The Substance (2024)
More than I should, I think of my younger self as a different person. Often with a jealous lens, like I could do better if I was 10-15 years younger and would have made different and better choices with who I am now. But that's all bull****. I'm still the same guy as 18 year old KP: prone to staying up later than I should because I got really into this or that, somehow both underthinking and overthinking everything, restarting every ****ing thing I do because I changed my mind or get annoyed by some insignificant nonsense so no progress is actually made, etc. I may be older and it materializes in different ways and through different lenses (ie "pruhsteege movees" instead of ****ty anime), but none of that has fundamentally changed despite that now I work out more, sometimes meditate (thanks David Lynch), and maybe have developed a modicum of discipline. What right do I have to look down on my past self? He may be a crazy ****up who should have worked harder and indulged less, but ultimately he got me to where I am today. All of that is still me, it's taken a lot of work to realize that and I think this film did help me in doing so.
Lizzy Sparkle shoots herself up with god knows what to be able to live as an idealized version of herself for a week before going back to her "real" body. But Sue is Lizzy Sparkle, the separation of them is an illusion imposed by herself. Piloting the Sue body she doesn't do anything different than she did before, she just gains more interest because she's now back to being hawt (even though Elisabeth Sparkle looks much better than Dennis Quaid, which I believe is a point, if not THE point) in a society/industry where that is THE currency, especially for the ladies. Which causes her to develop a body dysmorphia when piloting the Elisabeth body, beautifully communicated with that makeup scene. This dysmorphia and her addiction to being "perfect" shatters her mind, creating the illusion of two people when in fact she's just one person riding the highs and withdrawals. As Sue she can't help but take more and more and more, as Elisabeth she keeps enduring the ravages on her body because it's worth it to chase that high, both are fundamentally addicts. The end sequence is how it ends, with your body being ravaged and your mind lost in the high.
Easily one of the best movies of 2024 and the decade.
The People's Joker (2022?)
I remember @majestic and I once talking about how the irl version of Darmok would be stuff like anime and superheroes. This film is pretty much that concept come to life, hijacking Batman to communicate gender dysphoria via a shoestring budget multimedia cluster**** that comes together beautifully. Frankly I do not see why WB tied to sue over this, not only would no one believe that WB would actually make something that feels handmade like this, but it actually does a better job of generating interest than the vast majority of content sludge being pumped out by the 600-pound sisterwives company. It just feels really genuine, like beneath the audacity of portraying Batman as a guy who became Elon Musk after he who failed to get on a legally distinct SNL there's an emotional core to this film that hits well, because it is someone's real story.