562: Challengers / Letterboxd Reviews / Top 10 Movies of 2024

[Henry Faherty]:\nI don't know about everybody else, but I love it when a filmmaker can show you a subject matter, a part of the world, a field of study, whatever, that you might not otherwise be interested in inherently, but then you come out thinking, I wanna learn more about that. I wanna be a part of it at least for a little while, and that's exactly what Challengers does. Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Film Buds podcast. My name is Henry. This is now combining the daily episodes and the weekly episodes. This is episode number five hundred and sixty two. First of all, happy New Year to everyone out there. Thank you very much for listening. Please make sure to rate, review, and subscribe, like, all that good stuff. I figured because of how much we released last year with the dailies, I didn't really have the ability to keep that up as consistently as I wanted to in terms of year after year. I know that this year is gonna be a little bit busier for me than last year was, so had to make some cuts and some changes. But, hopefully, it'll all still be very entertaining, informative for you all out there. And please let me know if you have any suggestions, comments, questions. But on this week's episode, I'm going to be tackling Luca Guadagnino's Challengers, which is on Amazon Prime currently, as well as reading some Letterboxd reviews of Challengers. And if you wanna have your review read, follow me on Letterboxd on social media and let us know your thoughts on whatever movie we're doing that week. Then, finally, I will be counting down my top ten movies of twenty twenty four. If you haven't checked out our premium podcast show page, go to filmbuds. Bangcamp dot com and we also have a website now which is filmbudspodcast dot com. Alright. Well, with all that being said, I'm ready to compete. Let's get into Challengers. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nAnd we do have a clip. Take a listen. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nTell me it doesn't matter. Tell me it doesn't matter if I win tomorrow. No. You tell me if it matters. You're the professional competitor, Art. It can't be about avoiding my judgment. I'm not a nun. I'm not your mommy. I'm just asking that you love me no matter what. What? Am I Jesus? Yeah. You can beat him. What if I don't? How are you gonna look at me if I still can't beat Patrick's vibe? Just like this. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nAlright. Challengers is directed by Luca Guadagnino, stars Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor, few others but those are the main three. And the synopsis is Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach transformed her husband into a champion, but to overcome a recent losing streak and redeem himself, no need to face off against his former best friend and Tashi's ex boyfriend. So I just got around to seeing this one a couple of weeks ago, and I had heard really, really good things about it. It was a favorite of the year for a lot of people or at least, like, top three, top five. And I've liked everything that Guana Nino has done. He's honestly one of the most prolific and consistently great directors right now. He's had a movie come out almost every year for the last seven or eight years at least, so he's just churning them out, but they're all very high quality. They don't feel phoned in or rushed or anything like that. I didn't know much about the story aside from it revolving around tennis and being kind of about jealousy. And, overall, I did like it. I think it's solid. Spoiler, it would not be on my top ten list. And it would be if I had to rank them, it would be towards the bottom of Luca Guadagnino's filmography with my favorite right now being Bones and All, I would say, then maybe Suspiria. I'm really looking forward to seeing Queer with Daniel Craig and then also they just announced he is doing the American Psycho reboot remake with Austin Butler. That should be very interesting. The craft, of course, is amazing. It's so well put together. It looks great. He has a great eye and all of his movies feel very Italian. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is amazing as it always is with them. In terms of the love triangle, so to speak, with this and I won't give away any spoilers really, so don't worry. It starts off with these two former best friends who kind of have a homosexual relationship at least at the beginning because one of them taught the other to masturbate and they had, like, this weird night together and then they both get infatuated by Zendaya and there's a chance at them having a threesome one night, but then that doesn't work. But then she gives them both enough attention to where they're fighting for her for the rest of the movie, and there's this back and forth of jealousy and suspicion and all that, which I think works for sure. The main issues I had, and there's nothing glaringly wrong at all with the movie, but for one, even though I don't really mind that Luca Guadagnino's movies are generally longer, they're about two hours plus normally because I'll always take a longer film by someone like that who has the care, the thought, the vision as opposed to someone else or nothing. But for the story that was there, it was a little long. I don't think it needed to be two hours and ten minutes. If it had lost maybe thirty minutes or so, twenty, I think it would have been a little bit better, a little bit tighter and those same ideas would have come through. The three leads are all great both by themselves and they have very good chemistry together. I bought the friendship between the two guys and then I believe that Zendaya had affection for the both of them, but also kind of hatred at the same time. It was love and hate as they talk about throughout the story. However and I know some people really really like this part of the film, but the final ten or fifteen minutes were the biggest detractor for me. I'm not against using slow mo or having this very artsy build up or climax because that's pretty typical with Luca Guadagnino. There was so much almost overuse of slow mo in this final match. There's a constant back and forth of one of them is gonna serve, they're bouncing the ball up and down, that's in slow mo. The serve is in slow mo. Then they will speed up, which that part I liked actually. There's one great shot of the camera being attached to the tennis ball, and it revolves around the screen. That was really amazing to watch. But there was the same use of score in each sequence. So it felt as it went longer, it got more and more repetitive for me. And if you feel differently, if you have a way to comment, please let me know. