the first annual cinemaseams awards

a 2024 roundup

The 2024 movie year has affectionately been coined “The Year of the Mid” by Carlos. I can’t say I disagree.

There were a number of films from a variety of genres I was hotly anticipating: blockbusters like Furiosa and Alien: Romulus, festival darlings from new-to-me directors like The Substance and I Saw the TV Glow, quiet hits like Evil Does Not Exist and Janet Planet.

Nepo babies steadily worked: Margaret Qualley acted in not one but three films (in order of worst to best: Drive Away Dolls, Kinds of Kindness, and The Substance). Bill Skarsgård continued to devote the better part of his acting career in makeup chairs between The Crow and Nosferatu. Zoe Kravitz delivered a perfectly adequate directorial debut with Blink Twice. M. Night Shyamalan literally crafted an entire horror movie around his pop star daughter just to give her a concert movie à la Taylor Swift.

Queer cinema continued to tell stories in exciting ways with films like Love Lies Bleeding, The People’s Joker, and My Old Ass.

Sure, there were plenty of reheats and sequels (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Twisters, Maxxxine) but there were a few movies that tried to do something innovative with a tired genre (The Fall Guy, Monkey Man).

And then there was Megalopolis.

Despite all of this, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by the movies this year. I’m excited to rewatch every one of my top ten movies of 2023. Out of my 2024 top ten, I can see myself revisiting maybe a handful in the next five years. But they can’t all be good years! There’s quite a few films I still haven’t caught (The Room Next Door, No Other Land, Hard Truths, Conclave, and Nickel Boys being a few), but with those caveats I’d like to dole out a few awards pre-Oscars that I’m sure plenty of 2024 filmmakers have been anxiously waiting for.

And so here it is:

The Cinemaseams Top Ten Films of 2024:

10. The Substance. Coralie Fargeat

9. La Chimera. Alice Rohrwacher

8. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. George Miller

7. Alien: Romulus. Fede Álvarez

6. Red Rooms. Pascal Plante

5. The Beast. Bertrand Bonello

4. The Brutalist. Brady Corbet

3. I Saw the TV Glow. Jane Schoenbrun

2. Challengers. Luca Guadagnino

1. Anora. Sean Baker

Worst Film

I read an essay last week criticizing those writing Emilia Pérez takedowns in the hopes of going Substack Viral. I agree with Clare, at least a little bit: it gets boring reading the same “hot” takes about a movie universally despised. On the other hand, 133.5 million viewers collectively rejoiced in Kendrick Lamar’s viscious (perfect) roast of Drake on live television at the Super Bowl. Hating can be fun, too! Here’s what I’ll say: Emilia Pérez is a movie that started with a glimmer of a complex idea. What if, by a person becoming their most authentic self, they were able to step into a more rewarding life? It then proceeds to fumble every single aspect of its execution. It’s a musical, but every single song is bad. Also the mix is bad? I had a hard time hearing the soundtrack and spent the first ten seconds of every song wondering why everybody was talking weird all of a sudden. It falls into about every trope you can imagine- misgendering/using dead names, setting the narrative in Mexico around cartel violence (and then doing zero research into Mexican history and insulting the Spanish language), and more that I don’t want to spoil for you in case you choose to suffer through the film yourself. And the performances are bad, too! Selena Gomez looks utterly lost, and it’s clear that Karla Sofía Gascón (I don’t even want to get into all of that right now) can’t hold a tune. Finally (I promise), the film ultimately has nothing to say maybe other than, as John Paul Brammer says in his essay, that “ladies can’t do cartel violence.” A deeply unfeminist take, if you ask me.

I do owe Emilia Pérez one thing: it finally unseated Drive Away Dolls as the worst film of the year. Dolls spent a good ten months in that coveted slot; I was sort of sad to see it go.

Director to Watch

Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding was another early-year favorite for me. Her directorial debut Saint Maud (2019) was allegedly good but too scary for me. This was the perfect introduction into Glass’s cinematic perversions: sexy, grimy, morally questionable characters falling in love and doing crime. Dave Franco gets his face pummeled. Am I selling you yet? To be honest, I didn’t even need most of that. I am a Devout worshipper at the altar of Kristen Stewart. I will watch anything she’s in, but the weirder the better. If I somehow have not hooked you, it is John Waters’ favorite film of 2024. I disagree with, like, 3.5 films out of the ten from his list, but don’t let that deter you from Love Lies Bleeding!

