2024's most anticipated movies, Golden Globes predictions, and more from the week in film

The most anticipated films of 2024

After the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, studio release schedules got a little hectic. Major films that were expected last year, like Dune: Part 2, got pushed back to 2024 instead. Which means that this year, the film calendar is actually pretty packed. We’ve got classic January horror movies like Night Swim, three different flicks in Sony’s Spider-Man universe with Venom 3, Madame Web, and Kraven The Hunter, and new entries in the Ghostbusters, Planet Of The Apes, Despicable Me, Mad Max, and John Wick franchises. Oh, and if you’re already making plans for the holidays next year, make sure you slot in some time for Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. Here are the most anticipated films to look out for in 2024. Read More

Films that should be nominated for Oscars in 2024, but won’t be

There are only so many Oscar nomination slots to go around, which means that every year there will be some noteworthy contenders who will get shut out. The reasons for this vary widely, and aren’t always the same from year to year. Some films aren’t high-profile enough. Some might be too controversial, or too risque. Some are the types of films or genres the Academy tends to disregard, like science-fiction or horror. Others simply miss the cutoff by a small margin. Read More

SLIDE #2Night Swim review: The water’s not fine

The double-edged sword of horror films like Night Swim is that the audience has a version of the film in their head even before the projector lights up and the movie starts. If you’ve seen a trailer for Night Swim, you have a very clear idea of what this movie is, and that means two things for first-time director Bryce McGuire. First, it means that there are clear expectations for the kind of film he’s expected to make, and clear rhythms he’s expected to play with. Second, it means that if he’s clever and gutsy enough, he can manipulate those expectations and rhythms to great effect, playing with his audience in ways both creepy and amusing. Read More

11 movies to check out on Hulu this January

To begin the new year with something new, Hulu has added some under-the-radar movies as well as a few big-budget favorites from the past few years to its streaming library. Deliver Us is a religious horror film about a woman about to give birth to twins: a Messiah and the Antichrist. In the vigilante action film The Baker, Ron Perlman stars as the aging titular character trying to protect his granddaughter from gangsters. Abigail Breslin stars in the period drama Miranda’s Victim based on the true story of Trish Weir and the origin of the Miranda rights. Also coming to Hulu in January 2024 is Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland in Uncharted, the thrilling documentary Beyond Utopia, plus All Fun And Games, The System, Rare Objects, Self Reliance, King Richard, and more. Read More

20 must-see horror movies for 2024

After wrapping up a great year of horror cinema in 2023, the genre shows no signs of resting on its laurels in 2024. A promising new crop of scary movies is preparing to unleash fresh visions of terror this year, ranging from high-concept slashers to classic titles with new twists to, of course, sequels for some of the most beloved franchises in the game. Read More

Golden Globes 2024 predictions: Picking the winners for all 27 categories

This year’s 81st Golden Globe Awards ceremony may not look any different to viewers watching at home, but behind the scenes it’s another story. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the notoriously small and scandal-plagued group that used to select the winners, has been disbanded in favor of a more racially and ethnically diverse collection of 300 journalists from around the world. That means there will be a totally new voting body this year, with different tastes and perspectives than in years past. In other words, the winners will be even harder to predict than usual. Read More

SLIDE #6Society Of The Snow review: Another take on a harrowing true-life plane crash

It’s shocking that the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 has inspired such lackluster adaptations of the harrowing affair, in which a rugby team and their friends and family are stranded in the snow-covered Andes mountains for 71 days. Survive!, a low-budget Mexican production from 1976, played up the exploitative schlock value which was popular in disaster flicks of the era. 1993’s formidable yet faulty Alive, from director Frank Marshall, used an American-heartthrob-cast and leaned heavily into melodrama and sensationalism. The latest take on the tragedy, Spanish director/co-writer J.A. Bayona’s Society Of The Snow, seeks to restore honor to those brave men and women who battled insurmountable odds. Read More

Hollywood just can’t quit the Golden Globes

Since 1944, the Golden Globes have galivanted around American show business like the dumb Oscars. Under the stewardship of the quasi-mysterious, bribe-ready Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Globes regularly courted controversy and stumbled towards its televised ceremonies, where stars get drunk and roasted. For decades the HFPA ran roughshod over any assumed legitimacy, until the organization disintegrated into nothingness and relinquished the Globes due to the fallout from the organization’s refusal to let a single Black person into its voting body. Not that anyone really cared. The Golden Globes have always been the Oscars’ aggressive, intoxicated, and uncontrollable little cousin. And despite its radioactive energy, Hollywood studios have rarely shied away from the allure of another award. Read More

SLIDE #8Mean Girls final trailer promises new tricks with old jokes

Let’s say it one more time for anyone who might’ve missed it: the new Mean Girls remake is a musical! Much has been made of the fact that the marketing for the film, which premieres January 12, seems allergic to letting the audience know that this is an adaptation of the Broadway show, not just the 2004 movie. The final trailer is no exception: though there’s a brief snippet of Reneé Rapp singing “Meet The Plastics” in the background, there’s little else to indicate the musical nature of the film besides a brief dance break from Karen (Avantika). Read More