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nThat kind of left a sour taste in my mouth. And then \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nthe final shot, which I won't give away, but there's a response to the end of the game from Zendaya, and she first acts one way, and then she seems to change her point of view or perspective right away, and it freeze frames on her face. And that's how the movie ends. And maybe it was meant to be like that. I'm sure I'll just call him Luca. He had a very particular idea for that and thought into that, but it almost felt unusually awkward \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nfor him. And I'm a month removed, and I still can't decide if I really like it or if it didn't work at all in that way. And it's unfortunate that that's the end of the movie. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nHowever, not a deal breaker, still a lot of other great moments and aspects to this. The intercutting of the past with the final game between the two best friends, I thought that was very well done and was never jarring, and it always made sense for where it was placed in the story. The dynamics between the two best friends with one of them being the more clean-cut proper quote unquote kinda guy and then the other being the rougher more unhinged one and then Zendaya being the kind of shining light, the star of the three. The flashback to Zendaya's change in her life when something happened and that caused her to then become a coach as opposed to becoming the star that she seemed that she was gonna be As I showed in the clip, the scene that really got me or one of the scenes was when Zendaya is talking to her current partner, which is one of the best friends, and he's asking her if I lose tomorrow against, you know, my my ex best friend, are you still gonna wanna be with me? Or are you just here for the fame, for their prestige, etcetera? And she's like, yeah, I'm not gonna be with you. I'm not gonna love you anymore if you lose. And it's a very unexpected and really crappy response that someone could say to their partner and also shows you the shallowness of everyone involved and of that kind of mentality in terms of only being the winner. That's all that matters. So, you know, I think it's one that is very unique in a lot of ways as every movie by Luca is. Even if they're not always perfect, they're always interesting. They're always something that you never really know what you're gonna get, and that's very exciting and refreshing in this day and age. I think he has a lot more filmmaking left in him for the coming years, and I can't wait to see what else he does. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nSo that one is a heavy four out of five \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nAlright, let's get to the next segment which is Letterboxd review readings of Challengers and again, if you want to have yours read, you can follow me on Letterboxed, see the link in the show notes or comment on social media, on YouTube, whatever. Would love to hear from you and include you in the show. First one comes from someone who does follow me already, and he commented, thank you very much. And I'm sorry if I say your name wrong, but doctor \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nJM Asopa. I'm sure I butchered that. So sorry. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nHe gave the movie four and a half out of five, and he says, seductively scintillating, madly unsettling, emotionally riveting, and intensely captivating piece of cinema. This is whiplash meets the dreamers, but with a simultaneous unique standing of its own. O'Connor and Face were brilliant, but Zendaya may have given her career best performance in this movie. Moreover, the technical aspects, such a well balanced script, one of the most efficient usage of nonlinear storytelling I've seen in a while, the equally balanced score, the tempo of which possibly mimicked the heart rates of their respective characters on screen, as well as the viewers, dare I say, and the camerawork, woah, \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nespecially in the final match. So big fan there and thank you again for that comment. Next one comes from Ayanna, gave it five out of five says \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nI love the symmetry. I love the contrast and pace. I love that every interaction has the tension of an elastic band stretching out and snapping back into place. The camera cuts between the three of them in whatever configuration but it's only inevitable that they'll soon occupy the same frame. Alright. Well, here are some not so favorable reviews. Jade Talks Too Much gave this two out of five stars Says spent the whole movie just patiently waiting for it to get sexy, but it never came total snooze fest I was kind of intrigued by the plot at first, but then it all felt so aimless and unsatisfying. Slow pacing and boring characters. I don't even know what parts people thought were sexy. And then lastly another two out of five stars. This is from Laura says, quote unquote, how much slow motion do you want in the film? Quote unquote. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nLuca then responds, yes. I don't inherently disagree with you there. