My best films of 2024 (this list goes to 11), rank order:
Dune, Part Two – The best way to take the measure of a film is what it attempts to accomplish compared to the success doing so, then is it truthful and important in dealing with the human condition or great ideas. In all those this is one of the great films of the century, and will take its rightful place on all those measures in time. One of the on-target reviews:
Denis Villeneuve’s "Dune: Part Two" is a triumphant—and tragic—look at the cost of power.
www.theatlantic.com
Conclave – Another huge accomplishment, and one that could have easily gone wrong in various ways with touchy subjects, but didn't. Like
Dune Part Two, a sensational ensemble of performances and a great story to tell.
All That We Imagine as Light –Unusual film about the lives of three ordinary women in India.
Civil War – This was a devastating film prior the election and it's worse than that now of course. A vision of where we are headed if you take a glass half full mindset.A very courageous statement about our time and where we are immediately headed.
Last Stop in Yuma Country – Lessons from the great Coen Brothers have been learned by new many filmmakers, and the black comedy and convoluted trouble humans can make for themselves are brilliantly Coen-esque in this constantly amazing “modern Western.”
A Real Pain – This is not great cinema visually, but has some of the best writing of the year, and likely the best performance by Culkin. He may not get enough attention for it because the character is annoying. This is a very talky, chatty film in the style of the best Woody Allen stuff, but seems more realistic, and holds a final emotional punch.
The Heretic – A thriller with very clever writing and a wicked performance by Hugh Grant. Like all of these, a second viewing improves it even more.
Darling Strange – A true pull the rug out from under you thriller.
Lake George - Under the radar film I wrote about above. My underrated film of the year.
Nickel Boys – Rather brave cinematic approach of only first person viewpoints, not always an ideal method,but this is an important and devastating story very well told.
Hard Truths – Mike Leigh is still making great films, with brilliant performances, this one about trying to care for a person who is impossible to care about.
Others:
The Brutalist - Wrote about above. Visually impressive; not one of the top films in terms of narrative.
A Complete Unknown - Very good performances, good sense of the times, above average to average biopic to me.
A film I liked but is far overrated, like an overhyped
Shakespeare in Love type thing of 2024, is
Anora. The whole first half of this film is just teenager and hooker stuff but erotic, then the second have retreads things we have seen so very many times before, and is the kind of thing 1/3rd of an episode of The Sopranos delivered, and with much better acting and better black comedic realism.
LaRoy Texas – Almost no critics rank this as high as I do, but there has been virtually no black comedy this good in years. Also a modern Western, in some ways like Coen stuff but with more David Lynch added to the mix. I bet the reputation of this film is going to grow.
