Manga Mavericks @ Movies #50: "Our Favorite Films of 2024 & Oscars 2025 Thoughts!"

Welcome back to Manga Mavericks @ Movies! The show where we don’t just talk smack about movies, we celebrate them! 

We’re back after (check notes) FOUR YEARS(?!) to talk about the year of film in 2024! It’s been a long time since we’ve done one of these, so you may be wondering why we were so eager to record a podcast about 2024 films than years past. While 2024 was a bad year for most of the world, it was a pretty strong year for entertainment all around, including movies. While it got off to a rough start with movies that didn’t click with audiences and hit at the box office, by the end of the year we got a lot of interesting and entertaining gems that delighted film critics and moviegoing audiences alike. I think that’s why we have an Oscars race this year where you have a lot of films people have seen and are genuinely enthusiastic about, plus Emilia Perez for some reason, and the lack of clear overwhelming favorites like Oppenheimer and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once like the past two years has made the Awards season really competitive, to the point where it’s hard to predict what will win at the Oscars this year, especially in the Best Picture race. Some critics and commentators consider 2024 a weaker year for film than years previous, but personally, this was the most engaged moviegoing year I’ve ever had. This is the first year since I (Lum) started using Letterboxd over a decade ago where I managed to see over 100 movies that came out that year within the year itself! Only time will tell which films will be remembered as part of the canon of great and essential cinema, but as far as I’m concerned, there were plenty of great films that came out in 2024 that I adore and want to explore, so we’re here to discuss them so much more! 

Vlord and I each count down our Top 10 favorite films from 2024, celebrating the films we enjoyed and resonated with the most. Then, we discuss all the films and categories nominated at the 97th Academy Awards, giving our thoughts on the nominations picked for each category and speculating on who the Academy will pick as winners. As someone who has listened to lots of Oscars-related podcasts over the course of this Awards season, I can guarantee you that you won’t find a longer discussion of the Short Film categories on any other film podcasts! So get listen up and listen good to our thoughts on the best and most awarded movies of 2024 (not necessarily the same) in our nearly 4-hour long podcast that’s probably longer than this year’s Oscars ceremony itself! 

Enjoy the show, and follow us on twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Blu Sky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, and subscribe to us on Youtube. You can follow the hosts on twitter at @LumRanmaYasha and @VLordGTZ. Don’t forget to also like and subscribe to us on Youtube and iTunes and leave us reviews to help us curate the show and create better content! If there are any topics, series or mangaka you would like to see us talk about on the show, drop us a line in the comments below, or e-mail us at [e-mail]! Thanks for listening!

PODCAST BREAKDOWN:

00:30 - Our Favorite Films of 2024

2:10:53 - Oscars 2025 Thoughts

3:30:53 - Final Thoughts & Wrap-Up 

Music Featured:

The Boston Pops Orchestra - “Hooray for Hollywood” Tim Heidecker - “Oscar Fever” 

LINKS:

• .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}