Entertainment
The Best Movie Of 2024 Cost 1000x Less Than Wicked
By Drew Dietsch
| Updated
2024 is coming to a close and it’s time for everybody to start getting their “Best Of” lists together. After the smash success of Wicked, lots of critics and moviegoers are projecting it could be a legit contender at the Oscars for Best Picture. The $150 million production is the usual mainstream offering that gets bandied about as the best movie people saw in a year. That’s thanks to it being one of a handful of multiplex-monopolizing mega-studio blockbusters that pushes out more original and independent movies. If audiences had more awareness and open-mindedness about the best movies of 2024, they’d discover that the actual best movie of the year cost 1/1000 of Wicked’s now-industry-standard gargantuan budget.
The Best Movie Of 2024
Hundreds of Beavers is an independent comedy film that cost $150,000 to produce. Taking inspiration from silent comedies, formative black and white cartoons, and even video games, Hundreds of Beavers tells the deceptively simple tale of a unlucky fellow named Jean Kayak who ends up needing to survive in the wintery wilderness by becoming a fur trapper. This descends into such incredibly crafted lunacy as Jean finds himself at war with nature and its inhabitants (mostly beavers, but the title spoiled that). Trying to dictate all the gags and running jokes here would do them a disservice. Hundreds of Beavers really does need to be seen to believed.
What I can relate to you here is Hundreds of Beavers is not only the best movie of the year because it’s a hilarious and expert-level display of artistry on multiple levels, but because it stands in stark contrast to the studio system and showcases that true creativity is often the realm of independent creators.
Originality From Inspiration
Though it’s no measure of any individual movie’s quality, the overwhelming dominance of unoriginal movies has become a serious problem with my enjoyment of popular cinema. I should define “unoriginal” in this context. Let’s take a look at the current Top 20 Box Office Earners of 2024 and see if we can put together a definition:
Out of those, sixteen are sequels. Of those sixteen, ten of those are not direct sequels, meaning they are the third entry or further in their franchise. When it comes to the four non-sequels, one of those is Wicked, a Part 1 with a sequel on the way. And only one of those four non-sequels is an original script that wasn’t adapted from a previous work. Yes, when it comes to a fully original movie doing well at the box office, IF is number one.
So, what does this have to do with Hundreds of Beavers? One of the reasons it’s the best movie of 2024 is how it’s able to take inspiration from popular media and present it in a way that feels truly fresh. Instead of “referencing” to create its art, it blends all the things it loves into a new dish. You won’t see a Triforce symbol anywhere in the movie as an advertising tie-in (heck, whole movies are just video game ads at this point), but you’ll tap into the film’s usage of video game visual language like menu selections and overworld maps. Felix the Cat isn’t popping up so someone can rake in a few rights royalties and be unrecognized by any modern viewer, but the silent cartoon era of anarchic possibility informs so much of what makes Hundreds of Beavers a laugh riot.
But, why bring up the comparison to Wicked’s budget? Because it’s not just Hundreds of Beavers being original that makes it the best movie of 2024. There are plenty of original movies this year that are excellent! It’s what Hundreds of Beavers achieves with such a relatively small amount of funds that propels it into the number one.
Creativity Despite Cost
I have not seen Wicked so I am not going to critique anything about that movie other than what I have seen in trailers and other promotional material. Specifically, Wicked’s approach to cinematography looks like most of the high-end commercial and advertising cinema that we see around the largest ad campaigns. That’s not to say it “looks bad” at all, but it comes across as uninspiring in the larger landscape of cinema. Part of that is because it has the backing of a massive studio and studios have become more and more risk averse when it comes to more striking and stylistic moviemaking.
Contrast that with Hundreds of Beavers being independently financed and what it’s able to use the medium of movies to do with much relatively less. I’m not trying to demean the (I’m sure over)work of the VFX artists and other craftspeople behind Wicked, but watching Hundreds of Beavers pull off such inventiveness with 1/1000 of that film’s budget is more energizing for the future of cinema than another blowout blockbuster.
