A24

“She’s just trying to get to that audition,” Julio Torres says about “our Queen” Anna Faris’s protagonist character in Gregg Araki's Smiley Face. This is part of his answer I asked him in a college roundtable promoting his new Dramedy and directorial debut Problemista. The question being: “In an interview with the Hollywood reporter, you referred to your film as an example of an I-Don’t-know-how-i’m-gonna-make-the-rent genre. Are there other films or narratives that come from that same vein that helped inspire Problemista?” In his answer he delves into a few films that fall into that frantic and straightforward narratives rooted in common human experiences, but what struck me the most is his admiration of Smiley Face, with how apparent of an inspiration it is on Torres’s own refreshing film. Both follow a lead with ambitious dreams for their lives while dealing with the anxiety-inducing humdrum of low-income living. Smiley Face though has been relegated to cult-classic status, ultimately an unfortunately underwatched movie. Problemista doesn’t deserve that same fate. It’s a crowd pleasing wonderful time, with a lot to say on the chaotic positive potential of Karen-dom in the service of ambition. A uniquely modern theme that Torres gets so much mileage out of in this fast-paced gem of a movie.

As I left the SLC following my third viewing of Past Lives, I heard an overwhelming murmur of phrases which included, “It’s so good!” or “The characters are so real,” and “That was so sad!” all of which are valid assessments. However, while I, too, was repeating many of these phrases, I couldn’t help but feel like the movie was deserving of more than an assessment similar to so many others. In its brisk 106-minute runtime, Past Lives excels in the task of taking the audience into the lives of a mere three characters, giving very little in terms of information on who they are or any in-depth character traits, and bringing us to tears, as we wallow in the idea of lost time.

Stop Making Sense, at its core, is the story of a band. It begins with a solitary man, who is faceless but familiar, walking out onto the stage. As the camera follows his feet out from the backstage shadows and into the limelight, this tolerably titled “concert film” has already made its statement as a higher performative art piece -and it’s just getting started.

As the credits roll and Pearl attempts to keep up the guise of happiness as she smiles into the camera for minutes on end, all I could think was Mia Goth is a star. The prequel to X Pearl was one of the most highly anticipated horror films of 2022, and boy, did it deliver. The film does what great all prequels should do, make the original better. By focusing on the character of Pearl, the old lady from X, the movie allows itself to delve into all of the life choices that lead her to where she ends up and helps the audience understand truly how crazy she is. From the opening frame to the end credits, the film is a master class on how to create a character study.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On stars Marcel, a one-inch tall shell who is voiced by Jenny Slate and lives in a house with his grandma, Nanna Connie. The two are discovered when Dean, played by Dean Fleischer-Camp, books the home as an Airbnb. Inspired by the fantastical energy of Marcel, Dean begins to make documentary-style videos of the life of Marcel and Nanna Connie. As Dean films Marcel’s life, more and more is revealed about their past. The story uses the outlandish nature of a talking one-inch shell to craft a poignant message that almost anyone can relate to. They create a beautiful story about family and loss that is equal parts inspiring and melancholy, and it is done in such a way that, to me, makes it the perfect movie. Also, spoilers are ahead.

As the theater lights dim and opening credits begin, a simple black and white logo appear on the screen. Cutting across the dark screen are a few simple lines, gracefully darting and intersecting with each other before forming the name: A24. On the surface, it’s just one letter and two numbers. But as most movie fans have come to realize, this simplistic intro could very well precede their next favorite film.