyong’o plays a cynical cancer patient whose survival instincts are overturned by the alien invasion. The bond she forms with Joseph Quinn’s character, and the slower moments where they are allowed to chase the highs of the ordinary lives they once lived, are often breathtaking. Sarnoski knows how to build suspense and design compelling action sequences too, but the concept of the monsters doesn’t allow for much flexibility in what that suspense looks like. Could be a much better monster movie and a much better human drama, but becomes a compelling fusion of the two.

15. Tótem - dir. Lila Avilés

A very charming fly on the wall story of a family preparing a birthday party for a deathly ill member of the house. The camera has a voyeuristic quality to it, peeking around corners and through windows at the ceremonies, searches and arguments that go into putting the big night together.

14. Dune: Part Two - dir. Denis Villeneuve

This doesn’t have the “the crazy son of a bitch did it” appeal of the first movie’s rich textures and atmosphere, but utilizes a refreshing sense of consistency and confidence that makes it feel more like watching a perfectly rendered Shakespeare play. You may know the beats, but there’s a satisfying charm to watch everyone putting their best foot forward to make all of them land. Some very disappointing changes from the novel that make it less eccentric than I’d like it to be, but it’s a good crowdpleaser. More than anything it’s just nice to have blockbusters that feel in the vein of David Lean again.

13. Anora - dir. Sean Baker

Much is to be said about Baker’s continued focus on sex work and sex workers as narrative material, and for a more well rounded examination of such a thing than I could ever write, check out Sam Bodrojan's piece on the film for the LA Review of Books. As for me I found Anora a surprisingly layered picture that evolves from a fly on the wall Cinderella story to a screwball comedy of epic proportions. Madison is stunning as a constantly impenetrable character who never reveals a deeper truth to the audiences or the other characters that would give the game away, a reservation which makes the film thematically stilted in some respects but thornier in others.

12. Rebel Ridge - dir. Jeremy Saulnier

An extremely tight script that lets Aaron Pierre give a complex leading man performance, always walking a fine line between his character's immense capabilities and the insurmountable odds he faces. The way Saulnier shoots bodies in motion is riveting, always letting the viewer see the most important points of contact, giving us a look into Terry's thought process as he continues his mission. It gets a little messy, and the final setpiece goes for broke in a way the rest of the film doesn't really aim for, but it's overall very solid.

11. Hit Man - dir. Richard Linklater

A rom com with two leads with unbelievable chemistry. The subtle tonal shifts throughout this tale of deception and performance make for a memorable thrill ride without getting too far away from the central dynamic.

10. Challengers - dir. Luca Guadagnino

A thrilling audiovisual sensation, bumping dance music and expressionistic character portraits make for an ecstatic theatrical experience.

9. Trap - dir. M. Night Shyamalan

Shyamalan’s most straightforward thrill ride, a De Palma-infused showcase of Josh Hartnett’s ability to simultaneously charm and disturb, and Shyamalan’s ability to slowly unfurl the audience’s nerve. A movie that indulges my most sadistic wants as a horror fan to see the bad guy tear the world to shreds.

8. National Anthem - dir. Luke Gilford

At first I was deeply concerned by the protagonist's leering gaze at the queer bodies passing by him, already having heard a couple of opinions on this movie's portrayal of sexual and personal awakening. But the parasocial fantasizing is quickly complicated by the love interest's character being challenged, the film becoming a story of the joys and trials of unconventional approaches to romance, communication, and sexuality. But the film is at its best when, much like the New York street films of Khalik Allah, it moves in vignettes through acts of queer love in unexpected places.

7. A Real Pain - dir. Jesse Eisenberg

Riveting comedy drama storytelling about the way our cultural history can haunt us, and the dangers and catharsis that come from confronting them. I felt an extreme link to the dynamic of the cousins and their perception of each other, and Eisenberg’s direction of his actors often creates compelling oxymorons for the audience, understanding the purpose of a character’s actions while also understanding how that character is sabotaging the people around them. So much of the fundamental language of cinema is looking at people looking at things, and this film has so much looking at people looking at things.

6. Evil Does Not Exist - dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi

A quieter, more serene film than Drive My Car, but one deeply engaged in the politics of community longevity and our relationship with nature. Hamaguchi’s lingering camerawork, interrupted by jarring edits and sudden silences that bookend interactions with the sublime lead to a shocking conclusion that’s both offputting and a sensible direct attack at the thematic center.

Now onto the big 5, a list I’m really, really proud of.

5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - dir. George Miller

By pursuing a tonal departure from Fury Road - borrowing its narrativizations more from his previous film Three Thousand Years of Longing - Miller is able to make a prequel that feels complete on its own merit. Furiosa has its own set of ambitions, and accomplishes them all splendidly. Slick filmmaking and a rich visual style separate this not just from Fury Road, but pretty much everything we've seen since then.

4. The Beast - dir. Bertrand Bonello

A film whose plot I initially avoided at all cost that's much more focused on a series of emotional crescendos that come together to deliver its themes. Even marking this as a spoiler-filled review, describing the parts that move me feel like I'm betraying something. The Beast resonates with a doom I have felt for the future of what our society is going to prioritize, doom I felt immensely today before even sitting down to watch it. If anything, I find solace in something as frightened as I am.

3. The Substance - dir. Coralie Fargeat

The funniest movie of the year. Channels Brian Yuzna’s eccentricities into a black comedy fairy tale of the rotting underbelly of stardom, and what being an image does to one’s sense of self. It’s also a movie about having a shitty roommate.

2. Queer - dir. Luca Guadagnino

Luca is simply working on a level unlike any of his peers here. Such evocative storytelling that lets you bask in the real, dry, painful longing of the character before a more spiritual journey begins. Defined just as much by realism as surrealism to get its themes across, this is a story of love and connection unlike most I've seen.

1. I Saw the TV Glow - dir. Jane Schoenbrun

I was thoroughly moved by the way Schoenbrun explores the mundanity of being unable to come into your fullest self, and the ways in which we commit harm against ourselves by idolizing fictionalized visages of those true selves. The second half of the film, and especially its denouement, terrify as they present the nightmare of an inescapably empty existence. A film about the hero’s journey being thrust upon someone unable to cross the threshold into their new world, trapped in the crumbling past. Similar to Censor, this is a work that masterfully spins an indecipherable mass media into a void of the id.