Runner Up: There’s quite a few new-ish directors I’m anxious to see more work from. Dev Patel’s Monkey Man was a great first effort- I’d be curious to see him take on a project where he wears fewer hats (he wrote, starred, and directed Monkey Man during the pandemic) and see if he can really commit full-force to directing. Annie Baker, already an acclaimed playwright, did excellent work with Janet Planet. Annie Baker is on the record as Greta Gerwig’s favorite writer-perhaps a collab is in their future? I’m also curious to see what Aaron Schimberg is up to next- A Different Man received a fair amount of buzz (although the Oscars chose to nominate star Sebastian Stan’s performance in The Apprentice over the very good one here), and I thought his 2018 film Chained for Life was very good as well. Schimberg creates emotionally complex, rich roles for actors who might not be given a chance to showcase their prowess otherwise, and I hope to see more of that!

Cinematography

I truly could not tell you anything that happens in Dune: Part Two. I have seen Dune: Part One. I have seen David Lynch’s Dune. I HAVE READ DUNE. It is as if the word “Dune” immediately sends me into a sort of fugue state in which none of the events unfolding in front of me are processed or retained. It confounds me that characters set so far in the future are still being named “Paul” and “Jessica”. This is probably explained in the text, but I have no memory of it. What I can tell you is that I would love to own a coffee table book¹ comprised of stills from Dune: Part Two. Villeneuve (and his cinematographer Greig Fraser) managed to create museum-worthy images on an staggering scale without undercutting the epic characters and larger-than-life storytelling. The stills speak for themselves.

Runner Up: It has to be Lol Crawley’s work on The Brutalist. Shot in VistaVision (an antiquated format known for providing enhanced image quality and a larger field of view), one can really get a sense of the sheer scale of Tóth’s innovative works² without relying on ugly wide angles. There’s a real texture to the film that only makes our protagonist’s story ring more true in our hearts. I’m happy to have seen it on the big screen, but trust the cinematography will translate even through our inferior screens at home. So if you weren’t able to catch The Brutalist in theaters, don’t fret!

Score

Could it really be anything other than that thumping Challengers score? According to the Oscars, it can! This was one of the crazier snubs of 2025- Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have multiple nominations and wins under their belt. I assumed they’d be a shoe-in even all the way back in February when Challengers was first released. It’s such a vibe. Kind of what I’d expect to be playing at a European outlet mall while I hunt for the perfect sleazy club attire? The score manages to perfectly encapsulate the pulsing, sexy drama playing out onscreen while balancing it with a pitch-perfect sense of humor. It’s somehow deadly serious and deadly unserious. From one of my favorite Andy Warhol quotes: “I am a deeply superficial person.” The perfect summation of an excellent soundtrack. Now, does anyone know where I can find a churro?

Runner Up: My friend Alyssa reminded me of the dread-inducing, synth-y score for Love Lies Bleeding. It’s in a similar vein as Challengers, but darker. Another worthwhile listen if you like doing chores to bad vibes.

Funniest Scene

Kinds of Kindness was chock-full of squirmy, uncomfortable dialogue and surreal humor. Though not always laugh-out-loud funny, the single moment from 2024 that still makes me smile is from the second triptych entitled “R.M.F. is Flying”. I would have attached a clip, but a few harrowing searches on youtube proved fruitless. Here’s the gist: Jesse Plemons’ wife (played by Emma Stone) goes missing. Plemons is torn up about it, but thankfully has a few friends to support him. He invites his friends over for dinner (a couple played by Margaret Qualley and Mamoudou Athie) and they engage in polite conversation. Qualley compliments Plemons’ extremely bloody steak preparation, tries to bring up a shared memory of a time before Stone went missing. The conversation stutters to a halt. Plemons grabs the hands of his dinner guests. He asks them if they’d like to watch a video. “One of the old ones.” Qualley and Athie gently say it might be awkward. Plemons asks again. They don’t think it will do him any good. We as the audience intuit what this video is and our dread increases Awkward silence… and Plemons bursts into tears. The couple reluctantly oblige. A hard cut to… exactly what you think it is! Athie pleading with Plemons to turn the volume down as the scene lingers a little too long. Qualley wincing in what appears to be physical pain. This is the peak of the film for me; nothing following quite lives up to it. And nothing this year was funnier than this scene for me.

Runner Up: Any time Simon Rex (playing a kind but unforgivably racist professor) tries not to be horny around a doe-eyed Talia Ryder in The Sweet East.

Best Actor

Lead: Adrien Brody in The Brutalist is given the monumental task of making a fictional pioneer feel like a real-life figure you’d read about in text books. He totally delivers here, unsurprisingly. His Hungarian accent³ is thick but not cartoonish. There’s a bigness to the character that comes through in his body language and movements. I think about the way he embraces his cousin that tells us he feels the full spectrum of emotion at any given time, despite the horrors he’s endured. The sinister glint of pride that comes through when Tóth forfeits part of his salary to guarantee his architectural vision is fully realized. Brody brings a vivacity to his character, lifting him from the ashes and boldly setting him on the course he feels he deserves.