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nAll right. Well, thank you again for all those. Let's end off with the top ten films of twenty twenty four. So I think this was a pretty good year for movies There were a lot of blockbusters that I thought really hit and then there were also a lot of great independent films as well Feel free to drop your top ten list in the comments or let me know on Letterboxd. And if there are any on this list that you would like to see reviewed in a feature form like I did with Challengers, I'd be happy to do that. I only covered maybe a quarter of these on the show mainly because a lot of them I didn't see until about a month ago or two. Number ten is Inside Out two, which we did cover on the show, so you can check out that episode. I thought this was easily one of Pixar's better films of the last ten years, probably the best since the first Inside Out. Yes, it's a sequel, but I think it still delivered a lot on bringing a very worthwhile story in that it incorporates the character of anxiety because we are really in the age of anxiety and showing kids especially how to understand certain emotions that they may be feeling especially things like anxiety, which can happen out of nowhere. That's very important, and, honestly, I wish I had had that when I was a kid. So great in that way, but beautifully animated, great voice acting, just a very solid, poignant animated film that I think I will definitely be rewatching over the years consistently. Number nine, Alien Romulus, which I did not review on the show as of yet. I was very excited about this one when I went into it. I like Fade Alvarez a lot for Evil Dead, Don't Breathe, don't love Girl in the Spider's Web, but overall, I really like his style. Sure. It's a in some ways, a greatest hits of the franchise with certain creatures and action sequences, but for what it's worth, it's so well produced. The look of the ships feel very tactile. It feels very reminiscent of the originals whereas now it's very sleek and clean and minimal. They really made a point of making it feel like it could have come out in the nineteen eighties. I love Kaley Spaney, who was in Priscilla and Civil War. I think she's one of the most exciting up and coming actors, and she's very good in this. The score is good. The horror elements, it's R rated, and it really goes for not only the gore, but also use of practical effects and makeup. It's not too long it is a self contained story for the most part so anyone could watch it and follow at least ninety five percent of it aside from the incorporation of one character from the original Alien Number eight, The Fall Guy. This was a film that I I mean, I love Ryan Gosling no matter what, but he seems to be in one of his primes of his career right now. Of course, he had Barbie and some other things, but it's rare nowadays that you get an original action movie. It's almost always attached to a IP or another franchise or it's a prequel or spin off. This is just a self contained story that pays homage to all the stuntmen in Hollywood because they are the unsung heroes of that world. They do some of the most death defying crazy things ever, and they never really get that much recognition, especially since we are in a age of huge action spectacle. So I was very appreciative for this movie giving them a spotlight and showing you the fun side, the bad side, the scary side. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are perfect together. It's not too serious, like, it's not overly self serious. It's not too plot heavy. It just takes you through behind the scenes of movie making, which is a thing I love in movies when it can be a film about filmmaking. It's too bad it didn't do that well at the box office because we need more of these. Absolutely. And I did review it earlier on in the year, so you can check out that review. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nNumber seven, Wicked. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nMy wife and I saw this in the theater and we probably will be reviewing this in full sometime in the next month or so, hopefully, but I have never seen the Broadway play. I only knew it was a origin story or the Wicked Witch of the West and of that world. It's a very epic film. It's over two and a half hours, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It managed to maintain a sense of really grand musical and dance and spectacle while also having great performances, very good writing. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are incredible together both just acting wise as well as when they are singing. It's also one of the more innocent kind of films, like, it is serious at times, but it's so playful and witty and it's also like The Fall Guy, not a film that you really see get made with this budget in that way very often And I know one thing people praise, and I totally agree, is the final act, but mainly the final twenty, thirty minutes are probably some of the most intense, dramatic, enjoyable, satisfying conclusions that I've seen in a long time when, not to spoil too much, but when Cynthia Erivo gets the broom and the iconic song plays and there's that intercutting of the characters at the the tower. Like, it was it had that wow factor to it. At least, it did for me and really left you with the best possible feeling coming out of it and did make that long run time worth it. Number six, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which we probably will review in full as well. I love Tim Burton as I've talked about a lot over the years. I was very excited about this one, a little skeptical because it had been so long and I was worried it was just gonna be a phoned in nostalgic sequel that had nothing new to offer and, you know, etcetera, etcetera. But Michael Keaton is perfect. Janet Ortega is amazing, and I can't wait to see what she does in the coming years. The whole cast is really good. It is also very playful, very witty, but it also has interesting new characters that come in. And as many people have said, it is very much a return to form for Tim Burton who has been struggling a little bit over the last decade. I think this is bringing back a lot of the things that people love about him, that I love about him with one being the humor. His movies have been more and more serious or at least lacking in good humor as opposed to if you look at early on in his career his movies are so funny including the first Beetlejuice This one is consistently laugh out loud funny for me. