January 31, 2025
We’ve finally reached the end of January, which for some reason felt like it lasted 131 days, not the usual 31. Maybe it was the arctic weather in the Northeast, the seemingly never ending bad news cycle, or it’s just my usual rut that I get into this time of year. We’re far enough away from the holidays that cold and snowy conditions are no longer charming like it might have felt in early December. Nope, I’m just ready for spring. Like, now. Anyway, at least I have the fun movie season to keep me occupied from the weather and bullshit going on in the country. You know it’s bad to be a numbers person when you actually calculate how many days until January 20, 2029. Don’t ask – you don’t want to know. Just take my advice and distract yourself as best as you can and tune out the noise. Sometimes you need to surround yourself with the things that make you happy and not drive you crazy.
With that in mind, this is the last in my series on the films of 2024. If you missed my previous posts, you can find them here, here, and here. Last week I covered the first part of my top ten list, so that means this week it’s time for the top five. We’re going to start with a raucous comedy-drama that may make the average viewer blush.
#5 – Anora
Way back in May when Anora took home the Palme d’Or (Best Picture equivalent) at the Cannes Film Festival, director Sean Baker’s new picture was crowned as the Oscar favorite. With only a few weeks before the ceremony, it still has a shot to win, but there is no clear frontrunner this year. The film’s star Mikey Madison was also tabbed as the likely Best Actress winner, but she seems to have fallen behind Demi Moore at this point. But more on that during my Oscar preview in a few weeks. I only bring this up to note that Anora has been beloved by critics and fans alike for most of 2024, and I am also a big fan of this bold film that brilliantly combines comedy and drama in the tale of a woman whose life is turned upside down over the course of a few weeks.
When Anora opens up, we are taken inside an exotic dance club in Manhattan and meet Ani (played by Madison), one of the dancers who also performs (ahem) services outside the club for her clients. One of those “gentlemen” is Vanya, the immature son of a Russian oligarch who lavishes praise and a lot of money on Ani as they embark on a whirlwind romance for a few days, culminating in a trip to Las Vegas. Ani seems to have found her way out of a life as an exotic dancer and sex worker, while Vanya is not looking beyond the next few minutes of drugs, booze, and video games. When his family finds out about his new partner, two goons show up to get the marriage annulled and take Vanya back to Russia. Small problem – he took off in fear of having to deal with his parents after screwing up so bad. Then our adventure takes a more serious turn as Ani is enlisted to help the goons find him.
Baker is an interesting filmmaker whose work I haven’t always connected with, but I thought Anora was great. It’s an honest look at the life of people who we don’t typically see depicted on screen. A sex worker struggling to make ends meet, sometimes doing what none of us could imagine doing to make some money. Baker is also not afraid to put all of the challenging parts of her life right on screen – for that reason, this film may have too much sex and foul language for some viewers, so buyer beware on that front.
Baker’s script (which may win him an Oscar) features a wonderful combination of humor (especially in the first half) and drama, as Ani deals with the fact that her short-lived dream of escaping her tedious life might be falling apart. The supporting cast is very good, but the film works primarily because of Madison, who is simply wonderful in a role that has made her a star and Oscar contender. It will be very interesting to see what kinds of roles she pursues in the future. I’m hoping she picks something that is dramatically different from Anora, so we can see her range as an actress. For now, she is basking in the awards reception for this role, and it’s well deserved. Anora is now available to rent on demand.
#4 – The Brutalist
One of the click-bait headlines in the fall of 2023 was the length of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, my favorite movie of that year, which clocked in at 3 ½ hours. As I wrote at the time, I don’t care how long a movie is, as long as it’s great. There’s no correlation between a film’s length and quality. In fact, one of my favorites from 2024 that is even higher in my top five is a nice, crisp 95 minutes.
This year’s headlines were all about the 3 ½ hour film The Brutalist, which includes a 15 minute intermission. There was tremendous hype for this movie, beginning with its premiere at the Venice Film Festival last fall. I was fortunate to catch this one at the Philadelphia Film Festival and it lived up to the hype for me. Is it a perfect movie? No, but it’s an audacious piece of work from director Brady Corbet, who co-wrote the script with his partner Mona Fastvold, and may just lead to a Best Picture win in a few weeks.