Don’t take this piece as a “Wicked sucks!” screed. I haven’t seen it so I don’t know if it sucks or not! But when we start all these annoying awards rumblings, remember that the actual best movie of 2024 is a little piece of art made for a thousandth of a Wicked.
Entertainment
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Entertainment
Maddies Secret trailer reveals John Early as youve never seen him before
Comedian John Early makes his feature directorial debut with Maddie’s Secret, an offbeat homage to melodrama that he wrote and headlines as its eponymous heroine.
As an aspiring food influencer, Maddie Ralph (Early) is passionate about her cuisine. And at first glance, she’s got a picture-perfect life: a loving husband (Eric Rahill), a devoted best friend (Kate Berlant), and a job at a culinary content studio called Gourmaybe. But as the title suggests, there’s a side to Maddie she can’t stomach sharing with her loved ones. And this secret could kill her.
Out of the movie’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, I cheered Maddie’s Secret, writing in my review for Mashable, “The film is silly and strange, but even amid campy bits, sincere. So, you’ll laugh at its parody elements, but may well be genuinely moved by Early’s commitment to this strange and splendid film.”
I also said “John Early is a better ingénue than Sydney Sweeney,” comparing Maddie’s Secret to another earnest (but less entertaining) TIFF offering, Christy. And I stand by it.
Maddie’s Secret opens in theaters in New York on June 19, and in Los Angeles on June 26.
Entertainment
Pride is almost here! Check out the best dating apps for LGBTQ women.
We know Pride is all year round, but there is something special about the month of June. We’re not there quite yet, but if you want a main squeeze for all the parades and parties, you gotta start looking now. How about on a dating app?
As a lesbian, you probably know all about them. Lesbian Americans (along with bisexual and gay Americans) are far more likely to have ever used dating apps than straight Americans: 51 percent to 28 percent, according to the Pew Research Center.
There are a few reasons why LGBTQ people might turn to online dating more quickly than straight folks. For one, you might live in an area without a thriving LGBTQ community, and in-person dating may be hard. If you don’t know other lesbians to begin with, how can you meet more IRL to date? (Sometimes, lesbian spaces can also be co-opted by The Straights.) Unfortunately, in-person dating may also be less safe, depending on where you live.
Hookup apps for everyone
AdultFriendFinder
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readers’ pick for casual connections
Tinder
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top pick for finding hookups
Hinge
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popular choice for regular meetups
Thankfully, we live in a time where we can find people like us with a few swipes. Lesbians are welcome on major dating apps, and there are also niche ones specifically for lesbians and other queer women and people. But which one to choose?
How to find the best dating apps for lesbians
Niche lesbian dating apps aren’t your only option for finding love.
Credit: Stacey Zhu / Mashable
In Mashable’s recommendations below, you’ll find both general dating apps and apps specifically for queer people. As the former appeals to the general population, you’ll find more users in these spaces. The caveat, however, is that when you swipe on other women, you might find those coupled with men who are looking for another woman to have a threesome with (aka unicorn hunters). No judgment here, but that’s probably not what you’re looking for. Then again, people of all types are on dating apps like Tinder and Hinge. You never know who you may come across.
Then there are apps specifically for the community, like HER and Lex. If you yearn for a smaller dating scene, head for these apps. While there’s no “Grindr for lesbians” — we go into why in the FAQ section — these apps are more so like stepping into your neighborhood lesbian bar than an app like Bumble.
You can also try multiple dating apps, as each one below has a free version. You can filter by the gender you identify with and are looking for, and sometimes, as with OkCupid, there are many options to choose from.
Diving into the dating pool isn’t easy, but the water’s fine. Check out our guide below for the full rundown of our recommendations and dating app reviews.
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Maddies Secret trailer reveals John Early as youve never seen him before
