Staff Picks DVDs: The Best of 2024
Our staff recommends their favourite shows and movies that we added to the collection in 2024 - have a browse!
Shinji’s Picks
Fallen Leaves
Seeing just one shot, you can tell it’s his work. Finnish auteur Aki Kaurisumaki (The other side of hope , Le Havre ) has been one of the most unique voices of the world cinema since the 80s. He once announced his retirement but came out with this fabulous film, which is one of his best works. It’s a love story of a middle-aged man and woman, who both hit rock-bottom and feel the void of loneliness. Their meeting and passing each other are told in a one-and-only Kaurisumaki style: deadpan characters, droll humours, distinguished texture and colures, karaoke, and a warmth that somehow makes you ponder the meaning of life. Quirky yet delightful – this could be the best romance movie ever made (of characters over 40). A master class.
Since Sudanese films are rarely seen, it may require some prior knowledge about the country: civil war, South secession, racism, and classicism, and they are all presented in one household in this gripping drama. The film centers around two women: Mona (a wealthy housewife of North) and Julia (a Southerner lives at a makeshift camp) and their unlikely friendship. It began when Mona hired Julia as a servant after Julia’s husband was murdered by Mona’s husband. It was caused by Mona’s carelessness and only she knows it. It’s a complicated multi-layered story about prejudice, guilt and atonement, but largely self-taught director Mohamed Kordofani depicts it with great care and compassion, adeptly balancing politics and domestic life. His approach is low-key and sensitive but tensions are running high underneath. Intimate yet thought-provoking – this is an outstanding debut feature by this Sudanese filmmaker.
Priscilla
Elvis Presley’s ex-wife Priscilla must have been an ideal subject for Sofia Coppola (Marie Antoinette, Lost in Translation), who has often portrayed young female characters trapped between glamour and loneliness. Following Priscilla’s journey from her first meeting with Elvis (she was only 14) to their marriage to filing for divorce, it offers a slow-burning, grown-up drama. Young Priscilla was surrounded by men and was like a pet at Elvis’ home, Graceland. Although Elvis’ shadow is obviously presented, there is no music nor performance by the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ in the film. Instead, taking an anti-fairytale approach, Coppola focuses solely on Priscilla’s character study and Cailee Spaeny gives a superb performance, making it a unique insightful ‘women find their voices’ film. Brilliant.
The zone of interest
The sky is blue. The garden is beautiful. Children play happily outside….and black smoke constantly goes up from the buildings on the other side of the wall. Based on Martin Amis’ novel about Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss and his family, English auteur Jonathan Glazer (Under the skin, Sexy beast) made a film like no other. The camera stays outside of the concentration camp and follows only Hoss’ family’s carefree day-to-day activities, but stunning sound design and eerie tone imply what is going on off-screen. Glazer’s bold aesthetic reminds us how cruel human beings can be, and we need to be warned sometimes, particularly when the world is unsettling like today. Provocative yet artful - although it may not be easy to watch, Glazer’s innovative narrative and impeccable direction give us an unforgettable cinematic experience. Astonishing.
Kath’s Picks
The Mountain – Where do NZ directors find these amazing, soulful child actors? This one is sure to make you cry.
If – A surprisingly delightful film. A heart-rending story with some fun imagination, dance scenes and an ending that you will need a hanky for!
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – A prequel focusing on the life of young Furiosa up to the point that Mad Max. Fury road starts. Anya Taylor-Joy does well as a young Furiosa and Chris Hemsworth steals every scene he is in.
The Convert – One of the best New Zealand films of the year. Brilliant cast across the board, and a perspective we seldom get in film.
Robot Dreams – Such sweetness and emotion, without any dialogue. Another one that will give you a good cry.
Drive Away Dolls – A road comedy with heart. Margaret Qualley is brilliant as Jamie, and Beanie Feldstein steals every scene she is in, as she always does.
Wicked Little Letters – Olivia Colman at her very best. A plot line and acting from Olivia that will keep you guessing right until the end. Lots of spicy language to laugh at.
The Holdovers – Absolutely Oscar-worthy performances from the three central cast members. Some of the best dialogue in a film for quite some time.