Adrian Brody stars as László Tóth, a Jewish immigrant traveling to America from Hungary after the end of World War II, in the opening scenes of the film. He survived a concentration camp and was separated from his wife, but he made it out, eventually settling in Philadelphia with his cousin. Tóth was a successful architect in Hungary before the war, and begins working at his cousin’s furniture shop. One day they are commissioned by a wealthy man’s son to remodel a study, where Tóth designs a beautiful set of bookshelves. That wealthy man is Harrison Van Buren, portrayed by Guy Pearce in a fantastic performance, who takes Tóth under his wing, hiring him to design and oversee the building of a community center in their Pennsylvania town. Eventually, Tóth’s wife and niece join him, and while their reunion is welcome, life never gets easier for them, despite their hard work.
Corbet’s story is grand in scope, covering decades in the life of the main characters, and features Brody delivering an incredible performance in the lead role. He is on screen for practically the entire runtime of the film, portraying a complicated but sympathetic character that we feel connected with throughout his story. Brody displays all of the emotions perfectly as we celebrate his character’s triumphs and suffer with his failures alongside him. His drive and determination to finish the community center run at odds with his desire for perfection over every detail of the massive structure.
As I said above, The Brutalist isn’t a perfect film. The first half is incredible, and I was riveted the entire time, not even thinking about the long runtime. At the intermission, I was feeling that we had a five-star masterpiece on our hands. Corbet was clearly inspired by Paul Thomas Anderson as you can feel echoes of There Will Be Blood and The Master throughout the entire movie. While I think There Will Be Blood is an untouchable masterpiece, The Master had a few plot choices that were a little too strange for my taste, and that brings me to the second half of The Brutalist.
It’s fair to say that if there wasn’t an intermission in this film, then I wouldn’t be thinking about a first half vs. second half comparison. It’s kind of unfair, like comparing Furiosa to Mad Max: Fury Road. But there is a drop off in quality that I felt, as have other viewers and critics who have written about the film. A few of the plot choices Corbet made (one in particular that takes place when Harrison and Tóth travel to Italy to purchase marble for the center) took me out of the movie. They felt forced into the script in an effort to bring the film to a satisfying conclusion, which didn’t entirely work for me.
While I have a few minor quibbles with the story, that doesn’t discount Corbet’s accomplishment as a director. This movie is GORGEOUS on screen. It was filmed in VistaVision, a technology that was used in the 1950s, capturing broad landscapes beautifully, and Corbet uses it to capture the period of the 1940s and 50s on screen perfectly. I saw The Brutalist again this past week on IMAX and it is stunning to look at as a work of art. It’s even more incredible when you learn that it was made for less than $10 million, a pittance when it comes to a movie budget today. One other highlight is the film’s score, written by Daniel Blumberg, who should be working on his Oscar speech right now. There are beautiful melodies on piano, as well as a pulsing beat during scenes when we see construction work on the center.
In a world where viewers have a short attention span that rarely lasts longer than the average TikTok video, it’s a major commitment to spend almost four hours watching a movie. But, if you appreciate the fine art of filmmaking, this one is a must see. The Brutalist is now playing in theaters.
#3 – Challengers
When I left the theater after seeing Challengers last April, I was sure of two things. 1) this movie would be in my top ten list by the end of the year and 2) it would surely get some Oscar recognition. Well, I was right about one of those two predictions. As we see every year, the Academy is rarely perfect with their nominations.
Director Luca Guadagnino and screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes crafted a terrific story about three tennis players with a complicated (to say the least) relationship. Patrick (Josh O’Connor) and Art (Mike Faist) are best friends, and hyper-competitive about everything, especially when they compete on the tennis court. At a junior tournament, they meet rising star Tashi (Zendaya) and are instantly smitten. She is on her way to Stanford, as is Art, while Patrick is skipping college to turn pro as quickly as possible. While they meet in the boys’ hotel room (in one of the iconic movie scenes of the year), Patrick and Art scheme to get Tashi’s phone number, with very little luck. Eventually, Patrick and Tashi begin a long-distance relationship, while Art pines after her at Stanford.
Challengers is told in a non-linear format as we move back and forth across a timeline that spans about twelve years. In the present day, Patrick and Art are facing off at the final of a Challenger tournament, with a spot in the U.S. Open on the line. Art is a multiple major champion, but facing the end of his career, while Patrick never lived up to his potential. Tashi is married to Art and manages his career, but clearly still has some feelings for Patrick from their relationship while they were younger. Non-linear storytelling can be hit or miss for me, but in this instance, I think the film is well-constructed. It’s clearly identified what year we are in at the beginning of each sequence, and while there are some plot mysteries along the way, it’s never confusing enough to frustrate the viewer. In fact, I think it adds to the film’s quality by telling the story this way.