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nNumber five, \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nThe Outrun starring Saoirse Ronan, which I only saw about two or three weeks ago and I knew nothing about it other than it dealing with, Irish woman who's an alcoholic. That was all I knew. It is such a great, very unfortunately depressing character piece, but Saoirse Ronan, like Caley Spany, is someone who I wanna watch every single movie that she's in. She already has great variety. If you look at something like Lady Bird as opposed to this role, they're complete opposites, but she has other examples as well. There are a decent amount of films out there about addiction and alcoholism, but this is one of the better ones I've seen in a long, long time. It's really gripping. It's emotionally draining but still satisfying and it also has a great final sequence. The editing is incredible in that moment and \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nbrings a lot of the sadness to at least somewhat of a level of joy and calm again. The Irish landscape is beautifully shot, \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nso it's one of those underrated gems that I would highly recommend to anyone out there. Number four, The Bike Riders directed by Jeff Nichols who also has done Loving, Take Shelter, Midnight Special, a very underrated director and one of my favorites in the indie world. I had been meaning to get around to this one for a while, came out back in the summertime. I am, at this point, a big Austin Butler fan. I love Elvis. I'm watching Masters of the Air right now. It's amazing. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nSo that was a draw as well as Tom Hardy. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nLike his other movies, it's very low key. It's not a big action, heavy crime movie dealing with these bikers. It's a very slice of life kind of thing giving you a perspective into this nineteen seventies, I think, motorcycle club. And in some ways, it almost has a no country for old men vibe of there being a certain point where the world changes and there's a certain kind of lifestyle, a certain group, a certain mentality that dies out and there are a few left who can really keep that going because there are newcomers coming in and they change everything oftentimes for the worse. It's a really entertaining, well shot, well performed indie film. It's not for everyone in terms of the pace and the feel, but I think it's still really worth checking out no matter how you feel about it. Number three, gonna be a hot take I know and I did do a very long review of it about two months ago, so please check that out. Number three is Joker Volley Auteur, which I won't repeat too much from what I said in the review, but to me, it's one of the most confusing films as to why it got so much hate. I understand the marketing of it not being marketed as a musical hurt that, and people were, of course, surprised and let down that it wasn't just a sequel to Joker in the exact same way as the first, but I loved everything about it pretty much. Joaquin and Lady Gaga were amazing together. I love the songs. It looked great. I liked the courtroom sequences, the sequences at Arkham Asylum. I was never bored. I have rewatched it, I think, twice since it came out. I'm a big, big fan, big defender, and it's not in a self aware or contrarian way. I'm not trying to just love it because people hated it. I watched it for the first time, and I could not believe that people hated this movie this much. I know I'm in the minority, \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nbut I think it deserves to be at the rank that it is. Number two, Dune part two. I loved the first Dune. Denis Villeneuve is amazing. \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nThe first film I saw of his was Sicario, and I was hooked completely and have followed his work very closely ever since. It's one of those sci fi action spectacles that is so high level in every way, like, it's almost boring to talk about, like, great performances, it looks amazing, it's got great action, \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\ncostumes, you know, I could go on and on and on. It is definitely one of the best \n\n[Henry Faherty]:\nsci fi movies along with Dune part one and Blade Runner two thousand and forty nine as one of the best sci fi films of the last decade or even the twenty first century. If you haven't seen the first one, you gotta check it out. It's not overhyped. Neither of them are. I think they're both very deserving of where they are. And number one is Furiosa, a Mad Max saga. I love the Mad Max series. Fury Road is my favorite movie of all time. Just to put it out there, if you're not a follower of me on Letterboxd, that's my number one, has been ever since I saw it. I was dying to see this movie. I wish it had not taken so long to come out, but it was well worth the wait. Everything about it, the character of Furiosa is so strong, so iconic, so compelling, and despite the hesitation at first of it being played by someone other than Charlize Theron to play the young version, Anya Taylor Joy kills it. The action, I mean, no one really has a grasp on action the way George Miller does and how he shoots action, but he also has great character work in writing, great story work. He's a very underappreciated director, and I wish that these movies had done better financially because of all the films that get sequels. This is deserving of having more spinoffs, of more sequels and prequels and all that. There's so much to explore in the way that he explores it that is forever interesting and exciting for me and very emotionally gripping as well. Alright. Well, that is my top ten. Again, let me know what yours are in the comments if you have a way to do that. Hopefully this new style or bringing things back to how we used to do it in some ways, hopefully it's still good for you. I'm doing my best to always bring you the most interesting content and do it consistently as best I can. Make sure to follow us on social media at FilmBuds. Go to filmbuds podcast dot com. Hit that subscribe button, rating, review, likes, all that. And as always, thanks for listening, and see you next time. \n\n