Uproar – New Zealand really does produce fantastic films and Julian Dennison is a very, very gifted young actor. Another story of New Zealand history woven around a personal narrative.
Allelujah – The surprise sleeper of the year. Based on an Alan Bennett play, it is darkly funny and yet asks some big questions. An incredible performance from Jennifer Saunders, and a shock twist at the end to keep you on your toes.
Troy’s Pick
DUNE 2 BABY
DUNEHEADS RISE
AS IT IS WRITTEN
Yani’s Pick
I have to say my pick of the year would be Dune 2.
Gripping from the opening scene, builds wonderfully on the first movie, epic in every way.
I have never rewatched a movie in cinemas, but I couldn't help myself with this one.
Sabrina’s Picks
When Fast X came out, all I wanted was fast cars (I've been disappointed since 6)
When Avatar: The Way of Water came out, all I wanted was evolutionary graphics (Same as the first, but with a worse storyline)
When Dune: Part 2 came out, all I wanted was worms. And. I. Got. Worms. (And Timothée Chalamet).
Monty’s Picks
Furiosa is another visceral, violent, and memorable addition to Miller’s Mad Max opus.
Timeless and elegantly structured character piece that is already a Christmas classic.
Linda’s Picks
The zone of interest - Chilling in its mundanity.
Mr Bates vs the Post Office : the complete mini-series - Real people being treated appallingly by British government agencies, and the strength and tenacity they had to keep fighting to clear their names.
Zoe’s Pick
The mountain - A 2024 NZ film. It was fantastic!
Amy’s Picks
Gus’ Picks
My favourite film of 2024, following the origin story of the breakout character of Mad Max: Fury Road. Anya Taylor-Joy is a revelation as the titular Furiosa, and director George Miller is the storyteller for our times, presaging a world where our most basic commodities are fought over by rabid cargo cults led by grotesque swaggering brutes. But he tells it like a myth being unfolded, a truly epic story about a heroine searching for justice in a world without pity.
My favourite film of 2023. Set in WWII-era Japan, a boy mourning the death of his mother is sent to live in the countryside and is led to a strange fantasy realm by a cantankerous heron spirit. Over ten years in the making, it’s a beautifully animated, stirring and wonderous meditation on grief and the meaning of art as only Hayao Miyazaki can deliver, set to another gorgeous score by Ghibli's stable composer Joe Hisaishi.
While often pegged as an austere and brutalist director, I find Denis Villeneuve’s strength is finding the humanity within the harsh frames of the time and place they find themselves in, and nowhere is that more brought to the fore in Dune Part Two, as Paul Atreides takes the full weight of leadership on his shoulders, seals his fate, and of course, rides that giant sandworm. Bring on Dune: Messiah!
An actress researches her next role in Gracie Atherton-Yoo, a woman who started a relationship with an underage boy years ago (and eventually married him and had his children), which threatens to unravel the couple's already tenuous grip on domestic bliss. A provocative yet contemplative potboiler that interrogates our obsession with tabloid stories of the illicit, and examines the ways that the trauma of being made a public spectacle can manifest in its victims.
A new teacher in a German school is made the subject of controversy when she tries to expose the culprit of a rash of thefts. Her attempts to make good and achieve some kind of justice only serve to further alienate her from her colleagues and her students, especially the son of the supposed thief. I’m a sucker for any movie about society told in a microcosm, and The Teacher’s Lounge is the best kind of that story.
Curb your enthusiasm. The twelfth and final season
In the final outing of his decades-spanning sitcom where he plays an exaggeratedly amoral version of himself, Larry David flips the script on us as he is wrongly taken to trial for committing a good deed that he didn’t know was illegal. The supporting cast remain as hysterical as ever despite getting on in years, moving the action to Atlanta is refreshing after 11 seasons of seeing every angle of Los Angeles, and the finale manages to be both perfectly in keeping with the show’s spirit and a clever riposte to what some consider Larry David’s greatest creative failure: the Seinfeld finale.
Emma’s Picks
Picks not in the collection yet
Anora
Challengers
The Substance
One Day (TV series)