The highlight of Challengers is the performance from the three leads and the chemistry that they each have with one another. Zendaya may be the biggest movie star under 30 not named Chalamet and she exudes charisma as the fierce and determined Tashi. O’Connor plays Patrick as the dirtbag underachiever, living paycheck to paycheck (as rare as they are), but irresistible to Tashi at times. And then there’s Art, who never seems to feel comfortable in his own skin. His relationship with Tashi barely feels like a marriage, and more like a business partnership. In fact, Art has more chemistry with Patrick in the early parts of the film than anyone. And there’s probably a good reason for that, which you can see when they snack on churros (wink, wink.)
Unfortunately, Challengers didn’t receive any Oscar nominations, despite an expected nod for the film’s outstanding score conducted by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the hottest composers in Hollywood. I didn’t expect any acting nods, even though I loved all of the three lead performances – the competition was just too strong this year. But, I did expect a screenplay nomination for Kuritzkes’s script, as did many others. Nope, no love for Challengers this year. In fact, there was a funny scene captured at the Golden Globe Awards earlier this month. The film was nominated for Best Comedy or Musical (it’s kind of a comedy), but lost to Emilia Perez. After the winner was announced, Guadagnino was seen quickly leaving the theater, probably wondering “How the hell did I lose to THAT film?” Yup, Luca, we’re all feeling the same way. Let’s hope we don’t have that same feeling come Oscar night. Challengers is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
#2 – September 5
Another movie that we should be talking about more in this awards season was one that I was fortunate to see at the opening night of the Philadelphia Film Festival. Alas, Paramount Pictures didn’t focus its awards efforts on September 5, choosing instead to put their weight (and marketing dollars) behind Gladiator Part II. A fine film, but it didn’t land any Oscar nominations, which was particularly disappointing for Denzel Washington, who deserved a Best Supporting Actor nod. Nevertheless, September 5 received a very limited release in January and you probably haven’t even heard about it. But it’s one that you should check out, especially if you are a fan of journalism films.
September 5 takes place almost entirely in the control room of ABC Sports with the team covering the 1972 Munich Olympics. We meet ABC Sports President Roone Alredge (played by the always terrific Peter Sarsgaard), and his lieutenants Marvin (Ben Chaplin) and Geoff (John Magaro, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors working today.) Marvin has recommended that Geoff oversee the control room for the day, despite his limited experience. Roone is fine with the move, but we quickly learn that all of them will be facing the biggest challenge of their careers. Early in the morning on September 5, 1972, members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by terrorists. Suddenly the stakes of the “story” have never been higher and a group of individuals have to pivot from covering what are now meaningless sporting competitions to the biggest event in the world.
September 5 is a terrific movie, but it’s pretty intense at times. When the lights came up after I saw it in Philadelphia, I leaned over to the person next to me and said, “I think I held my breath the entire movie.” As the minutes and hours of the crisis tick by, we are inside the control room, witnessing how the ABC team creatively covered the story, including setting up covert cameras, sneaking film to the cameramen, and getting Peter Jennings close to the hostages’ location to report what he was seeing. We also get an appreciation for the limited technology at their disposal, which highlighted the excellent sound editing of the film as the characters interact with each other. The journalistic ethics of what to report, and when to report it, are brought up numerous times during the film, leading to fabulous exchanges among Sarsgaard, Magaro, and Chaplin.
Even though we all know the tragic ending, the way this story is presented kept me engaged the whole time. I give credit to director Tim Fehlbaum (who also co-wrote the script) for keeping this a tight movie at 95 minutes, and one other critical decision. We see Jim McKay, the host of ABC’s coverage of the Olympics, only through archival footage from that day. Had there been an actor trying to play McKay (especially reciting his iconic line announcing the tragic outcome), it would have taken us out of the movie every time he showed up. Instead, we are focused on the journalism, the tough decisions they faced (some of which were enormously wrong), and how they dealt with the mounting pressure.