Supporting: I’m sorry, but I have to go with another performance from The Brutalist. Guy Pearce (as Brody’s greatest supporter and adversary) gives a performance I honestly didn’t know he was capable of. It’s equal parts looming, pathetic, sinister, and charming. Made me want to watch L.A. Confidential again.

Runner Up Performance: Josh O’Connor was the best performance in Challengers. He’s also in two of my top ten films of the year. He’s definitely a recent favorite of mine and I can’t wait to see what else he does! I’d be remiss not to mention Jason Schwartzman’s surprisingly dark turn in Between the Temples as well. There’s only a glimmer of his trademark twee in the film’s funnier moments- otherwise, he’s uncharacteristically bitter and somber here.

Best Actress

Lead: I love to see Léa Seydoux in anything, but her turn in The Beast was probably the most impressive work from her to date. I don’t want to say anything to spoil the movie (best to go in blind) but definitely a worthwhile watch. I think Seydoux might be tied with Mikey Madison in Anora, who also gave a highly skilled and multifaceted performance. I can’t choose and I’m in charge here, so they both win.

Supporting: Though one of the larger disappoints for me of 2024, I thought Cailee Spaeny’s performance as an enthusiastic but green war journalist in Civil War was complex and deeply human. She’s another actor I’m excited to see get work.

Runner Up Performance: I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Carol Kane from Between the Temples. It’s a tonally delicate performance that was so disarmingly sweet that I can’t say I blame Jason Schwartzman for what ultimately transpires!

Scene of the Year

There’s a handful of sticky scenes from 2024, but the one that’s lingered the most for me since seeing it is the final scene from Anora. We’ve spent the last two hours following our hero Ani through unimaginable highs and crushing lows-a whirlwind romance that feels too good to be true turns out to be untrue. There’s copious amounts of sex, laughs, needle drops, and goons. Some really good goons here. Slowly over the course of the film, the romp of it all has grown less funny. Writer/Director/Editor Sean Baker masterfully begins to linger on Ani’s face just as her bubbly facade begins to crumble. There’s a shower scene towards the end where Ani is washing off the events of the last few days, scrubbing the remnants of a short-lived profound Hope from her skin. We stay with her, naked both physically and metaphorically as she takes a quiet moment to process. Anything that seemed funny before now feels tragic: the events that transpired previously play more like a horror movie as they flash through our brains and hers. These experiences culminate in an emotional carthasis in Igor’s grandmother’s old car. I remember leaving the theater unable to speak because of the lump in my throat. I was profoundly sad for this fictional character who suddenly didn’t seem quite so fictional. Her inability to process another person’s kindness as only kindness revealed a hurt much deeper than she’d care to let on. It’s painfully vulnerable and truly incredible work from lead Mikey Madison. I won’t link it here in case you haven’t seen it, but it’s certainly worth a watch if you haven’t already seen it.

Runner Up: Literally the opening scene from The Brutalist. It tells you exactly what you’re getting into and the momentum from that first scene carried me all the way through the 3.5 hour runtime.

Honorable Mentions:

1. Prosthetics. From the infamous ElizaSue in The Substance to Chris Hemsworth’s beaut of a nose in Furiosa, 2024 offered a plethora of excellent prosthetics disguising and distorting even the hottest of actors. Bravo!

2. Nicholas Hoult. He’s worked steadily for years now, but 2024 saw him through three films (Nosferatu, The Order, and Juror #2). Is he the new Willem Dafoe? Well, no, because nobody is Willem Dafoe. But it’s fun to see a young-ish actor pump out consistently interesting, villainous roles at a relatively speedy rate. Keep up the good work!

3. Celebs doing Weird Voices. We can always count on Tom Hardy to do a Weird Voice, but we were blessed with Austin Butler AND Jodie Comer following suit in The Bikeriders. Margaret Qualley does indeed sound like Sandy from Spongebob in Drive Away Dolls, and Timmy’s Bob Dylan ensured that A Complete Unknown was never boring. A special shoutout to Adam Driver’s line delivery in this scene from Megalopolis. Not really a Weird Voice but it’s weird nonetheless.

4. Josh Hartnett in Trap, purely for the crazy ass dialogue he had to deliver. He seems like a sweetie, glad he’s working again :)

1. thrilled to discover such a book exists, and that it’s coauthored by josh brolin

2. and brody’s divine nose

3. he gets by with a little help from AI