Need another opinion? I was recently listening to the latest episode of my favorite movie podcast (The Big Picture) where the host was interviewing Steven Soderbergh about his latest film, Presence. This is a family drama told from the perspective of a ghost living in the house. The entire movie is shot this way, so as the camera moves around the house to the different characters, it’s as if we are the ghost witnessing what is happening. Very cool film, but not really a scary movie, so set your expectations accordingly if you decide to see it. Nevertheless, at the end of each podcast episode, the host asks every filmmaker to discuss the last great thing they’ve seen. Soderbergh’s answer was September 5 and his first comment was “No notes.” Couldn’t have said it better myself. September 5 is now playing in theaters and will be available to rent on demand on February 4th.
#1 – Dune: Part Two
From the moment I saw Dune: Part Two on a large IMAX screen when it was released ten months ago, no film has been able to displace it from the top spot on my list of favorite movies of 2024. Sure, there were a few times where I wondered if any of the films I’ve written about the last few weeks were better than Dune: Part Two, but ultimately, the answer was always no. Everything about this film worked for me in the best way possible. The story, the performances, the special effects, the sound, the score, and the unbelievable production design constructed by director Denis Villeneuve and his masterful crew.
Dune: Part Two picks up immediately after the conclusion of the first film, which is appropriate since the two movies comprise the entirety of Frank Herbert’s legendary novel. Timothée Chalamet returns as Paul Atreides, son of the Duke who was murdered in the first film. Paul is immersed with the Fremen, the local inhabitants of Arrakis, the planet rich with spice, a valuable commodity. Paul is encouraged to lead the Fremen against the army looking to exploit their natural resource, but he is set on only one mission: revenge for his father’s death.
When I wrote about the first film three years ago, I noted that I had zero experience with the Dune franchise. I never read any of the books and had never seen David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Herbert’s novel. I did later see Lynch’s version, which I didn’t care for, primarily because it’s impossible to compare it to Villeneuve’s masterful adaptation. Speaking of Lynch, he recently passed away and the news resulted in an outpouring of admiration from across the entertainment industry, given his significant influence on film and television. The night he died, I decided to fire up Mulholland Drive, a movie that I consider to be a masterpiece even though every time I watch it I have to read articles and watch YouTube videos to help me understand the intricate plot. Not all of his films worked for me, but I also loved Lost Highway and of course, Twin Peaks was a groundbreaking show. Not only will we never see anything like it on network television again, how the hell did it end up on network television in the first place?
Back to Dune: Part Two. Before watching the first film, I was worried that I would be confused about a futuristic science fiction story, but those fears were quickly allayed. You quickly learn what is important in this world, and who the heroes and villains are, thanks to the smart script that doesn’t overdo it with technical knowledge. And let’s be honest, these stories are pretty simple at their core. This is about power, politics, family, and what a group of people will do to fight for their homeland. These are themes that we have seen since the dawn of movies (and the dawn of time.) Sure, you need to get used to certain intricacies of the world of Dune, but much like Star Wars, once you are in the hands of the filmmaker, you turn yourself over to their vision. Not to mention that the special effects are incredible. Did I mention we see Chalamet riding a giant sandworm? Yeah, a goosebump moment for me every time I’ve watched this film.
Villeneuve assembled a strong supporting cast behind Chalamet, including Zendaya as his love interest, Rebecca Ferguson as his mother, Austin Butler (in a bonkers performance), Josh Brolin, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken, and many others. You can tell that Villeneuve is just like Christopher Nolan – actors will do whatever they can to rearrange their schedule to appear in their films. And we’re fortunate that we will see the gang get back together again. Villeneuve is working on the script for Dune: Messiah, the third and final (according to him) chapter in the series. Will the Academy finally recognize him in a few years? They damn well better. In the meantime, enjoy my favorite film of 2024. Dune: Part Two is now streaming on HBO Max, Netflix, and Hulu.
That’s all for this week. I hope you all enjoyed my look at the films of 2024 over the last few weeks. If you are interested in finding where to watch these movies at home, check out JustWatch.com. If you want to see them in a theater, I recommend Fandango to see where they are playing near you. All of the movies I’ve covered are listed in my Film Index here, which includes a link to JustWatch to find where to stream the movie, as well as a link to the post where I wrote about it. Lastly, if you are a true glutton for punishment, you can find my list of 100 favorite movies of 2024 on my Letterboxd account here. I’ll be back in a few weeks with a detailed preview of the Oscars. Until then, enjoy catching up on some of the nominees and other great films from 2024. Thanks for reading and if you would like to be notified about future posts, you can subscribe below.